Chapter Text
Annette was being followed.
That much she was sure of. She just didn’t know what was following her.
She’d been warned that these woods were massive and that it would take several days for her to get to the other side, but it was the only way to get where she needed to go for her mission. She’d come all the way across the ocean for this; she wasn’t about to let a few days trek alone in a dark forest stop her now.
But knowing this didn’t change the fact that something was following her. And it was getting closer.
She’d encountered many a beast before back in Saint Domingue and here in the Old World, but this didn’t feel like either of them. Whatever it was was careful, but persistent. It didn’t seem to be losing interest, instead getting more bold in how close it could get to her. She needed to act before it did.
Annette slowed her pace, listening intently as she tried to lure her stalker out. Leaves rustled despite the air staying still; it was close. She knelt down, as if to tighten the laces of her boots, instead pulling iron from the earth to form twin machetes in her hands. As a branch snapped behind her, she spun towards her pursuer, and froze before she could lash out her weapons.
It was a wolf. A rather large one, standing at half her height, with rich brown fur and unearthly blue eyes. She’d only seen them in books before back in Saint Domingue. This one seemed much different from the ones she’d read about. Larger, quieter, and more clever. She’d also thought they travelled in packs, but this one was alone.
Hunting her alone.
She released the breath she was holding. Being hunted by a hungry beast was the least of her worries.
“Look somewhere else for an easy meal, wolf,” she said while standing, “I’d rather not have to hurt an innocent animal.”
It didn’t seem to blink, eyes locked with hers, listening. Its ear twitched, and it took a step forward. Her eyes narrowed, and she lanced a machete forward to land right in front of its paw.
“That is my last warning.”
It didn’t try to approach her again, but it also didn’t retreat. Annette held her ground and then sighed, reaching into her satchel.
“Fine,” she said, “If you’re going to be so difficult…”
It watched her warily, stepping back again as she tossed some dried meat rations in front of it, sniffing it with surprise.
“Take my dinner then, and leave me be, beast,” she said, exasperated, giving it a half smile. “I have a feeling you won’t give up before you get what you want.”
The beast’s eyes seemed to gleam, almost aglow in the light from above, startling her. But then it took the meat with its mouth and dashed away, disappearing back into the forest.
Annette gave a sigh of relief. She hated being followed - it felt like she was always being bloody followed - so she was pleased that this threat was so easily resolved.
She smiled as she continued her journey, hopeful that the rest of her trek would be as simple.
-
It wasn’t until later that Annette realized that what she’d thrown to the wolf had been the last of her rations, not just her meal for that day, which meant she’d have to hunt.
She used her iron magic to set a trap, catching a rabbit without harming it. As the small thing panicked, she approached, grabbing its body and raising her machete. Hesitating, she frowned.
“I’m sorry, little thing,” she said sadly, “But I also thank you.”
The rabbit was not comforted by this, still squirming fearfully in her grasp. She winced; she hated this part, but steadied herself to make the killing blow. But just as she was about to strike down, she heard a voice.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to torment your food?”
It felt as if the voice was trailing cold fingers up her spine, alighting something deep and instinctual that yelled at her to flee. The rabbit in her grasp must have felt similarly, squirming away from her in a panic. She looked up to find ethereal blue eyes glowing amongst the shadows, before a tall man stepped out of the darkness as if he'd been a part of it. His eyes gleamed, flashing a fanged grin.
“Me neither,” he said in answer to himself, baring a clawed hand in threat.
Annette stood, machete raised. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“Oh, little deer, all alone in the woods.” He shook his head while leisurely walking a circle around her, voice oddly playful .“You should be more careful after running into a wolf.”
His eyes gleamed, and he winked. Annette’s breath caught. The wolf from before, it had been him. She wasn’t being hunted by a mere animal.
She was being hunted by a monster.
“You’re not human…” Her eyes narrowed, following him carefully. “And I can see hunger in your eyes.” Her grip on her machete tightened. “I will not be your prey.”
“Oh?” he asked, his face suddenly turning soft and innocent, a deception that seemed well-practiced. “But what if I’m just a lost traveler in the woods, seeking your aid?”
She glanced at where the rabbit had fled, then back to the wide blue eyes.
“I trust the fear of that rabbit more than the words of a grinning wolf.”
The innocence fell from his face with a dark grin. “Good. I like my meals clever.”
Blue flame erupted between them, and she shielded her eyes from the brightness and heat. When it dissipated, he’d disappeared, but she could hear him somewhere nearby. A rustle of leaves, a crunch of gravel, a beguiling laugh. The bastard was playing with his food.
Annette spun as soon as she felt a gust on the back of her neck, trapping her stalker against a tree as she pinned a Christian cross against him, just caught by his hand. Her iron cross sizzled against his gloves, but not by much, and ice quickly formed over his hand to block even that. His striking face, lit by sunlight breaking through the trees, only grinned instead of bursting into flame as she’d expected. He tightened his grip, and the metal started to bend, being crushed in his hold. He was strong.
“Are you not a vampire?” she asked, eyes narrowing, “What are you?”
“Close,” he answered mirthfully, before moving so fast she couldn’t see him, suddenly behind her as he whispered in her ear. “But not close enough.”
She whipped around, an iron stake tearing through where his heart should have been, were he not now a swarm of brown bats. They flew up and just out of reach, reforming to reveal him sitting on a branch above and watching her, highly entertained.
“I’m a dhampir. So half vampire,” he mused with a grin, “Father was a vampire, mother was a human. I’m very rare.” He snapped his fingers, igniting a blue flame to dance above his fingers, the light glinting off of his sharp fanged teeth. “And very dangerous .”
Annette glared up at him, greatly unimpressed as she raised her iron stake again.
“Whatever you are,” she said, dismissing his monologue, “I’m sure you can die.”
She flung her weapon forward, turning it into twin spinning machetes, but he simply fell back on the branch, hanging from his legs and grinning at her.
“Close, witch, but not enough.” He stuck out his tongue in mocking. She clenched her hands, bringing the machetes spinning back and slicing through the branch. That caught him off guard, but he twisted easily in the air to right himself. He landed frustratingly gracefully on his feet before leaping at her, blue flame licking at his heels.
She just brought the iron back to her in time as a shield to block his grasp, sparking as his sharp claw-like nails made contact. He struck again with a high kick, the force of his metal-tipped boot knocking her back onto the ground under her shield. He brought his foot down onto the shield with his full weight, pinning her beneath him.
“You look good beneath me,” He purred, grinning wickedly.
“Ugh, die monster!” she shouted in anger, getting her feet up and under the shield, to kick him off with all her strength and magic. It sent him flying up into the trees, followed by a flash of blue flame. She quickly rolled out of the way to dodge as he launched himself back down, the ground cracking beneath his fists as he landed.
He prepared to pounce again, but she quickly brought her fists down, bringing the iron down from the air above to crash down on to him, pinning him to the earth. She then threw up a cloud of dust before turning to run, sprinting as fast as she could.
She had outrun so many monsters before, but this dhampir… He was too strong. Too fast. She wasn’t sure if she could beat him. She had to figure out a way to outwit him before he caught her.
A whip cracked out through the dust, wrapping around the leather around her waist, and she was suddenly torn backwards. Snatched off of her feet and back into the hunter’s grasp, his iron grip clutched her in a cruel semblance of an embrace.
"Oh, you’re fun ,” he said with a smile. The faux-innocent face was back, his blue eyes bright and delighted and his voice mirthful. “Silly little deer, why are you trying to run? You know I’ll catch you.”
She grimaced and pushed against his chest, but it was like pushing against a stone wall, his muscled arms around her felt like being gripped by a statue. “Y-you… release me-!”
“Shhhh, no need to fight,” he said softly, as if soothing her, his eyes glowing bright as his clawed thumb brushed against her cheek. Then his fangs grew long and sharp before her eyes, his voice deepening, low and dangerous, “Now be a good girl, and give in.”
His hand slipped from her face to the back of her neck, gripping into her hair as he pulled her head back to bear her throat to him. He licked over his fangs, breath catching, and leant his head down. Annette’s palms tingled, trying to summon her magic, but she could feel his breath on her skin, his lips on her neck, the pinprick of fangs-
Her fists clenched, and iron shot up and around her neck, forming a collar of protection engraved with patterns of the Christian cross. His mouth connected with the metal and he recoiled immediately, releasing her as his lips pulled back in disgust.
“Fuck!” He hissed, lips sizzling, the lines of a cross burning on his tongue, "Shit, I’m never going to get that taste out of my mouth.”
She took advantage of his disarray and kicked his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground. She raised her arm, summoning a spear and struck down right before it pierced his heart.
His eyes went wide, taken completely off guard. She pressed the spear down, letting it prick through his clothing and into skin. She reached into her satchel, and threw sparkling dust in her face. He sputtered, aghast and bewildered, and her eyes widened as the dust turned a soft blue.
The blue of an ally. Impossible. But she had promised her mentor to follow the magic’s guidance. Still, her rage simmered.
“I want to kill you. You need to know that.” She glared, eyes burning with her threat. “But not today, dhampir. Not now.”
She stood back, and he wiped at the dust in his face, his previous threatening tone now more of an incredulous whine.
“What the hell was that?” he asked indignantly, moving to stand and follow her, but she threw the spear high in the air then brought it down on his ankle, piercing right through it and deep into the earth before forming a shackle, pinning him there.
“Fuck! H-hey! Release me!” he snarled, furious. Instead, she pulled as much metal from the earth as she could, bringing it down in the form of a cage of iron crosses around him. As he hissed and seethed, she turned and left, continuing her journey.
“I’m not here for you,” she called back, “I’m here on a mission.”
And with another cloud of dust, she made to disappear for good.
-
“Richter, is my name.”
“I did not ask.”
“No, but I’d prefer you say ‘Die, Richter’ instead of ‘Die, monster’ next time you try to almost maybe kill me.”
He smiled at her, giving a playful boyish grin. She didn’t trust it for a second.
