Alright, Benders and Non-Benders! Welcome back to another chapter. Before we start, I just wanted to say that I've enjoyed the reviews that I've gotten from you. They help me get motivated and make me feel good about myself. I like to read about your reactions to the story, so I hope you continue to give me feedback. :D Anyway, enough with the A/N, time to continue the story!
The drops of blood fell on the skeletons heart, or what remained of it. As it did, the blood was absorbed within, restoring the beings flesh, her blood flowing, returning her to the land of the living. Laying in the coffin, she seemed like a normal human, the only indication proving otherwise, was her fangs.
Her heart beat, her eyes fluttered open, she saw the crystals lighting the room. How long had it been, since she last saw the moons glow? She didn't know. Neither did she know of how she was brought back. All she knew, was the taste of the blood that brought her back. It was so pure, sweet and fresh, she wanted to taste it again. As these thoughts passed through her mind, she sat up for the first time in so long. However before she could continue with her thoughts, she turned her head at the sound of a commotion nearby.
"You're so dead, I'll leave you here for the rats to munch on." She saw the person threaten a young man, seeing a knife in his hand.
Standing out of the coffin, now on her feet. The woman looked to the young man against the wall. She saw him shift his gaze to meet hers. Her mouth opened slightly, eyes widened just a tad at seeing his own gray eyes. It was like looking into a storm. Her expression became emotionless as she turned her gaze to the young man's aggressor, she saw the man turn to look back at her.
"What the hell?" He asked, but she paid no mind, only one thought was on her mind: Blood.
After so much time of being in a coffin, she realized her need. She wanted to taste the blood that revived her again and satisfy her hunger. However, she was unsure of who's blood it was. Her senses were dull after so much time had passed and lack of nourishment. She needed blood and seeing the aggressor was the closest and the more dangerous threat, decided to take him first. Even though he actually was of no threat, compared to the other, he was.
She began to walk toward them, eyes half-lidded, yet focused on her task, wanting to satisfy her hunger. She heard the aggressor shout out to her, but she paid no mind as she stopped. In a blink of an eye, she stood in front of him. Without wasting a second, she grabbed him and sunk her fangs in his neck. At long last she was able to take blood once again. However, it was not the same as what she had tasted before. Her hunger being to much to bare, she payed no mind to the bitter taste as she continued to drink. Moments had passed until she released the man, allowing him to fall to the floor, lifeless. Tasting the remains of blood in her mouth, she was disgusted. Wiping her mouth, she hadn't had something so retched in a long time.
"Ugh. That was far too bitter, nothing like before." She said, forgetting about the man on the floor. Her gaze turned back to the man against the wall with stormy gray eyes.
Her eyes meeting his own, she could see the fear in them as clear as the crystals above. As she looked in his eyes, she caught a scent. After taking the other mans blood, her strength was returning and her senses were sharper. She followed the sent, her eyes moving to the man's left arm.
Aang wasn't sure of what he could do. He was up against a wall, the woman just feet away from him. He thought of running, but how? She was too fast for the eye to track, she'd catch him easily. She took care of Jet like he was nothing. So he imagined that she was stronger than himself too. Seeing her speed and what she did to Jet, he knew at least one thing: She wasn't human. As these thoughts passed through his mind, the woman appeared just inches away from him. Eyes widen out of shock, he tried to step back, but couldn't due to the wall.
She looked at his arm intently, seeing his blood dripping from his hand that was covering his wound. "You're injured." She stated as she gently put her left hand over his right.
Her hand was soft as she caressed his own, gently taking his right hand off his arm. Aang was surprised, wondering what she was gonna do next. The fear in him still strong, but there was nothing he could do.
After taking his hand away, she saw the cut on his arm and the blood that came from it going down under his sleeve. Using her right hand, she glided her finger just under his wound to take some blood, covering her finger with the red substance. Her eyes now trained on her finger, she could smell the blood more clearly. Bringing it to her lips and tasting it for the second time.
Aang watched as she brought her finger to her lips. He was stunned, she was tasting his blood. He heard her hum approvingly, with a smile forming on her face and eyes now closed. Seeing that she was distracted for a moment, he stepped to the side, moving away while facing her, getting some distance between them. However, just as he was about to get in a defensive stance, he realized something: he couldn't move. He was frozen, not because of his fear, but rather it was like his body no longer obeyed him. Using his eyes, he looked down at his body and tried to move, but he couldn't, he couldn't move his arms, nor his legs, not even turn his head. His gaze shifted to look back at the woman still facing the wall, only to see her eyes still closed, her finger still at her lips, but now her other arm was outstretched in his direction, her hand open, like she was reaching out to him.
