Welcome to Gaia! ::

It's 1564 and vampires and werewolves are fully integrated into society, in western Europe anyway. This story is set in a northern corner of Italy where Giovanni Donati is the benevolent ruler of the nearby villages and towns. None of the humans know the truth about Giovanni and his family, that they are all vampires. Generally Vampires and Werewolves do not get along, and that is true of this time. However the previous Werewolf Alpha had struck a deal with Giovanni back when the pack was in trouble from hunters. Giovanni granted them protection and an area of forestry for them to live in, and in return they would aid them Vampires if called upon, and apart from the biannual meeting had to keep themselves separated from all of Giovanni's swarm.


Luciana paced her chambers. She had been banished to them for the afternoon after being caught again by her brother, trying to leave the estate. This was the third time this week she'd been caught and it was only Tuesday. "I need to find a way to get out without being seen. Maybe I should bribe a guard next time." She muttered to herself as she continued to pace.

She hated how her brother seemed to think he was the leader of their swarm, even though it was their father who was in charge of the swarm, the estate and the surrounding lands including all the humans who lived there. To them he was the benevolent ruler of their corner of Italy.

Luciana found herself letting out another angry growl and threw a cushion across the room. She was a vampire dang nabbit, and not a youngling at that. She was 242 years old, yet her family treated her like she was still a child. Yes maybe she had been trying to catch a glimpse of that gorgeous guy she'd seen whilst out riding with her mother again, but that didn't give her brother the right to lock her in her room.
"It's the 1560's! It's not like there's anyone who is going to try and kidnap me! That only happened that one time, and everyone knew that Cesare Borgia was a pleb!" She started to rant and threw herself down onto her bed. "A handsome and charismatic pleb but one all the same!"

Luciana continued to rant to herself whilst laying on her bed until she grew bored. She got up and walked to the window to look out over the gardens and towards the forest where she had seen the handsomest guy she'd ever seen. She sighed sadly to herself, knowing she would probably never see him again. The lock on her bedroom door turned and soon the door opened, admitting one of the servants into her room.
"Miss Donati, your father requests your presence in his office."
She turned to look at the servant and nodded with a slight frown. "Ok, tell him I shall be with him shortly." She said, turning back to look out the window.
"I'm sorry Miss Donati but I have been instructed to accompany you there."

Luciana let out a huff of air and turned away from the window. "Ok... ok I suppose we better head there otherwise I'll be in even more trouble." She huffed out and rolled her eyes as she stomped across the room, letting the servant lead her to her father's office.

Luciana stepped into her father's office reluctantly and waited for him to tell her to sit, before doing so.
"My darling daughter, I think you know why I have asked for you to come here don't you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Her father was rather lenient on her, and she had to admit she was a daddy's girl.
"Yes Papa." She said with a pout. "Andrea caught me trying to go off the estate again."
"Indeed he did. Now I know you already know what I'm going to tell you, as we've already had this talk 3 times this month, but you need to stay on the estate unless with a chaperone. It's not safe for a lady as beautiful as you are to go off by herself." He said with a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "What exactly are you trying to do out there anyway?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing much, just go for a walk in the countryside." She said innocently. She knew that if she mentioned she was trying to see a handsome young man her Papa would not be happy.

Her father looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He knew that his daughter was sometimes economical with the truth but often overlooked the transgression. "Is that so?" He asked with a chuckle. "Well if you want to go out then you must take someone with you. So if you must insist you shall take your brother with you. " he said with a smile.
She pouted, "but papa, I don't want to go out with Andrea. He's so annoying! What if I went with Mama or Fia?" She asked hopefully.
Her father rolled his eyes slightly but couldn't keep the smile from his face. "Now missy, Andrea can protect you, I may have taught you to fight but I don't actually want you using the sword for real. I can't believe you thought I'd let you go out with just Fia. You and her are always up to no good when you get together. However, if your Mama agrees, then you can go out with her, if not it's stay at home or go with Andrea." He looked at her sternly.

"Ok I shall go ask Mama if she will go with me then." She said with a pout. "Do you know where I would find her Papa?" She asked with a sweet smile.
Her father sighed a little but couldn't help chuckling. "I think she was in the library or the conservatory last time I saw her." Luciana grinned at her Papa and leapt out of her chair. She ran around to her father's side of the desk and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room.

She raced through the house and first stopped in the library. When she saw the library was empty, she turned around and went down to the conservatory. She found her mother on one of the chairs reading. She smiled happily and ran over to her. "Mama, will you please please please come on a ride with me. Pleeeeeeeease." She looked at her mother pleadingly.

"Nothing Mama. I just wanted to go for a ride near where we were the other day. Papa won't let me go alone." She said with a pout. "And will only let me go if you or Andrea go with me."

She grinned and walked over to her Mama giving her a hug. "Yaaaay thank you Mama." They headed out to the stables and were soon riding out towards the forest.