Čachtice Castle is a castle ruin in Slovakia not far from the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill littered with rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for that reason. The castle was a residence and later the prison of the Countess Erzsébet Báthory after her trial. The castle was built somewhere in the mid thirteenth century by Kazimir to act as a sentry on the road to Moravia. Čachtice Castle was originally built in a Romanesque style that had a unique horseshoe residence tower. The size of the castle was doubled between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the castle took on more Gothic architecture in that time as well. In 1708 the castle was captured by rebels and has been in decay ever since.

Dorottya Semtész (pronounced Doh row cha, means Gift From God), Ilona Jó (Ee low nah, possibly meaning torch), Katarína Benická (Kat uh ree nah, meaning Pure or Virginal) and János Újváry (Yan nosh) who was normally just known as Fickó (Fiss kho) were real servants accused of helping the Countess with her murders. They and the Countess were arrested on December 30th 1610. Fickó was the only male servant of her inner circle.

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Nikola and Countess Erzsébet Báthory had grown into quite the pair in just a short period of time. Her home was large and surrounded by beautiful grassland and several small villages. Čachtice Castle stood proudly in the centre high on a hill overlooking the village of Čachtice, bold for everyone to see. Erzsébet's husband Ferenc Nádasdy spent much of his time away in Vienna and so he did not notice when Nikola all but took up residency in the castle. Nikola quickly learnt which servants assisted the Countess in her secret hobby; Dorottya Semtész, Ilona Jó, Katarína Benická, and János Újváry who was normally known simply as Fickó.

The upper part of the castle was just as anyone would expect, a noble household filled with staff going about their days. However, deep down in the bowls of the castle was where the evil hid away in the black shadows and dust covered floors. Cages lined the lowest level of the castle each filled with peasant girls and some from the lower gentry. That evening, a warm Sunday in fifteen-eighty-five, found Katarína, the youngest of Erzsébet's servants and obviously the one pressured into helping, laying out fresh clothes for her mistress while Dorottya and Fickó filled a large bath half way with hot water. Nikola and Erzsébet walked the line of cages. Small things they were, not big enough to lie down in and nowhere near tall enough to stand. The only light was from a torch that Nikola held high, he had no need for it as his vision was better than humans, the torch was for Erzsébet. Only two months earlier had they met at the party and in the time that had passed the two had grown into quite the team. Nikola could not help but wonder if her children would grow into such unique people like their mother, the next generation of killers.

"Who shall we have today, Nikola?" She asked taking in the terrified young girls.

"Well, I brought us something special."

"Oh, Nikola. You spoil me."

She smiled as he slipped the torch into a wall mounted holder and unlocked one of the cages, the rusted iron creaked signalling that a young girl was going to her death.

"Come on darling, best not to keep the Lady waiting." Nikola said as he pulled a blonde from the cages. " Erzsébet, I think you are already acquainted with Lady Amália. "

Amália was naked and shivering in the cold, Nikola had brought her to the dungeon that morning with the Countess' bath in mind. He had intended on killing the girl two months earlier but knowing what her blood would be used for made him happy that he had waited.

"Nikola, she is perfect." The dark haired woman smiled up at the Vampire. "Bring her."

Nikola guided a reluctant Amália through the dungeon and into the grey stone room that held the mistress' bath. The room was cold but nowhere near the ice of the cages, not that Amá lia 's skin noticed, she was chilled to the bone and fear ran through her like nothing she had ever felt before. Nikola chained the young blonde to the walls, metal on stone echoing around the room, and stood back to take in the sight before him Amá lia had been stunned into silence, eyes glazed over in petrified terror...and he smiled. There was nothing left of Vasile, not a single shred , he was a monster nothing more. The good man he had once been had died that night in the catacombs with his beloved Doru, only darkness and evil remained.

