"Sir, we have tracked down the hunter as you wished," Sigrid whispered into Leon's ear and slipped a folder into his lap. 

A grin formed on his face, "You have?! How lovely. My day has gotten a bit better already. Though I'm still not over those dark spirits from yesterday, ugh, I couldn't sleep," he said before peeking inside the folder inquisitively. 

Sigrid was quiet as he read, standing beside him as she usually did. She had served Leon for years now, ever since he opened V and had started to pave his own way in Dawn. Her father had told her to serve him as loyally as she could; the Valentines were an important family after all, and they were important not only in the human world, but in the vampire world as well. 

"Looks like I should pay this red-haired hunter bastard a visit. Pay him back ten fold for daring to kill anyone in my club… Sigrid. Make the preparations. We're going out after dark," Leon announced with a menacing look in his eyes. "There is no need to kill the hunter, but perhaps he would be better off with fewer limbs…" He leaned all the way back in his seat and swished the blood around in his glass. 

It had been a couple of strange days for Ellie, but she was back in her own place, and finally getting a change of clothes. She was not sure where the bloodstains on her jacket had come from, and she didn't really question it either. These things were pretty normal for an adventurer like herself. 

A part of her felt mortified for fainting in front of Juliette Valentine of all people yesterday, or at least that's what Skully had told her had happened. She wanted to keep this job, whatever it was, and it couldn't be too bad, right? 

A deep sigh escaped her lips when she sat down on the mattress and stared longingly at Skully. 

"I think we'll go out and explore Dawn today. Since I don't start until Monday, I have some time," Ellie said cheerfully. 

"Fine with me," Skully grunted, feeling bad for not sharing the fact that he had taken over her body again. It seemed to be happening more since they moved to Dawn, there was a high chance that he might have to tell her at some point. 

Ellie picked up the skull and placed him inside the backpack, for a moment her thoughts wandered, there were so many unanswered questions… Why had Leon shouted at her to get out? She wanted to go back to V and ask him. Confidently she jumped to her feet and swung the backpack over her shoulder, her mind was made up. 

V was a long walk across the river, into the bustling city, and the loud streets. She started skipping lightly as she walked onto the main street. The sky was threatening to erupt, and the clouds formed a thick, dark layer above as they walked. Ellie was hoping for rain. Nothing felt as amazing as when the rain drizzled down on her head. 

"Why are we going downtown again? Got a taste for the fine life?" Skully joked. 

"I'm going to V," Ellie announced, "I wanna ask why Leon was so adamant on kicking me out of there… I know I've not done anything, or even met him before. Maybe it's a misunderstanding." 

"Are you out of your mind?" Skully yelled out. "Let Oleander talk to him. You should be walking around old Dawn with me, seeing the sights." 

Ellie ignored Skully and turned a corner onto the street that V was on, her eyes set on the bright neon V in the distance. She didn't like misunderstandings, especially when people assumed things about her which were not true, and it did seem like Leon was assuming something horrible about her. 

"You're not gonna listen, are you? Fudge. Maybe he just had a bad day…" Skully grumbled and tried to rationalise, hoping that Ellie wouldn't get into too much trouble. But he knew that somehow she always got into too much trouble when she stuck her nose into things.

"I'm just gonna talk to him," Ellie said and stopped outside V. 

Her eyes firm on the doorman as she approached him, a big knot forming at the pit of her stomach. This meant she had to talk to people didn't it? She swallowed hard, feeling her whole body tightening. 

"Hold it," the doorman said sternly as he glanced up from the papers in his hand, "You're on the no-go list. Don't even try it." He shook his head and showed her surveillance photo to her. 

"I- I- Uh- I didn't do anything. Please l-let me talk to Leon," Ellie stuttered, trying to get the right words out. 

"Looks like it won't be so easy," Skully grunted from the backpack. "Better just go home." 

"I'm sorry, but I got my orders. Can't let you through." The doorman looked straight at her and pointed away from the club. 

Ellie let out a huff and started walking away, "That was unexpected. I wonder what he thinks I did? It must be so bad… I can't even think about it. What should I do?" She glanced pensively up at the dark sky. "Hmmm. He has to come out at some point, right? I'll wait for him." 

"Splendid idea. Excellent. What if he's not even there? What if he never comes out? What then?" Skully said sarcastically. "And I thought you don't care what people think about you? Why does it matter?" 

