Scarlet opened her eyes and shoved open her coffin so hard it almost broke the joints, the steel squeaking indignantly.
Yes yes yes yeeeeeeees. She couldn’t believe she was going to meet the Ash Maker. Sure, she knew logically she SHOULD be nervous. But how could she? The Ash Maker was a modern LEGEND. It would be like meeting King Arthur, Heracles, Gilgamesh or any other legendary figure.
Even if it was a legend who had made her legend off of fighting creatures like her, that didn’t make it any less amazing. She couldn’t believe that Violet was actually RELATED to such a figure. Oh, no wonder she’d managed so many amazing feats like capturing her and fighting off that werewolf. She had the blood of a borderline goddess going through her veins. And now the Ash Maker would be HERE! Ohhhhh. Would she be allowed to call her the Ash Maker? Oh gosh. What if she was allowed to call her by her REAL NAME? “Hello, Ash Maker. Or is it Miss Ash Maker? Madam Ash Maker?”
“Eeeeeee!” Scarlet squealed with delight, doing a small little hop in place before running to the gown and undergarments she’d set aside specifically for this occasion.
She was a little annoyed that this new exciting development meant she’d been unable at all to focus on her story, and had only managed like three paragraphs, but one night of missed work wouldn’t kill her a second time. Instead she’d spent hours searching online for photos of the Ash Maker and sighing wistfully. Thank goodness Violet had been too busy fretting about it to come and bother her while she worked.
If the Ash Maker looked ANYTHING like her pictures, she’d only gotten hotter with age. Like a fine wine. Sure, she was obviously old, but she looked like she could have punched out a wild bear and the streaks of silver in her hair only made her look more dignified. She still wore those tight, leather outfits that made her drool and just, wow.
“Gahhhhh!” Scarlet said again before shaking her head, hoping her blush wasn’t too obvious. This woman was a legend, how could Violet NOT have told her? Oh. Right. Violet was kind of her captor. Ish. It wasn’t like she was going to announce ‘Hey, I’m the granddaughter of the hottest and coolest hunter in the last three centuries’. “Ohhhh, how I wish I had more time!”
She’d pleaded for Jasmine to get someone to come help clean the place up, but her so called ‘servant’ had told her to get back to work and she’d take care of one room. Also, not to call her at three in the morning. “Sometimes I swear I’m the servant in this relationship.”
Not that she could ever replace her, there really wasn’t anybody better at what she did. Frankly she felt so lucky to have Jasmine in her life (or unlife as it were). She just wished the woman could show her a little more respect. She was a very dangerous and frightening creature. A vampire. Seductive, radiant, breathtaking. Powerful. The ultimate predator, as graceful as she was--
Her thoughts were shattered when she tried to run up the stairs and tripped on the hem of her dress, nearly knocking herself out when her head hit the steps.
“Ow,” Scarlet said. “At least nobody saw that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Violet said from her position sitting at the top of the steps, staring down at her with a cocked eye. “Do you always talk to yourself?”
“AHHH! H-how much of that did you see?” Scarlet asked.
“Enough,” Violet said.
“You’re wearing that?” Scarlet asked. As opposed to the elegant red dress she’d chosen to wear, Violet was wearing an adorable white sweater and a simple pair of jeans. It wasn’t the classiest thing, but oddly, it still looked incredibly cute. Especially considering the sweater was at least a size too big for her, so when she sat like that it showed off some of her cute little neck, exposed and vulnerable. Just begging to be lightly nibbled on. Or maybe she was just hungry.
“She’s just my grandma,” Violet said. “You’re the one who’s going to get wiped out if she finds things she doesn’t like, not me.”
“Do you think she’ll like me?” Scarlet asked.
“You really like red, don’t you?” Violet asked, ignoring her question.
Scarlet paused. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she stared at Violet for a moment. Was the little hunter jealous? She sounded jealous. Slowly a grin formed across her lips. Violet didn’t have any knives in hand, so she was pretty sure she was safe.
