"What the heck is that?" Trowa asked, eyeing the egg she had bought out of her makeshift tent.
Lee smiled and showed him the egg. "It’s a dragon’s egg." She answered. "A dragon’s egg! Are you crazy?"
"Relax Trowa, Duo said that it’ll only grow to be the size of the sphinx."
"Lee, you don’t understand. Dragons are very vicious."
"What is this I’m hearing about dragons? Wufei asked as he emerged from the forest after salvaging some berries.
"Lee has a dragon’s egg," Trowa said. "Wufei, tell her she has to get rid of it."
"I’m not getting rid of it." Lee said sternly.
"What if the mother comes after it." Wufei said, sounding concerned.
"The mother is dead." Lee assured him. And this poor little thing needs someone to take care of it."
"It’s not going to stay little." Trowa pointed out.
Lee only snorted.
"Just let her keep the egg," Heero sighed, he had heard their conversation. "I doubt Duo would give Lee anything that was potentially dangerous to her."
Lee smiled, glad that someone was on her side. "Anyway," She continued, "I’m sure Quatre knows something about dragons. I’ll ask him when he gets back." She sat down by the fire and set the egg down next her. She had it wrapped in her Earth clothes to keep it warm.
Trowa let out an exasperated sigh. "If that thing eats someone, don’t say I didn’t warn you." He grumbled. Lee did her best to ignore him. But she couldn’t help but smile at the way she would fool them all. She was glad to have something to occupy her time now. She could take care of the baby dragon, instead of worrying about her future. For the time, it was a good way to escape her present situation.
When Quatre came back, she asked him about the proper way to take care of a dragon. He seemed confused at first, but when Lee showed him the egg he finally understood. Unlike Trowa and Wufei though, he was not concerned about it. He understood dragons to be very loyal creatures, and if it imprinted on Lee, it would be harmless to all of them. He had told Lee what to feed it when it hatched, and how to properly care for the egg. Lee was incredibly happy about having a pet. It seemed to Quatre that it was the right thing for her. Maybe that Dark Lord wasn’t so bad after all.
The group continued east towards the Devil’s Lair. They asked for directions along the way; but no one seemed to know or care where the caves were.
It was frustrating for the group, but they kept searching. It would still take them a number of days, and possibly even weeks to reach the Great Pools, and then to find the Devil’s Lair would take even more time.
That night, Duo came to the camp again. This time Wufei was on guard.
Wufei snorted at the Dark Lord as he landed in the camp and looked at Lee, who was staring at the egg, waiting for it to hatch.
"Hey Lee," Duo smiled as he crouched down next to her.
"Hi," Lee said without looking up.
"Where do you want to go tonight?" He asked.
"Out? Again?" Lee wondered.
Duo’s smirk fell from his face. "Well, it’s the only time I get to talk to you."
Wufei snorted again at this. Duo shot him a quick glare before turning back to Lee.
"Come on," He said, taking her arm.
Lee gasped at his firm touch. Although it wasn’t very tight, it seemed to demand a response. She reluctantly got up and started to follow Duo.
"Where are you going with her?" Wufei demanded suddenly, shooting up from where he was seating.
"Taking my future wife out on a date. Do you mind?" Duo snorted. Lee winced when he mentioned her fate of marrying him and becoming a vampire.
"Lee is not allowed to leave this camp." Wufei said.
"Just as stubborn as Heero." He sighed. He used the same trick as he did the night before and put Wufei to sleep.
Lee sighed, seeing that she was not getting out of spending time with the Dark Lord. She once again followed Duo into the woods.
"We’ll stay close to camp this time." Duo promised. Duo and Lee went for a walk through the forest that night, but Lee was distracted, and still nervous around him. Duo hardly seemed to notice. He eagerly showed her all sorts of species of plants and strange animals that she had never seen or heard of before.
Finally, Duo decided they needed a rest, so they sat down on some tree roots for a while. Duo picked a bouquet of flowers for her, and Lee took them and studied them for a moment. They reminded her of the bouquets her father used to bring her when she was on Earth. Funny, but that time seemed so far away. She wondered how her parents were reacting to her disappearance. Was she even gone on Earth at all?
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she started to cry. "Lee," Duo asked, sounding concerned. Lee couldn’t answer him, she just kept crying. She missed her parents on Earth so much! She didn’t care if they were acting like idiots; she loved them!
