Guess Who's Coming Home For Dinner

She was faraway again. How long had it been since she last saw them? Their cute, child faces. They would be adults now; fully grown. Maybe adopted? Maybe not..they were certainly involved in the church. She remembered some of the younger boys playing with sticks, claiming they'd become knights of the Round Table one day. The woman smiled faintly; they also promised they would protect her wherever she went. As soon as they were old enough to hold a sword of course. The smile faded into a frown; it didn't matter now. They were mere orphan boys then; they couldn't hope to compete with the knights who branded her and threw her out. Worse, she was a monster now; a thief of the night. Ro didn't tell Juliet that she still completed the rosary every night; nonetheless, she suspected Julie knew. It was the only atonement she could think of besides giving her kills a proper burial. Why did she cling to an establishment that hated her kind? Romei didn't know; maybe it was a creature of habit consequence. Or maybe she hoped Zen had a space in heaven for demons like her.

Still, she hoped Juliet hadn't caught wind of Ro visiting her old stomping grounds. It hit her then when she saw how much time had passed; most of the children's faces unfamiliar, some of the nuns and monks tending to them the very children she grew up with. Nor did she want Jul to know she was almost caught; the woman knew how much her lover hated Zentopia.

As if summoned, Juliet appeared over the hedge, a drop of blood at the corner of her lip. It was the only sign of what she had been doing. She plopped down next to Romei with a happy sigh.

"That good I see," Ro commented coolly.

"Oh he was delicious!! Bad temper when he realized he was duped instead of the one duping, but he tasted sweeter than cake," Juliet grinned back. They had spent the last couple of weeks in western Fiore, and she had to admit she loved it. The people out here were plumper with sweeter blood. She credited the clean air and beautiful scenery for that.

Nonetheless, it would be time to move soon. Apparently Zen's cronies wanted to finish what they started. She personally welcomed the challenge, as it meant thinning their numbers, but Julie could see the effect it had on Romei, so they ran. The vampire wrapped her arms around before placing a large smooch on Ro's forehead.

"Stop brooding, it makes you look mean...well, cute-mean, but you'd be even cuter with a smile," she teased lightly.

"I'll try." Ro leaned her head against Juliet, the two sitting in silence.

For a short while anyway. Julie stood pulling Romei up with her. "Enough moping. We're going to see the sea today!!" With that, she half-led, half-pulled Romei off the hedge.

"Waitttt," Ro protested as Juliet jumped from the hedge, skillfully switching Ro to a bridal hold as she landed in the meadows below. With that, she took off for the coast, a blur of motion as she picked up speed.

"Nope! We will see that smile again!"

Her speed was indeed impressive as she zoomed through the open meadow, impressive enough that it caught the attention of a silver haired woman who was lying in a tree not too far away from their location as her nose picked up on something very nostalgic.

"Hm? What's this?" She stood up from her comfortable seat and continued to sniff, eyes opening with interest as her mind identified what that smell was. She'd never mitsake the smell of her own kind.

"I wonder who they are or rather, what they're doing out here"

As for herself, Evangeline had just finished a rather tedious task given to her by her boss and on her way home, she had decided to take a quick nap as the journey had been quite daunting. This wasn't even mentioning how badly she missed her husband who was also assigned a mission. Evangeline made a note to demand Tetsuya send them on one together next time.

Evangeline pouted. "Lindsey and Sa'luk are always going on missions together, why can't me and Dy do the same? I bet the boss is doing it on purpose..."

Sighing to herself, she decided to leave that matter for later as she jumped from the tree she was sitting on and looked towards the direction that blur had sped off too.

"This should quench my boredom. I'm curious to know if they're as old as me, wouldn't that be a treat?" She chuckled before she disappeared from her location, vanishing wihtout a trace as her body had been transported through the use of her magic. It only took a few seconds before she reappeared a few meters ahead of the duo as she raised her hand and genuinely smiled towards her vampire brethern.

"Yo. How's it going?"

Juliet blew by her, before realizing she had passed someone. She put on the brakes, coming to a roaring stop a few kilometers past the figure. A familiar scent then wafted across her nose, prompting her to backtrack. She stopped just short of the woman.

"...Well, that didn't go as planned" Evangeline sweat dropped as she stood there dumbly when the woman blew right past her turning around before she noticed them coming back. She usually would have been mad at being ignored but in this case, she felt far more amused than angry, most likely due to the fact that the receipents were of her own kind.

"Hello!! I didn't you see there!" Julie said in greeting before grinning widely.

She then recalled hearing something. "I'm good!! We were just on our way to the coast! You?" Despite her cheeriness, curiosity was present too, wondering what one of her own kind was doing out here. While there were vampires everywhere, they were usually scattered and elusive.

