A sound, almost like dry autumn leaves rustling along in a light breeze, filled my head.  As I slowly surfaced from my slumber, I realised it was, in fact, hundreds of muffled voices.  They were distant to begin with.   One, two then three broke through the mass. 

"How many have we lost?" 

"The tunnels are clear now."

"Stop fussing, woman!" 

I didn't know who  it was who spoke, but the fact I could hear them, confirmed that some of my people had survived the battle with Dante and his minions.  The voices were slowly separating, becoming clearer until eventually, they were synchronised with that of my consciousness.  I opened my eyes.  My vision was blurry, so I waited until everything was in focus, before raising my head.  I was still in the council chamber, but someone had moved me to a blanket on the dais.  A shadow loomed over me, then Calogera was kneeling beside me.  "Sienna!" she smiled.  "Rest, I will have someone take you to your room shortly."

   "I'm fine," I replied, huskily and tried to sit up.  The room spun slightly, so I had to lie down again.

Calogera remained smiling at me, her fangs slightly protruding from her gums. "Do as your High Supremo tells you, child."

I smiled back   "OK, boss."

She rose and stepped back as three more shadows approached.  First I saw Kula.  She knelt down beside me and took my hands in hers.  She turned her head as Peter next approached.  "Hi!" I said.  It was so good to see him, even if he was dishevelled. "Been trying to fire up barbeques again?"

We laughed as we remembered that day.  "Looks like it, doesn't it?" he said and laughed again. 

Another figure came into view.  Carter.  He was as messed up as Peter, but he tried to look as unshaken as he possibly could.   He stood silently for a few moments.  He cleared his throat.  "Thank you."

I just stared at him.  I really didn't like the little weed. 

   "I want you to know, there will be no charge, whatsoever, for my services....with your parents estate and everything.....you know..." he stammered.

   "Still the fucking calculating solicitor, aren't you?" I grumbled. Kula squeezed my hands in reprimand.  "Oh, alright! Sorry, Ian.  You will get paid for your work.  I suppose even you have to make a living. But don't over-charge!"

He nodded gratefully, then stepped back out of view.  "I'm still going to fire the slimey git's ass when I get home," I whispered to Kula. 

She simply shook her head in defeat.  "You is bad, little sista." A smile played on her lips.

Suddenly, she rose to her feet and stepped aside.  Cesare and Vittorio greeted her and Peter. They were both battleworn and bloodied.  Cesare had a deep cut on his cheek, which looked to be healing even as he stood.  His armour had chinks gouged from it and some blades or possibly teeth had left lots of punctures in his arms.  Vittorio, was of similar shape, though his wounds were fresher and still seeping a little.  "How is she?" my father enquired of Kula.

   "I'm fine thanks....dad."

He stared at me, then his mouth broke into a wide grin.  Vittorio was by my side, gently brushing strands of my unruly hair behind my ears.  I could tell he was desperate to kiss me, as I was him, but present company kept our ardour at bay.

   "I will take you to your room," Cesare told me.  He bent down and picked me up in his arms.  He lifted me with such ease, like he was picking up a stray feather from a duvet. As he carried me from the chamber, I watched, from over his shoulder, the Blessed, actively healing the wounded with their blue magic.  A few raised their heads as we passed and nodded or smiled.  Sadly, I saw the brutalised bodies of Belenus and Agostina in the hallway.  There was nothing any of us could do for them.  There were many who had lost their lives, some so horrifically injured it would have been hard to identify them.  But the vampires of Marsico Nuovo were dutifully going about the business of clearing up the carnage, tending to the injured and rebuilding their lives.

My room had been spared from the battle, and my father gently laid me down on the bed.  He pulled the sheet over me, made sure I was comfortable, then kissed my brow.  "What you did tonight, Sienna, was nothing short of remarkable.  You have saved the lives of many who would have otherwise perished."

   "If I had been more prepared though...."

He placed a finger over my lips, silencing my self-criticism.  "No, do not go there, Sienna. Do not punish yourself that way.  Casualties in war are inevitable, there is no way one individual can prevent that."  He waited until he was confident I would not argue the point, before removing his finger.  "We knew you possessed an amazing power, one which surpassed many, but we could not imagine how you would execute it.   We are all, in your debt."  

He smoothed my hair and sighed.  "Ahh, but you are so like your mother.  You have her eyes, her hair.... and her spirit."  His voice trembled slightly.  I saw the pain of his loss in his eyes.  He must have loved my mother very dearly.  He smiled wistfully, then with one more kiss on my brow, he rose.  "I must see to my men, Sienna, but I will return later. We have the rest of our lives to get to know each other now."

I watched as he left the room.  That was my dad!  My ancient, vampire-warrior-captain dad, who by all accounts looked like a man in his mid thirties.  I wondered then, if I was going to age.  Would I remain as I was or still grow old and wrinkly.  I hadn't even thought about it until now.  Oh, god! What if I was to become decrepit and senile while Vittorio remained his handsome, gorgeous self.

I jumped a liitle as Vittorio appeared beside me.  I had been so wrapped in my thoughts I had not heard him come in.  I blushed, as if I'd been caught out doing something naughty.  He sat on the bed and leaned over me.  "What were you thinking?" he asked.

There was no point in trying to evade the issue.  I needed to know.  "Am I going to grow old?  Will we look more like mother and son than lovers in years to come?"

