A long, long time ago there was a girl. She was beautiful, with long dark hair and a creamy complexion. She was a noblewoman, one of the highest in her social class. The women who were her friends loved her and the women who saw her wanted to be her. She was what you would want to be in every way. She was only young though. Well, in those days she was quite old. If she had been alive in our time, then she would have had a chance to be young, to not have to worry so much about the pressure's of society. Her name was Miranda. She wasn't married because she was constantly being asked. So she always said no. Everyone was waiting for her to say yes to some lucky man, who would indeed be lucky. It almost seemed like she had better things to do. But what would be more important then being married, most of the women asked themselves. But Miranda had higher cause. Something that would save humanity.

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" Thank you." Miranda replied to the young gentlemen who had just complimented on her new dress. She had it made from the finest of silks and was beaming with the praise of those that surrounded her. Even though she was seemingly perfect, she was having terrible thoughts in her mind. She couldn't help but feel guilty but she pushed those feelings aside. Some people didn't like the young girl. They believed that she received to much attention for a women such as herself should get. And the fact that she had turned down all those noble men, she had some nerve. " May I have this dance?" A young man asked, holding his hand out towards her. She turned towards him and stopped. She hesitated and then gave him a charming smile. " I would love to." She said. She put her hand in his and he led her to the outdoor terrace. It was empty and the music drifted quietly through the doors. The couple slow danced but Miranda moved stiffly. Finally the two stopped. " what's wrong?" the man asked, giving her a concerned look. " Nothing...I" she started to reply but then she stopped. The man's face had changed and the demon within him took over.

" Great." Miranda said as she ducked the vampires charge. He rolled to the ground. She quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure that nobody was headed to the terrace and that nobody was watching. She quickly drew the curtains on the inside and closed the doors. She knew that she'd have to get rid of him before he came back. He was invited after all. The vampire drew himself up and snarled. She glared and drew a stake out of her dress. The vampire laughed. " A mere woman thinks that she can kill me? Ha!" He said, and Miranda glared even harder at the vampire with an evil glint in her eye. She didn't reply and the two charged at each other. They fought for a few minutes and they were slowly heading towards the thorn bushes around the terrace. Finally, Miranda trapped the vampire on the ground and drove the stake into his heart. He gasped and then turned to dust. Her skirt was torn and her ankle was twisted but she got up anyway. That's when the doors to the terrace opened.

" And this is the...Miranda!" Mr. Taylor cried as she dropped to the ground once more, wincing in pain. " Are you all right?" He asked quickly rushing over to her. " I'm alright." She replied, her voice filled with pain. " What happened?" Someone in the crowd asked. " I decided to take a walk in the terrace but I twisted my ankle and fell. The thorns tore my new dress." Miranda's lower lip trembled and Mr. Taylor gave her a comforting hug. " It'll be alright. I will send for a coach to take you home." I'm sure no one will mind you leaving the party early." Mr. Taylor said, already gesturing to one of his servants to complete the task. Miranda hated the way that the rich treated their servants and hated that she had to have them but her father insisted. There wasn't anything she could do about it. They both knew that other people would wonder about them if they didn't have servants. Even though in their household, they weren't servants. They were just like family. They all knew the secrets that held the family together, but when company came along, they were treated with the same kind of disrespectful looks and people who saw them as just another decoration that you would buy for your house. She limped and whimpered as she got ready to leave.

