Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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After a while, loneliness gets easy to cope with. People get hobbies; ways to pass time, something to take their mind off of it. So long as someone hasn’t felt the warmth of another person, they won’t suffer.

You didn’t suffer either. Even in your small village where everyone knew someone, you hadn’t a person to call friend. No, you barely knew anyone’s name. That’s why it was so easy for you to leave, and why it was easy to be framed.

It was cruel, honestly. But it made sense. If it were you, it would make sense to pin the string of vampire killings on the person who never seemed to leave the house. I mean, no one knew your name—and you, theirs. How could they convict someone they knew couldn’t have done it over the weird-ass living almost separate from everyone else?

So they decided it wouldn't be much to just banish you—it’s not like you were a part of their society anyway.

Either way, living in a cabin in the woods wasn’t bad. You hardly felt the difference, save for the lack of a civilization bustling outside your window. The quiet was nice.

Of course, that meant no visitors. That was fine, too. Who would visit anyway? You didn’t mind it—more time to read or tend to your garden.

The only issue was that it got dark at night. The shadow would blanket over your neck of the woods; the moon was hardly visible to you, if at all. Prevented you from going out after 7—you always made sure to be inside and cozy before then.

And tonight was like any other. It was a laundry day, and so your clothes were hung up outside to dry. You went through your nightly routine, having already bathed and ate, and was enjoying a book in bed when you heard it.

A knock.

You ignored it at first—it was just a tree hitting a window. It was windy that night, after all.

But you heard it again.

This time, you thought you were hearing things. It’s just paranoia, who would be in the middle of the forest at this time of night? And to visit you, no less? It must be the loneliness getting to you.

Except, it talked. Well, whatever knocked on your door, that is. It called for you; there was a person there, for you.

Though, any excitement you would’ve had was replaced with skepticism and suspicion. Like you thought before, no one in their right mind would be knocking on the random cabin door in the deep of the woods. Not when it’s this dark; not when there would be no one you knew at the door.

So, as you creeped towards that door and towards that voice, you clutched the book in your hands. It wasn’t much for a weapon, but it was rather thick and you didn’t want to make extra noise getting a pan from the kitchen anyway.

Peering through your peephole didn’t do much for you. You couldn’t tell who it was because you didn’t see a person. Well, the face of a person. Instead, you saw the bosom.

Wasn’t much use in trying to use it anymore, so for fear of being seen as a pervert (to who, i don’t know), you backed away from it and placed a hand on the knob. You couldn’t see who it was—and it may as well have been the worst idea you’ve ever had—but you knew they probably knew you were there, so you had to open it.

“Hello..?”

You cracked the door with a slow creak, peeking one, and then two eyes around the door to see who it was.

What you were met with was a tall woman. Blonde with short hair, a smile on her face that tried to convey her harmlessness. That smile faltered a bit when she saw someone open the door; it was like she didn’t actually expect to be answered.

“Hello??” You repeated, a bit more clear.

“Oh! Yes, hi!” The woman answered.

“So.. what is it?”

The woman stood there for a moment, only looking down at you. Her eyes roved over your frame, all the way to your feet before they met with yours again. You swear you could see her pupils dilate even in the dark lighting, and you picked up on her breathing getting slightly heavier. It freaked you out a bit.

“Yes! I have a, uhm, a proposition for you. Yeah, a proposition. Could I come in..?” She answered. It seemed like she got distracted easily, she had her mind elsewhere. You had no idea how someone could be thinking of other things when they’re at a stranger’s doorstep in the middle of the woods, but it wasn’t much of your business.

“Well..” You wanted to say no, you’ve no idea who this woman was and you didn’t wanna invite strangers in. But she looked genuine to you. Maybe just once you didn’t have to be a recluse.

“..Yeah, sure, come on in,” You held the door open wider and she lit up faintly, once again like she didn’t expect your kindness.

She stepped over the threshold in long strides, having to duck so she wouldn’t hit her head. She found herself a seat beside the fireplace, holding her hands in front of the heat while you shut the door.

You purposely left it unlocked because—well was it necessary to explain once again? She was still a stranger, never mind how beautiful she was.

And she was damn beautiful.

She took off her hood, revealing more of the short blonde hair that framed her round face perfectly. The warmth from the fire must’ve pleased her, the faint smile she sported sat pretty on her face along with the rest of her soft features.

But—wait—stranger, right. Yeah, that’s still a stranger sitting in front of your fire. What if she was secretly an axe murderer? That door was best left unlocked, maybe even wide open in case it got too crazy.

Still, you sat in front of her.

“So…” you started, wrapping your hand in the other while you sat. “That.. proposition you have?”

“Yes, there’s something I need from you.” She kept her eyes on the fire, reflected light from the flame turning pale yellow eyes into deep amber.

