At first the sound came as a surprise to everyone, mostly to Hayden but when she saw her dogs shy away from the front door she knew who was there, “Ander, take your brother to town for the day and take the back door out” Ander didn’t have to ask her to explain because he understood that tone of voice. By the time Hayden had walked to the front door to open it from the kitchen where she and Ander had been talking while enjoying a cup of tea Ander had dragged Eric away from his friends who had protested until they looked at Hayden nod at them then they thought that she wanted to force the two to bond some more.

“Lord Grievous, welcome” Hayden said when she opened the door and saw that it was who she had thought, Lord Maximilian Barbados Grievous, one of the four leaders of the Hunters and the orphanages sponsors. The graying old man looked at her as if she was nothing but something for him to hunt, as if he was holding back just so that he wouldn’t reach his hand out and crush her throat.

Behind Lord Grievous stood a man she knew much better than the older one, behind him stood his second Arthur Thorn Everest, a man in his early twenties and more handsome than most, a man who could convince you to kill yourself with his smile alone, but she knew him best as the man that had given her a baby to raise, this man was Drew’s father, even if he didn’t look it, what with how hunters aged and all.

Hayden stepped aside to allow them to enter, “Would you like some tea, I was just enjoying a cup myself?” she asked as she led them to her study, the one place she never took anyone unless she wanted to talk without being heard. The two men didn’t answer her, after all why would Hunters of the highest rank talk to a lowly witch.

When the trio were seated and locked in her study behind the door in the kitchen Hayden knew that she wasn’t going to like the words her uninvited guests were here to say, “We know there is another witch here, and we know where he came from” it took everything Hayden had not to jump Arthur and rip out his throat. “We want you to make him leave, we have reviewed your records and there is no reason for him to be here. He has no ties to any of the children here or you and so unless he is here by your request to start some sort of rebellion then he can stay… until we remove his head from his shoulders” Hayden really had to resist the urge and she hid her thoughts well from the younger looking man, but she could see the challenge in the older man’s eyes, he wanted her to give him an excuse.

Hayden knew this old man’s legend; she was there when he was born after all. Lord Maximilian Barbados Grievous was one of the first servants that her master had created, most didn’t understand that fact though, why would one of the oldest and most powerful vampires ever create something like the hunters; not even she really knew why.

It was back when the old man was still just a teenager that she had first seen the horror that he was and would become, Maxie as she had called him back then had razed an entire village just because the one witch in it could not be found, she had stood by and watched as the boy back then slaughtered everyone. Now as Hayden looked into his eyes some thousand years later she could see that he still looked back on the days of bloodshed in the master’s name with pride and longing.

“I cannot dishonor this witch, he comes from a powerful line” Arthur didn’t look pleased that she had spoken, but she continued, “He shares your blood as much as I do, and if I were to deny him then it would be to deny you, to deny the master” now Arthur seemed livid, “You claim him as the masters heir, and yet you send him running when we arrive” the old man spoke finally, his voice cold and powerful, it was the kind of voice that commanded your attention but made you want to flee in fear. Hayden didn’t answer him, she just watched him like he was watching her, and she knew that she couldn’t tell them why she had sent him away because telling them too much might make them revoke their protection.

“Speak witch!” Arthur said as he slammed his hands down on her desk, but she did not look away from little Maxie, “You dare ignore me Witch” he began again but this time he was silenced, “Be silence you fool, you forget yourself. This witch is older than me and I am older then you, so think for yourself how easy it would be for her to kill you since she is one of the very few who are old enough to remember how” Arthur was even angrier now, but he listened and obeyed Lord Grievous.

“You claim this boy to be the master’s blood, and I see no lie in you so I believe you… but the command stands. Send him on his way or when we return for the inspection, or summer vacation as you call it here, than we will take him with us to prove your words, though we would not need more than his head to prove that” Lord Grievous said as he stood. “You have forty-five days to comply with our commands” before he got up and turned to leave, Arthur close behind him, but before he left her study he gave her one last look and she saw its meaning, don’t comply so that we take one more head with his.