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Several men offered her a ride home but she refused them politely saying things about getting home as quickly as possible. She got into the coach and watched the scenery fly by. She waited impatiently for them to reach her home when finally they pulled up to the gates. The coachman reached for the door handle and tears started to pour down her cheeks. " Are you okay, miss?" He asked in concern. " Yes. I will be fine once I get to my father." She said bravely as she stumbled out of the coach. She leaned on the man until they reached the door. Before they could knock it was pulled open. " Oh my! My little dearie! Are you alright? We'll have to send for the doctor at once!" Their maid Sara cried as the coachman helped Miranda to the nearest velvet chair. " That will be all. Thank you for bringing her home." A man in his late forties or early fifties told the young coachman. " Yes sir." The coachman replied, quickly leaving and shutting the door behind him. Immediately, the girl stopped crying and got up from the chair. She ripped off the end of her skirt that was almost totally fallen off. " What happened this time?" Her father asked. He was tall and handsome, with gray hair and very regal looking. " Hmm." She mumbled, already on her way up the stairs. He followed her as she went to her bedroom. She closed the door and he stood outside. Soon after she came out dressed in comfortable pants and blouse. " Vampire. Dead. Hungry." She replied on her way down the stairs again. " A vampire is already dead before you kill it, and it's hungry?" He asked.

She stopped in the kitchen doorway and turned to face her father and watcher. " He's dead again. Non existent. And I am quite hungry. Join me if you like." She told him and continued on her way into the kitchen. " There was a vampire at the party?" Her father asked her with great displeasure. " Yes, I killed him on the terrace. No one was aware of it. I don't believe that there were any more." She said, making herself something to eat. " I don't like this. They have been turning up too often. Something is happening." He said, mostly to himself as he sat down next to the ravenous girl. "I wouldn't think much of it father. It's just that their numbers are having a little bit of a growth. Nothing that a little slaying can't take care of." Miranda smiled at her father and he smiled back but his was a worried smile. A watcher sometimes can almost sense when something was about to happen. All he could do was hope that he was wrong.

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Miranda had been born in a beautiful house with gold colored trim around the garden's edges. She was born at the break of dawn and the sunlight gleamed off the trim as if the whole house was made of gold. It had been a glorious day for all of them. Jonas and his wife, Amelia knew before Miranda had been born that she was to be the next slayer. Jonas and Amelia had trained enough slayers to know the powerful energy they gave off. Jonas had met Amelia while they were both in elementary school. they were never friends for she was always giggling with the girls and he was always buried in a book. When they had met again, when they had both reached adulthood, Jonas being eighteen and Amelia being 16, they met once again and got married. They were in love and soon, Amelia became aware that he was a watcher. Soon, they were training slayers together, mourning the deaths of each one that had their final battle against the evils that haunted them.

After the birth of Miranda, they started training her right away. When she was young they started with simple things that seemed ordinary to a nobleman's eyes like swimming and horse riding and other such activities. She started younger then most girls or boys for that matter but whenever asked they would reply that it was because they " wanted her to have a good hand for it while she is young so that she can concentrate harder on he studies." Nobody challenged this because it was a legitimate excuse. They told Miranda that she was to be the Slayer when she was 10. That way she would understand what it was like and what kind of a duty it was. The previous Slayer died when Miranda was thirteen. It was a very young age for a Slayer and no other Slayer had started so young but her parents had known that she was to have a lot of responsibilities at a young age so it suited her.

Miranda had always loved slaying. She thought that it brought her power and she soon became very interested in the underworld. She studied almost every chance she got even though sometimes she would be caught reading stories of vampires with souls or who were in love but she knew that it was impossible. Now that she was sixteen, slaying had become routine and while slaying did take up a lot of her time, she still managed her social life with ease. Maybe it was because she was born with a talent for acting which had gotten her out of many tough situations.

Miranda's mother died when she was fourteen. Her father and herself had gone out looking for a new vampire that had come to town. After a successful night, they returned finding Amelia in a pool of blood. As strong as she was, she was never meant to fight vampires and had been killed. Miranda handled it in the same way that she handled everything. She grieved the death of her mother but refused to cry if there was anyone around her. for all anyone knew, she didn't cry at all. Her mother's death gave her an even greater reason to loathe vampires and she took it with eagerness. All she concentrated on now was killing them. Killing them all.

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It was the next morning and the sun dawned over the pretty house earlier then usual. However, it didn't matter for Miranda and her father were already up, just getting in from a night's work. There hadn't been much action the night before but they knew it was because the vampires had found a new hiding spot. All they had to do was find it but since their town wasn't that big, it couldn't be too hard to find it. Miranda watched the sun rise and breathed in the morning. She loved it when the night came to an end. It meant that the pain and suffering that vampires brought to humanity was ending. Not exactly for long but it gave her a false sense of security.

