"Dracula my darling!" Aleera cooed with her voice. She sauntered over towards him as if she were throwing herself at his very feet. Dracula rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at Ava and then at Aleera. Aleera immediately noticed and didn't take kindly to it.

"You there! Fetch my bags from the foyer!" Aleera demanded at Ava. She looked at her with immense hate. Ava immediately ran out of the room, hoping that Aleera didn't think of anything between The Count and her. There was nothing between them two, but certainly the rumors about their supposive romance wasn't helping, and was only enraging Aleera's jealously even more.

Dracula watched Ava run out the room. Poor girl seemed more terrified of his mistress than of him, for good reason though. Aleera was a feisty mistress who was overly protective of their relationship. Any girl that possibly stood in the way faced immediate danger, Aleera's rage couldn't be predicted.

"Honey, you've been gone forever. I thought you would have left my withering soul for another more handsome prince." He replied with a sensual touch to his voice. Aleera purred in delight.

"I decided that after that disaster of a ball in Budapest, I would travel around a bit and create a new wardrobe. And also go hunting for the most perfect fresh meat I could find." Dracula raised an eyebrow, interested in her last sentence. "And by fresh meat you mean what exactly." Dracula said crossing his arms.

"Let me bring him in." With two snaps of her fingers, a young man walked in the door. He was tall and handsome, just the kind of "meat" Aleera would like. Even though he was a stunning male specimen, he looked ragged and tired as if he had been running for weeks on little food and water. Dark bags hung below his eyes, his hair disheveled and dirt stained clothes barely held onto his body. He was bony and had little meat to his bones. Aleera dragged him over to The Count and asked, "Darling, take a bite. He tastes like a strawberry, so sweet and delightful." She said grabbing his wrist and holding it up to Dracula's.

Dracula snarled with the fact that not only had she brought him leftovers, but that she had kept him alive to the point where he no longer looked appetizing. Turning his head, showing Aleera he had no interest he walked over to his armchair by the fireplace and sat down, legs crossed and chin resting gently on his fingers.

"My dear, where on Earth did you find this poor boy?" He asked

"I found him on the streets of Paris. He was stumbling across the road from a bar. I took him in to make him my pet." She looked at him and licked her teeth ever so slightly as if she was just hungry thinking of him.

"Why have you kept him for so long? You should put him out of his misery." Dracula spoke softly. He was looking at the young blood. He seemed familiar, all too familiar. Shaking off whatever question he had about the man, he stood up and got to eye level with him. The man looked off into the distance as if reality wasn't reality.

"Do tell me your name." Dracula said. The man made no response. He didn't even seem coherent. Aleera has probably not been taking the best care of her "pet". Obviously his blood practically ran dry and he had little food or water. Neither of those two together made for a long living pet.

"I will repeat again. Tell me your name." Dracula said with a stern voice as he turned his head towards him. The young man looked lost. Dracula cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you plan to do with him my dear?" Dracula asked. He was annoyed at this point.

"I figured we could use him for chores, fatten him up and drink from him when we please. That way I won't have to drink out of those retched bottles of blood again." Aleera looked at him with puppy dog eyes, hoping to get approval from her beloved.

"You've already shown how good you can take care of a human. He's practically dead!" Dracula was beyond annoyed, he had moved on to being angry.

"But darling! Please let me have him! I want to play games with my new pet." Aleera pleaded to The Count.

"You may have him for one week. That is it, if you don't finish him off, I will." Dracula said with a snarl. Aleera giggled and ran up to hug The Count. Dracula didn't return the favor. He stood there allowing her to hug him until she was finished. Aleera wasn't pleased. She sulked out of the room, but snapped her fingers to beckon the young man to follow her.

(Transition)

"Oh Pet. Come rub my shoulders." Aleera snapped her fingers. She and the mysterious young man were in the lounge room. It was cold and the candles dim. Aleera laid across a love seat sofa waiting for her personal servant to cater to her needs. The man walked over and hesitated rubbing her shoulders. She could sense his fear. Slowly he worked himself to touch her icy cold skin. He stood there rubbing her shoulders as she looked at her nails thinking of all the new things she could do with him. She smiled in delight that she seemed to be winning this cat and mouse game she had ensued.

