*Big thank you and shout out to Zulija, when my brain said, you need help with Dracula's personality, she helped me instead. She is awesome. This is based after the ending of Lords Of Shadows 2. Obsidian Dust's plot never happened, so Aline never met Dracula or Alucard, and her Father is dead*

Red And Black

After a night of hunting the hideous creatures that lurked in the darkness, Aline was hurting, and badly. Blood seeped out from a wound near her jugular. She had gotten careless with her blades, she had an opportunity to cut off a creature's limb when it attacked her, but she missed and it cost her dearly. She expended energy she no longer had and was running on fumes.

The walk home to her apartment was a painful one. Her right leg was sore, and her ankle was threatening to give out. Her wounds were not fatal, neither were they those of a typical creature hunt. In most cases, Aline would escape with only a few cuts, scrapes and bruises. But tonight, she had gotten sloppy, and she knew what was to blame.

Alcohol.

Aline was in no way an alcoholic. Whilst no lightweight, she wasn't immune to it's effect either. A few drinks would loosen her limbs, make her vulnerable to attacks she would otherwise dodge when sober. More than a few drinks would loosen her tongue, and this was why she was glad she lived alone, and was a relative recluse. Otherwise, her mouth would have gotten her into a lot of danger.

After a painful shower, putting some support splints on her calf and ankle, cleaning out her neck wound and getting changed, Aline had decided that more alcohol would numb the pain, to deaden any sensation at all was what she wanted. But she had drained the bottle of vodka that sat, next to her bed. Then her brain came up with the idea of going to the bar, since it was only a few minutes walk down the road from her place. A small part of her brain said no, and kept on saying no until she purposefully shut it out and left her apartment.

Dracula left his castle, for one last look at the city that surrounded him on all sides. He longed for true death, but should he kill himself? Even after finding out that his son, the man he thought he had murdered, hundreds of years ago, was right there, standing mere feet away from him? A vampire, just like him? Could he be so selfish as to take his own undead, miserable life?

But why was it miserable? He had his son, he had vanquished Satan and his minions...so why did he still feel dead inside?

Marie.

That was why he did. Yes she kept the most precious secret in the world from him, but it was for good reason.

Yet that reason plagued him, and he really wished he had known about Trevor, the one thing he did right in his life. And now Trevor was Alucard, a vampire, a creature, no better than him. He had done his son wrong.

So wrong.

The Prince was about to draw his final breath, before reentering his castle, when he saw a woman, limping, and cursing under her breath with each step. His keen sense of smell picked up on blood, and his fangs grew.

It had been a long while since he had fed, and he had lost quite a bit of blood in the fight against Satan. Alucard biting him too did not help his energy levels either.

Dracula decided that this woman would be his next meal. All he needed to do was get her alone...

The Dragon watched her walk into a bar and shook his head. Another drunk woman, not very classy in his opinion. But at least it would make her easier prey for him, so he could not less.

Aline ordered a straight whiskey, and felt more pain wrack throughout her body. She winced and the bartender tilted his head, seemingly concerned for her wellbeing. She just nodded and he gave her the drink before going to take someone else's order.

Aline drank all of the whiskey in one gulp and grimaced as it stung her throat and all the way down her gullet. The intense pain had now dulled to a throb that she could ignore. But her brain was telling her that she shouldn't be here.

How right her brain was, she just didn't know it yet.

Dracula waited, for how long, he did not know, but his head had started to pound, his vision blurred and his hands shook. If he did not feed soon, he would go ballistic and start massacring anyone that went within a hundred meters of him.

So when the woman left the bar, and walked past him, completely unaware of his presence, he pounced, and dragged her, forcefully into an alleyway.

The woman did not scream, or panic, or do anything.

Aline knew who he was, and knew that she was his dinner. There was no point in trying to stop him anyway.

Dracula's hand went around Aline's throat, and he tightened his grip, to choke her. Were she unconscious, she would not make any sounds, it was the courteous thing to do, if Dracula could manage courteous that is.

Aline simply turned her head and exposed the pale, scarred skin of her neck. She cursed as she felt a stinging pain. It was the cut on her neck, it had started to bleed again. Dracula dropped her before pulling her towards him and licking up the fresh, sweet, tangy liquid that he needed desperately. He growled and threw Aline against the wall behind her, and continued to growl menacingly.

"Why no struggle?"

Aline's laugh screamed bitterness to the Prince, and he did wonder why.

"Is there a point to that? We both know that you get what you want, and I sure as hell am not going to scream or cry for mercy. Just make it quick. And I won't taste good, all I will taste of is liquor. I am surprised it hasn't replaced the blood in my veins, the amount I can get through. Well, come on then? Toying with your prey is just rude".

