It was like any other day in the Moon Demon Company Shinoa's squad agenda. Fight some Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Try not to get kill. You know, the usual stuff. Shinoa was feeling unusually tired. She was sure she was feeling fine a few moments ago. Maybe it's from fighting too much.
"Yosh! That felt good," Yuu said as withdrew his sword, "I want seconds!"
"Yuu-kun, we had plenty of Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Let's fall back a little-" Shinoa was cut off when she saw a figure in the smoke. The silhouette drew a sword of his and slashed it from left to right. It sent off a huge force that blew away the dust and debris in the direction of Shinoa's squad. Everyone shield themselves from the huge impact.
When the smoke cleared up, a figure cladded in white stood in a distance. His vibrant red hair, his canine teeth and his pointed ears were not good news to Shinoa.
"Everyone retreat!" Shinoa cried as she swung her scythe in the attempt to slow him down. The noble vampire smirked as he redirected the hit.
"Sword, drink my blood," he called as spikes protruded from the handle of his blade. Shinoa grasped as a strong gust of wind took her off the ground and slammed her right into a clement wall. The last thing Shinoa saw was her friends retreating. She smiled to herself.
"At least Yuu-kun is flowing orders," Shinoa thought as the darkness engulfed her.
Shinoa awoke with a start. Her eyes opened wide and her face devoid of any emotions. She inspected her surroundings, a simple bed in a rather grand looking room with rich furniture and tasteful wallpaper. Her legs were chained together and so were her arms. Her shoes and leggings were missing. So were her weapon and her curse stimulant pills,
Her heart was beating fast but Shinoa forced herself to calm down. She examined her cuffs and found no key locks or pad. The cuffs were literally bent around her limbs and tightened such that it secured around her ankles and wrists.
Shinoa raised her hands and the chains rattled along with the slightest movement. They were bounded to the bed post. Just wonderful.
Click!
The door opened. The same noble vampire smiled. His hair maroon red near the front and dark brown at the back. Broad shoulders. Tall. Monotonous yet playful eyes and a Cheshire smile.
Shinoa remembered him. Crowley Eusford. Thirteen progenitor. Very dangerous. But being Shinoa, she returned the smile.
"So how is my lavender prisoner doing?" Crowley asked as he sat down.
"Oh the service here is absolutely lovely. I mean what first class chains you have and such a fine workmanship." Shinoa grinned.
Crowley mused.
"Well, marvellous to see a fine lady like you appreciating our services. However, do note we don't like items such as these ones," he waved and spun her weapon, now a small rod, in his palms," thus we will be confiscating it."
"Oh that's a shame. It's something really precious to me and I would really love it if you return it back to me. I'll promise to never bring it ever again to your place if you would kindly release me." Shinoa raised her right hand, actually both hands due to the cuffs and looked as sorry as she could though her mischievous demeanour showed through.
Crowley laughed and faked a tear.
"I can't unfortunately do either."
Shinoa faked an over dramatic shocked look and cried before falling back to the bed and playing possum. She heard a muffled laughter coming from Crowley and sat back up.
"So what am I doing here?" Shinoa questioned.
Crowley regained his composure. His eyes glinted with seriousness.
"Answer some questions and maybe, just maybe, I'll try not to kill you," Crowley smiled.
Shinoa was slightly shaken but tried to not let it showed through.
Crowley was a few metres away from her. Shinoa thought for a moment. If she could just leap towards him and snatch away her weapon, she could activate it and break her chains.
'But if I fail...There's nothing to lose anyway. I'll be lucky if he ends my life immediately than torture me," Shinoa thought as she tried to muster her courage. Now! With a massive push by her legs, Shinoa attempted to pounce onto Crowley. If only she had calculated how fast the noble vampire would react and how short her chains were.
In a millisecond, Crowley locked his right palm with Shinoa's neck and his left hand dropped her weapon as it went to retrieve his sword. The sword felt cool to the touch against the petite's girl neck. Shinoa was scared but she continued to smile.
"Well, that was a flop. Now will this kind gentleman please return me to my family. Oh how worried they must be waiting for their princess! I assure you a handsome reward will be prepared for this handsome good sir," Shinoa chimed.
Crowley pretended to ponder for a moment. He wrinkled his eyebrows.
"No," he flatly replied. He returned the smile and withdrew his sword. He released Shinoa. She coughed as she turned to her side on the bed. Her left hand covered her neck and somewhat massaged it. Any moment later and she would have probably black out from suffocation. She felt a gentle pat on her back. She glared at Crowley. He mused at her anger.
"Now now, a princess shouldn't frown. It ruins your beauty,"
Shinoa rolled her eyes. She felt his eyes skimming over her body. His hand when up to the chains on her legs and crushed it, releasing her legs. There were still cuffs on each of her ankles. Shinoa sat up and wriggled her toes, enjoying the stretching. A glass of water was handled to her. She accepted with a frown and sipped it slowly. Her mind was still hazy from the shortage of air.
"Now, will my little lavender princess kindly tell me her name?" Crowley smirked. Shinoa pouted, thinking silently to herself before grinning back.
"I'm afraid, my fair knight, that the privilege of knowing my name is something that you must earn."
"So is that a no?" Crowley edged towards the bed and sat beside Shinoa, edging closer to her face. His pointed teeth were showing, threatening her.
