Dedicated to Sarah and your love for vampires.

WARNING: contains sexual content and strong language

Chapter 1: The Woman In Gold

"Fiore, a world filled with vampires and humans, terror roams at every corner, its land spilled with ancient blood.

A great war had once raged between the two races, both conflicted with ideas of peace, they battled until they came to an agreement to split the Fiore in two. The Vampires fled to the west and the humans fled to the east. Regardless of their so called truce, the human race continues to decline rapidly. Vampires, thirsty for blood and land has pillaged small human villages, stealing their wealth and resources back to their homeland. Kidnapping humans back as blood banks until they are thrown away when they do not have a single ounce of blood left. Some humans are kept as slaves and others, in rare cases, beome mated to their destined vampire.

Vampires are human-like. They have sharp canine teeth and cold pale skin. They have a particular craving for blood on a daily basis and it is required for them to live. However, they can also eat what humans eat. They eat food as substance to help growth and to ease the same hunger we feel. However, it is essential for them to drink blood and they will not be able to go a week without it or, unfortunately, they will fall to the ground and die a slow and painful death. Because of their scarce resource of humans they usually feed off farm animals. Of course, to them, they will always favour the taste of human blood.

Clan Fairy Tail currently rules Magnolia, it stands as one of the most notable vampire reigned kingdoms in the west." -An extract from Levy Mcgarden's book: An Introductory To A World Of Hate

Natsu Dragneel, vampire prince of Magnolia, released a weary sign as he stared at the strange mark on his arm. He was drained to the point of exhaustion and he had not done anything but listed out instructions to a few of the soldiers. It was because of the damn mark, he supposed. His father had told him during a session when he was younger that the mark was meant to symbolise that his so-called mate was near and it was only a matter of time before he met her (though, he never told him any of the side effects that came with it). Everyone had told him (and teased him) with explicit detail the process of claiming a mate. He chuckled inwardly to himself. If it was 4 years ago he would've blinked in utter innocence. But now, 21 years old and the attraction of many women and men at royal balls, he had enough practice to know what to do when the time came.

He had things to attend later during the day. He had to meet nobles, question prisoners, charm visitors and most importantly, drink some delicious crimson blood. He unconsciously stuck his tongue out and licked his fangs at the thought, but the pain on his arm ruined the mood instantly.

Lately he had been having dreams, very good dreams for that matter. For the past few days, he had dreamt of a blonde woman, but he was never able to see what she really looked like. Every time she appeared she would glow in a luminous light, shielding a good portion of her face with a cloud of white mist, leaving only her pink lips in was something about her that gave a brilliant vibe of all that was good, all that was pure. It was as if she was an angel that had descended from heaven. Natsu felt himself sigh.

She was utterly beautiful.

She had golden locks and curves at all the right places, her skin was soft and pale and he remembered vividly, the smile that curled against her full lips. He never got the chance to remember her voice or anything they had talked about. All he could remember was the feeling of absolute ecstasy when he felt taste of her lips, the vibration of her groans and moans against his mouth, the way she was pressed against him so perfectly-

The thought of her sent a shiver down his spine. Who was this mysterious woman that plagued his dreams? Was it his mate? Or was it merely a wet dream of someone else? Even if so, it was definitely not the woman he last slept with—because the woman in gold did not feel the slightest bit like her.

Not to mention, she had white hair.

His fingers clenched around his arm trying to relieve the pain, but to his dismay, it only made it worse. Images of his dream flashed before him and his eyes went dizzy with lust and confusion. He had to find this woman quick or she was going to be the death of him.

"Hey, hot-head, you all right there?" Gray asked as he leaned against the pilar next to him. The black haired vampire knight seemed perfectly fine half naked as he basked in the winter air.

"I'm fine." Natsu replied sharply and then winced, "How did you manage to deal with this?"

Gray shrugged and played with the sword in his hand. "I got my mate almost immediately I got my mark. But maybe that's because my mate just so happened to be my stalker."

Natsu rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration. Damn Gray for getting his mark first. Damn Gray for having a mate that was so conveniently there. Damn Gray for being Gray. The fact that his best knight got a mate before he did (and he was the prince of Magnolia for crying out loud!), really got on his nerves.

"If the mark is hurting this much, then where is she?" Natsu growled as he continued to battle against the pain.

"Maybe somewhere in town?"

"You're a real help you know that?" He gritted out sarcastically.

