Lord Draven

With contempt contorting her face, “I'm not a human.” River spat at him.

As though it was written in her blood otherwise, he moved closer to her and sniffed her in even more like some hard drug. “You smell like one.” He finally said with a voice that held both the mixture of masculinity and femininity.

“Well, I'm not. Anyway, it's none of your business. Give me back my letter. I have to get out of here.” River pressed on, left hand outstretched.

He glanced at the letter in his hand for a brief moment, River noticing how long his lashes were. And then, like a robot, he turned and began to walk away with her letter in hand!

River cursed under her breath before running after him. “Hold your horses right there! What in the hell are you doing picking up someone’s letter and walking away with it like it's yours?!” She hollered.

Had she not supposed to be hiding from rogues and whatever dangerous creatures might be in these woods, River would have screamed at him at the topmost of her voice. He was so god damn annoying.

He did a carefree swivel back to her and spoke in such a calm way that only infuriated River the more. “I found it which makes it mine now. I’d rather you shoo away, little human.”

“What?!” River blurted out, forgetting all about his intimidating aura and just pissed to the core. “You must be out of your mind, thinking this is some movie where you act the cool villain. Give me my letter and you’ll gratefully never see me again.”

He remained motionless, not batting an eyelid. To River, she wasn't sure he was even breathing by how stiff he looked.

“You want this so badly, don't you?” He finally said and tilted his head.

Rolling her eyes, “Isn't that much obvious?”

“I’d like me a little test– to see just how deep this desperation of yours is.”

“What test?”

“Come with me. I'll give you a work worth of your letter. When you're done with it, and I'm satisfied, you have your letter.” He bargained.

That sounded to River like the most absurd thing of the season. How could this damn stranger pick up her letter and now begin to bargain with her just to give it back?

She had read of how impulsive vampires could be. She never knew it was this serious.

Unable to contain a scoff, “And why should I come with you? So that you can lure me to wherever you have planned under your sleeve and drink my blood?”

Somehow, what she said broke a faint smile out of him. It was such a brief curling of a corner of his mouth that if she wasn't gawking at him, she might have missed.

“As I said, I'll give you a work’s worth of your letter and send you on your way as soon as you’re done with it and I'm satisfied by the result. Do not think you can retrieve this…” He raised the letter.

“…without working for it. I particularly am not known for my generosity. Technically, this letter now belongs to me.” He finished and blinked.

Could this night just end already?! River screamed internally. Did this vampire just say if he was satisfied with the result?

What did he mean satisfied?!

And what psychopath would fuss with a girl over her letter? A damn letter?!

“You're seriously going to bully me over my letter? And what is this stupid bargain you’re making? Is this some new vampire tactic to lure in prey?” River blurted, hands on her hips.

She watched his shoulder rise slightly and drop. “You don't seem to get it, do you? Had I wanted to kill you, you would be lying on the floor right now, a dead girl with blood-stained clothes and drained blood.”

Before River could react, he sped to her like the wind - happened in the blink of an eye. One minute he was a few feet away, and now he was in front of her.

She wanted to retrieve it, fearing that he was here to demonstrate what he just described when she felt a hand slide behind her waist. On a whim, he drew her closer to him until her stomach was glued to his and their heads a breath away.

“Don't you dare run, little human.” He whispered into her face.

At first, River was too stunned to speak. And then, when his face was just right above hers, she felt her throat parching, but when he spoke, her senses came running back to her.

With three punches on his chest, “Let me go!” She yelled out a little too loudly.

Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. Her scream attracted a group of voices that she was very sure belonged to wolves.

Now, her problems had toupled. She needed to run, to escape!

She struggled with her captor, trying to yank his hands off of her. “Please, just let me go.” She finally begged, close to tears.

“No, little human. That can not happen. Make your choice now.” He said, calm despite the trouble coming for the both of them.

Just then, a thought ran through River. The rogues would definitely not react well to the presence of a vampire. Hence, practically, they were both in trouble.