A knock came at the door. A young girls voice echoed through the door crack. "You're dinner is served." Aleera replied, "Come in my darling!" The young girl was Ava. She looked down trying to avoid eye contact. She hadn't even noticed the handsome man standing in front of her. The man suddenly stopped rubbing Aleera's shoulders. His jaw dropped in surprise. This was the first time since arriving at the castle that he appeared to be in reality.

"Ava…" He whispered loud enough for her to hear. Ava's head shot up. She knew that voice anywhere. "Mello!" She was shocked and in disbelief of who was standing before her. She never thought she would seem him again, let alone see him the way he looked now. He looked gravely ill and was ghostly white. With the bottle of blood in one hand, the other hand went over her mouth as she gasped. She couldn't believe the sight she was seeing. Aleera noticed their immediate interaction with one another. Raising an eyebrow, she was beginning to understand that there was more between them than just a simple friendship. There was more to it.

"I see that I don't need to introduce you two." She said. "I don't need that vile bottle tonight. I have my own feast." It took Ava a second to figure out what she meant. A horrified look came across her face.

"Darling, put your arm out." Mello knew what that meant. He hated every time she asked him to do this. Slowly he put out his arm. Aleera stared at Ava as she rolled up his sleeve. Her face was worth remembering. Ava's eyes grew as Aleera began to unveil the numerous bite marks and bruises throughout his wrist. Bringing his arm to her mouth, she licked his skin seductively, toying with the young girl. Suddenly she bit. He winced in pain, but continued to look at Ava. He looked helpless. Blood dripped down the corners of Aleera's mouth as she sucked his blood. Ava couldn't bear to witness this. She ran out the room, dropping the bottle of blood, but went head first into a hard body.

Dracula stood there. Her arms on his chest as she had tried to block herself from her running into him. Panic and fear was written all across her face. Dracula looked at the girl, and then at Aleera and the boy. He realized where he had recognized him from. He was the boy in the woods the night he saw Ava from the night sky. He was the one that shielded her from him. A single tear ran down her face. He had never seen her react this way. This boy meant something to her, and Aleera knew it as well. Aleera smiled as she released her grasp from the boys arm.

"Darling, are you joining me for dinner?" She licked the blood off her lips. Dracula glared at Aleera. He looked down at Ava and they made a momentary glimpse at one another. Ava quickly moved around him and ran out the door. "That's enough Aleera." He said sternly. The boy looked even paler and looked as though he were to collapse at any moment. Aleera's cheeky grin suddenly turned into an emotionless face. "Melissa!" He yelled. His yelling echoed throughout the entire castle. Within moments the frightened girl ran over to his side.

"Yes Master."

"Take this boy to an empty room. Allow him to heal, feed him and bathe him. Make sure he sleeps plenty." He said while glaring at Aleera. Aleera looked horribly upset. He was taking away her toy, as if she were a child again.

Melissa went over to the fragile man and grabbed his better arm and slowly walked him out the room. The door slammed shut with immense force. Dracula was beyond livid. He walked over to Aleera and stood over her. "How dare you come back into my home after leaving me for ages and bring home a human being to be your pet! It is one thing if you feed the god damn thing, but it's another to neglect it and leave me to clean up after you!" Aleera cowered in the love seat.

"But darling, he is only a human…." Aleera pleaded, trying to make the situation better. Her hands went up to his jacket, trying to sooth and calm him. He smacked her hands away and showed his fangs. He then quickly grabbed her by the neck and held her up almost 3 feet off the ground.

"You will not disrupt my castle! Do you understand me?" He screamed at her. He was choking her and he knew it. He pinched his thumb and first finger so hard into her neck she slowly began to bleed. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" He bellowed again. She tried desperately to speak and nodded her head. He threw her against the wall. He threw her so hard the room rumbled and a dust cloud hovered around her. Dracula walked over to the window and stared out into the crescent moon. It was a clear beautiful night sky yet he was filled with anger and rage. He couldn't understand why he protected this girl so much. He never felt feelings this strong unless he was in battle. Never before over a girl.

Aleera mumbled in the pile of rubble. "I didn't hear you." He spoke softly yet firmly, trying to keep his cool. "I said you have feelings for that little twit!" Dracula shot his head in her direction. It infuriated him for her to even say that. She was in a pathetic state. Her hair was disheveled and blood coming from her neck. She had dust and dirt all over her once pink and white dress.