With a little smile he reached across to a stone cut out in the lifeless grey rock that they were using as a table and picked up the sharpest knife he found there. He held the knife with an iron like grip that only a Vampire could muster and pressed the sharp length to Amá lia 's left thigh. The first little cut brought out her scream, she was not accustom to pain, not real pain anyway. Bold crimson dripped from the small wound, the only warmth her pale skin had felt since she had been stripped of her dress and under things. Nikola smiled and drew the blade down in a smooth motion taking a perfect red stained square of skin from Amá lia 's body. The Vampire threw the skin across the floor not caring about the blonde's screams. Her flesh landed in front of Ilona splattering her shoes faintly with blood droplets.

"My apologises, Ilona." Said Nikola with a satanic grin. "You can all go, I can tend to the mistress."

Each of the four maids looked up at their mistress as if waiting for confirmation.

"Nikola is right, you may go. I will not need you for the rest of the evening."

With that Ilona, Dorottya, Katarína and Fickó took their leave. As the door closed behind them Nikola took another piece of flesh from Amália's thigh. 'Play thing' he thought to himself. Locking his black eyes with Amália's tear filled baby blues Nikola brought the knife up and drew his tongue across the blade savouring her flavour.

"Oh stop teasing the poor girl, Nikola." Said Erzsébet. "And my bath water is getting cold."

Nikola turned his head and shared a knowing smile with the Countess before turning back to the suffering blonde. The chains he had imprisoned her with were attached to a large pulley system all chain and dark metal. It only took a moment for Nikola to set down the licked clean blade and begin to pull on the thick chains rotating their victim a hundred and eighty degrees, Amelia screamed as loud as her fragile shock filled body would allow but nothing came out beyond a whine. A pathetic traumatized little whine.

Once the blonde was flipped the Vampire pushed her over to dangle above the half filled bath of the Countess. Nikola waited while Erzsébet removed her dress and climbed in, the whole time taking in her curved female form. She lifted her left leg and dipped her foot under the water making sure it was still warm, satisfied she climbed in and seated herself comfortably. There was a brief pause as the two murderers eyed each other, a sadistic pleasure sparkling that only another killer would notice. After that moment had passed Erzsébet nodded and a new moment started, one of pain and terror; on Amália's part anyway. Nikola retrieved the blade and drug it across her milk like skin opening her jugular letting a waterfall of blood descend and drip into the bath mixing with the transparent water like some macabre ballet. Amália thrashed in pain, but not for long. Blood poured out of her and down her young face like water over the smoothed rocks of a stream. Soon blood loss numbed her body and made it impossible to move, alive but essentially paralysed. After that the darkness began to close in around her eyes taking the last light that was Amália and dragging it off to the afterlife.

"How is your bath, Erzsébet?"

"Perfect, thank you Nikola."

The two shared a smile before the Vampire turned to the lifeless body of his blonde play thing. Lowering himself to her neck Nikola lapped at the flowing blood, his fangs elongated on instinct. scratched at the already shredded skin as he sucked the ruby nectar up. A voice ripped Nikola from his meal.

"Darling Nikola. Tell me, why to you drink their blood?"

The Countess had paused in her bathing as curiosity got the better of her. The dark haired man pulled back from his dinner and turned to face Erzsébet, crimson blood beaded on his chin and slowly dripped off to stain his white linen shirt.

"Oh come now. I gave you all the clues." He said in a childish voice. "I'm a monster unmatched by humans, I have better hearing, eyesight and smell than humans. I drink the blood of all we kill and posses fangs so sharp they would tear through your throat like the thinnest of fabrics. So I ask you Countess, what am I?"

"A..."

"Yes, go on. Say it."

"A...a Vampire."

Nikola nodded and climbed into the mix of water and blood so he could dominate the Countess' space, surrounding her. She shuffled back against the walls of the bath and never took her ebony eyes from his.

"A Vampire, yes. Now, are you thinking what a mistake you've made sending your servants away and leaving yourself unprotected from the dead walking, a monster that could tear you limb from limb, the monster who was killing men and women long before you were born? No. You are not afraid of me, you are attracted to me."

Nikola was right, she was attracted to him. Knowing the power he held Erzsébet found herself desperate for him more than in the past two months of knowing him. Here eyes drifted down to his lips and back up then repeated, each time she moved closer until they were so close she could feel the void where his breath should have been. Finally when she could take his teasing eyes no longer Erzsébet filled the space between them and pressed a kiss to the Vampires lips.

