This is a preview of the story I've been working on. Started when I was thirteen, stopped for five years, and I'm resuming it now.

Here it is.
Let me know if you want to read the rest. I don't want to officially post it here yet without a title. So help with that as well!
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Ichiro stood in the arch of the doorway as Ashen walked up to the counter of a wooden inn named Maple’s. The mud smashed onto his boots made it apparent that both he and his new friends had been running for most of the night. There was no time to stop, there wasn’t even time to catch a breath. The streets had been empty and they were easy targets for the army of men who were hungrily looking for them, as though they were they’re next meal ticket.
“I want to speak to Maple directly,” Ashen explained to the man behind the counter. Regardless of how much they had been through that night. The youth’s hair lay neatly on his head, his robes pressed wrinkleless against his body. He wasn’t even out of breath. “Its important.”
The man’s extremely thin mustache gave a suspicious twitch. Though he had seen Ashen before, he never did trust him. “And what’s so important?” he asked as though he really didn’t care for an answer.
Ashen juggled the sleeping Sky in his arms, annoyance quickly creeping upon his face. “lease –“.
Leon cut him off, “Just bring the woman out.” Her arms were folded , giving the man behind the counter a death glare. “We’re not asking for much,” she spat. “Its not like she’s royalty.”
With one last apprehensive twitch of his mustache, the man disappeared into a nearby doorway. He moved sluggishly, hating the fact that he needed to take orders, though he did it every day. Leon sighed loudly as she watched him go. The young girl was wrung with fatigue, her shoulders slouched and one of her feet rested on the other, as if it wanted to take a rest from the weight it had been carrying. Her eyes screamed “help me.” Despite all this, she still tried her best to remain cool and in control.
“So this is the place, huh?” Ichiro asked as he slowly made his way over to his two companions. His boots cooly hoovered over the dirty wooden floor, hardly making a sound. He eyed the decaying woodwork on the walls, and the water damage from the ceiling. The place smelled of rot and bodies.
Looking over his shoulder slowly, with his lips in a unintentional pout, Ashen nodded. “It doesn’t look like much, but its safe.”
With that, a short woman with build of a chubby middle-aged man walked into the room. The apron she was wearing spelled disaster and her hair, a mesmerizing shade of blonde and obviously her best feature, was tossed about her face. This walking tragedy eyed Ashen, almost as though she had forgotten who he was. “Whaddya want?” she snarled, quickly wiping away a drip of mucus that had been forming around her left nostril.
“We’d like a room for the night, and the next day,” Ashen replied, his eyes wandering everywhere except the woman’s unsightly face.
“The next day?” Leon asked, wide eyed and impatient. “We need to get moving. We can’t stay here for a day ---“. She had been meaning to go into a long rant when Ichiro soothingly placed an arm on her shoulder.
“We have no choice,” he explained with his eyes, and they danced all over Ashen’s form. Immediately Leon understood, nodding, she shut her mouth and let Ashen handle business.
“End?” the woman asked, wanting to know why that request had brought her out into the inn foyer. Her accent was so horrible, It made it hard to understand.
Ashen quietly lifted the small boy in his arms so that he could be viewed from the other side of the counter. Immediately Maple knew why this needed her attention so dearly. “Whadja idiot dew nao?” she asked, with an eyebrow raised. Her arms went into a fold as she shifted her weight onto her right leg.
The vampire averted his eyes and whispered, “He ran off. The boy was alone at his house, no food, no water.” As he spoke, he gained confidence in his fib, and looked into the old woman’s dark eyes. “I guessed he was expecting me to take care of his child, but something has come up. Something that can not allow me to do so, no matter how much I may want to.” He realized that Maple would soon hear the truth of Neo’s death, but at this moment, he knew she would cause too much trouble. Ashen would come back for the boy secretly when all this was over.
For once during this whole conversation, Maple let down her guard. She eyed her feet and sucked in her lips, a sympathetic gesture. Her hands slid out of their fold and rested on her hips. “Wheel ten, I geese we ‘ave no choice. Analee!” she shouted.