He’d found her frustratingly quickly, it only taking him a day to track her down, and he’d seemed to have thrown away any pretense of staying hidden and now matched her stride. He was insistent on intruding into her space as much as he could. His ankle seemed to have fully healed from the day before, but she had spotted the imprint of the cross still on his tongue. It gave her some small satisfaction.
“Are you not going to tell me your name now? I’m sure it’s lovely.”
He was acting worryingly friendly, smiling easily and speaking with casual charm and wit. It was unsettling, and she couldn’t understand what game he was playing. But she had just barely escaped him before, so she decided it was best to play along. No need to provoke a wolf that’s already nipping at your heels.
“What was that dust you threw before? I thought it might be some new poison, but alas, I’m still breathing. So not good poison, at least. And just how are you controlling metal like that?”
She was resolute in ignoring his questions, but she couldn’t ignore him completely. He’d proven himself a true threat so she had to keep a close eye on him, especially with him acting so unpredictably.
“Do you really think it’s necessary to wear that iron around your neck? It can’t be comfortable. I could get you gold instead. Would you like that? It’d be much better with your complexion.”
He kept looking at her and smiling, which was a problem, because he was unfortunately incredibly handsome, and he seemed to very much know it. It took some effort for her to look away from his bright blue gaze when she met it; was this some kind of vampiric charm? A glamour? When he smiled, he didn’t look like the monster who had tried to steal her away the day before, as much as she tried to see it. His beauty made her not want to see it in him at all.
When she met his gaze again, his eyes flashed bright and she quickly looked away, touching at the iron band around her own neck for security. He made a disapproving noise beside her, stepping closer as he matched her pace.
“Come now, take off that silly thing around your neck, it must be heavy.” He tutted, then smiled with a voice like honey, reaching out a hand to brush a few locs behind her ear. “It’s hiding your beautiful features.”
She flinched at the touch, sidestepping quickly to maintain distance, and kept her stride resolutely forward. Most men would have lost a hand for that, but she was being cautious. She redirected the conversation. “You’re a dhampir, yes? Do they even need to drink blood?”
“Need? No. Want?” His pupils narrowed to pinpricks as he looked her over, like a predator eyeing their next meal. “Very much so yes.” He grinned, fangs glinting in twilight. “When the prey is just irresistible.”
There was the ravenous beast from the day before. Her eyes narrowed. “So you are hunting me.”
He blinked and the easy smile was back, speaking casually as if they were sharing a joke, “I mean, at a quite leisurely pace, nothing unsightly. And I don’t drink enough to kill. Usually.”
“How chivalrous.”
He chuckled, before overtaking her stride to step in front and cut off her path, using his height to loom over her as he leaned in close. His blue eyes were glowing bright, and despite her best efforts, she found she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
“Now truly, it’d feel so much better to take that collar off….” His fingers were suddenly under her chin, tilting her head up so he could look over her appraisingly. He sighed, “You are so beautiful.” His thumb traced across her bottom lip. “You’ll make a lovely meal.”
The glow of his eyes; it was some kind of magic he was using against her. There was almost a melody in his voice, like a hypnotic lilt. Is that why she wasn't pulling away from his touch? She could feel herself lean into him further instead, and his grin widened.
“See? It’d be so easy to just give yourself to me. Give in, let me have you.” His fangs were growing longer, an inhuman growl rumbling deep in his chest. “Let me devour you, little deer.”
“I…” She felt breathless, lost in the deep blue pools. Why shouldn’t she give herself to him?
“So if you’d just remove this collar…” Richter reached for the metal collar, only to flinch back as a blade shot out of it, slicing off his middle finger. He hissed in shocked pain, which was thankfully enough for Annette to break out of his enchantment.
And form iron knuckles on her hand as she punched him in the face, crosses embedded in her weapon. He stumbled back, hissing as his face sizzled and hand bled, fangs bared and eyes flashing angrily. His beautiful face became monstrous, breathtakingly in its danger.
"Fine ,” he snarled, spitting out blood onto the grass, cracking his neck. He shook his hand and it fully reformed the lost finger, healed before her eyes. “I’ve tried to make it easy, I’ve tried to play nice.” His face darkened further as his voice dropped to an inhuman growl. “Next time, I won’t.”
Then he leapt up into the treeline, his jacket transforming into devilish wings as he disappeared into the darkening sky.
Annette watched after him, the iron knuckles falling from her loose grip. She raised a trembling hand to her lips where his touch had been. She needed to find shelter for the night and to ensure that he was truly gone, but she didn’t trust herself to move with how weak she felt in her knees. Be it the magic or some other allure, for a moment, she had wanted to give herself to him, to give him everything.
This dhampir, Richter , had been right. He was very dangerous.
-
Despite his threat, he seemed to disappear.
She found herself flinching at any movement in the shadows, but they remained empty of the dhampir. She hoped she’d finally gotten some good luck, if at least for a short while.
Except that Annette was being followed again. By several entities. Vampires. They unsurprisingly became a burning red when her dust touched them. The colour of danger. Enemies. Evil.
They were too careless, too noisy, for them to have been Richter. Yet they soon had her surrounded and captured in a shallow lake. She’d fought well, halving their numbers on her own, but the stress of the past few days had worn on her. She’d gotten careless too.
And now, two vampires had her trapped kneeling in shallow water as a third raised a gun at her head, with more of the fiendish goons standing by to watch. She’d come so far, she’d fought so hard, and yet, she knew this wasn’t a fight she could win.
Then, she heard a furious voice ring out from the forest.
“Don’t fucking touch her!”
With a sudden crack of a whip and a spray of blue flame, the gun wielding vampire’s head flew off, landing with a splash behind her. Just as quickly, Richter leaped in to kick down the body, pouring a massive blue flame from his hand to engulf the surrounding goons.
Annette’s eyes widened, but she didn’t hesitate to use the distraction, drawing the earth from beneath her captors to rise up and then swallow them back down, entombing them.
She stood, prepared to fight the rest, only to see Richter tear his ice-clawed hand out from the last vampire’s chest. He had decimated them. As the body fell, Richter turned, eyes bright and snapping to her, filled with rage. She froze in his gaze, in the blue fire of his eyes.
"You,” he hissed as he stalked towards her, leaving spiked ice in his wake. “Those filthy-” he spit out the word, fuming, "-leeches don’t get to touch you, understand?”
Richter reached out his clawed hand, gripping the front of her vest and lifting her off the ground with a worrying amount of ease. She wanted to fight, but she could barely even twitch her hands, captured in the bright burning blue of the dhampir's enraged gaze. His voice was a deep growl, like gravel, speaking through lengthened fangs, ringing with possessiveness.
“I claimed you . You are mine. ”
Annette couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, yet she spotted movement in her periphery. And with a sudden snap, a tentacle-like tongue cracked through the air and wrapped around the dhampir’s neck, before pulling him back whip-fast right off his feet.
Annette fell as he released his hold in shock. Disoriented and coughing in the shallow water, she broke out of her trance to sounds of fighting and violence nearby. She looked up, whipping her wet locs out of her face, only to find Richter pinned beneath a horrific night creature. He was struggling, stabbing it repeatedly with an ice spike on his fist, but the creature wasn’t even slowing down.
Annette stood, mind racing. She could run. She could take this opportunity and be free of him and continue her mission. She took a step back, until hearing Richter’s pained cry, the monster shoving a sharpened tentacle through his arm and into his gut, blood dripping from his mouth.
No more innocent blood shed. Her mentor’s words rang in her ears, in her heart, in her blood. She’d been saved from the fate of a quick death from the end of a long gun by him, and as she saw the man’s wide eyes filled with genuine fear, her body reacted on its own.
She ran, lungs burning, hands shaking as she drew as much iron as she could from her surroundings, then leapt into the air. She gripped a sharp iron spear as it formed in her hands and brought it down clean through the night creature's chest, stopping just before piercing the dhampir's chest as well. Then, with a sharp spin, she turned the spear into a machete and sliced upwards, cutting up the creature’s body to slice its head in two, ensuring that it was truly dead.
A torrent of blood poured onto the half-vampire, then the creature’s body fell on top of him, dead.
She panted tiredly, turning to walk back to the shore, back on her journey. She’d done what needed to be done, feeling some semblance of peace in that fact. But that peace was quickly broken by the sound of a body splashing into the water followed by rushed footsteps approaching her.
“Hey! Hey!” In a blink, Richter was in front of her, blue flames licking at his heels. He shouted, incredulous, “What the hell was that?!”
All smoothness to his movement and honey in his voice had disappeared, leaving a rawer, more exposed version of the dhampir that Annette had yet to see. He was limping, injured arm clutched to his bleeding gut. He was also completely covered in the night creature’s blood, marring his pretty face, hair, and fine clothes, but he barely seemed to notice.
More worryingly, his blue eyes were bright with magic, and she looked away quickly, at his hands. She spotted that his regrown finger was paler than the rest of him. Good. She crossed her arms as she answered him tiredly, “Is ‘thank you’ so hard?”
“Why did you save me?” He countered back, fists clenched. “Yeah, I probably would’ve dodged its killing blow, but I’m quite sure you just saved my life.”
She didn’t answer, turning her gaze to look resolutely off into the woods. He growled, frustrated. and stepped into her line of sight, but she turned her head again.
“W-what?! Hey! ” He insisted, baffled, “Why won’t you look at me?!”
“Why do you want me to?” she asked, voice low with anger, “So you can use your vampiric glamour on me again?”
He stepped back, giving a mirthless laugh. She heard him murmur, “Noticed that, did you?” He huffed, “Look, I’m not going to do that again, I-“
“Why would I trust you?”
“Because-!” He started, then couldn’t finish. He growled, frustrated. “I guess you shouldn’t, really.” He seemed to think for a moment, before adding, “I did technically save you first.”
“You made it quite clear it was because you didn’t want someone else to steal your claim .” She kept her gaze on the shallow water below them, watching the ripples he made when he shifted his stance. “Didn’t you?”
