Chapter 1: The watchman.

"Hello there son." Theodore Crompton waved at his son and his friend Tim who he found sitting by the creek.
Theodore was a tall and muscular man. A large ax rested on his shoulder for he would go into the forest to cut some wood for the oncoming winter.
The winters were very cold up north and he wanted to start early to make sure his family would not grow cold. He walked over to Markie and gave him a pat on the head.
"Hey dad." His hands were a little shaky and he quickly looked away in the direction of the mansion. Tim did the same because he could not face Theodore and keep the secret.
"Is everything alright boys, you look a little bit shaken up." Markie and Tim both revealed the secret of the monster in the Greenthorpe mansion instantly, because keeping secrets is what children do best.
Theodore threw the ax on the floor and grabbed the boys by their hands. "Now what did your mother and I tell you about that house?"
Markie cried "There was a girl, she went in there alone and she still has not returned."
Theodore told the boys to go straight home. If they were to be obedient their punishment would be considerably lighter and the boys ran off.
He picked the ax up of the ground and headed for the mansion to locate the girl.

Majo was full of questions, but the first one she asked was "What just happened?"
The man in front of her fell silent for a while not sure whether to tell her the truth or a simple lie. He could tell this girl was different from the visitors he had received to his home in the past.
For one, she did not have a clue of what was going on. Something his previous guests were quite aware of.
He decided it was best to play stupid and raised his shoulders. "I dozed off for a moment there, I am quiet alright I assure you."
Majo was not satisfied by this answer and pointed at the painting. "Who is that?" Her questions were short just like her patience at this moment.
"If you are referring to the boy in the middle, he was my great grandfather Egedius Greenthorpe." His face did not show any emotion.
It had not shown any emotion since she had arrived here and she could not tell what he was thinking.
She came around to her final question, for the moment at least.
"Why is this place such a mess?" Louie turned around not to face her and answered. "My family abandoned this house a long time ago and moved to a... different place. I simply came back here to check on things."
He turned to face her again with those sad eyes of his. "I am planning on moving back in here."
His answers were as short as her questions, but something about him made her trust him. And she was satisfied for now.
Louie grabbed an old broom from a corner behind a beautiful, old piano and he started sweeping the floor while hanging his head in shame.
"It's alright." She said and she smiled as she put her paw on his. His flesh felt cold and damp. "You've not been here in a while, let me help you."
Majo walked out of the room in search of cleaning utensils and Louie continued his sweeping unaware of the presence of an unwelcome guest.
"What have you done with the girl?" Theodore Crompton had made it's way into the house and faced Louie holding his axe close to his body.
"She is alright, please do not come any closer." Louie spoke in a calm tone. "I have not harmed her, I have never fed off of an innocent..."
He knew in his heart that what he was about to say was not true.
Theodore payed no head to his warning and stepped forward, slightly raising his ax.
"I think it's time we ended the myth of the Greenthorpe monster once and for all." He raised his ax and wanted to hit Louie in the face with it.
But in the blink of an eye Louie had grabbed the shaft of the sharp weapon and pulled it out of Theodore's hands.
He threw it across the room, grabbed Theodore's neck and opened his mouth to bare a pair of fearsome canines. "No, please."
Theodore gasped for breath as Louie sank his teeth into the main arteries in his victim´s neck. Blood forcefully spurted out and Louie drank as much as he could while he dragged him out into a hallways and opened the door to the basement. He stashed Theodore's dead body into a chest that had been used to store coal in for the old boiler.
Louie wiped clean the blood from the corners of his mouth and the tears from his eyes over the horrible act he had just committed and made his way back to the drawing room just before Majo entered with a bucket full of water and a ragged piece of cloth. "Many hands make light work." She smiled at him and he stared back at her.
"We have to leave." He said and made no notion to wait around for her he grabbed a brown jacket and walked out.
As he was halfway down the path leading to the gate she caught up with him and tugged at his arm.
"But you've only just returned to the home of your ancestors. What makes you want to leave?"
"Fair lady..." He started and Majo giggled over the archaic use of words. "I can not explain it to you but I can not ask of you to remain a guest in my house any longer. Please allow me to provide you with other accommodations for the night." He asked her and he gave her a kind nod.
"Why esteemed gentleman." Majo smiled at her own accent and took hold of the arm he offered. "Where to?"
"There is an inn a couple of hours away from here called 'The Green dragon.' It's not much but it should provide a safe haven for a short while." And off they went.

As they followed the flow of Peddleburg creek the evening set in and the chill wind in the air gave Majo goosebums.
Louie took his jacket off and put it around her shoulders, she gave him a smile but his eyes were focused on something in the far distance.
"I'm afraid we have some unpleasent company, but don't be afraid." Majo could see it too, a group of three or four men in the distance coming closer with seemingly unfriendly intentions.
She hid behind Louie as one of them with a toad-like appearance pulled a small blade out from behind his back and pointed it at Louie's adam's apple.
"Your money or your life, sir." He croacked. His long, slimey tongue hang from his mouth as he made a little bow.
"And they say chivalry is dead." Louie hissed and he kicked the toad hard in the crotch. The blade fell down to the ground before the toad did and his three accomplices jumped forward.
He took one out with a hard knock to the side of his face and kicked another in the teeth. The third hesitated to attack, but made up his mind rather quickly when Louie bared his sharp fangs and ran.
"Please, no, no." The toad on the ground cried out, but Louie grabbed a shivering Majo's hand and walked away.
After they had left their assailants behind them Majo pushed his hand away, as if she had regained her own voice and rational thoughts.
"You! You are a vampire." She finally said and the thought seemed even stranger out loud. "And to think I trusted you, you filthy beast." She took a few steps back towards a small ridge near the water.
"Wait, be careful." Louie took a step towards her to prevent her from falling off but it was in vain and she fell backwards and hit her head on a rock.

Majo woke up the next morning with the smell of fresh bread that was standing in a little basket on her night stand in the small room.
She eagerly grabbed it and feasted on the small meal. Her head hurt a little and she felt a bump on the back of her head.
'The vampire.' The thought of him shot through her mind and her fingers moved down to her neck. 'No puncture wounds, good.' She thought.
She took a few more bites of another lump of bread when Louie walked in to the room. She pulled up her sheets over her exposed chest and fell silent.
He had saved her twice and had not bitten her. And he seemed to be far from the persons she heard about in the ghosts stories. The night roamers feasting on innocent people to still their own aching hunger.
Louie sat down on the bed near her legs and looked at the ground. "I know what you must think of me, but I can assure you, it was never my intention to cause you harm."
He got up and walked back to the door. "If you need anything, just ring that bell over your nightstand and I'll be here in no time."
Louie left her to get a few more hours of sleep and sat down at the bar and several thoughts ran through his mind.
"How is the girl?" The proprietor of 'The green dragon' asked him as he washed several glasses clean of the stains people had left on them last night.
It was crowded when they arrived and the owner's wife had tended to Majo at ones and given her the largest room in the inn, right behind the bar.
"She will live, thank you for your concern." The innkeeper nodded and returned to his dishes.
Louie rubbed through his face and looked at the door to Majo's room. 'Don't worry Tobias. I have not forgotten.'