Immediately a tall girl in her twenties rushed into the room. She stared at her feet as she ran, quickly wiping her hands on her apron as if she had been cooking. Her emerald green eyes shot up quickly, large and innocent. A strand of her long blonde hair rested on her soft, parted, lips. They looked as if they were expected to be coated in honey, sweet. In a voice almost as charming as its vessel, she asked “What is the matter?”
Maple tossed her head in the direction of Ashen, and Analee’s eyes lit up instantly. She opened a small door made into the counter and glided gracefully over to the vampire. A small elegant hand that had previously been scrubbing the most repulsive of floors, pressed itself against the small boy’s forehead. Analee gently wiped Sky’s fair , white hair from his face. Despite this display of affection, the child lay still, his only movement from taking breaths. The young woman quickly changed her object of attention, looking into Ashen’s large hazel eyes. “What brings you here, Ashen?” she asked with smiling eyes.
At this, the vampire changed his attitude instantly. He was no longer nervous or annoyed. It was as if this frail girl had cured him entirely of what happened earlier that night. “Analee,” he began softly. “I need you to take care of Sky for me. I’ll be gone for a while, and I won’t be able to take care of him.”
Her eyes scanned Ashen’s face as she asked worriedly, “What happened to Neo?”
“He’s gone,” he replied.
Analee diverted her attention to Maple, and was answered with a strong nod of the head. With that, the girl turned back to her friend and took Sky into her arms. She was not certain of what was happening, but she knew not to ask questions. If Maple or Ashen wanted her to know anything, they would have told her by then. As the sleeping boy was transferred from one person to another, he shifted and quickly pushed his tiny thumb into his mouth. “How long will you be gone?” Analee asked, her eyes quickly changing from excited to worried.
“I won’t be long,” was all Ashen could say. Although he had secretly promised himself he would come back for the boy, he knew that he could not come see Analee. It would be too dangerous, and she would not accept him after finding out what had happened to Neo. Ashen forced a smile, a fang poked his bottom lip as he did so. He wanted the conversation to be over as soon as possible. Things would be easier that way. “So how about that room?”
“Rooms,” Leon pipped up.
“Ah,” Analee quickly put on the face of a hostess. “Right this way.”
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Looking into the mirror on her nightstand, a woman gently brushed at her long, jet-black hair. She wore a silk robe of a royal red that trailed onto the floor behind her chair, and a snow-white nightgown. Her blue eyes pierced the nightstand and looked onto the room in back of her. It was of a modern design, a cold living space. The walls were plain, and the only other thing that occupied the room was her canopy bed. There were no pictures of family members. There were no extravagant items that a young, beautiful woman like herself would posess. There was only lonliness.
She lay the brush down and a voice burst from the intercom on the wall directly to her right. “Boss, someone is here to see you.” The transmission ended with a small beep, and the woman slid into her slippers on the chilly floor. She quickly closed her robe and pulled its hood onto her head, tucking away any stray hairs. In another moment, she had walked into a dark room. Its only posession was a large throne. “Who is it this late at night?” she called.
With a swift bow, Erika responded, “Its me.”
“Stand up,” the woman ordered from beneath her robe. “Tell me why you’re here.”
The young woman strained her face at the obvious irritation in her master’s voice. She was almost scared to explain what had happened that night, regardless of how much he wanted to get Leon into trouble. “Its about what happened tonight,” Erika began. Her face relaxed and she looked down at her feet as if they’d give her the right words. “Things did not go entirely as planned, Sith.”
Erika’s boss moved elegantly around to the front of the throne, like a cat closing in on her prey. “What exactly are you trying to say, Erika? Get to the point.”
At this point the purple haired girl was becoming too intimidated to think straight. She didn’t want any of the blame to be pinned on her. She was like a guilty child trying to get out of a time-out. “Leon’s gone,” she blurted out.
Even with all the fretting that Erika was doing at this point, Sith did not show any feeling in her voice. “You’re not her babysitter, Erika. I gave her direct orders, you had no reason to tag along. She’ll be back by morning, I assure you.”
“No!” Erika stuttered as she shouted. “She won’t be coming back. She ran off with the prince and left one of our own men drained of blood.” The girl emphasized the word “own” as if she felt betrayed, though it was apparent to everyone Erika was only concerned about herself.
Her superior took a step toward her, apparently unaffected by the news. “This could turn out well for us,” she thought aloud and gently pressed her hand against Erika’s cheek.
