As he viewed the beautiful creature now lying on his king-sized custom made bed, the Count had a hard time breathing.

Disbelief, awe, gratitude, love and possessiveness were a few of the choice emotions that threatened to rock him off balance. He had never felt more unworthy as he did in that moment, looking at such untainted purity.

Dracula had always been a proud vampire, conscious of the fact that he was the oldest being on Earth, above all those that served him, both in physical and supernatural strength.

But in the face of this harmless, naïve and defenceless girl; he felt foolish and clumsy; his throat dry and his palms sweating. Definitely not his usual confident self. He didn't know how he would conduct himself around her, what she would expect of him, whether he could live up to those expectations.

He didn't know how to deal with the living except killing, torturing and defiling them. He intended to do neither of those things. Not to his bride; the only source of light in his damned existence.

In the many years he had lived, the Count had met a lot of women of different races, colouring and height, but none could be considered even half as beautiful as his bride. Erinna had a rare beauty that none other possessed. Her features were tinged with a fragility and innocence that made him immediately want to protect her, even from himself.

Her hair was black glossy waves, splayed on his pillow lushly. Her pale skin, rosy lips and symmetrical nose were aligned to give the most beautiful face that the universe had ever conjured. Suddenly the two thousand years that he had waited for her became mere numbers and ceased to matter.

The elf princess stirred in her sleep before her eyes fluttered open, startling the Count. She had the greenest, most beautiful and most expressive eyes he had ever had the pleasure of seeing. He gazed into their child-like innocence and was humbled.

She blinked, regarding him like a particularly complex puzzle she was trying to solve. It took only a second for realisation to flood her features. She had probably recognised him.

"I know you," she confirmed his thoughts. Her voice had a calming quality and brought to mind the peaceful waters of a spring.

"I've been told of your visions," he replied truthfully.

Of course the magic the Elves had webbed around her had prevented him from getting a full detailed account of his bride, but every spell had loopholes. And he had managed to exploit a few to learn about Erinna, even as her father had tried to make her nonexistent to the world.

Besides, it had been no real challenge, the young princess could not even control her own gifts and her telepathy had been all over the place that it had been so easy to pick on some of her thoughts and read them at his pleasure.

"By Melissa?" She asked innocently.

"You're not the only one with a few tricks up your sleeve, angel."

He could see that she did not appreciate his last remark. But if her nose was going to wrinkle up in that cute way every time he annoyed her, he might just do it every opportunity he got.

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Erinna did not really know what to make of the unnaturally beautiful creature before her.

He was the man from her visions, the face that had haunted her sleep and dreams. Yet this moment couldn't be mistaken for a dream, this was really happening. He was breathtakingly beautiful, in every sense of the word. The dreams had been pale imitations.

He had shoulder-length jet black hair that for some bizarre reason, her fingers itched to touch. His eyes were cold, dark and emotionless. There was something astute and imposing about him that even the very shadows in the darkened room seemed to crawl away from him. He had aristocratic vibes rolling off him in waves; a man used to being in command. His features were foreboding and fascinating.

His face was a masterpiece, a homage to ancient Greek statues, his jaw strong and chiseled. It was a thoughtful alignment of angles, a strong unforgiving jaw, an aristocratic nose that testified his royal heritage and a sinfully gorgeous mouth; all combining to give the most beautiful face Erinna could have ever imagined.

Handsome seemed a very lacking and inadequate term to use in describing him. He was male beauty and virility personified. Even the heroes her favorite romance novel authors wrote of were all put to shame by this enchanting being. He exuded male perfection.

His physique strong, regal and powerful. Even his burgundy royal coat that swept the marble floor could not hide his well-toned body with rippling muscles as he stepped further into the dimly lit room. He was perfect.

"Keep looking and I just might find it impossible to keep my civilized facade," he teased with a wicked smile on his all too beautiful face, sounding amused.

Erinna immediately averted her gaze, ignoring his teasing after being caught ogling him. He must think she was a creep, but who could blame her? His features were of a mesmerizing beauty that just seemed to draw you in, drowning you in a trance.

