A.N: A one shot placed a little bit after Love Bite. This also includes a small spoiler for Metamorphosis...R&R

Bewitched

-Present-

"Please, Seth! Come back! I didn't know what I was doing!"

Ion hurried after his dark haired girlfriend. Despite his plea, she kept on; she stormed away from him, hurt and tearful. The blond slowly gained on her and eventually got close enough to catch her by the arm. The girl stopped and flashed him a cold look.

"Ion," She warned, "Let go of me…"

He didn't; he was determined to tell his side of the story, "Listen to me. I don't remember what happened. It seemed like I just woke up and she was..."

The earl didn't get the chance to finish. Before he knew it, Seth had slapped him, hard; the sting would not fade from his cheek for a long time. Ion could only watch helplessly as the woman he was determined to share his life with vanished from his sight, heartbroken…

-Earlier that day-

"Come on, Ion. There's no reward in being shy…"

The earl smiled to himself at his empress's wisdom. His girlfriend tugged him gently towards the center of the room, where dancers already twirled about each other gracefully. Luckily for them, very few people knew what her Majesty looked like, or even her real name. So, they were mostly left in peace, appearing as an everyday couple.

Several pairs of eyes still watched them; Baybars, Asta, and grandmother knew their ruler personally, who were scattered about the throne room along with Seth's older brother, Abel, who, although taken, the young ladies of the court often fawned over to Asta's annoyance. Ion received warning leers from Asta and Baybars, who had warned him to take care of their empress. He gave them a small, assuring smile before turning back to Seth.

"Do we have to dance?" The blond whined.

Seth halted and looked back at him imploringly with those stunning jade eyes, " You don't want to dance with me?"

That was it…Ion was toast, helpless to the Crusnik's irresistible charm; his surrender was swift.

"Alright, let's go then…"The boy sighed in defeat.

The empress nearly beamed at him, and he felt the small dent in his male pride was worth it to make his girlfriend happy. She had gone through so much, lost almost everything, but now she had him to help her bear the burden of living her unusual life and ruling the New Human Empire.

The sharp girl must have noticed his forced smile, "Don't worry, it'll only be one…" She compromised for him.

His smile became genuine, "Thanks…"

At that, she continued to herd him to the dance floor; Ion followed obediently. The throne room, where the party was taking place, was alive with noise and color; both Methuselah and Terran alike were clad in soft silks and clinking gems, gold, and silver, displaying the wealth and prosperity of their nation.

A certain maiden in particular caught Ion's eye.

Her dark eyes stood out to him first, as deep and black as night. Her face was fine and pale, seemingly carved for beauty, and her hair, kept up by a crimson ribbon, was as dark as her eyes, with thin, sleek streaks of ivory, and brushed the small of her back. Those strange, ebony orbs beckoned him, as did her soft rosebud lips.

Although her features seemed to fit a noble's, she wore a simpler dress, telling of a lower class, as red as the ribbon that tamed her fair hair. Ion hadn't realized he had been staring until Seth called him back to reality.

"Who are you looking at? You look like a carp…" The ruler's voice was suspicious.

The blond snapped out of it abruptly; he turned his bewildered red gaze on her. Seth didn't look happy; she tapped her foot accusingly with arms crossed. He understood right away.

"Oh…"He looked back briefly to where he had seen the maiden, who was now gone. He returned his gaze to his girlfriend, "I just saw someone that was unfamiliar was all. She was an unusual one…"He tried to explain.

The ruler seemed convinced and dropped the subject; not knowing that it would soon rear its ugly head once more to nearly tear them apart…

"Ion? Ion, where are you?"

Seth searched the courtyard for the blond.

This had been where she had seen him before he suddenly vanished. The two of them had had a nice romantic dance before stepping out for fresh air. Just several moments before Ion went missing the ruler swore she had seen the maiden from before; she had to admit she was getting suspicious. But Ion wouldn't…would he?

Seth could only pray…

"Ion?" She tried again and received no answer.

The girl was starting to get worried. She couldn't find him anywhere. She hurried around a corner and confronted one of her worst fears…

Ion held another woman in his arms, the dark haired maiden. Both had their eyes closed, lost in their embrace as they kissed shamelessly as if they had been together for years.

At first, Seth could hardly breathe; she felt faint and sick, dizzy. She could only stare for the longest time, her heart fighting to coup with this betrayal…

Darkness hung in his mind. He saw nothing. He felt nothing. But even that now began to fade; feeling slowly reclaimed him.

The night's chill was the first to reach him and he began to remember that he had been outside with Seth. But what was burned into his mind were those eyes that, strangely enough, were not his girlfriend's. He also faintly recalled seeing the owner of those void-like eyes just before everything went blank.

