Chapter 2: Castle

With his pale-white hands wrapped around Rachael's neck, Orpheus ignored the nearby horde of pedestrians. He squinted his eyes and placed his leg between her thighs, effectively pinning her against a building. "I'll only give you two choices, darling," he whispered with a devious grin, "Become mine, or make me yours."

Orpheus had not fallen in love so quickly, but he had been intrigued by the woman in front of him. It didn't matter if he showed affection purely based on lust, she would be a toy that he would have fun with. He could perceive the weak woman struggle and squirm within his hands, glaring daggers at him. On top of her resistance, he could also determine that she was trying her hardest to buy time for her fellow samaritans. It was clear that she was not stupid, but her way of doing things could be considered rather inefficient.

Slowly, Orpheus loosened his grip around her neck and released her plump lips into the air. "How dare you try and court me with such aggressive means?" She asked, angrily, "I saw those people you killed, the men and women who had risked their lives to defend our city… I will not forgive you so easily!" she exclaimed, once again. Her heart was erratically beating due to fear, but running away was not the best option. In her mind, the only reason that the vampire in front of her was even interested in the first place, was due to her rebellious attitude.

She wasn't entirely wrong, it was a whole new experience for Orpheus—who had never been talked back to before. However, he disliked being defamed for something lawfully correct to do. "I think you have the wrong idea, woman," he said in a dangerous whisper, increased his grip around Rachael's neck, "I simply stepped out of my carriage and stated my presence, they were the ones who attacked me first."

As he spoke to here, the sound of rushed footsteps entered into his ear. He could smell the oil emanating from the vile torches, not to mention the disgusting farm animal smell that came from the villagers. Orpheus scrunched up his nose and picked Rachael up, pressing her head against his chest. She released a strange squeal as he crouched down and propelled into the air, a few hundred meters above the bustling city. Using the nearby wind, he floated in the air with ease, gazing upon the bright town below.

Rachael, too, was intrigued by the scene below. She was scared, but also tongue-tied at the beauty. Hundreds of little flames danced below them on top of the prepossessing luminescence gleaming onto her face. She widened her eyes and gaped her mouth in awe, taking in the surreal situation with glee; nearly forgetting about the murderous vampire behind her.

Seeing the woman act so shocked and surprised at the current display, caused a gentle light to escape from Orpheus's eyes, even if it was only for a moment. He caressed her brunette hair with his graceful fingers and pointed toward an abandoned chapel at the corner of the city. "Underneath that, my old manor and servants reside." he paused, "they haven't seen the dark of night, nor the light of day, in years…" he continued, wistfully.

Rachael glanced at Orpheus, "my grandfather used to me stories of your…" she hesitated for a moment, "of your kind… he told me about how ruthless the vampires were, how they massacred members of every race without a single moment of hesitation. However, he never told me that they could fly."

Taken aback, Orpheus couldn't help but release a chuckle. "I'm not entirely sure on how the members of my race acted while I was asleep, but I don't associate myself with them anymore," he said while stroking her hair, a gentle smile on his face. "A hierarchy exists amongst the vampires, some are not able to live freely, so all of those atrocities are most likely the cause of one duke.

Before Rachael could even reply, Orpheus moved downward, swiftly landing atop the abandoned chapel. He used another gale of wind to softly transport the girl toward the other side of the road. She wanted to rebuke or lash out at him, but she decided to just keep her mouth shut and observe. In the years she had lived in this town, she had always been told to steer clear from the chapel.

Once the gal was a safe distance away, Orpheus raised both of his hands. He slit a part of his wrists and let a vermilion, red blood drip onto the roof. It flowed down and entered into a crack which branched out into a plethora of different fissures until it formed a strange, circular design. Gradually, it began to light up and glimmer with a shade of rosy red. Following the change of color, the ground began to rumble as well. The building shifted from its robust foundation and started to decay.

