Ellie stared up at the Valentine Tower; how it glittered in the sun, stretching straight up for the clouds. To her it seemed both imposing and magical at the same time —the tallest building in Dawn. She wondered how they had built it so high, that kind of construction might as well have been magic to her.

Skully kept pondering the name, Valentine, and what it could possibly mean to him. It seemed to be significant, he felt it. Though how significant was it? The more he tried to prod his own memories the further away they seemed to slip into the void, into utter darkness. He refused to go into that darkness, however much it called to him. 

Oleander brought them both inside the building where they were greeted by a massive glass lobby full of plants and greenery with a large fountain at the centre. It was like entering some sort of indoor garden, stairs swirled down from all sides and a calming piece of classical music played in the background. People greeted Oleander as if they all knew him, and before they knew it they were inside the lift, which was also made of glass. 

"Wow. You can see all of Dawn from this lift," Ellie marvelled as she stared out. 

"Mhm, it can get a little scary once you reach the top though…" Oleander chuckled nervously, truthfully he hated this lift. 

"Sounds like someone's scared…" Skully teased. 

Ellie kept staring out at the view, "I'm not scared of heights. In fact, I love heights. This view is beyond amazing, I've never seen Dawn like this before. I've seen this building many times though, from the top of the old oak tree in Everwood," she remarked cheerfully. 

Oleander didn't look at the view, heights were not his favourite, he kept his eyes on Ellie instead. "Yeah. The view's not bad…" 

With a ding the lift stopped and the doors spread open. Again they were greeted by plants, the walls were covered in greenery. Ellie had already decided that she loved this place, it was as if the whole forest was there, and the view through the majestic oversized windows was breathtaking. 

A short woman with sleek black hair, wearing a white pants suit appeared out of nowhere, "Mr. Monroe, welcome back. Juliette is free at the moment, you can go right through to her office, "she said in a rough voice and gestured toward the large doors to their left. 

Oleander nodded and glanced at Ellie, "Come along. And don't be nervous, she's the nicest person." 

Ellie smiled, "I've read about her. It's amazing how she wiped out homelessness in Dawn by building free homes, and she has found a home for every stray dog and cat too," she said with stars in her eyes. "I read that she uses most of her fortune to improve the city, and she has built a huge food bank where you can get free food." 

"She sounds a bit too perfect to me," Skully grunted. 

Ellie didn't say anything, neither did Oleander, he simply smiled and opened the doors, walking in first. Ellie followed behind, eyes widening as she saw even more plants. The office had windows from top to bottom, a small water fall feature on one wall, and the key to Dawn itself hanging on display. 

"Oh my sun, it is lovely to see you Oleander," Juliette beamed and got up from her seat behind the desk. 

She was a tall, elegant woman, golden hair flowing as she walked toward them. Her nails were as red as blood, eyes electric blue, glinting in the light. She kissed Oleander on the cheeks twice, smile never ceasing. The tailored white suit she wore fitted her perfectly, contrasted by high red heels. 

Oleander kissed her cheeks back before turning his head toward Ellie, "This is Ellie, a friend of mine." 

Juliette's smile grew wider, "Ellie. What a wonderful name, aren't you the most adorable thing," she exclaimed and instantly hugged Ellie. 

Ellie felt her cheeks turn red, heart beating faster, "I- Um- N-nice to meet you," she stuttered, struggling to get any words out. 

"I wanted to ask you a favour," Oleander interjected, "Ellie is looking for a job, and I was wondering if perhaps you have any available position for her?" 

Juliette flipped her hair, wandering back to the desk where she poured three glasses of liquor, "A position here?" She asked, eyeing Ellie, "I'm certain we can find you something, and perhaps you can convince Oleander to come work for me too." Her warm laugh filled the whole room. "Here, have a drink, you beautiful young people." 

Ellie blushed and took the drink, "I- I've only known him a few days, so I don't know if I can convince him anything," she said softly, staring into the drink. 

"Darling, you've already convinced him to find you a job, I think that speaks volumes," she said with a warm chuckle, taking a sip of the liquor in her hand. "Ah, but don't worry, I'm only joking. Miranda will find a time for you in my schedule, and we will get you sorted." 

"She seems too nice," Skully grunted softly from Ellie's backpack. She also seemed familiar. Was it the hair? The waves of it? The golden blonde? The name? No. He saw the painting hanging on the wall, clear as day, Juliette and a man posing together. His hair was the same as hers, but his suit was even finer looking. Skully felt the tug of the darkness again, and it became plain as day; he knew this man. Who was he? Who? He felt the metal to his non-existent neck again. Forget. Forget it all. The darkness pulled him into its sweet embrace. 

"Thank you!" Ellie exclaimed, a little too loud, "I won't disappoint you." 

Oleander placed his empty glass down. "Thank you, Juliette. I really appreciate it," he added, happy that he had indeed found something for Ellie, though still disappointed that Leon had reacted the way he had. 

