THE WIND HOWLED AND SANG as tree branches shook with vigor from the brewing snow storm. Winter nights were always cold and damp, but this one was different. The sun set too quickly for Clara's taste.

She shivered in her furs as she rested the palm of her hand on the small dagger she kept sheathed at her right side. She was always careful to keep her belongings close to her as she walked. Who knew what types of miscreants or thieves may be out late searching for someone to take advantage of.

Walking home through the forest had become a regular ritual for Clara since she had taken a job in town as a sitter. The Lionus family always kept her working late nights caring for their three obnoxiously energetic daughters.

Small flakes of snow started to fall from the moonlit sky and Clara smiled. Slowing her steps to glance up and catch a flake on her tongue. At least there was a pinch of hope on a night like this. If hope is what you would call it.

Clara smiled on the outside, but was sad and pained on the inside.
If a measly piece of snow was a momentary distraction from her feelings of depression, she would take it, grip on to it with all of her might, and never let go of that distraction. At least she didn't want to let go.

Clara did not know why she felt depressed today, or any day really. The feelings that she bottled up day after day never slipped out. Not even a little bit.

In truth, she did know why she felt this way. Why she couldn't help wear a frown, and why she avoided human interaction with those she felt didn't understand. Everyone. Every single one couldn't understand her.

Clara felt trapped in her routines because they were just that, routines. She felt trapped in her habits because they were again, just habits. Was it wrong of her to want more from life than what she had? More than just a simple life?

Perhaps it was foolish of her to want more than what she had. She had food in her stomach, clothes on her back, and a mother and younger sister that loved her.

Clara turned a blind eye to her feelings of unhappiness. She always did.

~~~

The night turned even colder as Clara neared her family's cottage. She could hear tree branches crashing against the small leaded glass windows as she approached, a few of the panes already shattered. Clear shards of glass scattered on the snow covered ground.

A hint of worry grew in the pit of Clara's stomach as she searched the house with her eyes for any sight of light from the fireplace or candles. She inwardly hoped that her mother and sister had gone to a friends house in town for a late supper.

Placing her key in the key hole of the door, Clara slowly pushed the cottage's front door open with caution. Calling out her mother and sisters names as she stepped inside of the dark doorway, Her voice echoed through the door and into the living room.

She highly doubted that if her mother and sister were here they could hear her call for them over the loud snarl of the wind and snow pouring into the house from the broken windows, but that didn't stop Clara from calling out their names again after a moment. There was still no response.

Shutting the door behind her, Clara's eyes fell upon the fireplace. A few lit embers still remained and she raced through the pitch black room to start the fire back up. Moving a few wooden logs with the tips of her ice cold fingers, she was able to somehow keep the embers alight long enough for them to turn to small flames. It wasn't so dark now that the firelight illuminated the dark living room.

Taking a seat on the floor beside the fireplace, Clara rested her back against the wall behind her. Closing her eyes and drowning out the loud wind momentarily as she soaked up a small amount of warmth from the fire.

Suddenly, something brushed against Clara's left leg and her eyes shot open, quickly glancing down to see if she was just imagining the feeling. She assumed she was just imaging it and relaxed. Exhaling a deep breath.

"I used to understand why humans enjoyed the warmth of a fire so much."
An unfamiliar male voice boomed from in front of where Clara was sitting comfortably on the floor. She glanced up quickly and immediately pulled her knees up to her chest protectively. She glanced up at the tall shadowy figure that stood in the darkness before stepping forward, the light of the fire illuminating the man's face and features.

His broad shoulders and long brown hair were the first two things Clara noticed about the man. The reflection of the fire in the white of his eyes made him seem more intimidating than he would normally be at first glance. Covered head to toe in black, the silver buttons on his cloak reflected the light just like his eyes, and so did the gaudy rings on his thick fingers.

Clara stood up, but kept her back pressed against the wall. "Who are you?" She asked with a hint of fear in her voice. The man tilted his head as if listening to Clara's voice was annoying to him.

A moment passed in silence. The man didn't respond or move, but slowly, glowing black and red scars started to form on his face and uncovered skin. Clara did not know how to process the sight before her. Was he ill? Did he need medical attention?

Beginning to shake in her boots, Clara watched as the scars became deeper and more dark on the man's face. His eyes began to change from the warm brown they were to a solid red, almost as if he had eyes of an albino rat.

Letting out a rather quiet scream as the man opened his mouth and revealed two sharp fangs to her, the seemingly small girl couldn't hide her fear. Clara ran to the left, around the dining table and flipped it over. Momentarily giving herself some much needed room away from the man.

The man stalked towards her. Suddenly pulling the table away from the small girl and ripping it in two with his bare hands.

"What are you?!" Clara yelled out. The words leaving her lips as a statement rather than a question, as she bolted for the cottage door. Frantically trying to get outside.

The man grabbed her forearm forcefully with his cold hand. His long nails digging into Clara's arm and wrist. She pulled away from him but the man wasn't letting go.

The burning pain of his nails in her skin sent a signal to Clara's brain that she needed to get away from the man. Immediately.

Using the weight of her body to forcefully knock the door down, Clara and the man fell to the ground. Their bodies separating as they stammered to get to their feet.

The blood from her forearm started to drip down and onto the ground, staining the white snow a bright crimson red as Clara stood up.

The man stood up without a word or sound, the red in his eyes turning darker. He was fuming with anger.

Taking a quick step forward, the determined red-eyed man with fangs lunged in Clara's direction. Her small body successfully dodging his attack at first, but she wasn't expecting a kick to the stomach. The wind knocked from her lungs as she fell backwards and slid, her body hitting a tree trunk with a thud.

Her consciousness slipping away, Clara watched as the man walked to her slowly and then stopped in front of her. She glanced away from him, accepting defeat.

Closing her eyes, Clara smiled at the sudden, sad memory of her father's last words he said to her before he left when she was just a young girl. She never saw him again after that day, but he promised to come back. He never did.

"Clara, I want you to take care of this for me until I see you again. I love you." She remembered her father saying to her, just as he set his small sheathed dagger in the palms of her tiny hands, before he turned and walked away from her.

Clara bathed momentarily in the feeling of love and warmth as the memory of her father washed over her. She always hoped to see him again in the afterlife.

Coming back to reality, Clara's fingers brushed against something at her side and she opened her eyes just enough to see the same dagger her father gave her still belted at her side.

Clara unsheathed the small blade, and just when the man with red eyes bent down to grab her, she found a sliver of light in the darkness. A morsel of energy yet to be used.

Plunging the knife through the unsuspecting man's chest, she drove it as deep as she could. A loud cry of pain erupting from the creatures mouth before he whispered something to Clara. "H-he will find you." He said.

Her heart beating rapidly and her breathing ragged, Clara pushed the lifeless man's body off of her. As she did, she noticed his face starting to crack into a thousand small pieces. No blood spilling from his body as his skin became like stone, and his eyes turned from red to a pure black.

Thanking the gods that it was over, Clara rested her pounding head back against the rough tree behind her. Tears started to cloud her vision and roll down her cheeks.

Clara's eyes were bloodshot and red with tears. She screamed her mother and sister's name as loud as she could. She surely wasn't expecting to hear a small voice call back from the forest.

"Clara!? We are over here!" Her sister's voice rang in her ears.