She quickly went inside because the morning was cold and she was tired. She hadn't been sleeping well lately and on top of that she knew that there were more vampires and the anxiety was too much for her. But she kept this from her father because she knew that it would only worry him. When she finally got to her room, she fell exhausted onto her bed. She knew that she should probably change into her nightgown, that way she would probably get a better sleep but before she could get up, she dozed off.

Her father walked by Miranda's room and looked in. There was his daughter lying on her bed, asleep. He sighed. He knew that he had been working her extra hard lately and he also knew that something terrible was coming. He also knew that she wouldn't be able to handle it. He hoped that she could but in his heart he knew that she couldn't. She was one of the best slayers that he had ever trained but she would die like the rest. He walked into her room and pulled the covers over her body. He knew that she needed extra sleep and decided to let her skip the morning tea so that she could sleep. She turned and started to mumble in her sleep. He knew that she was having the dreams. The dreams that all slayers had when they knew that something was coming. He sighed, closing the door behind him as he proceeded to go downstairs and cancelled the morning tea.

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" Miranda, keep your fists up! No, don't lift the leg, but keep your fists up. " Jonas yelled as he watched his daughter practice her fighting skills. He watched as she stumbled and let down her guard for a split second. She regained her balance and was about to keep going when her father stopped her by saying " Too late. He's already killed you." She sighed and walked over to him. "Was that better then last time?" She asked, as she took a drink of her water. " actually, that move has improved nicely. It will work easily on the young vampires but the older and more experienced ones will be ready for it if you do it the way you just did it now." He replied, waiting for her to finish drinking. When she stopped, she hopped up to keep practising, but he stopped her again. "That's enough for today." He said. "But I haven't even started the...." She started to say when he interrupted. " You have Lady Elizabeth's ballroom party this evening and I wouldn't want to wear you down. You have been awfully tired lately and I don't want anyone to believe that you have had any other kind of extra-curricular activities. All you need is someone asking constantly why you are so tired." Her father replied, gesturing for her to go upstairs and get ready. She smiled and bounded up the stairs full of adrenaline.

When Miranda finally got upstairs, she looked into the mirror. The stringy hair and the baggy clothes did not suit a lady of her sort of status, she decided and she opened her elaborate closet. Many dresses hung from the racks. She looked at each one, but still couldn't find the right dress. Then she found the perfect one. She hadn't worn it yet and it was just perfect for a ball. It was dark red velvet with sleeves that hung over her shoulders so that they were bare, lace around the neckline which was cut low but not too low and the skirt was long and also had lace on the bottom. On the bottom it was also pulled up in certain places like a curtain and underneath was another layer of the dark red material. She sighed as she looked at it, loving every inch of it. She couldn't wait to show it to all of her friends. She didn't have any really close friends because none of them would ever condone her destiny. In their minds, it was a man's job to do that sort of thing. In her mind, it was her destiny, her future and someday, her death.

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"You look beautiful Miranda!" One of the elderly noblewomen called as she sashayed by. "Thank you." She replied politely, nodding her head in a curtsied as she walked by. Several young men turned to look at her when she walked in the door. She ignored their stares, used to that sort of thing by now. They were all the same, conceited and pompous and with that meant rich. She sighed as Lady Elizabeth ran up to her. She knew that Elizabeth would spend the whole night bragging about how great her party was and how wonderful everyone was saying she looked. Miranda plastered a fake smile onto her lips as Elizabeth ran up to join her. " You won't believe this!" She said before Miranda could even open her mouth. Miranda was caught by surprise for her friend was never one to gossip, at least not until she was finished bragging. "What?" Miranda asked curiously, her attention caught by her friend's rosy cheeks. " There is a new young man at this party. He just moved to town and he is very eligible and very charming!" She cried, looking in his direction. " Look, there he is!" She cried again, as a path opened in the crowd and gave Miranda a good look at him.

