Chapter 32

"The game is over, Anna," hissed the Count. "I've captured you! If you run again I will whip you until you are covered in blood!"

Anna tried to get up but the stinging from the wound on her back made her stop. She took a number of deep breaths before nodding her head.

"Fine," she whispered. "You win, Dracula." Anna whimpered as pain shot through her.

Dracula smiled and threw away his whip. Anna lay still as he came over and picked her up. Blood covered his hands and smeared onto his cloths. He seemed unfazed by it, Anna guessed it had happened before when he went out to feed.

"I've lost more blood than if you had bitten me," the gypsy girl said.

"I doubt it," said Dracula. "I would have taken more than this."

"I don't believe you," said Anna.

Dracula stopped. "Is that so?" he said. "Shall I prove it?" He pushed her hair away and folded down her collar.

"Don't do this," Anna whispered weakly. "I don't want to be bitten!"

"Then relax," whispered Dracula as he put her under his spell. "This might change your mind."

The whip wound traveled from the small of her back up to the back of her neck. Dracula leaned down and pressed his lips against the wound. He drank a few drops before pulling away and breaking the spell.

"What did you do?" asked Anna.

"I fed with out using my fangs," said Dracula as he materialized into Anna's room. "You're fortunate that I'm not that hungry." He laid Anna on the bed. "Do you want the be healed of your wound?" Anna nodded. "Then do as I say."

Dracula had her roll on her stomach. Reluctantly she allowed him to lift up the back of her shirt so he could get to the wound.

"Relax," whispered the Count.

He rubbed all over her back, collecting blood on his hand as he did. Dracula whispered a spell, where his hand touched the wound, it disappeared. But even after it was gone the Count continued rubbing Anna's back in soothing circles. She accepted it, feeling exhausted from the sword fight and then the chase.

After ten minutes of silence Anna broke it. "Was that dream real, or made up?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Dracula. His hand felt smooth on her skin.

"That dream where my family was laughing at me for being weak," said Anna, feeling soothed by his touch. "It seemed as though they didn't care about what you were doing to me. They were jumping around laughing and dancing, telling me not to cry. Was that real, or did you make it up to try and break me?"

Dracula continued with his gentle rubbing. He reached out and stroked Anna's bloodstained hair. The blood would wash off once she bathed, yet while it clung to her it made her seem beautiful to him. He smelled it and sighed.

"Ninety nine percent of it was just a spell," explained Dracula. "Your family would never mock you for being in this kind of situation. The only thing that they were really concerned about was when they said that you might have feelings for me."

Anna would have jumped up, but she remained still. "I can't have feelings for you, Dracula," she said. "You don't really love me in the first place."

"And what makes you think that?" asked Dracula.

"If you loved me then you wouldn't whip me in order to get me to calm down," said Anna.

"But I healed you afterwards," protested Dracula.

"The fact still stands," she said. "You swear your love, yet you are not afraid to hurt me. That's a poor excuse." Dracula would have said something but she went on.

"I'm not surprised anyway. No one loves me. Whether it was a trick or not my family showed no love in that dream, and if I didn't work so hard to defend the people in my village they wouldn't show some compassion for me. And you're no different, Dracula. You only love to torture me with your spells and games. You don't really love me for who I am."

Dracula gently turned Anna over and lifted her by her shoulders. She looked as though she was about fall asleep, but the Count pressed his index finger against her temple, making her wide awake.

"So you think I'm some low life who doesn't really care about you, Anna?" asked Dracula.

"Yes," said Anna. "And that's all you'll ever be."

Dracula hissed as he stroked her face. "Allow me to differ, my princess," he whispered before shutting her mouth with a strong kiss.