In nearly the blink of an eye she was at the top of the stairs, a single finger dipped under Violet’s chin, forcing her to look up. “Oh, dear, Violet…” Scarlet said in a voice that was almost a purr. “Red is indeed my favorite color, but I have a soft spot for some other colors as well. Violet is quickly becoming one of my favorites, for example.”
She could feel the hunter’s pulse under her finger. The way her heart was pounding. That soft, gentle way she leaned into the touch. Once again she wondered how this cute little thing was related to someone so amazing. The hunter was so vulnerable she felt she could reach out and bite her, take her fill with ease. Wipe her mind of it.
“I love the way Violet just dances,” Scarlet said softly. “The way I can just dress it up in so many different costumes. Make it spin and perform for me. I wonder how precious it’ll look, wearing the most gorgeous of dresses, lips puckered like ripe, beautiful cherries, just begging to be kissed.”
“Y-y-you don’t dress u-up colors,” Violet said, her voice little more than a squeak.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to make do with you, won’t I?” Scarlet asked, leaning in closer, her lips mere centimeters from the other girl’s. “Would you like that? To be brought up to my study, forced to wear all kinds of gorgeous, pretty little dresses?” Oh, this was just unfair. Violet was hardly the first girl she’d met like this. Sure, Violet dressed up in pants and sweaters and all kinds of outfits that hid her frame and body. But she couldn’t forget the way the hunter had sounded so hopeful and needy when she talked about getting a dress of her own to dance in.
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The way she’d spun a few times in that dress.
Violet might be a bit of a tomboy, but some girls just needed someone else to take them and dress them up pretty. Even if they were too nervous to actually admit they wanted to be prettied up like a cute little doll, they just so desperately wanted someone else to decide they would be worth the effort. Besides, it was nice to wear stuff outside one’s comfort level on occasion.
Scarlet had absolutely no qualms about being that person for Violet. Especially when she looked up with those eyes filled with a desperate, fearful need. “I have so many, many things I’d like to dress you up with,” Scarlet said soothingly. The best part was she wasn’t even using any magic. It would have been incredibly easy to just mesmerize the hunter now. Make her want anything. Do anything. But that wouldn’t be any fun.
If she did that, she’d have to stop. Because then she’d actually be doing something wrong. It was one thing to mesmerize and disorient someone so she could get a little blood and make them forget. That was so she could survive and her ‘victim’ would never know. But changing who a person was, what they wanted, what they think they wanted? That was a line she’d only ever crossed once and she still regretted it. If she was going to torment the little hunter, she was going to do it fairly.
Well. Mostly. She just had more experience, that was all. And nothing wrong with utterly crushing the opposition with experience, right?
She wondered if Violet even realized how easy she was to read now? The poor thing was so pent up and needy. Borderline desperate. Time to give her another little nip of what she could be offered and see what else she could learn.
“Mmmm, maybe you’d make an absolutely precious princess,” Scarlet said. She could feel the way her pulse quickened again. Feel her body tighten. The urge to push away conflicting with the urge to grab and beg for more. “A cute little dress, so gorgeous, so vulnerable. Soft. My captive little princess.” Ah, princess was an easy one, though. What little girl didn’t want to be a princess? Maybe something a little harder.
“Or maybe a nice little maid,” Scarlet whispered now. Oh, that earned a reaction. She could see the girl’s eyes widen, her legs going a little more open when her feet dug into the ground. The poor little thing was shaking like a leaf. “So cute, so gentle. Serving me… tending to my every need. In a cute little skirt, a tight little top that shows off her adorable little frame. Displayed like a breathtaking little trophy.” That word made Violet jump a little, her cheeks going even redder.
Scarlet couldn’t help the predatory grin spreading on her lips. The girl was so needy for some affection, someone to tell her how pretty she was. The vampire had to suppress the urge to sweep the poor thing off her feet and tell her how beautiful and precious she was. Had this poor thing really never been told? Surely she’d had to have had a boyfriend at some point? A girlfriend? Anything?