She smiled curtly saying " How nice." As she kept her eyes on the young man. He didn't seem like the usual sort of men she knew and before she could bring herself to look away, he turned to catch her staring. He smiled a coy smile and winked at her. She gasped and blushed, quickly looking away. Lady Elizabeth glanced at her in surprise. " Miranda? You look awfully flushed. You might not be developing a crush the nice young man?" She asked, smiling a devious smile. " Now don't you get any ideas. And I do not have a crush or whatever you call it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Charlotte, I promised her I'd look for her." and with that Miranda walked away from her smiling friend.

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The group of people laughed and Philip beamed. Miranda leaned over and whispered in Elizabeth's ear " Yes, he would think that something that stupid is funny. He'll never grow up." And Elizabeth giggled. Miranda knew that it wasn't right to talk about people like that but she just couldn't stand William. He thought he was so great. She smiled remembering the time that he had asked her to dance and she had replied with a fairly nasty answer for a lady. She had felt a little guilty afterwards but not for long. She walked away from the group and went out to the terrace. It was kind of cool outside so she draped her shawl over her shoulders. Nobody was out on the terrace so she just waked around. She looked through the glass doors and watched the couples dance.

Soon, her eyes fell upon the young man that Elizabeth had pointed out earlier. He seems like a popular little boy Miranda thought to herself watching that way he teased and flirted with her friends. She felt a little tug in her heart. Jealous, are we? She asked herself. She quickly pushed that thought away. She was not jealous of him and she promptly decided that he was just like all the other men that she had ever met. She turned swiftly just as someone kicked her in the stomach. She doubled over and looked up at her attacker. It was another vampire, she couldn't believe it. She decided that the next time she went to a party, she should stay off the terrace. She got into her fighting stance, taking a quick look behind her to make sure nobody was near the windows. Then she kicked the vampire in the face and then kicked his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground with a bang and she lunged for him but he got up a lot quicker then she expected and she fell to the ground. She turned her face up to the vampire and glared.

He went to punch her but she grabbed his arm and threw him into the rose bushes surrounding the terrace. She took her stake out of her dress and staked the vampire. As the vampire turned to dust, Miranda fell to the ground heavily. She hadn't realized how heavy the dress would be for slaying when she had put it on. After about a minute, she got up. She knew her hair must have looked terrible and she was about to go back inside to find somewhere to fix it when someone walked up behind her. " Are you alright?" the young man asked. She turned and looked at the young man. She immediately recognized him as the man that Elizabeth had pointed out. He gave her a smirk and she couldn't help but blush at the memory of when he caught her staring. " I'm fine." She said, pushing herself up off the ground. He held out his hand and she ignored it as she started to walk away. " Are you sure? What were you doing out here? You look like something happened." He said, calling out to her even though it didn't sound like concern. It sounded more like a remark.

" I can assure you that if anything had happened that I would have handled it with the ease and grace of any capable woman. And it is none of your business if a young lady decides to take a stroll to get away from a frightfully dull party." She replied, sticking her nose up into the air as she started to pull open one of the doors. He ran up to her and stopped the door with his hand. She glared at him. "Here." He said, reaching into her hair and pulling out a thorn from the rose bushes. She gave him a haughty look and sashayed through the door as he lifted his eyebrow in a suspicious glance.

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Miranda stifled a yawn as Robert continued his story. He glanced over at her and smiled. She smiled back. Robert was the only one out of all the men that she knew that she liked. They had grown up together so they would never consider courting and he knew how she felt about these parties. She found them boring. When he finished everyone laughed. Miranda smiled in a laughing way and was about to excuse herself when someone took hold of her elbow. She turned and there was the young man from the terrace. She pulled her elbow from his grip. " I don't believe that we've formally met." He said, pulling her slightly away from the group. " My name is William. William Smith. And you would be...?" He asked, taking her hand in his to kiss it. " Miranda. Miranda Winsor." She pulled her hand away just as he was about to kiss it and he looked up with a mischievous grin. " May I have this dance?" He asked. Before she could answer he was already leading her toward the dance floor.

