More then Just a Bride

Chapter 16

I have only tasted the blood of the dying once before, the minute it touched my mouth I knew something was wrong, it wasn't long before I was throwing it back up and falling into a deep dead nightmarish dream. It was in new york, during the spanish flu epidemic that killed so many people. I did it mainly out of curiosity but soon found out that if I drank to much it would be deadly.

Having the stuff pumped directly in to my system was a different experience. But equally as traumatic. my body was burning as it tried to expell the infected blood, the sleep I fell into was as if my consciousness had been sent to hell and I was reliving the worst moments of my life for eternity.

I was in budapest again, I made my way through the dark house, I reached a door. Behind the door was blood, blood everywhere, a girl lay dead on stained red sheets. I screamed. Again and again and again and again. There was blood on my hands, and Dracula's laugh echoing in the distance.

I finally came to. I must have burnt the bad blood out of my system but I felt weak, weaker then I had in years. "easy. easy." his voice cooed as my eyes flickered open "you must be feeling pretty bad right now" his hand caressed my cheek "I apologise for the method I had to employ to bring you here but you really left me no choice"

I was sat upright in a chair, I became aware as my mind cleared from the fuzz, my wrists were bound to its arms and as I tried to move them I realised i was to weak to break the bindings. "you drugged me" my hoarse voice sounded like I wasn't even myself.

"come now Little one would you have come if I hadn't" he rationalised with a wide smile across his gestures as he examined his handy work, "besides you were so keen to show me how different you were when you stepped out in the sun, it seems your skin is not as strong and impenetrable as mine" he gloated. He was knelt down in front of me with a smirk on his lips that I wanted so badly to punch of, but the ropes weren't giving.

I looked around the room to destract myself, it was a large room, and grand. the ceiling was high and a long table stood before me. The shadow the moonlight cast suggest there was a large window behind me. I Rolled my eyes, he had only been free a day and yet some how managed to land the nicest apartment I had ever seen.

I noticed refield soon after rummaging around in the corner trying to catch a fly just beyond his reach and rolled my eyes again "you used to surround yourself with a higher caliber of people" I commented

He looked over to renfield and cleared his throat, the man came to a abrupt holt and turned to face his master bowing his head "why don't you bring my guest something to drink" the man muttered lots of 'yes masters' before getting to work pouring two glasses of the red stuff out of a decanter. Dracula took a seat opposite me in a relaxed fashion.

renfeild placed the glasses in front of us, dracula waisted no time in seizing his and taking a long swig, I could do nothing but stare at the liquid hungrily as I felt my teeth sharpen in my mouth "you must be starving" he stated smugly "that infected blood did a number on you"

I looked away from the glass reluctantly, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. "so you have me. what now?"

"well that depends entirely on you" he answered I cocked my brown in a silent question "either you stay here, willingly, like a good little bride. or i put you in a box and we evaluate in say-" he pulled a random number out of his head "thirty years"

O didn't relish the idea of being a 'good little bride' nor did I fancy decades in a box.  "you really don't like having your toys taken away from you do you?" Iquestion, "your like a child who has been given an unlimited amount of money to buy whatever toys he wants, eventually he will get bored with every toy and will have to move onto more creative means of entertaining himself"

Dracula paid no attention to my comment but made a point of taking another long sip of his drink. I watched and my mouth began to water. he was right, I was starving. "the box" he turned to refield who like an obedient servant left the room only to return moments later noisily dragging a long wooden box in with him "its a lot bigger then the ones I usually use" Dracula commented casually "in fact i'm sure I wont have to break to many limbs to fit you in"

I sighed, he was taunting me "just untie me" I resigned "I will stay, but don't expect me to be happy about it"

"I wouldnt dream of it" A wide grin appeared on the counts face as he waves renfield and the box away before coming over to the chair and with one swipe of his shape nails he cut the ropes and placed the glass in my hand, in a frenzy I finished it in one. It started to take effect immediately as i left some life return to my body, he promptly refilled the glass and I drank that as well. "olympian?" i enquired.

"no, but he had potential" Dracula smirked. "now" he took his seat again but left the decanter in front of me so I could drink my fill "we have a lot to catch up on you and I! tell me what you have been doing all of this time"

"where do you want to start?"

"hmm lets say just after your little indiscretion in budapest" he smiled "after I sent you to wait for me in whitby"

"i went to whitby" I stated simply "and I waited, for about 3 decades"

"why did you stop waiting?" he sat forward showing me I had his undivided attention

"How did you have to drug me to get me here? Your effect wore off. I found the longer you took the more I was able to make my own decisions and eventually it was easy to leave" I omited the part where freddie came and got through to me but it remained in my mind fondly "after that I spent most of my time searching the world for answers, I attended university four times, at first they were hesitant about allowing a woman to study but you've seen how womens rights have evolved." Dracula made a loud sigh i ignored him "anyway, I travelled, I experienced everything the world had to offer; I thrived in short"

he pondered it for a moment "and how was it? freedom I mean?"

I thought about the strange question for a moment "I would be lying if I said I was truely free, you were always there in the back of my mind, but as you said before; I had become very good at muting you and I had no reason to expect you were coming back so I made the most of the relative freedom I had gained"

"and you never thought to come looking for me?"

"no" I smirked "there was a organisation of fools already doing that"

He didn't seem angry about my answer in fact I believe he would have done the same were he in my position. "and the harker foundation? why did they just leave you be?"

"I had made sure to stay out of their way, they new I existed, they took a keen interest in my studies. But I gave them no reason to study me" I explained "that willamina murray you let live was a pain in the ass when I was waiting for you but we had an agreement of sorts, I didn't bother them, they didn't bother me"

"and that's it? in a hundred and twenty odd years that's all you did?"

"yep" I answered but he didn't seem convinced, I had not lied to him, I have just been selective with the truths I told, I did not want him knowing about my family. He could use emily against me and I could not let him. "I got married twice" i added as an after thought "neither marriage took" I added.

He didn't seem thrilled by this idea but it was enough to distract him from the edited story I had given him "what inspired you to do that?"

"boredom mainly" I shrugged "they were both smart men but not smart enough to recognise their wife was a vampire"

"did you kill them?"

"no!" I exclaimed "not everyone has to murder there spouses" I commented, "i divorced them the good old fashioned way"

"sounds drab" he said "I prefer a much more epic conclusion to my relationships" he smirked. "anyway drink up! i have been in a box under the sea for over a century, I have some carnal needs we need to take care of"