"Greetings" Evangeline waived her hand, a smile forming at her face at the friendliness apparent on her brethern's face. "Sorry for dropping in on you like this, I caught whiff of a familiar scent and was curious so I came to check you guys out"

Her eyes drifted down to the woman still being carried by her partner and raised her eyebrow.

"Is your friend alright? She looks a bit... tapped out" Being carried at that speed couldn't have been a fun experience.

Indeed, Romei had seen better days. Her face was green, the vamp grateful that her stomach was empty. "Arrrghhh." she managed as Juliet set her down.

"Whoops! Sometimes I go too fast for even myself," Juliet admitted, setting Ro upright. She laughed a bit. "Curious? Oh right! It's a rare find, another vampire. What are you doing out here?" she tilted her head slightly, ruby eyes brimming with warmth.

"It's nice to meet you..." Ro added, her face starting to recover a bit of its color, even if her expression was still lackluster, "that's it, we're walking from now on."

"It's a pleasure" She nodded towards the one blue haired one before walking around the duo, examining them from top to bottom.

"I can't go into details but let's just say I was finishing an assignment given to me. I was on my way home before I spotted the two of you. It's not often you meet those of your own kind around these parts" She stopped after she had gotten a good luck before smiling once more.

"My name is Evangeline S. Heartsong. What are your names?" There wasn't a vampire alive who hadn't at least heard of her rather infamous name. If these two hadn't, then that just meant that they were humans who had been turned into vampires or they were simply far too young if they didn't know the name of one of the most powerful vampires to have ever existed. She was intriguied to know which group they belonged too.

Well, it was a little more complicated than that. Juliet grinned as soon as she heard the name. "You're her???!! But you're sooo young!" she exclaimed, "my name's Juliet! I'm not from around here though. My homeland's way across the sea." She points due west.

"Why thank you. It's very nice to meet you, Juliet" Evangeline giggled at the compliment, already forming a very positive opinion of the blonde as her eyes followed the woman's finger. "Is that so? You must have had quite a journey to reach these parts"

Ro rubs her head, now able to function. She couldn't help but bristle a bit as Evangeline walked around them. It was weird being examined. Though Ro admitted she was doing the same thing, studying the silver-haired vampire from head to toe. Juliet was right about one thing; from a biological standpoint, she could barely be called an adult. Not that such considerations mattered; a vampire could look like a child and be hundreds of years old.

"My name's Romei. I can't say I've heard that name whispered in the crevices or anything," she admitted. She was only a newborn after all; maybe a decade under her belt? It was difficult to remember when she didn't have a reason to anymore.

"Romei? Hmm, that name escapes me. I've never heard of either of you actually and since you both don't seem to recognize me, you must be quite young" Evangelined sighed a bit, her hope of finding those from her generation shattered. It was a pipe dream but she still had hope that someday she'd meet those from her time.

Regardless, she had no right to complain as these two while young, were still vampires and that alone was enough to brighten Eva's mood as she smiled.

"Where were you two headed in such a rush?" That was the million dollar question.

"Young?" Juliet squeaked, almost indignant. She soon was smiling again, however. "I'm over 200 years old. Maybe older, but the years blend together after a while. You've never heard of me cause all of my exploits were in the west continent....and well, the place they happened in doesn't exist anymore." Something about her smile turned dangerous, before resettling into a cheery guise.

"Forgive my presumption, certainly a vampire your age shouldn't be considered young" Evangeline inclined her head to show a bit more respect towards Juliet who she didn't peg for being that age. 200 years wasn't old by any stretch but she was certainly old enough not to be referred to as "young" and Evangeline would remember that. And above all else, that "smile" certainly didn't belong to a child as Evangeline smirked herself; she had found quite an interesting fellow.

Romei sighed. "Unlike her, I don't have that excuse...I'm a newborn as far as vampires goes. I am a Fiorian though...born and raised her-"

She was interrupted by Juliet. "We're going to see the sea!! To brighten up her day since she's acting mopey." The woman poked Ro affectionately. "Do you want to come Eva?"

"The sea?" Evangeline blinked, a bit confused on what that had to do with cheering someone up. Nonetheless, she shook her head and made an apologetic face.

"Sorry, while that certainly sounds... fun, I'm afraid I've got to return home and report in my mission. It's an annoying task but orders are orders so I'm afraid I can't join you. However..." An excited glint appeared in Evangeline's eyes as she wrapped her arms around Juliet's shoulder.

"If you're looking for some fun, why don't you both come with me back to my guild? You won't find a more a more exciting place than Dawn Horizon" She laughed as she extended her invitation while embracing the two girls side by side "I'm sure it'd be better than going to the sea or whatever it was you wanted to go to"

"It's all right, I looked different for a while there, but then decided to change it up recently. The consequence was going from beauty to cutie," Jul grinned.