"Hmm, so it was your blood that brought me back." She said, it was a statement, rather than a question.
'Brought her back?' Aang thought to himself. However, his thoughts went to having flashbacks of the skeleton for fangs, Aang getting cut by Jet and his blood flying through the air, the woman standing by the coffin, taking out Jet, putting her blood covered finger to her lips and tasting it. All these thoughts raced through Aang's mind, as he came to the answer for a question that hadn't even been asked yet: "You're a vampire." He whispered, though it wouldn't of mattered how quiet he was, she could hear him easily with her heightened senses.
She smiled, turning to face him, her eyes now open. "You figured that out rather quickly, you seem to be smarter than most humans that I've met." She stated, complementing him. Her hand still outstretched to him.
Aang wanted to speak, but he couldn't, feeling that if he spoke the wrong way and offended her, he'd find himself like Jet in moments. He continued to struggle, trying to move his body, but to no avail. His eyes were staring directly into her own, silently questioning her.
"Your eyes are intense, yet filled with confusion and fear." She stated, her smile never wavering. "You may speak, I promise not to hurt you." She told him gently, reassuring him.
"W-Why can't I move?" Aang asked, he had many other questions, but he wanted to go slow, since asking too many at once may get on her nerves.
Her smile widened as she responded. "My kind have a special ability, it allows us to bend a persons body to our will, taking control of it. We call it: Blood Bending." As proof of her answer, she moved her arm, motioning his body to step forward.
Aang's body began to move forward, surprising him. At seeing this, he tried to resist, managing to stop after his first step.
Surprised at this, she motioned his body to move again. However, the man managed to stop himself after the second step. She was amazed to say the least, though she imagined that the only reason for this was due to her lack of strength. She had just awakened after what seemed like years, her hunger still unsatisfied. At this thought, she realized how badly she wanted to drink his blood. The taste had far exceeded the person on the floor just feet away from her and really any before it. However, despite her urges, it was not as overpowering as before. Having taking the blood from the other man, she was able to control her desire.
Her focus returning to the man before her, she smiled. "You're quite impressive, I haven't seen a human who is able to resist my Blood Bending before." She complemented, her hand still outstretched, she began to walk towards him.
Aang's heart was beating so loud and fast, he wouldn't be surprised if she could hear it. She was mere inches from him, just like before. She had lowered her arm, but he still couldn't move. He looked into her eyes, questioning her.
Her smile grew, seeing his questioning gaze. "You're probably wondering why you still can't move, even though I lowered my arm. You see, the closer I am, the stronger my control is. Meaning that I don't have to keep my arm raised at this distance." She explained.
After hearing her explanation, Aang began to take in the information and also realize how close she was. Seeing her up close like this, he began to sport a blush. Despite being fearful of her, he couldn't ignore how beautiful she was. Her long wavy hair, dark skin, ocean blue eyes, if it wasn't for the situation, he'd probably try asking her to go sledding with him. You know, if there was some snow in the month of October.
She was having similar thoughts herself, seeing the man up close like this. She found him to be cute, with his short black hair, slightly tanned skin, gray eyes, she kept her smile on and found herself looking him up and down. Realizing this, she snapped back to reality. Her thoughts going back to how she was brought back and the questions that followed. Getting her thoughts together, she asked. "What is your name?"
At hearing her voice, Aang snapped back to reality as well. Though he didn't know what she had asked him, responding. "P-Pardon?" His blush becoming more crimson colored.
She brought her hand to her face, giggling. "What is your name?" She repeated herself.
"A-Aang." He responded, hoping to be on her good side, as he tries to figure a way out.
"Aang." She repeated, finding it nice and soothing, she liked it.
"I have some questions, will you answer them?" She asked gently, trying to ease his mind.
Aang didn't expect her to be kind. For a vampire, he expected her to be cold, menacing, but she wasn't. She was completely calm, with a smile on her face. Despite the things he saw her do and her having control over his body at the moment, he felt his fear diminish slightly. However, he knew that this didn't mean he was safe. After all, after her questioning, she could easily end his life and move on from there. Even so, he didn't have much of a choice.
"Okay" He answered, waiting for her questions.
"What is the date?" She asked, her voice still gentle.
Aang wasn't surprised to hear that question, he imagined that she was in that coffin for a long time and didn't know how much time had past. "It's October 22nd, 2020. Though it's probably the 23rd now." He answered, trying to be as calm as possible.