She could hear his voice catch in his throat, and then nothing. She nodded, resigned, taking his silence as his answer, and stepped away to leave the shallow lake and him behind.
When she reached the dry banks and glanced behind herself, he was gone.
-
“So what are you, exactly? You’re obviously a witch, but where did you come from? What are you doing here? What‘s your name?”
Despite what Annette had thought was a very conclusive interaction, Richter hadn’t stayed away for long. In fact, he’d ambushed her the very next day after the encounter with the vampires.
“Look.” He’d said, dropping down in front of her to hang upside from a branch above, waving his hand in front of his eyes. “No glow. No magic. No glamour. Alright? Let’s call a truce.”
He’d tossed her a ring, which she caught on instinct. It was intricately engraved silver, something old and priceless looking, and it had a small gem embedded within it that was the same blue as the dhampir’s eyes.
“As long as that’s in your possession, my glamour won’t work on you.” His eyes had glowed bright and he’d leaned forward, his voice as smooth as silk, “Kiss me.”
Instead, the ring he’d given her glowed and she’d punched him in the face, easily. He’d blinked, spit out blood, then smiled. “See? You completely resisted. Truce?”
She’d punched him again before agreeing. It could be some sort of trick, but with her current fatigue, she didn’t have another option. She didn’t trust him, but not having to constantly try and behead him for her own safety was a blessing.
Richter now walked beside her so casually, talking as if nothing had happened between them. All of his aggression seemed to have dissipated into thin air, though she still caught possessive glances from the dhampir when he thought she wasn’t looking.
“So just where are you going? And why? Not many people come to these woods, you know.”
“Is this how you torment your food?” she asked cooly, “By interviewing them?”
“Ha,” he laughed without mirth before continuing to ramble on, “But seriously, you really held your own in that fight. You’re quite strong.” He stayed silent for a few more steps before saying with wonder, “You saved my life.”
She chanced a look at him, his eyes wide and curious, before shaking her head. “You saved mine, I saved yours. We owe each other nothing.”
“Yes, but why, though?” He pressed. “You seemed very keen on the idea of me perishing before that.”
“Because I think you’re wretched, ” Annette said with full venom in her voice, and his nose wrinkled, brows furrowed. She added, “But not evil. The dust proved that much.”
The magic dust given to her by her mentor to help her tell allies from enemies. There had already been so much blood spilt in Saint Domingue, she and her fellow maroons had sworn not to kill any who weren’t evil. And somehow, it had marked this depraved dhampir as an ally.
“I’ve killed vampires, slave masters, night creatures,” she recounted, “No dhampirs. Yet.” He sucked at his teeth in disapproval, but she continued, “But I refuse to kill any innocents.” She looked at him with contempt. “Or… whatever it is you are, I suppose.”
“I’m honoured, really,” he said in reply, rolling his eyes, before ranting once more, “I’m definitely not. By the way. Evil. My mother, the human? She was a vampire hunter. I’m from a line of them, and I’m committed to ridding the world of their evil.”
“That, and stalking lone women in the woods.”
“Well.” He laughed in his throat. “One needs a hobby. Killing vampires is fun, but it’s only the most fun you can have with your clothes on. ”
Her heart rate jumped and weakness struck her knees at his words, almost stumbling, and she could see him grin wide in her peripheral vision. She tried to hide any reaction on her face, but his expression shifted, pupils shrinking as he looked at her like a predator once again, possessive and hungry.
“You know, I can hear your heartbeat,” he taunted, “Even if you try to hide it, your heart cries to me about how you really feel. What you really want,” He leaned in closer, to whisper in her ear, voice low and heated, “Little deer.”
At that extremely inopportune moment, her stomach growled loudly. She immediately stopped her pace in utter mortification, hiding her blushing and aghast face. He turned away, covering his mouth to try and stop from laughing, failing terribly.
“Maybe you’ve got some less fun needs to handle first.” He looked around to their surroundings before saying in a teasing tone, “You best hunt something soon before everything hides away for the night.” He grinned, flashing his fangs. “Or a wolf gets you instead.”
But Annette continued walking forward, undeterred. Richter quickly caught up to her, giving a confused tilt of his head. “Hey, I wasn’t kidding, you know. It’s nigh impossible to catch anything once the sun goes down.”
“I need to make up distance today,” she said with a shake of her head, “I can go another day without a meal.”
“Another day…?” She heard him quietly remark and stop, thinking, before seemingly putting it together. “Ah, I did ruin your last hunt, didn’t I?” His frown increased, murmuring to himself, "How long ago was that…?”
Suddenly, his head perked, whipping to look deeper into the forest and following some sound she couldn’t hear. His eyes narrowed with a frown, arms crossed, seeming to think something over.
“Found someone else to torment?” she asked. He grimaced at her, eyes sharp.
“Funny,” he said, voice low.
Then in a blink, he was gone, leaning back into the darkness and melting into it.
-
Three rabbits were tossed on to the spare wood Annette had collected for a fire at her camp for the night. They were clean kills, as if they’d been killed quickly with a knife or shiv, and they’d even been skinned already. Her eyebrows rose, and she looked up to see Richter leaning against a tree, looking away and trying to seem very nonchalant.
“Here,” he said dismissively, “Did some target practice. I don’t need them.”
Annette looked at the rabbits again. They were very intentionally killed, not piercing any of the good meat. He remained silent as she inspected them, but she could feel the weight of his gaze on her.
“This meat is good,” she said, seeing the dhampir relax slightly in her periphery. Then she tutted, saying sadly, “It’s a shame, though. If I had some mushrooms, I could make a nice stew.”
She looked up again, catching him looking off into the woods, nose twitching, scenting the air. She made sure to look away when he glanced her way again, before stepping away and out of sight.
By the time he returned, Annette had prepared the meat, made a pot out of clay and filled it with water, hung it over the fire to cook, and was now adding some spice and seasoning that her mentor had sent with her. So some small part of home was with her. And with how ravenous she was feeling, she couldn’t be more grateful.
When he placed an admittedly impressively large handful of mushrooms in front of her, her eyes narrowed with scrutiny. “Poisoning me this way would be cowardly.”
Richter huffed, rolling his eyes and dusting off his hands. “Yes, I can smell poison, thank you. These are fine.” He strode off to sit at a long log nearby, looking away as he murmured, “And poisoned blood tastes so bitter anyway.”
She hummed at his words, forming a sharp knife to slice at the mushrooms. They’d already been washed. “Hm, never thought I’d meet a blood sommelier.” She heard him snort, almost a laugh, adding the mushrooms to the stew before she asked, “Do dhampirs eat food?”
He cracked his knuckles and laid back leisurely on the log, grinning easily. “Only the best. Caviar, veal, duck pâté, that sort of thing.” He turned his prideful grin to her. “At least we wonderfully wealthy dhampirs do.”
“Hm,” she hummed again, “So, no humble rabbit and mushroom stew then.”
His face fell into a pout, saying under his breath, “I didn’t say that…”
She held back a laugh, easily making two bowls out of the earth, and filling them. She put one bowl on the side of the fire near him with an iron spoon, then sat opposite with her own.
“Eat. I cannot finish this myself, and disposing of food in the forest will attract pests.” He moved almost comically quickly to take the bowl. “Additional pests,” she corrected.
His face fell into a grimace, but he took the bowl and sat. He seemed to be waiting for her to eat first - was it finally some semblance of manners or did he think she’d added her own poison - but she didn’t hesitate, starving. With her first spoonful, her entire body warmed and she smiled at her good work. It tasted wonderful . It tasted of home.
Across from her, he took his own spoonful. His face lit up at the taste, eyes wide and child-like. “This is good ,” he said with a bit of surprise, then winced in pain.
“Oh, and it’s spicy,” Annette added, easily eating more of her own serving, “I can handle a lot of spice.”
His pale face had turned red, nose wrinkled as he suffered. But he still took another bite, a mix of painful bliss on his face at the burning flavour, determined to finish. He seemed so different in this moment, so much more human than vampire, refusing to admit he couldn’t handle the spice or to not eat the food that was given to him, despite him flushing all the way up to his ears.
Annette took him in silently. Richter had brought her much needed food then acted like it was coincidence, stealing looks to see if he’d gotten her approval. The rabbits had been very carefully skinned and the mushrooms had been meticulously cleaned. Was this some kind of repentance? Guilt?
Was he trying to impress her?
She shook her head, and glanced at him again, catching him go cross-eyed as he noticed a bit of stew on the tip of his nose. He tried to reach it with his tongue and caught her gaze, frowning as he looked to her bowl.
“Hey, eat up,” he insisted, brows furrowed in what could be concern, “Your bowl’s practically full.”
Oh no, she thought.
He was becoming endearing.
-
He’d become her loud shadow.
Richter seemed to have assigned himself as her personal companion for this trip, apparently not having anything better to do than to follow her around and provide commentary. He was… irritating yes, but also interesting. The voice that used to taunt and threaten her now sounded almost… fond? Genuinely curious. Even protective in some moments.
“Best avoid that direction,” he’d said as she had considered a fork in the road, “I saw night creatures skulking about that way the other day. And they smelled just terrible.”
“I found these berries. I have no interest in them.” he’d said while hanging upside down from a tree while she made camp, despite his lips being stained the same colour of the fruit, “You might as well have them. Keep pests away and whatnot.”
“Rain’s coming soon. A lot of it. I can smell it,” he’d said while casually knocking over a giant tree trunk to form a bridge across a wide creek, “You should find shelter soon.”
What a weird man.
Weirdest of all, she found herself starting to enjoy his company instead of dreading it; he wasn’t always there with her, but when he was, the journey seemed to go by quicker. Maybe she’d been travelling alone for too long. She certainly didn’t trust him, not in a way that mattered, but he did have interesting things to say and interesting ways to say them.
Things seemed to be getting better the closer she got to her destination, and she was quite sure she was almost there.
