I stepped through the shadows the moon cast down from the sky, the forests around me dark and peaceful. Nothing dared to move this late at night- nothing dared to annoy me. 

I am the king of this place, a bloody, iron-fisted ruler; I am swift and deadly in my judgements. The only thing stupid enough to be treading through this forest this late in the midnight hour, was a young witch girl.

I watched her, interested as she shivered, walking in human clothes across the forest floor. Frost was forming on the grass already, and she wore no jacket. Her arms were scratched up, and she had a long gash along one side of her head. The scent of her was almost breathtaking- far sweeter than the honey I had once loved. 

She shivered again, and I followed her as she began to move out of sight; keeping track of a witch that could possibly be part of a future meal- she was close to death and I could smell it. I wondered, briefly, why she didn't use magic to heal herself, or even conjure a fire for warmth- it befuddled me.

Witches often did such things, though, confusing people without reason and leaving them behind with a twist of brilliant anti-logic that made perfect sense to them and the rules they and the universe live by, but utterly baffled lesser folk like myself.

So I followed her, watching and waiting, letting my dark aura slowly freeze the area around me. Frost formed, ice slowly crystallized, and the shadows grew ever darker. I managed to cause a faint breeze, though that power was as yet new to me, so I failed much stronger. Storms would be mine to command soon, though, if I lived long enough to perfect them. 

And so I followed her, watching and waiting until she collapsed. Then I watched for another minute as her heartbeat slowed, moving in as she neared her death. I stopped above her, and she watched me warily, lips blue as her eyes, and her dark red hair glittering in  the moonlight with frost. The cold began to spread across her skin, the color of which paled even further, and she spoke.

"Prima, no doubts about it... I thought I killed the last of you centuries ago... how long have you been alive?" I hummed, gently stroking her cheek and leaving frost in my wake.

"Nearly a decade, love. So, what brings you to my home?" She stared at me, eyes closing in a squinting glare. Something was wrong here, and I rolled aside wrapping her in my arms as I did so before ducking behind a tree.

"You're hunting me; why?" She was gasping now, eyes suddenly wide in fear as her heart-rate spiked. She had expected me to fall for her trap, then, and her sister wasn't able to protect her. She would die here, and I would be her killer. Or her savior.

"Listen, and listen close. Leave me be for ten years, then come back and we'll talk. I don't want to die, and if I don't have to, you won't either. Promise me." Witches and their promises- always a useful trick to pull if the opportunity arose- and with salvation so close...

I felt her nod, vehemently, and smiled. 

"I promise, You won't die here. not for the next ten years. We'll talk before we kill you, please- I wanna live..." I grinned, then pulled her close and kissed her cheek. 

"I'll see you around, girly. I wanna see you again. Where are your 'sisters'?" She gasped, beginning to choke as she pointed- right in front of me. I dashed forward, twisting and slamming through some kind of wall that kept my power from spreading to the rest of the forest. A dozen women stared and paled as I grinned. 

Then I dropped the witch to the ground, tipped my hat, and sped off faster than they could follow. I zipped around, finding group after group hunting a 'leech' as I went. All of them human, all of them carrying fire. I wasn't immune to that element, but it wasn't the kind of weakness most thought. No, it didn't burn me, it left me weakened and close to dying unless I got wet. Then I grew stronger.

I ran, chasing invisible shadows and figments of memory as I searched for somewhere, anywhere, that could keep me safe. I was annoyed, frustrated, and terrified. My grave had become my home, then it had become my hunting ground- but now I was the prey, instead of the hunter.

I wasn't used to this sensation, and I hated it. No, I had few options, so I ran until I found a large clearing with a large, flat topped hill in the middle of it. I went to the hill, chose a tree in the center of it, and buried myself, the way I normally only did at dawn.

It hid me for a good night, and I slowly began to build, forming a cottage and living there for a year as I began to fake my life with the regular humans. I mastered gathering clouds in that time, making the weather gloomy all the time and letting me walk about during the day with no fear or pain.

This let me begin to farm, raise livestock, and save. And save my money I did. I bought workmen and began to build a castle by the fifth year, and that led to me being able to fake a noble heritage. I simply needed time. Time I didn't have. I had a good five years to get stronger and grow immune to their threats. I knew I could never be immune to their magic, but maybe I could make myself untouchable instead. 

In a slightly different way. 

When the witches came back, I was living in luxury, having taken control of this small portion of land. I had wormed my way into the nobility, and used the name that the people had given me when they'd seen me, worked for me, and gotten to know me; Dracula- son of the dragon, or son of the devil. 

Thanks to that worming, I was now count Dracula- an enormous figure in the public eye. More importantly, I'd managed to meet a vampire from a different clan- both the first Anima I'd seen, and the first of my kin I'd ever met. I learned from him, befriended him, and then made one request. A request he'd gladly granted.

The witches entered my castle, all of the dozen witches who'd chosen to try and kill me pale and nervous about the situation. It was pleasing to see them so uneasy, and I slid down the banister of the stairway to more impressively greet them. I bowed, and they froze, shocked at my sudden and unusual entrance. 

