n life Miss Loretta Wood lived happily in her family's mansion. She loved her parents and her fiance, who spent almost as much time with them as the family dog. She was the only child of a wealthy businessman. And as such, she was spoiled beyond belief.           Despite their money, her parents always stressed the importance of manners. It never mattered who was near, whether rich or poor, Loretta always had to watch her manners. She didn't always like it, but she understood why. It was a matter of respect, and her parents believed that was something everyone deserved. This didn't stop Loretta from having her opinions and expressing them. It did, however, mean that she was able to express her opinions in an intelligent, thought out manner.           She had attended the local University on a free ride from her parents. She didn't know what she wanted to do, she just didn't want to work, and as long as she stayed in school, she wouldn't have to.           During her second semester there, she met Jonathon. He was sweet, kind, smart, and funny. He was basically everything she had always wanted in a man. By the end of her second year at the University, they were engaged. They celebrated that summer when her parents took them both on the camping trip that marked the beginning of the end of her mortal life.           One morning, before everyone else woke for the day, Loretta snuck out of the campsite and went for a walk in the woods. That was something she had always liked to do. She was able to think and clear her mind. Unfortunately by doing this, she often slipped off into her own little world, which was okay to do in the familiar forest near her home, but she shouldn't have let herself slip off that morning.           By the time she realized that she had lost track of time and direction, she found herself lost. This was an unfamiliar forest, and she was all turned around. She knew her family would be waking soon, and she knew they would notice she was gone, but she always went on walks like that. She knew that they wouldn't start to worry until later in the day.           She didn't know which way she was headed, and she didn't know which way camp was, but she went on anyway. She wandered for the rest of the day, but it did her little good. The sky grew dark, and the air started to get cold. She found shelter in the roots of one of the larget trees in the forest, and she spent the night there. She tried to sleep, knowing that she'd need her strength, but sleep wouldn't come.           This continued for a few days before she reached the edge of the forest. She made her way out of the trees and her eyes fell upon the castle. Exodus.           She was glad to see some sign of life, and she just hoped that what ever search parties her parents sent out would find the castle. She didn't know how they couldn't. It was beautiful and it was enormous.           She was greeted and brought inside for a much needed bath and change of clothes. She was brought real food and drink, and she slept in a real bed. While waiting for her parents to find her, she explored the castle a little, admiring the carvings and artwork on the walls. She kept hope that her parents would find her.           The days turned to weeks, which turned to months, and no one ever showed up asking about her. This confused her, and she thought about leaving the castle to try to make her way back home.           She was never able to leave.           There was a fire that day. A very horrible fire in the castle. It swept quickly through the halls, leaving nothing untouched. There was no time to do anything but run. So she ran and ended up below the castle. It was too late to go back up, so she followed hall after hall in the Catacombs,hoping one of them would lead outdoors.           She found herself lost for the second time. She managed to survive her time in complete darkness down there by feeding off the rats that lived in the twisted halls. She found water quite frequently compliments of cracks in the castles foundation.           She must have been a sight when she was found, crouched over one of the pools of water. His words were simple, "Come with me if you want to live."           Startled, she stood up quickly. She could see his outline in the darkness as he was walking away. He seemed to know his way, so she quickly followed.           Once again she was allowed to bathe, eat and sleep. She found some of his ways strange, but her manners kicked in, and she did the things he asked. She enjoyed two nights of food and conversation before she died, only to be painfully born again.           The childe of Adrian Tepes           A Tzimisce.