-1Woo this chapter took me 6 hours to write and I've done it all in one day. Wow one chapter yesterday and another today woo. In regards to how many more chapters this story will have I don't really have any idea. I have quite a lot of stuff planned for upcoming chapters so this story will keep going for quite a while. Woo I am on a roll! Well anyway even after this has finished there is Dracula and Lara edited which is a neater version of this and will also have more things happening between Dracula and Lara because I don't think there were enough at the beginning of this story. So anyway thank you all for the reviews they make me so happy, just no flames ok? I want to be happy! So read, enjoy and review!

Look At Me

Lara awoke without opening her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping long, as she still felt tired. She tried to remember the dream she had been having, but as she tried it slipped further from her clutches and all she was left with was the shadow of something she couldn't quite make out. Slightly annoyed she began to open her eyes, but then stopped as she realised there was a faint light above her.

Suddenly she was aware of everything, the smell of Dracula coming from above, his cold hand holding hers and the absence of a dry throat. One of Dracula's fingers was stroking the back of her hand and Lara was quite surprised that she found it rather pleasant. She didn't move, not wanting Dracula to know that she was awake yet.

She thought of everything Dracula had said to her before she had gone to sleep. He had admitted he was a monster, and Lara knew how hard that must have been for him to admit. He had said he was sorry, and he had said he wanted to change. He'd also said he didn't want his brides, he just wanted her.

But was he telling the truth? Lara could not decide. He seemed to truly mean what he had said but then again it could just be some big trick. Who knew how Dracula's mind worked? But then as she remembered everything he had said she found herself melting inside. She wanted to believe Dracula, she wanted to believe that he did truly love her. But why? What was it that was making her want to side with Dracula?

Dracula had a way with words, she knew this. But it seemed something more than that. Just the look in his eyes said more than words. He did love her. She knew it. Aleera and Matana, both just wanted to see the back of her and had twisted her mind so she would go. But know she was back, and she no longer knew of her own feelings.

Did she love Dracula? She asked herself over and over again but no answer would come. Instead her mind just flashed images of her and Dracula. Dracula hitting her, Dracula kissing her, Dracula telling her he loved her, Her and Dracula dancing. She only knew one thing. She no longer feared Dracula.

In fact his presence, his touch, his voice soothed and comforted her and she welcomed them. Where once she would have been disgusted by holding his hand as she was doing now, she no longer saw it as a problem, it was just something comforting. And she did find him attractive, in a way that she did not quite understand. She didn't even know if she liked him. Well she knew she didn't dislike him anymore.

But love? What was love anyway? Wanting to stay with someone for the rest of their life? But she would grow old and he wouldn't age a day. And then he would dispose of her and find someone else to lavish his affections on. The very though made Lara sick inside. But unless he turned her into a vampire… no she would not want to be a vampire. But staying with Dracula for a while? Maybe, after all, at times she did enjoy his company.

Was love a feeling of 'butterflies' in your stomach? How did Lara feel when she was with Dracula? She used to feel fearful, sick, disgusted, but now? Now she felt… She didn't really know how she felt. Sometimes she felt shaky, or sad, or like now safe. Sometimes he gave her shivers down her spine, but that wasn't the same as butterflies.

But maybe Dracula was mistaking love for lust? After all hitting and getting angry wasn't really love. But he apologised and said he would change. But still…lust was obsessive and Dracula certainly felt obsessed with her. At this very second he was still clutching her hand obsessively.

And Dracula was obsessed with sex, all he ever did was kiss her, and try and get her to sleep with him. That surely wasn't love was it? But the other day, she had kissed him back and she knew she had felt something. And that something had disgusted her. Was that love? But he had stopped kissing her when she told him to. And he hadn't kissed her since he had put her in the pit. But if he had kissed her, would she have told him to stop?

And surely if it was love, he would let her go, simply because she wanted to go? Wouldn't he? But he had said that he couldn't bear being parted from her. Maybe he wanted to but he just couldn't bring himself too. But wouldn't that be selfish, indicating lust not love? But what he had said to her? Surely that was love, it had been selfless and full of gentle emotions, not anger. And he had given her the cross back.