"Yes, it's a no," she said as she returned the emptied glass to Crowley. It was somehow a rejection but Crowley showed no signs of displeasure. This human girl was so much more entertaining. Crowley stared into her hazelnut eyes. He found her silky purple hair quite exquisite.
"Say, my lavender princess, how old are you," he picked up a lock of her purple hair and twirled it with his finger.
"Fair knight, age is but a number," she answered, slightly annoyed. She grabbed the locked of hair back and held onto it possessively in a comical fashion.
"You know, in my 825 years, I've never meet a human so interesting," he laughed.
"Wow, you're old," Shinoa said before covering her mouth. Crowley looked at her and laughed even louder. He grabbed his stomach as he laid on the bed defeated. He opened his eyes and wiped away the tears.
"Princess, I thought you said age is but a number," Shinoa blushed as her cheeks reddened. How dare someone used her words against her, a vampire no less! She felted a hand pushed her down. Her hair spread against the bedsheets like a firework bursting in the sky. Crowley's hairs pinned her down. The chains clattered.
"My apologies, princess, for making you frown. I believe I haven't introduced myself. I am Crowley Eusford, Thirteenth Progenitor," he whispered into her ears. His face was literally an inch from hers. He came up and stared seductively into her eyes. For the first time in a while, Shinoa felt fear. She felt like a prey captured by its predator with no chance of escaped. Her heart was racing a hundred miles per second. She tried to free her arms from the cuffs, from the chains, from him. She kicked her legs but they were locked down by Crowley.
The grip on her hands were increasing and the skin around was turning blue-black.
"Let. Me. Go." Shinoa gritted her teeth. She winced at the pain. The pain stopped. She heard something clattered. She opened her eyes to find that her hands were not chained to the bed post anymore. A pair of cold arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. Shinoa was now facing Crowley, her arms shielding her from him. He rested his head on Shinoa's and closed his eyes.
The sky outside was a brilliant shade of maroon orange. It was evening.
Shinoa's eyes goggled. She had never been this close to a vampire. Let alone one cuddling her.
"Care to let this old knight take a few rests, princess?" Crowley whispered into her ears.
"Please stop calling me princess," Shinoa muttered, "It's always the higher ranking people that cause the fall of the kingdom." She felt Crowley's hands move her up such that she was seeing eye to eye with him. His red eyes were so mesmerising. He could sense the sadness in her words and smiled, not playfully but genuinely.
"What would me to call you, lavender?"
"Shinoa, aged 15," she smiled back. She unknowingly pinched his cheeks and stretched it out. She giggled at her weird antics. It was funny to disfigure someone's face, especially when it's your enemy who could kill you at any moment. Crowley did the same to her cheeks. It was almost like a comedic act should we forget that the two were from opposing sides of the war.
"Care to release me Shinoa," Crowley mumbled as he poked Shinoa's cheeks, puffing it out. To him, it made her look more adorable. A growl escaped Shinoa's stomach and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. A few seconds past before Crowley erupted in laughter. He ruffled her hair which was smacked away by Shinoa.
She reached into her uniform pocket and fish about before landing the jackpot. She pulled out a ball of chocolate which she secretly looted from an abandoned convenience store. She tore the wrapper and pop a piece into her mouth, savouring the sweet, dark chocolate. She felt Crowley staring at her.
"What's that?" He questioned.
"Chocolate, want some?" Before Crowley could protest, Shinoa pushed a piece into his lips, letting her finger touched his lips for a moment.
"So, how does it taste?" Shinoa tilted her head. Crowley held back his blush and nodded that it tasted good. His stomach then started to growl. Now it was Shinoa's turn to laugh.
"I can share the chocolate with you," she began to break the remaining chocolate bar into two halves.
"I can only consume blood…." Crowley trailed off. He saw Shinoa stiffened for a while before she munched on the chocolate. She offered the other half to Crowley with a bright yet sad smile. Crowley took the piece and pressed it gently at her lips. She accepted it. A deafening silence clung onto the air between them. Crowley moved away but he felt a small hand holding onto him. Shinoa unbuttoned the top few buttons of her uniform, exposing her neck.
"Don't take this wrongly. I just don't want you to hurt anyone else," she craned her neck such that Crowley would have easy access. Crowley felt his teeth burning. It had been a while since he lasted drank blood and he could not hold it in any longer. He brought her closer to him, wrapped his left arm around her. His right arm brushed her hair away and supported her head. His mouth hovered over her vulnerable neck. His nose was attacked by the lavender scene of her hair. It was so intoxicating.
He gingerly pierced her delicate skin, sucking the blood. Shinoa winced at the weird sensation. It was not painful, just uncomfortable. The tall guy towered over her petite figure easily, yet he was carefully about the way he sucked her blood. After he drank sufficient amount, he released his fangs and tenderly licked the punctured spots. Shinoa felt something warm swirling against her neck and resisted a moan. She did feel a tad bit light headed. Her bright eyes dulled. Crowley helped her rest on the bed, covering her in the warm sheets and brushing her hair out of her beautiful face.
"Crow… ley…" Shinoa muttered as she drifted off. The sky was now dark, with stars studded like diamonds across the black background. Crowley lifted her left hand and kissed it in a gentlemen fashion.
"Good night, lavender,"