I

"Hugo, please!" Charlie playfully wriggled up and down the park bench, trying desperately to avoid the affections of the sharply dressed young man. "We're in public! We'll get thrown in jail, cut it out!" Charlie was nervous, that was certain, but he worked hard to push down the obvious rush of something so daring. Eventually, he gave up. Hugo nestled next to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Stupid Charles, did you forget who you are, already? Here." With a motion one could only describe as practiced, Hugo stripped down to his underwear and stood on the bench, arms outstretched. "I am Hugo d'Orléans! The true heir to the French crown, were such a thing to exist. Capo of Clan Medira, future King of New York, and vampire!"

Charlie gasped. "Wait, Hugo. I know you like to play pranks and stuff, but this ain't funny!" He frantically tried to put his friend's clothes back on, but the ever-defiant Hugo resisted without even trying. "Sayin' you're a vamp where humans are is one thing, but what if it gets back to the Don that you wanna usurp him, even as a joke, fella, that's..."

"Look," Hugo said softly into Charlie's ear. Charlie followed his finger. Now that he had managed to calm down, he finally noticed. Hugo had projected his voice to be as loud as a megaphone, his skin was pale silk, far too porcelain for any human, and to top it all off, his undergarments were almost see-through. Charlie covered his eyes in embarrassment before Hugo wrestled them open again.

"I told you to quit it! We're gonna get into trouble."

He opened his eyes. Hugo beamed back at him, giving him a light kiss on the nose.

No one had moved.

Despite his loud proclamation and his nakedness, the entire street just continued their regular Saturday afternoon. Charlie, now getting over his own embarrassment, was momentarily confused. Hugo just sat there with a huge beaming grin, now showing pointed teeth where before there were none. Charlie snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right, magic!" The shy young man leapt up out of his seat, his sudden remembrance of magic causing some of his own to slip. Charlie caught his tongue on his now also vampiric teeth. He made quick work of snapping his mouth shut; he didn't want Hugo to get any more excited.

"So nice of you to remember, mon chéri. Now, do you remember the phrase to undo the seal of blinding?"

"Yes!" Charlie blushed. He felt like a disciplined schoolboy. "I know it's Latin."

"All of our magic is Latin. Oh, you sweet boy!"

"Shut up, I got it! It's spee... spec... speckle." Hugo took hold of his hand. The jolt of heat seemed to trigger the word to reveal himself to the world again. His professor back at the haven would be disappointed to know that his magic was once again rekindled by his libido, but if he was with Hugo, he didn't mind at all.

"Speculum."

***

Now back in the world of the living, sort of, Hugo was in his element. Charlie watched as he conducted business dealings in the street, played hoop with some of the urchins, and gave out money to a poor single mother that lived on their row. He did it all with a smile on his face, but whenever they looked at Charlie, he just gave a polite wave and blushed. "I don't even know why you made me a vampire; I'm no good at this."

"Oh." Hugo was nonchalant. "There was no reason. Well, there obviously was a reason, because we were together and I did bite you in the neck, but, if you're looking for a specific cause, then I would say that I got a little bit heated at the speakeasy when we were..."

Charlie clamped a hand over his mouth and Hugo relaxed. "Well, what can I say? I like the muscular brutish type. I mean, really, it's your fault for having such a well-defined figure. Also, my angel, you were in a speakeasy, famous for being dens of debauchery. You knew what you were there for, don't lie."

"Even so, why didn't you just kill me instead?"

"Kill you?! Heaven forbid. Look, I know this is difficult to believe because you've got this adorable shy boy thing going on, but I kept you around because I like you. Yes, it's an added bonus that you can lift heavy things around the haven, and yes, I think it's cute that you're about as good in bed as a man learning to sew, but if I wanted to get rid of you, I could. I don't, so you, my little muscle munchkin, are absolutely fine."

Charlie still doubted that, but then again, he doubted everything. Born big for his age, Charlie took on a frightening appearance when he was young. The kids at school called him Frankenstein's monster, and unless it was for football tryouts or wrestling, nobody wanted to know him. He thought that as he got older, the situation would improve, until he realised that his personality didn't match his body at all.

"You're a sissy! A Goddamn sissy!" His father would say, poking him, punching him, trying to get him to react. Charlie never did. It wasn't even that he didn't want to, it's that he couldn't. The thought of harming another person in any way made him feel physically ill. He didn't really understand the world that he was born into. He figured that was why he was happy being a vampire. He didn't understand this world very much either, but at least they let him be who he wanted, even if at the moment that was somebody that couldn't talk to anyone without blushing.

He was brought out of his self-pity by Hugo. "Remind me again what our job was today, ma précieuse fleur? All the excitement of being nearly naked seems to have gone to my head. Where are we off to right now?" Charlie gave Hugo a deadpan look, but as usual, he just smirked.

