Dracula stood in the darkness watching Anna beat up anything she could. It had been a year since the incident with Van Helsing. Anna hadn't changed much. She was still just as beautiful as he remembered her. The only thing that was different was that her eyes held a look of deep pain. Pain that she'd kept buried deep in her heart for too long. 'Since you're still in pain over Gabriel I'll go easy on you, my love,' he thought with a smile.
He stepped out of the shadows. Anna jumped from both shock and fright. Dracula raised an eyebrow with a look of amusement in his eyes.
"Well hello, Anna," he said. "You haven't changed much in the last twelve months have you?" The gypsy girl pulled out her sword and pointed it at him threateningly.
"It can't be!" she whispered. "It can't be you! Van Helsing killed you!" Dracula clicked his tongue.
"You may have seen someone who LOOKED like me get killed but it certainly wasn't me, Anna," he walked slowly towards his beautiful nemesis. "I used a spell to make one of my servants look, act, and sound like me as a decoy. Because of that I was able to hide out here until you returned. And now you have at last, Anna!" Anna jumped away and glared darkly at the Count.
"What more can you do to me, Count?" she whispered miserably. "You've taken away my whole family as well as Van Helsing! I am completely alone! The people offer me sympathy for my losses but it is empty sympathy! None of them understand! And none of that sympathy will bring Van Helsing or my family back!"
"I understand how you feel, Anna," Dracula said as he circled her. "I am alone as well. My brides are dead as are my children, all the Dwergi, even Igor. Although Igor is not much of a loss." He stopped and pulled out a strange weapon that looked like a dagger with a werewolf claw at the tip. "Kill me." Dracula tossed the strange weapon toAnna. She didn't understand.
"How would this kill you?" she asked. "Even when I ran a stake through your heart it had no effect!" The Count rolled his eyes.
"Don't you remember what you, Gabriel, and that ridiculous Friar learned when you were raiding Castle Dracula last year?" he asked. Anna nodded. "Werewolves are my weakness. If you were to stab me with that weapon then I would die a slow and painful death." He removed his cloak and shirt displaying his smooth and muscled chest. "Since you have suffered so much on my account I lay my life in your hands, Anna. Do you not wish to kill me?"
Anna was speechless. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. There she stood with a weapon in her hands that could kill Dracula. He was ASKING her to choose between killing him and letting him live. The gypsy girl raised the weapon up. Nothing would have given her more pleasure than to run it through his heart and watch him die. It would be the most satisfying thing in the world to at last rid herself of her family's greatest enemy. Yet when the point of the weapon touched where Dracula's heart lay she couldn't drive it in any farther.
"You can't do it can you?" asked Dracula. Anna let the weapon drop to the floor. Dracula put his shirt and cloak back on. "Why not?"
"I don't know," Anna replied. "There wouldn't be any satisfaction in killing you now I guess. It won't bring back everyone I've lost." Dracula picked up the weapon and tossed it away.
"Too true, Anna, too true," he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "Since you can't seem to resist me I'll take this opportunity to have some fun with you." Anna's eyes widened as she took a giant step back.
"Just because I couldn't kill you doesn't mean I want to…you know," she said. "Why can't you just leave me be?" Dracula chuckled as he circled her again.
"I already have, Anna," he said. "I've left you alone for the last year. Now it is my turn to have my fun." He ran his finger down her throat. Anna trembled in fear and disgust. "But don't worry; I'm not going to turn you."
"What are you going to do then, Count?" she snapped. "Just get it over with!"
"We're going to play a little game," said Dracula. "It will go like this: There will be times when you are wandering around in the woods or the village, and when you least expect it I will come out of nowhere and chase you. I will hunt for you until I have captured you. When that happens you will be my prisoner for two days. During those two days I will be allowed to do what I want with you. Not only that but you will be given multiple chances to escape. Once you escape I'll give you some time recover but then later I'll come out and hunt for you again.
"You could call it an extended version of cat and mouse. You'll escape each time somehow but I'll eventually capture you again. I don't know how long I want to do this little game. I suppose until I get bored. And considering I've BEEN bored for the last year I don't think I'll be bored of this game for quite some time. And don't worry; I'll make sure that none of the villagers will see any of it."
"You promise that you won't turn me," Anna said. Dracula nodded.
"You have my word," he said. She thought it over and then threw a venomous glare at him.
"No!" she cried. "I won't be your play thing just because you're bored! I'll rally the whole village together and teach them how to make that weapon you showed me. They'll attack you and not stop until you've been stabbed and killed!" Dracula sighed and clicked his tongue.
"Aw, aw, aw," he said. "You had your chance to kill me, Anna. And since you threw it away I won't allow you another opportunity." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her throat. "The spell I just gave you will make it so that no matter how hard you try you won't be able to tell ANYONE about me. Nor will you be able to try and kill me again." Anna looked ready to explode.
"You can't do this to me!" she cried. "I won't let you!"
Dracula laughed as he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He brushed her hair away from her neck.
"It's too late for rebellion, Anna," he whispered soothingly in her ear. "You're already mine. Tomorrow the games will begin. But I will let you rest for now. You seem so tired after the way you were breaking everything."
Anna could feel his spell taking over her as her body grew weak as though her muscles were made of jelly. She relaxed and fell asleep against Dracula. He lifted her into his arms cradling her like a baby against his chest. He smiled against her throat.
"What I wouldn't do just to bite you," he whispered. "But I won't. For now you will be spared."With that Dracula flew out the window of Castle Frankenstein and down to the sleeping village where Anna lived. He slipped into Valerious Manor and delivered Anna to her room. He couldn't resist kissing her beautiful lips before he left.
"Sleep deeply, my love," he whispered. "A long time of adventure awaits you tomorrow!" He materialized out of the manor and was gone.
Just as promised here´s the longer chapter! At first thanx to my first reviewers: Fortune Zyne, HughJackmanFan, Angel of Freedom, Elwyndra and XtheXpowerXofXmusicX! And also thanks to my co-writer for sharing this story with me and letting me post it. You´re awesome! And with the one or other review the next chapter is up soon!