Chapter 1: Encounter
A/N: This was written at whim and something I decided to share for the sake of criticism. Um, if you enjoy, then I am happy that you did. Anoter thing is that I, for some reason, enjoy dark themes in general. Maybe I'm sick in the mind but whatever. I'm me. Anyways, enjoy!
Also, for human name ID:
Damian Bergmann : Tarn
Skylar Sophia Morozov : Starstream
Ship name used: Tream
Skylar found herself standing metres away from the great manor of the vampire Count Damian Bergmann, who had terrorised the village, where the mayor hired her, for decades. The mayor wanted her to put an end to this so they thought it was a good idea to send a woman to a vampire who desired them. She sighed as she conjured a Mask of Sight as her snowy owl Brianna circled uneasily above her head. She made a small gesture to her to fly around the large structure while she found a place to sit and hide, in case the dark being had sensed her presence. The vampire had expected many hunters and killed them off brutally. Most come back, or rather hung or tied to a post, with torn limbs and heart failure. There had been many speculations as to how he killed those poor hunters, knights, and commoners alike. The Baroness herself was going to be no exception for sure as she saw through the eyes of her owl, her own eyes glowing a pale blue, showing that she was using her power. So far, nothing could be seen from the windows until she thought she saw a flash of purple. Her heart froze as she called her owl back immediately. She destroyed the mask and hugged herself out of fear, since she cannot feel the cold or heat. The presence of the Count has been confirmed and she will enter his lair to exterminate him. She only had a limited amount of holy water so she had to be very careful.
Skylar Sophia Morozov crept in the trees to the entrance of the manor as she looked around for anything suspicious. A cold breeze brushed up against her but she did not shiver. No, she was immune to the cold. Eventually, she played it cool and crept along the adjacent wall to enter the manor. She opened the large wooden door enough for her to slip in presumably unnoticed. Unfortunately, it banged shut behind her and the real hunt began. Her eyesight was rather limited in the darkness but the light from the moon was able to light her way down the large hall. Thankfully, she lived in a manor so the layout was quite similar. So, she knew where she was going. Carefully, she walked as quietly as she could after unsheathing the ice sword since the sabre will do no harm to vampires, as she found out from previous hunts. Until she found herself in love with someone, it will be useless for any hunt in her life.
Sky found herself standing on the first landing of the steps before debating which way to go. Just then, she thought she saw a glimpse of the count's mask and gulped nervously. Damian Bergmann, or as some know him as "Tarn," was notoriously stealthy while brutal at the same time. It was said that he had once seduced a couple women to their deaths. But, one thing for sure was that he will never be able to seduce her. Vampire or not, no men had been able to successfully woe her because of how cold she was. As the reincarnation of the Ice Queen, her heart will always be frozen cold until someone was able to go beneath that ice and steal her heart, figuratively speaking. So far, she was not impressed by anyone. She quickly made her way up the stairs to determine where the vampire would be hiding if he did not know she was here, which was unlikely because she swore the vampire was stalking her right now ever since she came in.
The Baroness walked on the carpet as much as she could to muffle her footsteps, but she knew it would be futile because of the being's much sharper hearing, in comparison to her. Still, she really wanted to be quiet so she could, hopefully, sneak on the vampire himself. This one had proved to be the top of the list of the most challenging to kill. So, if she could kill Damian tonight, she was in for a big reward. Not that she cared for it, but Sky really wanted to get rid of the Count for good. If no one else can do it, then maybe she can. Silently, she looked around and used the glow she had to illuminate her way down the pitch black hallways that were…almost completely covered in blood. She tried not to wretch at the sight because this had been a common theme in every single lair of every single vampire she had killed. In fact, this was one of the bloodiest manors she had seen in her life. She wrinkled her nose at the stench of iron while walking by, often feeling a couple drafts brush past her hands, and sometimes up her long skirt.