So, of course, her luck had to run out.
-
Annette felt miserable. And wet. Her body felt like it was on fire, her stomach wanted to wretch, and her vision spun when she just barely managed to open her eyes. She was so worried about vampires and other monsters that she didn’t expect sickness to be what bested her.
She didn’t know where she was; her eyelids took too much effort to lift. She was overheated, but was held against material that felt soft and fine, warm and smelled pleasant, was plush underneath but rock hard beyond the surface. There was a voice vibrating against her, incessant and constant.
“Do you know how slow your heartbeat was?! It made you so much more difficult to find. It’s too reckless to be travelling in a condition like this. Your temperature is scalding! ”
She wrinkled her nose at the noise; the constant chatter did not help with her splitting headache. She finally blinked herself back to some sort of consciousness, awaking to bright blue and the realization that she was being carried as easily as a child would be.
She reacted on instinct, hands aglow as she summoned any metal she could and lashed out, just stopping herself before plunging a blade through her carrier’s neck.
“Hello. Awake are you?” Richter said, frozen still. “Mind putting down the blade so you don’t stab your savior? Healing major arteries is such a chore.”
Slowly, as the world came back to her, she relaxed in his hold. She dropped the blade completely and laid limply in his arms, the energy that had triggered her reflexes disappearing immediately. She felt small droplets against her skin. Ah yes, it was raining, and she’d gotten caught in it. Soaked to the bone as the cold and fatigue caught up to her.
“Thank you,” he said cheerily, “Now, care to tell me what’s going on? Got sick, did you?”
Annette blinked slowly, struggling to focus on his face. Once she did, she smiled.
“It’s you again,” she slurred, then chuckled. “You’re pretty .”
She waved her hand in the vague direction of his face, making accidental contact with a soft slap. The dhampir flushed crimson in a way she’d never seen before - which she found even prettier - and then looked horrified .
“God, you’ve become hysterical. Just how high is your fever?”
He held a hand to her forehead, and she leaned into it, sighing, “Mm. Nice and cool.”
His hand turned even colder, and she realized that he’d coated it with ice, rubbing gently against her cheek.
“Hey, stay with me, don’t faint again,” Richter said insistently while her head threatened to droop, "Where are you going? On your mission. I can carry you there.”
Annette pointed vaguely in a direction, mumbling quietly, “...town…”
“Town?” he asked, turning his gaze to follow her direction. His eyes narrowed and he murmured quietly in thought, "But why would you…?” He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter right now. Let’s get you there.”
His grip on her tightened, not uncomfortably, but as he dashed ahead with vampiric speed, Annette’s world lurched into sudden all-encompassing darkness.
It was quiet like this. Peaceful. When was the last time she had felt peaceful?
The feeling ended quickly as she was pulled harshly back into consciousness, having blacked out in the dhampir’s arms. The world was spinning too fast for her to even form words, only managing to whimper pitifully instead.
“Hey, hey! ” She heard the voice again. That voice that kept prattling on. It sounded worried. “Stay with me, stay awake. Okay, movement bad. Got it. You need somewhere to rest.”
He moved again, this time much slower and more carefully, his voice quieter as he began repeating, “Stay with me. Stay with me. Don’t leave me.”
But the darkness was coming once more for Annette. Calling her. Welcoming her. And as she saw panicked blue eyes watching her, they too were swallowed by the surrounding dark.
“Sorry,” she whispered with a smile.
Then melted into the blackness.
-
A bright blue flame brought her back.
Annette still felt terrible, but now she felt terrible and dry , so it was a marked improvement. She blinked groggily, needing to wipe at her sweat-drenched locs to take in her surroundings.
She seemed to be up in the loft of an old barn. Rain pounded on the roof above and against the broken windows. She was on and under something soft and worn; horse blankets, perhaps? The rustling that she heard when she moved likely meant that beneath that was a bed of hay.
When she looked to her side, she saw what had drawn her out of her unconscious state: a blue fire burned next to her, seemingly burning on its own accord without setting the wood near it aflame. It was warm, but not too warm, and she looked at it confusedly.
She reached out a hand to it curiously, and it was almost as if the flames were drawn to her, catching her by surprise and licking her fingers. But it didn’t burn her, instead leaving a soft, comforting warmth.
“Do you usually stick your hand straight into fires, or is mine just special?”
She jumped in surprise, clutching at her blankets and half sitting up to find Richter standing next to her, tilting his head with a grin. Her hands jumped up to her neck, relieved to find her iron collar still protectively in place. But she quickly learned that sitting up was a bad idea, as her surroundings spun and a wave of malaise made her lay back down, body weak and sore.
Richter sat down next to her, putting the back of his hand to her forehead. He gave an unimpressed hum. “Your fever hasn’t gone down at all. Humans really are weak to this sort of thing, hm?”
He was touching her and she didn’t have the energy to fight him off. She hadn't even realized she wasn’t alone when she first awoke, despite so much training to always be alert. And she also hadn’t realized until this very moment that the reason she was dry was because she was naked. She clutched the blankets tighter to herself, covering as much as she could, and glared at the dhampir.
“Y-you…” she struggled to say, “You undressed me.”
“I saved you from hypothermia, ” he countered, then motioned over his shoulder with his thumb to where her clothes were hung up to dry, “Or did you want me to leave you soaked to the bone?”
“Y-yes…” She argued, trying to sit up again, “I c-cannot rest. I h-have-”
“A mission, yes, you’ve mentioned,” He tutted impatiently and steadily pushed her back down into the makeshift bed with a hand on her shoulder. In her weakened state, it felt like being pushed down under the hoof of a bull. “Have you considered that that might be stupid?”
Annette opened her mouth to argue, but Richter tapped his finger on her nose. “Ah ah ah, none of that. You can’t even stand .” He gave a chuckle and shook his head. “Just give up, little deer.”
His words swam in her dizzied mind. She’d never given up before. She was always fighting.
“Give up…?” she said quietly, like a whimper, “I… I can never…”
She shut her eyes tight, feeling traitorous tears spill down her cheeks. She was just so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of running, tired of her only options being to be strong or to perish.
She opened her eyes to see Richter staring at her, eyebrows raised. In her delirium, this man that she knew was capable of being a demon looked more like the angels she’d read about in other religions. Even now, she knew better, but for once… if she just gave in…
She followed her first impulse, shakily reaching up her hand to touch his face. His eyes widened, but he did not move away.
“So beautiful,” Annette murmured, “So dangerous.”
With a painful intake of breath, her iron collar split in two on its own accord, her magic too weak to maintain it in her ill state, before crumbling away completely into dust. And when she looked to the dhampir above her, his eyes were locked onto her neck.
“I’m… so tired,” she said with a sigh. She smiled up at him sadly, saying weakly, “You could take everything from me right now, and I couldn't stop you.”
No more fighting. Just give in.
Richter hadn’t blinked, pupils shrinking to the eyes of a predator, face turning monstrously beautiful as his eyes lit like blue flames. She could see the endless hunger there, see the fire light glint off his fangs, see them lengthen, and she closed her eyes tight.
But then he took her hand from his face, and tangled his fingers with hers, squeezing gently. She blinked her eyes open at him in confusion to see his fangs had retracted, his brows furrowed with some emotion she couldn’t read, his body coiled with restraint.
“Stop talking nonsense. You’re stronger than this, little deer,” he said gently, body tense but voice soft, “You’ve proven that to me again and again. Keep fighting.”
“But…” She was confused; everything felt so confusing.
“I meant give up on running off into the woods with a fever and to just go to sleep, ” he laughed weakly, “Not…” He frowned deeply, quiet for a moment. He forced a huff. “Look, just recover quickly and go back to trying to kill me, alright?”
He was speaking lightly, jokingly, but the tight hold on her hand told her otherwise. She tilted her head at him curiously, staring at him for a long moment before finally speaking.
“Sick blood tastes terrible, huh?” she asked, giving a crooked grin.
He stared at her, then laughed loudly, surprising both of them. He covered his mouth and chuckled, shaking his head. His eyes softened as he released her captive hand to gently brush her locs from her face, agreeing, “Yeah, you’re right. It probably does.”
“Mm,” was all she could manage in reply. She was right. It was nice being told she was right.
“Rest. I’ll be here, keeping watch for monsters.” Richter sat back against a wooden beam and gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “Present company excluded of course.”
Annette found herself chuckling with him, giving a small smile. “Thank you, Richter,” she whispered.
His eyes brightened, a surprised smile taking over his face. “So you do know my name.” He gave an exasperated breath. “But you still won’t tell me yours?”
“Noooope,” she slurred, letting her tired eyes finally fall closed, drifting asleep to the sounds of his bright laughter.
-
Annette didn’t know how much time was passing, but in the moments when she was coherent, Richter was always there. He must have left her side at some point, as he’d show off something he’d found or brought that he hadn’t had before.
Like the fresh apple he was cutting skillfully with one of his shivs as he talked easily and endlessly.
“I used to be terrible with knives, you know? Was just too eager to start throwing them before understanding how to handle them proper.” He sucked at his teeth and shook his head. “But you shred onnne too many priceless tapestries and suddenly you’re banned from anything remotely sharp for a year. Not even a butter knife!”
She found herself chuckling. It was weirdly easy to laugh around him. And the smile he gave her when she did was much smaller and softer than his usual smirks.
“Here,” he said, cutting clean a thin apple slice, feeding her carefully. “See? Expertly cut. Now, you should see me work a butter knife…”
She chuckled again until she coughed. It took only moments for a cold tankard of water to be offered for her to drink. He barely seemed to notice he was even doing it, continuing his story.
“Now, first of all, butter knives are underrated. And second, you can sharpen pretty much anything into a pretty decent shiv if no one’s paying attention…”
-
Finally, her fever broke.
Annette blinked awake to the evening twilight filtering in through the windows. The blue fire next to her was still burning, still giving off a soft, gentle heat. But there was another source of warmth, this one new, as she turned to see Richter laying curled up on top of the blankets next to her, fast asleep.