“You see, I’m having.. trouble finding food. It’s hard to get.”

Oh, that’s it? She was homeless or something? That explains why she was at your door so late when she didn't know you at all.

“Well, I don’t really have much—”

“You misunderstand. I’ve been looking for someone in particular; one who seems like they didn’t interact with people much, no family, live alone, you get the gist. You are them, yes?”

Her tone sounded more serious, like she wasn’t out of it anymore. That, paired with her description, worried you a bit. What could she need someone who kept to themselves for? And why open by saying you needed food?

Wait.

Oh.

Oh..

The woman picked up on your realization quickly, and immediately raised hands as she tried to explain.

“Wait, wait, please hear me out!—”

You were already standing by the door, eyeing her cautiously.

“I get that it sounds ominous, but I really don’t want to hurt you!” She tried to explain, beginning to stand from the wooden chair she was in, causing a creak to ring through the silent room. You flinched at it, stretching fingers to the knob of the door as if you were ready to escape.

She realized it made you nervous, so she quickly sat again.

“Please. I really need your help, so don’t be too afraid of me,” her tone was softer, she was trying her hardest not to intimidate you.

You thought it over in silence. She didn’t seem like she’d eat you, but it was always a possibility. Though, you were inclined to hear what she had to say.

“..Fine. But stay over there.”

She smiled at this, it was almost like she started glowing and sparkling just because she was being given a chance.

“My name is Falin. I live in the castle overhead, with my.. husband,” You noticed she hesitated on that word, ‘husband’, but you didn’t mention it.

“I’m—we’re vampires.” There’s the confirmation for the idea you had earlier.

“I hate hunting though. I get blood from dead animals and store it at home. I don’t even get it myself and instead have Shuro get it for me”—Shuro must be the husband—“and he’s getting sick of it.”

She paused for a moment, twiddling her thumbs and looking at her lap as she continued to speak.

“I thought maybe I could get someone who would be willing to come live with me and.. y’know..”

You blinked at her.

“..You want me to come with you and be your ethically sourced meal?”

“Exactly that!!” She said, lighting up when she assumed you understood.

“So you will, right?”

“No.”

Her face fell immediately, the original relief from being understood turning into disappointment.

“But—”

“I’m not living with you so you can drink my blood until I'm dead. Find someone else.”

She stopped her protest, the light in her eyes dulling at the rejection. It must’ve been really important to her.

After a few beats of silence, she spoke up, though she didn’t look at you.

“..I really don’t want to hurt people,” She said, so low it was almost to herself.

“I don’t want to hurt people in order to live, so I thought that it was at least better to get someone who was willing. And I don’t want to forcefully take from people, so I won’t force you either.”

You watched as she stood, putting her hood back on and taking those long strides to your door. A low grumble was heard, and you came to the conclusion that it was her stomach. She was hungry.

It was a common belief that vampires got feral when hungry. That their eyes turned blood red and they fed on whatever they could sink their teeth into. But, she wasn’t like that at all. She only looked sad.

You started to feel bad. She seemed like she didn’t mean any harm, and she was leaving because you weren’t willing. You’ve never heard of a vampire who didn’t wanna hurt people (hell, you’ve never even met one before today), but here she was. Disappointed because you didn’t want to come with her.

You didn’t know why you felt bad, but you couldn’t control it. Maybe it was because you thought she was pretty. You didn’t like to upset pretty girls.

With that fact in mind, something made you reach out for the excess fabric of her black cloak and stop her from leaving.

“..Okay, okay. You don’t have to look like a sad puppy,” you huffed. “I’ll hear you out.”

Once you stopped her and said that, the sadness in her face immediately cleared up and she turned around to wrap you in a very tight hug.

“Wait—!”

You didn’t know if it was supernatural strength or just because she was bigger than you, but either way you were having trouble breathing. You felt like some bones would break, too.

In tapping her back as much as you could and trying to get out “I can’t breathe, let go,” (only about half of those words were even coherent), you got her to put you down.

“You can’t just do that out of nowhere,” you spoke after taking a moment to catch your breath. “And I didn't even say I would go with you. I said I'd hear you out.”

“Oh, right,” she took a step back from you, giving a short bow as an apology.

She stood there for a moment, as if she was unsure what to say next. For some reason, her awkwardness after basically pleading you to hear what she had to say pissed you off.

“So? It’s time for you to explain,” You said, finding a seat in the chair you sat in earlier.

“Well, that was about it.”

“What?”

“That was basically it. I want you to come live with me and let me use you to eat. You’ll be cared for in my home, and I don’t think it would be much different since you live alone now.”

Even though she told the truth, that offended you.

She took notice of the faint scowl on your face after that, so she panicked and raised her hands as she began to explain herself.

