The large table in the main hall was adorned with all sorts of delicious food, ranging from beef with potatoes on the side to three different types of cake and sweets from every corner of the world. Despite not eating anything all day, Ava found herself at loss of appetite. It didn't help that fact that the same table had tied up people on it instead of plates filled with food, merely hours ago. Traces of their blood were still visible on the white tablecloth, but she was the only one who paid any notice to them.

Ruby was cutting her stake, visibly unamused by all the eyes staring at them as she was eating her dinner. She gestured at Ava to dig in, confused as to why she was just sitting there silent.

"It's not human meat if that's what worries you." Said Ruby.

"I'm not hungry." Said Ava, the sounds of her stomach turning, unwillingly exposed her lie. The whole time she was staring down, too afraid to meet her old friend's eyes. Who knew when she would decide to hypnotize her to do her bidding?

"But it's your birthday! Don't be shy now, I went to the extent to purchase every type of sweet in the city. Take it as a sort of compensation for all that time we were deprived of any type of luxury when we were in that research facility."

Ruby examined her face as if she was trying to read her mind. A frown formed on her face when she noticed the scar on her neck, that the girl completely forgot to hide in between all the commotion.

"Who did this to you?"Asked the red-eyed woman. "Was it him?" There was distinct scorn in her voice when she spoke.

"Lynn? No, he would never hurt me." Ava looked up anxiously as she jumped to defend him. "Where is he anyways, can I see him?"

"I shouldn't have brought him up. How about we switch the subject?"

"Please let him go. I promise he won't be causing you any trouble."

"I cannot do that Sellen. What would my subject think of me once I show mercy to the man who threatened to kill me? You saw that right? He was the one who attacked me first."

"Yes, but..."

"Besides you don't need him anymore. You have me. We can rule the whole district together if we join forces." Ruby's face was brimming with excitement.

"Join forces?"

"Yeah," Ruby grabbed the sharpest knife on the table and sliced her palm, letting the blood pour into an empty wine glass. The wound closed shortly after. It took mere seconds until it was completely healed. "Consider this my birthday gift to you. Drink up and return to your former glory."

Ava shrieked and backed away in fear and disbelief. The images of the gut-stained walls of the research facility flashed before her eyes. She couldn't even begin to imagine turning back into that maniacal beast. Her heart grew heavy.

"S-sorry but no. Don't make me do that please, I'm begging you..." she said in a trembling voice.

Ruby raised an eyebrow and shrugged, tossing the blood on the floor and ordering one of her underlinings to take the empty glass away. She continued cutting up her stake as if nothing had happened.

"Fine, don't need to make a huge deal about it." She said, taking a sip from her glass. "I'm not going to force you. We are friends after all. I think it goes without saying, but you can leave at any time if you don't want to stay in the mansion."

"What about Lynn?"

"He remains here."

Ava leaned back in her seat, saddened. There was no way she could leave without him and her old friend already knew that. Perhaps Ruby was using him as a ploy to keep her here and give her the illusion she had a choice. There was no other reason to keep him alive, given how much she detested that man. The strange sense of jealousy she felt towards him was enough to make her want to get rid of him even without the fact that he ended up losing his temper.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Asked Ava.

"All of what?"

"The people you keep as livestock. The ones you inject with drugs to sell their blood. Turning the old clan members into monsters and... what you did to Edwin. How could you end up being so cruel?"

Her question was met with laughter as if she was being asked something ridiculous. Ruby wiped the sauce off her lips, then took the time to fix her lipstick before she could answer.

"Cruelty? That's a funny word. Do you know what has driven humans since time immemorial? Sex and food. With money, you can buy both. Money is a source of power. Power is what allows you to make a change in this world, but is also what corrupts us the most. The researchers who locked us up and did experiments on us didn't do it because they were evil. They were simply looking for a way to end this war."

"Does that make their actions justifiable?"

"Justifiable to whom? You don't ask an animal for their blessing before you slaughter them, do you? You do what needs to be done to prolong your survival, fairness be damned. What I'm trying to say is: Once you are on the top of the food chain, you don't need an excuse to do as you wish."

"It's precisely because of that way of thinking that the world is in shambles." There were notes of anger in Ava's voice as she leaned forward, striking her interlocutor with a fierce look.

"Maybe. Many seem to think this whole war broke out because of the existence of vampires. In truth vampires had nothing to do with it. We could have existed peacefully the way Edwin wanted, but our former leaders needed to shift the attention away from their misdeeds and turn us against one another. Whole cities burned down. The civil war turned into an international when the media made everyone believe that everyone else was their enemy. Technological progression got stuck in the '90s. All in the name of what? A bunch of politicians who couldn't care less about the people beneath them." Ruby leaned back, resting her head in her palm and looking somewhere in the distance. "It's a dog eats dog out there. You're either a hammer or you're being hammered."

"Are you going to hammer me down?"

"Never."

"Then please let us go. If there is even the slightest semblance of the friend I once had in you, you would do the right thing "

Ruby stood up, placing her palms on the table, and for the first time, there was annoyance in her expression towards Ava. She barely held her voice from being deepened with rage.

"Won't you forget about him already?" She said, pausing to cool her temper. "Isn't he a bit old for you anyway? What's your difference? Like a hundred years?"

"He's been nothing but kind to me, and for me, that's all that matters."

"I see, you're still young and foolish. Have you two lovebirds done the deed already?"

"It's none of your business!"

Ruby smirked, self-satisfied with making her friend angry. The others were watching the show, trying not to make any sort of reaction that might displease their boss. Some still wonder why the new girl doesn't obey her blindly, knowing what the boss is capable of doing when she doesn't have her way.

Syd sat on the ground with his legs crossed enjoying the catfight. Despite the mutual fear everyone, including himself, felt towards their leader, he possessed a deep admiration for her. Perhaps being the only one happy with the new change of direction. The only thing he hated was that regardless of his loyalty, he couldn't get any higher in the ranks.

"I'd like to put an end to this conversation." Said Ava as she stood up, ready to leave the hall. She didn't know where she would go but simply didn't want to stay there anymore.

"Understood." Said Ruby. "You must be exhausted from your travel. I've already prepared a room with clean bedsheets for you. We can continue our chat in the morning."

Syd quickly stood up from his spot and raised his hand like a student.

"Permission to escort the lady to her chambers?" He cooed.

"Sure. Take Ella with you." The boss said, then turned to the hoards of vampires quietly sitting in the shadows. "As for the rest of you: Don't just sit on your asses, the sun has long fallen below the horizon. Go out there and hunt!"