Author's Note: So, this story takes place in a world where there is no Vampaneze Lord or War of Scars, so that means Kurda never betrays the clan so that is why Kurda is a prince!

Also, special thanks to Shadamy22 for the amazing cover art she made! You're a doll! You can find her art shadamy22 on tumblr!

Enjoy!

It was the end of a day and Larten finished his work for the evening in the storerooms of vampire mountain. When everything was in order, he left, intending to retire to his cell to rest. It had been 7 years since he took over the job as quartermaster from Seba, his former master. Seba had stayed with him the first two years to help him get the hang of the job, but then he left, set on traveling the world once more before seeking out a noble death. Larten, as well as other vampires in the mountain, was sad to see him go, knowing that his departure would be the last he would see of his former mentor.

On Larten's walk back to his room, he suddenly got an urge to walk outside. He didn't know why, or where his sudden burst of energy came from, but he followed the urge regardless. Passing his cell by, he headed towards the tunnels that lead out of the mountain. He passed a few guards on the way, but none stopped or spoke to him. It took ten minutes to crawl his way out into the open.

It was still night, but Larten could tell the sun would be up within the hour. He stood in the cold, taking a moment to adjust to the temperature and brighter light. When his senses cleared enough, he began to walk. He thought of nothing in particular, only focused on the sounds of the wind and crunching snow. It was warmer this time of year: he guessed the temperature was somewhere in the 20s or low 30s. He continued to walk, unbothered by the chilly air. He had just barely reached the edge of the forest when a soft, gurgle noise caught his ear to the left. He stopped, cocked his head, and listened harder. After a moment of silence, he heard a short cry.

Was that a…baby?

He began to move closer to the noise, proceeding cautiously. Suddenly, he heard crying and wailing and was positive about the sound: it was a baby. He walked faster, following the sound. It didn't take long until he stepped into a clearing and found the baby, wrapped tightly in a blanket and laying alone in the snow. It was wailing and trying to kick out of its blanket. Larten looked around, searching for any sign of where the baby came from. There was a set of footsteps leading away from the child, but nothing else. Larten gently lifted the child into his arms and brushed the snow off its blanket. He tucked the still-wailing child inside his cloak for warmth and began to follow the footsteps.

After a few moments, the child was silent. Larten peered inside his cloak to make sure he was okay and was met with a pair of big brown eyes. The child was looking up at him curiously, as if deciding whether or not to be scared of the stranger holding him.

Larten stopped walking and focused on the child. His face was red, and Larten wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or his previous crying. He rocked him back and forth and the child broke into a smile and giggled. He managed to wriggle an arm out of his blanket and reached up towards Larten. He smiled back and let the child grab hold of his finger, being careful not to scratch him with his sharp finger nails. He let the child keep hold on his finger as he tucked him back into his cloak. Then, Larten continued to follow the trail of footsteps.

After a few more minutes of walking, the footsteps vanished. Larten stopped, confused. The footsteps were deep and clear up to this point, and then they simply disappeared. Larten looked around, astonished and confused. There were no trees near enough for someone to have climbed, and nobody in sight. He examined the footsteps more closely. The footprints were small, so Larten thought they probably belonged to a woman. Then, he looked back around, scanning the surrounding area. Where did she go?

He was brought out of his train of thought when the bundle under his cloak started to tremble from cold. The baby whined a bit, but kept hold on Larten's finger. Larten peered in on the mysterious child, tucked him closer to his chest for warmth, then quickly made the trip back to vampire mountain.

It was difficult climbing through some of the tunnels with a child in one arm, but Larten managed. As he got closer to the top and the tunnels started leveling out, he began to rock the child. This made the boy start giggling again. Larten hushed him and turned down the hall where his cell was. He started to wonder again where this baby came from, and what he was going to do with him now.

Larten passed Paris Skyle in the hall, and the prince called out, "Larten! I was just wondering where you-" He stopped and looked down at the bundle in his arms. "Is that a baby?" he asked.

