disclaimer: the characters belong to their respective owners. the only thing i own is the story and Ana.

Interlude, pt. II

Rain beat down on the cemetery grounds.

She stared at the mausoleum of the Westenra family for what felt like hours, ignoring the fact that she was preferably soaked by now.
Lucy had been bled before her; she felt slight jealousy towards a now-dead girl, but she knew that was how things had played out in the novel.

Why did it irritate her though? Why still?

"You'll catch your death out here in the rain." A familiar low voice mused at her side as the rain stopped hitting her on the head, briefly surprising her.

She looked up to meet his crimson eyes, noting the umbrella he carried; she slid her eyes closed and sighed. "You bled her on a whim." She mused.

"How did you…?" He could swear the world was growing small around him at this sudden comment, not finding it possible that she knew… How could she know? He didn't even tell her!

She stared at the mausoleum again. "I had a hunch." She answered with a shrug.

Vlad narrowed his eyes slightly, scowling when he followed her line of sight. "Aren't you afraid?"

"I told you before, didn't I? I'm not afraid! I was never afraid of you, Vlad… I'm not afraid of monsters." Ana answered firmly, scowling slightly as well.
"You should be. I killed her, I killed Lucy; isn't that enough to make you wary?" He demanded, turning to her.

She snorted, glad he was still his old self, the old self she had come to love. "I'm not." She amended softly.

He growled then, earning a small glance, glaring into her brown eyes. "Why?" He whispered.

"Because I love you. I love what you are, how you're so kind to me even though you're a monster… I love you, Vlad." She smiled despite the irritation in his eyes, the thin line on his lips that threatened to curl back and show his fangs.

Vlad widened his eyes, continuing to stare at the confident expression on her lovely face; he finally sighed, crimson eyes softening, succumbing to her stubbornness. "God you're a stubborn woman." He mused, taking her hand in his and squeezing. "Come on, I don't wish you to catch your death out here." He beckoned softly, turning away from the mausoleum to take her with him to his hotel.

Ana glanced back at the looming building and then nodded, letting him drag her away.
Will he turn me next?

::::::::d-b::::::::

He looked over at her from keeping an eye on her drying clothes, doing a brief double-take at seeing her wearing his discarded white shirt, noting it came to her lower thighs, concealing her petite form; he bit back a hum of appreciation at the sight, smirking softly.

She huffed, blushing a little at being gawked at, striding confidently past him to take a seat on the edge of the unused bed, letting her legs dangle over the edge, eyes on the fire. "You can stop staring." She noted.

He slid his eyes closed and smirked again, fondly, at her comment, straightening from his seat by the window to sit with her on the bed. "'Fraid I can't do that; to see you walk like a queen is such a lovely sight. Especially wearing nothing but my shirt." He teased, still slightly unused to having her know about what he was, and yet liking the fact that it made them closer.

Ana pouted, smacking his chest with a hand.

Blinking, Vlad scowled slightly at her, rubbing his chest gingerly, "What was that for?"

"I take back what I said about you being a bloody womanizing git." She scoffed, crossing her arms.

He pouted, watching her glance at him and then the stern expression melted to be replaced with an amused smile until she started laughing; he chuckled quietly, soon laughing with her.

Ana wiped a tear of mirth from her eye, smiling fondly, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder; he blinked again in surprise at her affection before calming, sliding his arm around her waist, holding her close.

Vlad brushed some of her hair back idly, noting she was soon sleeping against him, her head drooping to land against his chest; he smiled down at her, combing his fingers through her hair, moving her to lie with her head on the pillows, settling next to her and holding onto her ribs as he let her sleep.

The rain continued outside, beyond the window's protection.

::::::::d-b::::::::

She roused, opening her eyes stiffly, noting the fire had died in the hearth; someone's arm was around her ribs. She cursed slightly, starting to get up before the arm fastened around her, pulling her to a chest, making her blush.

"Go back to sleep." He grumbled, further confirming she'd spent the night at his hotel room.

Ana turned slightly to see his eyes were closed even though a crinkle had formed on his brow, his bangs shielding his eyes, still managing to frame his handsome face nicely; she blushed again. "They're prolly looking for me, at Whitby." She muttered.

A promised girl sleeping around in the hotel room of an eccentric noble… God, she could see the headlines now.

Vlad opened an eye stiffly, his arm squeezing despite her words. "I'll send word that you're staying at your aunt's house in London because of a cold; get some rest, Ana." He insisted quietly.

She froze in opening her mouth to rebut, blushing; she slipped an arm free to brush some hair back from her face. "You've never said my name before." She whispered.

He noted the blush in her cheeks, smiling despite his slight irritation at having awoken during the daylight. "Yet you moan my name in your sleep." He mused.

The blush deepened. "T-that's not fair…" She groused, looking away.

Vlad chuckled quietly, tugging on her borrowed shirt sleeve, kissing the side of her neck slowly, making her tremble. "It's not like I don't find it endearing… I love that you dream of me, Ana mine." He smiled, pulling her into his arms once again.

Ana shivered again even though she didn't feel ill, lifting a hand to stroke his cheek despite the butterflies he created. "You're not a monster. Not to me." She mused, shifting to curl up against him, holding onto his own shirt.

Even though I want to be a monster, too.

dirty jokes aside, it was a slice of hell to try and figure out what the end term was in regards to what came after an interlude.. (ie: prelude, interlude..) i didn't have the patience of course. anywho, the ending is almost in sight, gents. until then, enjoy the story.

later! ;D