Suddenly, Skylar stopped because something did not feel right. The place was awfully quiet and she began to think that maybe, just maybe, Damian wasn't home until she thought she heard a dark and echoing chuckle coming from behind her. That gave her the motivation to pace herself and maybe lead the vampire to somewhere he wouldn't go on purpose. But, considering that it was still night time, those places remain limited. The bastard could be anywhere; despite the sound she had heard earlier. Skylar found herself walking in circles on one floor so she went up and down and all around until she found herself standing in the main hall again. She grumbled and decided use the glow of her sword instead as a guide to the area around her, since it was much brighter. There had been torn or worn out tapestries decorating the walls and, much to her greatest horror, even though she had seen this so many times, there had been a couple blood-drained corpses lying around on the floor and a couple skeletons littered the same floor or even the railings of the stairs. She then thought, that explained the crunching sound under my feet. Seriously, this vampire's a messy one for a supposed gentleman. Jeez.
"You criticise me while hunting me, mortal," a deep voice sounded, "how interesting you are. I had never seen a woman with such bravery come to kill me before, much less one that wields such a powerful weapon in her hand. Indeed, you have my respect." Skylar froze and looked around for the source of the voice. She was unable to pin point it but she felt a hand run through her white hair, causing her to jump a bit and turn around to see nothing. The chuckle was heard again, "I must say, my Lady, you are quite infamous within my kind. You, Skylar Morozov, are one of the notorious vampire hunters who had successfully killed more than the average male hunter. I will not deny how impressed I am by your feats, but I assure you, my dear, that killing me is not an option. Rather, I have a special place for you by my side." Then, Skylar spoke coldly as the air in the manor grew frigid, "I refuse to be with a natural enemy to mankind, Bergmann. I will slay you tonight, whether it will cost my life or not." A bone-chilling laugh could be heard from the stairs and the Count said, "I admire your determination, Morozov. Very well, I will allow you just a little more time to find me before you are mine forever."
Skylar shuddered when he told her that she'll be his forever. For the first time, she did not want to know what he meant by that so she made sure to find him in the specific time frame. Her owl was outside because the Mask of Sight won't work inside, as she tried many times before. So, she awaited the signal he will give before starting. "Now, let the game begin," his voice whispered into her ear with a cool breath washing over it, which she couldn't feel. But, as soon as he said that, he had long since disappeared. She shuddered out of fear and looked around. There were many possibilities and she wished that she could shift like vampires. Then, she gave herself a small slap before focusing on finding the vampire before time was up. She only had five minutes and that was not a lot of time, considering that there were so many places to hide. Skylar ran around to check the main rooms, only to discover that the vampire was in none of those rooms. She slowly began to panic as she ran up the stairs to look through the many rooms to find him. She cursed colourfully when she couldn't, and got teased by the mysterious vampire for having such foul language. He said it was unbecoming for a woman of her status. At this point, status was not her main concern, it was hunting him down for the sake of humanity.
Eventually, the five minutes were up and she still had not found him yet. She covered her entire body in a sturdy layer of ice because she will not let her blood be sucked today. Soft footsteps could be heard from behind her and she gasped when she saw the tell-tale mask of Count Damian Bergmann. She felt herself freeze on the spot as she tightened her grip on the sword out of fear. Since her time was up, he thought he should let her have the mercy of finally seeing him, though not his face, oh, not yet. A small smile crossed his face as he stopped right before her, lifting her chin up so she looked at him. He let out a breathy sigh as he spoke, "What exquisite eyes you have, they should not exist outside my domain. They are too beautiful to be tainted by mankind." He let her go when the tip of the blade was pointed at his throat. He chuckled and backed off. Feisty, he thought as he asked her, "You continue to defend yourself against me when you know it is futile. Why do you continue, rather than giving in to me, my lovely bride?"
Skylar recoiled when he called her his bride. Immediately, she exclaimed in disgust, "I do not belong to anyone, nor am I someone's bride. I am my own self!" The blade was gently pushed away with one strong hand before she quickly found herself pressed against the wall and her sword had dropped to the floor from the sudden force. She gasped for air when she felt it being knocked out of her. The count gave her a few minutes to recover before he gave a look of amusement from his red eyes. He brushed her snowy tresses from her face and grabbed her chin to tilt her head up. Damian leaned down to inhale her scent and hissed, "You possess no form of warmth, unlike most humans. Now I see why others had mentioned that it will be quite a challenge to consume from you. Not to worry," he then grinned, "I will enjoy myself immensely." He gently stroked her face and gave her a sweet kiss. He had grabbed her wrists beforehand and pulled them up above her head. No matter how hard she struggled, Skylar was unable to escape the count as a pathetic whimper escaped her by accident. He chuckled as he licked his tongue up her cold neck, causing her to shudder because it was surprisingly warm.
