Anna stepped out from the main floor and into the dressing room of Sakura's Garden. She had just completed her shift and was reasonably pleased with how she had made out. $300 or so over the course of 4 hours wasn't bad. Of course, almost all of it would be going toward paying down her mammoth debt. Anna wished she could put more hours in, but it was already past midnight.
Transitioning out of her workplace attire into something more presentable always took some time. The exotic lingerie Anna wore as a dancer had to come off, as it was far too uncomfortable to wear underneath her clothing. Next, Anna needed to wash off most of the unsubtle make-up she applied to entice customers. And of course, Anna had to step out of the towering stilettos she always wore while dancing. Only then could she get dressed in the clothing she had come in with: A rather simple violet top with tight blue jeans and sensible shoes.
Anna had just finished getting dressed when she saw one of the other girls walking through the dressing room. The dancer, a girl named Emily, was carrying a fancy bouquet of red and white roses. Dancers here would sometimes receive gifts like that from interested customers. Anna felt a little envious; it looked like an expensive gift. To Anna's considerable surprise, however, the girl walked over to her.
"Hi, Anna. A woman out on the main floor asked me to give this to you." Emily explained cheerfully, holding out the bouquet of red and white roses.
"To me? Did she say who she was?" Anna asked blankly, accepting the offered roses after a moment's hesitation.
"No, she didn't. She just told me to give that to you." Emily answered uncertainly.
"Well, can you tell me what she looked like?" Anna asked again, raising an eyebrow.
"She...I mean, she..." Emily replied slowly, trailing off with a puzzled expression on her face.
"...Yes?" Anna prompted, looking almost as confused.
"Um...I can't remember, actually. That's weird. It was just a few minutes ago." Emily answered blankly, turning to look back the way she came.
Emily couldn't remember what the woman looked like? That was odd. It sounded similar to the experience Anna had a couple of weeks ago when she had fainted. Could it possibly be the same woman? Anna shook her head slightly. What reason was there to think that? Emily must simply be scatterbrained tonight.
"Oh. Well, maybe the card says something." Anna offered, trying to make up for the strange awkwardness of the conversation.
Anna picked up the small white card nestled in between the blooming roses. It was folded in half. As Anna opened the card, she admired the rich feel of the paper. It was certainly fancier than anything that she could find in the gift card aisle of a supermarket.
"To my perfect Anna. It is my hope that tonight will be the first step on the way to our shared eternity." Anna read silently.
Anna immediately grew nervous. For one thing, this mystery woman hadn't used Anna's stage name. She had used her real name. And for another, the woman sounded creepily presumptuous. A shared eternity? Anna didn't even know who she was.
"Does it say who it's from?" Emily asked curiously.
"Um, no. But thanks for giving it to me." Anna answered after a moment, offering Emily a quick smile.
Emily nodded and walked away. Anna looked back and forth between the roses and the card. She really didn't know what to do with them. Carrying the bouquet all the way home was out of the question, and besides, the card creeped her out a little bit. In the end, Anna decided to leave the bouquet in the dressing room without the card. She tossed that thing in the trash can.
Unfortunately for Anna, none of the other girls were available to accompany her to the nearest subway station. Anna didn't really want to walk alone anymore. Ever since that strange experience a couple of weeks ago, Anna sometimes felt like she was being watched. It was only ever at night, and each time, Anna never saw evidence of anyone watching her, but still, the feeling persisted. Anna debated for a few minutes about whether to waste money on a cab, but eventually, she decided that she was being a baby. It was only two blocks to the nearest subway entrance.
As Anna walked down the street, the familiar sensation of being watched returned. Anna looked over her shoulder, then over to the other side of the street. There were still a few people around, but nobody was paying her any attention. And anyway, none of them were women. Anna shook her head and kept walking. Was it her imagination, or did she hear the faint sound of heels on the sidewalk? It had to be her imagination. Nobody nearby, including herself, was wearing high heels.
