Oh man, this thing is a monster. I've been writing it for years (and through two NaNoWriMos) and now it is pretty much done. Please don't judge me too harshly for this lol. It's set in a fantasy world with a technology level around the 40's/50's.

Warnings: Blood and lots of sex... it's a vampire AU.

Reviews are very appreciated :D

I hope you enjoy this monster!

Echizen Ryoma, Prince of the kingdom of Ensinkil, nervously looked out of the car window at the storm raging around him. They were driving along a mountain road, surrounded by tall, ominous trees that were being bent by the wind. Ryoma shivered and leaned forward to talk to the driver.

"Can you turn the heating up?" He said. The driver ignored him, so Ryoma tried again. "I said, turn the heating up," he commanded, wondering if the driver could hear him over the sound of the rain pelting against the roof of the car.

Karupin looked up at him from his lap, where he was curled so that he looked like a big ball of fluff with a face and mewled at him.

Ryoma huffed and sat back in his seat, wishing they could go quicker so he could get out of this damn car. They'd been going since the early hours of the morning and now-Ryoma glanced at the clock- it was past 10PM. He'd slept through a lot of the journey, but now he could sleep no longer and it looked like they'd be driving through the night to the country of Taranis. If he'd had his way, he would have flown across, but the government had confiscated the royal jet, sentencing him to this never ending car journey. He was sure it wasn't safe to make his driver drive for so long without a break, but he knew that neither the government nor his subjects would grieve for long if his life ended in a wrecked car in the middle of nowhere.

At least he'd been allowed to take his cat with him, one of the few things that had not been sold to pay off his father's debts. He buried his hands in the cat's thick fur around its neck and touched the collar that as hidden in it. He slid it around until he found the chain of the necklace that had been wrapped tightly around it and the jewel that was wrapped in a wire cage and tied to the leather collar. He was glad he'd managed to smuggle them out and that he'd managed to hide them before the government's forces had stormed the palace.

The car suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" Ryoma asked, he couldn't see anything that could have caused the car to stop in front of them.

"Stay here," The driver said gruffly, opening the door and letting in the sound of the howling wind and the rain. He got out, shut the door and disappeared into the darkness.

"What the hell?" Ryoma muttered to himself, pushing Karupin off his lap and crawling around to look out the back window. All he could see was raindrops reflecting the light from inside the car and the thick darkness beyond. He suddenly felt very alone. Now the engine was off he could hear the wind and rain more clearly, emphasising how he was all alone in the forest in a metal can.

He looked down at Karupin, who had crawled under the driver's seat. "Come out from there," he snapped, secretly wishing he could swap places with the cat. He felt very exposed like this. He slipped down into the footwell and lay down, the bump in the middle pressing uncomfortably into his stomach.

"Karupin," he said in a sing-song voice, tickling the cat's paws that were sticking out. Karupin mewled and withdrew his feet under the seat. "You're no fun," Ryoma muttered.

Later in his life, he would remember that the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him was the fact he had lain next to Karupin instead of sitting up and trying to see what was going on.

Behind him came rapid gunfire, followed a split second later by rear window smashing, spraying glass all over Ryoma.

Karupin let out a panicked screech and leaped from his hiding place, scrabbling over Ryoma's arms and leaping out of the rear window. His departure was followed by more gunfire, this time lower and just missing the top of Ryoma's back.

Ryoma had to escape. He would die if he stayed in the car, at least outside he had a chance. However small.

He reached up to the door handle and shoved it open, scrambling out as fast as he possibly could. He ran into the woods, followed by shouts and gunfire.
There was almost no light and Ryoma stumbled through the trees, being clawed at by branches and briars. The ground was a lethally slippery mixture of mud and decomposing leaves and Ryoma's feet slipped out from underneath him. He fell forward and smacked his head off a rock. Dazed and bleeding, he scrambled to his feet and carried on.

He could hear voices all around him, or was it just the wind howling through the trees, their branches creaking and cracking against each other.

His heart sank when he came upon a rocky crag, the break in the tree cover above it let in a small amount of light revealing just how much it towered over Ryoma and how long it ran either side of him. Desperately, he tried to climb it, but it was slippery from the rain and his muddy boots couldn't find any purchase on the rock. He started to run along the side of the rock face, using it as a guide. His heart was in his mouth, his hands searching desperately for something, anything, that could help him. Finally, he found a crack down the rock face, just large enough to fit him in. He squeezed in, now happy for his small frame and stature, and kicked off his boots and socks. Now, he had enough grip to climb up the walls.

He got half way up, before stopping. He'd found a nice little ledge to sit on and hoped he could stay here until his pursuers were gone.

He listened as hard as he could, trying to hear footsteps and voices over the sound of the wind in the trees and the small stream of water that was flowing down the crevice, making small splashing sounds as it hit the ledge Ryoma was sitting on. He was too scared to feel the cold or the wet. He was torn between hiding here or climbing all the way up and fleeing. Here he was hidden and there could be people above, but if he was found in the crevice it would be easy to pick him off.

Then he heard it, the squelch of footsteps below him. As quietly as he could, he started to scale the walls of the crevice again, making sure his hands and feet were in secure places as he made his way up. At the bottom a figure emerged shining a torch along the ground. Following Ryoma's footprints.
Ryoma was so close to the top now, he started to panic, grabbing at anything for a hand hold, his hands slipping on the slick rock. The figure had just shone his torch into the crevice and seen Ryoma's boots when Ryoma heaved himself over the top of the rock face and lay there panting as the man at the bottom radioed his friends.

He had to get moving.

The mud felt disgusting between his toes, but the trees had thinned out somewhat so it was easier for him to run. He needed somewhere to hide. Maybe there would be a house somewhere where he could seek sanctuary.
He almost ran into the hedge that had suddenly appeared in front of him and clawed his way through the thick branches. Once through, he found himself in a well tended garden and in front of a giant gothic castle.

Hope and relief blossomed in his heart and he jogged along the garden path leading towards the castle. He reached the front door, made of solid wood and darkened with age so it was almost black. He knocked on the door as hard as he could and, to his surprise, it swung open.

Once inside, Ryoma closed the door behind him and took a few steps into the grand entrance hall, his steps echoing in the darkness and his feet trailing mud across the marble floor.

"Hello?" He called into the darkness. "I need help!" It hurt his pride to admit that, but he had no other option. The castle remained silent as Ryoma crept further and further into the room.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides.

"What the-" Ryoma started, turning to see who had grabbed him.

And then pain exploded at the junction between his neck and shoulder. He could feel four sharp needle like teeth penetrate his skin and sink into his flesh.
He screamed in pain and then, the pain faded away to be replaced with pure arousal. He couldn't stop himself moaning as the person behind him started to suck at the wound, drawing the blood out of him. His vision started to darken at the edges and his body fell limp, held up only by the arms around him.

"Please stop," he said weakly as a hand tipped his head to the side to allow easy access to the wound, "please-" he managed before he passed out.