It was a warm night; silent and still.

Erinna had gone outside to enjoy the favourable weather under the stars where she felt most at home. As she looked at the stars littering the sky and listened to the carefree sounds of nocturnal animals, she wondered if her life would ever be like that; if she would ever be free and happy.

She was really absorbing every detail that when there was movement at the edges of the woods surrounding Dracula's castle she saw it. Rising slowly so as not to startle whoever was there, Erinna began taking baby steps in that direction.

"Hello?" She called out.

No answer.

"Is anybody there?"

Silence.

Goosebumps marred her skin and her body gave an involuntary shiver.

Suddenly a woman stepped out of the trees. She was tall, with white hair that brought a frozen waterfall to mind. She could be indisputably described as elegant though her clothes spoke of another era long gone by.

She was beautiful in an unworldly and exotic way. Her aristocratic nose and bronze lips spoke of a royal breeding. Erinna could not figure out what made her so familiar.

The woman lifted a delicate fragile looking hand, motioning for Erinna to come towards her. Filled with a lot of questions and general curiosity, the Elf princess was about to move but felt a heavy definite shape on her. Alarm bells did a ruckus in her head and she opened her eyes from her dream.

Indeed someone lay on top of her, crushing her with their weight. She felt suffocated and out of breath as the assaulter's unpleasant scent terrorised her nostrils. What was happening?

She could not see the person in the dark but knew at once it was a vampire but definitely not Dracula. Even as despicable as he was, she was sure he would never force this on her. There was also the fact that she could sense Dracula's presence; the vampire on top and roaming his filthy hands all over her was a stranger.

"Get off me," she commanded calmly, trying to figure out how to get out of the situation even as her heart pounded in her throat.

"Or what, princess?" He sneered and she balked at the odour that came from his mouth.

"I'll scream."

She knew Dracula's love was something along the lines of infatuation but was also sure he wouldn't want her o get hurt; at least not by someone who was not him; the honour was reserved for himself.

"Your little puppy is not here to save you, and The Count has left the castle so by all means go ahead and scream the palace down."

Realising she had done too much talking Erinna began struggling but her attacker held fast, not even giving an inch. Putting as much force in it as she could, she raised her knee and caught him in the groin.

"You little wench!" His hand came down cruelly and unrestrained on her face, nearly breaking her jaw.

She was stunned for a moment but not for long. His hand closed around the material of her dress before rending it in half.

"No!" Erinna screamed, tears now freefalling from her eyes as she realised the reality of her situation.

He slapped her again and even if she wanted to talk then, she couldn't, her jaw felt dislocated. This was not one of Dracula's restrained blows; it was a full force blow that made her reel and her ears ring. The pain was so intense that she felt it in every part of her.

Suddenly her body started heating up, the temperature rising like something was boiling inside her. She began sweating in buckets. The leftover material from her dress was now plastered against her skin.

"What are you doing, witch?" Her attacker screamed at her, anger masking his obvious fear.

He moved his mouth close to hers, trying to kiss her but she kept turning her face away. Her fight was weak because her body felt like it was going to melt. She began shaking so violently that her attacker failed to continue restraining her. She screamed as an invisible force shot out of her, throwing her assailer across the room.

"You are going to get it now," he snarled leaping towards her.

She closed her eyes bracing herself for his weight but it never came. Instead a sickening sound of bones crushing filled the silence. She opened her eyes tentatively just as Dracula strode over to her.

She began whimpering as the heat spell got worse before eventually screaming her lungs out. He was beside her in an instant, cupping her jaw.

"Damn it, you're burning," he said torturedly looking around the room for something to ease her pain.

Even his cold hands were not helping. She could see the anger build up in his eyes. He immediately let go of her and crossed the room to where he had tossed her attacker a few minutes prior. His hand closed around the other vampire's neck and squeezed as he held him a few feet from the ground.

"What did you do? What did you do you to her, you pathetic maggot?"