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Prince Ichiro plopped down onto a small twin sized bed. It lay in a dimly lit room, facing a window that was caked with grime. He pushed his hands beneath his head and gave out a large sigh.
“What’s wrong, Ichiro?” Ashen inquired, standing near the door. It was as if he was uncomfortable with sitting in this room. It was extremely filthy, with a thick layer of dust resting upon every surface. There were a few attempts at a homely atmosphere: cheap paintings of flowers lined the water damaged walls.
“No,” the Prince reassured his friend. “I’m just glad that we finally have somewhere to rest. I haven’t slept in a nice bed in a long time.”
At this response, Ashen’s nose twitched. It was obvious he felt sorry for Ichiro. He wished that he had come to see him sooner. “Where have you been --- ”.
The only door leading into the small room creaked open, and a bob of red hair poked itself in. It was followed by a set of inquiring eyes. “What are you guys up to?” asked Leon before completely exposing her form to the two young men. She had changed into a small, white tank top accompanied by black shorts.She was barefoot.
“Where did you get those clothes?” Ashen asked, looking her up in down with an eyebrow raised.
“Analee.”
The vampire nodded slowly and turned away from the girl. He began to eye the nearest painting to him. The wooden frame looked as though it was sucked of its natural color. It was now a dull gray incompassing an acrylic painting. It was of a growing flower, something that should have been beautiful. However, the stem was twisted and cracked, and the petals looked dry.
Ichiro slowly got up from his bed and stared at Leon. “What brings you here?” he asked innocently.
“What?” Leon was letting her attitude do the talking as usual. “You don’t want me here? We need to start making plans.” She walked over to the set of beds and blopped down on Ashen’s. Every step she took made a distinct sound, commanding attention. “Why exactly am I here?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that question?” Ashen responded, starring down at her coolly.
“Don’t you guys start up again,” Ichiro ordered. He sighed once more and closed his eyes. “All I know is that we’re heading to Itsis to find my brother.”
“But how does that involve me?” Leon questioned the prince once more.
“Don’t go looking for some deeper meaning to your presense,” Ashen continued insulting Leon. “The truth is, the Prince has a soft spot for you, and wanted to save you from that life of terrorism.”
“Its not terrorism!” Leon shot back. She was so angry, she had no other way to respond to the nonsense that was spouting from Ashen’s mouth.
“Guys,” Ichiro reminded them once more, his eyebrows knitted together with impatience.
Ashen sighed quietly. He knew he was not acting himself. The reason he was acting so horribly had nothing to do with Leon accompanying them on their journey. The vampire was reliving every action of theirs during the night, and a growing sadness pierced his heart. There was no reason to show anyone this weakness, and so he created a shell of verbal abuse. He knew he had to stop. “Very well.” He turned from the painting he had been staring at and sat down on his bed, opposite to Leon. “I was sent by someone, someone I cannot name as it could prove dangerous, to escort Prince Ichiro to his brother in Itsis. We’ll be traveling by night, nonstop, as to assure his safe arrival. I don’t know much other than that.”
Leon nodded and eyed her small toes. “Well, your mission will definitely not be easy,” she explained. “Afterall, I was sent here also, by someone I can’t name, to capture the prince and collect his bounty.” She looked up at Ichiro and smiled devilishly.
Maple was pulling a small, ill-used cart along the hallway while she heard voices coming from her newly occupied room. She had never been one to pass up a chance at eavesdropping, so she gently pressed her ear to the door, and looked in through the small crack. As Ashen was the closest one to the door, he was the only one in view.
“Hah,” Ichiro nervously chucked, one of his hands scratching his head. He could not believe he had invited danger into his trust, but there was just something about her. He couldn’t put his finger on it. “How much is that bounty anyway?”
“Its on your head, Ichiro! You mean you haven’t heard?” Leon inquired, an eyebrow raised. “It was ordered by the King himself so its quite a lot of money.”
“Millions,” Ashen finished.
“Meallons?” Maple repeated as she pulled away from the door. She could not believe her ears. Prince Ichiro was actually staying in her inn, the one who had disappeared from the castle four years ago. A crooked, half-toothed smile appeared on her face as she quietly wheeled away the cart.



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