Gray laughed and shook his head, "She'll come eventually. Give it time. Remember Gajeel had to suffer for an entire month before he got Levy? You only got your mark 3 days ago so relax flame brain."

"Who are you calling flame brain, ice dick?" He muttered pathetically as he tried to bite back the pain.

Gray scoffed and turned his back before he started to walk away. "While you don't have a mate, I have a mate to get back to. Have fun staying horny and in agony!"

If it wasn't for his position and the fact that he might be his best frien- enemy, Natsu would've ripped his guts out ages ago.

With a strangled sigh he slowly composed himself and walked into the throne room where three massive seats were placed in the middle. Originally, there had only been two, one for him and one for his father, but after the news of his mark they quickly added an additional throne for his mate. He stared bitterly at it, wondering when the hell was she going to arrive.

For the rest of the day he sat there. Listening to the requests and complaints from the townspeople, boring old advisors rambling off, designers asking for which shade of fucking pink should they use to tailor his new clothes (honestly, they all looked the same), the reports from their soldiers and so much more. Half of the time he answered with mild interest and other times he simply nodded his head while his mind was occupied with the woman. He wondered what she would sound like, would her voice be sweet and high pitched or low and sexy? Would her lips feel as soft as he had dreamed? Would her-

"Milord?"

He snapped back to reality and found Erza, captain of the troops, standing there with her helmet held against her waist as her eyes looked at him with slight worry.

"You've been sitting there for hours. Is everything all right?"

He nodded and rubbed the crook of his neck. "Yes. Everything is fine, Captain. I've just been thinking about a few things."

She gave him a look that told him she didn't seem to be convinced at all. Erza cleared her throat and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Milord, I bring news of clan Sabertooth. Our watch towers across the Fiore are slowly being taken down by their savages, sir, they've raided a few of our supplies and killed a handful of good men. I fear their clan may be growing by the amount of propaganda their leaders are sending out to the people. My messengers have reported that there has been an increase in recruits for Sabertooth."

He furrowed his eyebrows as his pent up frustration and anger began to boil within him. His fingers twitched as his eyes danced with fury. For a brief moment, Erza had a flash of fear painted on her face but it quickly went back to her usual stone faced expression.

Clan Sabertooth and Clan Fairy Tail had been rivals for centuries. Sabertooth was filled with mercenaries, sadistic savages who thirsted for human blood. Most of the kingdoms in the West used animal blood as their food supply. Sabertooth, on the other hand, lived somewhere in between the West and the East, where they were in both human and vampire territory. They were infamous for the kidnapping of innocent humans and selling their blood in black markets. Most clans, that were for peace, hated them to the core. It was because of them and their growing population of barbarians the humans started to lose trust in vampires. It was as though the peace that had once been declared during the great war from centuries ago meant absolutely nothing.

Natsu, next to rule, was determined to wipe them off the face of the earth.

"We-" Before he could go off pouring his anger into words about Sabertooth, his arm sent a shockwave of pain coursing throughout his body and he fell to his knees, his breath harsh and his heart struggling like a caged bird. "W-we upgrade our de-defence, ask for volunteers, do whatever it takes t-to increase our troops' str-strength. We mu-must try stay str-strong." He gritted through the agonising pain he was feeling.

"Milord!" Erza cried and ran to his side, lifting him up by the arm and carefully seating him back down against his throne. "Shall I fetch the nurse? Do you need an ounce of blood?"

"I'm fine." He grunted as he shifted uncomfortably, the pain growing stronger by the second. "You are dismissed Captain."

Erza opened her mouth to retort but quickly snapped it shut. She knew better than to question a vampire prince. Hesitantly, she nodded before she took her leave.

His vision began to blur. The world was spinning and he felt absolutely horrible. His throat was parched, his muscles felt sore, his back ached with each movement and his head felt as if it was on fire.

When everything slowly seemed to go faint, he was sure he was about to fall unconscious. As his eyelids began flutter to close, that was when he heard the banging of the front door, the shouting of guards, and his pain immediately subsided. He shot up and looked down at himself, blinking and rubbing his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming. His eyes darted to the mark on his arm and gave it a skeptical look, wondering if it was going to start acting up again. Had his torture finally come to an end?

"Open the fucking door!" Gray screamed from the outside.

He quickly ran to the front where almost everyone was gathered around. The pouring rain thundered in the night, streaks of lightning flashed and danced. He pushed his way through the crowd to find Gray, holding onto a young woman—a human— with dirty blonde hair. His breath was caught in his throat as he stared at her in curiosity and caution.

