VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE FANFICTION PART 2- NEW YORK

LIFE MUST GO ON

It was mid-September, and the first signs of winter were appearing already. With the unbearable hustle and bustle of New York, High Regent Aisling Sturbridge was almost glad of the winter chill, since it kept the humans indoors more often.

"It's gonna be a cold winter this year." Said the elderly man beside her. He wore a cheap grey winter jacket, complete with thick trousers and a thick winter hat over his grey hair. Standing next to the kindred, with her unblemished white skin, slim oval eyeglasses, waist length hair tied into a ponytail, fairly long nose and neck and her expensive black winter coat which did much to cover her body, made the exchange between them seem like an elderly janitor talking to his boss. That was, in fact, what they were, save the fact that he was no ordinary janitor, and she no ordinary boss.

"I suppose so." She responded, then continued. "You really should get going. It's getting late, and cold."

"You sure about that ma'am?" He replied. After a slight nod from her, he acquiesced. "Alright then, suit yourself. Tomorrow then." And with that, he waded to the street. She watched him until he disappeared around a corner, then turned around to look at the large, but otherwise ordinary, brick building that served as the Tremere main headquarters in the Big Apple. His day may be over, but hers was just beginning.

"Ten winters." She said, under her breath. Ten winters the Camarilla city of New York had gone without a prince.

Liz strolled in a leisurely manner down a street in downtown LA. The place was undoubtedly not as crowded as it was a month ago. With school and work resuming, people had better things to do than get wasted and high.

School. A sharp pang of longing hit her. She had almost forgotten about that. It was September, which meant school had already resumed. Thoughts began to race through her mind. How was she going to attend classes, given her... condition? She could always register for online courses, but what about other things? Extracurricular activities, parties, her friends... in short, how was she going to manage school without breaking the Masquerade?

She shook her head. Can't worry about that now. She thought. She had only an hour to get back to the mansion as per Christof's orders, and she had to feed.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted, however, when someone grabbed her from behind, closing her mouth shut with a dirty hand, and forcefully dragged her into an alleyway. "What the..." was all she could get out before he pointed a pocket knife to her throat while still struggling to hold her in place with his other arm. "Shut up." He said, forcefully but hushed. "Shut the fuck up, or I'll fucking kill you! You hear me, I'll fucking kill you! Now hand over your fucking phone."

Normally, Liz would be quaking in fear and spilling her guts before the guy. After all, it wasn't the first time she had been mugged. This time, though, instead of fear, an unholy anger claimed her. With one swift jerk, she effortlessly threw him off, causing him to fall flat on his back.

"Hey, what the..." was all he could say before Liz turned to meet him. Her glowing red eyes and her angry glare froze him in place. Liz herself, who was still quite aware of herself and what she was doing, wasn't thinking of any moral consequences. This man had annoyed her, and thus he had to pay. With one swift motion she grabbed him by his hair and forcefully stood him up. Then, after a second of consideration, exposed his jugular and brought down her fangs.

The ecstasy of the Kiss soon drowned out the man's terror, if only enough for him to stop screaming. Even after Liz dropped him on the ground, he didn't run away in terror like she expected. He just sat there, staring wide eyed at her. Guilt flooded into Elizabeth's blood-stained face. She hadn't frenzied, yet she had done that. Even worse, she couldn't just let the man go. Steeling herself, she gave him a brutal kick to his head. He slumped.