"You are mine, Lady Morozov, and to stay by my side as my bride. I had longed for this day to come, where a worthy female will come marching up my manor, no matter the circumstance, and stand her ground against all my words. None but you have met or exceeded my expectations, and I hope you will not fail me in the future, my love," said the vampire rather ominously, as if he had been truly waiting for the day to claim the one for him. Apparently, it was her. Still, despite the iron grip he had on her wrists and his body pressed against hers, Skylar continued to struggle against his hold. She refused to submit until she felt his fangs graze over the ice-covered skin of her neck, over her pulse. She hissed in defiance but the ice began to recede as the count seemed to be using his voice to coax her to lower her guard. Unfortunately for her, it was working and she gradually relaxed in his grip. Damian grinned when the ice was completely gone from her skin, and took the chance to give her neck another tantalising lick against her pulse, causing her to gasp in surprise, shuddering because she couldn't flinch away from him.
She let out a cold breath of air as Damian whispered, "I can smell your fear for me, my love. Yet, you still rebel against me. I do love a good fight, and thank you for giving me one before I give you my part of this ending." He nuzzled her pulse with his pointed nose, finally able to inhale her covered scent from before. To him, the scent of her blood was like the ambrosia to the gods, despite how cold it is. He let out a groan, letting go of her chin and moved to undo the top half of her coat and a couple buttons of her shirt, but not enough to reveal her bandage-bound breasts. He wanted to respect her as much as he could while he knew he was about to violate her, in a sense. He decided to draw out the coming moment by continuing to talk, letting his breath ghost against her cold skin. Damian chuckled as he rubbed circles on her held wrists when he felt her shiver, "Hush, there is no need to be afraid of the imminent, Skylar. I will guarantee that you will be treated as you should be here in my home. After all, I will give the best for my bride." She felt his teeth graze against her neck each time he spoke and shuddered when her name rolled off his tongue so smoothly. She managed to force out, "Why do you seek a woman? We mortals do not live a very long lasting life."
She saw him look up and the smile the vampire gave her was unsettling. "I wish to have a woman worthy of being a vampire like me. I do not care whether you want to or not, but you will be here for the rest of your life." He gave her a rough kiss and slowly took off his mask with one hand to reveal the rugged scar on his face that he hid before he finally moved down. Her breath hitched when Damian bit down on her neck, completely freezing her in place as she unintentionally arched her neck towards him. He took the chance to pull her flush against him while he sucked on her blood. He moaned in delight from the sweetness of the taste of her purity. It drove him mad to know that she was still an innocent woman despite her fearsome reputation and radiant beauty that had captivated many, including himself. Skylar winced and tried to pull away but her body won't listen to her as she clung onto the count while he sucked her life fluid from her.
As erotic as the sight before him was, Damian did not give into his urges to ravage her right then and there. If he was not careful, then he could be cursed by the shashqua of darkness. The Celtic blade laid abandoned as its owner melted into his arms, her conscious slowly fading because he took gulps of her blood down his throat while some dribbled down her collarbone to her white shirt. In the midst, Skylar felt so angry that she wished she could have been stronger. Tears fell from her ocean blues as she hiccupped. The vampire, however, took the opportunity to savour her in her weakness as he could taste it in her blood. Eventually, he had to stop and released his fangs from her, licking up the blood budding from the bite and around it. The vampire gave his lips a lick to savour the refreshing taste of the red liquid. He let out a sigh and kissed her unconscious form with bloodied lips. His dead heart was attracted to this gorgeous young woman who was supposed to kill him. Look at her now, he thought as he glanced down at the ice sword. He sighed and used her hand to hold and put it back in its scabbard before carrying her off into his room with a swish of his cloak.
*hides in a hole in shame* This is my first Mature fanfic. It's not mature just yet but it's getting there