Seeing this scene, Orpheus let out a chuckle. "To think a church, of all things, would be built on my house…"

He raised his hand and lifted the rubble with a massive blast of wind, projecting it westward, far from the city of Rahvin. Afterward, a huge hole formed in the area where the chapel had just been. The ground shook even more violently as a castle began to rise; as if it were trying to pierce the heavens. Four colossal towers rested on each corner of the manor, ominously pointing upward and threatening any potential visitors. Furthermore, a huge clock was allocated at the core, ticking away, endlessly.

The mansion emitted a very dark and eerie atmosphere, but the darkness didn't shroud any of the manors traditional beauty. Windows that were decorated with red drapes, doors accentuated with golden engravings, and even stone gargoyles lining the entryway. Rachael, at the side, couldn't help but heave a breath of cold air. She had never even left her small town, let alone baring witness to something as extraordinary as she just did.

Alas, reality soon kicked in. The loud noises and distinct rumbling inevitably invoked the attention of the entire city. She could hear the many villagers rushing to the scene, attempting to investigate the disturbance and put an end to the "intruder."

Rachael glanced at the floating Orpheus in curiosity—she was inquisitive as to how he would solve the current predicament. His strength was unquestionable, she had seen the situation at the front gate first-hand, but his morals were an entirely different matter. If he were telling the truth, then he wouldn't attack innocent bystanders unless they attacked first. Of course, Rachael doubted that the man had any hint of morals or common sense, but she would still defend her fellow villagers if needed… even if it meant sacrificing herself for them.

Since she had somehow gained his interest, Rachael steeled herself to use it to her own advantage, protecting her family if need be. But, contrary to her expectations, Orpheus didn't appear to be worried in the slightest. Instead, the handsome noble merely drifted to the ground and dusted off his clothes. He wiped off his tophat and resituated his out-of-place strands of hair, slicking them behind his ear.

His alluring eyes glanced toward the encroaching citizens without much emotion, if any at all. A mere phantasm was not the only ability a noble vampire possessed, they also wielded mighty and innate hypnotism. This fact was especially true for Orpheus, also known as Hypnos, the incorporation of both sleep and dreams. He was one of the most dangerous vampires in existence, merely due to his ridiculously threatening auxiliary capabilities.

Thinking to here, a melodious tune echoed out from a single snap of his fingers. It entered into the human assemblies ears, causing their eyes to slowly gloss over. Their quick movements gradually slowed down until they actually stopped and turned around. "Huh, what were we doing here in the first place?" one of the men asked, to which similar replies were heard all throughout the crowd.

They were just average humans with no fighting power to even speak of, let alone being capable of deflecting Orpheus's hypnotism. This event was as he expected, so he didn't waste much more time and immediately walked toward the apprehensive woman in front of him. Her head was tilted to the side, and the resolve she painstakingly prepared felt utterly worthless. "Y-you, what did you just do?" she asked hurriedly.

Orpheus rolled his eyes, "I didn't feel like spilling more blood. I'm quite the neutral vampire, you know?" he replied. Although he didn't mind killing, he would prefer not getting his hands dirty.

Rachael was taken aback, "you… hypnotized them?" she asked.

"Well, yes, of course, I thought that was obvious?" Orpheus responded with a matter of fact tone.

A dark premonition assaulted the young and curvy woman, "I forbid you from ever using that magic on me…" she said in a muffled voice, the fear hidden in the depths of her tone showcasing itself. Nothing was scarier than someone forcing you to do something against your will, and you not even knowing it.

Her words caused Orpheus's eyes to widen, while his lips curled, "don't worry, darling," he said while walking closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I prefer the challenge, climbing a mountain that shouldn't be climbed. It would be boring if I simply hypnotized you, would it not?"

Rachael didn't immediately reply, so Orpheus grabbed her hand and pulled her into the entryway of his castle. They walked along the red carpet and soon arrived in front of the large double-doors. He lifted his right hand and gently knocked on the door, to which it was uniformly opened from the inside.

Light pierced through the opened crack and brightened up both Orpheus's and Rachael's faces. Large chandeliers and sconces lit up the living room, their small flames endlessly flickering. More notably, two rows of wonderfully dressed men and women bowed deeply as they greeted Orpheus with polite smiles on their faces. "Welcome home, my lord," they shouted in unison.

