The Guardian (Vampire Knight ~ Akatsuki)

Chapter 5: The Past is History

I skidded down the road on my way to town. No normal parent would ever let their ten-year-old walk down this road. Any road. And I knew it too. My life hasn't been like the children I've seen skidding down this exact same dusty road. They were never alone, but they – unlike me – are vulnerable.

Being independent is part of my training, so my dad thought it would be a good idea for me to run some errands sometimes. I had my two little hands clammed around a letter, he wanted me to bring to a hunter that lived in town. Not being able to remember his name, I did know exactly where his house was. It was only a few blocks into town and it was the biggest and most impressive one in the street. The house itself always gave me the feeling that someone had grabbed it from a fancy neighborhood in Beverly Hills and dropped it there, making it seems unfit or maybe even unfinished. It might have been a beautiful house, but still some part of the white paint was coming off.

This also should go unnoticed by a little girl, but then again my education included noticing the little details that other might not notice. Maybe that was another reason I never had friends – not only because of my parents – because I was different.

A hunter.

I wasn't worried about school or friends or not getting the present I wanted for my birthday. Frankly, vampire hunters gave their kids new weapons on birthdays and Christmas Eve. No Barbie's or stuffed animals of the like.

No. When girls my age were excited for their birthdays, so much they'd struggle to stay awake all night just to see the clock hit midnight, I'd spend the night in bed, hoping I could get something else for my birthday. Something normal.

I shook my head as I reached the front door of the Marlowe residents. Why think about these things if there is nothing I can do about it? All I can do is hope I might find some nice hunter friends who know what I go through...

Even though I hadn't even knocked on the door, I jump as the knob turns and I see a broad man standing in the hallway. His hair is dark, almost black, just as his eyes are grey glaring coldly at me. I vaguely recognized him from his brief visits at my house, even though he always disappeared into my father's office in a second. One I was never allowed to enter. Not that that kept me out.

But there was something about this man that scared me and I wondered how it can be that vampires are bad, but humans are not. This man just felt evil to me.

"You're Taylor's kid. Next time your father should announce your visit. This is a vampire free house and I like to keep it that way. That means anyone who comes unannounced can have a bullet in his brain." His voice was gravelly and low, which gave me the creeps even more than his eyes did. And then again, because I wasn't a normal ten-year old, I straightened my shoulders and held the letter up to him.

"My father asked me to bring this over. He said it was important." Surprisingly my voice didn't fail me and stayed matter-of-factly. Mr. Marlowe didn't seem the least impressed or eager to read the 'important' letter. With just one look at me, he grabbed the letter from my hand. He used his thick fingers to rip it open and just as he started reading, I noticed something over his shoulder.

Or rather someone.

At the top of the staircase, I saw a boy my age peek around the corner. When I caught his eye, he seemed startled and his bright blue eyes were pleading not to let his father know he was there. I don't even know how I knew that's what his eyes were saying, but I did. So I nodded slightly, just a small movement while my eyes didn't leave his. As the boy with the blue eyes – and black hair, the only thing he seemed to have inherited from his father – nodded back, Mr. Marlowe folded the letter again. When I averted my eyes to him quickly, I noticed a slight change. Maybe he was confused?