Adela's muscles relaxed. Where she had waited till the last second to strike her attacker, her retainer was not so patient. He stood with his sword in hand, fresh blood dripping from its razor's edge. The vampire stumbled backward, holding the new wound he had acquired to his side.

"You have no right to tell me how to feed here, Augustans!" he spat. "This is master Kres's territory."

"That may be so, but there is nothing to stop me from voicing my concern," Adela replied.

Squealer slithered out from between the other retainers, Surfacing now that immediate harm had passed. "Princess, I should advise that it is most unbecoming to stand up for the humans. Kres had a most genius plan."

"Silence!" Adela shouted at her subject. Her eyes however remained, locked on the Kres. His eyes glowed red, and she knew how unpredictable a vampire could be under the influence of the full moon. Her adversary drew his sword, an elegantly thin, and pointed rapier. He unsheathed it with a deliberateness that showed his willingness to fight, despite the fact that he was greatly outnumbered. The vampire became a blur once more, using the fresh blood he sucked to summon a powerful Twitch.

With the human's fresh life force circulating through his veins, he had become empowered, enabling him to tap into the supernatural speed that all vampires possessed. Her retainer acted likewise blocking his blade. The lineage of Kres kept on pressing, the thrusts of his hardly visible, at this pace her retainer would run out of energy to maintain the Twitch speed, necessary to combat his adversary. The steel clashed in the night until the ringing stopped and the sound of punctured flesh filled the air. The tip of his sword, finding a vulnerable spot in the armor beneath the shoulder blade.

The retainer grasped at his wound. It had entered under the right arm, but he felt the sting all the way on his left side. It wasn't fatal, however, and he would heal, but it hurt regardless. "You dare raise your sword to Adela Augusta, daughter of Aquilo?" He shouted hoping to reason, over sustaining further injury. The Kres vampire didn't reply. He slowly sheathed his sword, before stepping backwards into the dark and disappearing.

Sometimes she felt her father's name held more power than she herself did. The thought was something that bothered her to a lofty extent, but it could not be avoided. No matter where she went she would always be his daughter and he, her father. Adela turned to see a scared child appear from behind a broken fruit stand. It was another street orphan, looking scared, but approaching boldly. One of the retainers stepped towards her, a deep breath escaping through his helmet. Adela focused her hearing, the sound of his lungs expanding echoed in her ears. The flux of his chest quickened behind his armor with every step closer he took towards the child. Under the full moon, many vampires gave into primal living urges they no longer needed as undead. A sure sign of loss of control, of savagery.

"Don't even think about it." Her stern words cut his course short as he halted. His breathing returned to normal ceasing completely. Her guard turned back and headed behind the ranks. His helmet dropped in shame, at what he almost had done. It was practically taboo for an Augustan to show loss of control during the Blood lust, and it was against code to feed on children, under the age of fifteen, and the girl before her, looked no older than five.

"Child?" she turned, addressing the little girl, in a gentle tone. "What are you doing out? Aren't you scared?"

"Y-yes. But Sofia tells us to be s-stwong, and bwave." The kid replied, trembling. Adela could hear her heart beating at the back of her chest.

"Sofia..." She said aloud, contemplating the name of the peculiar girl she had met earlier that day. "Has she told you to talk to vampires?"

"No. But you twied to save that man. Can you save us too?"

Adela's retainers looked to her, awaiting their leader's response.

She knelt down next to the girl and put a cold hand on her cheek. The child flinched, and closed her eyes but did not run. "Little one, we shall protect you." Adela smiled and took her hand, leading her to the coach. With the girl safely inside she turned to her wounded retainer. "Protect her with your life." The soldier nodded in understanding and climbed inside. She knew that he would not disappoint her. Adela climbed into the driver's seat and grabbed the reins. "Now show us to Sofia." There was a crack and they were off.