Gray settled her on the floor gently, his shirt was soaked in mud and rain, his expression twisted into one that was filled with distress and dread.

Natsu knelt down beside the two and placed a hand on her dirt patched forehead, immediately retracting it when he felt the fierce fever radiating through her skin.

"Get Wendy now!" He ordered in an alarming state. Her breath came in harsh, desperate gasps, and her body trembled and shook. Gajeel, the fastest to react, ran off to search for Wendy, the castle's youngest and most trusted medic.

"What happened to her?" Natsu asked and his words came out as dry and rasp.

"Sabertooth." Gray murmured, "We found her when we were sweeping one of the watch towers that was raided by Eucliffe's men. She was one of the hostages—well, actually, she was the only hostage that managed to survive and she struck the final blow to their commander. You should've seen her Natsu, she was weakened to the point where she could barely stand and she still managed to throw a stake to his chest. Luckily, we managed to get her to safety before the reinforcements came."

Natsu stared in disbelief at the woman. It had always boggled his mind how much determination some humans had. Even if they had only a string of hope to hold on to, their will to live and to keep fighting was extraordinary.

Gajeel had finally returned with Wendy. In her hands she held a basket of medical supplies and a few bottles of healing herbs. Her fingers quickly went to nurse her wounds and she tried not to rush her movements. She pried open the woman's pale lips and slipped a few drops of brewed medicine. Wendy, being oblivious to the blood-lusted eyes from both Gray and Natsu (him being the one most affected) from the sight of blood, continued to stitch the blonde's cuts as she gently wiped off her blood with a cloth.

"Well, the good news is that she's going to live." Wendy confirmed and earned a sigh of relief from Natsu, "But, she will need to rest. I'd say for at least a day. I gave her one of my herbs that will prevent the smell of her being human to be tracked by any vampire."

Natsu nodded and looked at the crowd that encircled them. "Then she will stay here for the night until she recovers and leave the next morning."

His arm gave a painful throb as he said that.

"That won't do." Quipped in a low voice. All heads turned to find the Igneel, the vampire king, walking in with his chest held high and his fangs glistening. He looked down at the woman and shook his head. "Reports from other kingdoms claim that most of the boarder between the East and the West have been secured by Sabertooth. With the amount of enforcement they have, I doubt we'll be getting through in a long time."

There were murmurs of agreement and worried voices concerning the fate of their kingdom. His father was right, there was no way they could make it through with the state of their troops and the declining numbers of good soldiers.

He hesitated a nod and took her limp figure into his arms, his heart fluttering with warmness as he held the human. She had stopped shaking a while ago and her expression had graced into a rather calm and serene state. Her breathing became quiet and her lips were slightly parted, a part of him was strangely drawn to the sight of them.

"I will escort her to my room and she will rest there for the time being." He said firmly, not trusting most of the soldiers and staff that they would not sneak in to drink her blood.

Grumbles erupted from the crowd as some were suspicious and wary of the presence of a human and some wondering if she could last long enough in a kingdom of vampires.

"Very well." His father nodded in approval and made a gesture to disperse the crowd, "She will now be your responsibility Natsu. You will see to it that by the end of this she will be alive and well."

As the sea parted and made way for the cold blooded creature and the human in his arms, Natsu walked to his chamber with a few pairs of worried eyes digging into his back.

Eventually, he made it to a lavished room filled with luxurious furniture and a dim light hanging from above. Most of the interior were coloured in a depressing hue of black and white with tints of red. Carefully, he placed her on his bed and decided to use the couch to crash for the night. Before he left her sleeping figure, Natsu took the time to examine her features. She looked familiar, a little too familiar and his mind could not wrap around who she was. His eyes trailed down to her hand, which was wrapped in cloth and tattered with dirt and blood. He made a mental note to ask Mirajane to clean her up the next morning.

Then, he left her and fell onto the couch, burying his face in a pile of pillows as he continued to wonder why had his mark suddenly stopped hurting.

Author's note: Hi there! I hope you all like it so far and you'll stay with me through this journey :) Sorry if there are a ton of grammar errors, english isn't my first language. If anyone is interested in being a beta, feel free to PM me!

Also, Natsu might be a little ooc throughout the story (considering he's a Dark!natsu and also a badass vampire). If you're looking for a story where Lucy's a damsel in distress she will definitely not be displayed as one here.

Thanks for reading and look forward to a new chapter soon (: