• She couldn't believe her luck. Right out of college, fresh journalist degree in her pocket and ready to take the world by storm. Allie looked forward to the stories that would hopefully fall into her lap, though as an investigative reporter, she knew there would be hard work involved in getting the juicy details of those concealed truths so many were eager to hide from the world. She hadn't expected to land such a great career so quickly, but the reporting business was always competitive. She quickly brushed carrot hued strands of hair back from her young face, and smiled enthusiastically at her new boss.

    "Yes sir! I understand. Rumors about the Nocturne estate, on it!" She didn't even wait for her employer to finish before she found herself pulling up her camera, pocketing her notepad, and rushing for the door. The older gentleman had been about to call her back, but relented, shaking his head as a smile crept to his lips. He could remember being young; the vibrant excitement, the thrill of scoping out the next big piece of news. So he figured, let her enjoy it. She seemed willing enough to get out there, and though he had hired her, he didn't want to restrict he enthusiasm for the job she now found herself in. Besides, whether she actually found something worth writing about would prove to him if she really belonged in the company.

    In her haste, Allie had forgotten to pack something to eat, but she figured, upon realizing said fact, that she would be done before she got hungry. Well at least with the first part of her investigating the rumors. David Boris, her employer, had mentioned that there were rumors of strange activities on the Nocturne estate. Strange cries at night, the occasional disappearance, and the most peculiar, how the grounds seemed completely vacant during the daylight hours. Some conspiracy theorists with their wild tales speculated nocturnal creatures. Vampires, they cried. Of course, nobody believed them. Vampires were mythical beings meant to either frighten or give romantic notions to lovesick teen girls.

    Allie cringed at the thought of the fictitious Twilight characters. If the rumors were true, she certainly hoped the sparkling vampires of that load of tripe were not what she would be writing about. Granted, she didn't really believe all that nonsense to begin with. Simply put, vampires did not exist. They were only make believe and nothing would convince her otherwise.

    Somehow, she managed to scale the tall stone fence. Then again that somehow had been with the assistance of a large dumptser that she found herself clambering up onto only to hoist herself over the top of the wall. The sun hadn't fallen over the western horizon just yet, so she still had plenty of daylight to do a little exploring before things would supposedly get interesting. As reported, not a soul in sight once she had a quick glance around. She withdrew her notepad, making a note of that fact before tucking it away in her jacket again as she progressed further onto the estate grounds.

    The walls of the stone castle rose before her like a menacing beast, daring her to continue her futile quest for knowledge. She swallowed hard, staring up at the fortress, suddenly feeling unease coarse up her spine. However, the young reporter shook her head, her resolve to get her scoop solidified. The building posed her no threat, it was, after all, just a building. With that thought, she progressed onto the grounds.

    Allie sighed, retrieving a small recorder from an inner pocket on her jacket. She needed to record her thoughts, and with the waning sunlight, she didn't have enough to see by to write. She pushed down on the record button, then held the small electronic device close to her mouth as she began speaking in a somewhat hushed tone, though far from a whisper.

    "The grounds appear to be vacant still. I've been exploring for the past hour, and the sun has almost completely disappeared from sight. It's getting harder to see, so I hope I can find something worth reporting soon before I need to call it a night. I appear to be in some kind of orchard. Apples perhaps? I'm not entirely sure, though seeing the fruit trees is reminding me of the supper that I neglected to eat before taking this story. Maybe I will just see if I can grab one, at least to tide me over until I get home. I still don't see anyone around to ask, and I hardly think one or two pieces of fruit will be missed. So, I think...."

    The reporter's voice grew quieter and from the sound of the rustling, it would seem that she had opted to climb one of the trees to gather said fruit.

    "Thief!!!!! Stop there!!!" could be heard from the near distance. Allie's sudden, brief swearing made it more than obvious that she didn't relish the idea of being caught trespassing on private property. In her rush, she'd forgotten all about the recorder that she place on the ground, which happened to still be recording every little detail.

    "Here take your apples then!" She shouted as she tossed the two apples in the direction that she thought she'd heard the voice before turning to bolt back the way she had come. She hadn't expected to come face to face with two piercing eyes that seemed to burn a hole straight through her.

    "Sorry Beautiful, nobody steals from our orchards and gets away with it." The voice was harsh, but it had a haunting grace tinging it so completely. The stranger rushed at her, and from that moment Allie lost consciousness, the recorder left in the orchard to continue saving everything to tape before it ran out.

    Allie roused to the sound of a clock, ticking away, before she tried to open her eyes. In turn, she immediately closed them again, her vision blurred and unfocused. She also noticed the pounding headache that had begun to beat away inside her skull, almost threatening to escape into the outside world. She winced visibly, the pain intense, as she lurched forward clutching her head in her hands. What had happened? Last she remembered, a stranger had informed her that thieves don't walk away with their merchandise. Had they really been that fussed over two apples? She tried to open her eyes again, though the room still blurred, it had a little more focus than moments earlier.

