Now I've had some questions regarding some of the things that I've put into my story and I'd like to address some of them here if you don't mind; so here goes:

            First off is Meier's personality.  After my too-numerous-to-count viewings of VHD:B, I was left with this impression of Meier Link being a very noble, tragic and almost tortured poet type.  He also had this air of being well mannered, courtly and cultured.  Thus, I wanted him to seem like a gentleman; and since I'm an avid Jane Austen fan, I kind of tried to incorporate some of the mannerisms of that time into his behavior.

            Also when I decided to write this in first person, I wanted to make it almost like a journal – a glimpse into Meier's psyche as it were.  I thought that having him write in an old-fashioned, kind of lyric style would suit him.

            Second, was Alan Elbourne discovering Charlotte and Meier's secret affair.  Right away, I always thought that somehow Alan must have known about the two of them, because he kept insisting that Charlotte would not be turned into a vampire.  He was so vehement in his belief that I thought he must have known about his sister's relationship with Meier.  Of course he could never approve and so he hired the Markus' and D to get her back.

            Next was Meier's lack of knowledge about Carmilla.  C'mon with the kind of reputation that she had, why in the world would he have risked taking Charlotte to Chaythe?  Somehow I didn't believe that he really knew what she was or what she was capable of; he just needed help to get away and took the first opportunity available to him.  I also implied that he was not all that old for a vampire; I thought maybe only four or five thousand years, perhaps that is why he didn't know about Carmilla and her bloody past.

            What about Mashira and Meier?  Again, I stretched my imagination and wrote that Meier had known the mutant previously.  I got this impression because of the way that Mashira regarded Meier; calling him "Master" and having more of a loyal servant attitude with the vampire than Caroline or Benge had.  If vampires truly did rely on the Barbarois for protection and assistance, then it seemed possible that the two may have had contact before.

            Then there was Chapter Ten – Meier's story of how he became a vampire.  While it really had nothing to do with the story of how he and Charlotte met and fell in love, still I couldn't help adding it in.  With his constant battle against his nature and his refusal to turn Charlotte into a vampire, I kind of got the impression that he didn't like being one himself – that perhaps he had been turned against his will. So feeling kind of inspired, I wrote a little background piece on him and incorporated it -- hopefully without distracting from the real story.

            So there you have it, my first completed fanfic – and one that I'm very proud of.  Again, thanks to everyone who read (whether you left a review or not) and to ff.net for existing, so that I could post it here.

            While we're on the subject of ff.net, and whether you agree with their recent decision or not, still I think that they may have jumped the gun a bit when deciding to discontinue NC17 stories.  While I have not written anything (and probably won't) that warranted an NC17 rating, still there were many great fics and authors who I admired that did.  It's a shame when people take advantage of something or when a few narrow-minded people ruin things for everyone else.  Hopefully, this entire issue will be worked out somehow to everyone's satisfaction in the near future.

            Well, enough of my rant for now.  Peace to all and keep writing!