Or was it something else? A hunter usually traveled a lot, had Violet just never had the chance to settle down? How could such a gorgeous little thing not see how cute she was?
“Or maybe something else entirely,” Scarlet whispered, trying to think of something else cute for the hunter. “Perhaps, mmmm, maybe a soft little nurse. You’d look adorable, maybe in some high heels, laced up in soft little gloves…” She gently stroked a finger up the girl’s wrist, along her arm and pushing the sweater’s sleeve up as she went. There was some pale hair there, nothing too thick. But she could see the way the girl jumped. That bit of worry in her eyes, that fear. Awwwww. Did the poor thing think a little bit of hair on her arms was that much of a bother? She was so adorably self-conscious. She kept pushing the finger up, swirling it along her elbow for a moment. “I can think of so many, many cute outfits to put you in. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Violet just squeaked and looked ready to collapse on the ground. Not that Scarlet could blame her. She was VERY good at what she did, when she wanted to be. Her secret was simple. No matter how nervous or shy you felt, it didn’t matter if you knew the other person’s weakness. Attack it and you’d never have to worry about them assaulting your own.
“Would you like this, Violet? Would you like to be my cute little doll I dress up and make dance for me?” Scarlet asked. “If you don’t want to, all you have to say is no…”
And oh, that fear in her eyes there? It was like a screaming neon sign. Even when a werewolf had been running at the hunter she hadn’t seemed even a tenth as scared.
Then that fear turned to sadness. “N-n…”
Scarlet put a finger to her lips, shushing her. “Actually… let’s wait until the dresses arrive. Then you can decide, hmm?”
The relief on the poor thing’s face almost made her heart melt. She had to restrain herself from hugging her and telling her it was okay, that she was going to be so pretty and cute. “O-okay,” Violet said.
“Mmmm, I really am starting to warm up to Violet…” Scarlet said before she walked past her, up the stairs. Ahhhhh, that certainly made her feel incredibly hot. At least now Violet couldn’t see how much she was blushing herself.
She glanced out the window when she walked into the kitchen. It looked like the sun was going down. She wondered how long until--
“Ahem,” a voice said, making her stop. She glanced at the table and barely contained a little squeak of her own.
The Ash Maker in all her glory, sitting at the table. Old, yes. But no less dangerous. Her sword on the table. Wearing a black trench coat over a leather vest that held a few knives. A handgun resting casually on her hip. Hair a bit wild, but short. Once raven black, now some of it streaked with silver. A gaze so fierce it could have been from a hawk. “Scarlet, I take it?”
Scarlet didn’t move, all she could do was stare, frozen in mid step. Wow. Wait. Was something burning?
“OW!” Scarlet shrieked before stepping back and shaking her head. Right, the sun was setting, NOT set. It only took one beam of sunlight to remind her that she still burned easily. “S-sorry. Hello, ma’am. Err, yes. I’m Scarlet. A pleasure, miss. Anything I can get you, ma’am? Err…”
She got up with grace that, even as a vampire, Scarlet was envious of. One hand resting on the hilt of her blade. “Where’s my granddaughter?”
“Who?” Scarlet asked, blinking a few times. Right. Violet. Somewhere. Stairs? She was on the stairs.
That apparently wasn’t the right answer, judging by the step the Ash Maker took towards her, the sword already out of the sheath.
“Grandma! I’m fine!” Violet said before bursting into the room. “I’m fine, okay? I just needed a second, that’s all.”
“What?” Scarlet asked, still slightly dazed.
Violet gave a sigh. “Grandma, meet Scarlet. She’s a dork, harmless though. Scarlet, meet my grandmother, Sofia.”
Scarlet just gave a light squeak and a very, very small wave.
“Harmless, huh? We’ll see,” the Ash Maker said.