Soul within a soul

Harlequine knew he was in the building when she walked in. Every fiber of her being was tingling with anticipation. Stepping onto the over sized dance floor, Harlequine pushed past several people who scanned her, her shoulders bare, the dress falling right at the top of her breasts, leaving close to nothing to the imagination. 'Remember your duties, Harlequine. You're here to destroy, not attract and .. oh my.' She stepped to a refreshment table, lifting up a glass of wine, and nodded to those around her before she brought the glass to her lips and tilting it up and downing it all in one drink. She released a breath after setting the glass down in the dirty glass bin.

She stepped onto the dance floor and looked down, then up and around her. A pair of strong hands grabbed onto the back of her shoulders and she didn't turn. She had an idea of who it was already without turning. "You here, alone?" The voice asked, nearer than she expected. She felt his breath against her ear. She thought vampires didn't have breath, but then, it was quite possible he had just fed, so he had some human-esque attributes.

"Yes, I am." Harlequine replied quickly, her eyes closing, then reopening as she turned. "Good." It was Dracula. It was hard to mistake that jawline, and that hair, even as it was slicked back and tied back with a crimson ribbon. "Dance with me?" He asked, releasing her and offering her his arm. Harlequine looked up to his eyes, hazel, nearly a green. "I.. yes." Harlequine could barely refuse a dance. She was guided onto the dance floor a bit further, and her hands were placed on his shoulder and in his larger, stronger hand.

"You fear me." He observed quietly, looking her in the eyes. "Maybe have a subtle attraction for me." Harlequine blushed, and was thankful for the fact. She had to admit he didn't look all that bad in a white ruffle shirt with a black vest, black slacks and matching black Italian dress shoes. His pale skin contrasted nicely with this, and he pulled her flush against him his head dipping as the song came to be slower, more romantic. Her breathing hitched in her throat. "Come with me." He whispered, pulling away from her after the next few songs had finished.

Harlequine stopped, her hand fitting into his. "I will." She breathed, a blush still tainting her cheeks. She stepped in time with his, following him to a room in back. 'This must be where he lives.' She was proven wrong, however, as they followed a staircase down, her hand still in his. 'Why do I feel like Christine?' A few more thoughts plagued her mind and she continued to follow. "Because the situation is remotely similar." He answered her thought simply. "I knew Erik. He was a good friend of mine. He died a while after Christine left. Christine was beautiful, of course, he could have done better." Harlequine stared up at him. She loved the Phantom of the Opera, and Dracula actually KNEW Erik. That made matters all the more difficult.

Finally, they stopped at a well dressed room. Burgundy drapes laced the room, crimson lace-curtained four poster bed against the back wall. "What do you want?" Harlequine asked as she continued to scan her surroundings. "To be understood." Dracula replied, his gaze turning to her. Her free hand left her side and she raised it to his face, her thumb hooking under his mask, removing it. "Understood?" She asked, pulling her body away from his and striding over to the night table and setting the mask down on it. "Yes." Was the reply Dracula gave as he sat down at the writing desk in the corner of the room. "To be understood as more than a monster. More than Iscariot. More than it all."

"Judas." Harlequine whispered, her back now towards him. "I know how it is to be marked as a monster in society. More than how you are. Try being an assassin." She said quietly, tilting her head to him. "You understand me, and I understand you. However, why do you crave Mary so much?" Dracula gave a laugh. "I don't want her, as much as I need her. She is my blood. That's how I'm still alive. As long as she's living, I'm unable to truly die. That's why I'm trying to change her."

Harlequine bit her lip, and did her best not to tell him his blood ran through her veins too, that she was a part of Mary.

A/N: R&R? =]