Charlie knew this was a test. A very basic one, to be sure, but Hugo wanted to make sure that he was able to retain information given to him by his superior. This was, after all, a basic requirement for somebody who says they want to work in a hierarchical structure. "The laundromat on 41st, Mrs. Mendel, I think?"

"Very good."

"But why would we need to go and shake down a kind Jewish woman? You were helping out anyone who asked earlier. I thought we didn't discriminate in Clan Medira?"

Hugo was deadpan. "We do not." As if to illustrate a point, his demeanour changed back to the usual very quickly. "Dear old Mrs. Mendel is the person we are going to be assisting. Apparently, some other magical folk have been using her business as a base without her permission. This, as you know, is in direct violation of the Magia Laws and therefore must be resolved."

"Magia Laws? I thought we hated the police."

"Oh, we do. I suppose nobody has discussed this with you yet. Hold onto your socks, petal. Ready? Okay. There are other magical beings besides vampires in New York, and everywhere as a matter of fact. The Magia Laws are mutually agreed upon by all of the non-human individuals that live in a city, so that we all can avoid being caught by the human authorities. The people we actually hate."

Charlie's eyes widened. "No way! You mean like werewolves and wizards and fairies exist as well?"

"Oui! But as I said, it's all very hush-hush. We can't let people know we are anything other than criminals. Doing so could lead to a genocide."

"I don't get it, but I think I get it."

"That, as always, is good enough for me." Hugo locked arms with Charlie and began to skip down the street. As embarrassing as it was, Charlie had no choice but to join him, otherwise the two of them were going to end up on the floor. He wouldn't show it, but Charlie appreciated Hugo's attempts to get him out of his shell. Whether this was for genuine or business reasons, he still couldn't tell. Charlie said a silent prayer.

***

"What do you want, vamp?" A small, pixie-like creature was nose to nose with Hugo. Charlie knew that he should treat this seriously, but the sight of a tiny man trying to threaten someone as magically powerful as Hugo almost made him roar with laughter.

"Don't play dumb with me, Colm. If you think I can't see the fairy dust factory behind the wall, you must think I'm un idiot."

"Come on, when were you so law-abiding, Hugo? I've heard through the grapevine that some people have regained access to the Everwild. I believe it, too. You can see how sweet this stuff is. Go on, take some. Free of charge, put it in your tea."

"I told you not to play dumb." Hugo was stony-faced and serious, almost a complete opposite to how he was with Charlie. The panic in the apprentice grew when he saw Hugo point a finger and watched as his fingernail glowed a bright red, producing a flame.

"Wait, Hugo! People might not be able to see the fairies, but they definitely will be able to see if a laundromat explodes. I may be dumb and new, but even I know that would be a bigger violation of the Laws than whatever these guys are doing."

"Your new lover is a smart one," Colm teased the two of them. "Like I told you, we're not harming anyone and we're tiny. Just leave us be. You don't have to go around pretending to be some kind of hero. It doesn't suit a fancy pants like you. Actually, come to think of it, it's almost embarrassing. Go back to, I don't know, trying on women's clothes." Hugo picked Colm up by the collar. Instantly, the fairies prepared magic spells. Fingers and hands shone fire, lightning, and the green of the Earth. Sensing the danger, Charlie stepped in front of Hugo.

"Murus!"

Charlie's body became a hardened, silver metal. The combination of his rather potent magical spell and the look on his face seemed to calm down a portion of the magic-slinging fairies. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a multicoloured spark drift from the finger of one of them into the air.

A message spell.

Shit.

"Hugo..."

"Oh, don't panic, Charles, it's just a threat. Besides, these fairies are a branch of Clan Nebelwald. As if a bunch of potion makers and healers can do anything to me! Leave this place, Colm, or I swear on my haven I will..."

Hugo's speech was cut short as a large twisting root slammed him from the side. Charlie couldn't defend him, he was too slow, he watched as Hugo went through two walls before coming to a spinning stop on the pavement below. Charlie glanced over his left to see a vampire in a witch's hat and cloak hovering while lounging on a leaf.

"This is most peculiar indeed. The greedy merchant knows how to go outside? Hugo, I'm disappointed in you. You could've just sat there and counted your money in peace, but no, you had to ruin our little medicinal operation. Oh darling, I knew you helping people was just for show."

Charlie could do nothing as he watched his life flash before his eyes. In an instant, the woman had grabbed Hugo by the scruff of the neck, Hugo had attempted to resist, failed, and was about to get stabbed by a root...

Only for a car to pull up and put two rounds of lead into the woman. A model Ford with the symbol of Clan Medira.

"Good work, newbie." A tall, skinny, red-haired vampire in a newsboy cap stepped out of the car. Charlie recognised the symbol of an Enforcer.

"I'm sorry, Leon, I should've..."

"You did good, kid. Now get in the car before I change my mind about not reprimanding you."

Charlie did as he was told.