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

A Promise

The two stared into each other's eyes. The blue pair held love and sadness, the brown held nothing. Vladislaus knew this was the end. Time was up. He had lost.

"Elyse, give me more time. Please, my love. I know that with a bit more time, I can get you to see things in a new light. Just let me help you." He stepped forward, taking her hand in his. He looked down at her. There was desperation in his voice. Elyse could hear it. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The great Count Dracula was desperate, begging her to give him more time to convince her to change her mind. It wouldn't work it.

"Your desperation will be your downfall," Elyse replied, her face emotionless. "We made a deal, Vladislaus. Time is up. There is nothing more you can do." She freed her hand from his grasp, stepping back from him. "You can't change my mind. I know how I feel, and I know that you can't do anything to change that. You've lost. Accept it."

Elyse threw the rose onto the ground.

Vladislaus knew then that he was hopeless. The rose had done nothing. It hadn't worked. His plan had failed. Sighing, he spoke. "As I am a man of my words, I will return you and your friend to the school, safe and sound."

Elyse lifted her head slightly, showing the dominance she seemed to have over him now. "One more thing," she then said, stepping towards him. "You must apologize to Cassie for feeding off of her."

Vladislaus lowered his head, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Yes, my love. I intend to do so." Elyse was pleased. She had true power over him. His love for her had left him defenseless, completely at Elyse's mercy. He had no choice but to do as Elyse said. He loved her enough to do exactly as she told him.

Vladislaus then noticed that Elyse was in the clothes she was wearing the night Vlad had kidnapped her. He paid no mind to it, and made his way to where Cassie was being kept.

When he unlocked the door, Cassie was sitting on the edge of the bed, head lowered and hands clasped together in her lap. She lifted her head, her gaze shifting to Vladislaus as he cleared his throat. "I've come to apologize," he said. "I have hurt you many times. I am very sorry for having done so. I hurt someone I care about deeply because I was dishonest about harming you. In truth, I had never intended to cause you any harm. The times that I fed off of you, I had lost control of myself. I apologize for having caused you so much pain."

Cassie swallowed.

"I hope that one day, you can forgive me for what I had done to you," Vladislaus finished.

Cassie stood then, her eyes never leaving the vampire's face. "I accept your apology, sir. Does this mean you're letting me go?" She asked quietly.

"I am letting both of you go. Elyse and I had a deal. I shall take both of you back to the school, as agreed." Vladislaus said nothing more and left the room, leaving the door open.

...

Not long after, Cassie and Elyse were waiting for Vladislaus.

"He really is taking us back?" Cassie asked, her voice just above a whisper.

Elyse nodded. "Yes. It's over Cassie. We're free."

"Is it really over though?" She asked. "You know how some of those movies are. The ones where you think the story's over, but then the villain comes back and the story continues?" Cassie bit her lip. "What if this isn't the end?"

"It is," Elyse assured her. "This isn't a movie, Cas. This is the real world. After this, our lives go back to normal. Neither of us are going to see him again."

"Do you think either of us will ever forget about these last few months?"

Elyse inhaled, shaking her head. "I don't know, Cassie. I don't see how we could possibly forget." Her head turned as Vladislaus approached them.

"Are you both ready?" He asked, his gaze never leaving Elyse.

"Yes," the girls said in unison.

...

The next thing the girls knew, they were in their dorm room. Elyse sat up. She was lying on her bed, the covers pulled over her. Her eyes scanned the room. She hadn't seen it in awhile. It looked the same as it had before she had gone missing. "Cassie?"

"Hm?" Elyse looked over and saw Cassie begin to stir. "What is it, El?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Do you remember coming back here?" Elyse asked, standing from the bed.

Cassie yawned before sitting up in her own bed. "No. The last thing I remember is being several feet off the ground," she replied. "We must have passed out or something." Cassie stretched before she, too, stood from the bed.

Elyse looked around. "It all looks the same as it did before Vladislaus kidnapped me."

Cassie's eyes scanned the room. "Well, that's different," she said, pointing to a tree just outside the window. The two moved over to the window, looking at the signs attached to it. One had a picture of Cassie, the other with a picture of Elyse. On both of the signs, in big, bolded letters, it said MISSING.

"They filed a report," Cassie said. "How long have they had us as missing for?" She asked, looking over at Elyse.

"I don't know, but something tells me our lives aren't going to go back to normal as much as we thought they would." She turned to Cassie, looks of worry on both of their faces. What would they endure now that they were back? What would they say? What were they going to do?

From not so far away, inside the room, a rose sat in the glass vase beside Elyse's bed. Bright, beautiful, and very much alive.

...

Vladislaus returned to his castle in the early hours of the morning, just barely before the sun began to rise.

He paced back and forth in his office, thinking to himself. What would he do without Elyse around? His heart ached, if that was even possible. He needed her with him. He wanted her. He wanted to hold her in his arms, kiss her, touch her. He wanted her, needed her by his side.

It was then that he made his decision. Everything was falling into place. This wouldn't be the end of their story. There was more to come. He would give her a year. One year of peace and quiet. One year of freedom. Then, when the year had passed, he would return to her. No, this was not the end. No, this would not be the last time they would see each other.

They would see each other again.

That was a promise.