The dance was a slow one and the two lined up with the rest of the dancing couples. Every time that William and Miranda had to walk in to meet each other, she would look away with a bored expression on his face but would soon be drawn to look into his eyes. He would look into hers until she did too and then she would quickly blush and look away once more. Finally, the dance was over but a quicker one started. Before she could get away, he had already grabbed her around the waist and the had started spinning around with the other couples. She gave into him as the started spinning faster and faster. The couples then started switching and Miranda found her self dancing with Robert. She smiled and he smiled back and they threw themselves into the music. They switched again and Miranda didn't know her partner but he was a good dancer and seemed like a nice gentlemen. The dance was almost over and just before the music ended, Miranda turned to face her new partner, tripped and fell into his arms.

Miranda looked up and found that she was staring into William's eyes. They faces were close and she could feel his heart beat. She blushed and got up slowly. He looked uncomfortable and said " Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go for I promised a lady a dance." He smiled an uncomfortable smile and left her quickly. She looked down at the floor, disappointed at his sudden departure. Then she quickly remembered there were people around her and she didn't want anyone to know that she may actually like this William so she smiled at the nearest man and went to search for Robert.

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Miranda smiled and continued to listen to the conversation half heartedly. She had found Robert and had stayed by his side since dancing with William for she wanted him to think that she had someone to court her anyway. The truth was that she was starting to like William and she didn't want him to know that. He had danced with several other women after her and they had all fallen all over him. They were flirting so much that Miranda wanted to be sick. She couldn't help but keep looking in William's direction and he had looked over at her a few times but she had quickly looked away. A new dance was starting soon and Miranda watched as William approached Elizabeth. She knew that he asked her to dance and she got up and they waited for the last dance to finish. Miranda put her arm through Robert's and asked sweetly " Robert? Would you dance with me? I'm feeling a little restless." She said gesturing towards the boring conversation between the two other couples with them. " Sure. I've been waiting for an excuse to get out of here." He whispered back to her. " I'm sorry, but Miranda and I are going to join the dancers. Excuse us." Robert said as the two made their way to the dance floor.

It was another fast number and Robert and Miranda started to twirl showing up all the other dancers on the floor except for William and Elizabeth. The were equally matched and Miranda and Robert threw themselves into the movements, something that had been practising with each other since they were young, they had always been known as the best dancers in town. Tonight it seemed as if they were equally matched. Both couples danced until they were the only couples left dancing on the dance floor. Everyone gathered around and watched. As Miranda spun to face William and Elizabeth, Elizabeth giggled and looked into William's eyes flirtily. He smiled back and Miranda wiped her head around in disgust.

Then, before she knew it, she found herself dancing with William. Robert and William had switched places. Miranda was so busy being angry and trying to make William jealous that she hadn't even remembered that half way through the dance they switched partners. She looked coldly away from William and did her best to show him up. It seemed to her that no matter how much better she tried to make her dancing, the more he got better and matched her. She glanced over at Elizabeth and Robert and saw that they weren't doing as well. Elizabeth had always been a clumsy dancer and Robert was so used to dancing with Miranda that he was not accustomed to dancing without someone who knew what they were doing.

On the other hand, William knew exactly how to dance and was a wonderful dancer if you paired him with the right person. Miranda kept going and soon found that was enjoying it. She'd never danced with someone other then Robert who actually knew how to dance. Soon, she was smiling up at William and he grinned at her as they soon began to try new moves until everyone was clapping and cheering. Finally, the two couples switched back, and Miranda remembered that William had also been in the attention of every other girl earlier that night. He was just being polite to her. Even if he did like her, it would only be as a friend. The dance ended and everyone clustered around the two couples and Miranda had to hide a scowl when she looked over and saw William's arm around Elizabeth. He caught her looking at just that moment and withdrew his arm. She looked away and started to push herself out of the group.

