The Bloody Face of Love.

I glanced up at the full, pale moon and wiped a cold sweat from my brow. I wished it wasn't a full moon; it made everything too bright, like daylight. But it wasn't daytime. Daytime was safe - at least, safer. And I was alone at night, not locked behind the safety of my front door. This was my punishment for doing what I knew better than to do. My mother's pleas of being home before sundown echoed painfully in the back of my mind.

I pressed my back into a bush, as deep as the branches would let me, and I panted. Shudders from my terror rolled through my body and it took everything in me not to just start sobbing. I didn't know why I was running, I knew they would find me... They always found their victims. It was almost like they were just playing with me and I wondered if that was what was happening.

I slapped both my hands over my mouth to quiet my breathing when I heard footsteps, calm and slow paced, against the pavement. I closed my eyes and pressed hard against the restraint of the branches, nearly giving up and sobbing when one snapped loudly. The pace of the footsteps never changed.

The quiet thuds stopped and I heard a soft chuckle, tormenting me. "It's so cute how you always try to hide. We always know where you are and no one can escape us." The deep voice made me shake harder and I couldn't stop the tears that started to roll down my cheeks as sobs tried to force through my hands. "Now, child, come out. The game is over and I am done playing."

The game was over? So he had just been toying with me. My throat was so tight that I could barely breathe. I figured I had two choices: I could give up and come out of my hiding place, walk right into the arms of my predator and hope I was shown mercy... Or, despite being told no one could escape, I could run, scream, put up a fight. It was heart-wrenching to think neither had a very good outcome...

"You're trying my patience, child. I know you're back there. Don't make me come get you," he hissed menacingly and I heard his foot tap.

It was now or never. I took a deep breath and rose to my feet, looking my stalker in the face in defeat for a moment before quickly turning on my heel and darting the other way, figuring he'd have to run half way around the bush on his chase after me. My heart pounded against my chest in its own desperate attempt to escape as I ran as fast as I could away from the man gaining on me. I could nearly feel him reaching out for me as he growled angrily, a furious roar in the night that I had heard countless times before from the safety of my bedroom, and I couldn't restrain the scream that ripped from my throat. I gasped as a figured stepped out in front of me and was unable to stop before I crashed into his arms, which he wrapped tightly around me. Strangely enough, this man didn't seem as threatening, though I knew he was working with my assailant.

"You aren't supposed to scare the wits out of her, Mike." His voice was softer with a slight English accent, but contained a disapproving bite. He pet the back of my head tenderly and shook his head as I shook fiercely. "Poor thing. She's so young and pretty... That's why he wants her, no doubt about it." He pulled back and lifted my chin so my eyes met his and he examined me for a moment. A small smile revealed his glinting fangs and I just wanted to collapse and cry, this game taking it's toll on my mental health. Couldn't they just kill me and make me their meal already? This waiting was utterly unbearable! "Alright, Mike. Put her down and we can finish the job."

The man behind me, Mike, cackled quietly and I turned my head to see him retrieve a syringe from his pocket before her began to slowly advance. My eyes widened and I looked up at the man still holding me in his arms. "Please?" I whimpered pleadingly as tears began to spill over again. "I don't want to die." My voice was pathetic, barely a whisper and so shrill it was unfamiliar.

He shook his head slowly and smiled warmly at me. "Put your worries to rest, m'lady." He pet the back of my head and gave the same small, warm smile to me as I felt the pinch of the needle piercing my skin. I winced and slowly began to feel myself slip out of consciousness. The man holding me lifted me up into his arms and leaned his face to my ear, "Goodnight, sweet princess," and I was enveloped in warm darkness.

x-x-x-x-x

My eyes were heavy and I balanced on the thin line of consciousness. I managed to open my eyes, though it was a difficult task, and I surveyed my surroundings. Either I was dead and in heaven or the Daddy Warbucks of goths had just adopted me. The room was all dark colors, mainly black and a deep red; the bed I was laying in was all velvet and silk with a lacy canopy. I touched the blanket, the softest velvet I had ever felt, and I pushed it back to feel the slick, cool silk sheets. I felt dizzy, like part of me was still a hundred miles away, and I didn't know if it was from what ever had been in that syringe or if it was from the morbid beauty of the room I was in.

I must be dead, the vampires killed me and that feeling is that last of my life leaving my body...

It was a depressing thought, but it seemed logical enough. I sighed and slid out of the bed, slowly walking the room to admire it. As I neared a door, I heard music. As I touched the doorknob to exit the room in search of the music calling to me, it twisted in my grasp and was slowly pushed open. I stepped back in confusion and my eyes widened as I saw the vampires from the evening before, Mike now the owner of a gash below his eye. I retreated a few steps in fear, the music seeming all too suiting and I began to wonder if this was just a dream.

"Don't worry, little beauty, we aren't here to hurt you. Just to retrieve you." The kinder of the two smiled warmly at me and half bowed politely. "The master would like to see you." He held his hand toward the door, which Mike stood at the other side of. I eyed him reluctantly for a moment before looking back to the other man. "It's alright, he won't hurt you. His blood wasn't drawn by accident." He held his arm out with a polite smile and I hesitantly linked my arm with it, following him out the door. "The master is very excited to meet you in person."

I looked up at him and seemed to find my voice. "Am I dead?"

He looked at me, almost alarmed, then laughed and shook his head. "Oh, no! You're still very much alive, just feel your pulse. We would've been in a lot of trouble if we had killed you." He smiled warmly once again and I found myself wondering how such a wonderful man could really be a ruthless killer. I cast a slow glance back at Mike, who both looked and acted the part of a merciless vampire. I shuddered and looked forward again. As we neared a door, the music was even louder. "In you go, little beauty." He nodded toward the door, giving me a gentle nudge, "Don't keep him waiting."

I gulped loudly and looked at the large door in front of me. I looked back at the kind gentleman, "Can I ask you something?" He chuckled and nodded, half smiling in amusement. "What's your name?" I was mostly trying to stall, to gain some courage, but I also really did want to know the name of the vampire I liked.

"Lukas Thompson, at your service," he said with another polite bow, a grin on his face. I shuddered a little at the sight of his fangs, just a reminder at what the man truly was, but I couldn't help smiling back. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, m'lady." He nodded his head back to the door when he stood straight, "Now go on, he has waited long enough."

I nodded slowly and turned back to the door. With a deep breath, I pushed my way into the room. The music drifted around me and I found myself in what looked like a giant library or study. My mouth gaped and I looked around to take in everything that was in the room. As the song ended and the pause between it and the next filled the room with silence, I heard quiet footsteps. I turned back toward the middle of the room to see where they came from and saw who I assumed I was supposed to be meeting; the man that had had me brought here, the one referred to as "the master."