“Not that it’s a bad thing!! It’s just that since you’re clearly alone, you probably won’t be missed—” that was worse.

“It’s okay, I get it,” You waved it off, the slight annoyance disappearing since you knew she didn’t mean to be rude.

“So basically, you want me to live with you and get bit once in a while? And I won’t die, right?”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “You’ll stay alive and I’ll see to it that your needs are met while you live with me.”

“No catch?”

“None.”

You contemplated it—on one hand, that meant free meals and free bed. I mean, you had a free bed and free food here, but you had to grow or hunt for it and your cabin didn’t have heating. She was offering you to live in a castle with free meals you don’t have to slave for, and that’s a great benefit.

On the other hand, you have to be bitten. You don’t even know how often vampires eat or how much, you could be getting pints of your blood removed every day until you can’t refuse because you have no more strength. And then you’d die.

Free food though.

It was a tough decision, so after a long enough silence you decided to ask a question that would determine your answer.

“Will it hurt?”

She raised an eyebrow as if she was confused why that was what you cared about most, which was a good enough reason to be confused anyway. Nevertheless, she answered.

“Not if I do it a certain way.”

This was a good enough answer for you.

“Then I guess I’m in.”

She gave a skeptical expression again—for someone who was ready to run for the hills after realizing she essentially wanted to eat you, you seemed to agree easily.

“Really?” Her head tilted faintly.

“Ask too many questions and I’ll change my mind.”

“Noted.”

* * * * * * * * * *

A low rumble ripped through a quiet room.

Then, a groan.

A woman rolled over in bed, her body making a subtle dip in the mattress. She didn’t want to get up, that would mean using energy she didn’t have to search for something that wasn’t there.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check. Maybe Shuro brought back a couple pints..

She stood from her bed, the creaking of the old wood underfoot ringing through the spacious room. She was used to the sound by now, the castle was old.

She made it to the hallway, footsteps echoing through the long wing built of stone and brick. It was a long and uncomfortable tread; the entire castle felt uninviting and she hated walking through any part of it, and her piercing hunger wasn’t exactly helping.

Eventually though, she made her way to the cellar. There, in the corner of the wide room, was a rather large freezer that was specifically for her—filled with jars and odd containers of both animal and human’s blood. She took more liking to the animal blood, but it was human blood that nourished her the way she needed to be.

But, it was empty.

No jar, no odd container, nothing that held even an ounce of what she craved so badly. Shuro must’ve forgotten to restock.

That meant she had two options: go and kill someone or something herself, or die of starvation.

Maybe she was delirious because of the hunger, but there was a third option she’d been considering over the past month or so that she decided to enact instead.

Next thing she knew, she was being as quiet as possible when she pushed the tall wooden doors open, leaving the castle behind her as she made her way down the path and through the woods. She hiked through the quiet—and very very dark—woods for some hours and hours more, and each step started to hurt more as she got hungrier and hungrier.

Right when she was ready to give up and just go home, there was a small cabin in the distance. There was light inside, and laundry hung up on the lines outside. She didn’t know why anyone would try to dry clothes at night in the woods, but it wasn’t her business.

What was her business, though, was that there was clearly a person in there.

If she were in her right mind, she wouldn’t knock on a random person’s door in the middle of the night. However, she was hungry and she didn’t have time to sit and think about the lack of logic behind her actions.

Without thinking too much about it, she knocked on the door and waited.

There was nothing after the first knock, but there was no way someone wasn’t here. She knocked again.

This time, she spoke up.

“Uhm, is there someone home?” She asked. Immediately, there was shuffling. It got closer to the door, and then it stopped.

Now the door was opening.

“Hello..?”

Oh, it was a woman. She didn’t expect someone to answer, let alone a woman.

She stared down at her for a moment, still half in shock about her actually answering the door. The other half was reserved for the shock that came from the stranger being pretty.

She would’ve stood there silently the entire time if the girl didn’t speak up.

“Hello??”

She snapped out of it at the sound of her voice, looking at her with more focus.

“Oh! Yes, hi!”

“So… what is it?”

She stared down at the woman, thinking about how to phrase what she needed to ask. It was best not to arouse suspicion yet, so she needed something plausible.

“Yes! I have a.. uhm..” She began, though she didn’t really finish thinking out what she planned to say. “Proposition for you. Yeah, a proposition. Can I come in…?”

She could see on the stranger’s face that the request was far-fetched, and she knew it herself as well. Nonetheless, the woman let her in with a “Yeah, sure, come on in.”

She smiled at the admittance, bowing slightly as she walked through the threshold of the cabin. She quickly sat by the fire to warm up, the cold of the night chilled her to the bone and it was nice to finally have a heat source. Taking her hood off and letting the warm air from the fire seep into her skin, she almost began to speak once more before her host spoke up instead.