Juliet then saw Eva's confusion. "Ro loves looking at it..it fills her with tranquility," she commented, nodding sagely. Her excitement built at the suggestion. "Really??!! That would be great!"

Romei, however, didn't quite share her partner's enthusiasm. "Are you sure about that? It seems like your guild is pretty closed off to visitors," she noted. The last thing she wanted was to step on people's toes. Though, if they had a vampire in their ranks, they couldn't be all bad right? Then again, what had Mother May told her? "Never assume."

Nonetheless, she could see Juliet's joy; maybe she was hoping to see more vampires. She finally nodded her assent. "We'll go."

"It's settled then!"

"Great! And don't worry, you'll be accepted just fine. My friends aren't the kind of people to judge others" Evangeline proudly proclaimed as she let go of the duo and walked forward, stopping briefly as she remembered something and frowned a bit.

"Even better! I hope that means you all sorts of people there!" Julie concurred. As Ro suspected, she was intent on seeing more vampires. Or at least, non-humans; they were all the same to her these days: food.

"Although, there's one person who probably won't be happy about you two coming to visit. In fact, she'll definitely hate it as she's what we call... an extremist" Evangeline scratched her head, already imagining the vampire hating assassin's reaciton towards seeing even more of her kind.

Romei paused, as the "but" she was expecting came to fruition. "An extremist? Are you sure about this then? I'd rather not ruffle feathers unnecessarily," she commented, following Eva as she led them along.

"Oh please, she'll probably just say names we've already heard then storm off, just like anyone else," the blonde vampire responded, her tone dismissive.

"Julie."

"What?"

"You don't know why she ended up that way. At the very least, wait until we get there before you start flinging assumptions." Ro's tone was unamused and just a bit icy, knowing just how dangerous assumptions could be.

"Fineeeee." Juliet bounced forward, until she was in step with Eva and Romei. "If she does anything stupid though, I can't make any promises."

Evangeline brushed aside their concerns, or rather Juliet's concern with a wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about it. As long as you don't bother her, she won't bother you as I've come to learn about her. Besides, the boss will make sure nothing happens. He's one of the very few humans who I have complete trust in, besides my husband of course" Evangeline boasted before she began to lead the way and jerked over her shoulder at the two behind her.

"Now come on, we should make it there before sun down if we take a short cut. On the way, I'll fill you guys in on the guild and what to expect. Oh, and of course I'll tell you some juicy stories about my past. I've got stories that'll send shivers down your spines" She alluded with a wide grin.

Now it was Juliet's turn to be surprised. "YOU MARRIED A HUMAN???" her outdoor voice echoed across the land, causing birds to scatter as she continued to follow Eva's lead. Shook she was as she remembered the other part of Eva's statement; her guildmaster was human too. For her, it was difficult to compute; sure Romei was human at one point. But that was what? Thirty years ago?

The woman conveniently forgot that she fell in love with Ro when was just a nun going about her business. "How does that arrangement work? Is he cute? Does that mean you do kinky blood stuff in bed?" Juliet asked, more questions bubbling. While she had heard Eva's comment about other scintillating stories, her attention was drawn to this valuable nugget of information.

Ro was just as curious, though she cuffed Julie on the head for the last question. "Don't ask about things like that! I'm sorry Evangeline, just pretend you didn't hear that question please."

"Haha, it's fine! Really, you don't have to worry about crossing boundaries with me" She waived them off before blushing a bit as she smiled sheepishly "...Though, I can't deny that it's a bit embarassing. Yeah, me and Dy are married, crazy right? I never thought I'd find my partner in the form of a human but I fell madly in love with the man. He's wonderful, I couldn't ask for a more reliable partner" She spoke fondly with a warm expression.

"Oooww!! I was just wondering!" Julie complained, before smiling. "So he's a special then...kobe beef or flame mignon?" She received another cuff for that, complaining once more.

When she heard Juliet's inquiry regarding his physical features, she scoffed. "Cute? Girl, he's gorgeous. In fact, I've noticed alot of my guild mates are. Especially our guild master, he's even prettier than a lot of woman. I suppose it must be fate that leads attractive people to Dawn Horizon" She glanced at the two of them and nodded. "You two would also follow that tradition" she teased.

Her face flushed red when asked about the bed matters. "That's a bit... ahem, well personal but I can promise you that our sexual life is never boring. The only thing that's a bit of a disappointment is the fact that my husband's blood while delicious, is quite lacking when compared to the blood of my guild master. Ooh..." Her body quivered as she remembered the taste "Hnng, I can't get enough of it. So thick and flavorful...." She was lost in her delusions for a moment before snapping out of it to clear her throat and wash away her embarrassment.

