The Vampire's Promise

I wasn't quite sure how I hadn't noticed before, but the fabric of the dress was actually rather itchy feeling. It irritated me that I had the urge to scratch every five minutes. How was I going to ignore that tonight?

There was a knock on the door and then Vladimir asked, "Are you ready, Carol?"

I let out a heavy sigh and look at myself one last time in the mirror. My red, messy hair was tied back in a bun, which was unusual to me. I frowned at how I looked in the mirror.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I called back to him, opening the door.

Vladimir's eyes widened when he saw me. I didn't know why he looked so shocked; he had already seen me in the dress.

"What?" I glared at him. He shook his head and gave a small smile.

"You look absolutely stunning," he whispered, holding his hand out to me. I placed mine in his.

"Well, thank you," I said though I was unconvinced. He placed a soft kiss to the back of my hand before leading me away.

As we entered the huge room my stomach began to twist into seemingly unbearable knots. Everything went well, but it wasn't like I was expecting any different. Vladimir had to pass several tests before the man whose name I had forgotten could place the crown on Vladimir's head.

After a bit of laughter and congratulations, Vladimir walked over to me. He smiled at me and I wondered if there was anything wrong with my appearance.

He leaned over and whispered to me, "Looks like they're distracted for now."

"For now?" I lifted an eyebrow at him.

"They're going to speak with me about several things," he moved to step in front of me as soon as music started to play. "Let's worry about them later though. Would you care to dance?" He held his hand out to me.

"You better tell me what you mean by that later," I warned him and placed my hand in his.

"Don't worry." The smile on his face as he lead me to the dance floor made an uneasy feeling blossom in my stomach.

Ignoring the feeling I asked him, "So, how does it feel to be king?"

"It feels great, but..." he trailed off, looking into my eyes as we danced.

"But?" I raised both of my eyebrows. Vladimir leaned closer to me and pressed a kiss to my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

"I'm still not quite a king, just yet," he whispered before pulling back. He was smiling again, although his eyes looked different.

The song ended and he stepped away, bowing, before I could ask him any further questions. I couldn't even chase after him through the crowd; another man had taken my hand and lead me around the dance floor. This was going to be a long night.

The man who had taken my hand had brilliant red hair. His eyes were an unusual color, and he wore a necklace that was about the same color around his neck. He looked oddly familiar.

"Hello, Carol," he whispered, pulling me closer by my waist. I gasped, pushing against his shoulder to try and keep him at a distance.

"Who are you?" I asked him as I squirmed to get away.

"I'd stop struggling if I were you, doll-face," he warned, tightening his grip on my waist.

"O-okay," I stopped pushing and calmed my breathing. I looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed; every person in the room was too focused on their own dance partner. "So, who are you and what do you want?"

"You don't need to know my name, doll-face," he whispered, leaning closer to my ear. "I just want you to say hi to Vlad for me, in a very special way."

He bit down on my ear and I let out a yelp.

"You won't remember any of this," he whispered. I blinked, and suddenly I was alone.

A man with short, dark hair came up to me and asked, "Ma'am, are you okay?" I blinked a few times and shook my head.

"Oh, yes," I told him, looking around. It felt as if I was forgetting something though. "I'm fine."

"Well, then would you like to dance?" he held his hand out to me. A sigh escaped me as I looked down at his hand.

"Sure," I told him, placing my hand in his.

The night seemed to drag on, though I wasn't stuck with the same partner all night at least. I came to see many faces, but it felt as if I had forgotten one of them. Relief moved through me when I came face-to-face with Vladimir again.

"You look a little nervous," he noted, moving me along the dance floor in quick movements; the music that was playing was quicker than any of the other pieces that had played that night. "Or perhaps a little shaken."

"I'm fine," I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Hey, if you're fine, you're fine," Vladimir dropped the worried look and was smiling again.

"So, what did you mean by that earlier? I thought this whole thing was to make you officially king," I gestured about the room with our linked hands. His gaze hardened.

"That's really a discussion to be had in private," he seemed to scold me.

"Then let's get out of here."

Vladimir took one glance about the room before nodding, leading me over to a door. We left through it unnoticed by any others. As soon as the door was shut, Vladimir pulled me away from it.

"I'm still not king because you're not my queen yet," he explained and held my hands. "I'm not going to force you; I can't bite you until you're willing anyway."

"So, you have to bite me to make me your queen?" I asked. "Why can't you just kiss me, like any normal person does in... marriages?" His gaze fell to my lips for a moment before he looked back up into my eyes.

"I've already kissed you," he whispered. "If it worked that way, you'd already be my queen. I have to bite you because... Actually, I'm not really sure; it's just been that way for who knows how long. You don't have to be my queen; I'm already a king in the eyes of my people."

I pulled one of my hands from Vladimir's and placed it on his cheek gently, taking a deep breath. I couldn't deny everything I felt. Wasn't it unnatural? We hadn't known each other for very long.

"You don't have to, Carol," he whispered again. "After this war is over, you can go back to living a normal life."

I bit my bottom lip as I thought. What would a normal life without Vladimir Altair be like? I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his.

"I want to," I whispered when I pulled back. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I had seen a tear roll down Vladimir's cheek in that moment.

His hand slowly covered the hand that was resting against his cheek, and he pressed a kiss to my wrist. I felt his tongue gently touch the skin there before he pulled his face back and leaned close to my neck. I shivered a little.

"Are you really sure about this, Carol?" The question made my heart ache a little.

"Of course," I answered. The hand that had been on his cheek found its way gently into his hair.

My heart skipped a beat when I felt Vladimir's lips against my neck. A small gasp slipped past my lips when his teeth lightly grazed the skin, and I groaned a little when his teeth sank in.

There was no pain after his fangs had punctured the skin of my neck. There was only a strange feeling of being connected to Vladimir in a way that I had never been before, even compared to that day in the library. I shivered again when his tongue ran over the wound on my neck, and gripped him tighter when he took the first pull of my blood.

His grip on me tightened and I sighed, "Vladimir."

Vladimir. I was his queen.