He shook the man so much that his teeth rattled.

"Vlad," she breathed, unable to raise her voice anymore.

The heat had become so intense that she was no longer feeling it, instead, she was becoming very faint, her vision blurring.

"Vlad, please." She pleaded, conveying her pain through her eyes.

He looked at her, then at her attacker trying to make a decision. She sighed in relief when he put off his quest for revenge momentarily by letting go of the vampire and coming to her side.

"Shh, I'll take care of it, sweetheart," he promised as he took her in his arms, went to the window and leapt out.

Her heart jumped in panic but he didn't let go and she knew she was safe with him at that moment.

Dracula looked down at the woman in his arms and his heart clenched. What if he was too late? No, he told himself firmly; nothing was going to take his bride from him.

He ran at vampire speed, wheezing through the forest until in a heartbeat he was at the waterfall in the woods. He didn't hesitate before plunging them both into the depths of its mini lake.

As they rose to the surface, his bride took huge gulps of air. His arms remained around her small waist, he could not let go when this was her first swim.

Her eyes were closed, the tiniest of whimpers escaping her lips here and then. Her dress or at least the remnant of it had already fallen into the water though she still had her corset.

"The corset has to go, sweetheart," he muttered to himself as he drove is gaze away from the temptation of her up thrust breasts.

He turned her around and began working on her corset. He thrust the restriction away and held her close to his colder body, ignoring all other sensations coming from her soft lush breasts pressed against the hard contours of his chest ; his sole goal being to save his bride.

Soon he was also warm so he swam them to a colder part of the pool.

He was beginning to get really confused. If the heatstroke was just Erinna's reaction to the traumatic event he would rather not think about then it should have stopped in the cold temperature of the water.

She was becoming weaker and the heat was not relenting. Fear as he had never known gnawed at him. No, he wasn't losing her; not that night, not ever. He would do whatever it took to save the one person who he cared about in the world.

"Erinna!" he called her name out.

She had been silent for too long.

"Erinna! Angel, you cannot go to sleep. Keep moving, hit me if you want to; but keep moving."

No response.

He hated it, had promised himself he would never do it again, but he couldn't for the life of himself let her die. Muttering a silent apology, he slapped her so hard that her head jerked to the side.

Immediately her eyes shot open, the emerald burning with shock, disbelief and rage. But she was full awake.

"How dare you?" She moved her hand to slap him and hit his chest.

No woman had ever raised a hand to him but he let it go just as he let a lot of things go with Erinna.

"That's better."

"Shh, I want to sleep."

He hit her again.

"Listen to me, Erinna. I know you want to sleep, love but if you sleep you'll die; that's the sleep of death and I can't let you die, even if I have to hit you to hell and back. Stay awake and keep talking. I don't care what you say but let me hear your passionate hate rants about me so I know you are alive."

He would probably have hell to pay for laying his hands on her again but what choice was she leaving him? He just knew he had to keep her alive, whatever the cost.

"What's happening to me?"

"Probably a reaction to what happened," he answered.

"Ok."

***

Erinna had never thought such heat could exist; her organs were burning from inside out.

Why wouldn't he let her sleep? It would just be for a few minutes.

The water had momentarily made it better but now it was getting warm too. What was happening to her?

And then it struck her; she was dying. Oh no, she didn't want to die. She wanted to live; for her people, for Vlad. They all needed her so much. If she didn't live to help him who would look past the ruthless murderer and see that he was also a victim of something he had no control over whatsoever?

He might not be her most favorite person in the world but in his own weird cursed way, the creature of the night loved her. Returning his feelings for her was too beyond the scope of the imagination but she has told herself she'd break his curse so that he could finally love someone by Choice not witch compulsion.

"Erinna!" The sound of her name penetrated through to her consciousness.

"Erinna!" She knew that voice, it was Vlad's voice.