"Good evening ladies," I said, "and welcome. I hope you don't mind talking over dinner, but I'm afraid I'm... parched." Allowing my fangs to be seen for an instant while I said that word sent them all the more on edge, increasing their fear.

They followed me as I led them to a dining table, all of them silent until they'd sat and servants began bringing out the dinner. They seemed confused and shocked, uncertain what to make of this predicament. I chuckled, sitting at the head of my table and watching them all. Finally, one began to eat- and she was the first to break the silence. 

"You... seem well off..." I smiled, and she refused to break eye contact. She was strong, and was overcoming her fear. I wasn't certain if that was good or bad. Still, no reason to lie, no reason to risk undermining myself- and no reason not to jerk her chain to test my control of the situation.

"I am. I never thought of becoming a ruler, having my food be brought to me rather than having to hunt for it, in fact... I was content to be a small hunter, only preying on a small number of prey every month and not killing any. Now, though, I know just how much prey there is, how easy it is to get them... And I know exactly how long it takes them to recover before I can safely take more. 

"You drove me to better myself, to grow and progress, to become more dangerous and deadly. I have to thank you for that- I never would've met others of my status if you hadn't." They were all pale after the first sentence, and by the end, they seemed horrified. I felt my hair begin to stand on end. That made me smile, chuckling as I waited. 

One of them realized I knew what was coming, and she tried to stop the spell, but it was too late. I was suddenly coated in flames, enough to burn my flesh to ash and char my bones. Seconds after my ashes settled and my bones had turned black, the fire went out. Then, one of the servants along the walls- all of whom had begun to cry- screamed, his flesh turning to ash as red mist leaked from him, his bones blackening. The mist touched my bones and I reformed, staring at them and chuckling as I popped my jaw back into place.

"I didn't mention? Forgive me, how rude. The friend I met had certain magics, and he did me a favor. You see, my soul and body are a bit more... connected, to those of the people I rule. I'm afraid that- unless you want to murder an entire county in cold blood, you can't really kill me. Wouldn't that be odd to the mundane folk? Imagine if I managed to get all of you to try killing me in front of the nobility; why, I could convince them that witches were real... couldn't I?"

I smiled, and they stared, horrified at my new-found immunity to their threats, my inability to die. I simply smiled, and relaxed, in my chair as much as I could allow myself to. I was enjoying this far too much, and I hummed, looking around the gathered witches. One of the dozen wa missing. 

"I nearly killed one of you, where is she?" The girl I'd frosted nearly to death. They easily could've saved her, so where was she? Unless... They looked around guiltily, and the leader spoke up again.

"She... kept trying to come out here to see you. We... believed it to be unwise for her to come with us, as we believed you had her under your thrall..." I blinked, then my eyes blazed in curiosity. 

"Is that a thing I am capable of? I'll have to practice- who knows when that might come in handy?" They were pale again. I chuckled, knowing exactly how deep their hole kept getting. This was beautiful, wonderful, and... They had tried to kill me without her being present. "You broke her promise- She isn't here, so you have broken her word. She promised all of you would come, and she was one of you at the time. Unless she arrives before any of you leave, I'm afraid you will have broken your word. Imagine the backlash that would have..."

They all shrank in their seats, and I hummed happily. It was fun to be the one ruling the witches for once. "Alright, I own you, more or less, until I either forgive your promise, or it is fulfilled. So, how would you little coven of witches like to be used? I'm afraid you are pretty much powerless in my home. Please, pick your fates." They all looked at eachother, then back at me. 

"Lucky for us, we can be tied to this world by our familiars. They can latch onto our souls long enough for us to reform our bodies somewhere else. You don't have that protection, and our bodies won't be leaving, so good luck sir. We'll see you later." As one, they grabbed their knives and tried to stab themselves. I saved three, stealing their knives before they could finish the deed.

That left me with three beautiful young women, all of which were powerful witches, and all of which had earned my anger. I had ideas for what to do. "Well now... you have tried to rob me, and you have broken your word.  I believe your friends have left, and that means that you three have had your fates sealed." They trembled, trying and failing to conjure a spark of magic. Giving your word was a dangerous game, and they knew it. If you broke it, bad things happened- often, in the case of witches, to their magic. 

I smiled, stepping closer to one of them. "Well now, that is a pity... but I can give you something you might like better... would you like that?" The young woman looked at me, terrified. That was her biggest mistake so far. I captured her mind, began to play with it and distract it so completely that she was left dazed and unmoving, completely enthralled. I smiled, stepping even closer and pulling her against me. The other two started running, hoping to escape while I was distracted- that wouldn't work. 

I fed quickly, and slipped some of my blood down her throat, mixing in a drop of my venom. Then, as I left her to change, I chased down the other two. My reign had only just begun, and these would help me bring my dominion over the entirety of this wretched race of beings. Witches... they always assumed that they were all powerful- about time they made peace with their betters.

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(A/N)

Wow... I've working on this since the last chapter went up. I need to get back on my game. Still, I hope this bit of lore brings you guys some joy- it's fascinating, isn't it?

Till next time, sept mates.

ShadeFinder~ <(0^0)>