Chapter Text
It was almost too easy to creep into the courtyard to where they promised to meet. Vaguely, he thought that perhaps her caretakers should have more care with her whereabouts but if they had his job would not be nearly so easy. From this distance he saw her sitting on the white stone bench next to a forgotten well surrounded by night blooming flowers and trembling bushes silverish in the moonlight. Her lovely auburn hair glinted silver as well and hung in soft waves down her back. Everything about her - from her slim figure covered in a roughspun cloak to block the wan chill of the evening to the glimmering of her wide green eyes - was beautiful. Transcendent. His eyes narrowed, unable to contain the hunger in them. So close, but he needed to be patient. A hunter bided time for the perfect moment to take down their prey.
He slipped the mask over his face and slid a cloak around his shoulders that looked more common than the fine ones he usually wore. To her, he needed to be approachable. He needed to be someone other than himself. He needed to be every bit the mystery he’d spun out for her for months.
He let her hear his approach.
She turned toward the snap of branches and her pulse quickened at the sight of him. She rose, approaching, but he stopped when she came too close and held up gloved hands.
“My lady, I beg you, no further.”
She wilted at the words but did not proceed further, her eyes traveling over his body without shame. It was hidden beneath the cloak, his face behind the mask and his hair underneath the hood. He did not let her see anything distinguishable about him, not wanting her to know his identity until she was truly his creature.
“I hope you did not wait too long for me.”
“Oh, no, I haven’t been here for long. It’s a beautiful night.”
“As glorious as it is, it will never rival you for beauty.”
That much, at least, was true. He had never seen a woman in this wide world that could compare to Tatyana in beauty. In this incarnation she was called Anastasia which, ironically enough, meant resurrection. As soon as she came of majority age he’d come to her in the night, in secret, disguising himself to woo her. Once he had her there would be no reason to conceal himself any longer but until then it was advantageous for no one to know what he was doing. He needed privacy until he could whisk her away as he had so many incarnations before. Many times his lost love had been reborn and many times he’d come close to reclaiming her as he ought before she was cruelly taken from his grasp.
In her last incarnation she was called Katerina and he had seduced her too quickly, bringing her to the castle but only reveling in the euphoria of her love for a brief few weeks before her affections turned. He had been forced to turn her into a lesser form of vampire to retain her loyalty and her body. She had chosen destruction over him and that had thrown him into a tempest of rage that shook the entire valley. He would not let that happen again when he was so close to his goal this time. Slowly - he was a hunter of great patience.
He took her hand and bent his head toward it. The mask prevented a true kiss but the gesture was received as intended. A blush colored over the bridge of her nose and onto her cheeks as it always did. He found the coloring impossibly charming.
“It’s been a week since you’ve come to see me. Have I displeased you?”
“Impossible!” He protested. “I had much to occupy my time. I would not have stayed away from you for anything less than vital importance.”
He gestured to the bench and took his place beside her. His hand picked up hers and held it lightly. The mask obscured his red eyes, but he saw perfectly well each minute detail of her being. She smelled of herbs and jasmine and the heat radiating from her body was like a balm.
“Is your work concluded?”
“For now.” He studied her. “Are you saying you missed my presence?”
She looked away quickly at his question, taking her hand from his. She reddened deeper this time and could not look him in his eyes, let alone answer him. He smiled beneath the mask at how charming her innocence was.
“You mustn't be shy with me, my dear. You can trust me.”
“How can I?” She asked, turning those luminous green eyes on him. “How can I trust when I don’t even know your name? You have been coming to me for months and will not even let me see your face.”
Rather than be accusing, the words sounded as though they caused her pain. He winced at it but it could not change.
“All in good time. I cannot show you my face until I can be assured of your love.”
“You have it!” she cried, reaching for his hand.
He patted her hand when she took his and shook his head mildly. “Everything feels dire because you are so young.but we cannot rush these things.”
“Will you not even tell me your name?”
He sighed. He supposed some concession should be made so that she did not feel entirely bereft of knowledge of him, but any name he gave would be false except his own which would defeat his purpose.
“You may call me Kirill.”
Not terribly far from the truth - the name meant lord. Perhaps a stretch of logic could be excused in the name of love. She smiled and tested the name on her tongue and found it pleasing. He nodded encouragingly. Rather than look satisfied by this knowledge, she got up from her seat and paced away from him, her hands restless at her sides. She turned back to look at him and he saw confusion on her face.
“You tease me too much.” She complained. “You must know of my affection for you. Why else would I defy my family and jeopardize my safety to meet you here? I am not a child any longer. I know my own mind and what I want. For months you have visited me in secret and I feel as if I know nothing at all about you.”
“You will always be safe in my company.”
That wasn’t a vain boast - nothing but the most brainless of evils in Barovia would dare attack while he was present and the brainless ones were made quick work by his hand. It was a blessing that this had never been tested, but he knew absolutely that not a hair on her head would be harmed while they were together. She must not doubt that, but she must also never ask why.
“I apologize for testing your patience, my lady. As I am aware of your affection, you must also be aware of mine. I do not keep distance to torment you. It is because I cannot risk losing you that I hold myself apart.”
“What would be so horrible to me if I saw your face?”
“We will find out on the day you do.”
“It is a test I have already failed.” She looked down to the ground. “You do not believe in me.”
“Don’t say that.”
He was losing her if he did not do something extraordinary. The vampire’s mind raced for what could keep her holding on in his grasp and landed on something impossibly simple, but required another small show of faith on her part. Still, he thought the show of trust in the gesture would alleviate her fears…for now.
“I need you to close your eyes, Anastazia.”
Her face flashed skeptical before she did as he asked and closed her eyes. He approached loudly enough for her to hear, but still quietly enough that no one else would. He spoke softly, sliding the mask from his face and dropping the hood from his head. Undisguised, his words carried easily on the night breeze.
“You must keep them closed until I can put my mask back in place. Should you attempt to see me I will not be able to return to you again. Do you understand this?”
“Yes,” she whispered, a shiver traveling through her body.
He placed a kiss gently on her cheek. She gasped and a hand shot up to touch where his lips had just been but her eyes remained closed. A slight shift in her body, the leap in her pulse made him bold.
“Did that displease you, my lady?” He asked softly.
“No.”
She shifted again and a tug in his chest pulled him toward her with an unseen tether that centuries could not break. He leaned in and tilted his head down to claim her lips this time. Chaste though it was, the contact thrilled him and he could not bring himself to pull away immediately - a hunter’s first taste of blood. Her hands claimed his wrists but she too did not pull away. The moment stood between them, encompassing and electric until at last his better sense compelled him back. He could not corrupt her until it was time to do so. This was not that moment.
He slipped his mask back on and pulled up his hood, letting her know when it was safe to open her eyes.
“My love for you must never be in doubt. I hope this show of faith has made you sure of my belief in you.” He looked toward the village, to the quiet houses silent and dark. “For now I must leave you to your family and your bed.”
“Will you come again?”
“Tomorrow,” he slid a hand up to cup her cheek. “I’ll come for you again tomorrow.”