His arms were around her holding her but where was he? She opened her eyes but could not see clearly through the haze of pain. Her throat was so dry that she was not sure if any sound would come out of it.

"Vlad," she croaked.

"Thank God." His voice was close, in front of her.

She was beginning to make some kind of sense of things.

"Vlad," she tried again.

"Now listen carefully my love, listen harder than you've ever listened your whole life. I think this is magic. You have no control of your powers and they outpoured when you projected strong emotions; your fear and your anger. Your body came up with this form of self defence. I'm going to try to reverse it; I'm not sure if it'll work but it's all we've got."

"What should I do?" Her voice was weak and broken.

"Trust me. I've got you, sweetheart. I won't let anything happen to you. Are you ready?"

She nodded her head.

"Close your eyes," he whispered, his mouth so close to her that their breath was mingling.

She did.

He went behind her, his arms encircling her waist.

"Ok, take a deep breath. You have this power, it flows right through you. But you have to command it, master it. I'm going to help you recognise it. Magic is associated with strong emotions; it is nothing but a projection of our most powerful feelings but nevertheless, it should be controlled."

He took each of her hands in his and slid them from her thighs to her flat belly. They rested on her tummy, with his own holding them down. Strange feelings took over her body and she was so aware of him. She just wanted to melt into him so that they could become utterly one.

"Do you feel my hands?"

"Yes."

"You have no experience with magic so I'm going to make it physical."

He moved her hands half an inch northwards. Something in her lurched.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Those are your powers ; they flow with your life force. We're going to bring them up so you can expel them."

Her face scrunched in confusion. He wanted to get rid of her magic?

"I'm not taking away your powers sweetheart, just the energy. That's what's hurting you."

He moved their hands upward again and she felt the liquid power moving upward together with the sensations his proximity was invoking in her.

"I can control energy but if I take it out of you, you'll get hurt so you have to let it go on your own."

He moved their hands again until they were resting on her chest.

"Do you feel it pooling here?"

She did and her chest felt like it was going to explode.

"It hurts," she whimpered as the familiar pain took over, seeming intensified.

"We're almost there," he assured her even as the pain deepened.

"I can't... I c-c-can't breathe," she gasped the burning at her chest getting worse.

"The easiest way for you to pass the energy to me would be sexually but I think you'd murder me for that when we're out of here so I'll try something else. I'll get inside your mind."

The thought scared her. How could she let him see everything in her mind? But a repeat of what had happened earlier that night ...

While it had been the most pleasurable thing she'd ever experienced, was she ready to tread those waters with him?

Why did these dilemma situations always happen to her?

"Ok."

"I'm going to let go of you, hold on."

She put her arms around his neck and held on. He put his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes. She felt him probing in her mind, skirting her life before Transylvania until he was at the centre of her mind.

"I'm in your mind sweetheart. Now you have to let it go, give it to me," his voice resonated in her mind.

"How?" she whispered.

"Just relax, don't fight me. We're working together so you have no reason to resist me, right?"

"Right," she agreed because whatever he might be, she trusted him with her life.

And then she felt him drawing the negative energy from her, sucking it out of her and with it the heat that had nearly consumed her. When he was done, her body was cool once again though his was burning and she knew what kind of pain he was going through.

"You," she began but he interrupted her.

"I'm fine."

He raised his hands and shot them to the sky. A large fireball seemed to escape from them into the sky before exploding into a thousand myriad lights. The sight was magical.

It was so beautiful that she nearly forgot she had almost died.

When the fireball had been expelled from him, his own temperature had significantly cooled. She wanted to say something, thank him but the events of the day finally caught up with her and she just fainted in his arms.

🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇

When Erinna woke up, she was in the comfort of Dracula's bed, dressed in a white silk nightdress. She decided not to ask how she had gotten in it.

"I thought I would lose you tonight." His voice was tight and controlled.

She turned in the direction of the voice and saw him sitting in a chair five feet from the bed. Her heart lurched.

