An ornate cabinet loomed over her, the bottom of it was all drawers while the top was shelves behind doors. It was dark brown, with curved legs and vines carved into its doors. The doors were ajar, and it worried her. She ran to it. She could only reach the drawers, so she looked for a chair. Her weak little arms could only drag it over. She pushed it up to the cabinet and climbed up. Just as she was about to boost herself up and see what was missing, she woke up. She only saw her reflection for a quick second.

Prudence rose up, hearing Charlotte's voice. In the dark room, her eyesight was sharper. Was that a childhood memory? She thought as she got up and went to splash water on her face. She rewound the only pleasant memory she got so far over and over in her head.

When she looked in the mirror, she had thought that it would be good to know how her fangs worked. She didn't want to see them, but them showing up in public was worse than her being a bit uncomfortable.

Focusing on them, she opened her mouth and urged them to grow from her gums. The fangs were long, and thin, slightly curved toward her bottom lip, reminding her of a snake. She touched them, and winced, realizing how sharp they were. They were also still slightly stained. She assumed it was because she drank blood with them, and they retracted away from any saliva, food or drink that could remove the spots.

When she focused, she could see a small amount of what she assumed was venom dripping down them and into the sink.

Prudence took the toothpaste and brush and brushed her teeth. The sensation was odd, especially since the paste was aggressively minty. She stopped several times, certain it was burning her. But it was all worth it in the end. The paste took away all traces of blood in her mouth.

Prudence retracted the fangs and touched her teeth with her hand. They seemed normal otherwise, though she could feel the place where the fangs retracted into her gums, right in front of her canines. Unless one knew where to look, one wouldn't know there was anything different.

“Are ya awake yet? If not, get the hell up already. Didn’t ya get enough sleep?” Charlotte banged on the door.

Prudence winced at the loudness.

“Coming.” The prospect of finding out more about herself and the man that put her to sleep made her rush out the door. Charlotte shoved a yellowed piece of paper in Prudence’s hands as soon as she exited. She unfolded it and tried to read it out loud. Her reading was slow, and she had to stop at points, but it was more from lack of practice and the strangeness of some words than anything.

Hon, if you're reading this, it means I'm dead.

Now I know that's a cliché, but it's one for a reason. Now let me tell you the dirty family secret. Well, another one anyway. Don't worry this one's fun. Well, more fun.

A long time ago, our family was in a lot of trouble. I'll spare you the details; you would roll your eyes. But a nice young man, described to me as pale, tall and slim, with dark hair and eyes and a low, crumbly voice, offered a deal. He'd get us out of trouble, and all we needed to do is keep an eye on the woman currently with him. He planned to put her to sleep using magic and then have us hide her in a grave, moving her around with the times until she either woke up on her own or when he came to wake her.

Now, the woman was Asian, average looking, and couldn't remember anything about herself. She still gave him a run for his money when she overheard his plan. She tried to run away. He caught up to her so fast we didn't actually see him run. Though she was no pushover either. She put him through a wall. Despite that mess, he managed to put her to sleep and fixed the damage with a few words and a wave of his hand.

When he put her to sleep, he explained she had been hunted for who she was, a spawn between a vampire and a human. He didn’t know why someone would destroy her memory, but he assumed she just needed time to recover, and sleep would help. He also explained he was, in fact, a vampire, which was apparently a huge secret. He might have been hunted and even killed just for telling us that. He gave us the locket you'll get with this letter and told us to keep it safe but avoid putting it on her neck.

He had told our family that if anyone like him appeared again, we were to use any holy symbol we could find to stave them off, toss them in the sunlight, or stab them with wood. Then set the corpse on fire. That we were to be careful because some could do a lot more than even he could, just by speaking. And that if we ever felt danger, we should take precautions.

Now I have never had the pleasure of meeting someone like that, and I honestly hope you don't either. But better safe than sorry. So when my gut shifted, and I saw strange people following us, I knew I had to do something to ensure you find out about this.

After the man had fulfilled his end of the bargain, our ancestors hid her. You had always wondered why every day, one of us goes to the mausoleum in the old graveyard. Or why most of our inheritance went to fixing the graves of our ancestors. This is why. We thought it would be safer than burying her. We're not aware if she could suffocate.

I don't know if the man is still alive, or if the deal still counts. But this has been a part of our history for almost three hundred years, so indulge us. And if she does wake up, make sure you keep an eye on her until he comes here to take her with him. If she survived that long, chances are he, and the people who wiped her memory did too. And that means you're in danger just because of association. You might as well have someone on your side.

I never did believe the guy was a vampire, let alone the girl's heritage, but I've seen her breathe in and out and felt her pulse, and that is enough for me to keep doing this. Move her within the next week or so after you read this, call Milo and everyone still alive, and keep together. And continue being your vigilant self.

Good luck hon.

Uncle Tim.