"Lee, are you OK?"
She nodded slowly and sniffled while wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. Duo didn’t look like he believed her.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
Lee shook her head; "It’s nothing, Duo."
"Yeah right, something’s up."
"It’s just that, my father used to give me flowers…"
"Your father on Earth?"
"Of course, where else would he be?"
"I dunno," Duo sighed, he looked at her once again. She was still trying to hold back tears. The sudden wave of homesickness had not passed yet.
Duo gathered Lee into his arms and pulled her against his chest, trying to give her some comfort. Lee gasped at this, but made no move to pull away.
Duo cradled in his arms for a while, until Lee regained her senses. Lee suddenly straightened and pulled away from him. "We should get back to the camp," She said stiffly.
Duo sighed, "Ok, Come on." He led her back to the camp, and on the way there he never said a word. They arrived back and Lee walked over to her tent and checked on the dragon egg. Then she turned to Duo.
"See ya tomorrow," He asked quietly.
Lee snorted, "With you around, I’m never going to get any sleep."
Duo smirked at this. "Well then, why don’t you come with me?"
"What?"
"You know, I’d feel a lot better if you were with me more often. You could come with me and sleep during the day like I do…"
"Yeah sure, why not?" Lee muttered sarcastically, "I might as well get used to it, right?"
"Exactly," Duo smirked.
"Duo!" Lee cried, exasperated. "I can’t sleep during the day. And how could you possibly protect me like that?"
"You don’t want to be with me?"
"No!" Lee cried angrily, tears springing to her eyes once again.
Duo looked incredibly hurt. "Well then, what do you want?"
Lee couldn’t answer.
"Do you want to die then? Because I could kill you right now."
Lee gasped, she had never even thought of that since the night they left Duo’s castle. She never even thought that Duo could hurt her…
"Lee I…I didn’t mean it like that," Duo said desperately, he could see the sudden fear in her eyes.
"Is that what you’re going to do, Duo?" She asked shakily. "Kill me? Well go ahead Duo! I don’t want to be some…some monster like you!" She stopped screaming and looked deeply into Duo’s eyes. There was no mistaking the hurt and anger there.
"A monster, am I?" Duo growled; he took a step closer to her. Lee was too fear-stricken to move. He was actually going to do it! He was going to kill her, and no one could possible stop him.
Well good, she would rather die than spend the rest of eternity as some demon.
"Listen to me, Lee," Duo said as he continued to come closer to her. Lee still could not move.
"I didn’t ask to be like this…and I’m sorry that you’re going to be like this too. I may hate vampires, but I don’t appreciate being called a monster." His eyes flashed like fire.
Lee tired to scream. Maybe if she screamed loud enough someone would come to her. But that was unlikely. She was completely at the mercy of this vampire.
Duo finally reached her and grabbed her arms. Lee gasped and averted her eyes from his. She couldn’t look into those violet orbs and see all the hurt there.
He leaned his face down and headed for her neck. Lee couldn’t create a single coherent thought; she even forgot to breathe.
Duo stopped near her ear. He kissed her softly just below the lobe. Lee finally remembered to breathe and sucked in air greedily.
"I’m not a monster," He said lowly, Lee still refused to look at him.
"Look at me!" He cried, shaking her a bit. His grasp on her arms tightened, causing Lee to wince a little bit, but she did not dare complain. "Am I a monster to you? Is that the way you look at me?"
Lee turned her head to the side. "Yes," She whispered.
Duo’s eyes widened. "Fine," He snorted; he let go of her. "Fine," He suddenly turned and flew off into the night.
Lee watched him leave and then fell to the ground in exhaustion. She was shaking with fear. She stayed in that spot for a while, trembling and willing her nerves to calm down. Finally, she managed to crawl into her tent and curl up under the covers.
Once there, she started to weep once again. She was unable to sleep until nearly dawn that morning.
To Lee, it felt like she had only been sleeping for ten minutes before someone roughly shook her awake.
"Miss Lee," it was Quatre, "Lee, wake up. We have to get moving soon."
"Huh?" Lee mumbled. She slowly pushed herself up and focused her eyes on the blonde boy. "Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?" She complained.
Quatre smiled, "It looked like you needed the sleep. If you want Lee, you can ride with me for today and get some rest. You really look like you need it. Have you been sleeping enough lately?"