Lips caressed his own as hands did his body. But they were unfamiliar and cold, distant. He weakly opened his eyes, completely puzzled and growing worried. To his horror, it was not Seth who held him:

It was the dark maiden. She had her arms around him as if he was hers; she trespassed on Ion's mouth, tasting it seemingly without his previous permission. Ion tensed, causing the woman to do the same. She pulled away, dark eyes seemingly innocent, and gazed up at him, imploringly, bewildered.

Another figure caught his red eyes, one that filled him with a greater horror:

Seth…

The empress stood only a few yards away, pale with shock and disbelief; those jade eyes he so loved were alive with shimmering tears of betrayal. Seth looked devastated as she gazed almost numbly at him with another woman.

There was a cruel stillness. Seth just stared and he could only stare back. The maiden clung to him; seemingly unaware of the pain she had just caused. His girlfriend appeared to be considering his fate, deciding if he shall be forgiven or forgotten.

Fate was not on his side…

With a heart broken look, her tears spilled over to flow in thin, silvery streams down her pretty face. Still, she said nothing but turned abruptly, decisively, and strolled away…

-Present-

"Please, Seth! Come back! I didn't know what I was doing!"

The blond called and came after her. His words only served to deepen her pain; she didn't quite know why.

Seth just couldn't believe this! She should've known! She knew she wasn't meant to be happy. It was the curse of her race, the curse of the Crusnik, to forever wander existence alone; love seemed forbidden to them. The last love the ruler had had was 900 years ago, Chigaru; he was killed before her eyes.

And for the past nine centuries, she had been too frightened of history repeating, as it often did, to try again. At least until Ion. He seemed to be the answer to her loneliness. The earl loved her, had saved her from a demon and, in a way, herself. He had promised her his love and loyalty and brought her to Byzantium with a hope for a change for the better, a hope for the future.

But now it all seemed like a lie…

She stopped when Ion caught her arm; she threw him a cold warning look, "Ion…let go of me…"

The boy didn't listen, determined to try to explain himself, "Listen to me. I don't remember what happened. It seemed like I just woke up and she was…"

Seth didn't want to hear it. She did something she never dreamed of doing to the earl:
She slapped him, hard, her anger and sorrow poured into the blow. Ion released her, stunned and shocked; his hand found its way to his red, stinging cheek numbly.

The ruler didn't wait. She stormed off, away from the blond. Several bystanders watched as the girl vanished from the view of her lover and the woman who stole him.

Seth's heels clicked against the marble ground of the courtyard as she hurried away from her heartbreak. Tears still soaked her pretty face but they were slowly drying. She finally stopped close to the palace and collapsed, crying, where she thought she was alone.

But she was far from safe…

"Hello, my dear…"

Ion couldn't believe what had happened. Even though he didn't remember it, he had cheated on the empress, and broke her heart. The night had begun so well; it had seemed like nothing could go wrong. Now, Seth was in tears and would possibly never want to speak or even see him again; he would probably be exiled from the Empire for his actions, if not by his girlfriend directly, then by her outraged court.

But the problem was, he didn't remember committing such an act; it was all the maiden. What was she up to?

The maiden…

The blond noble gasped when her now familiar arms snaked around his waist; the woman's breath tickled his ear and neck. Ion shivered and pulled away; he turned to confront her.

"Who are you?" He growled, studying her, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

To his surprise, the maiden smiled cruelly, "I knew all along. But she won't be in pain for much longer, and neither will you…"

Ion received a case of the goosebumps and tensed, "What do you mean? What are you planning?"

She laughed softly, "We're working for the Rosen Cruetz. Our mission is murder, yours and your little empress's in fact…"

The earl's blood went cold but he wasn't afraid for his own life; it was Seth he couldn't imagine losing. She was vulnerable, emotional wounded and distressed, and was completely unaware that an enemy with her death as his goal was lurking nearby.

"Who else is here with you? Just how are you planning to kill us?" Ion questioned, desperately seeking vital answers.

The maiden laughed again and gracefully strolled right up to him. The boy stiffened but couldn't move away. Her lips stalked his, threatening to steal them once more, to entrap him in her mysterious spell again. Only this time, he feared he wouldn't wake up. She moved her mouth at the last moment to whisper her method.

"Vampiric seduction…"

Ion shuddered, having her too close for comfort, especially since his body was refusing to move and her once hidden fangs, pearly white and sharp, now teased the skin near his neck.

But she didn't bite. She moved away slightly and had him gaze into her strange eyes. Ion felt weak at once, yet suddenly calm and peaceful. He could only manage a feeble struggle before losing himself to the voids…

"Sleep…you shall be with your empress soon enough…"

Seth shivered suddenly. Her tremble startled her guest; the dark male straightened from next to her.