There was truly nothing of Vasile left.

Aaron woke with a start, he'd not thought of the Countess in decades much less dreamt of her. He shook his head desperately trying to throw the memories from his mind. Nikola Kasza was a monster that invaded his body and she was enabler. Nikola no longer existed Renáta had made sure of that. They were memoires he would much rather forget. Suddenly something his Uncle Radu had told him filled his mind. A man who cannot sleep peacefully through the night, is a man with far too many secrets. Radu had been right, Aaron, Vasile, Nikola did have far too many secrets.

The Curator looked over to his left realising that he wasn't in his own bed to see Reid cuddled into his chest. The boy had one arm draped across Aaron's sternum in an almost possessive manner. Hotch liked it.

Thankfully it was Sunday and he nor the young Docent was needed at the museum, more time for me to spend with you Hotch said to himself, a smile appeared on his lips. Since he had little need for much sleep and didn't want to risk Nikola Kasza's memoires haunting for a second time that day, Hotch untangled himself from the sleeping form of his lover and padded through to the kitchen.

Reid slept for most of the morning, he wasn't one for daylight. When he did eventually wake he found himself alone. As he looked around his forest green painted room, littered with more books that there were trees in the state, Reid felt his heart drop. Aaron had said he wanted to stay and yet he woke up alone. Hotch left me his mind told him until a familiar scent found his nostrils. Spencer's heart rose and so did his lips, pulling into a large smile.

The Docent hopped out of bed and pulled on an old pair of grey sweatpants and an oversized black tee before venturing out of his bedroom and into the little kitchen. The brunette leaned against the door frame and watched as the older man poured a large cup of coffee from the pot and set it down at Reid's teeny tiny table.

"Are you going to come eat or just stand there?" Hotch asked in a pleasant tone.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I have very good hearing. Now, come and eat." Spencer yawned. "You've never been one for mornings."

"What?" Reid asked in the middle of another yawn.

"I said, you're not one for mornings?"

"Oh, no I'm not really."

Hotch courteously pulled out a chair and watched as his lover sat. Reid looked down at the plate of pancakes and strawberries with glee, he couldn't keep a smile from his lips.

"You made me breakfast?"

"No, its for your invisible flat mate." Hotch pushed all the sarcasm he could muster into his tone.

"Well, he must be out so I'll just eat this for him."

"You do that."

Hotch took up the other seat opposite the younger man and took a bite of his pancakes as Reid did the same.

"Okay, these are amazing, Hotch." Aaron nodded in acknowledgement. "Where did you even get the strawberries?"

"These came from that magical thing across the street, a store I believe they call it."

Reid just rolled his eyes and carried on eating. The brunette had always felt like there was something missing from his life, something that kept him from being whole, but with Hotch there it was suddenly like he was complete. He felt whole.

The day passed in a peaceful tranquillity after their breakfast, they spent most of their time in bed; Reid curled up in Aaron's cold arms. He hadn't noticed it the night before but lying in that bed with him the next day made it impossible not to notice. The Curators skin was like ice making his own seem like fire, however, it was not uncomfortable the two just moulded into the perfect temperature like they were made for one another. We're night and day, if Reid only knew how right that statement was.

Aaron didn't think about their difference in temperature, or the fact that Reid's heart beat while his own had turned to dust centuries ago. No, all Aaron Hotchner could think about was committing every single second he spent with the young man to memory. It was an honour just to hold him let alone kiss and make love to him. After the monstrous things he'd done the Vampire didn't think he deserved a second chance but Renáta had thought differently, she'd told him that evil had redemption for a reason, maybe the reincarnation of Doru that lay beside him was that reason. When he thought about it, he was lucky. JJ was the reincarnated form of sweet Renáta, always there to remind him of his promise and Reid still had a shred of Doru inside him. The person who saved him and the man who loved him were still there, even if it was in a somewhat different form, with him. He wasn't alone in the dark any longer.

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