A/N: Ungh...I know you're all wondering why it took so damn long to write this chapter...it's because I kept getting depressed whenever I'd attempt to write it, so then I finally just gave up and started a new nonfanfiction story. Yeah. I like it so far, but it's not like I'm going to do anything with it, just something to get the brain juices flowing, I suppose.

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Amira awoke the next morning feeling absolutely terrified. She couldn't quite place here fear at that very moment, all she knew was that she had to get out. Of what, she didn't quite know, that is, until she opened her eyes…

Amira shrieked aloud in terror. She was trapped inside a box! She felt the cold surface of the box and realized it was made of some sort of stone. Her eyes rolled around in fear, she hadn't realized she was claustrophobic until just now.

Amira braced herself and pushed with both her hands and her feet at the top of her tiny prison. To her utter surprise the lid of the box pushed away with ease and hit the wall several feet away with a deafening crash.

Amira stood up and gasped for breath and put a hand against her chest to quell her heart, which would surely be pounding in her chest right now. Amira continued gasping for a bit before something occurred to her that was even more terrifying than waking up in the box, her heart wasn't beating.

Suddenly, all the memories of the previous night came flooding into her mind. She couldn't think, she couldn't speak, and all she could was stand there. She suddenly felt incredibly ill, and it was all she could do to get herself inside of the bathroom and to the toilet. She fell against the cold marble floors and retched up nothing but blood until she felt entirely empty inside.

Amira finally stood up and wiped her streaming nose and eyes against a cloth. She turned around to look at herself in the large mirror in her bathroom, and she cried out once again when she discovered that she had no reflection. She backed away until she hit the wall and then sunk to the floor as tears began welling up in her eyes once again.

Dracula found her an hour later curled into the fetal position in the corner of the bathroom, sobbing quietly to herself.

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Amira awoke several hours later in her soft, lush bed, and for a few happy moments she believed that this had all been some sort of terrible nightmare, and that she was still human, still alive. Just a nightmare...

She sat up and ran one of her hands through her hair. Her head hurt, and she wanted some aspirin. She turned and got of bed.

Coffin.

And there it was, lying on the floor several feet away from her. Amira stopped dead in her tracks. Smashed pieces of the lid lay scattered across the floor. Amira bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, and cried out anyway as her fangs easily pierced through her lower lip. She opened her lips and felt for blood, but it had already healed and dried away.

"No, no, no, no!"

Amira clutched her head in her hands as the room went spiraling. She barely felt her knees hit the floor. She continued to kneel there for a very long time, she didn't cry, or even think, she just knelt there, drowning herself in a sort of unexplainable sadness.

After Amira had been kneeling there for quite some time, the door to her room opened slowly. Amira slowly looked up and saw the face of her... angel. And he looked like an angel indeed, the bright light from the outside hall gave him a sort of shadowy outline, and Amira swore she saw massive feathered wings sprouting out of his shoulder blades, but when she blinked they were gone.

He walked in slowly, carefully stepping over the stone rubbles strewn about the floor. When he reached her, he held out his arm for her to take, which she did. Dracula effortlessly lifted her to her feet.

"Why are you so sad, my darling?" Dracula asked in that rich voice that Amira loved so very much.

Amira had the strangest urge to be angry at her angel, to tell him to leave her alone, but when she looked into his eyes, the anger dispersed immediately. When she opened her mouth to reply, she realized that she suddenly couldn't even remember why she had been kneeling on the ground.

"I..." she faltered slightly, not quite sure what to say, "I don't know." She frowned, feeling that was the wrong answer, and added, "But I'm not sad anymore."

Dracula sapphire eyes twinkled as he replied, "I didn't think so."

Amira twitched; there was something wrong with what her angel had just said. She didn't quite know what though, so she shoved the feeling away and allowed herself to be drawn in by his beautiful eyes again.

"Come Amira, your skin is cold, you need to feed." Amira's emerald eyes lit up. Dracula entwined his arm with hers, "And today, I'm going to teach you how to fly." A bright smile leapt to Amira's features as they rounded a corner. "It's rather easy, really." The walked in silence until they reached the balcony.

The doors to the balcony were already opened, as if waiting for them. A chilly wind swept through the open doors, Amira welcomed the cold air. They walked to the edge of the balcony, and Amira looked over the edge. It was a fairly steep fall, but Amira did not worry, she trusted her angel not to let her die.

"I want you to open your heart to all the darkness inside of you Amira." Dracula told her. He had let go of her arm and was now staring intently at her.

"How?" Amira asked simply.

Dracula frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "First you must forget everything you knew about being human." He paused for a moment, and looked out over the edge. He continued on, "And then..." his frown deepened, he had never had to explain this to anyone before. It had just come to him naturally when he had transformed for the first time, he had just known how to do it. "You will... feel it within you. A... sort of ball of darkness, calling to you, enticing you. Embrace it, and you will transform."

Amira nodded slowly and tried to forget all she knew about being human, which was really rather harder than it sounds. Whenever she thought she had done, a little memory would slip back into her mind, something insignificant, like the time she scraped her knee on the sidewalk when she was five. She shut her eyes tightly and grabbed hold of the ledge, and when she opened them, she saw the night sky. She stared intently at the starry sky and then... nothing happened. She could still remember how human she had been, she could still remember what it had been like to be mortal.

"I can't do it." Amira sighed. "I... don't know how to forget." She was immensely disappointed with herself. I should be able to do it.

She did not wish to turn around and have to gaze upon the dissappointment she was sure would be painted on his beautiful face but when she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder she forced herself to turn around. The next thing she knew, her lips were being pressed against his and her world was thrown off it's axis. His hungry mouth drank her in, and Amira grabbed his coat and pulled him closer to her. Her mind was swept into darkness, she truly couldn't remember anything about being human, all she knew was that she had to have him. Amira groaned against Dracula's mouth as he backed her up until her back was pressed against the ledge. His fingers raked through her beautiful brown locks as Amira's fingers clenched convulsively at the back of his jacket.

And suddenly, and far too soon for Amira's liking, Dracula backed off. Amira panted needlessly, and grabbed the ledge for support. Dracula moved in closer and turned Amira around before grasping her by the waist. "Now embrace your core of darkness..." he whispered so very quietly into her ear. And Amira knew what he was talking about this time. There was something inside of her, calling her, telling her to let go of everything she had known and accept her inner darkness. She grabbed hold of it and allowed it to swallow her whole.

Amira's eyes momentarily flashed black before flaring a bright emerald, her nails lengthened and sharpened into claws and her skin turned deathly white. Dracula tightened his hold of her and did something Amira did not expect at all.

He threw her off the ledge and into the night air.

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One of my beloved fans: YO MY GOODNESS, is lyk...Amira gonna die?!?!?!?!

Nightmares: ...No.

A/N: No, surprisingly enough, I'm not planning on letting Amira plummet to her doom. Shocking, eh?

Sorry this is so freaking short, I'm just not in the mood to write more, and I know that if I try to I'll probably end up screwing the entire chapter over. Bleh. Plus, I didn't want you guys to have to wait any longer, seeing how I doubt any of you have been appreciating this three week long wait. Eh...not to worry, I've just got to get this one thing worked out, and then you can all dance in the street with merriment as chapters begin to flow once again.

Oh, and I'd like to go ahead and point out that this is only like... the fourth time they've ever kissed. Yeah, that's right, they haven't kissed since Chapter 10. !!!

And don't worry, I'm not going to force you all to through another three week long wait.

-Nightmares