“So.. that proposition you have?” She asked, and you could hear the caution in her voice. Apart from the satisfactory feeling of heat radiating and washing over her, the atmosphere in the small cabin was rather uncomfortable. This woman was skeptical of her guest—and with good reason. The only thing she could do was try to seem harmless as she explained her dilemma.

“Yes, there’s something I need from you,” She purposely kept her gaze on the fire, hoping eye contact wouldn’t intimidate her. “You see, I’m having.. trouble finding food. It’s hard to get.”

Immediately, she internally berated herself for phrasing it that way. Not only does it sound too vague, it makes it sound like she only thought of humans as food. Which wasn’t the case, no matter how true it was that her kind were to use humans as such.

“Well, I don’t really have much—”

“You misunderstand. I’ve been looking for someone in particular; one who seems like they didn’t interact with people much, no family, live alone, you get the gist. You are them, yes?”

You could tell that the air in the room shifted even more, though it shifted more towards tense and suspicious. You could almost see the thought process on the host’s face, the way she caught on all too quickly and became more and more tense and suspicious.

The guest reacted as soon as she realized the woman became too nervous and was readying herself to run, raising her hands to gesture to her, wanting the woman to calm down.

“Wait, wait, please hear me out—” she began—“I get that it sounds ominous, but I really don’t want to hurt you!” She tried to stand, but the old rocking chair she was originally sitting in creaked as her weight left it. The room was already tense, so the high pitched squeak must’ve startled the host of the house and in turn startled the guest into sitting again. Her height was too intimidating to seem harmless anyway.

“Please. I really need your help, so don’t be too afraid of me,” She purposefully softened her tone to seem more docile. The last thing she needed was for the one person who could give her what she wanted to be scared of her.

Thankfully though, the visitor could see that she was considering her words. Hopefully, she’ll let her explain.

“..Fine. But stay over there.”

The blonde woman’s eyes lit up and a smile graced her face, she wasn't going to scream and run or kick her out or try to stab her with a stake.

Moments later, she was leading the woman—who’s name she found out was y/n—to her castle overhead. It was silent between the two, save for the occasional winds shaking the trees and the crinkle of the dead leaves under their feet. She wanted to say something, but with how awkward it seemed, anything she said would potentially change y/n’s mind.

When they approached the castle, Falin could see y/n’s visible shock.

“You really weren’t lying about that castle, huh..?”

* * * * * * * * * *

Chapter Text

“You really weren’t lying about that castle, huh..?”

    The sight felt almost unreal to you, as a girl who’d only been in the confines of her village until exile, you’d never seen such an extravagant building. You wondered who even had the time to build it, for you built your own home out in the woods and it took many shelterless nights for just the walls to be raised. 

    “Well why would I?” Falin answered back, looking down at you with an excited and yet clueless grin. “Would you have come with me if I were lying?”

    “I mean, the castle wasn’t really the reason I agreed,” You shrugged as you tried to keep up with the tall vampire. “It definitely helps though.” 

    “Helps” would be an understatement in this case. There were trees blocking some of the view at the bottom, but the parts you could see were impressive enough. The castle was large and stretched almost from one end of your view to the other. In between that width were many towers with spindly tops, almost like thorns from where you were standing. Stained-glass windows and balconies on almost every tower, and each one connected to the main building made out of blackstone and brick. The very sight embodied wealth—a type of wealth you’d never would’ve had the chance to live, much less see. 

    Falin led you to the very base of the castle, holding your hand as you walked through the iron gate and into the vast courtyard in front of the entrance. It was like something out of a fairytale to you. Intricate pathways paved from the ground and the lawn groomed thoroughly. Bushes of rose, black and red, were pruned and trimmed to perfection. The path you were led down kept you from seeing the rest of the courtyard, but you were much more excited to see what would be behind the tall and dark wooden doors that guarded the interior of the gothic palace. 

    Falin let go of your hand while you were busy admiring the rose arrangements, gripping the iron ring handle and pulling to reveal the dimly lit foyer. The dull creaking startled you, bringing your attention back to the front. 

    “Well, here we are!” Falin gave a dopey smile to you, bowing with her hand facing the entrance of the castle as if she were a butler. Once you stepped through, she shuffled in behind you.

    “Now, I didn’t tell Shuro I would bring you—” she started, “I didn’t tell him I was leaving at all, rather—so I’ll take you to your chambers and tell him later. Walk quietly.”

    You didn’t respond to her and instead just followed her through the halls, more entranced about the architecture of the building and the fact that you were even here. This place wasn’t much of a ways away from your humble cabin, and yet you never noticed it. Much less, you had no idea there were actual vampires living here. It puts it into perspective how easily you could’ve died. You felt a little proud of yourself for making it this far, and even more proud for getting yourself able to live in such a place for the low price of blood-sucking. 

