Immortal by Azurena

Ageless

A/N: So, the other day, I was watching a movie called Dracula 2000, because I love vampire movies, and I have got to say I’m entirely sick of seeing the same plot over and over again.

Dracula’s― or whoever the main vampire is― love, his soul mate, who he has been searching for tirelessly for centuries, and who also is either mortal, half-vampire, or somehow shares Dracula’s blood, has numerous visions and dreams concerning her undead love before actually meeting him. So basically the entire movie is her thinking she’s losing her mind.

When she actually meets him, she, of course, tries to run away. And for a little while, it works. But, seeing how she’s running from a vampire, she’s bound to get caught sooner or later.

And just when you think she’s accepted Dracula and she loves him too, she uses his feelings for her to kill him.

After seeing it over and over, I’ve decided that the Dracula-human girl love story needs a bit of a twist . . .

In a slightly darker direction . . .

~~~~~*~~~~~

Part I: Ageless

England, 1787

~~~~~*~~~~~

“Annabelle!”

Startled, the girl spun around, her dark hair slapping her in the face. “Beth!” she whispered harshly, “You mustn’t screech like that! If we’re to get inside without notice, we must be silent.”

“You’ve completely lost your senses,” Beth replied scathingly. “Imagine if your father were to discover where we were. Or your mother. Please, Anna, let us go now before we make a grievous mistake.”

Anna rolled her blue eyes. “Beth, darling, I understand your worries, but we shan’t get another opportunity such as this! If you’re too frightened, then wait here for me. I will go alone, and once I have seen my fill, we will return home together.”

“You cannot be serious!” Beth cried, heedless of Anna’s insistent hushing. “Has your mind totally gone? What―”

“Enough, Beth!” Stretching from her crouched position, Anna took a step away from her friend. “Wait for me, alright? I assure you I will be back quickly.”

Any further protests died on Beth’s lips as she watched Annabelle sprint into the dark, her lithe figure swallowed by blackness in mere moments.

And, distraught as she was, Beth never saw her death coming.

~~~~~*~~~~~

It was incredible.

Anna walked slowly down the hall, her limbs quivering from the adrenaline rushing through her body.

Finally, she’d gone where no other soul dared. The thought made her giddy.

Manfield Manor, renowned across Great Britain for its haunted reputation, was dim, eerie, and sat alone atop a crooked hill near Newcastle. The aura it exuded was one of pain and sadness, and, from the moment Anna had set her eyes on the crumbling, dilapidated mansion, she’d been determined to see what lay inside.

Her nature had always been adventurous and, more often than not, her curiosity won out over her instincts.

So, despite the warning bells ringing in her head, Anna ventured further into the manor to see what oddities waited to be uncovered.

And, on this night, Anna would find that some things . . . are better left alone.

~~~~~*~~~~~

The dust was starting to get to her.

Coughing lightly into her palm, Anna glanced about the room she’d stumbled upon. Cobwebs hung in the high corners of the vaulted ceiling, and ripped draperies billowed softly in front of cracked glass windows. In its prime, Anna was sure this house had been spectacular and would’ve been quite the sight at sunset, sitting at the crest of its hill.

But, from the horrid state of things, she could guess that the house hadn’t been lived in for quite a number of years.

Walking forward, Anna’s gaze landed on the large four-poster bed. How beautiful, she thought as she traced a finger through the thick dust layering the beds’ red silk coverlet. It is a shame such a fantastic home was left to ruin.

Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a deep roll of thunder, and Anna started like a skittish horse. “Oh dear,” she murmured quietly while trying to calm her pounding heart. “Beth must be scared to death.”  With a resigned sigh, Annabelle gathered her skirts and hurried to the door. “I suppose it’s time we returned home.” She cast the old bedroom a final look before stepping into the hall.

And the screaming began.

Blood-curdling, bone-chilling, unearthly shrieks, the likes of which Anna had never heard in her life, resonated through the empty mansion, raising gooseflesh along her arms. She froze in shock, fear overriding her senses, and looked around wildly.

The screeching faded slightly, and then stopped altogether. Silence reigned once again for a brief moment.

And then, a last sudden wail, a sound filled with untold agony and anguish, “Anna!”

Annabelle’s head snapped to the right, and horror drowned her heart. “Beth?” she whispered. She took a hesitant step forward, and then another, until finally she was sprinting down the hallway, crying, “Beth! Beth!”

She received no answer.

Panicked now, Anna increased her pace, rushing as fast as she was able down the corridor. Why was Beth even inside the manor? She’d been too frightened to go further than the front gate . . . Had the approaching storm encouraged her to seek refuge or―

Annabelle’s thoughts were pushed to the wayside as she was forced to come to an abrupt halt, and she glared up at the massive set of mahogany doors that blocked her way.

Beth was on the other side of those doors. She knew it.

Dropping her skirts, Anna strode forward with renewed determination, grasped the brass handles of the double doors tightly, and pulled as hard as she could.

The doors stayed firmly shut.

Groaning in frustration, Anna made to pull on the handles again, her desperation getting the best of her, and yelled, “Open! Please open!” And they did.

In one swift move, the twin mahogany doors, heedless of the girl tugging so insistently at them, were pushed open. And Anna, caught by surprise, stumbled in between them and into the room beyond.

The doors slammed shut heavily behind her.

She managed to right herself before she fell and pressed a shaking hand to her chest. Well, she thought, taking a moment to scowl at the cause of her less-than-graceful entry, I’ve made it inside. Now where is Beth?