Now Lara was confused. Did Dracula feel lust or love? Did Dracula even know himself? She wanted to believe so much that he loved her. Was it because she love him? She had asked him not to leave her, but was that from fear of the pit or just wanting him to stay with her? And the other day when she had kissed him back and stopped. Was that love? She was holding his hand, letting him stroke it. Was that love? She could feel every line and bone under his smooth skin. Dracula had said she loved him, was he right?

"Good morning Lara." Lara opened her eyes in shock. Dracula was peering down through the hole at her. He smiled when he saw her reaction. "How did you know I was awake?" she asked him curiously. "Because you are stroking my hand," he replied. Lara glanced at their entwined hands and sure enough she was stroking his hand like he was stoking hers. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, stopping.

"Don't stop," he told her. "I find nothing wrong with it. But it's ok if you do." Lara took a few deep breaths and clumsily began stroking his hand again. "How are you this morning?" he asked her. "If it's morning what are you doing up?" Lara asked Dracula ignoring his question. "Can't sleep," he said with a shrug. "Why?" she asked persistently. "Because I don't want to leave you." he told her. Lara blushed, hoping the gloom of the pit would hide her red cheeks.

"Oh," she said softly. She changed the subject quickly. "How long was I asleep for?" Dracula squeezed her hand gently. "About an hour, not long. Are you still tired? You can go back to sleep if you want." Lara shook her head. "No, I don't think I can sleep either." she told him. He smiled slightly and moved closer to the hole. "Why can't you sleep Lara?" he probed gently. Lara shrugged. "I just have a lot of things on my mind." She quickly broke eye contact with Dracula, afraid that he would know what she was really thinking of. "What things?" he asked her persistently. "Just…things," she answered quietly.

Dracula smiled softly. She was thinking of him, he knew it. But what was she thinking? Was she thinking that she loved him or that she hated him? Surely it would be love? She was holding and stroking his hand and it was giving him shivers. The was the longest amount of contact he had ever had with her and she showed no sign of pulling away.

He wished he could enter her thoughts to see what she was thinking. Dracula knew Lara loved him, but he wished he knew exactly what she thought of him. But if he did that he stood to loose everything he had gained and she wouldn't forgive him. All he had to do was wait. He gazed down lovingly at her. Their faces were only a few inches away. She looked into his eyes and offered a hint of a smile. For a long time they just looked into each others eyes, both lost in their own thoughts.

Lara looked away first, unable to keep the eye contact. Instead she just looked at their hands and finally she spoke softly, her voice afraid. "What is love, Dracula?" Dracula gripped her hand excitedly. They were close now he could tell. "Love is one soul in two bodies." he told her. "Love is the universal thing that binds two people together and the only truly pure thing in the world." Lara listened attentively then shook her head, still not looking at his face. "No, I mean what is love? How do you know that you are in love?"

Dracula could barley contain his excitement. "It's something you just know, even if you try not to acknowledge it, even if you try and hide it, you know if you are in love. You get shivers when you are with the other person, or when you touch the other person, and when the other person speaks its as if their voice is made up of choirs of heavenly angels. And when their eyes sparkle you feel something moving in your stomach. Love isn't something that you control, it's like a massive tidal wave that is impossible to stop and it never loses its power."

"Love is trying to do the right thing for each other but sometimes because our love is so strong it just confuses me and I barley know what I am doing. And every time you acknowledge me I feel as if I could soar through the heavens and every time you look at me all I can think is how lucky I am to have found you. And I will always love you. Even if you lost your beauty you would be no way diminished in my eyes because you would still be beautiful to me and you would still be Lara because of your personality and even if you lost your personality I would still think you were perfect because you and I are one soul and you would still be my Lara. That is love. Acceptance of the other person, no matter what they may have done, the ability to forgive them that is love."

Lara looked up at Dracula tears glistening in her eyes. What Dracula had said was … beautiful. It wasn't just the words, it was the way he said them and it was like there was an underlying force to them. She still didn't look at Dracula not daring in case she began to feel something she wasn't ready to. "And- and is that how you feel about me?" she stammered shakily.