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Miranda sat by herself in the corner thinking of how much of an idiot William Smith was. She knew that she was pouting and by the way that Robert kept looking at her, she knew that he knew too. She could never tell him why though. It was too embarrassing. I mean, she was the slayer and all. She shouldn't bother herself with love and such things. I won't live that long anyway. She thought before she could stop herself. Her heart dropped when she realized what that meant. He wouldn't be able to know anyway. Who would believe that there are vampires or that I'm a vampire slayer anyway? I know I wouldn't. She thought, pushing the other thought aside.

She could feel her lower lip start to tremble when she could feel breath against her neck. Soon, hands placed themselves on her shoulders. " I know I shouldn't sulk Robert but if you would've seen the way Will..." She started until the voice interrupted. " I'm sorry but I'm not Robert." Her head turned until she met the eyes of William Smith. She blushed and then turned her eyes back to the dancers. " What am I doing that has you so unnerved?" He asked. " I wasn't talking about you. Your not the only William on the planet you know." She replied haughtily. He went around the chair and kneeled down in front of her. " I'm the only William at this party." He said earnestly. He looked away, almost shyly and asked politely. " My fair lady, may I have this dance?" He held out his hand, waiting for an answer. " It would be a pleasure." She replied quietly taking his hand.

Once on the dance floor, William returned to normal. As they passed each other, Miranda asked him " So why have you asked me to dance instead of the other women you have been dancing with this evening?" She smiled at him and he gave her a naughty smile back. He took her hand and they walked to the end of the aisle as he said " I found that I have a special liking to a young girl I danced with earlier. She was fairly beautiful and when I asked her to dance with me for the last danced, I was quite surprised she said yes." She blushed knowing that he was talking about her. " And how did you know that Robert was not courting me?" She asked just as they were about to take their place in the row. " I asked." He said, turning away from her, just missing the secret smile she had upon her face.

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The party was over and the few lingering guests sat in clusters in the ballroom chatting quietly. Miranda and William sat alone in a corner, talking amongst themselves. Finally, William got up and offered his hand to Miranda. " Please join me out on the terrace." He said. She hesitated for a moment, thinking of vampires and wanting to leave that life behind her for tonight. But when she saw the look in his eyes she agreed. They went through the doors and walked silently, listening to the sounds of the wind whistling through the trees.

The just walked for a moment breathing in the darkness until he turned towards her. " Maybe we should go back." he said. " Why?" Miranda asked, confused. " Your father might be looking for you." He replied in genuine worry for her. " No that's all right. He's busy chatting politics. He won't be looking for me for awhile." She said. They stared int each others eyes. " So why did you ask all those other women the dance?" She asked him as they resumed walking. " I thought it was polite." He replied. " The real reason?" She said. " I wanted to make you jealous." He turned towards her again. " Why did you cling to Robert's arm all night? Did you want me to think that you were being courted?" He asked. " Maybe." She said flirtingly. Then, all of a sudden they were very close. they stood close, breathing silently. Finally, Miranda moved in slowly and they kissed.

She threw her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. He put his arms around her waist. She'd never felt this way about anyone before and she didn't want it to end. The kiss lasted a long time. When they stopped, they stared at each other. He took his hand and ran it along her face and then to her lips. He then took her hand, placed it upon his lips and kissed it. He put his arm around her waist and started walking again. She placed his head on her shoulder and soon her real life started rushing back to her. She knew that it would never work out. But then her father had married. Maybe it would work out. At that very moment, before she could have any more doubts he kissed her again.

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" I can't believe that after all these years, you can still find time to crush on some young man." Her father said, looking at her with a disapproving eye. " It's not a crush daddy..." "Then what would you call it?" He asked her demandingly. " I don't know yet. But that's what I have to find out! I ... just trust me. That's all you can do for me." She looked pleadingly into his eyes. " Fine. But the slaying is still a secret. He should not know under any conditions." He warned her and she grinned happily.

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Over the next several months, Miranda and William continued to see each other. After about a month, he started to court her. Her father never did get a good chance to meet the young man. Whenever he talked to William it seemed as if he was putting on an act to please him. That way, Jonas could not have known how William was. And it wasn't affecting Miranda's slaying at all. He trusted this and the way his daughter felt about the young man.