    "Well, well, seems the effect hit you harder than most, dearest." The voice that now wafted into her ears was unmistakably feminine. Beautiful, alluring, something she could have easily listened to for hours even though she had no interest in women in that manner. However, she could also hear the obvious contempt in the woman's voice as she referred to the reporter as dearest. Perhaps Allie had made a mistake of investigating the rumors on the Nocturne estate?

    "Wh...where am I?" She managed as she finally pulled herself upright, forcing her eyes open despite the splitting ache in her head that protested the sudden flood of light. Her vision had begun to focus, coming back into normal view, and she spied a rather lovely, though very pale, woman at what seemed to be a rather expensive desk. Polished marble, from the looks of it, though Allie hadn't taken her education in the direction of appraisal, she just remembered seeing ones like it at her father's company when she had been younger.

    "You, are on Nocturne lands. A trespasser. The local authorities have no jurisdiction on my grounds, therefore, I will deal with you as I see fit." There was a commanding tone to the woman's voice, and as Allie observed her, she had that proud, almost regal poise that royalty often possessed. Had she stumbled in on some renaissance re-enactment or something? The reporter shook her head, hoping that she'd only dozed off and she could conclude this all to be some weird dream brought on my hunger.

    "So, a reporter with the audacity to investigate silly rumors. How suiting. Well I suppose it would have gotten out to the public at some point. Might as well clear the air before all those ridiculous speculations begin to flood the tabloids. Are you listening, dearest? You did come her for a story after all, or are you reconsidering the piece you really want to write?" The woman leaned back in her chair before lifting a glass chalice from the surface of the marble desk. It seemed to be filled with some form of dark red liquid, but Allie only took it for one of the dry wines like Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon. She couldn't have dreamed what the real contents were. The woman took a short drink off the chalice before setting it back on the desk, her tongue darting out to wipe the traces of the fluid from her lips as her gaze once again fixated on her young guest.

    Allie had no idea how to respond to this strange, but graceful woman. However, she did have a feeling that whatever was about to be revealed would be worth writing about, especially with all the intrigue that colored the tone of her voice. Slowly, she managed to nod and looked about for her notepad and pen, though the task proved to be more difficult than expected due to the pounding headache that still plagued her. The aspiring journalist locate what she sought, though, and soon had the pad of paper opened to a blank page while she sat expectantly on edge to hear the woman's story.

    "Good, you are ready to take notes. Unfortunate that you mortals don't have the memory capacity that many of my kin do, but it is of little consequence. How shall we begin this little trip down memory lane? Perhaps with a title. Call it...." The woman paused, lifting her goblet from the desktop again to take another drink before continuing. "...The Cost of Immortality. That should work nicely for all the sycophants and conspiracy theorists out there. My name is of little importance in this telling, it is my past, present, and future that you are wanting to hear about. It all started some time ago, when I was a human like yourself. The world held so many curiosities for me that I yearned to discover what else there could be hidden beyond the veil of normalcy. Little did I know how much I would really find in the form of....."

    Allie's pen swiftly moved across the page as she jotted down notes while the story began to unfold. She found herself amazed with every detail this woman had chosen to reveal to her, especially since she planned on posting this to the paper as soon as she'd finished her report. The young journalist was almost star struck by this woman's telling of her past, so much that she considered investigating the matter further, but mostly because she admired the way the woman spoke. She possessed an eloquence that Allie had unfortunately not encountered before, and part of her wanted to learn how to speak in such a manner that her phrasing caught attention. She continued writing, awed by the story she'd been given to report, and the woman telling it as well.

    "...and all of this comes to a conclusion with you, my dear. You see, you have all the answers that you were so desperate to learn, but I can't possibly let you leave here with that information. We value our secrecy and the fact that the mortal world denies our existence. Those who do not are only seen as crazy, which suits our purposes well. So, dear girl. You have a choice before you. You can either stay here willingly, serving myself and my kin as part of this clan, or you can lose what memory you have of this conversation and myself....being returned to the outside world empty handed. I have no desire to end your life as it would cause for more investigation over your disappearance. I do hope you would willingly choose to stay. We can always use another mortal around as our eyes and ears during the daylight hours. Plus there is so much you can learn from us."

    Allie had recoiled in near fear at the prospect of death, but the woman, though her gaze seemed icy, did not seem menacing in the least with the proposition she offered. The young journalist considered the matter carefully, knowing well what she would be getting herself into if she chose to stay. She was, after all, in search of knowledge. What better way to gain such then to learn from those who had lived for generations? Finally, she inclined her head slowly, mindful of the headache that she still possessed.

    "I will stay. The benefits of remaining here far outweigh the benefits of leaving." She watched as the woman smiled, then slowly rose from her seat to approach Allie.

    "Good then. Shall we see if we can't get rid of that pounding in your skull, then?"