Lee shook her head ‘no’. "Duo comes to see me at night."
"Oh," Quatre didn’t push any further. He helped Lee up and got her some breakfast. Lee ate greedily, and too a moment to glance at the dragon’s egg.
Now, she didn’t know anything about dragons, but would say that it was almost ready to hatch. She smiled at the thought of having a pet baby dragon, but then she remembered who gave it to her. Her eyes narrowed when she thought of Duo. He was the reason for her misery! If only he had killed her! Then she wouldn’t have to suffer through all this confusion and fear.
She ate her breakfast quickly. The guys were already getting ready to leave.
Lee packed up her things and put the egg into her bag, creating a nest for it with her clothes.
"There’s a settlement not far from here." Heero said as they started to ride off. "We should be there by nightfall so we can rest."
The others groaned thankfully. No one enjoyed sleeping on the cold, hard ground.
"Are you sure you don’t want to ride with me so you can get some rest?" Quatre asked; his voice riddled with concern.
"No Quatre, I’m fine." Lee said as she forced a small smile. Quatre didn’t believe her. "Something’s wrong Lee, what’s up?"
"It’s nothing, really Quatre, but thank you for your concern."
Quatre only stared at her for a moment. “If you say so…"
The rest of the ride was uneventful. Lee was quiet all the way to the tiny settlement, and no one bothered to question where they were going. They still didn’t have a clue.
Just as Heero said, they arrived at the tiny village just before nightfall. They instantly went looking for a place to stay.
The settlement was small; it had about fifty buildings, and probably only a hundred people.
The group rode in on their stags, and the people stared at them as they entered. Curious children playing in the streets dared each other to get closer to the group and to the bug animals they were riding on.
Lee smiled at one small boy who was brave enough to get close to her.
He had dark, black-green hair, just like she did, and the same black eyes. The guys were looking for a place to stay, so she decided that it couldn’t hurt to stop and talk with the small boy.
She slipped off the stag and knelt next to the boy. He couldn’t have been any older than six.
"Hi, what’s you name?" Lee asked softly.
"Pretz," The boy answered shyly. "Is that your stag?" He asked.
Lee nodded. "Yes, would you like to see him?"
Pretz nodded eagerly. Lee smiled and led the stag’s nose down so Pretz could pet him. Soon, other children had gathered to seen the animal.
"Mamma says that only magic people ride stags." Said Pretz.
"Is that so?" Lee cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Are you a magic person?"
Lee shook her head, "I’m not, but my friends are."
"Really!" Pretz gasped. "Can they throw fireballs and stuff?"
Lee chuckled, "I don’t know, but I don’t think the people around here would appreciate it if their houses got blown up by a big fireball, do you?”
"I guess not…" Pretz sighed.
"Hey Pretz?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know if there’s a place around here where some tired travelers can spend the night?"
Pretz smiled, "Yeah! There isn’t a hotel here, but you can stay with my mamma. My mamma always has people staying over!"
"Really? Can you take me to her?"
Pretz nodded enthusiastically. "Come on!" He grabbed Lee’s hand, and in turn, Lee grabbed the stag’s reigns and led it with them. "Hey guys!" Lee called as she passed the guys. "I think I might have found a place to stay! Come on!"
The guys looked at each other curiously, but then decided to follow Lee.
"Lee, are you sure it’s wise to get directions from a little kid?" Trowa asked uncertainly.
Lee only shrugged, "He seems to know where he’s going."
Trowa sighed but said nothing more. Heero and Quatre were silent, while Wufei grumbled about the injustice of being led around by a small child and a woman.
Pretz took them to a small, two-story house near the edge of the settlement and took them inside.
Right inside, there was a small kitchen, with a pot of something hanging over the hearth. Behind the kitchen were a living area and a short staircase, with about four steps, going down into another area. There was also a larger staircase heading up to the second floor.
"Mamma!" Pretz called. "There are some people here who want to talk to you!" He ran down the short staircase and soon emerged with a tall, sturdy woman that could only be his mother.
The woman also had green-black hair that was long and tied back in a big kerchief. She wore a simple dress and she was wiping her hands on her apron as she came up the stairs.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked, she smiled warmly.
"Your son told us that you could give us a place to stay for the night." Heero said, assuming the role of speaker for the group.
The woman smiled at them. "For the five of you, and the animals? I think I can manage that." The woman stepped forward and held out her hand. "My name is Leonie."
