"Bah!" Gretel growled, shaking as she tore through her potion chest. She hadn't even bothered to turn around as her brother entered their encampment, merely sensing his distress and pain as only one trained in magic could. "Hansel, my dear brother, why are you so arrogant?" Her brother did not answer with more than a sigh as he entered her tent, but she did not stop chastising. "I love you, I do, but you cannot keep on rushing head first into the arms of the enemies! I cannot always save you!" Turning, she froze, her heart warming as she saw why he was so quiet... "Brother, who is that?"

  At her wound, bloody brother's side, was a boy no older that ten, looking at her with wide eyes, helping Hansel as he stood. He was a handsome fellow, skinny and weary and covered in bruises and bites, but very, very handsome.

  Hansel, with gentle hands, brushed the boy's soft looking red hair. "This is Gabriel, he was... why I ... how did you put it... rushed into the Arms of the Enemy? The Vampire was keeping children, feeding on them for months before... well, killing them when ehw as bored."

  Gretal's body erupted in purple energy, the essence of me wrath made manifest... which, oddly, did not so much as faze the child. "And the Vampire?"

  "Dead, I killed him." The boy, Gabriel, said startling her. He looked at her, with warm eyes. "I... did you know that vampires can make people do things for them? Just by talking?"

  She nodded, kneeling. "There are many names for it... some call it Siren Speech..."

  "Yeah, that... well, he couldn't use it on me... I am not sure why, honestly... I mean, I was an orphan, so I was sold to hm so he'd leave the others alone, but I guess he still expected me to run away. His power never got into my head, but I could feel it trying. When Hansel came to save me, Urd... that was the Vampire's name,... he wasn't paying attention, so I stabbed his leg with a hit fire poker then beat him unconcious." He shrugged, as if he young child had not killed a powerful, undead monster. "Then I stabbed him with the stake that Hansel had... After I woke up Hansel, he said you could heal us both."

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  The boy's words startled her into action once more. " Of course... my word, child, you are so brave... Hansel, on the cot." And soon she was humming a healing spell, melding powerful magic and herbs over her brother, dispelling the vampire's toxins and helping him to recover. Then, when her brother was no longer near death, she pulled off a necklace off of her neck, one shaped like a crescent moon.

  Placing it over the boy's head, he instantly fell asleep, her magic binding him into a potent healing sleep. One that he would need... when a vampire fed, their salivia made the person heal faster, but it drained so much strength. Prolonged exposure would kill most people and for a child... the boy, though looking ten, was likely much older but had been reduced by the torment.

  "He's a good boy, Sis." Hansel muttered, catching her attention. Turning, she a contemplative look on his face, identical to how he looked when they killed the Blind Witch that tried to eat them, when they started practicing magic to survive their mother's abuse... when they become Hunters and Witches in full to ensure no one endured their own path... when they both, terrified of becoming their own parents, cast a spell to sterilize themselves....

  She knew Hansel, better than anyone, he was more a part of her soul than a seperate person. Though they were often mistaken for lovers, a concept that left her ill, she could understand why. They were, in fact, unnaturally close. Pain, Abuse and Trials of Misery had forced them to bond so deeply.

  So, without having to ask, she knew his desires.

  "Yes, we will... keep him."

  Hansel beamed. "I want to train him, Gret, to help him be like us... so many kids... Our magic has extended our lives, but still it has been over seventy years since we started hunting and we've come close to death so many times. One day we will fail, and yet... looking at this boy, I see a future we never considered. Maybe... maybe he can be what comes next, we can help him to become more than he's been allowed, as we did."

  Unable to deny her brother, she nodded. "He will be our heir...and a member of our coven." Her brother frowned, confused. "A coven needs three members, so technically..."

  That made him laugh. "All covens need a name...we will be the Gaurdian Coven,... and through that... we will protect all those innocents who need it, through our own deeds... and through him."

  Her heart swelled, unable to hide her smile. "That sounds wonderful... oh and dear brother," She enjoyed his sudden fear at her tone. They both knew that she was mystically stronger than he was, and far meaner. "If you ever do something so foolish again, I will not be so kind... are we clear?"

  There was no need for him to answer, the fear in his eyes was more than enough.