It was with considerable relief that Anna reached the subway entrance. She walked down the stairs, feeling both glad to be off the street and also somewhat ashamed of allowing her imagination to run away with her. Just like every other time before, there hadn't been anything for Anna to worry about.
The subway platform was totally empty, which was unusual. There were almost always a few people waiting to catch a late-night train ride home. But not tonight, apparently. Anna whiled away the time by looking at subway posters. There were some political ones (which Anna looked past, as politics were not her thing) and some for movies that looked interesting but that Anna couldn't really justify paying the ticket price for.
There it was again. That was definitely the sound of someone walking on a hard surface in high heels. Anna had heard the sound of her own stilettos enough to be quite certain. The clacking sound was faint, but it sounded as if it was coming from the stairs Anna herself had just gone down. Anna looked nervously at the stairs, but no one appeared. Was she going crazy?
The sound of an approaching train drowned out the faint noise. Anna waited for the train to stop, glancing back at the stairs every few seconds as if to remind herself that no one was there. As soon as the doors opened, Anna hurried inside and sat down in the nearest seat. The train was just as empty as the platform outside, but that wasn't as unusual. Not a lot of people took this particular route late at night.
Anna heard the faint clacking of heels once more and groaned. Hallucinations could be auditory as well as visual. Maybe she needed to go to the doctor. Anna closed her eyes and waited for the train doors to shut. Hopefully, that wouldn't be necessary. A good night's sleep might be all she needed. With a gentle clicking sound, the doors shut and the train slid into motion.
"Hello, Anna." A woman said pleasantly.
Anna's eyes flew open and she saw, to her shock, that there was a woman standing in front of her. A beautiful woman with pale blonde hair and even paler skin. Under the florescent lights of the train, the woman's skin looked unnaturally white. She was wearing a gorgeous sapphire-toned dress with matching heels and handbag. Everything she had on was the kind of item you might see hanging from mannequins posing in the windows of outrageously expensive stores. The kind that Anna walked by during the day and fervently wished she could shop in, but of course could never afford.
The woman was smiling at her, and as Anna looked into the woman's bright blue eyes, her memory came rushing back to her. The woman's name was Elsa. She was the customer that Anna had been with weeks ago! Anna went pale as she remembered what had happened in the VIP room. She remembered seeing the glint of Elsa's fangs right before the woman used them to pierce Anna's neck. This woman, Elsa, was some kind of vampire! Panicked, Anna got to her feet and ran to the end of the train car. Maybe she could make it to another train car and find someone to help. She had to try.
"Anna. Stop." Elsa commanded softly behind her.
Anna immediately lurched to a stop. Or at least, her body did. Inwardly, Anna was trying as hard as she could to keep running, or even to move her legs at all. But her body would not listen to her. There was some kind of invisible force inside her holding Anna in place. What was happening? Was this some kind of nightmare? From behind her, Anna heard the sound of Elsa sighing and taking a seat.
"Come over here and sit down." Elsa commanded again in the same soft, clear tone.
Entirely against her will, Anna's body turned around and walked back over to Elsa. She felt like a puppet on a string. This woman was...controlling her somehow. Anna did her best to suppress her sense of panic. There had to be some kind of way to escape the woman's grasp. A look of concentration was on Elsa's face, which told Anna that Elsa at least needed to expend some effort to control her this way. That might be useful to keep in mind.
All too soon, Anna was sitting in the seat that Elsa wanted her to. They were close together, but not as close as they had been that night in the club. Anna remembered how Elsa's gaze had only seemed to overpower her mind when they were less than a couple of feet apart. But Elsa had chosen for Anna to sit further away from her than that. What was the woman's game here?
"You don't need to be scared, Anna. Relax. I just want to talk." Elsa explained quietly.
