The Girl & The Vampire(A prequel to A Haunting Face)

Little One

Vladislaus sat in the large library of his castle, a book resting in his cold hands. He was a bit tired from his travel to the school. The girl weighed a lot, and despite his strength, Vladislaus was still an old man. He had made sure the girl was knocked out before taking her back to his castle, knowing it would be easier to carry her if she wasn't fighting him.

Once he had returned to his home, he tossed Cassie into one of the cells in the dungeon. He didn't bother wasting his time waiting for her to wake up. He didn't even care if she ever even woke up. The only reason that he had kept Cassie alive was because she hadn't done anything drastic. Yes, Elyse was angry at Cassie, but he knew she had just been trying to help. Jeremy had been a different story. Vladislaus had to kill the boy. Jeremy had touched what didn't belong to him, and Vlad made sure that the scum was taken care of. Elyse belonged to him, and him alone. He had made that decision a very long time ago.

When his ears picked up sounds from the dungeon, he knew that Cassie had woken up. Groaning, he stood from his chair and made his way down.

Cassie was stood up straight, rattling the bars of the cell as she screamed for help. When she saw Dracula approaching, she released the bars and took a step back. She was trembling in fear as she stared into his blue eyes. "Wh-who are you?" Cassie asked, wrapping her arms around herself. It was freezing cold in he dungeons, not that Vladislaus could feel it.

"Surely you know of me," he said, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "I am Count Vladislaus Dracula." He bowed lowly in introduction. "Has Ms. Devereaux not spoken of me?" He asked, knowing that she had.

"Y-you're the one who sent that letter to Elyse. You gave Elyse that rose from the ball she attended." Her voice was shaky. Cassie tried to keep her voice steady, but the cold temperature of the dungeons and the fear wouldn't allow it.

Vladislaus smirked at the trembling girl and took a step forward. Cassie moved backwards and tripped over a piece of concrete that had been lifted from the floor, causing her to fall onto her back. "Ah, so she has spoken of me. All good things, I hope." Dracula's eyes flashed as Cassie crashed onto the ground and scurried back.

"What do you want? W-why am I here?" Cassie asked, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Vladislaus opened the cell and closed it behind him, stopping in front of the cowering girl. He crouched down so they were at the same height... sort of. Vladislaus was a tall man, so even as he crouched, he still had to look down at Cassie.

"Don't be afraid, little one. I will not hurt you unless you give me a reason to do so." His voice was sickly sweet, and it took Cassie everything to not whimper in fear. Her entire body continued shaking and Vlad took notice of this. He took off his cloak and draped it over Cassie's shoulders. "I will be needing my cloak back, but you can use it until I come back with a blanket for you," he told her.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You've kidnapped me, and now you're being nice?" Cassie questioned, holding the cloak closer to her. She didn't understand this man. What kind of person kidnapped someone and then treated them nicely?

"Would you rather I be cruel and threaten your life?" Vladislaus asked, quirking his eyebrow. "Because I can be cruel if that's what you'd prefer, but I warn you. When I'm cruel, I'm merciless and I will stop trying to keep you from dying. Would you rather have me threaten to dangle your mangled body from the top of my castle after I've ripped your throat out and torn you limb from limb?" Dracula had stepped closer to Cassie as he spoke, noticing her eyes widen in terror. She shook her head frantically.

"N-no," Cassie managed out.

"Good. Then be grateful that I'm being so kind to you because normally, I wouldn't be." He turned and left the cell, locking it behind him so Cassie couldn't get out. "Wait!" Cassie called. She stood up from the floor on shaky legs. "Why are you so obsessed with Elyse?" Cassie asked.

Vlad turned to face her. "We can discuss this when I return with a warm blanket for you." Dracula left the dungeons and went up to grab a blanket for the girl. Her question rang in his mind. 'Why are you so obsessed with Elyse?' He wasn't quite sure he knew why he was so interested in Elyse, but at the same time, he did.

...

Vladislaus had gotten distracted, so it took him awhile to return with a blanket. When he did return, Cassie's lips were blue, and her body was shaking furiously. He quickly got into the cell and wrapped the blanket around Cassie. He took his cloak back from her, draping it over his arm. "Perhaps you should be moved to a warmer part of the castle," he said. "I can see that this is too cold a place for your fragile form." He lifted her into his arms and carried her off to a warmer part of his castle. He set her down on a bed in one of the rooms and got a fire going before moving her to sit by the fireplace.

"Now, about your question from earlier." Dracula paced back and forth in the room as he spoke. "My 'obsession' with Ms. Devereaux is... not an obsession. She's just a girl who caught my eye one night. We had a wonderful time together."

"You wrote her a letter. How did you even get the address to the school?" Cassie asked, looking up at him. The warmth of the fire and the room helped to heal Cassie from the freezing touch of the dungeons.

"Her mother provided me with the information," Vladislaus said simply.

Cassie shook her head. "But her mom said she didn't."

"I have my ways," he replied. "I'm quite the charmer. In time, you may find that I can be very compelling."

Cassie said nothing, choosing to remain quiet as the man continued. "Your friend is different from the other females I've met. She is... intelligent, headstrong, and loyal, unlike some." He peered down at Cassie who felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "Underneath all that, she is delicate, afraid, and vulnerable."

"Elyse? Vulnerable?" Cassie asked. "You have her all wrong. Elyse is the most invulnerable person I've ever known."

"Then, perhaps, you don't know her as well as you believe you do," he said swiftly. "I could read everything about Elyse the moment I laid eyes on her. Your friend needs to be loved like no other. I can see that she has been strong for far too long. She needs someone she can trust, someone she doesn't have to be strong around. I can provide her with that love. I can provide her with everything she could ever want."

"And you really think that she's gonna want to be with someone who kidnapped her friend?" Cassie asked, pulling the blanket tightly around her.

Vladislaus chuckled darkly. "She more than likely doesn't see you as a friend at the moment. While I appreciate you trying to help Elyse stay safe from that scum of a boy, you did ignore her request of keeping quiet, and because of that, you made her very upset. I kidnapped you simply because you disobeyed and angered Elyse."

"So, I'm being punished because I tried to help keep Elyse safe?" Cassie asked.

"You're being punished because you disobeyed Elyse," Vlad corrected.

"Disobeyed. You're making it sound like Elyse holds some kind of power over me, like she's a higher power," Cassie said.

"She does, and she is."

"Excuse me?!? Elyse holds no power over anyone. She is equal to everyone. She is not better than anyone, and has no control over what anyone does or says, especially me," Cassie retorted angrily, now standing.

Vladislaus became angry then. "Elyse holds more power than you think, little one. In fact, your life is in her hands. If it wasn't for her, you would be dead by now. Think about your words carefully because I may be unable to resist myself if Elyse asks for your life to be spared. You will learn your place, and you will come to realize Elyse holds more power over your being than you do." Vladislaus left the room angrily, locking the door behind him. He had more important things to worry about. Elyse would be arriving soon, and he had to get everything ready for when she did.

Cassie clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to scream or cry. She looked around the room, taking it all in. It was only then that she realized there were no windows in the room.