"I do not have feelings for that human." He replied.

"Then why do you defend her? Why do you prefer her presence over mine?" She cried.

"Because Aleera, she isn't a sniffling little girl like you. And if I EVER hear you speak of this assumption that I may have feelings for her, you my dear will surely see the daylight at my hand personally." He said harshly. They stared at one another for a few moments before he stormed out the room, ripping the large wooden doors off the hinges. Aleera still stood in the crumbled mess in shock that her own lover had threatened her life over this girl.

(Transition)

Melissa had managed to get the young man up the stairs and into an empty servant's quarters. He collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. Just the short walk had taken all the energy he had out of him. Melissa took off his tattered shoes and gave him an extra pillow to elevate his head more. Running off to a bathroom, she grabbed a bowl full of water and a rag. It was ice cold as she soaked the rag in the water. Slowly she dabbed his forehead. It was sweaty yet cold. His eyes closed shut trying to rest. The cold rag felt wonderful on him. Slowly she lifted his shirt sleeves and wiped the dirt free from his skin. She couldn't believe how many times he had been bitten. There were at least a dozen different bite marks on each arm. Slowly she unbuttoned his shirt to expose his lean yet chiseled chest.

After cleaning him until no visible dirt marks were seen, she ran off to the kitchen to fetch for food. Out of breath by the time she made it, she came to a sudden halt when she saw Ava sobbing at the kitchen table. She stood there not knowing whether speaking to her or not would help her. Finally she mustered up the words,

"He's ok, he is resting in one of the servant's quarters." Ava looked up. She couldn't believe that he was ok. She thought Aleera would have killed him by now. "I'm getting him some food, if you want to bring it to him." She said smiling, trying to cheer her up. Ava nodded and took the bread and fruit from Melissa. She slowly walked over to the quarters, not knowing what to expect. She didn't know if she could handle seeing him in such a fragile state. He was her rock, and seeing him broken made life feel unbearable.

Ava opened the door slowly, and saw Mello lying motionless on the bed with shallow breathing. Ava took a deep breath and walked over to him. She moved his strand of hair in his face away and smiled. It was good to see him, but not in this way. She leaned down to kiss his forehead. Suddenly she felt his hand on her cheek. Pulling back she looked deeply into his eyes. They both smiled at one another.

"I brought you food." She whispered.

"Good, because I'm starving." They both chuckled a bit. She grabbed the bread and put some up to his lips. He gladly took it. He savored the taste of real food. He couldn't remember the last time he ate.

"What happened to you Mello? I thought you were going to travel and rescue me from this hell hole." Ava asked with a smile.

"Life is what happened. I gambled away all my money and now am in debt with folks back home. I train hopped across Europe for a bit getting odd jobs, but things just happened." He looked down at his hands, ashamed of the way his life turned out.

"How did you get involved with Aleera?"

"Ahh see I was walking outside a bar and I saw this woman standing in the alley. She looked like she wanted me, and I was lonely. So she and I, well you know….." He stopped shortly, now embarrassed. Ava raised an eyebrow showing she wanted to know more. "And she bit me and I thought I was going to die. But she kept me alive, said I was the best she had ever tasted. So she would feed off of me whenever she felt like it. I wanted to run, but I was too weak to do anything."

Ava nodded her head. She couldn't believe Mello's luck. He was always the one that got out of trouble every single time, he was always on his toes.

"Whatever happened to Kelly?" Ava asked

"Kelly came to me, had some leftover jewels you had given her. She gave me them as repayment and she lived with me for a little bit. I left after a month, all I know is that she had a job at the bakery and was doing ok. She was making her own money." Ava smiled, thanking god that her friend made it out ok.

"What have you been doing in this place?" He asked.

"Oh you know, slaving away and going nowhere in life." She said sarcastically.

"And the Count?" He questioned. "There is nothing with the Count, he has a temper and apparently rumors are the Count and I have a thing, but it's all talk between girls who prey upon others."

They laughed together. It was like old times, gossiping with one another and ridiculing life and its problems.

"Well I am going to leave you to rest. I will see you tomorrow." Ava said softly. She kissed his head and walked away. He watched her walk away, smiling he closed his eyes thinking of how incredibly lucky he was that night.