Much to the chagrin of Bernard, I started the coffee machine before heading to my room and packing a bag for the trip. I had not yet asked where we were going, but seeing as Elena was not stressing about the time it shouldn't be far. My phone showed the current time to be 02:50. The sun would not rise until a little over 6 hours from now seeing as it was wintertime. The long dark periods of winter were really depressing on their own, but my mind was buzzing with excitement. I had just been told that vampires were real, and that I was a descendant of a vampire hunter! A huge grin spread across my face as I sat there on the floor stuffing my bag with clothes, not really taking the time to fold anything properly.

A couple minutes later I walked back into the living room. Bernard had made himself comfortable on the sofa, a steaming mug of coffee held in one hand, his phone in the other. The light from the screen lit up his face in the dark living room. Nobody had taken the time to turn on the light in the room. Maybe he was similar to me in the sense that he liked the peace and quiet of a dark room. Whenever I was alone I kept the lights off. The darkness was comfortable, like a warm blanket wrapping itself around me and allowing me to focus on whatever task I was working on.

Light was spilling from the kitchen and I spotted Elena sitting by the kitchen table, a clear glass of water in front of her.

"I thought vampires only drank blood." I stated curiously.

"Yes, some sources do portray my kind that way." Elena stated softly. "However, it has only served to demonize us. A product of several centuries of oppression, you could call it." she continued. "They're not entirely wrong though, we vampires do need blood to keep ourselves... sane."

I could see a sort of sadness in her face during the short pause used to choose an apt word.

"Oppression? In what way?" I asked. She had piqued my interest in vampires and history.

"You will learn in time, young child." Elena said, shutting me down before I could ask more questions.

"Have you packed your bag?" she said, her voice shifting to a more lighthearted tone. I could understand why she was a friend of my grandmother.

"Yes, all packed and ready to go!" I answered her while lifting up my bag.

"Great! Let's hit the road then, the car is parked in your driveway." she said and stood up from the table quickly.

Bernard came shuffling in from the living room and put the now empty mug in the kitchen sink.

"The coffee from this machine was surprisingly pleasant." he stated. "We should get one of these at the guild."

I passed my bag to Bernard as we walked out on the porch. He had insisted on putting it in the trunk while I locked the door.

"Bernard is quite good-mannered, despite his rough-looking exterior." I commented to Elena. She was stood on the edge of the porch, surveying the surrounding houses in the dark. Vampires had keen senses, including better vision in the night.

Elena let out a little laugh.

"Yes, he is quite the softie. Especially when it comes to you, Alex. You're basically his god-child."

"I am?" I said, double-checking that I'd locked the door before turning around and facing her.

"Yes of course. Margaret entrusted us with your safety. And knowing Bernard well, he has taken that task very seriously." she continued. "Over the years, we've both taken measures to ensure that no other vampires have been present in this area."

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"I haven't even noticed." I said, feeling a little guilty.

"Then that means we've performed our task well." Elena said and I could see a smile on her face.

"Come on, we can chat more in the car. I think we'd all like to get to know one another." she said as she started towards the car.

I followed her to the car, absolutely brimming with questions.

Bernard sat behind the wheel and Elena rode shotgun. I sat in the back, my head propped up against the window with a blanket for comfort. The moment I had sat down in the car, a wave of tiredness had hit me. It was still dark outside, the only light sources being the intermittent road-side lamps. The shadows cast from the orange lights hitting the roof of the car made me drowsy. The radio was off, so the only sound was the constant low bass of the moving car. Elena had said it would take a little over 2 hours to reach our destination. I think she sensed how tired I was and had decided to let me rest instead of asking any questions. There was however one thing I wanted an answer to before I could let myself fall asleep.

"How did you know my grandmother?" I asked in a low voice, as to not disturb the comfortable silence.

"She was my assigned partner at the guild." Bernard answered, his deep voice almost blending with the sounds from the vehicle.

"We were.. are a good team." he continued "In my 40 years as a hunter, she is still the only hunting partner I have had. Nobody has a partner for that long. Most hunters die or retire in the first 10 years."

"I never knew my grandfather." I said, a slight suspicion slowly growing in my mind.

Bernard let out a deep chuckle.

"Don't worry about that, I'm not your grandfather. Margaret and I never had that sort of relationship. We were strictly hunting partners. It was better that way, less risk of co-dependence." he explained.

I felt a sense of relief. Not that I would not want Bernard as a grandfather, he seemed like he would be an amazing grandparent. But I was not sure if I would be ready for that confession right now.

"And you Elena?" I said, shifting my gaze toward her. She was laid back in her seat with her eyes closed, seemingly enjoying our conversation.

"I met Margaret at college." she said without opening her eyes. It almost seemed like she was enjoying a pleasant memory.

"You went to college?" I asked, perhaps noticing the question sounded a little foolish too late.

"Of course child, vampires seek knowledge too." she said, turning her head to look at me. "What else do you do when you have an eternity ahead of you?"

A smile spread to her cheeks and I felt a twinge embarrassed. Maybe those movie series held some truth, I thought to myself.

"But yes, we met through similar courses in college. She quickly became one of my closest friends, but only because she was such an extrovert." Elena continued. "I did not usually engage in friendship, because what good would it do me? They would all grow old one day and move on."

"Your grandmother was persistent. She kept inviting me to parties, and would ask me to join her on days off. She would even help me with coursework whenever we met on campus." Elena sighed. "I guess at some point, we just naturally grew to be very close friends."

I was listening along intently, interested to learn about my grandmother and Elena.

"Little did we both know that she was a vampire hunter. I still remember the day she confided in me. She had been given a choice by her parents, almost as you have been given now." Elena's eyes seemed to glaze softly in the dark.

"At that point, I also confessed to her that I was a vampire. It just seemed like the right thing to do for a friend who was telling you a close secret. You tell one back."

"She didn't seem all that shocked, her parents had likely taken that shock away already." Elena smiled softly. "At that moment she said to me she had made her choice. She'd become a vampire hunter, but would only hunt the bad vampires. She said to me: 'Elena, since you are not a bad vampire, I will protect you.'"

Elena laughed as she recalled what seemed to be a good memory.

"To tell you I was surprised is an understatement. We had a good laugh after that and went for ice cream together." she said "Ever since then we have been the closest of friends, even as she grew older."

Elena turned back around, looking out through the window into the dark night.

"That sounds exactly like something my grandmother would do." I said, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over me.

"You should get some sleep Alex." Elena noted. "You wouldn't want to meet the Guild Master while you were completely sleep deprived would you?"

"No, that sounds like a bad first impression." I stated.

I laid my head back against the blanket on the window and stared out into the night. Fog had crept in over the ground as we had been speaking. I closed my eyes and let the comfort of the dark, cold winter night seep over me.