He looked harmless like this. Sweet, even, his hair ruffled from sleep and his body soft, his face as handsome as ever. The sharpness of his jawline, the plumpness of his lips, even the soft point of his ear, denoting his dhampiric nature.
She wanted to touch him.
Instead, her hand was quick to find a piece of hay and poke him in the nose with it. He scrunched his nose adorably, wiggling it when she poked again, and then snorting awake when she put it up his nose. His eyes were wide with surprise as she giggled tremendously. He blinked himself back to reality and fought off a smile with a put-upon huff.
“Oh, the princess finally awakes,” he said while sitting up, flowing into a graceful stretch. “And I didn’t even have to kiss you.”
Kiss? Oh, like the Old World fables. Yes, she would very much like that.
The thought caught her by surprise and she felt herself blush. He noticed immediately with a frown, and gently pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.
“You don’t still have a fever, do you?” He wondered, concern lacing his voice. “Maybe you should rest some more.”
“No,” she said softly, “I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”
He blinked, apparently not expecting more thanks, and grinned brilliantly with unabashed glee and a touch of a blush to his own cheeks.
Yes, she really wanted to kiss him.
This man had taken care of her, fed her, helped bathed her (while surprisingly managing to keep himself from looking), and he’d barely left her side other than to get supplies. As she openly stared at him, his grin faded, and he leaned in close to check on her.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You still seem a bit dazed.”
Richter’s hand laid softly on her cheek, his eyes bright and soft, and his gorgeous face so close. His touch finally felt right. She could trust him.
And she wanted him.
Annette had never been a coward, so when she gently wound her hand up his jaw to tangle into his hair, she didn’t hesitate in pulling him down to bring his lips to hers in a kiss.
It was heavenly. His lips were soft and warm, the heat of his body warmer than any humans’, and he smelled not of death like a vampire would, but of morning dew and sweet wood smoke.
He also hadn’t moved an inch since their lips connected.
She broke the kiss, pulling back to look at him. His eyes were tightly squeezed shut.
“Richter?” she asked quietly, some unidentifiable fear stirring in her stomach, “Do you not want this?”
“No,” he said roughly, voice lower than she expected it to come out. He gave a sharp shake of his head, a sound like a whine caught in his throat before he croaked, “Meaning yes , I do want this.”
She watched his eyes open and flicker down to her; her lips, her collarbones, any of her bare skin that the blanket didn’t cover, and he worried his lip with a fang. With one very deliberate, heated hand he traced her curves through her blanket and groaned, “ Fuuuuck, so much.”
She saw his jaw tighten as he swallowed, collecting himself.
“But if you… if we continue…” he whispered, hand clutching at the blanket, strained, as if keeping himself from yanking it away, claws tearing into the material. He leaned in closer, a growl coming up from his chest for him to say just a breath away from her lips, “I will take everything I can.”
He didn’t move, both of them locked together, their breath mingling in their closeness. His bright blue eyes looked unblinking into hers, so compelling and so deep that she wanted to fall in.
He wanted this. So badly.
And she wanted to feel his hunger on herself. To let him ruin her.
Her hand gripped his hair, and she leaned up to lay another kiss on his lips. “Please do,” she whispered, then laid another kiss. “Continue, that is.”
He inhaled sharply, and then lunged forward.
His hand wound up to her face, holding her in place as he licked into her mouth, tilting her head back so he could kiss her deeper. While the dhampir had shown plenty of bravado in the short time she’d known him, it was definitely justified in kissing, Annette discovered. She wound her arms behind his neck, pulling him even closer, gasping between kisses and him biting her bottom lip.
Though his previous aggression from when he was hunting her had long gone, his possessiveness had never left. It seemed somehow even stronger now, burning bright in every tight grasp, every biting kiss, every longing look he gave her.
As she leaned up into him, she could feel the blanket start to slip lower and lower, feel her nipples perking to the cool air. She shivered and it didn’t go unnoticed as he slipped his eyes open to see her bare body before him. He made a sound like a whine in his throat, struggling between his want to kiss her and his want to see her skin be revealed as the blanket slowly slipped off. She couldn’t help but chuckle, shimmying to help the blanket drop further.
Richter finally gave in and pulled back to take her in, his gaze hot and heavy on her, and his hands soon following. Thankfully they were warm, inhumanly so, as he held her curves, the calloused touch of his large hands making her own heat jump higher.
“Gorgeous…” he murmured, voice in awe, “God, you’re so soft ,”
Annette could feel herself blush, and shifted her knee against him, between his legs, feeling the growing bulge there, large and insistent.
“You’re not ,” she teased, feeling bold and breathless.
“Fuck.” He licked back into her mouth again, prowling forward to cover her, sucking at her bottom lip, mouthing at her chin, nipping and determined to swallow every sound she made. He tugged at his own clothes, undoing buckles and buttons. “Why…” he said between kisses, “do I wear…” Another kiss, a bite, then a hiss, “...so many damned layers?!”
He pulled back with a growl of frustration and tore his shirts off with vampiric speed, thrown haphazardly to the floor and revealing miles of pale, beautiful, muscled skin. Her eyes widened as she took him in, his trim waist and broad shoulders, thick chest and strong arms that flexed as he leaned back further and reached for his pants.
She couldn‘t help but bring her hand to her mouth, biting at a knuckle in anticipation. His gaze flicked up to her as he slowly pulled his pants down just enough to release his large, unfairly pretty cock, already hard and eager. Alluring yet intimidating, like him. He gripped himself and sighed, eyes dropping to between her legs and the dark, wet curls there.
“Oh little deer…” he murmured, voice dropping lower and smirking devilishly, “You’re not afraid of the big bad wolf, are you?”
“No,” Annette answered with a frown, brows furrowed but cheeks burning as her gaze flicked between his face and his girth. She asked through a burning blush, unable to help squeezing her thighs together in excitement, “What do you need that size for? Are dhampirs even fertile?”
Richter grinned wickedly as he removed the rest of his clothes effortlessly with some kind of vampiric grace. He leaned back over her, moving between her legs to pet her belly as he tilted his head and asked playfully, “Would you like to find out?”
It took all her strength not to punch him again, instead batting his hand away as her cheeks burned hotter, causing him to chuckle with mirth. She crossed her arms. “I have medicine to prevent that either way.”
“Hm.” He shrugged, unbothered, taking his place back on top of her, heated skin and solid weight against hers, winding his arms around her as he kissed behind her ear to whisper, “A test for another time.”
“Don’t get overconfident,” she huffed, and cuffed him on the side of the head. He just laughed again, his laughter dissolving into open mouth kisses trailing downwards until he was sucking at her neck in a way that both made her toes curl and her fists clench. As soon as he nipped her skin with his teeth, fangs teasing, her hands flew up to his hair, gripping tight to stop him.
“If you kill me during sex, dhampir,” she threatened in a whisper, “I swear I will escape from the spirit world, cut off your cock, and murder you with it.”
He inhaled sharply, and she swore he shivered, until he grinned into her throat. “Harsh, but fair.” He took his time running his hot tongue up her neck until he could nip at her chin. “Deal.”
He moved his body down hers to kiss at her collar bones and nuzzled into her breasts, laying sucking kisses to them as she scratched at his shoulders.
“It feels good?” he murmured into her skin, running his broad tongue over her nipple. She shuddered, biting back a whimper.
“Yes,” she managed, “Your mouth has a use after all.”
That earned her a bite, and she tried not to squeak in surprise. But then he kissed it better, chuckling fondly.
“Good.” Richter smiled up at her, pupils dilated and hair a mess from her hands. “Because I really really don’t want to stop.” He sighed, kissing and nipping down her side as his hands took greedy handfuls of her body, hungrily grasping her breasts, her thighs, her ass. The prick of his claws adding just a taste of pain to the pleasure, though she could feel the restraint in his hold, knowing the strength he was capable of.
“R-Richter…” Annette squirmed, legs tightening around his body as he moved lower and lower.
“You smell divine, you know that?” he whispered blissfully, nuzzling into her hip bone as he took a long inhale. He looked up to her with wide, soft eyes, guard down for a moment, “Are you sure you don’t want…” He blinked, pupils shrinking, giving a deep rumble in his chest, grin wicked. “Be mine, little deer. You could just be mine. Stay with me, it’ll be good, I promise .”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You cannot seduce me into that, Richter. I have a-”
“Mission, I know,” he tutted. “But how important could it be?”
She started to argue, “It’s a matter of-”
“Oh, that was rhetorical,” he cut her off with a frown, “If you can still think, I’m not doing my job well enough.” He made good on his word by throwing her legs over his shoulders. “Let’s rectify that now, shall we?”
She sucked in a shuddering breath as he made himself comfortable between her legs, like he belonged there, like the space was his . He rested his head against her thigh, eyes glinting with mischief as he ran a clawed finger along her inner thigh.
“You have a major artery right… here.” His gaze flicked up to hers, eyes predatory. “I can hear it, smell it, almost taste it.” He hungrily licked the same path, letting it lead him dangerously close to her cunt.
“But the only thing that I hunger for more… ” He murmured as he pet between her legs, causing her to jolt and her breath to quicken. He licked his teeth. “...is right here .”
Annette watched him retract his fangs, thankfully , before diving his face in. Annette clutched at the blanket below her, legs convulsing as he ran his damned clever tongue up between her folds to leave a suckling kiss on her clit. His eyes glinted bright as he smirked against her cunt, nuzzling his nose in deeper as he pushed his tongue inside of her, reveling in her wetness and drinking her in greedily while she hung on for her life.
“A-ah-ah-ah, R-Richter-!” she gasped, rocking her hips against his mouth, the dhampir releasing a sound in his chest like a deep purr. She felt like she was melting.
He pulled back, the bottom half of his face wet with her slick, looking incredibly pleased as he leisurely licked at his face. “Oh, I do enjoy the sound of my name in your mouth, love,” he sighed, “And the taste of you in mine.”