Heero shook hands with the woman, as did Quatre. Trowa and Wufei didn’t bother, and Lee was too busy paying attention to Pretz, who was showing her some sort of magic trick.
Leonie looked over at Lee and then stopped suddenly.
"Pretz? Who is your friend?" The woman approached the two and knelt down next to them.
"OH! I’m sorry, my name is Lee."
"Lee?" The woman gasped.
"Yes, it’s short for Liana." Lee said, surprised by the woman’s questioning glance.
The woman looked shocked for a moment, and then shook her head. "It’s nice to meet you." The woman smiled. "I’ll show you guys to where you can stay."
"Thank you," Lee said, standing up with the woman.
"I hope you guys are hungry." Leonie smiled as the group followed her up to the second level. "I’m just in the middle of making dinner."
"Are you sure you have enough for all off us?" Lee questioned.
Leonie laughed, "Honey, I always make enough for guests."
"Well, do you need some help?"
"No, no! Please, you all need to get some rest. Here," She showed them to the second floor, which as divided in half. "This is the room I use for guests. But there’s only room enough for four. I guess you can stay in my daughter’s room, Lee."
"Will she mind?"
"Oh no! She’s away for the time. She’s gone off to school somewhere near the capital." Leonie chuckled again. "She was so happy to be going!"
"Oh," Lee smiled. "Well thanks again for letting us stay."
"No problem, I always enjoy having people in my home."
Leonie left them on the top floor to get settled as she went back downstairs to finish dinner. Leonie encountered her son on the way down.
"Mamma, those guys have stags!" He announced.
"I know, how would you like to put them in the stables for me, hmm?"
"OK! Hey mamma?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think they’re magic people?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Cool!" Pretz cried as he ran out of the house to put the stags in the stables near the back of the house.
Leonie chuckled and then checked on the food before going back downstairs to where she was chopping vegetables.
"Do you think it’s a good idea for Lee to stay in a different room than us?" Heero asked as he watched Leonie leave.
"Of course it is," Lee snorted. "Why wouldn’t it be?"
"Well, what if that vampire comes back?" Trowa said.
"He’d come anyway, and so far none of you guys have been able to stop him."
"But still…"
"It doesn’t matter anyway, he isn’t coming tonight." Lee sighed; she leaned up against the wall and stared at the floor.
"What do you mean? You said that he always came for you."
"He’s mad at me," Lee answered. "I don’t think he’ll come tonight."
"Stupid woman!" Wufei growled. "You got the Dark Lord angry?"
All the others glared at Wufei.
"He’s not going to do anything drastic," Lee said quietly, "Trust me, he can’t hurt me; even if I wanted him to."
"Huh?" Quatre looked up as he heard her comment.
"Besides, I think I need some time alone so I can sleep. I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately, and Wufei snores." With that she ducked into the room before Wufei could come up with a comeback.
"Woman! I do not snore!"
"Actually Wufei, you do," Quatre pointed out. "Isn’t there some magic trick you can do to fix that?"
"ARGH!"
There was a knock at Lee’s door. Lee groaned and stared murderously at the door, willing whoever was on the other side to go away. She had been having such a nice nap.
"Lee dear," It was Leonie, "Dinner is ready if you want to eat."
"Oh!" Lee jumped out of bed, straightened her hair quickly and opened the door. Leonie stood there with an amused expression on her face.
"Good God girl, you sleep like the dead."
Lee smiled nervously and followed Leonie down the stairs.
"How long was I asleep?" Lee wondered.
"About an hour." Leonie answered. "Not getting enough sleep, have you?"
Lee shook her head at the woman. "No, I don’t think traveling sits well with me."
"Well, you should be able to get some rest tonight, dear."
"Yeah, maybe." Lee answered. But if Duo came, even though she didn’t think he would, she wouldn’t sleep all night.
The boys were already downstairs when Lee came down with Leonie. Pretz was trying to entertain Heero with a silly trick, without much success, and Quatre was talking quietly to Trowa. Wufei was listening to them, but he was trying not to make it obvious.
"It’s been a while since we’ve had guests in this place." Leonie announced. "I hope I haven’t forgotten how to be hospitable."
"You’ve been very kind, Leonie," Quatre assured her. "I hope we aren’t too much trouble. We’ll be leaving in the morning." Leonie nodded as she sat down at the table, and everyone else took their seats as well.