From what she could make out in the dark, she appeared to be in some sort of . . . dining hall? With cautious movements, Anna slowly made her way to what looked like an enormously long banquet table. Blood rushed loudly in her ears and, as she drew nearer, dread seemed to take hold of her and settle in her stomach. Something was . . .  not right, and, as she came to a stop at the head of the dining table, she saw that something was, indeed, not right.

Beth.

She lay sprawled across the opposite end of the table, her neck bent at a sharply odd degree. Highlighted in a small patch of moonlight, Anna could make out the pale green of her dress and her dark brown curls. She also seemed to be laying face down in a . . . puddle of water?

Sighing, Annabelle walked briskly towards Beth. “That’s quite enough fooling around, Beth!” she exclaimed once she was upon her friend. “My heart nearly gave out when I heard you scream!”  

When she didn’t reply, Anna grasped her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. “Beth, stop this now―”

Whatever she was to say next was lost in a shrill of pure, unadulterated horror.

Scrambling back, Anna collided hard with a wall and fell to her knees. She raised her trembling hands to her mouth, her wide eyes brimming with terror and tears. Dear God . . . Beth . . .

She lay sprawled across the table, her neck bent at a sharply odd degree. Her mouth was frozen in the shape of her last cry for help. And her throat . . . god her throat . . .

The skin had been stripped clean away, exposing the vibrant flesh underneath. The muscle was in tatters, and the white bone of her neck was clearly visible. The tender insides of her wrists were savagely maimed and mutilated. And, upon closer inspection, Anna found that it wasn’t water Beth was lying in.

It was an inconceivable amount of blood. Beth was soaked in it.

If she hadn’t known better, Anna would’ve thought she’d been attacked by an animal. But Manfield Manor was so tightly shut up there was no way any sort of wild dog could get inside.

But how could it have been anything else?

With a deep breath, Anna steadied herself on the wall behind her and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She needed to leave. She had to find an officer, the constable, someone, anyone, and report Beth’s murder.

The thought made her sway and almost sink back to the ground. Fresh tears welled in her eyes, and she hurriedly swept past the gory scene. She wanted to scream. She wanted to sob hysterically. But first she would do right by Beth and have her moved from this horrible place. She dashed up the aisle to the set of wooden doors, planning on using her momentum to try and force them back open. Her shoulder slammed hard against the heavy mahogany, making her teeth rattle in her head.

The doors, again, didn’t budge.

“Open!” she cried once more as she pushed with all her might. “I must leave here! Please!”

And, from the dark shadows of the room, Anna received an answer to her plea.

“I think not.”

She had no time to react.

Frigid arms embraced her from behind, and icy lips caressed her hair softly. Cool breath fanned across her cheek as her captor spoke again, “Annabelle,” he murmured quietly, seductively, the preternatural, airy double-entendre of his voice sending chills down her spine. “What took you so long?”

It was all too much

Panic-stricken, Anna began to fight and kick furiously before her mind could catch up with what her body was doing. She started to shriek at the top of her lungs, “You killed Beth! You murdered her!” Digging her nails into the cool skin of her assailant, she flailed violently, hoping to shock him into dropping her. “Let me go, you hideous monster! You will burn in the deepest pits of Hell for what you’ve done to Beth! The hangman’s noose awaits you, despicable beast!”

“Now, now,” he crooned gently as he tightened his hold on her wayward limbs, “this will take but a moment, my dear. I need only to check, to make sure, that you are indeed the one.”

Anna, incensed as she was, scarcely heard him, and yelped when she abruptly felt coldness touch the nape of her neck. “What are you doing?” she demanded. Her struggles began anew, and she thought frantically of any way to escape. There has to be a way.

And then, she saw it. A window.

The glass was almost completely gone, and the wooden frame was so weathered that the slightest push would disintegrate it. If she could get to the window, she could find an officer and have this madman locked away or, better yet, executed. Now my only dilemma is getting away from him.

Nearly as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Anna’s gaze zeroed in on the deathly pale arm holding her across the shoulders and she didn’t give herself time to second-guess it.

She bit him. Hard.

To her surprise and delight, he immediately released his hold on her. Anna, exultant, wasted no time sprinting to the far end of the dining hall toward her freedom. She chanced a look back, to see if she was being pursued, and felt her footsteps falter.

There was no one there.

Chest heaving, Anna cast her eyes about, searching, but, from what she could see in the dark, she was alone.

Odd, but she didn’t let it deter her for long. Whipping back around, Anna hastened once again toward the window, and was nearly there when her mouth dropped open in utter disbelief.

And awe.

He stood obscured partially in shadow, with faint moonlight highlighting his pale hair. His strange, almost colorless eyes pierced her through the gloom, mesmerizing her, and Annabelle suddenly could not find it within herself to be afraid.

He was but an arm’s length away, and he extended his hand to her. “I must confess,” he whispered in his feather light voice, “I was certain you were the one.”

She took his proffered hand with no hesitation, and found herself within his cold arms again. His palm came up to caress the side of her face as he gently tilted her head. “But, I suppose all is not lost.” Lips like ice came down to touch the exposed skin of her neck, and she shivered involuntarily. Looking up, she saw that his albino eyes were bleeding color, but she paid it no mind. She only wanted to press herself closer, feel his cool skin on her fingertips . . .

Sharp teeth sank suddenly into her flesh and, as her mouth opened in a silent scream, Anna heard him chuckle as he drained her dry.

~~~~~*~~~~~

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it! This has been circling around in my head for like two weeks almost. This first chapter is a prologue of sorts. It may not make much sense now, but as the story progresses it’ll become clearer.

Also, updates will be EXTREMELY sporadic and rare. I just had to get this written before I went insane XD

Reviews are appreciated!