“P-please,” she breathed, eyes pleading, “Don’t tease me…”
His eyes flashed. Hurriedly, he brought his hand to his mouth, biting off his own claws with quick efficiency to round out the nails. Testing them against his tongue and finding them safe, he gently plunged one deep inside, then two. His thumb swirled leisurely against her clit as he bit off the claws of his other hand, then returned his mouth to suckling at her clit.
Her legs clamped around his head reflexively, before catching herself to let them fall open and not suffocate him. But he gripped her thighs, keeping them still.
“Did I mention dhampirs don’t need to breathe?” he said cheekily, sticking his tongue out at her. The imprint of the cross was still there, but she couldn’t think about it as he pulled her thighs tight back around him, nosing happily back into her cunt. “Though it’d be a lovely way to go…”
She gasped, hips moving to match the rhythm of his mouth and fingers, becoming desperate. He growled in kind, yanking her even closer, tightening his hold even further, starving for her. Her hands tangled in his hair, tracing the soft point of his ear, tugging on the strands of his hair.
“R-R-Richter,” she gasped, voice pitching higher and higher, “I’m close, I-I-!”
She came, her orgasm spilling over her in waves, heat and pleasure making her toes curl and her hands shake. Gods, she needed this, feeling something within herself that’d been held too tight finally unravel. As she came down, sinking into the makeshift bed beneath her, she blinked her vision back. Richter had sat up, positioning her legs around his hips, as he wiped and licked at his face, looking extremely satisfied with himself. His eyes were molten as he looked at her, slowly thrusting his hips forward to rub his dripping cock between her quivering folds.
“Stay with me, love,” he purred, “I’m not done with you yet.”
She slowly caught her breath, voice rough as she taunted lightly, “Oh? Have you started?”
He chuckled, taking his revenge by plunging his fingers back into her, testing the stretch and slickness there. She quivered, and he looked over her appraisingly, laid out before him like a feast, despite being in an old barn on horse blankets and hay.
“You should be savored surrounded by silks, covered in gold and rubies, dripping with wine and honey…” His pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, his fangs flashing, hunger in his voice. “But I will devour you anywhere.”
Richter replaced his fingers with the head of his cock and pushed forward, eyes locked with hers as he sunk into her. The sting of his large size stretching her was exquisite, and he watched every movement and sound she made as he slowly thrust in to the hilt.
“Good?” He asked, voice strained with restraint as he kept himself still.
Annette nodded harshly, desperately. “Yes. Good. Please. ”
He didn’t need to be told twice, rolling his hips to plunge in and out of her at an intoxicating pace, his hands locked on her hips.
“You feel incredible,” he praised, face adoring as he fucked her so deep she could feel it in her belly. He traced one hand to where they were connected, teasing her clit as he watched himself sink in and out of her. “Look how well we fit together.” His eyes narrowed possessively, tugging her forward sharply as he thrust somehow even deeper. “It’s like you were made for me, little deer. Like you’re truly mine. ”
Despite being wonderfully and thoroughly plowed into the makeshift bed beneath her, Annette found the strength to contest. “What if you were made for me?” She rolled her hips to meet his, drawing out an extremely pleased rumble in his chest. “Did you consider that, dhampir?
“Hmmm.” He seemed less bothered about it than she thought he would. Richter pulled her towards him as he bent over her, planting an arm for support by her head, stealing a surprisingly soft kiss as he purred, “That’d be alright.”
He kissed her again, all softness gone as he set to devour her, deep and biting. He kissed her like he fucked her, deep and starving for it, his pace becoming faster and harder as he fucked the breath out of her in sharp gasps, the only sound being skin on skin and their panting breaths.
And it felt so fucking good. She clutched at his back, nails scratching as she hung on for dear life, her hips frantically meeting his. Her legs tightened around his hips as she wound higher and higher. He released one hand from her hip to rub at her clit, finally breaking their kiss so he could lean back and look into her eyes, desperate.
“Let me drink you, love,” he chanted, begging , voice wrecked as he thrust harder and deeper, “Let me let me let me, please.”
Once again, she felt herself wanting to give herself to him. It could be that her mind had completely melted from what his body was doing to her, fucking all rational sense out of her. But also, he wasn’t taking from her. Even before when she was sick and vulnerable and he’d had the perfect opportunity. And in the pure heat of sex, he was asking her. Begging . Desperate for it, for her. Like he'd die without it.
God, what had this boy done to her?
“Okay.” She clutched to him tighter, leaning her neck back for him. “Just… not too much.”
His eyes flashed bright and he practically bent her in half as their fucking reached a feverpitch, panting into the crook of her neck as he promised, “Yes yes yes, love, I’ll make it good, so good for you.”
Annette tensed as she felt him open his mouth, the sharp prick of his lengthened fangs against her skin, and then Richter bit down, sinking them in deep.
She thought she’d died.
Except she didn’t want her ancestors to see her unraveled like this.
Her vision whited out, body arched and shaking, her orgasm multiplied by his bite on her neck. A rush of intense pleasure overcame her, rippling through her body with a bright spot of delicious pain. Oh gods, this was beyond good, her eyes rolling back into her head as she clutched to him desperately. He fucked her at a frantic pace, still locked on her neck as he fucked her through her orgasm, drinking from her, until he lost all rhythm and stilled, spilling warmth inside her.
Finally, he released, letting her collapse into the blankets as he held himself above her, arms shaking, head hung as he panted. Her head was spinning with dizzy pleasure, slowly coming back to herself. She felt drained, a little weaker, but also more relaxed. She watched him, unsure she could do anything else, waiting for him to move.
Richter threw his head back, body languid as he sat up, cock still within her, his face utterly blissed out. His pupils were so large, they’d almost swallowed the blue completely. His mouth was stained red, as if he’d over-indulged in rich wine, her blood dripping down his chin. He licked at his bloodied fangs, sighing blissfully as he smeared the blood droplets on his face back up into his mouth with his fingers, whispering mindlessly.
"Divine divine divine.”
He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, licking and sucking off any trace left. His eyes slipped closed in ecstasy as a deep inhuman purr rumbled in his chest.
When he opened his eyes again to look down at her, the sclera had turned red, making him look more monstrous than he ever had. Some instinct in the back of Annette’s mind sent lightning up her spine in warning at the sight. With his fangs still dangerously long, he spoke slowly, purposefully.
“I could drink every drop of you,” he rasped, arching over her and pressing his thumb against the wound with a sting to draw out another spill of blood. His eyes flashed dangerously, voice barely above a growl, “And it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Annette inhaled sharply, pulling back reflexively, and he blinked, his eyes returning to the blown-out blue, fangs retracting to their usual length. The monster faded away, replaced with a crooked smile and flushed cheeks, his voice soft.
“But I’d miss you.” Richter leaned down to the bite on her neck, running his tongue slowly over the freshly spilt blood and the sluggishly bleeding wound, forcing a shiver out of her. He gave a pleasured sigh, and followed it with a kiss, and she felt the sting melt away as if it'd been healed completely. He pulled out of her gently, and rolled back and off to lay next to her, head in his hand, voice adoring as he murmured, ”My little deer.”
Annette scoffed, rolling her eyes as her body relaxed once more, curving her body into his to steal his heat. “How chivalrous.”
”I try,” he said with a playful shrug. Then after a thought, he added, “I’d also really prefer not to be sexily murdered by your ghost.”
“It would not be sexy.”
“Not for you, maybe.”
She couldn’t help but laugh and he shimmied down into the makeshift bed to lay with her, arms insistently reaching out to cuddle her tightly to his broad chest. He laid kisses into her hair, along her forehead, as his hand sought hers. He tangled his fingers easily with hers, rubbing against the silver ring he’d given her, looking at it quite pleased.
“Gold is definitely your colour, but…” he mused wistfully, “...this looks good on you.”
Annette blinked. She’d forgotten she was even wearing it. “Oh, I suppose I don’t need it anymore. Do you want it back-“
"No. ” Richter answered definitively, before she could even finish asking. He kissed along her knuckles, humming pleasantly. “I do not. It’s yours. Keep it.”
“Hm.” She hummed thoughtfully. She wasn’t concerned either way. His kisses moved from her hand to her shoulders, to her cheek, to her mouth. Light at first, her returning them easily, until he bit at her bottom lip, swallowing her gasp and sucking on her tongue. She shuddered, leaning her heating body into his, her hand tangling in his hair when her thigh brushed against him, hard as ever. She pulled back from the kiss only for him to return to sucking at her neck, nipping excitedly.
“You… already?” She looked down the length of his body. Had it even gone down? Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What magic is this…?”
“You’re delicious,” he said in answer, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He crawled back over her, stealing her mouth again, hard cock drooling between her thighs. “And I’m starving for you.”
Though she wanted to chide him, her cunt throbbed eagerly at the thought of more. Her arms wound around his neck despite shaking her head in protest, bumping their noses together. “What kind of monster have I let in my bed…?”
He laughed with his full chest, winding his own arms around her lower back and pulling her up with him, so he sat upright with her in his lap. He slipped himself back inside, swallowing her gasping shudder as he leisurely ground his hips, grinning. “I think you like it.”
Gods, he was so deep inside her now, and despite the lazy pace, her whole body just felt so sensitive. She whimpered and fell against him, breasts pressed against his chest and legs hooking tight around his back, her hips moving on their own to grind him inside her just right.
“I-I… don’t hate it,” she admitted.
His chuckle turned into a growl as they ground together. His dull bitten claws dug into her skin as he gripped her ass and hips tightly to move her up and down on his cock, the lazy pace turning frenzied, his hips grinding and bucking up into her relentlessly as he pulled her back down. He could thrust even deeper into her in this position, and it left her clutching to his broad back desperately as he lifted and moved her with ease exactly how he wanted her.
Her climax was close already, his as well, she could feel it in the tightness of his body, of her own, winding up to their peak again. He slid a hand between them to pet and torture her, able to lift her one-handed and gods, all she could do was whimper, as he whispered desperately, obsessively to her.