    Soon you were treading down a quiet hall, and at the end of it was a large door. Falin skipped ahead of you and opened that door as well, allowing you to step in before she did and closing the door behind herself.

    “These will be your chambers,” The vampire explains with a smile. “Make yourself at home.”

    “Thanks..” You nodded, not giving her nearly as much attention as you did the decoration of the room. It was bigger than you’d ever seen, almost bigger than your entire cabin in the woods.

    “And I’m gonna stay here for like, ever?”  You finally turned to see her face. 

    “Well, I don’t think it’ll be forever, but at least for the foreseeable future,” She hummed. “Oh, but yes. This is your room. You can have this whole wing honestly, no one uses it.”

    “Mm,” You nodded upwards. Once your gaze fell on the large bed in the middle of the room, you walked over and sank into it. Again, much more luxurious than you’ve ever had. 

    “So, are you ready?” Falin spoke up, causing you to bring your gaze to her again. She was staring you down and yet kept her feet planted where they were, nonverbally asking for your permission. You then remembered what you were even here for. 

    “Oh, uhm,” You began, almost hesitant in your answer. It only took a moment of willing yourself to finish your response. “Yeah, sure. It’s what I’m here for, right?” 

    You could see the joy in her face when you said yes, and she just about flew to your side and placed a hand on your thigh. She wasted no time in coming close, and you could feel her warm breaths on your neck as she moved towards your ear. Her breaths weren’t the only source of warmth, either. Despite the rumors, her touch on your skin was hot. It almost sizzled under your flesh, mostly due to the anticipation you felt the second she sat beside you. It was delightful, feeling the heat that radiated from the vampire's body. Within that instant, the air became thick and sweet as if you were drowning in a nectar that slaked the driest of thirsts.

    “I’ll be gentle..” She whispered in your ear, her nose grazing your jaw as she shifted downwards. It stopped at the crook of your neck, and while you were bracing yourself for a harsh bite, you instead felt something warm and wet. 

    She was licking you. A long strip of saliva was trailed over the juncture of your neck and shoulder, slow and tender. It caught you off guard, but as soon as you got used to the weird sensation, you felt her teeth. Two points pressed against the flesh of your neck, slowly pushing past the barrier of skin and into the targeted vein. You clenched your fist to try and distract yourself from the impending pain that would come from the vampire, but after a few moments, you realized there was none. No, in fact, it felt good. 

    Pleasurable , even. 

    It tingled a bit, like you could feel the blood leaving your body as she bit you. Your skin gave way to the gentle force of her fangs easily, allowing her to lap up the crimson fluid, replacing the dampness with her spit. The bite felt fiery and the gentle prodding of her tongue cooled it down instantaneously, creating a cycle of shifting sensations that burned under your skin. The longer it went on, the foggier your brain felt, and the more you relaxed into it. Heat pooled in the pit of your stomach and now you were clenching your fists to cope with the immense pleasure instead of the anticipated pain, but your fingers slipped against your palms as they warmed up and became clammy.

    You could hear the heavy breaths that Falin gulped down along with the blood, the heated air fanning against your skin and becoming a rhythm you followed to keep yourself grounded. Your own breathing was out of sync with hers, creating a faint symphony that was beginning to be drowned out by the sound of your heartbeat growing louder and louder. 

    As your heartbeat became more frequent, your breathing followed. The clammy feeling in the center of your palms worsened, and your senses fogged up to the point you couldn’t focus on anything but the teeth sinking into your skin. It was just as you started to get lost in the sensation that Falin withdrew her fangs from your neck, bringing your focus back to the world around you. 

    She gave the fresh puncture wounds one final lick before wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, squeezing the flesh of your thigh under her hand to let you know she was done. 

    It took you a moment to fully bring yourself back, feeling dazed from what just happened and having to take slow breaths to ground yourself. You turned your head to stare at the woman beside you, your vision blurry as you tried to make out her facial features. Even when you were too out of it to see, she was beautiful. Too beautiful almost—you felt like you’d gladly offer up every drop of blood in your body if it meant she was sustained another day. 

    Must’ve been a side effect from the bite.

    “Are you alright?” She glanced and met your eyes, noticing how your hazy eyes stared at her like she wasn’t there, and yet all you could see. When you didn’t respond, she simply sighed and stood from the bed. 

    “I went too far,” She spoke almost to herself, standing over you with some sort of hesitance. The vampire leaned down and took you by the waist, picking you up with ease and bringing you farther back on the bed. Laying you down and cocooning you with the maroon comforter that laid flat over the bed.

    “I’ll be back, okay?” She spoke softly. “Get you some water.”

