Aaron froze, mouth open wide, fangs poised to sink into the pulsing artery. A presence had filled the room. The air, charged with a new electricity, sent the hair on Aaron’s neck standing on end. He knew this energy old and powerful. He spun to face the Queen and her watching from the doorway a cold and emotionless expression on her face. Now Aaron’s features held the terror as he backed away from the still frozen Takeshi. Fast as lightning Aaron was on the floor kneeling before the Queen. “Your Majesty I…”

The man standing next to the queen interrupted the groveling vampire. “Don’t offend her majesty with your sputterings and excuses.”

Aaron just kneeled on the floor shaking. The queen stood before him for a long moment in silence. “Aaron,” She sighed in a sad tone, “he was barely in my care before you’re ambition turned to treachery. Leave this house.”

 Aaron opened his mouth, “My Queen…” he stuttered, “Do what you will with me but don’t send me from your presence. I beg you.”

 She spoke slowly, beautifully, “Leave my house.” As she said this the air already unnaturally heavy pressed down upon him.  Aaron opened his mouth as if to say something but merely bowed to the ground again before fleeing the room. The queen turned and nodded to her who bowed and then also left the room closing the door behind him.

There was a long silence as the two looked at each other. The queen was the first to step forward, gliding almost as she approached Junki, but she did so slowly, cautiously as one would approach a stray animal. Junki stared, his heart fluttering like a bird with a broken wing flutters on the ground, trying to take flight. His body ached from the beating he’d received from Aaron, but still. He jumped up off the cushion and attacked. He kicked and threw every punch he had ever learned, each time his strike was met by the steely hand of the queen. She didn’t need to block, the punches wouldn’t have moved her in the least but it would have hurt him a lot more to kick her immovable form than her hand which she could give a little and soften just slightly.

After 10min or so she noticed his swings were becoming sloppy and his legs less stable. 15 min into the barrage his screams of frustration became grunts of labor and his clothes stuck to his body soaked in sweat. Finally, perhaps out of boredom, the queen’s palm connected with his sternum sending him flying back onto the cushion gasping and coughing for air. Too tired to move he lay accepting and waiting for whatever came next. The queen seated herself on the cushion next to him, running her fingers over his cheeks and neck.

“My queen.” A voice called through the door.

The queen snarled softly before answering, “Yes?”

The voice came again more timid this time, “Your guests my lady…”

The queen ignored his comment, “Summon Lasil to me.”

“Yes, my queen.”

The queen turned her attention back onto Junki. Her fingers lightly tracing his features she pressed her lips together in a quizzical fashion, “Your face is so feminine.” He had heard this before, heck he’d even dressed as a girl for one of his movies. Her finger followed the bridge of his nose. “You will be useful to me won’t you?” she cooed. The door opened with a soft moan. A man tall, with jet black hair came into the room. He was a sight to see with his wide shoulders that sat upon a well developed chest and abs, the definition of which you could glimpse through his shirt as they moved and tightened with his approach. He was asian, which gave his build a tight almost lean look like that of Marco, Rain, or Lee Byung Hun. “Lasil,” the queen motioned him over, “isn’t he pretty?”

Lasil leaned over the cushion, his dark eyes scanning Junki. Junki flinched as Lasil grabbed his chin, turning his face to the right and left. “Inhumanly so.” Lasil’s deep melodious voice hummed in his ears, “Is he really not one of us?”

“Would you like him to be?” The queen opened baring her fangs in a mock biting motion.

“He might rival you for beauty then, my queen.”

The queen laughed putting Junki at ease though the monsters jestings were not in the least bit funny to him, “Very true.” She sighed, “Lasil will you please take care of him while I go rejoin the party?”

Lasil bowed as the queen, her movements like liquid, stood up and left the room. By then Junki has regained enough of his strength to sit up though every muscle of his throbbed and ached with the effort. Lasil quietly closed the door and then walked back over to where Junki sat. “My name is Lasil.” The demon extended his hand. Before he could really think about it Junki was shaking hands with a vampire. “Forgive our jests.” Lasil looked almost embarrassed, “We are not used to dealing with humans.” A smile krept across Junki’s lips. Horrified, he shook his head, what was this creature doing to him that he felt no threat nor concern? “Lets get you cleaned up shall we?” the vamp continued, “You have a long road ahead of you.”

Lasil led Junki to a bathroom that was bigger than most apartments, “Feel free to wash up here and tend to any injuries you might have received.” He motioned to the tub and that was already full and waiting. Steam wisped across the surface of the water undisturbed but for the rose petals that floated along, hundreds of fragrant vessels that turned the air in the bathroom into perfume and the water of the tub blood red. The sight of the crimson liquid made Junki queasy, a feeling he was beginning to suspect would be apart of his daily life, however long he lived after this night. “Is everything alright?”

 Junki jumped at Lasil’s voice. “Fine.” He stepped forward into the room signaling he would be no trouble to the vampire, accepting the offer of the bath and the medical supplies.

Lasil nodded, “New clothes will be set outside the door for you.” Any reservations about being too compliant vanished as the vamp walked out of the room calling, “I’m glad you decided to cooperate, right now you smell of blood and fear, two things we find very tasty.” The vamp smiled as he heard the splash of the tub water behind him.

After Junki had finished Lasil led him back to the room with the red cushion. Opening the door for him Lasil motioned for him to go inside. He thought for a second about taking off running down the hall or turning on his but, if anything, this night had taught him that neither would have ended in his favor. “Thank you.”

Stepping into the room Junki noticed for the first time how very sparse it was for such a huge area, with only a bed, the cushion, and a vanity to fill the space that could easily fit the entire furnishings of a very large family. Junki fought a very strong urge to yell “Echo!” into the cavernous space. A melodious chuckle from next to the window quashed that urge. The queen waved for the Lasil to leave, he did but not before Junki could flash him a look that begged to go with him and not before Lasil shot him a dark look back like he wished he could’ve. The door closed softly and again he found himself alone with the she devil. He stared at the door for awhile before mustering the courage to look the queen in the face. She was stunning standing by the window the last bit of moonlight reflecting off of her white silk nightgown. A small frown showed on her face and for a moment Junki ached to see her smile. She sighed, “This will be your bed for the night.” She pointed toward the cushion. Now it was Junki who frowned, I’m not a dog, he thought. The queen’s lips down turned even more, “I’m sorry it’s not a proper bed, but to be honest, I wasn’t expecting you.” Junki was confused; there was a perfectly good bed in the room, why wasn’t he allowed to sleep there?

  Almost as if in answer to his question the queen moved from the window to the bed, fluffed one of the ginormous pillows and then climbed in with a small yawn. Realization struck Junki hard. They were both going to sleep here?! Lasil’s glare passed through his mind again as the light in the room turned off, leaving them in total darkness except for a few stray rays of moonlight that found their way between the heavy curtains.