“Your name, love,” he begged, “Tell me your name, please. ” Rubbing their faces together, panting into each other’s mouths, he captured her gaze as he thrust into her, chanting, “I want… I want… I want everything, everything you have, give me your name, your name, love, please. ”
His thumb on her clit was relentless, she couldn’t last much longer, blue eyes trying to look into her soul, pleading, yearning. She was giving into the pleasure, to him.
“Ah- ah- m-my name? It’s…” she gasped, voice keening higher and higher. But she sharply gripped his hair, pulling his head down so she could hiss in his ear, “Fuck off.”
She bit him. As hard as she could. Right where he’d bitten her. He tensed up at the feeling, hips bucking forward, clutching her tight as he chased his breath. Her gasps got higher and higher as he rubbed possessively against her clit and pulled her down on to him, and she saw stars, coming with rolling pleasure as he fucked her through it and came deep inside her.
Shuddering, gasping, he laid them both back down, almost falling back into the blankets. He cradled her on top of his chest, not even separating them yet, his chest heaving beneath her cheek, both slick with sweat.
When he caught his breath, she felt his fingers gently under her chin, lifting her face to see him pouting fiercely at her.
"Tease ,” he accused.
Annette corrected him, breathless, as she licked at her own teeth with a wink, "Revenge .”
His laugh was bright and pure as he held her against him, gentle but tight, possessive but protective. His grin couldn’t be wider as he said, ”Oh, you are fun.”
-
The sun was up, and for once, Annette was not. Though feeling more rested than she had been in days, weeks , it hadn’t been a purely restful night. Either dhampirs had sexual stamina as one of their powers or Richter was unique in his seemingly boundless carnal energy.
He fucked like how he fought: relentlessly.
“Where are you going, love?” he had murmured into her shoulder, the crook of her neck, as he’d grabbed her by the ankle and crawled over her back, mounting her, as she’d tried to reach for some water.
He’d seemed sex drunk as he had sucked and bit hickeys into her shoulders, his cock reaching between her legs to rub against her front, not entering, just teasing. She’d groaned as he reached around to trail his large hand down her belly and play with her still dripping cunt, rocking her hips forward onto his fingers by pressing forward with his own body.
“Why are you leaving…” he’d teased, voice wrecked in her ear “...when you should be coming?”
“Again?” She’d found herself whining, “...I also want rest, Richter.”
“Hm….” he’d mused, “Just one more, then. To help you sleep.”
With her completely enveloped under his large, heated body and totally at his mercy as he’d rung out any sweet cries he could with his very adept fingers, Annette had struggled to hold herself up. He’d ground himself against her as he took her apart, and gleefully, playfully, tugged at her ear with his teeth, kissing wet and longingly at where he’d bitten her. As he’d plunged his long fingers in as deep as they could go and sunk his teeth into her shoulder, she came on a shuddering exhale, body feeling boneless and feeling as if her soul had left her body.
As she’d gasped for breath, he’d rutted against her, coming between her legs. And thankfully he’d caught her easily to keep her from laying in his mess as she indeed did succumb to sleep.
Still, waking up was bittersweet. On one hand, Annete felt fully recovered from her illness and could finally leave the makeshift bed to return to normalcy. On the other hand, that meant leaving the warm, sleep heavy body of the dhampir that was wrapped around her totally and possessively. He had nuzzled gently at her locs in her sleep, and it’d almost made her iron will crumble.
But she had a mission.
With no small amount of regret, she released herself from his ever-so-welcoming embrace to put on her clothing. Thankfully, the dhampir seemed to sleep like the dead, remaining fast asleep. As she dressed, she caught her own reflection in an old piece of metal. Her hair was a disaster, but she looked relaxed for once. It was nice to be taken care of, admittedly.
She smiled and tried to tame her locs, revealing the bite that Richter had given her the night before; there were many other bites littered all over her, but he’d only drank from her once. As she’d thought, it had been completely healed, but it left a mark: two dots from his fangs that were pure white. She pouted, unimpressed. She rubbed at the marks but they remained. Hopefully, they would fade quickly. It was so odd to see the blanching of her own skin; it was as if he'd stolen the colour from her, truly happy to devour any part of her he could get.
Typical of a white man, half-vampire or not.
As she finished dressing herself, she heard the rustling of movement and turned to see Richter stirring awake, flashing his fangs in a wide yawn. Eyes still closed, his long reach searched the blankets for her, and on finding himself alone, he frowned, nose wrinkled in a pout. Endearing. He scented the air and relaxed, eyes opening slowly to take her in, giving her a wide, lazy smile.
“Oh, good morning,” he purred, resting his head in his hand. “Good sleep?”
“For when I did get to sleep, yes,” Annette replied, pretending to dust off her pants as she tried to conceal her blush.
Richter’s smile turned even more gleeful, the menace . “Mm. Sorry about that. Not really.”
He knew what he was doing, laying totally bare amongst the blankets and hay, completely unabashed as he ran a hand through his ruffled hair. He laid back to give a long and languid stretch, body long and lithe and so attractive, lounging like an unbothered jungle cat. And he smirked like a cat that had got the cream.
He looked like sweet heaven and pure sin all at once.
“We could just stay here,” he said silkily to her, voice low with promise. He trailed his bitten-down claws against the blankets invitingly. “Just for a bit longer, love, just another day. Come lay with me.” He licked over a fang as he took his time eyeing her up and down, eyes half-lidded. “I’ll make it very worth it.”
He motioned her to join him with his finger, a 'come hither’ flick of his hand, and though a quick glance at his ring on her hand proved that he wasn’t using his glamour, she felt an undeniable pull to him all the same. Nevertheless, she threw his pants in his face, fighting off a blush.
“I’m going. I know I’m close to my goal.” She took the ladder down from the loft, hiding the twinge of pain coming from her hips and weak legs. She strode to one of the barn’s broken windows, and looked out curiously. “The forest is thinning, so the town must be close.”
“You’re leaving?” She heard him say behind her, hesitant and soft. “…on your own?”
She looked back up to the loft to see him frowning, blue eyes wide and sad, no longer the seductive sex beast from moments ago who'd given her a slight limp to her walk, and now more a beloved pet being left at home. Endearing, damnit.
Annette raised an eyebrow, acting confused. “Aren’t you showing me the way?”
She turned to leave, trying to stifle a laugh at the change in his expression. Annette wasn’t aware someone could dress themselves that fast, but when a flurry of admittedly adorable fluffy brown bats suddenly swarmed her side, they came together in a blink to reveal he was fully clothed by the time she stepped out the door, smiling brightly.
“Of course,” Richter said smoothly as he trailed his fingers against hers, as if to tangle their hands together, but not yet that bold. She didn’t take the bait, but didn’t pull away from the touch either. “Just come with me, little deer.”
-
“Well, this is it, the town of Belmont,” Richter said unenthusiastically as they finally stepped out of the woods. He waved to the town just ahead of them. “Can’t imagine what would make you trek all this way.” He shrugged. “Not a lot ‘round here other than… history, I suppose.”
Annette looked over the town, then spotted an ominous silhouette of a gigantic structure at its far end.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Richter suddenly looked uncomfortable, but did answer, scratching at the back of his neck “Oh, that? That’s just the castle of, you know, some old corpse or whatever…”
“That’s where I need to go,” she said, “I’m sure I’ll find him there.”
Annette strode forward towards the castle, determined. He jogged to catch up with her.
“Him…?” Richter asked, confused. He looked back to the castle, and frowned, face darkening. “Oh. Him. ” He mumbled under his breath, "Of fucking course…”
She raised an eyebrow at him, and he looked down to her, face softening as he took her in.
“Come on. Let’s get you there,” he said more gently, placing his hand behind her back to lead the way.
The touch felt… pleasant. Not unwelcomed. Curious, she let it remain.
-
Annette couldn’t believe the size of the castle, nor its architecture. The way it was built didn’t look possible. Glancing to Richter, he did not share her amazement, frowning deeply and looking more and more uncomfortable the closer they got to its gigantic front doors.
“You do not have to stay if you do not want to,” she said gently to him, gentler than she had expected. She gave a smirk. “I can survive on my own. I survived you, after all.”
His frown broke, breaking into a small laugh, and he shook his head. “No, no, I might as well be here.” He sighed, “He’ll find out about it one way or another…”
Annette raised her eyebrow at him, confused, until she saw the gigantic doors begin to open seemingly on their own. An admittedly stunning man stepped out, pale as a ghost and moving like grace incarnate. Richter didn’t share her surprise, crossing his arms at the other man’s approach.
“Is he a vampire?” she asked him quietly, “Yet he is out in the sun?
“He’s a dhampir,” Richter explained, gaze flicking back to her, “Like me.”
“I thought you said you were rare,” she said dryly, then imitated his voice, "Very rare, very dangerous.”
He snorted a laugh, despite his apparent unease with the situation. He tutted lightly, “There’s possibly only the two of us in the world , so I wasn’t lying.”
Richter suddenly stiffened as the other man stopped in front of them, waiting at the top of a short set of stairs. Annette had never seen someone like him before; while Richter was all unbridled energy and potential, this dhampir appeared to be the opposite. Still and calm, stoic and grounded.
“Oh look,” the stranger said, his deep voice dry as a desert as he took in Richter, “He’s returned.”
“Returned...?” Annette asked curiously, glancing to Richter. As she did, the stranger turned his golden gaze to her and raised an elegant eyebrow.
“And you brought a guest,” the man said. “She doesn’t seem to be here against her own will, so that’s promising.”
“Ha ha, yeah, look, she’s not here for me,” Richter said without any mirth, annoyance dripping in every word, “Your legendary help is needed once again.”
“Is that so?” the other man said, turning his body fully to Annette. He really was beautiful in such an ethereal way, as if he were sculpted of glass. “How may I help you?”
Finally , her mission could be completed. She stood taller, resolute.