    She left after that, closing the door as softly as possible so that the noise wouldn’t startle you. You wanted to get up, follow her, but you couldn’t find the strength to. It felt weird to be in such a large bed in a place that’s foreign to you, but after a few more moments you pacified yourself and decided to rest your eyes for a bit. 

    Falin was walking down the long corridor that led to your room in silence, mentally berating herself for going so far as to take some of your strength along with the blood.

    In her defense, she wasn’t used to drinking the blood of a live organism. Shuro always got her blood in advance and stored it for her, even going as far to label each container with what animal it came from—if it came from an animal at all. This would be the first time in a very long time that she drank from something living, much less a human. She would have to get used to it. 

    Maybe she could ask Shuro how, he always drinks freshly and gets food for her afterwards. Well, after telling him about the human in their home, of course. It wouldn’t do to have him not know about it. Maybe she’d tell him tomorrow night, or even the night after that so that y/n could be accustomed to–

    “Falin?” The man looked down at Falin, whose face ran into his chest while she was walking with preoccupied thoughts. Speak of the devil.

    “Hi, Shuro..!” Falin gave a smile, though it slacked a little. She didn’t expect to run into him (literally). “What are you doing on this side of the castle..?”

    “I was looking for you. Why are you over here?” He threw the question right back at her, looking down at her with the same look he always did. Falin liked to tell herself it was one of concern or even care—because he loved her—but it didn’t really feel that way. I mean, sure, she knew he liked her enough to marry her, but the bond they had felt a bit empty. Were bonds always supposed to feel this way? Maybe.

    “Oh, I– well..” Falin began, running each dialogue option through her mind to find the right one to say. “I went hunting for the first time! Kinda.”

    “Did you now?” Shuro abruptly leaned into her shoulder, taking big whiffs of the scent that came off of her skin, as if he was making sure. It smelled like someone else, not the light and clean smell that Falin had.

    “Good. Now I don’t have to keep going out for you, right?” Shuro leaned back with that same blank expression, his eyes trained on her while hers were anything but. 

    “No, no,” Falin shook her head. “But uh.. I should probably let you know–”

    “What’s that smell?” Shuro cut her off. He looked to the air as if he could see it, taking frequent inhales as if he were trying to trace the smell. It was faint from where they stood, but the scent itself was full. Woodsy, like whatever it was, has been outside for a while. A bit sweet, too. Definitely not Falin. But.. it was like the scent he smelled on her just a second ago..

    Falin knew what he meant immediately, and realized she forgot that Shuro had a good sense of smell. Falin did too, as all vampires do, but his was better because he went hunting much more often than she. Which meant he was smelling y/n right now, and she had until he barged through the room doors at the end of the hall to explain. 

    “Well—” she began to speak and he began to walk, so she had to hurry after—“You remember when I was all like, ‘Oh, I should just like, have someone live with us to drink from instead of you going out!...’ you remember that?” 

    Shuro wasn’t paying attention.

    “Shuro–” 

    “What? What? You don’t smell that or something? It could be an intruder,” He shrugged her off, striding down the corridor to find the source of the smell. 

    “No, see, that’s what I’m trying to tell you–” She tried to grab hold of him anywhere she could, but he was dead set on following the scent he picked up. With how fast he was walking, and how she was barely keeping up, he got to the doors quickly and pushed them open to see a strange woman laying in the (usually) unoccupied bed. Well, strange to him, but not Falin. When he saw the woman, his first instinct was to investigate her (in his mind, that meant throwing her out with no second spared for speaking.)

    “Wait, no!–”

    Without taking a moment’s rest, he came up to the girl and was about to grab her by the collar, when Falin ran to the bedside and blocked his way. She had to squeeze in between his arm and her body, running into the bed and jamming her thigh against the high bedframe that stuck out just a bit under the mattress since it wasn’t big enough. They really had to change that frame, or get a new mattress at least. 

    The subtle shake from the bed, and the much more noticeable yell, stirred you awake, but when you opened your eyes to see what was going on, it looked serious and none of your business. You settled on pretending to be asleep, keeping your body still and listening in on the conversation even though it had nothing to do with you.

    “What are you doing?” Shuro looked down at Falin, an eyebrow raised. “Do you know this human?”

    Well, it looks like it has everything to do with you after all.

    “I was trying to tell you about her, Shuro,” Falin’s eyes turned to see you, before falling to the floor. Seems like she was talking to her aforementioned husband. “When we were walking.”

    Shuro did not seem pleased with the fact that she knew this strange woman, but he stayed silent to allow her to explain.

    “You know I can’t hunt like you, so I had to, well, find someone willing,” She began, keeping her voice pretty low although there was really no need to since you were wide awake by now.

    “And that means this is…?”

    “It means .. I brought her here to do just that. She’ll let me feed off her. We just have to supply her food and other things humans need so she can live here with us.”

