The Castle upon the Cliff

[Minderbinder]

(This is between Cynthia Crawfield and Minderbinder. If you're not either of us, then please do not post!)

Almost...almost there...

Her muscles were sore, her legs felt like jelly, and the cold was starting to chew at her skin. Enza had lost track of the number of hours she'd spent climbing up the slopes of the frigid mountain, but at the same time she knew in the end that it'd be worth it. Soon, she'd take the head of one of the most infamous vampires of recent history...soon she'd garner the respect that she deserved. Even that sour-faced bastard, Master Belmond, would be ready to accept her. Soon, she was going to have all that she desired. All that she needed to do was take that monster's head.

Dark gray eyes, narrowed ever so slightly, watched as the crumbling old castle grew in size. What had once been a magnificent structure had long since fallen into obscurity, the outer walls seemingly only moments away from turning to dust. It would be a poor place for a home for most humans, though Enza Deschain knew that for a vampire trivalities such bitter winds and a frigid temperature were hardly an issue. Their soul was already an icy black, was it not? What was a tiny bit of extra cold?

Gloved hands clutched at her ragged old cloak, the young woman trying her best to keep the winds from nibbling at her pale skin. She was almost out of the worst of the cold, and though she doubted the castle itself was much warmer than the mountains around it Enza could only imagine that it'd offer at least some respite from from the howling winds. She was nearing the entrance now, the massive wooden doors only partially open...the lock having long since rusted away. Through the crack she could only just barely make out the other end, brushing a strand of raven hair from her eyes as she leaned in a tad bit closer. A long hallway stretched before her, covered in shadow. No sign of the vampire, though that wasn't much of a surprise. The beast was probably farther into the castle, away from prying eyes...

The old door almost seemed to scream as she pushed against it, the hinges barely even budging as the door was slowly forced open. Finally making a crack large enough for herself to fit through, the young lady stumbled forth into the spacious hall. Wiping the half-melted snow from her pants, Enza carefully lowered her hood, allowing her black hair to pool out. Normally going down to her shoulders, the young hunter had taken care to tie it back into a bun. As she brushed yet another strand out of her face, the girl's pale eyes swept the area....keen ears picking out the sounds. Her hand swept into her cloak, brushing against her thick tunic before tightening around the hilt of her blade. A simple short sword, it'd been given a slight silver coating, enough to make it at least something of a threat against most vampires.

This one included, hopefully.

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

Katherine silently mediated in front of an old alchemy table. A small bowl of some unknown powder was glowing red as the vampire infused it with magical energies. Being an old vampire, Katherine had many centuries to perfect the arts of alchemy and magics. In fact, this crumbling castle was once her abode, where she did most of her casting and mixing. Katherine had a bad habit of using unwilling humans for test subjects, believing them to be an inferior slave race. The villagers from a small town at the foot of these mountains had to send yearly tributes, often in the form of slaves. Sick of sacrificing their own, one day the villagers took up arms and stormed Katherine's home. The castle was ruined, yet the vampire's alchemy room remained untouched. Hidden deep within the castle, it was still the best place for Katherine to work on her alchemy and dark magics.

A loud creaking noise reverted through the castle, old rusted hinges almost refusing to move under Enza's shove. It essentially alerted the vampire to intruders, the creaking loud enough to knock the raven haired Katherine from her deep meditations. Standing to her full six foot tall frame, the vampire smoothed out the front of her gown with a sigh. She grabbed the two silver daggers that sat on the table, sliding them into leather sheaths sewn into her corset before slipping a few smoke bombs in her leather bag. The bombs were her own design, crafted from sulfur and charcoal and catalyzed by the fire runes engraved in the stone casing. When the casing shattered, the runes activated and ignited the sulfur and charcoal, creating a massive cloud of thick, acrid smoke. A potent tool indeed.

When Katherine found Enza, they were in a large court. The vaulted ceilings and stone pillars were ominous, and gave Katherine perfect hiding spaces. Currently, she was wedged between a wall and a pillar, her magically infused silk gown refusing to tear from the coarse stone. "Who dares invade this dead home?" The vampire called out, her voice echoing throughout the room. "Speak, and drop your weapons."

 

[Minderbinder]

The girl had spent at least a couple of minutes wandering about, hand never leaving the hilt of her blade. She could hear everything; the sounds of rats scurrying about, the roaring of the winds outside, and even the dripping of melting snow. And yet, what the young lady didn't hear was the approaching vampire. She'd arrived in a spacious room, what seemed to have once been a court, when the voice finally reached her. It crawled along the walls, bouncing about...it's origin seemingly implacable. The girl could feel herself taking a slight step back, her heart beginning to pound ever faster as those gray eyes quickly darted about, trying to pierce through the shadows. She saw nothing.