Anna felt her body relax as it was ordered. The disconnect she now felt between her mind and body was bizarre. Anna was just as frightened and tense as before, but her heart rate and breathing slowed significantly. From the way her body was acting, Anna might have been lounging at the beach. As the seconds went by, her body's state of relaxation began to affect Anna. The panic she had been gripped with was slowly dwindling.
"If I release you, will you stay put? Remember, I just want to talk." Elsa asked in a soothing tone.
Anna felt some of the invisible force around her body lessen. She could move, but just barely. Anna thought for a second about what to do. If Elsa really did want to talk, then it was in Anna's interest to do so. Trying to fight didn't appear to be a good idea. Reasoning with Elsa, if that was possible, seemed like a far better bet.
"Yes." Anna said shortly, gulping.
The invisible force inside her body vanished. Anna breathed a sigh of relief. It was frightening to have no control like that, especially when a vampire (beautiful or not) was only a few feet away from her on this suddenly claustrophobic train car. Now that she was back in control of her body, Anna's instincts told her to run, but she kept herself still. Convincing Elsa to allow her to leave was her only realistic way to escape.
"I'd like to apologize first. I'm sorry for scaring you, and I'm sorry for taking some of your blood without your consent when we first met." Elsa began in a cool, diplomatic tone.
"You're sorry? Are you kidding?" Anna asked in disbelief.
Elsa was sorry? She was a vampire, a monster! Monsters weren't sorry about what they did. They preyed on the weak and helpless and had no conscience whatsoever. Elsa had to be lying. Just because she was acting contrite and had a (very) pretty face didn't mean Elsa could be trusted.
"I can see that you don't believe me. I understand. Just know that I don't hunt because I want to. I hunt because I need to." Elsa said softly, almost as if she was hurt by Anna's attitude.
"Can't...can't you go to a blood bank or something?" Anna stammered, put very off-balance by Elsa's surprisingly gentle demeanor.
"I could, but there's a shortage of blood in places like those. If I drank their supply up, then it would be like taking blood from mortals who need it the most. Isn't it better to take some from healthy mortals who have enough to spare?" Elsa reasoned fairly.
"That's...I mean...you should ask people first!" Anna protested weakly, having somehow gotten into a discussion about the ethics of blood-drinking.
"I would like to. But that doesn't tend to work out very well. Be honest, if I had asked you for a little bit of your blood, would you have said yes?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow.
Of course Anna wouldn't have. She'd have refused point-blank. Even if it was true that Elsa needed to do so to survive, allowing a vampire to bite into her neck would have been too frightening for Anna to consider. Anna opened her mouth and then closed it. She didn't have any counterargument to make. Her silence was a clear enough answer anyway.
"It's my preference to gain a mortal's consent, but I hadn't fed in a number of days. And when I don't feed, my instincts to hunt get more powerful. It's important to keep them in check or I might end up hurting mortals without meaning to. You see why I had to do what I did, don't you?" Elsa explained, almost in a pleading fashion.
Despite everything going on, Anna felt a measure of sympathy for Elsa. Needing to drink blood in order to survive had to be difficult. Even if Elsa was using disconcerting terms like "feed" and "hunt". Or "mortal", for that matter. Were vampires immortal? Anna wondered if that was true, but she had a more immediate question in mind.
"Why me, though?" Anna asked slowly, curious about the answer.
"You caught my eye, Anna. As soon as I saw you in that club, I knew you were the one. There's an emotional component to feeding, you see. If I'm attracted to the mortal I've chosen, then feeding on them is that much more pleasurable and satisfying. It's the same on your end. I know your fear kept you from enjoying it as much as I did, but without that, it would have been the most sublime experience of your life. Trust me." Elsa asserted confidently, smiling at Anna.
Something about Elsa's smile made Anna's heart beat faster. And that wasn't even taking the blonde woman's veiled offer into account. If Anna was being honest with herself, she was intrigued by Elsa's suggestion. What would it be like to allow a vampire like Elsa to feed on her? It had felt pretty amazing the first time, and if Anna could experience it without being afraid of dying...
