Little warning; mentions of blood and cutting the skin, so read with caution.

Day 12: Vampire AU

Marinette sat at the window bench in her cambers, looking out the window. She was anxious, but happy. Tonight was the night. She and her suitor had a date. And just like all of their dates, she'd meet him in their favorite room in the castle, with their chaperone, and she'd tell him something that would change everything for them.

He had a name, but he told her she could only know it if/when they married. Until then, she called him Chat Noir; a vampire. This was his castle. She had been living here with him for months, since the beginning of their courtship.

Vampires and humans could court each other, but since the outlawing of blood slaves, there had to be someone overseeing the courtship to make sure that everything was consensual. Especially the feedings.

One of the most important things that came with courting a vampire was that they were supposed to allow themselves to be fed on by their intended—and only them. If the human didn't want to be fed on then there couldn't be a courtship. They shouldn't even be courting a vampire at all.

Of course, feedings weren't necessarily bad. One thing vampires could do when they bit into their prey was release a pheromone that made the experience pleasurable and not painful. So Marinette never had a problem there. However, because she was giving so much of her blood to Chat, she had to stay healthy. Which meant a lot of iron-enriched foods, cranberry juice, and water. Lots and lots of water.

It was a small price compared to getting to be with Chat. She loved him more than anyone. Which was why tonight was so special. She had already told their chaperone, but tonight she would tell him that she was finally ready.

When she heard her clock strike the hour of six, Marinette got up and made her way to the door. She walked down several hallways until she reached the seating room that faced the garden—their favorite room for their dates. When she opened the door, he was already there, sitting on their favorite couch, waiting for her. Vampires were very fast so he always beat her there.

Their chaperone was also inside; a short Chinese man with a kind smile sitting in a cushioned armed chair—Wang Fu. Like all vampire-human courtship chaperones, Fu was a wizard.

Since the chaperone couldn't be a human or a vampire, wizards were considered a trusted neutral party. Master Wang Fu was a noble, just, respectable, and very powerful wizard. And after the adventurous life he had once led, in his old age, he was content with his simpler job in chaperoning vampire-human couples.

Plus, the chaperone had to be powerful enough to subdue either being, should they try to attack one another. His main job as chaperone was to ensure that both beings were safe, comfortable, and truthfully in love with each other. Especially if they were planning to take the next step.

Even the gentlemen, Chat Noir stood up as his lady entered the room.

"Darling," she greeted him as she approached him.

The young man in black took her hand and kissed it. "Milady," he greeted her back before the two sat down. "You look radiant this evening." Marinette smiled, flattered by the compliment, but then her eyes strayed away, feeling anxious again. Chat, of course, noticed at once that something was on her mind. "What is it?" he asked.

Master Fu cleared his throat from across the room. "Miss Marinette has something to tell you," he said, trying very hard to contain his own excitement.

"Tell me what?" Chat looked from the old wizard to his beloved, confused.

Marinette took both of Chat's hands with hers. "Chat," Marinette started to say but the words got caught in her throat for a moment. "I…"

Chat squeezed her hands back, anxious to hear what she had to say, praying it wasn't bad news. "Yes?"

Marinette took a deep breath. She knew what she wanted and she knew he wanted it too.

Chat had been waiting patiently for her to finally agree, and now she was ready. It would be cruel to make him wait a second longer.

"I'm ready to end our courtship…" she finally said to him.

Chat just stared at her for a few seconds. "You mean-" he whispered.

Marinette smiled and nodded her head. "I'm ready to become a vampire…and marry you."

The smile that grew on Chat's face was the biggest he'd ever smiled. Even bigger than months ago when Marinette agreed to let him court her.

"You-you are? You're sure? You're absolutely sure?" he asked eagerly.

"More sure than I've ever been," Marinette nodded again. "I love you, and I want to be with you forever."

"Oh Marinette." Overjoyed, Chat caressed the sides of the bluenette maiden's head and pulled her to his lips.

When their passionate kiss was over, they kept their eyes closed and leaned their foreheads together.

