"You live... Here? You live here?" The vampire prince had a confused, slightly disgusted look on his face as he examined the flat, which was the basement of a house. Marie took her sneakers off and then eagerly closed the door behind Dimitri.

"Here's the bathroom." She opened the door immediately to the left and revealed a tiny room which barely fit a toilet, a sink, and a shower. The door to the living room, kitchen and bedroom was not far away.

"luckily it's not far for you to walk to anything!" Marie touched his arm warmly to guide him towards the living room. Dimitri flinched at her touch. In the living room there was a tiny kitchen, a small table with two chairs, and an old couch.

"Your home wouldn't even fill my lavatory. I figured you were a commoner, but I didn't suspect you were living in poverty. Does your family live here too, human?" She gestured for him to sit on the couch. He hesitated as if it was dirty but decided to sit down. Ironic, considering his jumpsuit was falling apart and covered in filth.

"No, my parents live in a house slightly outside town. I live here alone, to be closer to school. It's not much, but it beats traveling for two hours every day. What about you, do you go to school?" Marie was talking while searching for her first aid kit.

"No, I finished my studies centuries ago. Vampires don't age once we've matured. I guess I'd be about eighteen, physically compared to humans." She found the kit, and put a cloth under warm water.

"Oh, we are the same age, then!" She smiled. He still had an empty, slightly frowny look on his face. In fact, Marie hadn't seen him smile once, or make any real expression at all. He was most of the time just looking at her either emotionlessly, tired or frowning. The way he kept eye contact without break was kind of creepy, it felt as though he was looking right through her, into her soul. She sat herself on the floor in front of the man.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Please bear with me, I haven't really done first aid before. I just thought I'd clean off the blood and put on some bandages. Wait, whatever happened to rapid vampire healing?" She joked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My powers were broken-"

"-into nine pieces and scattered across the world. Right, sorry."

"Seven pieces." He said, annoyed.

"Do you have any idea where they are in the world?" She began gently wiping the blood off his feet, careful not to scrub too hard.

"Yes, I have some ideas. I know one of them is nearby, that's why I came here to this town." He leaned back, closing his eyes.

"But no luck finding it so far?"

"It's been hard without a phone or computer. I tried the public library, but I got kicked out. Insolent, lowly, filthy humans, they will get what they deserve for humiliating the demon lord once I get my powers back. They will rue the day that they dared think for even a moment they are more than worms for me to step on." Marie paused for a moment, causing him to open his eyes and look down at her.

"you're not so bad though, human. I will allow you to serve me."

"I have a name. Marie. You were Dimitri?"

"You may call me your highness, your eminence, or master Dracula, human."

"Absolutely not, and I am certainly not your servant."

"It's an honor to serve the demon lord, human." Most of the blood had been washed off, so she started wrapping his feet in bandages. She had no clue what she was doing, but she thought it ought to be better than nothing.

"You may give me a bath in the morning. I am too tired for it now. Where is your guest bedroom?"

"I have neither of those things, but the shower is free for you to use when you want, and you can sleep on my couch." He stared at her for a moment, expressionless, before he got a really annoyed look on his face.

"I'll take your bed, then." She paused for a moment, about to refuse him, but then she thought about how lucky she was to be mentally stable and how she could spare to let him borrow her bed for just one night. She had sleeping problems sure, but at least her sanity was mostly intact. She got a look of pity on her face and smiled. He looked slightly confused by her sudden smile.

"Fine, you can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch." Marie said and sighed. That night she dreamt for the first time in a long while. She was flying, naked and weightless.