"..." A slight hiss echoed forth as the silver-specked blade left its sheath, her breaths unsteady as she dug her boots into the cracked stone ground. She'd spent years training for such a moment, cutting her teeth on training dummies and whelps. A chance to take the head of a true vampire, that was what she dreamed of. And now? Now, the moment was finally here. A soft smile tugged at her lips.

"...one who plans to end your life," She boasted, the tip of the blade aimed ahead, "Step forth, beast. Let me take a look at your face, before I slice your head clean off your shoulders,"

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

Katherine grinned at the sound of a blade sliding from its sheath. It was a sound she was very familiar with, one that was terrifying if the opponent was competent. Fortunately for Katherine, Enza was far from competent.

"Hmm... Confident, aren't you?" The vampire replied, echos still masking her location. "Do you even realise who you're threatening?" Katherine had dealt with people like Enza before. They were cocky, confident and oftentimes incompetent, so much so that they weren't even a challenge. Many fell before their sword had even left their sheath, but only when Katherine wasn't in a toying mood.

"We'll see if you're a challenger worth fearing... Or another pretending whelp." With an echoing laugh, Katherine descended from above. Her eyes were glowing a soft crimson as her descent was slowed by seemingly nothing. The vampire made no move to attack, instead staying where she was with a challenging grin.

 

[Minderbinder]

A flicker of movement within the shadows, and suddenly Enza found herself confronted by her target. Her body tensed, her knuckles growing white around the blade, her eyes narrowed. Even from where she stood in this darkened room, the young girl was able to get a proper glimpse of the beast's face. She'd heard tales of how the stronger vampires were able to maintain a human appearance, and from what the girl was capable of seeing this seemed to be the case here. To the naked eyes, what stood before her was a lovely woman; hair as black as night, smooth skin free of blemishes. Even the young hunter could not help but feel a faint blush creeping up onto her cheeks. And yet, she was quick to push such feelings away. As beautiful as the vampire was, the crimson glow in her eyes dispelled the illusion. What stood before her was a beast, nothing more...and nothing less.

"..." Enza's smug little smile faltered somewhat as the creature challenged her boast, teeth grit. A pretending whelp? How dare she...

"You'll regret such words," She hissed, "Believe me..."

Her muscles loosened, her feet left the ground, and with a surprising display of speed the girl dashed at her opponent. "...you'll fall just like all the rest!"

As she neared, Enza made her first move. Putting all of her weight behind it, she swung the blade downwards, looking to cleave the vampire's head in two.

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

The blush intrigued Katherine. Almost every huntress she had come across kept a disgusted visage when they encountered her. Not once had she have someone show some amount of attractions, even with Katherine's perfect hourglass figure and full, firm 36C breasts. So intrigued was she that Katherine was caught off guard when Enza attacked. She was surprised by how fast the girl could run, but it wasn't fast enough.

With a hiss, Katherine's daggers left their sheaths and parried Enza's downward swing. Runes on the silver blade glowed crimson for just a moment before fading, and the ruby set right between the blade and the hilt glistened from what little light there was. "Fast, aren't you?" Katherine remarked right before pushing Enza's short sword away and kicking the human in her abdomen. "But you're going to need more to defeat me."

In a flash, Katherine lowered herself to a fighting stance. Her body crouched down slightly and leaned forward as she flipped the blades in her hands, wielding them so the hilt faced forward. Her arms moved up, one across the other in front of her in a defensive manner. "Come, let's see what else you can do!"

 

[Minderbinder]

For just a brief moment, Enza thought she was going to win. The blade seemed only moments away from the vampiress's head, and if the girl had been given just a half-second longer to continue the descent then the edge of her sword would've connected. But, unfortunately, that would've been too easy. The hiss of steel echoed throughout the empty chamber as a pair of daggers appeared in the pale woman's hands and connected with her blade, a bolt of pain shooting through her form as a foot collided right with her stomach. Even with the armor, the blow was enough to knock wind out of her. She stumbled back, teeth grit as she winced. Ugh, dammit...

But she wasn't done yet. She wasn't going to refuse this monster's challenge. Gritting away the pain, she raised her blade and moved once more, seemingly dashing forward at first only to move at the very last second. She twisted her body, moving to the side of the vampire and this time trying to land a blow on its shoulder.