"Monsieur Noir," they heard Fu say but his voice sounded closer. The two opened their eyes and turned to see their chaperone standing before them with a small knife in his hand. He wasn't holding it threateningly, but it simply rested in his palm and was being offered out for the young man to take.

"Thank you, Master Fu," Chat said respectfully after taking the knife from his family friend.

Wang Fu put his hands behind his back and smiled at the pair.

"This is a joyous day. I always knew you two were made for each other. It has been my honor to be your chaperone, seeing your love grow with every passing day. And soon, I'll be your officiator as well," Fu said happily. It was customary that the couple's chaperone also be their wedding officiator. A formal wedding would usually take place about a week after the engagement was official. But for today, no one else needed to be present but them and their chaperone. "Then after that, you won't need me anymore," Fu said, a bit sadder.

Once the two were married, a chaperone was no longer necessary. They could share a bed, be intimate, and have children.

"You'll still be our friend, Master Fu," Chat reassured the older man while Marinette nodded in agreement. This made him smile again. When he went back to his chair, Chat and Marinette looked deeply at each other. "Are you ready?" he asked. Without hesitation, Marinette nodded.

Chat raised the knife to his left wrist and cut a swallow line. Not very long, just enough to draw a fair amount of blood. Chat put the knife down and raised his bleeding wrist up closer to his intended. Marinette grabbed a hold of Chat's left hand, pulling it closer to her face. She turned her head, looked him in the eyes briefly, silently telling him a million things.

Then she turned to his offered wrist, opened her mouth, and started sucking on his wound.

The taste was bizarre. Marinette had tasted her own blood before, after paper cuts or accidently pocking herself with a needle while she was sowing. But this was so much more. She was swallowing almost whole mouthfuls of Chat blood with every suck.

She didn't necessarily need to drink a lot for the change to work. But the more she drank, the more she liked it. So she just kept sucking and swallowing.

To Chat Noir, it sort of tickled, feeling Marinette sucking on his skin. She had done it before while they had made out but never while he was bleeding. Judging by her reluctance to stop after just one swallow, he'd say that she was slowly enjoying the taste of his blood. This pleased him. He couldn't wait until after they were married when they could make love and feed on each other.

He could finally give everything to her; his blood, soul, and body.

Finally, after several swallows, Marinette was starting to feel dizzy. She knew what that meant. It was starting. The blood was beginning to change her.

She let go off Chat's arm with a bit of a pop before trying to catch her breath. She could feel her breathing slowing down, which only made her try to breathe harder. She knew what to expect when she chose to do this but it was still a bit scary.

It felt like she was slowly dying.

"Marinette," Chat said concerned. He could see how scared she looked but it was temporary. "It's okay, everything is alright," he told her as he moved off the couch and helped her lie down. Her head on a pillow, Marinette turned to look at Chat and he knelt on the rug beside her, holding her hand. "I'm right here."

"C-Chat," she was barely able to utter as her breathing became more frantic and her eye lids started to droop.

"Shhhhhh. Sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up," he gently hushed her. "I'll be right here when you open your eyes. I'm not going anywhere," he promised as he brushed her bangs away from her big blue bell eyes just before they closed and her breathing calmed. "I love you," he whispered before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Chat Noir and Fu stayed in the room for hours, watching Marinette as she slept. She drank quite a bit more of Chat's blood than she needed to so the change wouldn't take that long.

As she slept, they noticed her skin become paler and her chest stopped rising and falling. Not long after, she finally opened her eyes.

They were still comparable to the bluebell flower as Chat had long ago, but they sparkled more like sapphires in the sun.

Her mouth felt dry, like she hadn't had any water for two days. When she moved her tongue around to moisten it, she could feel the new sharpened points on her canines.

Marinette sat up and looked at her beloved, still kneeling beside her, still holding her hand. Chat smiled at her, emerald eyes full of adoration as he leaned in to hug her.

She was a vampire now. And in just a week, she'll be his wife.

See u tomorrow =^.^=