Larten explained, "Yes. I found him alone outside when I went for a walk earlier. I do not know where he came from or how he got here." Quickly, Larten went through his tale, and when he finished, Paris stepped closer to inspect the child.

Paris's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "There shouldn't be any humans anywhere near enough to just leave a child laying in the snow."

"My thoughts exactly," Larten replied, "but after the footsteps ended, I could find no other way to track them."

Paris stared at the boy thoughtfully. After a few moments, he said, "We should discuss this with the other princes. If there are humans around, we can't risk them discovering us. Would you be willing to come to the Hall of Princes now and retell your story?"

Larten nodded. "Aye, sire."

Back in the Hall of Princes, Larten recounted his tale to Mika and Kurda, who listened thoughtfully, both intrigued and skeptical of the boy's mysterious origins. The hall had also filled with many guards and generals that were in the mountain. When word spread that a child was found nearby, everyone was curious.

When Larten finished his tale, Mika said, "We should send out a small group of generals to search the surrounding area where Larten found the child, to check for any signs that humans are nearby."

"Agreed," Kurda said, "We can't run the risk of humans discovering the tunnels if there is a group nearby."

Mika led a group of volunteers out to scour around the mountain for humans. After they left, Kurda asked, "So, what do we do with the child now? I doubt any parents who wanted to care for him would leave him just lying in the snow."

Paris replied, but Larten didn't hear. In his arms, the child shifted and whined. Larten looked down and began rocking the fussing baby back and forth, trying to distract him. The baby reached up towards Larten and again, Larten let the small child grab and play with his finger. Without him realizing, a smile had creeped onto Larten's face as he entertained the boy.

Everyone in the Hall stopped talking and stared at Larten as he rocked and played with the baby. They were shocked. Those who knew Larten had never seen him act this way before. It had been a long time since anyone had sen him actually smile. From the stands, Vanez Blane stepped forward towards the princes. "Sires, I don't think we have to worry about who will take care of the child," he commented with a smirk.

"Larten?" Paris said. Larten looked up and Paris continued, "Do you wish to care for the child?" All eyes were on Larten, waiting for his answer.

Larten looked back down at the giggling boy in his arms. "I…I think I do," he murmured.

"This mountain may not be the best place for a child," Paris pointed out, "He could get lost wandering the tunnels, or find himself in trouble some other way."

"I will keep a close eye on him," Larten replied.

Paris nodded. "If you take full responsibility for him, then I don't see a problem with it. Kurda?"

Kurda replied, "It sounds alright to me. I can't think of any reason why he shouldn't."

Paris nodded. "Then it is decided," he concluded, "Larten will take care of the child."

Mika and the generals gathered back into the Hall of Princes and Mika reported no sign of humans anywhere around the mountain. "Not even a lingering scent of anything unusual," he commented. Paris nodded and filled him in quickly on what he missed. When he said that Larten offered to care for the child, Mika looked surprised, but said nothing to object.

Paris adjourned the meeting, and all the vampires retired to their coffins for the day. Kurda walked up to Larten, who was still rocking the boy in his arms.

"What will his name be?" he asked Larten.

Larten looked down at the baby. He hadn't thought about that. "I do not know," he said honestly.

It was then that Kurda noticed something tangled in the boy's blanket. "What is that?" he asked, and reached for the mysterious object. What he pulled out was a small pendant with some writing carved into the wood.

"What does it say?" Larten asked, peering over to look at it, even though he knew he couldn't read it.

"'His name is Darren.'" Kurda read, then he chuckled. "Well that answers that question!"

Kurda bid him and the child goodnight, then went off to his cell. Larten began walking to his own as well.

Darren, he thought. He smiled back down at the boy, who had already started to drift off to sleep in his arms. When he got to his room, he lay down in his coffin with Darren, making a mental note to find him a decent place to sleep tomorrow. With the sleeping child curled against his chest, Larten quickly followed Darren's lead and slept.