Dracula squeezed her hand tighter. It was warmer than it had ever been since he had died, from the warmth from Lara's touch. "Yes, I feel it everyday, and somehow my love for you grows for you everyday and I do not see how that is possible when I already love you with every fibre of my being. Lara, please look at me." he requested gently. Lara closed her eyes squeezing a few tears from them and shook her head.

"Why won't you look at me Lara?" he asked quietly. Lara shrugged despondently, keeping her eyes on her finger which was trailing over Dracula's sleeve. "Please Lara!" urged Dracula. Tears pooled out of Lara's eyes and she tried to move out of view of the hole but because Dracula was holding her hand she couldn't and she found herself not wanting to let go of Dracula's hand.

"What's wrong Lara?" Dracula asked her, concern in his voice. "Have I said something to offend or upset you?" Lara shook her head, and then quickly cast her eyes upwards at Dracula, but quickly looked away again, crying even harder. "Well what is it then? Please Lara just tell me. I'll make it better I promise."

Suddenly he felt Lara's grip on his hand loosen, and as she struggled to get free of him, he realised what was wrong so he let go of her hand gently. She slipped out of sight as she moved further down into the pit. "Lara it's ok," he whispered to her. She let out a large sob. "Just say it Lara, everything will be ok, you just need to say it first. Then you can come out of the pit or if you would like you can stay there so you don't have to face me yet. Just say it Lara."

There were more sobs from Lara, but he still couldn't see her. "Please Lara, just say the words. I know Lara, it's ok. Please I want you to come out of the pit. Just say the words, it won't hurt I promise. It will make you feel better. Then you can come out of the pit and have something to eat and drink and you can have a bath and sleep." Dracula went silent, listening to Lara. Her sobs had slowed and now she was just breathing rather shakily.

"Go on Lara," he whispered. "Just tell me Lara, I know how you feel but I need you to say it." He pulled the key out of his pocket ready for Lara to come out. "I-I-I," she stuttered. Dracula's eyes grew large and he placed they key in the lock. "I- I love -," Lara stopped mid-sentence and Dracula cursed silently. "Say it with me Lara," he said gently. "Just say I. Love. You. On three we'll both say it together ok? One, two three, I love you." Dracula sighed. Lara had stayed quiet. She had been so close. He banged his head on his knee's and then he heard a slight muttering.

"He dived back over to the hole frantically, not sure what he had just heard. "Say it again!" he exclaimed urgently. There was a pause, and Dracula held his breath. From the bottom of the pit came Lara's voice, quiet and shaky. " I. Love. You." This was followed by another large sob. Dracula flew to the key and turned it excitedly. He opened the door slowly remembering that Lara's hands were still attached to it.

There she was curled up near the bottom of the pit, large tears rolling down her face. She flinched when the door opened and she was forced to move as her hands followed the door. Dracula jumped into the pit, pulling the rope apart with his bare hands, until Lara's hands were free. He scooped her into his arms sitting on the floor, holding her tightly as she hid her face in his chest still crying.

Dracula gently stroked her head, rocking back and forth trying to sooth her. "Shhhhh," he whispered. "Shhhhh." Lara calmed slightly but still kept crying. Slowly Dracula stood up carrying Lara in his arms. She put her arm around his neck to steady herself but kept her face hidden in his shoulder. Dracula kicked the pit door shut and after concentrating made himself and Lara materialize in a bathroom. On one side lay a tray, with a cup, a jug of water and a warm bread roll.

Amazing at how light she was, he set her down next to the tray. Once again she avoided looking at him, by wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her face in her arms. "Drink and eat," he told her, resting one hand on her arm. "But, do not eat too fast, your body hasn't eaten for over 3 days. You may be sick." Lara did not move. Sighing Dracula stood up and moved over to the sunken bath and turned on the taps. Hot water gushed forth into the stone bath.