"A-Anyway, you'll learn more about it once we get there"

"Gorgeous huh.....definitely flame mignon. A guild of beautiful people? Are you sure you're not a modeling agency?" Juliet teased back before flipping her hair, "You think I'm pretty now? You should have seen me in the old days. People were tripping over themselves."

Her expression became smug, while Ro groaned. "See!?! They do kinky blood stuff! And who?? Are you cheating on your hubby just for blood? Tsk tsk tsk."

"Of course not!" Evangeline denied the claim immediately with a fierce blush. "His blood is to die for and he's very dear to me but my heart belongs to Dy and Dy alone"

Ro noticed Eva drift away for a second, seemingly lost in fond memories of the blood-drinking. It wasn't a good sign as far as she was concerned; nor was the idea of going into a nest of humans appealing. Her throat burned with thirst just thinking about it.

"I suppose we will. What do you like to do in your free time?" Ro asked finally, somewhat eager to change topics. She continued striding forward.

"Uhh..." Evangeline scratched the back of her head, a bit perplexed on how to answer that question. She was a former queen and a vampire of otherwordly power but if she were being honest, hobbies weren't exactly something she could boast about. Outside of the ocassional mission, she was either lazing around at home with her friends or spending time with her husband. She had plenty of free time but nothing to spend it on.

She sighed. "Not much really. It's a bit embarassing but I don't have much going on that doesn't include the guild or my husband. Forget me, what do you guys like to do when your free? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from the both of you" She looked at Juliet. "You especially would appear to have a lot to do in your free time"

"Hobbies? Don't ask Romei that, she'll give you a boring answer like swordplay or something. Or reading...or..the rosary," Julie responded, ducking a playful swat, "though...her swordplay is kind of cool.."

Romei sighed internally. So Juliet did know; so much for secrecy. "Ahem! The sword practice is true, but I also write about what I see and feel. Just to catalog what's happening," she said.

Julie smirked. "I just drift. Have a snack here or there. Crash a party when I feel like it; run on water sometimes just to shock the locals. Makes them think I'm a god or something," she added, "otherwise, I just go with the flow, see where the winds take me. Oh, and spoiling this lady." Jul places a big kiss on Ro's cheek, causing the latter to blush a bit.

Evangeline grinned. "Oho? You two seem rather close. I'm going to assume that blush on your face wasn't just from embarassment" She laughed as she already guessed what kind of relationship these two had. She hadn't known them long this familiarity was something Evangeline believed only occurred due all of them being vampires.

Ro's blush deepened. "W-we a-are," she stammered a bit, causing Julie to smirk a bit.

The trip to Dawn Horizon was a lengthy but fun journey as the three exchanged stories, jokes, and even naughty tales during their trip. The sun was just over the Horizon when the trio made their way through the vast forest that covered the secret location of the base and eventually, led to them standing just outside the outskirts of the entrance that was coated in Illusion Magic.

"Here we are" Evangeline exclaimed happily that she had finally made it back home. She took a step forward as a distortion occurred in front of her, indicating that she was entering a new space as she turned back at Juliet and Romei with an amused expression.

"Welcome to our home. We have to be a little secretive from outsiders but I trust the two of you so just follow me and I'll lead you inside"

Juliet sniffed. "Well well, someone's been practicing; the magic scent's pretty much covered," she said before raising an eyebrow, "secretive? What, you all on someone's hit-list? I'll like you even more if you say yes." Her grin widened in anticipation.

Ro followed Eva, ready to step through. Her stomach sank at the secrecy part; what were they hiding from? Or better yet, who were they hiding from?

Rene dropped her sword, nearly cleaved in half as Violet's blade stopped a hairsbreadth from her. The assassin's expression was faraway, distracted even, only to deepen into something akin to disgust.

Violet's blade immediately stopped when the Miyamoto noticed the abrupt change in the assassin's eye's as she slowly withdrew it and tilted her head in confusion.

"Rene? What's the matter?"

"Something rotten is coming."

Aethon stopped mid-chew, having dug into one of Mr. Piggy's sandwiches. As much of an asswipe as he could be, she had to admit the man could cook; even if saying this killed her softly on the inside.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"That's what I'd like to know. What do you mean by something rotten? Does someone smell?" Violet sniffed herself in confusion, trying to find the source of the stench. They were sweating a bit after another sparring session but it wasn't anywhere bad enough to call it "rotten" as Violet was convinced she wasn't the problem and drifted her eyes over to Aethon.

"Did you shower today?" She knew it was a ridiculous question as the bird was rather dutiful towards cleaning herself but she had to ask just in case.