After about seven months, the two were inseparable. Everyone in town knew that they would be married and Miranda's father dreaded the day that he would have to face the marriage proposal. He didn't know how Miranda would handle it. Her duty as the slayer would directly contradict with a housewife's job and William didn't even know that she was the slayer. But her love for him was great, he knew and he had to agree with whatever decision that his daughter would make.

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" I have a surprise for you tonight." Will told Miranda as he held out a rose for her. " Really? What kind of surprise?" She asked, smiling and giving him a kiss for the rose. " Is it a good surprise?" " The best kind. If you like surprises." He replies. " I love surprises." She responded and the two kissed again. She waved good-bye as she reached her doorstep and he returned to his horse ad carriage.

Miranda held the rose to her heart, not even feeling the thorns that threatened to prick her. She sighed happily entering the house. Her father watched her enter with a heavy feeling in her heart. He knew he could not stop her from seeing William and didn't want to but Miranda did not need distractions now. Whatever he thought was coming before was getting closer. He had tried to bring up the subject with Miranda once while they were training and all she would do was giggle and exclaim that she'd have those vampires on the run. He knew that there would be no point in bringing it up again. She would have to face whatever it was. Alone.

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" You still have an hour of training left!" Her father exclaimed in total shock. " Father! I have to go! One half hour of a skipped practise won't hurt!" She threw back at him defiantly. " An hour more like it! And it will hurt if they decide to strike tonight! They wouldn't strike during my surprise with William!" She said, for some reason thinking that the vampires wouldn't come if she was gone out with William. " And why not? Since when have vampires developed consideration? Have I been in a coma for three thousand years? Oh sorry then, I didn't know!" Her father replied sarcastically. " Oh Father." Miranda said, in a quiet, disappointed voice. They stood there for a few moments of uncomfortable silence. " You may go." He finally said in a choked voice. " Oh thank you!" She replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and stating to rush for the door. " Miranda." Jonas said before she went out the door. " What?" She asked, turning. " Good-bye." He said knowing that this would be the night that she would face the vampires. She nodded, not knowing what he meant. There was nothing to do now but wait.

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Miranda sighed. The night was coming to a close but so far the evening had actually been quite ordinary. Not that it hadn't been romantic. William had prepared a candle lit dinner for two and had paid her such beautiful compliments but he had not done anything that Miranda considered a surprise and so she sighed. He looked into her eyes with his own deep velvety ones. " What is troubling you, my Miranda?" He asked sweetly. She stopped. She could not tell him the truth. But before she could stop herself, she had blurted out her story. She finished with a look of horror on her face. What had ever possessed her to say such a thing? He nodded in understanding though. " I know what you mean. But I haven't shown you the surprise yet. I thought that I would save it for after dinner. I know you'll love it. I'm practically jumping out of my seat, I'm so excited." He said. She smiled.

" So, what is it?" She asked in anticipation. " This." William got up from the table. He walked over to her side of the table and kneeled before her. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a jewellery case. Miranda stared at it in total shock. She hadn't expected this but now that it brought it to mind, she really did love William. They were meant to be. And there would never be anyone else in the world that she would ever love more than him. He opened the box and in it lay the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. He looked up into her eyes and asked. " Will you marry me?" He asked. She stared into his eyes, with as much emotion as one can see in a person's eyes. " Yes." She replied. He got up and pulled her out of her chair towards him. They kissed a long and passionate kiss. The sweetness hung in the air as Miranda eyes filled with tears of happiness. Then, she screamed in terror.

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Jonas dropped his book with a jolt. He knew that Miranda was going to face a dark power that night but had not expected it to effect her in such a way. He had a sort of connection with his slayer, had always had that special link to them, a talent that most watchers would die to possess. But at this moment it filled him with blind horror. Something terrible had happened and he realised that she could not handle it. If she didn't have help right away, she would certainly die. He rushed to get his coat and grabbed some weapons on the way. Miranda would need all the weapons she could get. He could not intervene. It was his duty as the watcher to treat Miranda like any other slayer that he had trained. Even it meant losing that only thing he had to remember his wife with. Even if it meant losing his daughter.

