The Takeover

They never expected this. They hadn't planned for this. No parents ever did. How could they have possibly guess their child would be a sire? They now had two choices. Give the infant to the Guardians and have their own daughter slaughtered for something she didn't choose to be, or keep her and endanger their own lives.

Fortunately for the child, her parents where properly educated. They knew the sires ended the create war between the monsters, humans, elves, dwarves, and centaurs so many years ago. Had they not intervened what was left of the world's population would have teared itself apart. The child's parents knew magic was not evil, or something that should be feared, if used for the right reasons. And they were not about to kill their daughter because she was born with some silly mark.

So they hid her. They made sure to keep he bangs long enough to hide the mark and limit her interaction with others her age to keep her safe. They did that for four years. That was the youngest age their good friend Rudy could take her.

Rudy was a sire who lived far away and undetected in a small valley surrounded by mountains. He agreed to take their child and raise her, teach her all about her kind as her parents could not. They knew it was best for her, she risked being caught so long as she lived under their roof. They had to give her up. They only hoped she would forgive them when she came of age, and they hoped she'd understand why they had to give her up.



"Why am I up past bed time, mommy?" Lana questioned around the thumb in her mouth, while she was tucked in her mother's arms.

Her mother smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Mommy and Daddy need you to stay with a friend for a while so you don't get hurt here."

"But I want to stay with you." Lana didn't didn't want to stay with a strange person. She wanted her mom and dad.

Her father pulled her mother and herself into a hug. "We know, but this is for the best. And always remember we love you." He pulled away and put loose necklace around Lana's neck. "Here is my lucky coin necklace. It will keep you safe and give you something to always remember us by."

Suddenly Lana was being transferred into someone else's arms and was half way down the street before she realized. She didn't cry. Her parents had always told her to stay strong and don't cry. No matter what the other kids called her, or how much they hurt her she needed to stay strong. She assumed the advice applied to this situation too and began firing off questions instead.

“Who are you? Where are we going?” Lana’s small voice asked the strange man, who now carried her in his arms.

“I’m taking you to safety.” His voice was low, like a growling animal. “Your parents want you to live, so you must come with me.”

“Will I ever see mommy and daddy again, mister?” She noticed that he ignored her. So her small hands tugged at his beard, to get his attention.

“Maybe someday. But not for a long while, little one.” He was gentle and compassionate, and even though he was separating her from her parents, something about this man made it okay. Lana didn’t question that feeling.

“Am I going away because of this?” Her chubby fingers pushed her bangs up, revealing her sire mark.

“Yes, you’re different, and people don’t like different.” He explained. “Now put your hair back down. Before someone sees.”

Lana questioned the man the entire journey. He didn't mind; seeing how outgoing she was gave him hope. Maybe she could be a better sire than he was.