The first one to wake up was Tom. He screamed with all his might and didn’t stop until I snipped his forehead in annoyance. Only then did he realize how alive he still was and relaxed considerably.

“Did I win? Is he dead?”

“Yup.” I answered, choosing to answer the question that suited me the best. Exhausted, he slumped back and laid down flat on the ground to gaze at the stars.

“You said you want me, that you love me. Now is your chance.” I said, curious about his reaction. I didn’t know exactly what he felt. Was it maybe like seeing me as a useful and interesting tool, just like I saw him, or was it something else entirely? Or was it maybe an obsession that would never go away, just like I was completely obsessed with Aska.

“Chance for what?” He asked.

“To do whatever you want with me until this guy wakes up.” I pointed towards Arthur and smiled until my canine became visible.

“And what would I want to do with you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I never understood humans fully, including you. I know the descriptions humans wrote about love, but I don’t think you and I have the same perception of love. I must admit that I already love someone in a very inhumane way. I want to control him as much as possible, I want to make him mine, but then again, I only love him because this endeavour is completely impossible.” I said while thinking about the past.

“Love is when your heart wants to burst out of its cage … when you feel happy if you see that person. At least that’s how I see it.”

“Well, considering that my heart is pretty dead and said person tortured me in the past, my love must be pretty fucked up.” I wasn’t even happy when I saw Aska. When I met him as I was losing control in the dam, he was just there. There were no feelings attached, it was just as if I wasn’t bothered by it. And yet, I had this overwhelming feeling that drove me towards him. I wanted to set him free desperately. And love was also a tool I used to coax Aska quite often and he did the same in return. “Or is it human love that´s weird?”

Tom paused for a second, probably unsure how to reply and before he could answer, I already switched back to our original topic.

“Tell me, if I allow you to do anything you like, what would you do?” I asked full of curiosity. It was time to explore this concept of human love I didn’t understand. “Would you be driven by lust? Or possibly something more sinister? Would you like to ram a dagger into my heart?”

“Do you want to find out?” He inquired with a smile.

“Badly.” I grinned back at him.

Tom stood up and walked towards me while balling his hands into fists. He came so close that I could feel his breath on my cheek as I sat completely unmoving, wondering what he was up to. I prayed he would hurry up because one glance to the right revealed that his time was running out.

“I want to know every aspect of the devil.” He explained with a slight smile around his lips and leaned even closer. His eyes were burning with desire as I looked into them deeply. His hand was already at the back of my head as he brought his mouth towards my nape and I rolled my eyes.

“The time is up.” Arthur was already waking up and I saw everything I needed to know. There was no reason for me to continue this any further. “It was nice to see your lustful eyes though. Makes me feel wanted.”  I smiled sweetly as he let go of me, clearly frustrated he didn’t get any chance of actually tasting my blood and doing whatever else he desired. I stood up, patted his shoulders while chuckling and waited for Arthur, or whatever was left of him to wake up completely.

The bond I felt between us earlier was stronger than ever and to my delight, I instinctively knew that it was a one-way street. He awoke faster than I anticipated and directly scooted towards us, at first on all fours, then on two feet. Strangely fascinated by him, I watched him as he ran around the fire and then tried to grab Toms throat again.

“Stop.” He froze mid-movement and trembled as I stared him down in anger. “Tell me, Tom, do you really want to become this animal?” I didn’t see that many signs of intelligence in Arthur's eyes, he behaved more like a hungry wolf.

“They regain their intelligence after some time, don’t they?” Yeah, after I fed him my blood over and over again, he would be as smart as he was as a human, but that wasn’t my problem.

“Kneel.” At least some level of intelligence must have remained as Arthur knelt down in front of Tom, but still looked at him with hungry, red eyes. “Are you really willing to give up your freedom?”

“Freedom is an illusion. We are always bound by something.” His answer made sense but still dissatisfied me nonetheless. I didn’t need a yes man as my subordinate. I needed someone who could think on his own and point out flaws in my plans. And I feared that by turning him into a vampire I had full control over and his freedoms would be restricted, he wouldn’t be able to achieve this anymore.

“Tom … a few days ago I said that I´d fuck you if it is necessary for my goals. Good luck, that’s your only chance.” I was never a big fan of restricting freedom. I still remembered the horrible time when I couldn’t leave the house in purgatory. I didn’t want to live through this time again and as such, I didn’t want to restrict the freedom of my precious follower. But I also knew that leaving him hanging was a bad idea. He should have the freedom to strive for his own goals and if it was becoming a vampire, then I at least had to give him a path forward. The only question was if he could force, or trick me into doing it.

“Oh, to both of you … although I doubt you understand me Arthur … welcome to the dark side … we have cookies.”

Satisfied, I turned to the distant lights, protected by a large wall and full of human life. The place I was about to make my home: The ducal city of Eastminster where the White family lived for generations.