Ill Fated

It had been a tortuous and lonely night. Despite her best attempts she could not find it in herself to cry for her father. Was it the coldness of vampire blood, or merely her inability to accept his death? However it went she rose from her bed to take her normal shift at the machine. Slowly dragging her numb body down the stairs she was surprised to see the hunter at the controls. His fingers moving expertly over them as if he had worked them all his life; however long it had been.

He was far old than her; millennia’s older in fact. “I can take over now.” She spoke warily as she moved to take the second chair.

“You are not yet ready to take over.” He said emotionlessly. His face bore no expression and his gaze never wavered from the endless screens before him. “Go mourn properly.”

“Go to hell.” She growled loading up her section of the panels and going to work. She’d been so engrossed in just getting back to what she always did that she’d never heard his chair slide back, or him come stand behind her. It was his firm grip on her shoulders that had her jumping up to face him in startled. Electricity sizzled through her body at the feel of his gloved hand on her bare shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”

His eyes narrowed at her as she looked up at him in challenge. She’d only really ever been around her father. Once she’d thought she had been in love, and given herself to a man, but he’d been killed shortly after. She’d not mourned his death either, or even regretted loving him when she had. The difference was that she’d never felt so odd when he’d touched her.

“You need rest still.”

“And you need to leave me be. How long are you planning to stay?”

He shrugged; a gently glide of flesh and muscle. He’d left off his cloak, armor, and hat. His weapons were placed off in the corner, and the clothes he wore fit him like a second skin. It did set her hormones raging to see such a beautiful man before her. He was gorgeous, and she couldn’t deny it. Did he even know what he must do to any woman who laid eyes on him?

“Tenshia.” She jumped at the sound of Dracula’s voice. “I’ll be taking my leave of you now.” He turned to D with a slight smile. “Take care of her.”

With that he left them to themselves. The front doors opened and shut and echoed through the empty halls making her realize how alone she really was now. After D left she would be isolated from everything outside these walls, and no one unless escorted through by herself, unless it was the vampire king himself, would make it through the woods alive.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered as reality came crashing down on her. “You can stay as long as you like. There’s food in the kitchens, and if you require it my father keeps a stock of livestock blood in the underground.”

D watched the various emotions flicker across the woman’s face. Boredom at first, nervousness, desire, and then loneliness and fear. Things were sinking in for her now that she wasn’t focusing on her work. He’d calibrated the systems already, and barring a natural disaster wouldn’t need attention for a few hours. “Can you work these alone should something go wrong?”

“Guess I’ll find out sooner or later.” Dark curls fell shadowing her face and emerald eyes. The light from the machines behind her glowed through revealing her curved frame hidden beneath a dark green sleeping gown. “Listen you don’t have to stay because your father ordered you to. I’ll be fine on my own, really.”

He didn’t believe her, the words were forced from her mouth. “You fear being completely alone.”

Her head shot up meeting his calm gaze with surprise. “I fear nothing.” She was lovely dhamphir, and he couldn’t deny being attracted to her. Just because of the life he led didn’t make him immune to such emotions. It brought forth imaged of the lovely young girl Doris from so long ago, and he wondered if any of her children looked like her. The ferocity and spark in this girl’s eyes were so much like hers; a decedent? No, too far from where Doris had lived.

“You must be hungry. I’ll fix us something to eat.” She looked over her shoulder at the stable machines and sighed heavily. She stood and walked around him making sure to leave plenty of room between them. He’d have had to step toward her if he wanted to grab her, and a smirk escaped him.

“Can you deny even one like yourself, D?” Asked the parasite in his hand after she was out of hearing range; though obviously lost in thought they still didn’t want to take the chance of scaring her into an attack. Scowling he pressed his nails into the creatures face angrily.

“Remain silent and out of sight.”

“Yes, sir.” It grumbled back sarcastically. She was brewing tea by the time he’d made into the kitchen; her back to him. Attempting to slip by toward the table he was caught off guard when she turned into him dropping her cup to the floor. The hot liquid made footing slippery, and she was shocked by his silent appearance. She fell into him pinning him against the wall, and almost continuing her fall until he caught her against him.

Being pulled tight against his body had been the last thing her already unbalanced body needed. Her hormones were sent into overdrive with desire at the feel of the firm frame he bore, and if she guessed right he wasn’t entirely unaffected by the sudden contact either. There was a hard lump where there shouldn’t have been one pressed against her, and she quickly leapt back away from him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” She started when he straightened himself, his face turned away from her, and gaze looking at the broken cup at the floor. “Go sit down and I’ll clean up the mess.” Dropping a dry stip of cloth onto the floor she pushed it around with her foot, and then knelt to pick up the pieces. He didn’t go sit down though, he helped her pick up the cup fragments much to her own frustration.

If he stayed for any long amount of time she wasn’t sure she be sure she wouldn’t throw herself at him. She only hoped he would show every inch of disinterest in her from here-on-out to turn her off of him. . .