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Miranda fell against the table, knocking over everything on it. She glanced around the room. Vampires filled every corner and of course, she had not brought a stake. Two of them came and grabbed William. He cried out and pulled but it was of no use. Miranda screamed in protest, they could do anything except hurt William. Vampires started to attack her randomly. She fought of the first bunch with ease, but she did not have anything to kill them with. The table was too far away, so she just had to keep fighting. Soon, she started to realise that it would be an endless task for every vampire she threw to the ground, she became weaker and they just got up with the same intensity. Finally, she collapsed. The vampires crowded around her in a laughing circle.

She tried to see through them for William but could not. All she could remember was the screaming pain that she had heard from his mouth while she was fighting the vampires. She had failed. She had failed to do her duty to the world as the slayer, to her father as his daughter and to William as his love. She started to get dizzy but kept her watchful eyes on the vampires surrounding her. Soon, they became quiet and they parted. William walked through them, apparently unhurt. He bent next to her and took her in his arms. The vampires started to disperse and she lay in his arms for a moment. It didn't even occur to her to question why the vampires were leaving. Then she looked up into William's eyes.

She stared at him in a horrified way and backed up. William eyes showed a false sense of hurt and a twinkle of laughter in his eyes. " William!" was all that she could manage to get her lips to say. " What did they do to you? They...oh it's all my fault...." and then she stopped. People did not turn into vampires right away. Then realisation dawned. William had always been a vampire. They had never met during the day and he always came late to parties if it was still light out. But that did not erase the pull and pains in her heart. " You've always been a vampire." She said. " Yes." He replied solemnly. Then he laughed. " I was starting to wonder if you'd figure it out." He said. " And you loved me, didn't you?" He asked, using his fake sincere voice. " Yes." Miranda replied in a short amazed whisper.

He walked over to her and took her hands in his. She was too shocked and tired to protest. " I knew you did too." He said, still in a laughing way. " I felt kinda sorry for you. Oh well." He chuckled to himself as if remembering the way he had fooled her. He pulled her up to her feet and she stared at him with wide eyes. " One last kiss good-bye." He pulled her once more, and she kissed him back with all her emotion, knowing that it was over. " Good-bye." William whispered as he bit into the flesh of the young slayer's neck.

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Jonas walked into the empty room. William turned, kneeling on the ground next to the overturned table. " Watcher." He said in greeting, moving away from the dead body over which he was kneeling. Jonas did not gasp in surprise but his heart received a terrible blow. " Vampire." He replied. " I never though I'd get to meet you. I was kind of worried. Most of the other great vampires got to meet you but I only got to meet your slayers. What a cute bunch. You trained , what? five slayers?" He said, walking towards the father. " You killed two." Jonas replied in disgust. " Three now." William retorted, patting Jonas on the shoulder as he walked past him and out the door.

Jonas stared at his daughter's broken, beautiful body as it lay on the floor. He walked over to it, and kissed his daughter one last time on her cold forehead. He turned swiftly, with a tear rolling down his cheek. He proceeded towards the door and just as he reached the hallway of the great building he saw William in the shadows. " Pity." The vampire said, the last words that Jonas heard him say.

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" Isn't it strange that they would leave so suddenly? And William just up and disappeared too! Not even leaving any kind of warning." One young girl said in the powder room of the hall. " My theory is that Miranda and William eloped and her father couldn't take it." Another girl replied. " Humph." Shrugged the first girl as they left the powder room

IN A FAR OFF PLACE.....

Jonas walked up to the young girl sitting on the veranda. " Missy Lawrence?" He asked. " Yes, I am she." The young girl responded, not knowing what meaning was carried in those words. " My name is Jonas and I am here to inform you that you are the chosen one. The Vampire Slayer."

THE END