Yet despite his all too appealing physical features that would probably make all the legendary Atlantian gods weep, Erinna could not ignore the uneasiness his presence gave her . It was almost like he was cloaked in darkness, his aura a shadow that threatened her and everything else in the room.

He seemed to stifle all the light and joy in the room. Erinna gave an involuntary shudder; his very presence seeming to drop the room temperature by a few degrees. Goosebumps broke out on her fair skin like a rash.

But there was something so captivating about him and despite her reluctance to look at him before she found it impossible to look away now. She was simultaneously scared and mesmerized by him and it was only by sheer willpower that she broke free from the spell his eyes held her under and managed to talk.

"You are no elf....or human," she stated her observation, not even knowing how she had come to that conclusion. Something in her just knew.

But anyone could have seen it. His beauty was too ethereal for a mere human .Erinna had never met all the species in the world but Melissa was human and the difference between her and this celestial being was all too obvious.

"No, I am something else." He agreed vaguely.

Lord, his voice was out of this world, deep strong and husky all combining to give a velvet like mixture that would have made her knees buckle had she been standing. But she ignored it before its alluring sound sent her into insanity. She needed to focus on figuring out what was happening not on the physical attributes of the dark angel before her.

"What are you?" She asked, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Come on Princess, think."

It did not even take her a minute to figure out because deep in her blood she knew. Her denial was only a form of self preservation.

"You are a vampire." It was not a question.

The creature immediately clapped its hands with a smile that did not reach its cold dark eyes.

"Excellent. Now that we have finished the introductions can we move on?"

Erinna did not like his attitude. And the more time she spent in his presence the more she realised that he was more foe than friend.

"Where is my father?" She demanded.

There was no way her father could have let anyone take her out of her tower. She had once seen the tower like a prison but it now seemed like a fortress if it had kept her from creatures like the one before her.

"Probably cursing me to the ends of the earth."

He had her against her father's will?

"You kidnapped me?" Her voice had risen a few decibels.

The vampire looked surprised by her reaction. He probably was used to everyone cowering before him and attending to his every command. Well, he was in for a rude awakening.

All politeness Erinna's governess had taught her flew out of the window as the extent of her current situation dawned on her.

It was impossible for anyone to penetrate the protection their ancestors had set over Ellingsdale so Erinna had merely assumed whoever this man was, he had had an agreement with her father.

"Let's not get too dramatic, darling. Your father knew this day was coming." He said in a bored voice.

"You're lying," she accused refusing to believe what he was saying for that would paint her father in a different and very unflattering light.

The man rolled his eyes at her denial.

"Erinna, you're an elf. You can tell if I'm lying," he said impatiently.

It was true, Elves could see through any web of lie and looking into his eyes then, she could see nothing but cold hard truth. She looked away to privately blink away the tears now welling in her eyes, blurring her vision. So this was what her father had been trying to protect her from.

Just how evil was this vampire to make the brave king of the Elves, responsible for many victories in the battle field to hide his only daughter in a tower for her whole life, away from the rest of the world? The thought filled her with icy cold dread which pooled in her belly, chilling her from the inside out.

"How do you know my name?" She asked a bit startled and unsettled.

It was a mundane question given the circumstances, but she needed every bit of distraction whilst she digested the information and came up with a plan.

"I know a lot of things."

It did not seem like she was going to get a straight answer from him any time soon so she let it slide. For then.

"So what happened with the stars, that was all you?" She asked with false calm.

Inside she was a trembling frightened mess and it took all her willpower to keep a steady voice and stop her teeth from chattering at the reality of encountering her father's worst nightmare, and probably hers too.

"Your father went overboard with the security measures; I had to find a way to extract you. And believe me, it wasn't easy."

Anger flooded her whole system and she forgot her previous fear.

"You struck me with lightning! You could have killed me, or even worse, Melissa!"

"I would never do anything to endanger the queen of my people. And for the record the maid is fine, not that it's of any importance."

But Erinna hardly heard the rest of what he was saying for her mind was stuck on one word, highlighting it repeatedly.

"Queen?"

"Yes Erinna, you're going to be my bride."

Erinna waited for the punch line of the joke but none came.

She looked up only to see that the enigma of a creature had vanished. She looked around the royally adorned room but the vampire was nowhere to be found.

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