Ander was at a loss, he didn’t know how to start or what to do or even why he was here in town alone with his brother. He was nervous but he tried to hide it as he and Eric walked down the streets, “You don’t seem bothered by all of this, does it happen often?” he asked, the boy not looking as he shrugged, “They come to inspect the orphanage every year, but they came early this year” Ander tried to piece together the puzzle while Eric continued, “Drew or Maddie normally comes with me though, me and Drew would go swimming while we wait for Hayden to come get us, and Maddie, she just takes me to the park so she can draw… but afterwards we always go on vacation though so it’s alright I guess” somehow Ander began to understand that Hayden doesn’t want these people to be anywhere near Eric, for what reason he’ll have to find out later, now though he had the problem of figuring out what to do that Eric would enjoy.

“I used to swim in the lake back home, so if you want we can go swimming” Ander decided to go with something he knew the boy would like; Eric gave him a look of amusement before saying, “I left my trunks at home” finally a problem he could solve Ander thought, taking out his wallet and his bank card which he had used to pay for dinner with Hayden. “So let’s buy you some than, and some for me since I don’t have any at all” they both smiled as they made their way, Eric leading since Ander had no clue where he was going; the younger of the two seemed happy as he led his brother to the shop where they’ll buy what they needed for a day of bonding.

The two boys walked into the store and went straight for what they wanted, the clerk who came to them and offered help went ignored as they each found a pair of swim trunks they liked and that would fit before walking over to the cashier to pay; they were out of the shop in less than ten minutes. Ander couldn’t take his eyes off of his brother, the boy had not looked this happy since he had seen him and he hoped that he wouldn’t ever lose that side of him, the happy side that knew nothing of the hardships that were waiting for him, and then Ander caught himself because it was the first time in a while that he remembered why he had come here and that made him think that this would have been the best time to take his brother and complete his mission.

Instead though Ander followed his brother to the school, watched him talk to a man to whom he mentioned Hayden’s name to before they were allowed to go in. The pool was huge, or at least to someone who had never seen a pool it was huge though it was much smaller than the lake; Ander had finished changing first, even though he wasn’t used to wearing this kind of clothing. Since he was the first to finish he thought that he should take precautions just in case, even if it made Hayden mad that he was going to use magic. Chanting fast and soft he raised his hands to each door in turn, making it so that they would not open unless he allowed them to, making it so that he and his brother would not be disrupted.

“What are you doing?” he heard Eric ask from behind him, the boy looking at him like he was crazy, “Stretching…” was all Ander could think to say at that moment, the awkward moment stayed for a while before it passed as Eric shrugged and dived into the pool. Ander watched him for a while before joining him, when he came up from his dive though a side of Eric he had never seen before showed itself when the boy splashed him in the face, “Game on” he thought with a wicked smirk.

Water flew every which way as the two brothers played, their laughter filling the entire room and travelling down the halls, neither cared though because in this moment, in this place they were free from everything and they could just be themselves. “Let’s race” Eric said, the boy’s face alight with joy as he swam to one end, Ander couldn’t help but follow and get ready to race and lose, because he was sure that Eric would beat him… and after the first win he was sure that his brother must like to win because he beat him again and again with the biggest smile.

They raced, they played but most of all they let go of it all and as they sat resting their tired bodies next to the pool after a few hours of playing, their legs in the pool as they talked about the little things, what foods they liked, what games they liked most but more importantly to Ander, Eric confided in him about his feelings for Drew. Ander had given the best advice he could have, “Follow your heart, our family has a history of being old and lonely… but I’ve learned that when you find someone that completes you then you risk everything to stay by their side, because no matter what you will only find one person like that” Eric had thought about what his brother told him and thanks to him he knew that he would tell Drew everything.

The two continued to talk, but then Eric asked the one thing Ander had hoped he never would, “Did you come here to take me away with you?” the older of the two didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t think that he should lie so he began with the truth, “Yes, in the beginning I came here to take you home with me… but then I saw that you already had a home, already had a family and then I found that being here with you that I felt more at home here than anywhere else” Eric didn’t say anything for a while, but Ander knew that the boy was thinking about what he said.