Orpheus responded with a curt nod, opting to pull Rachael into the well-decorated mansion. She glanced both left and right with stars in her eyes, observing every single minute detail. The smell of roses and apples invaded her nose as she twirled around, appreciating the beauty of the manor. As a simple farm girl, such a sight was unprecedented—she felt like a queen.

Seeing her dance left and right, Orpheus grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look into his eyes, "do you like what you see?" he asked.

Rachael scoffed, "not anymore," she replied with a chuckle and swatted his hand away. Although she appreciated the castle, it was not enough to sway her heart. Materialistic things were never something that could ever reach into the depths of her emotions. Instead, she preferred genuine love and care—which she has unfortunately never had the chance of tasting. Her husband was unbelievably selfish and acted like some kind of saint, which irritated her to no end. He was the "safe" choice, but the absolutely boring one as well.

Orpheus was unperturbed by Rachael's inappropriate actions, he felt that they were amusing. Resistance was not something that he lamented, rather, he enjoyed it. Slowly corrupting the innocent girl and causing her to fall in love with him, he loved the game. In reality, as gentle as he appeared to be, he was the most aggressive of the noble vampires. To him, fighting the humans and other races was pointless—he just wanted to be amused.

Thinking to here, he glanced at his servants who were glaring at the human woman. He removed his tophat and unbuttoned his tail-coat, "Sebastian, cleanse these and rid them of their filth," he ordered.

A man with wavy blonde hair, delicate facial features, and a fancy suit emphasized by a monocle, quickly approached Orpheus. He reached out and received the clothes with care, a tear forming over his right eye. "As you wish, my master."

Orpheus rolled his eyes and scanned the other servants, "I forbid any of you to touch my new toy," he paused, "failure to adhere to my orders will result in death… you are dismissed."

After dismissing the servants, he grabbed Rachael by the arm and dragged her upstairs, where his room was located. She didn't mind his pull, and merely focused on the surroundings, admiring their beauty. Though she was a bit hardheaded, it wasn't challenging for her to adapt to new scenarios—she had always been known for learning new things quickly.

He dragged her into his room, which was just as fabulous as the other parts of the castle. A large bed fit for kings, fluffy blankets, huge mirrors, a fancy bathroom, and an exquisite carpet decorated the room. It was painted in a luscious grey, soothing to the eye and forcing the limelight onto the other furniture. Overall, it was quite the eye-candy.

Rachael admired the room for a total of five minutes, "This is my room?" She asked with a twirl.

Orpheus acted dumb and tilted his head to the side, "no, no, darling… this is our room."

Rachael rolled her eyes, "I'm married."

A small chuckle escaped from Orpheus's thin lips as he leisurely stripped and entered into his sleepwear. His large bulge presented itself and caused Rachael to blush and glance to the left, avoiding contact. She was waiting for his quip, but he didn't reply until he was nearly nude.

"You are not married," Orpheus stated after a moment of silence.

Rachael frowned, "you promised that you would let one of us live, while the other stayed with you…?" she asked in an unsure tone.

Orpheus didn't immediately reply and approached the flustered woman, "first of all, I said that one of you could live, and one of you could stay with me, both of those being you," he said, slyly, "second of all, you never loved him in the first place… you were planning on leaving him soon, anyway."

"How did you kno-"

Before Rachael could finish her sentence, Orpheus tossed her onto the bed and blew out the lights. "You can mourn for your loss all you want, but you can't lie to yourself. Your ex-husband is dead, and now, you can focus on me without any qualms," he said in a soft tone, pulling the covers over both of their bodies.

He could feel her trembling body, but he didn't pay it much mind. He knew that corrupting the lass would take time, but removing her past relationships was the first step. If he touched her now, endless resentment and hatred would halt any progress for an innumerable amount of time. The romance was all about patience and timing, or so Orpheus thought as both he and the confused Rachael drifted off to sleep.