    Shuro’s eyebrows furrowed at this, clearly starting to get frustrated.

    “So now, instead of hunting for you, I’m to grocery shop for your human?”

    “N-no, no, I can do that,” Falin waved her hands. “I just want her to be able to stay here.”

    “You know she could stay wherever she came from, right?” He did not sound very approving of this arrangement.

    “I know, but it’s much more convenient,” She replied. “And I think it would be odd to commute into the woods to a lone cabin and leave in the middle of the night every week. There was a village nearby, what if they think something’s going on?”

    Bold of her to assume that your old villagemates would care much, if at all.

    “Okay, whatever. Have your human,” He sighed, waving a hand in the air in a way that looked like he was shooing away a cloud of annoyance. He promptly left the room after that, signalling his leave with the thud of the heavy door closing. 

    “Whew..” Falin sat down in the seat next to the bed again, her eyes trained on your (not) sleeping face. Her hand came up and gently petted your forehead, her hands were warmer than you’d expect for a vampire.

    “Sorry about that, y/n… I hope you didn’t wake up because of the commotion..” She spoke, thinking it was to an unconscious body.

    “It’s alright,” You opened an eye and looked up at her, smiling when she jerked her hand back because you startled her. 

    “Oh! Sorry, I thought you were.. thought you were asleep,” The startle faded quickly, as if she was trying to appear calm and collected. 

    “Nah, I heard someone yell and it woke me up,” You shook your head gently. You stared at her for a moment, taking in her features. Her brown eyes were so light they seemed to glow amber, gazing back down at you through her thick lashes. You started to shift, trying to sit up so you could see her better—you didn’t know if it was because of the blood-sucking or what, but your vision was pretty fuzzy and blinking over and over wasn’t clearing it up.

    “No, no,” Falin’s arms reached out to you, keeping you laying flat on your back instead of sitting up like you were intending. “Rest some.”

    “I was meaning to get water for you since you need to rehydrate, but I ran into Shuro and he picked up your scent, which of course led him back here. At least the introductions are out of the way.”

    “That was the husband?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. You didn’t get a good look at him—or a look at all, rather—but he definitely wasn’t speaking to her as if he were a husband. 

    “Yes,” She nodded. “Why?”

     “Oh..” You winced at the news as if you were sorry for her, but you didn’t say anything more about it.

     “Anyway, he’s gonna let you stay.. Very reluctantly,” She continued. “I think he’ll get used to it at some point.”

    “...Right. You sure he won’t kill me?” You asked, both skeptical about how she phrased it and how he even sounded when he heard the news. 

    “He’ll be fine. And if not, I can protect you well enough.”

    “Thanks…” You were starting to think you shouldn’t have agreed.

    Your stay was pretty normal, Falin made it like you were staying at a highly decorated inn and you were very comfortable. Without Shuro in a corner somewhere staring you down. 

    Sure, this was his place and all and you were a guest, but he didn’t have to act like a security dog who was waiting for you to make one wrong move. He sort of soiled all of the good about the place, and there was a lot of good. You got to laze around all day, no longer having to worry about making sure your garden was yielding edible crops or if another bug or beast in the forest munched on all of the ripe ones. No longer did you have to hunt for meat when you wanted it, neither did you have to fish. Even the pesky mosquitoes of the woods were unable to irritate you. Falin made it all possible and you couldn’t be more grateful, but Shuro really did know how to make you focus on the negatives. 

    He practically followed you wherever you went, and you didn’t leave the room allocated to you much as it is. Of course, even when you didn’t leave the room, he’d practically be down the hall at all times. You’d mentioned it to Falin and she simply said he just wanted to keep an eye on you, that he meant nothing by it and he’d grow out of it soon. Yeah right, like a grown man with forever to live will ever think it’s an appropriate time to grow up.

    Once when he was bringing you food since Falin was busy he even told you that he’d be keeping his eye on you whenever he could. Cool, this guy had no shame.

    Of course, Falin couldn’t do much about it, but she did know his routine to  an extent. She always came to eat whenever he wasn’t around, running some sort of  errand or doing whatever a vampire does. She didn’t ever take as much as she did the first day, it was never as long of a visit, but it felt the same each time. It felt nice and it secured your place in this castle, so you enjoyed the visits.

    Tonight though, was different. She came on a different day than usual, and it was in the same week. Usually she’d come once a week; she’d take her fill and leave, but this time was different. She seemed different as well. Tired, drooling. The bright amber eyes that would usually fall upon you were muddy and dead, the radiance in her aura now watered down to that of a weak meat-eating creature, much like the ones you ran into when scavenging for food in the forest. When she finally made it to your side with the zombified limp she sported, crawling into bed beside you and touching your thigh, you felt that the usual warmth she had was gone. It was cold, much like how you expected her first touches to be since she was undead. It was a pleasant surprise when she turned out to be as warm as the fireplace in your cabin, but it was a disappointing one when she was frigid to the touch. 