"You're not cold, are you? I can lend you my coat. You can't have you falling ill, my dear…"

Strangely enough, she had not been chilly; the cold had escaped her notice for a while. Even now it seemed absent, but it was regaining a foothold. It almost seemed unnatural…

"No, I'm fine. I'm not cold," She assured. Seth then looked over at him and tilted her head slightly, puzzled, "You look a bit familiar. Have we met before?"

The man frowned, "No, I don't believe so. You may have spotted my sister though. She did have her eye on a blond earl, so she may be busy," He mused.

Seth froze at that, "That earl is my boyfriend. Now I know for sure you two are connected," She steadily became upset again, " Tell that tramp of a sister of yours to kindly return him to me,"

He smirked suddenly, "I'm afraid I can't do that, your Majesty," Seth stood up in surprise, her alarm rising, "I won't interrupt her meal as she won't mine. Now…hold still…"

Before she knew it, he had rushed her and pinned her against a wall. Pain jolted through her from the impact, but she still managed to lift her head; she glared up at her attacker, whose eyes reflected a pair of ebony mirrors.

The male smiled down at her coldly, his dark eyes hungry. The more she met his gaze the farther away she felt, and no matter how hard she fought that feeling, it would not fade.

"What are you going to do?" Seth asked, her voice growing weak and quiet, "Where's Ion?"

He seemed to be growing excited, "My sister should be draining his blood as we speak," He purred and she narrowed her eyes at him, "Rejoice…you shall be with your earl soon enough…"

The empress could only cry out as he bit down hungrily into her neck. Even as her body lost itself to his eyes and fangs, she couldn't help but identify the irony of this, drunk dry by a creature her kind had hunted for centuries.

However, as she closed her eyes and became numb someone strolled up behind her attacker. The man glanced back at his guest; his eyes widened as a great blood red scythe came down upon him. The male didn't even have time to scream…

Seth…

His dimming mind only could think of his precious woman he was leaving behind. No…she was in same danger as him; they would be reunited soon enough, like their killers had promised.

Ion could only barely feel the tinge of her fangs in his throat. With each gulp, the blond grew weaker; it was almost as if she was lulling him to sleep, into one from which he would never wake. The only thing keeping him on his feet now was the maiden; she held him up as she feasted almost greedily on his noble blood. It seemed that these were his final moments…

"Ion!"

Seth…?

The boy weakly opened his eyes, his sight struggling to clear. The maiden had removed her fangs as she turned her dark head to see who had interrupted her mission…

It seemed to have happened in a heartbeat: The empress rushed at the maiden and gave her a fierce blow to the face, sending her several feet with ease; the woman would not move again for a long time…

The blond collapsed from blood lose but his girlfriend quickly tended to him. She gently pulled him to sit up, supporting him with her own body.

"Seth…" He breathed, "You're alive? How?"

Just then, Abel breached his dim sight; he wore his usual goofy grin, "Don't worry…I took care of her little friend…"

Ion gave him a small smile and gazed back at the girl before grasping her hand, "I'm glad you're safe…" He sighed, relieved.

She helped him up; he found that his strength was already returning. Although still dizzy, he was still able to well enough on his own. Seth gazed at him tenderly with shimmering jade eyes before flinging her arms around him in an embrace.

She sobbed, burying her face in his chest, "I'm so sorry. I should've listened to you. I was just so shocked to see what I did…"

Ion hugged her back lovingly, "Don't blame yourself. Your reaction was perfectly natural. The important thing is that we both survived this…"

Seth lifted her head; tears rolled delicately down her cheeks but began to fade. She then smiled and let go of him, stepping back. Her eyes then fixed onto his bitten neck. Her hand lifted and her fingers stroked the bloody marks, nursing them. He grasped her hand gently before remembering something.

"Now I have two pairs of bite marks. One from you, the other from her…" He brought up with a mischievous smirk, "You owe me a bite…"

At that, he licked his lips playfully and took a meaningful step forward. Seth giggled and hid behind her taller brother, who looked back at her with surprise.

"No…you are not playing keep away with me, " Abel grumbled, actually somewhat playing along.

The girl ignored him, as did the blond; instead, she would peer out, and he would make a move for her, then she would hide back behind the priest. This went on with joyous laughter, at least until Abel decided to surrender his sister to her playful boyfriend. He moved away to reveal the hiding empress and left her exposed.

"Epp!" She squeaked in surprise, especially when Ion took the opportunity to knock his 'prey' to the ground.

The blond loomed over her, victorious and grinning. She smiled back shyly, caught. Slowly, Ion closed the distance between their lips…

"Mine…" He breathed, his mouth nearly touching hers.

Seth smirked, "And don't you forget it…" before the gap was closed passionately…

A.N: A note: The two Methuselah are intentionally nameless, and however strange, their powers include bewitchment and the ability to drain the blood of all three races without harm. Hope you enjoyed this short. Please review…