She smirked at him knowingly. “If you don't let me go, those wolves will get to us and tear us both into shreds.”

“Well, I can take care of myself even though I can not say the same for you.” He smirked back in the same knowing way.

He knew he was winning.

River was left at a crossroads, unsure of what decision to take. Cold sweats had begun to break out of her skin. Just why was she always so unlucky in life? Her troubles had begun from the day she was born.

She was tired. Really tired.

She was about to think when the twigs of branches signified that the enemy was getting closer. Yet, River had no idea what enemy to be afraid of – the one coming behind her or the one in front of her?

She chose the former.

Shutting her eyes, “Alright, fine. You win.” She said between gritted teeth.

“I always do.” Was the last thing she heard before he carried her and threw her behind him in a piggyback.

And then, he ran faster than the wind. River could barely breathe. She had to shut her eyes, pray, and hope she didn't just make the worst mistake of her life.

.

.

FIVE YEARS LATER

~~

“Oh, God. I did.” River paced around, panting heavily and throwing her neck left and right in search of her daughter. “I told her to stay put!”

That little rebel never listened. She had other things to worry about than a stubborn daughter. She, however, could make a wild guess where she was.

Running through the dark hallways, she prayed with every fiber of her being that no one got her before she did. Otherwise, she’d get them both in trouble again.

For five years, she had been paying her debt to Lord Draven. She could still remember that miserable night when her whole world fell apart.

Lord Draven had brought her here to his home where his whole family was to help with the cleaning of this new old and rusty mansion that they had just moved to for the night until she owed him something bigger.

She could still remember….

.

FIVE YEARS AGO

~~

The wind whipped at River's face as he sprinted her away from the woods, onto mountains and cliffs until they arrived at what seemed to be yet another network of mountains.

The harsh wind was a contrast to the warmth of Lord Draven's body against hers while they ran. Her heart pounded fast with every minute until he deposited her unceremoniously on an overgrown lawn before a looming mansion.

The mansion loomed, dark and imposing, and was shrouded in overgrown vines that fused at the peeling paint clinging to the walls. Broken windows, sagging roofs, and everything that marked a place too old to be used was what the mansion was.

“Welcome to your new workplace, little human," He announced like he didn't just toss her off like some unwanted pest.

River shivered, not just from the cold but at the sight in front of her. "Workplace? Are you serious? This place looks like it's about to fall apart!"

And – like the perfect place to butcher a naive girl like her!

He grunted and threw his hands behind him. "Precisely. That's why I need your help, little human. You see, my family," he paused dramatically, "has a bit of a– nomadic lifestyle."

"Nomadic?" River scoffed. "More like homeless vampires with a taste for abandoned houses."

“Perhaps. Anyway, we never stayed in one place for too long, and my father assigned me with the prestigious job of finding the perfect place for our next home.” He supplied.

River’s eyes once again trailed to the dark mansion. So this was his perfect?

Hands akimbo, “You're insane if you think this old mansion is PERFECT. And also if you think I'll buy your little story. Vampires don't give birth, so how do you have a father?”

“Well, not exactly biological but my maker.” He straightened up and the breeze blew his long hair about, painting him in the picture of nothing short of breathtaking.

River gulped. “Bullshit.” She spat. “This is just yet another ploy to get me inside and kill me. I'm out.” She declared.

And like he always did, he sped to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to him with it so that her breast was firmly against his chest. “If you think killing you inside would be more interesting than doing it out here where I can savor the smell of your blood as the wind carried its scent around, then, little human, it is you who is insane. You are, after all, a scrawny girl alone in the woods at night. I would have had your blood if that was my intent.”

He coughed faintly when he saw the gawking look in her eyes and dropped her on the floor with a thud. “I just want a cleaner.”

River winced, rubbing the elbow that made an impact on the floor. “Okay, okay, you win again. Do you promise to give me back my letter after I clean the house for you?”

“I do promise.”

Maybe she should have asked if he’d let her go too. But what to say? The young River was too carefree and careless.