As he moved over to the cupboard he noted that Lara had her back to him and the bread roll had disappeared off the tray. He smiled to himself and then took from the cupboard several large towels. He placed the towels near the bath and then taking his coat off, placed it over the towels. He moved to a wall and lent against it watching Lara still huddled in a small ball against the wall, the cup full of water in her hands.

She turned her head slightly then realised Dracula was watching her and turned back to the wall. Dracula smiled again. "You don't have to hide from me Lara," he said softly. Lara glanced at him again before lowering her eyes to the floor in front of his feet. Dracula was pleased that this time she had not turned away from him, but a bit upset that she could not bring herself to look him in the eye.

He walked towards the bath and he felt Lara's gaze follow him. Turning off the taps, he said, "You can have a bath now if you want. I'm going to stay here but I'll turn to the wall if you would like." He looked up at Lara and she nodded. Dracula moved over to the door and stood facing it.

Behind him he could hear Lara standing up. She took of her tattered remnants of a dress and quickly slid into the water, letting its warmth envelop her. She felt better immediately. She still couldn't believe what she had said. Dracula could barely believe it and neither could she. After what Dracula had said to her about love and forgiveness, she had realised that she did love him. But for some reason she couldn't bring herself to look at him in the face. She glanced over to him as she thought this. He was standing, hands clasped behind his back, facing the door.

He probably still wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not, that's why he had chosen to stand by the door, to make sure she couldn't escape. Even though he wasn't facing her, she was suddenly glad of the bubbles that concealed her. She slipped under the water, letting the water cover her hair. As she surfaced she noted a hairbrush lying beside the towels and his coat. She grabbed it and began brushing the knots out of her hair. After that rather long process, she shampooed her hair glad it was fully washed and clean again.

She stayed in the bath for a further half an hour just letting the water soak all the blood and dirt off her. Grabbing the soap she gave herself one last scrub, washing all the dirt off her. Stifling a yawn, she glanced quickly at Dracula then pulled herself out of the bath, and then hurriedly wrapped herself in one of the towels, letting her wet hair hang down her back.

As she brushed and dried her hair with a towel, she kept glancing at Dracula who still stood facing the door. Leaving her damp hair to curl gently around her face, she replaced the hairbrush back by the bath and began to walk back to her dirty and ragged dress. "You can wear my coat if you would like," said Dracula suddenly. Lara looked around sharply at him but he was still facing the door, leaning with his arms crossed against the door frame. "That dress needs to be thrown away," said Dracula as she walked over to his coat.

She picked the coat up and then keeping her eyes on Dracula, dropped the towel and slipped the coat on. When she had finished doing it up, she walked cautiously over to Dracula, her bare feet making no sound on the stone floor. Just before she reached him however, he turned. She stopped and looked down at his feet, still not daring to look a this face. He walked towards her and placed his hand under her chin. Lara held her breath, he was going to make her look at him.

But instead he placed his hand on her shoulder and then Lara realised that they were someone else. Her eyes began to droop and she was barely able to keep them open. But she noticed something in the middle of the floor, and she knew where they were. It was a coffin. His coffin. Her legs began to give way underneath her as exhaustion started to take hold. Dracula took her hand and began to pull her towards the coffin.

Lara stood firm, despite her exhaustion. She shook her head. "No!" she slurred. Dracula followed her gaze and realised where she was looking. He stroked her face with his finger. "Don't worry Lara," he said reassuringly as she struggled to get away from him, barely able to keep her eyes open. "We're not going to, ok Lara? Do you understand? We're not going to." He took Lara by the shoulders but her eyes were still on the coffin.

Dracula picked her up and walked past the coffin to a double bed at the other side of the room. Lara nestled against his chest, nearly asleep. Moving the covers back he placed Lara in the bed and tucked her in. Before he'd even finished she was fast asleep. Dracula just sat for a moment stroking her face. Then quickly he moved to the other side of the bed and climbed in, moving close to Lara, putting his arms around her and pulling her close. He buried his face in her damp hair, letting his nose brush the back of her neck. He still couldn't believe she was his. She was his and only his. Finally she had accepted him.

Woo Review!