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

This time Katherine was ready. She wasn't going to let Enza get another advantage over her. As the sword came swinging towards her, Katherine quickly launched herself in the opposite direction. Enza's swing missed her by a gold metre, slicing nothing beyond air. Katherine quickly retaliated for the first time in their battle, quickly launching herself forward almost as soon as her boots touched the stone ground. Using her inhumane speed as an advantage, Katherine quickly changed direction so that she will run past Enza, her right hand dagger trying to slash the girl's abdomen. Unfortunately thanks to the short dagger and Enza's armor, Katherine had to swipe at the perfect angle. Too steep and she would lose her grip and penetrate nothing, too shallow and the blade would just slide over the leather.

 

[Minderbinder]

With just a blink, Enza's own target had seemed to vanish. And yet, the vampire didn't take long to re announce her presence, a blur of movement catching the corner of the young hunter's eyes. She barely had time to react, her reflexes only just barely allowing the girl a chance to pull herself back before the tip of the dagger cut through the leather and into her stomach. And even then, she wasn't quick enough. While the result of her slowness was hardly a finishing blow, the dagger had still nick through the armor and cloth beneath it. Her own eyes widened as pain flared in her belly, her hand growing damp as it fell across the area where the dagger had connected.

Damned monster...

She didn't know how far the wound went, for all she knew it could've been nothing more than a scrape. And yet, even a slight wound was enough to jar her concentration. Grinding her teeth together, trying to ignore the obvious discomfort, the girl forced herself to straighten. Adrenaline dulling the pain a tad, she wrapped her bloodied hand back around the hilt of her blade and allowed her attention to refocus on the vampiress

"..." Obviously not one for strategy, the girl went and broke into yet another sprint. Though her wound obviously slowed her a tad, the girl still managed an impressive speed all things considered. Her eyes focused on the vampire, she allowed the tip of the blade to hover above the stone, and as she grew near the girl swung it up as hard as she could.

"GAHHHHHHHHH!" She yelled as loud as she could, once again putting as much might as she could behind the swing. Her forehead was stained with sweat, her hands as clammy as could be. She'd never been the best when it came to pacing, and even now when fighting for her life such a fact failed to change.

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

Katherine smirked at the blood that stained Enza's hands and abdomen. It wasn't a deep wound, but it was deep enough to stain the air with the sweet scent of blood. Katherine's canine teeth involuntarily extended into her fangs as her eyes glowed a brighter crimson. She wanted to hunt Enza, to bring her down and feast on the ambrosia that flowed in the human's veins. It was a feral, uncontrollable urge that only older vampires can repress.

The blind charge forward was unimpressive enough, but with Katherine's hyper-sharpened senses and reflexes it was even more pathetic. She practically saw the human move in slow motion, every little detail seemed to sharpen and enhance until they were glaringly obvious. Enza's swing was predictable enough without Katherine's abilities. With the blade so close to the ground the only way it could move was up. Jumping backwards once again to dodge the mortals swing, Katherine followed up with a lightning fast charge forward of her own. With Enza's blade up in the air, the mortal had exposed the rest of her body and left herself defenseless. With the dagger aimed strait at Enza's damaged portion of her armor, Katherine tried to send it as deep into her opponent as possible, using her forward velocity as the source of power.

 

[Minderbinder]

Common sense had told her to pull back from the blow, and yet Enza's body refused to yield. She'd essentially thrown herself forward, throwing both reason and caution to the freezing winds. And, in the end, the girl paid dearly for her recklessness. Her clumsy swing was a clear miss, her opponent seemingly taking only the faintest of efforts to dodge the attack. And unfortunately for Enza, the vampiress was smart enough to go in for a counter. Unlike before, the girl didn't have the opportunity to dodge. The weight of the blade kept her feet rooted, and if she tried to move Enza knew that she'd end up stumbling over her own two feet. This time, the attack struck head-on.

As the dagger burrowed deep, her broken armor no longer an obstacle, the the effects became apparently almost immediately. Though she did not yet feel pain, the girl's body became wrapped in a deathly cold. Her eyes were as wide as could be, her legs quickly growing numb as life poured from the wound. She...no...no!

There was nothing before her now, only a blurry mess of colors and shapes. Her mind was starting to crumble as unconsciousness began to take hold, the girl able to utter only one final before her legs gave out.

"...how?"

And with that, darkness clouded her vision. She stumbled forward, right towards the vampiress.

