«Thank you, Maria, I shall remember your advice. Mrs. Rees mustn't get hurt!» – I thought, turning the sheet over to read the other side of it as well:

Now seriously. Never (ever!) break these rules:

1. Eat strictly on schedule.

2. Don't use your abilities on mortals, even in self-defence. They can't do anything to you anyway.

3. Always turn off the lights at night, otherwise, the neighbours will realise that you never sleep at all.

4. Cut off any attempts at contact by mortals. Communicate with them only as a last resort.

5. No flirting with mortal guys.

6. Act like a human, but don't forget who you are.

7. Suppress your feelings of pity for mortals.

8. Do not eat human food.

9. Never interact with Frederik Haraldson. Never.

10. Never break these rules under any circumstances.

I thoughtfully folded the sheet in half and started thinking about all these rules. So: no socialising with humans or Frederik, no eating human food (although I wasn't going to – it's so gross), no disrupting the meal schedule, no drawing attention to my person. Not such complicated rules.

When I remembered that Maria had rented a flat for me, I glanced at the address and smiled broadly: my sister had assured me that the owners of the flat were very intelligent mortals who never disturbed the tenant's peace, which would be great for me, a vampire.

Now all I had to do was pack my bags and wait for my scheduled departure date from Warsaw to London. Martin had nobly volunteered to take me straight to the door of my flat in Oxford, but I talked him out of it, so that I would feel grown up and not look stupid in the eyes of my possible college mates. So I personally booked a ticket on a regular flight so I wouldn't have to fly on our private jet. I had already looked up how to get from London airport to Oxford and eagerly scribbled down the numbers on my calendar.

Finally, the long awaited day for me arrived. I remember how clear and blue the sky was that day, how the dead leaves of the trees in our garden rustled and seemed to say to me, «Goodbye, Misha!». The soft autumn sun glided golden rays across my pale skin. The air – fresh, smelling of fallen leaves, I remembered forever.

My parents got into the car in the garage to avoid the sun, and I looked round the house, said goodbye to it mentally, and only then got into the car waiting for me in the yard.

Sometimes I thought: How strange… Would I, too, eventually hide from the sun? How could I bear to be separated from it?

And so, our car drove to the airport. My things could hardly fit in the big boot because I couldn't choose anything special to live in England, so I took almost half of my huge wardrobe with me.

At the airport, I hugged my parents (we said goodbye to my brothers and Maria a long time ago because they were already parted). Of course, they were looking at me with concern in their eyes, as if I was leaving to live in Africa forever, and their behaviour irritated me a little, so I hurried to go to the control.

– Call me when you arrive. And feel free to use your credit card» Dad told me lastly.

Mum smiled silently, but tears glistened in her eyes.

– Vyslav, why is she crying? I'm coming soon, for Christmas! I'll call you, but I warn you – we won't say goodbye for a long time, otherwise Stefania will flood the whole airport with her tears! – I warned her. Since we looked the same age to people, I called my parents by their first names outside the house.

– She's always been very sensitive» my father smiled and put his arm around her shoulders.

– Yeah, I noticed it at Mariszka's wedding! – I said unhappily (then mum only knew how to sob). – Well, stop it, Stefania, I'm not dying!

– Okay, go to the landing, otherwise, she will not let you go, – said my father jokingly.

I hurriedly moved away from my parents.

– I'll make a phone call! – I shouted to them, and then quickly went through security, found my flight, boarded the plane and took my seat.

«Dear passengers, please fasten your seatbelts» I soon heard and involuntarily smiled in anticipation of the flight.

Everything around was new for me, absolutely unknown, interesting, and I looked at the passengers, the stewardesses, and the situation with all my eyes. I watched people, because I had never been in human society before, and even in an aeroplane: I had always flown only on my parents' private plane, and now the huge real world stunned me.

Unfortunately, I was unlucky with my neighbour: she was an older, full brunette who slept the whole way and snored quietly, sometimes chewing her lips, but it made me laugh and I didn't even turn on the music to watch her.