Dracula hissed and walked the short distance to Aline. He tilted her head in a sharp motion, almost snapping her neck in the process and when his fangs grazed her neck, that was when she made a sound. It sounded like a plea, a whine, something bad had happened to this woman to make her want to die.

She craved death like he did, and for some odd reason, he almost felt sorry for this little thing, this insignificant mortal.

Aline looked up at the Prince and huffed.

"Look, are you going to kill me or what? I have nothing to live for. I don't have a family, I don't have rainbows coming out of my ass, I am not a good girl and I drink like it is going out of fashion".

Dracula laughed at her colourful use of language and she frowned at him. He moved away and took the time to look at the woman.

She was smaller than him, height wise, not much smaller, but smaller. Her hair was brown, but had copper and red strands in it. It was very long and in a high ponytail. Her eyes seemed to have once been bright, sparkling emeralds, but now were lacking that sheen. Her skin was pale, freckles peppered about on her arms, some on her neck and one on her face. Her clothes were simple, a white long sleeved top, dark blue jeans and black biker boots. Her facial features were small, small ears, small nose, lips that were neither full, nor thin. Arched, perfectly plucked brows framed her face, giving her a serene expression.

Now however, she looked anything but serene, and when she lunged at him, and grabbed his hand, putting it to her throat, he yanked it back and she swore. Now her hand was sore, and this night was going from bad, to worse.

Aline straightened up her clothes, turned on her heel and went to walk away. But Dracula stopped her, and she took a swipe at him with her long nails. They caught his face, and that was it.

The Prince Of Darkness threw Aline onto the tarmac and dropped to his knees to kill her.

Then he heard it. He heard her heart beat, and it was frantic. His mind interjected and stopped his fangs from marking her flesh.

He was human once, he then had a heart beat. He would always listen to Marie's heart, head on her chest and adoration would flow through him. It did now too, but he did not know if it was from his memory, or it stemmed from this creature, this woman, whom when looked at again looked beautiful. Terrified, but she had a raw beauty to her that knocked him for six. He quickly stood up and left Aline as confused as he was.

Dracula rounded a few more corners and stalked a few more alleyways before finding a victim. A man, walking his dog. He threw this man onto the ground, and growled at his poor dog, who yelped and ran away, as fast as it's legs could carry it. The vampire's fangs pierced this innocent man's neck and he cried out, and clawed at the dirt cobblestones and dirt beneath him. The man's skin grew a sickening shade of grey as his life was being drained from him.

When he was dead, Dracula dumped the man's body in a skip and left the scene to return to the woman.

Aline thought she was having a nightmare, that she would wake up, any minute now, sweaty and unhappy, but alive. But no, she saw Dracula approach her and now she wanted to run. Now, of all times! Her stupid legs were not working and panic was starting to root itself in her body. She began to shake and felt as helpless as a newborn kitten.

She was a rabbit in headlights. A deer, chancing it by running across a busy road. A lamb to the slaughter.

But now, something in her was telling her to live. Live and stop being a stubborn fool.

Much to her surprise, Dracula took her hand and helped her up. His mouth was covered in blood. She wasn't born yesterday, she knew why it was. She tipped her head to the Prince who nodded back.

"I suppose I should thank you for not killing me. And yes, I know, I was pleading for death earlier, ironic, but I want to live. Staring death in the face is scarier than I could ever imagine. Dracula, I'm Aline. Aline Belustrade".

Aline still had her hand in his, so she shook their hands before taking hers back. Dracula's rust coloured eyes flashed, in seemingly recognising her?

"Belustrade, as in Constantine? He had a daughter?"

Aline pointed to herself and replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Yes, and I am right here, oh joy. Ahem".

Dracula shook his head and snarled.

"I just had no idea, that's all".

Aline's smirk had him cursing under his breath.

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they pray really hard, and then a stork appears, with a baby, in a bundle, tied to it's bill. Oh, you meant...hehe".

Dracula slammed the wall behind him and some bricks fell down.

Aline was young, far too young. What on earth was he doing even thinking she was pretty? She was much, much younger than he.

Immature too.

Aline coughed lightly and the Prince decided to answer, even though she had not asked him a question.

"Aline, go home. You can walk, I have seen you walk, so go now".

Aline waved him off and started to walk in the direction of her home.

"You and I are more alike than you know, Prince Of Darkness. See you again sometime".

Aline was now out of sight and Dracula just stood there, unable to process any of tonight's events.

Was dying even worth it any more? He wasn't so sure now...