“I’m looking for someone named Belmont. Would that be you?” she asked, voice hopeful.
Beside her Richter froze, looking stunned and shaken in a way she had yet seen. The other man looked just as surprised, and a dash confused.
“Ah, I should’ve introduced myself properly.” The man took a deep and graceful bow. “My name is Adrian Tepes, but you may call me Alucard.” He stood, looking somewhat put out. “But I’m not the Belmont you are looking for.”
He motioned plainly to Richter. “He is.”
Annette's eyes widened with shock while Richter looked sheepishly delighted.
“You,” she accused.
“Me?” he asked, still shocked, still smiling.
“Fout tonère!“ she cursed, “This whole time?!”
“No one ever comes looking for me, it’s always Mister Legendary over there.” His smile widened even further, stepping closer to her. “You’re really looking for a Belmont?” He placed a hand on his chest earnestly. "I’m Richter Belmont."
There was the sweetness she had seen in the man before. Bright and pure with that boyish grin, and ever so endearing. She gave a somewhat resigned sigh.
“Yes, I am. That was my mission. To find you.”
Richter blinked, and chuckled, face beaming with pride, saying gently, “That’s wonderful.” Then he turned to the other dhampir, Alucard, grinning viciously, fangs flashing as he snarked, “Suck it, Alucard. You’re not the only legend around here.”
Alucard rolled his eyes - somehow gracefully - and stepped closer to the both of them. As he did, he looked to Annette’s neck, and gave a tired frown.
“I see Richter has marked you as his. How unfortunate," Alucard sighed solemnly, ignoring Richter’s disgruntled face, “It will fade in due time, but please, do tell me that my ward was at least a gentleman.”
Annette didn’t hesitate in replying, “Not even for a moment.”
Alucard’s gaze fell on Richter in a glare. “Really, Richter? After all those years of teaching you proper decorum?”
“Sorry,” Richter said in a smug sort of way that implied he was anything but, “I guess I just picked up my mentor’s less polite habits instead.”
Golden eyes narrowed at him, looking closely, before saying deliberately, “Stick out your tongue, Richter.”
Richter’s face flushed, hand whipping up to cover his mouth. “You told me to stop doing that when I was 12!”
“Richter,” the man pressed.
Annette had just watched silently, looking back and forth between them. Richter gave a deep sigh, acting highly put upon, and stuck out his tongue to reveal that the scar of the Christian cross still remained. Alucard turned to Annette, face unreadable.
“Was this your doing?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
She nodded. After a moment, Alucard broke into a laugh, deep and rich, startling her while Richter grimaced.
“Oh, I like you,” Alucard said, eyes glinting. “Well, my dear ward, it seems like you got something you deserved, and a mark of your own. It will too fade with time too, needn’t you worry.”
As he continued to chuckle, Richter flipped him off, seemingly like it was second nature. Alucard’s eyebrows perked.
“Is that a new finger?” The pale dhampir asked, curious, then his eyes narrowed in confusion. “Did you bite off all your nails?!”
Richter quickly put his hand down, hiding them both in his pockets, blushing furiously. “Don’t… worry about that.”
Annette stepped forward, putting Richter out of his misery as she reached into her bag.
“Alucard, would you let me use my dust on you?” She held it up for him to see, opening the bag to reveal the shimmering white dust inside. “It’s a gift from my own mentor. It helps me determine friend from foe.”
Alucard looked at it wide-eyed, genuinely curious. “How interesting. Yes, you may. I’d like to witness its effects myself.”
Annette could feel Richter watching them like a hawk as she reached into the bag, coated her hand with dust, and then held it out. Alucard seemed to understand, and took it, holding her hand gently for a moment. Richter stiffened, but relaxed when she released. She turned her hand over to reveal a light blue colour; the same shade that Richter’s had been.
“The blue of an ally,” she said with a smile, catching Richter's eyebrows perk in realization. She then gave her own small polite bow. “It’s good to meet you, Alucard.”
“And you,” Alucard smiled warmly, “What is your name, my dear?”
Richter smirked, crossing his arms smugly as he looked away, shaking his head.
“Annette,” she replied easily.
Richter turned on her, looking betrayed and incredulous.
“What?! Annette?” Richter repeated, completely incredulous. “Oh, so you tell him right away?
She gave him a look of derision. “ He didn’t hunt me like an animal.”
Richter gave a frowning pout, struggling to argue, but was interrupted as Alucard stepped towards him, golden eyes blazing ferociously and his calm face breaking into rage.
“He…” Alucard growled, furious, “...did what?!”
Richter stepped back, breaking the gaze and shrinking in on himself, looking at the ground. Alucard’s gaze darkened, unrelenting. “I was not aware this was a habit he’d taken on.”
Richter looked actually chastised for once, truly guilty. His face was flushed with shame, and he worried his jacket between his fingers, eyes lowered.
“It’s not a habit…” he replied quietly, “This was… the first time. The only time.” His gaze flicked up to look at Annette and then away just as fast. “Definitely the last time.”
“That goes without being said,” Alucard snarled, then stepped back and collected himself. He looked at Annette and let his face soften. “Annette, thank you for not murdering him, despite it very likely being deserved.”
Annette gave a nod. “I can’t promise I will resist next time.”
Alucard chuckled again, the tension broken, but stopped suddenly, looking to the light glinting off the ring on her hand. Richter followed his gaze and his eyes widened, jaw clenched.
“Oh, you’re wearing his ring,” Alucard said with no small amount of surprise in his voice. Annette saw Richter stiffen next to her in her periphery as Alucard continued carefully, “He gave that to you?”
“Yes, he did,” she answered curiously, looking it over, “He told me it would prevent the effect of his glamour on me.” She hadn’t taken the time to look it over before, but it really was beautiful; masterfully intricate, delicate yet sturdy, vintage but well-preserved.
Alucard’s gracefully stoic face seemed to be trying to contain some kind of emotion as he looked at his ward, eyes bright with mischief. Richter, meanwhile, looked as if he had turned to stone.
“Ah, well, that is true, he was honest about that,” Alucard mused, barely hiding a smirk, “But did he also inform you that it’s been in the Belmont family for generations and that it is specially attuned to the current owner as it’s to be given to their betrothed as a sign of pure and undying devotion?”
Annette turned to stare at Richter, voice deadpan, "What .”
"Alucard,” Richter hissed, like an embarrassed child shushing a parent.
“So he likes you.” Alucard revealed with an amount of contained glee.
“Shut the fuck up, please. ” Richter said quickly through an extremely strained grin, face burning red.
“Manners, Richter,” Alucard hissed, frowning stiffly.
“I said ‘please’, ” Richter countered with a huff, then looked to Annette, trying to cover the anxiety in his eyes with bravado. “Look, that’s maybe sort of completely true, but just… don’t worry about it? It looks good on you, yeah? You like it? Well, it’s already yours. Might as well keep it on.” He gave a very purposefully nonchalant shrug, trying not to sneak glances back to the ring.
“Hmmm.” Annette looked it over, pretending to think about it and draw out the young dhampir’s suffering, then gave a faux-sigh. “I guess I shouldn’t sell it then. At least not without a very high price.”
Alucard cackled brightly while Richter looked absolutely scandalized.
She shrugged, acting nonchalant herself. “We will see.”
Richter turned away, huffing out a bright blue flame, while Alucard stood smugly still, giving Annette a moment to observe them both. The two seemed very close, yet nothing alike.
“May I ask, Alucard… you are also a dhampir, yes?” She asked. Alucard nodded and she continued, “Then why are you so calm, while he’s so…?” She made an expression and movement with her hands to try and resemble nightmarish chaos. Richter pouted.
Alucard chuckled. “I’ve had a few centuries to mature.” He tilted his head towards his ward. “While he’s only 19.”
“20 in a month,” Richter added, then huffed defensively, “And I’m doing quite alright, living up to the Belmont legacy and all. Pity we can’t all be the son of Dracula. ”
Annette looked between them and blinked, confused. “Who’s Dracula?”
It was Richter’s turn to cackle delightedly, incredibly amused by her question for some reason. Alucard simply frowned at him, looking rather put out. He sighed and looked to Annette apologetically.
“It’s rather inconsequential. More importantly, as my ward, Richter’s poor manners are a reflection of me.” Alucard gave a solemn bow. “My sincerest apologies.”
Annette’s eyebrows raised, and she looked to Richter, saying simply, “I like him.” She turned back to Alucard. “Are you sure you’re not a Belmont?”
Alucard laughed brightly, musing, “Well, I have been told I’m like a favourite uncle …”
Richter was quick to step in between them, blocking his smiling mentor from her. He exhaled, cleared his face of its frown, and held out a hand to her.
“Let me properly introduce myself,” he said with a bright grin, “I am Richter Belmont .”
Annette let him hang for a moment, taking him in, before taking his hand.
“And I’m Annette. I’ve been looking for you.”
His grin turned into a brilliant smile once more, cheeks flushed and eyes bright.
“Please, come inside and let us welcome you properly,” Alucard said with a sweeping hand towards the castle’s entrance, “I’m sure you’re tired from your travels, my dear.”
Annette felt her exhaustion catch up to her and she nodded. “Yes, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Come along, Richter,” Alucard tugged the younger dhampir with him, “Let’s prepare dinner while our guest settles in and you try to explain yourself.”
“Fine, fine." Richter looked over his shoulder, still grinning at her. “And you are staying, right?" The smile grew softer, voice pleased as he asked, "Annette?”
Annette chuckled and waved him off with a nod, happy for a moment’s reprieve to herself. But as she watched the two go, a flash of colour caught her eye. She looked down to her hand. There had still been dust there from when she had shaken hands with Alucard, and now she’d also shaken hands with Richter. But the dust was no longer the blue of an ally like before.
It was a rich and vibrant green, a colour she’d yet to see before with anyone she’d encountered. Her eyes widened and cheeks flushed with realization.
Richter was green.
The colour of a beloved.