A few months later...

The big city turned out even better than they all expected. There were a lot of opportunities for rich vampires to thrive, and Helen and Seymour were among the richest, as well as the oldest vampires. Thus, it was relatively easy for the four of them to find a place to live.

To Helen's horror, a decision was made, that all four of them would live in the same house for the sake of convenience, and in case they were found by the council since it would be easier for them to defend themselves. They didn't expect that to happen, but after everything they had been through, they had to be cautious.

Helen was surprised how easy it was for them to get the big mansion in the city, close enough to be protected by the scent of humans, but far enough not to be overcrowded.

They pretended to be foreign movie stars, and to their utter surprise, it worked. What was more, they could hide their activities behind the huge wall that surrounded their estate. It was the most perfect place for a couple of vampires.

Still, Helen didn't like the new arrangement. It had too many disadvantages, as far as she was concerned.

The biggest one of them being the fact that she had to live with Seymour. Their relationship had become a bit warmer, and he was nothing but nice. Yet, Helen didn't fully trust him.

After how he had hurt her in the past, she couldn't allow herself to be too trustworthy. That cost her too much in the past, she had to be cautious this time around. Cecilia and Tobias seemed to automatically believe Seymour because he had saved their lives, but Helen wasn't so sure.

Could a vampire change so drastically in a few hundred years that she hadn't seen him? What was he doing with Anja's clan? Most importantly why did he help them?

Having in mind that Cecilia and Tobias had the trusting souls of healers, Helen felt it was her duty to protect them from all the bad things in the world, even if those bad things included Seymour. She felt that they were not yet ready to feel how special and rare they truly were, but she was there to protect them while they learned more about themselves.

It came as a shock to her to realize that she was ready to murder another man that she had loved, that she might have some residual feelings for even now if it meant protecting her family.

After everything that had happened, Helen realized that although they might not always agree with each other, they are still a true family. The type of family which was ready to do everything for each other. However, Seymour wasn't a part of that family yet, Helen wasn't sure he ever would be.

Still, he stayed, and he was given the same respect and consideration as everyone else. Though that was true, he wasn't as fully accepted as Helen, Tobias and Cecilia accepted each other, and that was apparent in small things and gestures that he seemed determined to ignore.

As for Helen, she carefully followed Seymour's actions and behavior for any signs of impending betrayal but found none. She even tried to breach the subject of Seymour with Tobias, but he dismissed her saying she worried too much. The fact was that she had hoped with all her heart that he was right, but that didn't stop her from being vigilant.

The two of them did, however, have a little secret. Sometimes they snuck out of the house together to go on a hunting trip. They didn't kill anyone, but there was a reason that the cases of humans suffering from anemia had increased in the city.

Cecilia and Tobias were inseparable, and as far as Helen and Seymour were concerned, they were much closer than any two vampires they had ever seen. It was at times nauseating for the two older vampires to watch the looks filled with love that the two young ones often shared. They were more similar to teenagers in love than two adult vampires.

Cecilia had always loved the supernatural, the otherworldly, and yet she never wanted to become a part of it. However, now that she had come to terms with what she was, and that she had found the love of her life, or afterlife, as the case might be, she felt more satisfied than she thought possible.

She was careful with her dreams and wishes more than she had ever been before because she had learned her lesson. You should be careful what you wish for because your wishes might come true, but not in the way you hoped.

For her, it was a constant struggle to adjust to being a vampire. Especially troublesome was dealing with her conscience which ate at her because of all the people she had murdered, all the vampires who had stopped existing because of her.

However, it helped to have someone with her who understood exactly how it felt to know that there was a monster residing in your heart, and that helped her, it helped her carry on. The suffering and the pain they shared, made their relationship even stronger. Together they tried to be better than they ever were before. In a way, they tried to make amends for what they had done.

Their love flourished more with every passing moment, with every shared secret, with every new thing they learned about each other. There were things that they liked about each other and things they didn't, but the important thing was that they accepted each other no matter what they discovered about one another.

After the events on the island, after almost being separated, they were more willing to accept the truth, that they loved each other. It also made them less afraid to admit to the world that they were in love, that they meant to each other more than anyone could ever imagine.

In a way, that horrible event made them stronger, more courageous. Although they had done something horrible, discovered something dark residing deep in their very sense of being, it changed them, it made them better.

However, the fear of losing each other was still prevalent in them, so much so that they rarely spent any time apart. They were like teenagers whispering in the corners and sneaking out for make-out sessions in the back of their estate. But they also helped out the humans hoping to repent for their sins, together.

What they weren't aware of, but Helen and Seymour knew was that it wasn't only about redemption, it was the blood of the Healers singing in their veins that compelled them to help, to heal. They NEEDED to heal every person and being around them and it was something Helen hoped they would learn with time. After all, it was not her place to tell them who they were, it was for them to figure it out.

As the old scrolls, Seymour showed Helen say: "The path of a Healer is the one of pain and struggle, but they always come out of it with the light that shines for other people to see, to lead them where they need to be. Rarely are they born and thus more precious they are found. However, to connect truly they can with none other than the one who sings the same music of healing and joy. That has occurred only one time before and shall happen only once more. The bond shall be like none before and all will see so much more that there is to life."

Most people whom they helped saw them as lifesavers and two people with the most harmonious relationship they had ever seen. Many envied them on their love, but a lot more just wanted to have what they had. No one knew the dark side of who they were, and they never planned for them to find out.

The blood supplies coming from the hospitals were big enough that they kept themselves well-fed. They made it a rule never to go out until they were sure they had the hunger under control, and so far it had worked marvelously.

They got along with Helen even better, but they still couldn't understand why she was so suspicious of Seymour. However, they had decided not to interfere, the two were old enough to solve their problems.

On their part, Cecilia and Tobias were grateful to Seymour for his help and trusted him because of it. Still, they were trying to give him enough space since he didn't seem to do well with other vampires, except for Helen.

Cecilia noticed how he looked at Helen, and she couldn't understand why Helen was unable to see the looks of devotion that the guy gave her all the time. She hoped that, no matter what had happened between the two of them, Helen would give him a chance, and that they could all live in joy and harmony.

Of course, there would be struggles, but that was part of being. As long as she was surrounded by the people dear to her, Cecilia was ready to face any challenge that came her way. Still, she hoped with all her heart that never again her and Tobias' bad sides would be awoken. That they would be able to spend at least a century in peace.

THE END

Author's note: If you liked this story feel free to check out Once Bitten, Twice Shy which happens years after this story but involves all of these characters and a few new ones.