At hearing his answer, she was surprised, her eyes widened. 'I've been dead for three hundred years!' she thought to herself. At this realization, her attention returned to Aang. "So much time has passed. It's a little hard to believe I've been gone for so long." She said, keeping her control over him.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued with her questioning. "How did you come to find my resting place?" She asked, wondering what brought him here.
Aang explained his story, though only telling her of his encounter with Jet and running from him, he didn't say the reason for the encounter.
"I see, well it's a good thing he won't be bothering you anymore." She said, smiling at him.
Though at hearing her words, Aang looked to where Jet laid. His eyes saddened, true he didn't like Jet, but he didn't want him dead. As this thought came to mind, Aang thought about what she was going to do to him.
At her words, she saw Aang shift his gaze, seeing his eyes sadden. Knowing he was looking at Jet, she wondered why he would be sad for someone who had attacked him. Though before she could continue her train of thought, Aang spoke.
"A-Are you going to k-kill me?" He asked, hesitantly, dreading the answer to come.
He saw her eyes widen in surprise, he wondered why she would be surprised by his question. Than again, maybe she wasn't used to people asking that, since they'd probably panic instead of asking her. He didn't think too much on it, as he saw her surprised face turn back to a small smile.
"Actually, I thought we could play a game." She suggested, with a sort of devious look in her eyes.
Aang was confused by this, what game did she have in mind. Not that he wasn't one for games, not meaning to brag or anything but Aang would fancy himself as quite the player in Duel Monsters. Anyway, on top of that, what would playing a game do for her. She had him locked in place ready to kill him, though maybe she didn't want to. After all she did just have a 'meal' thanks to Jet.
Seeing the confusion on his face, the woman decided to explain. "Here's how the game works. Once I release you, I'll stay here and give you three minutes to run and hide. You may go wherever you wish within the castle. Once those three minutes are up, I'll try to find you." She finished with a bit of a cheerful smile, as she released her control over him.
Once he was able to move, Aang just stood their, shocked. He couldn't believe she had let him go and had decided to play a game of hide 'n' seek.
"What's wrong? You have three minutes, I suggest you get going." She said, her smile not wavering.
His eyes went from hers to the ground. "I don't know how to get out of here." He told her, referring to the massive room they were in below the castle.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think about that." She said, a bit sheepishly. She pointed towards the other side of the room. "You'll find a set of stairs heading back up to the castle. There will be a book shelf at the bottom, just tilt the third book on the second row and the door at the top of the steps will open for you." She explained, hoping the mechanism will still work after so long. Otherwise, this whole situation may be awkward.
Before heading to the stairs, Aang's curiosity got the better of him. "Why are you doing this? What do you get out of playing a game with me?" He asked,he didn't know why he asked, since he has a chance to escape and all, but he wanted to know.
"Think of it as a 'thank you' for bringing me back." She answered simply, with her smile intact, though he wasn't really convinced by that answer, mainly due to the devious look in her eyes from before. He felt like there was another reason for doing this. Seeing that it was unlikely he would get a better answer, he took off heading for the steps.
Arriving at the steps, he saw the book shelf. Turning the third book on the second shelf, he heard from up top an entrance opening. He looked up to see that there was light coming from the top. Smiling, Aang bolted up the steps, arriving at a different room in the castle, it seemed to be some kind of a sacred room. There was a lower level of the room where there were rows of benches, facing the front of the room where he stood. Behind him was a symbol, it was of two fish, circling each other. Not wanting to dwell on it since he was under a time limit, he ran out of the room and into a hallway. Running down the hall, he recognized the paintings that littered the walls. Aang had a good memory, using that he was able to figure out the hallways he used to run from Jet, finding the path back to the front entrance of the castle.
'If I could make it to the doors and get out of the castle back to town, I'll be home free!' He thought to himself, determination strengthening his legs to move faster.
He made it to the front of the castle with little time left. However before he decided to celebrate, he saw a problem: The doors were closed shut.
How could the doors be shut? He forced them open when Jet was chasing him! He doubted Jet took the time to shut them. There was no way the woman shut them either, since three minutes weren't up yet and that he would have at least noticed her or that she would be here waiting for him. Deciding not to dwell, Aang grabbed hold of the handles to open the doors. However, the doors would not open, no matter how hard he tried to pull them back. It was like they were locked or sealed by some kind of other worldly force.
At this realization, he knew of one thing: Three minutes have passed.