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

Katherine could practically feel her victory as the dagger penetrated Enza's armor and plunged into already injured flesh. Blood washed over her silk gloves, not like she cared. Victory was hers!

Releasing the hilt of her blade, Katherine stepped back calmly. "Because you were incompetent," the vampire replied coldly as Enza swayed on her feet. She could practically see the life drain from her opponent; each second Enza approached death's cold embrace. The vampire caught Enza as the woman fell forward laying her down on the cold floor, plucking the blade from her abdomen and licking the blood from the metal. She took a few seconds to savor the metallic liquid, knowing that her vampire blood would revive Enza so long as the woman had a dab of life in her. Once the blade was clean, Katherine used it to draw some of her own blood and dripped some into Enza's mouth, using just enough to heal the human's wounds while keeping her unconscious. With a little smile, the vampire carried Enza downstairs to her dungeon.

The dungeon was cold, dank and dark. All the torches had long since burned out, and while Enza would have difficulty seeing anything the vampire didn't have any such disabilities. Looking at the rack in the far corner, Katherine decided to secure the girl there. She used the metal cuffs to secure Enza's wrists and ankles in place, before tightening the slack on the chains until the human was stretched uncomfortably in the metal contraption. Now she just had to wait for Enza to wake up.

 

[Minderbinder]

Am...I dead...?

A consciousness returned and Enza's senses reawoken, that the first thing on the young lady's mind. All around her the only thing she could see was darkness, a black abyss that held not even a sliver of warmth within. The wound upon her stomach had died down into a steady ache, and as she tried to budge both her arms and legs refused, a slight rattling able to be heard during her attempts. Her body felt almost...stretched, her muscle aching a tad as she tried to budge. Just what was this...? Was this really some kind of afterlife? Or...wait...wait...

"Oh no," Her heart nearly skipped a bit, her stomach dropping as the sudden realization hit her. She wasn't dead, but now that she thought about it Enza probably would've preferred such a fate.

"Where are you!?" Her voice was nearly a snarl by this point, the rattling of steel echoing throughout the nearly empty dungeon as she tried to struggle. "I'll kill you!"

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

"Kill? Me?" Katherine replied with a chuckle, amused that a mortal bound to a rack dared threaten her. "I'm not sure you understand dear, you are currently chained to a rack, fully exposed and - quite frankly - indebted to me. If I hadn't given you my blood, you would have died a nobody on the cold stone floor. Show some respect to your savior, hmm?"

Another laugh echoed through the empty dungeon, and suddenly the nearby torches came to life. The pitch within them ignited once more, catalyzed by her magic. "Good luck getting out of those restraints by the way," the vampire remarked, her voice drowning Enza in mockery. "I devised them to hold centuries old vampires, so a mere mortal such as yourself couldn't break out of them in a million years."

Standing up from the stool that she rested in, Katherine walked up to her captive and gently caressed the woman's face with a blood-stained, silk clad hand. "I noticed how your body responded when you first saw me," the vampire purred, her voice sensual yet very dangerous. Her eyes were no longer glowing, instead they were a natural crimson color. It made the old vampire look eerily human.

"I noticed the blush that rose on your cheeks. I wonder, were you undressing me in your mind? Imagining how I might do in bed? Are you so perverted that you would allow yourself to feel some level of attraction to someone you consider a monster? Or is that monster truly just a beautiful, superior being that you foolishly challenged and lost to? "

 

[Minderbinder]

As the woman drew close, as her soft hand gently trailed down Enza's face, the young woman could feel (to her horror) that faint blush slowly creeping back up onto her cheeks. As much as she tried to deny it, the vampiress's words certainly held a measure of truth. The creature before her was a monster, there was no other way of seeing it, and yet during their initial confrontation Enza had felt a peculiar sensation fluttering in her chest, something she hadn't felt in God knows how long. She was pale by this point, biting at lip as she tried to give her captor a look that seemed malignant and yet only came off as confused.

"...I..." Her voice was caught up in her throat, the girl's breathing slowly speeding up as she tried to think up at some kind of way to challenge the vampire's words. Not only for the sake of, metaphorically, spitting in the monster's face but to also give Enza herself even a slight measure of reassurance. Something, anything.

"Go to hell," And in the end, that was all she was able to scrounge up. A paltry insult that wouldn't even drive a child to tears. She was feeling clammy now, a fluttering sensation in her belly. This was really it, wasn't it? She wouldn't see her master again, she wouldn't be able to see any of the friends she made. She was just going to die, up here on these frozen cliffs with no one but her soon-to-be murderer.