Anna shook her head. What was she thinking? Elsa was just trying to trick her. Anna wanted to escape, not fall further into Elsa's web of manipulation. But Anna had to tread carefully. Offending a vampire was probably not a good idea.
"I'm flattered. But I'm not sure this is the kind of relationship I'm looking for." Anna stated gingerly.
"Of course. I know it's a lot to take in. I just wanted the chance to introduce myself properly and explain. Here." Elsa said in the same cool, diplomatic tone as before, fishing out a card from her handbag and offering it to Anna.
Anna blinked before reaching out to take the card. She looked it at with some hesitation. What kind of vampire handed out cards? But it seemed to be a normal business card. There was obviously nothing about Elsa being a vampire on it, only that she was an executive for some company called Callisto Logistics. It had her work number and fax number printed underneath her name, and as Anna flipped it over, she saw that Elsa had written another number with perfect penmanship.
"Is this your personal number?" Anna asked curiously.
"It is. I only give out that number to the handful of people who know who, and what, I really am. I want you to take a few days to process what I've told you and then give me a call. If you want to meet again, we will. If not, then that's fine too." Elsa said smoothly, standing up from her seat as the train began to slow down.
"And what if I don't want to meet again?" Anna asked quietly.
Elsa didn't answer immediately. Anna once again had the strange sense that she had hurt Elsa's feelings a little bit. Assuming, of course, that a vampire still had feelings. Anna wasn't certain if they did.
"As I said, that's fine too. I'll just...help you forget we ever met. You'll go back to thinking there's no such thing as vampires, and you can resume your life." Elsa answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Really? You'll do that?" Anna asked doubtfully.
"I said that I would, didn't I?" Elsa answered patiently.
The train had nearly come to a stop. Elsa leaned in closer to Anna, who hurriedly looked away from Elsa's eyes. She didn't want to be caught in Elsa's gaze and fall under her alluring spell. Not that it really mattered. Under Elsa's control or not, Anna was helpless against the woman. But all Elsa did was bend down to softly kiss Anna's cheek. Elsa's lips were ice cold, but the gesture itself was warm. Anna felt herself blushing again.
"Close your eyes for a second, please." Elsa requested softly, which Anna knew was a request in fact, as no psychic force compelled her like before.
Nevertheless, Anna closed her eyes as she was asked. As soon as the train doors opened, Anna opened her eyes as well. Elsa had vanished completely. Or had she? Anna listened closely and heard the sound of clacking heels moving further away. Anna stood up from the seat and peered out the window into the subway platform. There was nobody out there. Elsa appeared to have some strange power to turn invisible, at least to Anna's eyes.
Anna sat back down again as the doors closed. The train hadn't quite gotten to her stop yet. As the train began moving once more, she looked down at the card Elsa had given her. Was she going to call the number? Anna's first instinct was to say no and be grateful that she was no longer alone with a dangerous being that had a taste for her blood.
But Elsa didn't match up precisely with Anna's image of vampires. For one thing, Elsa had refrained from feeding on Anna when she had an easy opportunity to do. She didn't seem to be the cruel predator that Anna had initially assumed. Instead, Elsa had given every indication that she wanted to make some kind of emotional connection with Anna. Unless Elsa was only pretending to be so friendly. But why would she lie? Elsa could have simply forced Anna to obey her like before.
Anna was grateful that the mystery woman had given her a few days to think it over, at least. So many questions were ricocheting around her head that Anna felt like she needed all the time she could get to come to any kind of reasonable decision. Especially since Anna very much wanted to stop letting her emotions drive her. First, it had been panic and fear, and now Anna was beginning to catch herself wishing that Elsa had taken a small drink from her neck.
Just to see if Elsa had been telling the truth when she had promised that a consensual feeding would be the most phenomenal experience of Anna's life.