Leonie, Quatre and Pretz talked the most during dinner. Lee would have joined in the conversation, but she didn’t feel like it at the moment.
After dinner, Lee helped Leonie clean up while Heero and Wufei went to look around the town and Quatre got stuck talking with Pretz. Trowa went out to check on their animals.
"Is there something bothering you, dear?" Leonie asked as she and Lee cleared the table.
"No," Lee sighed, "Why?"
Leonie shot her a disbelieving look. "Don’t lie to me, girl. I can always tell."
Lee tried to smile at this, but it was true that there was more than one thing bothering her. "I really shouldn’t bother you with my problems." Lee said.
"Nonsense, if it’ll help, then get it off your chest. Come on, we’re both women here, we’re allowed to gossip."
Lee smiled despite herself. Leonie was very comfortable to be around. It felt as if Lee had known her personally for years. And Leonie had a very motherly way about here. Not like her own mother back on Earth. Her mother was cold, detached, and very caught up in her work.
"It’s a man, isn’t it? Did some poor boy break your heart?"
"Something like that, only I think I broke his."
"And do you feel guilty for it?"
"Not really,"
Leonie laughed. "Well then why so down?"
"It’s complicated," Lee sighed. "I don’t think you would understand."
"Try me," Leonie chuckled, "I have a daughter you know, and she’s been through some strange stuff." There was hint of sadness in Leonie’s voice and she drifted off into space for a moment. Lee tried not to notice.
"I’ll try to make it understandable then." She said. "I’m being forced to marry this guy…but I’m sort of afraid of him…"
"Does he try to force himself on you?"
"No!" Lee chuckled. "He’d never hurt me, ever. It’s almost impossible for him, but he hurts other people."
"How do you mean?"
"Murder,"
Leonie held in a gasp. "He’s a murderer?"
"Kinda,"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I told you it was complicated."
"So go on then…"
"But he’s really nice to me, but I can’t trust him. I don’t know what to do…" Lee leaned on the table and sighed deeply.
"Just follow your heart, darling." Leonie smiled. "The heart never lies."
Lee snorted at this. "How exactly do you do that?"
Leonie chuckled, "Just listen to your feelings, your intuition."
"I don’t have any intuition."
"Nonsense, everyone on this planet has some magic or intuition."
"Too bad I’m not from this planet, hun?"
"What?" Leonie gasped.
"I’m from Earth."
"B-but then how did you get here?"
Lee shrugged, "A wizard transported me here."
"Why?"
"A mistake, although my friends don’t believe so."
"Oh? What do they believe?"
"That I’m going to save them all." She laughed. "It’s ridiculous, I can’t even help myself."
"Don’t be silly. You seem like a very strong young woman to me."
Lee laughed bitterly. "How can you tell?"
"My own intuition. The way you talk, it shows your inner strength."
"Yeah?" Lee smiled, "You know, you’re very easy to talk to. It’s like I’ve known you forever."
Leonie smiled. "I’m glad you feel that way, Lee. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, now that my daughters are gone."
"Daughters?"
"Yes, I had two."
"Had? What do you mean? What happened to the other one?"
"Gone," Leonie whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I had to take her away, she was in so much danger."
"Danger of what?"
"T-the Dark Lord, the vampires were after her. I haven’t seen her since she was only a few months old."
"Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! That must be so terrible!"
Leonie nodded stiffly. "But you, I would like to think that she turned out like you."
"Hun?"
Leonie smiled weakly, "My daughter, I took her to Earth, the vampires would not dare follow her there."
"Why were the vampires after her?"
"They thought…they thought she was the deity sent to destroy them."
Lee gasped, "But-but that’s impossible. The Dark Lord, he-he can’t harm the deity. He just can’t."
"Why not?"
"Because he has to awaken her…"
"How could you possibly know all this, if you are from Earth?" There was a hint a satisfaction in her voice and a small smile crept onto her lips.
"Because, I am the deity, or so they say. The one I’m being forced to marry, he is the Dark Lord."
Leonie nodded, as if she had known all this.
"But then…do you mean to tell me…" She stared at Leonie for a long time. "No! What about my parents on Earth? Could they have adopted me…?"
Leonie nodded. "I knew it was you from the moment I saw you."