He was wearing his usual attire of complete black and looking as stunningly handsome as nothing that had ever walked on Earth. It left her speechless.

"I would have never forgiven myself," he continued.

She hated to be grateful to him, it made the lines of their relationship blur but the truth was if he hadn't come when he had things could have gone awry in seconds.

"You saved me."

"Then why doesn't it feel like it? All I can see are his hands on you, the fear in your eyes. I had to ask the maids to bathe you three times in order to remove his scent from you. I wanted to break every bone in his body, let him watch as I feed his eyes to the birds so that he would regret ever coming within ten feet of you but I couldn't go. I had to make sure you were okay first."

Tears at his display of sensitivity and remembrance of the scarring events of the evening oozed from her eyes. He had resisted his basic instinct which always seemed to be retribution and killing, just to take care of her.

"I'm fine. You don't have to kill anyone. Isn't it enough that you saved me?" she asked in a whisper.

She was really tired of violence. It solved nothing. Two wrongs never made a right.

"He touched you," he frowned as if her question was beyond ridiculous.

"I know but there are other ways; no one has to die," she tried to plead with him.

"I gave you Angelica and those girls because I thought maybe somehow you were right and I was wrong but I will not have you pleading for the life of a man who almost raped you."

She looked away knowing that there was no changing his mind right then. She would pursue it later; she just had to make sure he didn't leave her presence to go and carry out his gory wishes.

"How did you know?" She asked instead.

He looked at her blankly not making sense of her random question.

"How did you know I needed you?" Erinna specified.

"I can feel your most intense emotions, your distress, pain...fear. The bond makes me attuned to you."

She didn't know how she felt about that revelation.

"I can't feel yours."

"Because I block them. Trust me, you don't want to feel the things I feel Erinna."

"Where were you? He knew you were not here."

"Our boarders, another raid by the wolves. I thought I wouldn't get here in time. What did he do to you?"

She could see he didn't want to hear it yet somehow needed to.

"He tried to force himself on me."

His fists clenched and his eyes bled over into a red that she knew never heralded anything positive.

"Tell me everything."

"He tore my dress."

There was silence as he mulled over that particular fact.

"Did he touch you?"

"Yes," she nodded, more tears falling from the memory.

"Where?" He asked in a tight voice.

She shook her head as she recalled the humiliating experience again.

"Erinna."

"It doesn't matter, ok?"

"It matters to me. I want to know."

Why he wanted to put himself through that she didn't know.

"My chest."

He closed his eyes; his anger pulsating through the silent room. It didn't bode well for the vampire that he had probably killed a dozen times in his mind.

"Where else?"

"M-my thighs," her voice broke.

"What else did he do?"

"He- he tried to kiss me," she sobbed.

She didn't know how it happened but in an instant her bedside table had been hurled across the room where it absolutely crumbled to pieces.

His fist flew through the castle walls, indenting them at the same time a lightning bolt which she had come to associate with his temper flashed across the sky.

And then he was calm again. Frighteningly calm.

It was the kind of calm that Alexander had warned her about. He had told her it was only when The Count was this calm that you needed to really fear for your life. And in this case, she feared for the life of the man that had tried to take advantage of her.

Erinna knew in all rationality she shouldn't care what happened to him but she did. It was who she was and she couldn't for the life of her stand by while another living and breathing creature suffered.

The Count made his way to her and surprisingly she didn't cringe back into the sheets; she knew he wouldn't harm her. His hand cupped her jaw gently and she shivered from a burst of pleasant feelings.

"You're safe now," he said looking in her eyes, " no one and I mean no one,will ever touch you again. Not as long as I remain undead."

He brought his lips to her forehead and her heart all but leapt out of her chest. After bestowing a kiss that messed with her mind, on her forehead, he straightened and began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked but she knew.

Vlad stopped.

"You don't want me to answer that honestly."

"Don't leave."

"Erinna," he groaned.