Sire

"Playing with Wednesday was incredibly fun, as always." Dracul said aloud. "I knew she would understand the fact that I was not only speaking about the music we made together. She loves the game, she loves a mystery, and she loves overcoming a challenge. I will provide them all." He sat on the throne in his dorm room, acquired from where, who knows.

"However, it would appear that even without my presence, she would have plenty of fun activities to engage in, all her own. That little mutt may have taken my kill, but I will have the last laugh. I will rip that dog's collar from its neck and choke it with it. Eventually. Her games are piling. The least I can do is let her have her fun and provide a little help along the way." Dracul continued to speak, as he sipped the blood from the wine glass in his hand.

"Soon, her 17th birthday would be upon us. She would physically, be the same age as me. I wonder what gift I should give her? Perhaps a body to kill? A infidel to exploit? Time would tell. For now," he paused his monologuing and looked down in front of him, "I have other matters to handle. Like the one currently kneeling before me in my very dorm room." He narrowed his eyes, taking in the elegantly dressed figure posturing at his feet.

*Sigh*

"At least your arrival was quiet." He looked to the blood that swirled in his glass, "and the accoutrements are appreciated." The air growing heavy between the two. A red energy similar in appearance to blood could be seen swirling in the air around the room. "Therefore, I can forgive you for pulling me so far from the school with your call, which caused me to rush." He turned his gaze back towards the figure. "However, the fact that you took it upon yourself to follow me back and observe my interaction with my little death, is not easily forgiven."

As the last word was spoken, the figure in front of him smashed into the ground from their kneeling position. The figure seemed to be in a great deal of pain, if one observed the spasming of their body, however their face betrayed the observation. Their face displayed pure enjoyment and ecstasy. She spasmed and shivered, not once removing her eyes from Dracul's, as he stared down at her.

Then, whatever torture she was undergoing, ended.

Immediately, she recovered, and returned to her kneeling position, her face took on an air of solemnity. All moisture evaporated from her body instantly, whether it be sweat or otherwise.

"Katherine, tell me of my time away."

Dracul had learned much from the discussion he had with his former head maid and former top assassin.

He learned that in the time that the world believed him to be dead, just about all traces of his true history had been buried or erased by those who once called themselves his allies.

The few who stuck by him and gave him the time he needed to seal himself and obscure his presence, had been hunted from one end of the Earth to another, in the years that followed his death. But as the years went on, all those who had betrayed their oath had gradually weakened.

Their abilities lessened, their strength deserted them.

The once glorious rulers of the world, reduced to mere husks of their former selves, and the ones who had been hunted took their revenge.

His loyal followers, those who survived, rose up and swept through the ones who betrayed, ending them and their immediate families.

They would have ended all traces of their bloodlines, but by that point, traces of them existed all over the planet.

Therefore, in order to do as he taught them, and maximize their efficiency without becoming exasperated, they created a council amongst themselves, created rules and guidelines, and separated to different parts of the world in order to regulate and suppress all those who carried traces of the ones who betrayed and make certain they never gained the lost strength of the old. They termed them outcasts.

Then, they went on to live their lives.

The world evolved.

Humans and outcasts grew in population and those who kept their faith awaited his return.

They believed he would one day.

Their reasoning being the fact that their strength remained. Their ties to him were not severed. They truly believed it. Why else would only those who betrayed lose strength, but not them.

Only 5 of them remained.

They secluded themselves from the world.

Created families that stood separate from everything and rarely interacted with the population, however their existence was known.

They were believed to be ancient, mysterious families that stood at the top of the world.

The belief was correct.

However, in their seclusion, many things popped up that they did not anticipate.

Humans developed tools and weapons capable of harming them.

The world was picked clean of a large portion of its natural resources.

Space had become an option.

Communication, information, and travel had been streamlined.

All of which was, to them, even more reason to not get involved.

It all seemed incredibly messy and annoying.

The days of elegance, refinement, and sovereignty had been lost.

Few respected anything outside of their own feelings.

Essentially, it was nothing Dracul did not expect or already knew.

Though, he was different from his long-lived followers.

He knew that instead of avoiding the world, they should shape it instead. He would. He will. Incredibly easily. The world was made of sheep, along with a few lions. He would dominate.

The only thing that made him feel anything at all really, was the knowledge that only 5 of the original 15 remained. It brought an anger to him that, should he have known in the beginning, when he had first awoken, would have definitely led to him breaking through his seal and rampaging through the world, until his energy gave out. It would have been illogical and ridiculous, but he was hardly sane in those days.

The thought occurred to him that perhaps, that was the reason he had suppressed the links that were tied to him, and only gave a brief glance to know if any existed. He could feel his links out there, but never how many. Now, he knew.

However, he did not lose hope.

He was in a world where spirits roamed.

Perhaps, he would see his loyal ones again, one day.

"That is some backstory," he dead-panned, his face expressionless. Old habits died hard, especially when speaking to one to whom that habit was attuned. "Tell me, about yourself, personally. You have spoken of building families and settling down. Have you done so?" He asked his most loyal servant. He hoped for it to be so. She had only ever known him.

She was brought to him as a child.

Raised to serve him, and partially by him, through emulation.

It was all she knew, but not all she could know.

She looked down at the floor, breaking eye contact with him for the first time since she had first knelt.

"I have, your Majesty." He could see the pleasant smile begin to show on her face. He felt happy for her. "I have adopted many throughout my time. Raised them to be capable of serving you and sent them throughout the world to await your return." His happiness fled him abruptly. He looked at her pleasant smile, his face expressionless. He felt cheated.

"What about love, Katherine. I know you do not retain your virginity. That I can feel, with you this close. Your body has no secrets from me. However, I do not know your heart. Have you experienced love? True companionship?" He questioned her. He wanted it to be so, but he was not sure. She was always stubborn.

She looked up at him, back into his emotionless eyes. "I...I have, sire. It will not affect my ability to serve you." She added quickly. "We have never spoken about, anything of the sort, however I know a good servant should be entirely devoted to her sire, but it...it just happened. We met and I felt...I felt seen in a different way. A warmth I had never known, other than from being in your presence. I did not want to lose it." She looked ashamed. Guilty. He always found this side of her funny, as well as bothersome. He was her everything and she would not have a single aspect of the world not fall at his feet. He accepted her as she was and supported her decisions. Always allowing her a choice. Perhaps, that is why she always chose to be loyal to him. It was always her own will.

So, with a choice she made, selfishly, for herself, he chose to give her a reward.

His expressionless face slowly, ever so slowly, relaxed. His eyes gained a barely discernable softness, and his lips stretched into a smile that only a few had ever seen, in either of his lives.

It was a smile of true gratitude.

He heard her beating heart stop. Her body froze. He scanned her thoughts and found them empty.

"Shit."

He gulped down the last of the blood in his goblet, sat it down, stood from the throne, and walked away, into the shadows to see what his little death was up to.

He knew she would be there for a while.

Once, when he had been laughing at something done by the werewolf progenitor, she caught sight of it.

She stayed stuck for a week at that time.

He figured she had grown out of it.

Oh well, he knew he had a smile to die for.

And a smile to kill for.

She had done that too.

That is why he chose to meet her away from the school.

He knew, should his little death ever do anything to remove the smile from his face, he would have to put his favorite minion, servant, and head maid on ice. At least, until she cooled down. Pun intended, because he would literally freeze her from the inside out. It was a favorite move of his. A movement with style.