Her leather armor rustled a tad as she straightened herself back out, looking back up towards her captor. "Get it over with," She spoke, voice a hiss, "Kill me. Savor your little victory,"

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

Katherine laughed as she watched that blush return to Enza's pale face. The look only amused the vampire even more; it was the least threatening glare she had ever received. The supposed insult didn't help her either.

"Oh really, is that the best you can do?" Katherine mocked as she grabbed the girl's chin. "Is that the most offensive thing you can come up with my dear? What happened to the confident girl that so boldly challenged me, signing me off as easy prey? What happened to ending my life?" Laughing once again, Katherine released the girl's chin and walked off to a dark corner, searching for her collection of whips.

"Oh no, I'm not going to kill you," the woman replied as she returned with a long bull whip. "No, your fate is worse than death." With each sentence, the vampire lashed out with the whip, using her strength to cut through the leather that protected the girl. "You will be broken..." Crack! "...toyed with and enslaved..." Crack! "...and then turned by me, and forced to prey on those you once considered friends and family!" Crack!

 

[Minderbinder]

She saw the whip coming, she tried to brace for it, and when the tip finally collided the girl had to try to damndest not to scream every expletive in the book. Even with the armor, it felt like fire licking her skin. Enza could feel the tears of pain starting to build up in her eyes, mouth tasting like copper as she down on her tongue. And, unfortunately, that was hardly the end of it.

The vampiress's threats were just blurs of slurred speech as the whip continued to crack down again and again, her captor giving her only enough time to realize the nearly unbearable pain before she ended up bringing the whip right back down. She could feel it starting to slice through what remained of armor, and it even began to cut through the tunic beneath as well.

"Argh...ah..." She couldn't scream, she couldn't. Her face was already wet with tears of pain, and her clothing was torn up by the constant attacks. She'd already fallen far enough, and screaming would only solidify her position. She couldn't...she couldn't...

"They'll find you..." She managed to choke out a sentence, "...they'll kill you...you'll...regret everything..."

 

[Cynthia Crawfield]

One last crack echoed through the dimly lit dungeon before Katherine set the whip aside. "Oh no dear," the vampire whispered, her voice low, dangerous yet sensual. "Your friends? Family? They're no match for me. They're no match for my guards. They will find themselves in the exact same position you're in right now. Bound and at my mercy." Snickering confidently, Katherine raked her fingers across the broken parts of Enza's armor, making sure to claw at her skin. "Such fragile creatures you are," she remarked snidly right before tearing off Enza's armor and even her cloth tunic. Fabric ripped, leather cracked and tore until quite literally nothing remained on Enza's body. "Even under layers of armor, you mortals are easy to defeat."

Katherine's mood changed considerably as she gently caressed Enza's cheek. The bloodied silk left stains on Enza's face, light yet morbid. "You don't have to scream," she remarked with a little grin. "Your tears are enough." Chuckling, Katherine brushed away some of the tears before kissing the girl's bloodied cheek, savoring the thin layer of blood.

 

[Minderbinder]

"Ugh...uh..." Her mind hazy with both pain and humiliation, Enza could barely even form a coherent thought. She felt herself recoiling as the vampiress drew her nails across her body, the cracked leather and torn tunic being peeled away to reveal the bruised skin beneath. Her face was soaked by tears from the torture at this point, her chest rising and falling as she tried to get a breath. How could this happen? How!? She'd been trained by one of the finest hunters of this century, she'd studied hundreds of books. Of course, she'd always been victim to criticism but still. How could things just got so wrong?! Even death would've been preferable...

As the last of the clothing was pulled away, leaving the girl as bare as a newborn, Enza was quick to see that the vampiress was not yet done with the humiliation. Indeed, as the silk-clad hand gently ran down her cheek the girl could feel herself almost craving the whip instead. At the very least, she'd be able to grit her teeth and bear it. But this...?

She shuddered as the vampire gently pressed her lips to the girl's cheek, the woman trying her damnedest to keep her eyes locked on the blood-splattered stone below. This really was all over, wasn't it? Locked away in some damp dungeon, becoming nothing more than a vampire's plaything. The chains chaffed at her wrists as she gave them a slight tug, her stomach growing taught as she continued to be stretched by the rack.

"I wasn't supposed to die like this..." The girl whispered, voice barely a hiss, "...I was supposed to kill you, I was supposed to be the hero for once,"