He looked at me tenderly.  "We have...become mates," he smiled, a tiny hint of embarrassment in his features at his reference to our love-making, " and once that occurs between our kind, we remain monogamous, in love,  for as long as you breathe.  But, for you to remain as you are now, there is one final step you must take, if you are willing.  So listen, sweet Sienna, as I tell you what you need to know, and if you decide not to proceed, fear not, for I have, and will always love you, forever."

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The council chamber was more or less restored to it's former glory the next evening.  Calogera had requested an audience.  Blessed and Furies aligned the left wall, Countess Florentina at their head.  Two troupes of warriors, in their red armour, stood rigidly in the center of the room, facing the dais.  To the right, twenty Elders, with Heirs looked towards Calogera as she moved purposefully towards her audience.  Kula, Peter and myself, secreted ourselves near the rear of the room.  I craned my neck to see where my father and Vittorio stood.  Naturally, they were with the warriors.  My father was standing to the right of Abramo, while Durante was on his left.  Vittorio was near the front of the first troupe.

Calogera took time to scan the entire room before she spoke.  "I feel it is no longer fitting to address you all in your individual ranks, divisions and sectors.  What we have endured, and indeed witnessed, only a few hours ago, has made me realise that we are more than just warriors, Blessed, Furies, Elders, Heirs and New Bloods.  We are family."  A murmer of approval and applause rose from the attentive audience. 

Calogera waited patiently for their appreciation to quieten.  "We have lost many of our comrades; the Heiress Diamante, her entire Brood, Belenus and Agostino, both dedicated, invaluable members of my council and able warriors, noted Blessed, Ah-lam and Kadri, to name just a select few.  But, all of our fallen will be remembered with honour, respect and love.  Thanks to both their and your efforts, those of us who have survived will grow strong again." 

    "We cannot change our basic nature, we need human blood to survive.  But be advised, we will feed only when we need to.  No longer shall we tolerate random attacks on the humans. We do not need to feed constantly. We are designed to survive for days, sometimes weeks on a relatively small amount of blood.  We will practice discretion at all times.  We will ensure the safety and security of our covens.  And there will be no more breeding with the humans."

Her last declaration caused a stir amongst some of the Elders.  "Anyone found to disobey these laws will be punished by the age old method! There will be no leniency afforded."  She eyed the small group of Elders and their Heirs.  They quickly settled following her warning.

   "And last, but by no means least, we must pay tribute to the one who not only defeated our enemies in a truly spectacular display of power, and protected our people, but also brought many of the wayward home, giving them the chance to redeem themselves. Sienna, approach the dais please."

Once more, my name caused an uproar of applause and cheers.  It was something I would never get used to.  In the human world, I was just a little girl with night-terrors, and who, many thought of as weird, not worth getting to know.  Only a small handful of individuals had accepted me and became my friends.  Here, in a world that society had considered imaginery, stuff of literature and films, dark and impossible, I had found love, family, and  I was being hailed as some kind of Joan of Arc, a heroine.

I approched Calogera slowly.  The troupes of warriors parted, opening a path to dais.  They bowed their heads as I passed.  Even Vittorio, Abramo and my father extended me the same act of  respect.  I stopped at the foot of the steps.  Calogera enticed me to join her.  I stood beside her, embarrassed by the reception I had received.  She smiled at me, then turned and invited Vittorio and my father to join us.  The applause slowly died, and Calogera stepped back, permitting my father to take front stage.

   "I have, for many years, hoped that the day would arrive when my daughter, Sienna and I would be reunited." He looked fondly at me before facing the crowds again.  "Thanks to a young warrior, who, since he was a child, vowed he would bring her back to me, I now stand here, a proud father.  A very honoured and humbled father.  He is Vittorio, son of Abramo, General of the Basilicata Army and Florentina, the Desired."

The room applauded and hailed the name Vittorio.   What? This was something he had not divulged to me.  I hadn't asked neither, to be fair.  I turned to look at him, the surprise written all over my face.  He shrugged and bore a little apologetic smile. 

My father's voice drew my attention again.  I knew what was coming now.  I was prepared. I was willing.

   "It is with pride and honour I can now tell you, that Vittorio has requested to be bonded with my daughter, Sienna.  She has agreed, and I have given them my blessing."  He took both our hands and placed them together.  Another burst of applause.  I looked to the back of the room, where Peter and Kula stood. They were clapping too, smiling broadly.  If I wasn't mistaken, there was also a tear or two of joy being shed.  Would they remain joyous I wondered, when the next part of this 'ceremony' was performed.  

Ian Carter was also present.  This time I didn't care about him one little bit.

Calogera stepped forward again.  She held in her hand, a chalice.  It's contents sacred, untainted by any external source, vampire or human.  It held her own blood.  Calogera, one of the most ancient  living vampires, hailed from the beginning of life itself,  was the giver of true immortality.  She was the last of the 'original' vampires in this part of the country.  A mere 3,000 originals in total still survived worldwide.  Each had the power to grant immortality, the elixir of life. 

Vittorio had explained, for all we had been sired by vampires, we still had the human element within our blood. Human flesh and blood did not last forever.  'Original' vampire blood did.  For someone to have eternal life, they needed to partake of an 'original's' life force.  Every New Blood and Freshling even, had the choice of when and whether to drink or not.  It explained I guess, how vampires ranged in age, yet never died from the process of ageing. 

And so, here I stood, ready and willing to consume old life, to make a new one.  A mere sip would be all it needed.  One sip, which would last for eternity.