"I- It matters because he's friends with Oleander. And it's a misunderstanding, whatever it is, I want to set things straight," Ellie intertwined her fingers and leaned against the wall. 

She waited, and waited. The sun had gone down beyond the horizon, and the rain she had longed for had still not come. Had Skully been right? What if Leon never came out from V. What would she do then? She felt the knot at the pit of her stomach get tighter, before suddenly spotting Leon. 

"He's there," she whispered to Skully, "Let's follow." 

"Follow? I thought you're just gonna talk to him?" Skully questioned. 

"I need to follow him so I can talk to him." Ellie started walking the same way as Leon, her steps were hurried. 

Leon stepped into a black car that waited for him further down the road. Ellie's heart sank for a moment, but quickly noticed a taxi that waited on the side of the road. Without thinking she leaped into the taxi. 

"Follow that car." She pointed forward and smiled at the taxi driver. 

"Alright, alright, Miss. I love this sort of thing. It's not my first time following a car, ya know. It happens more than ya would think," the taxi driver said excitedly before he started to follow the black car at a comfortable distance. 

"Wow. This guy's a pro," Skully groaned. "Why are we going through so much trouble? And do you even have money for the taxi?" 

Ellie could feel her breath getting caught in her throat. What was she doing? Was it too much? No. It was another sort of adventure, wasn't it? She breathed out as the taxi picked up speed, following the black car across the river to old Dawn. 

"I wonder where the car is going," she said to the driver, eyes firm on the road and car ahead of them. 

The taxi driver smiled, eyes twinkling with excitement, "I guess we'll find out soon, Miss. Don't ya worry. They won't spot ya." 

"They're stopping at the side of the road," Ellie exclaimed and pointed enthusiastically. 

"I'll drive past and let ya out down the road," the driver suggested with a wink. 

Ellie nodded, rummaging through her backpack for money. It seemed to be enough, though she wasn't entirely sure how much a taxi cost. The driver didn't charge her much, and gave his card in case she needed a lift at another time. Ellie thanked him profusely, and gave him a small gem she had found in the woods as well as the money. 

She sneaked along the wall of an old abandoned brick building, watching Leon and a woman walk into a narrow side street. Suddenly her quest to talk to Leon seemed to have turned into something entirely different. Why were they here? She threaded slowly, soundlessly along the wall. Her heart beating fast at the thought of talking to Leon. What would she say? 

"You're wrong. Whatever you think you know about me. It's all wrong," Ellie abruptly shouted out at Leon as she stepped onto the narrow side street. 

Leon stared at her —at the dark spirits looming behind her. "What the hell are you doing here? First of all I'm not wrong. Second of all did you follow me?" 

Ellie's face turned red and she blurted it all out, "I- Uh- Yes. I needed to talk to you, and the doorman wouldn't let me into your club, and then you drove away in the car, and then I followed in a taxi because I think there's been some misunderstanding." 

Sigrid glanced at Leon, "Shall I send her away?" 

Leon kept staring at Ellie, "I have no interest in talking to you —you foul person, whatever you are, whoever you are, I can see them haunting you. Did you kill them all? What darkness are you?" 

Ellie's heart dropped in her chest. "W-what? Darkness? Killed? I'm just a girl from Everwood. I haven't killed anyone, not even an animal." Her lips quivered in disbelief, tears forming slowly, why was he saying these things? 

"What the fudge is he on about?" Skully grunted loudly. 

"Who is there with you?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow and hissing. "Some kind of backup hiding in the dark? Think me and Sigrid are weak do you? Sure, my powers might not be so good in a fight, but I can hold my own." 

Ellie swallowed hard. Powers? What was he? "Uh- It's just me here. No one else." 

Skully chuckled as he realised that Leon must have heard him. "No, no, no. I think he can hear me, Ellie. He's a fudging dummy. Yeah you. Dummy. I'm a skull." 

Leon frowned, "A skull? What? Don't play with me," he growled and jolted toward Ellie, grabbing her throat faster than she could move. "I think you're a big old liar. Now you better tell me the truth." His fangs glinted in the light of the lanterns. 

Bartholomew, the crow, cawed loudly from up above them, other crows joined in, an off-key choir of crows resounded through the small street. Danger they said. Danger. 

Ellie's eyes widened at the sight of Leon's fangs. A vampire. Not a Sorrow, but an actual vampire. Darkness called her again, the streets fading slowly as his grip tightened. She didn't have answers. Why was it all dark again? The black sea beneath her feet filled her with nothing but dread.