Juliette leaned back on the desk, glancing at Ellie. "I am always happy to help people out. I've been helping Oleander out ever since his mother died. You see, his father and I are cousins, so I feel an extra sort of responsibility for him," she explained with a warm tone in her voice. "But now I'm digressing. What I wanted to say was, think of me as a friendly aunt, because that's essentially how I want the people of Dawn to see me." Her red lips curved into a smile. 

Ellie glanced at Oleander, realising how little she knew about him. They had only met a few days ago, but there was something about him which made her feel safe, despite not actually knowing him too well. 

"My mother died too," she let slip. "When I was small." She felt a lump in her throat, words stopped flowing and the room fell dark. A dark figure stared back at her before she felt herself falling into the darkness. 

"You poor thing." Juliette approached Ellie, hand caressing her cheek. "I will take extra good care of you, don't you worry about a think sweetheart." 

"Sweetheart?" Skully asked in Ellie's voice, staring at Juliette in disbelief. 

"I think we should get going, I'm sure you have a lot of things to do," Oleander remarked, his hand finding Ellie's for a moment. 

Juliette smiled wide and placed her finger on Oleander's nose. "Don't be a stranger now. I want to have dinner one day." She turned toward Ellie, eyes glinting, "I think we will see each other soon enough, leave your information with Miranda outside. She will tell you when to come here again, darling." 

"Who is that in this lovely painting?" Skully questioned, pointing at the painting of Juliette and the man. 

Juliette tilted her head and glanced at the painting with a solemn look on her face. "That is my father, Julian Valentine." 

"Julian Valentine…" Skully said softly in Ellie's voice. Why did the name sound so familiar? And why was he suddenly in Ellie's body again? There was no danger… Was there? 

Oleander wanted to say something, but held his tongue. He wasn't sure how, but he could tell that was not Ellie. Could he explain it all to Juliette? She might know who the skull had been… He shook his head. No. That was a terrifying thought. He didn't want to know who the skull had been.

"We really need to get going," Oleander said as he tugged Ellie's arm gently. 

"Have a lovely day, younglings." Juliette winked at them as they slipped out the doors. 

"What the fudge?" Skully grunted in Ellie's voice. 

"I know you're not Ellie. It's pretty obvious… And I didn't want you to mess up Ellie's chances here," Oleander whispered, "Now let's get that date from Miranda and get out of here." 

"Ugh. This seems tedious. Fine. How do you know anyway?" Skully asked, tucking hands into pockets. 

Oleander ignored the question as he started talking to Miranda. He wasn't even sure how he knew, it just seemed obvious to him. Ellie was an entirely different person when Skully was in her body. 

Skully huffed, waiting for Oleander to finish his long conversation with Miranda. He glanced at the plants, and then the view… It called out to him, the city beneath him, oh how he had loved this city once. Eyes lit up as he saw old Dawn; sights he knew by heart, there were no memories, but he knew them. The streets old Dawn might as well have been alive to him. 

Moments later they found themselves back outside the building. Skully felt fuzzy. Why was he still there? 

"I'm not sure how the fudge I ended up in Ellie's body this time. Usually it happens in very dire situations. Today was different," Skully said and he looked up at the sky. 

"You will probably switch back soon, right? How did I end up with this? I'm not sure if I can do this. Dealing with you, the skull. What if you're some powerful evil vampire? I'm trying to distance myself from whatever vampire stuff I can. I- I don't want to have to deal with my grandfather." Oleander could feel himself starting to panic, the thought of being brought back into everything again… He bit his lip and tried to breathe. 

"I'm very sure I'm not some evil vampire. At least I don't feel evil… I don't have memories though, just bits and pieces. I know that Julian Valentine is someone I knew once. I know it," Skully remarked. "I just don't remember it. I don't remember. I feel heartbroken. Though I don't remember why. I feel lost, longing for something I can't touch. I don't fudging remember why. There are all these feelings, and I can't place them anywhere. But yeah, you don't wanna fudging deal with your grandpa." He clenched Ellie's fists, staring at Oleander. 

"I'm sorry. I'm being a bit of a jerk… I just… I get scared. I didn't really mean it. Ellie is great, she's nice, likeable. I- I like her a lot, and I want to get to know her, and I guess that includes you…" Oleander admitted, eyes shifting to the ground. 

Skully started laughing loudly, "You like her? Well, that's obvious. And also no. Ellie's not gonna date some scardy vampire. She is not even someone who thinks about dating anyone. You know what's on her mind? Finding hidden treasure and obscure artefacts. That's what. Try again in like ten years… Also imagine the awkwardness of suddenly being on a date with me." He might not have had any memories, but he knew vampires. He knew that Ellie should stay far away from them if she could, and that dating one would be the worst thing she could do. Something about a true vampire's love? He squinted his eyes and stared at Oleander.