"That’s impossible!" Lee gasped for air. "That would mean that you’re my…"
"Yes, Lee, I’m your mother…" She stared out the window for a moment, that tiny smile still playing on her lips.
"How…can that be?"
"How can what be?" Trowa asked as he stepped into the house.
"It’s nothing, Trowa. Perhaps Lee will tell you later."
"Hm?" Trowa raised his eyebrows and looked at Lee. "Well, I’m going to bed now. Lee, you should get some rest too."
Lee nodded. "OK Trowa," She looked up at Leonie and gave her a tentative smile.
"Goodnight…" Lee didn’t address Leonie directly because she was unsure of what to call her. Should she call her Leonie, or mother? Was it even possible that Leonie was her mother? Leonie and her family did look like her but…she had never been to Mythrill before now. She couldn’t accept that. She had parents, a home, and a family on Earth. But thinking of it, it was possible.
She thought of her mothers long, flowing blonde hair, and her father’s sandy brown hair. They both had bright blue eyes, and slightly taller frames than Lee could ever hope to have. They both looked like they should be models, while Lee could only be a cute but average girl. She seemed to fit in a lot better with Leonie and her family, so why did she have such a hard time accepting it.
Because she wasn’t from Mythrill, that’s why! She had to be from Earth…it was all so confusing. Lee shook her head clear of the thoughts and forced herself up the stairs and to the bed.
She pulled out her nightclothes from her bag, and wrapped the dragon’s egg up in her old clothes and cape. She was glad to finally be able to change clothes to sleep. When she was wandering through the woods with all those guys, changing or bathing had been impossible.
That was something else she wanted to do: take a bath! But she decided to take one in the morning; she was too tired at the moment.
She crawled under the covers and breathed in their warmth. She was asleep in seconds.
Duo landed outside of the small house, under the cover of darkness. There had been very few people in the village to see him, but it still helped to be careful. He peered in the window and watched as Lee crawled under the covers and fell asleep.
Although he was still slightly angry with her, there was nothing that could prevent him from watching over her. He silently opened the window and let himself inside.
She was sleeping contentedly, and it seemed to Duo that she was like an angel. He already knew of her conversation with the woman who owned this home, Leonie.
It didn’t surprise him at all that Lee would be from Mythrill, and not from Earth like she insisted. He had sensed that from the start.
He glanced over at the dragon’s egg, which was wrapped up to keep it warm. He was flattered that she liked it so much. She would love it even more after it hatched. He smirked to himself and crept closer to the bed. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept.
He suddenly felt the presence of someone else. He turned and came face to face with Leonie, the woman who claimed to be Lee’s real mother.
"W-who are you?" Leonie asked urgently.
Duo smiled at the woman and looked back at Lee for only a second. He then turned and approached Leonie.
"My name is Duo Maxwell. You must be Leonie, Lee’s mother."
"Yes, I am." Leonie claimed. "Are you…the Dark Lord?"
"That’s what some people like to call me." He grinned, exposing his sharp white teeth.
Leonie gasped and drew back a bit, but she did not run and she did not scream, like most people would have.
"You’re going to marry her…"
"Yes,"
Leonie nodded. "She was telling me about you. Is she really the deity?"
"Yes,"
"Then why are you helping her? I thought the deity was supposed to destroy the dark dragon."
Duo chuckled, "I wasn’t always a vampire, you know. I have my reasons for not wanting eternal night. Even the Dark Lord needs to rest."
"But…you were chasing me, the day I sent her to Earth…weren’t you."
"No, that was Dorothy, I have no interest in things like that."
"Dorothy?"
"My advisor."
Lee stirred on her bed and Duo glanced at her.
"I’m impressed," He said as he turned to Leonie once more. "Most people would have ran, screaming for a slayer by now."
"I don’t believe you will hurt me." Leonie said confidently.
"And why is that?"
"Because I am Lee’s mother, and she is sleeping right there. And because you did not come here to feed."
"That’s true," Duo replied, "But don’t go feeling too safe just yet."
Leonie didn’t waver. Duo walked back over to the side of Lee’s bed and stared at her for a moment. "Keep her safe," He whispered to Leonie, and then he dashed out the window and disappeared into the night.
Leonie stood there for a moment, stunned and frightened by her first encounter with a vampire since that day she had sent Lee to Earth.
Shaking, Leonie turned and went to her room downstairs. She hoped she would still be able to sleep.