    “Falin…?” You spoke softly, as if being loud would snap her out of her trance and disturb whatever mood that weighed on the atmosphere now. She didn’t respond to you, her hand slowly traveling up your thigh to your lower abdomen, clinging onto the warmth of your skin. When she pulled back from your shoulder to look up at you, her eyes were no longer that depressing brown they first were when she entered.

    No, they were red. A deep, pulsing red. She looked up at you like she wanted something from you—something you owed her. The gaze unsettled you, seeming much more predatory than the touch she gave was.

Chapter Text

    Falin was here. Laying in your bed, looking up at you as if she wanted something from you. Her mouth was parted, not to speak but to make room for the teeth that seemed longer than usual. Her breathing was heavy and she drooled, the spit stringing and dripping onto your skin. Even the saliva was cold, matching the death in her eyes and the hiemal feel of her skin. 

    Here was when she would usually ask. She would see if you were busy (you never were), make sure you were ready (that, you always were), and wait for you to give the same answers you did every time. Here, she would smile at you and hold you close, gently bite and slowly drink. But not a word was spoken.

    Instead, her nose found the crook of your neck, though it didn’t spend long there. She would normally smell you, take in your scent as if she were savoring a meal she hadn’t had yet, warn you with her gentle licks and prods of her nose of what was to come. But this wasn’t Falin. It was a husk of her. 

    A ravenous, starving husk, that aimed to fill itself and become a person again by stealing from you. So she stole. Mouth opened wide, fangs longer than usual and stabbing into you. It was anything but normal to you—whatever normal became to you while living in this castle. There was a lack of gentleness, the usual layer of tender care and warmth that would wrap around you and fill your senses feeling as if it was ripped away and exposing you to the cold environment. It hurt. You could feel every drop leaving you and it hurt. Falin’s touch hurt, the hand on your thigh gripping your flesh as if it were an anchor for her, like she had to dig her nails into you if she wanted to stay on this bed. Her bite hurt, the teeth lengthy and throbbing inside you, pulling your vitality from you. Even her gaze hurt, the kindness she usually showed gone and replaced with a loud emptiness.

    Your eyes began to sting, but you held your tongue. It would be over soon. She must just be hungry, and it’ll be over soon. You kept telling yourself that, letting your fingers ball up and stress your joints to let the pain release through them as she kept stealing. 

    Maybe it wasn’t stealing, since you were going to let her anyway. Or maybe it was, because you couldn’t stand the feeling. 

    Either way, she didn’t care. It was almost like she couldn’t bring herself to care, even if she wanted to. You could feel her hand on you trying to let up, but the nails only dug further the more she strained to let you go, drawing blood from the muscle in your thigh. She would’ve gone to lick it up, not let a single drop of crimson waste on the silk sheets beneath you, but her fangs seemed to have no intention of leaving your body until hers was replenished. 

    And it only got worse. She only dug deeper, she only took more. It became too much. Trembling, you felt around for her arms, hoping to get her to budge even a little. Your throat closed up, caging in pleas and moans to be let go, chokes of mewls leaving your mouth instead. Falin felt stronger than usual, forcing you in place and taking more and more. You were starting to feel lightheaded, the room blurring behind the tears that were stagnant in your eyes, clinging to the lashes and burning you. As it went on, it felt more and more like she was going to kill you. 

    You were going to die here. 

    The realization didn’t scare you like it should have. You should have kicked and screamed, pried yourself from under her even if the piercing ivories dragged and scarred, even if pieces of flesh were clawed from you as you ran. But you stayed. 

    You began to lay, leisurely falling back into the plush that surrounded you and giving yourself away. And she took it eagerly. Crawling over your body, doubled over yours as she held you tight against her chest and pressed your neck into her mouth. Her incisors burrowed deeper, hitting a vein that allowed her to siphon more than she should have from you. By this point, you were letting it happen. You let the pulse of your heart slow, let your eyes close full of tears and your breaths become shallow. The only thing you could feel was Falin above you, gripping you with a monstrous force as she took the last bit of life you had. 

    By the time it was over, you wouldn’t have been able to tell. Everything became fuzzy and unrecognizable—you were only slightly aware of Falin’s movement as she slowly unsheathed her teeth from you and collapsed beside you; you felt a light bounce as she laid next to you. There was a scant dip in the mattress where she was splayed next to you, causing your body to be pulled into hers and even more so when she used the last of her consciousness to bring you flush against her. 

    Now, her touch was warm again. Almost warm enough to make you forget the pain throbbing in your neck. You were going to die here, you were certain, but at least you were going to do so in the plush of her body and the newfound warmth of her skin.