[aphrodite]

Your first instinct is to pull away from Devarion in fear but remembering the shooting pain in your side and the oncoming headache you think better of it. You flinch as Devarion's hand reaches gently for your chin and turns your head slowly from one side to the other. You close your eyes, but you can feel his gaze examining you. You feel him move your arm away from your right side revealing more clearly your large and open wound. You suddenly feel a sharp pain as Devarion's hand touches the open wound. He was a vampire! How could you forget? Of course he would want your blood! You open your eyes and raise your arms to push him away but with a single hand he clasps your wrists together, not permitting them to move. You stare into his eyes for a moment, motionless. He returns the stare for several minutes before dropping his eyes to your wound.
"Fool." He says before pressing his hand harder against your wound. You let out a scream, making a mental note that you are capable of doing so this time. Suddenly a warm feeling surrounds your wound. You don't understand what is happening but it relaxs you.
"If I were to take your blood now, you would die, and then what would have been the point of saving you in the first place?" Devarion asks you, his eyes scanning yours. You open your mouth to speak but you hold no reply. Only a question.
"How..."
"I can read your mind like a book. There is not a single chapter that can not instantly be known to me if I choose to read it." He tells you. You are startled by the revelation. You had heard vampires could read minds but the thought had never actually occured to you. Devarion suddenly removes his hand from your wound and licks off the small amount of blood on his hand. You look away wanting to throw up.
"Your quite the naive little thing aren't you?" Devarion says absently mindedly.
"I don't understand you." You say quietly, still focusing your eyes in the opposite direction.
"Oh? And what don't you understand?" Devarion questions.
"You tried to kill me the first day we met, you put me in pain beyond words the second time we met, but yet the third time we meet you save me and act as if you were a genuinly nice person. Make up your mind!" You tell him starring off at a tree in the distance.
"If you try to hurt me, I will hurt you two times worse. If you disrespect me or question my authority, I will prove it to you ten times the amount that you challenged it. If you refuse to do as you are told, you will be punished harshly no matter the offence. If you are in danger I will protect you for you are mine alone to protect. If you show me respect, I will show it to you as well. If you do not try to hurt me, I will not strike you. I am fair, which more then I can say for most vampires so consider yourself lucky I am the one who chose you and not someone else." Devarion explains his tone deadly serious all throughout the conversation.
"Today I will thank you for saving me, but come tomorrow I will treat you as the murderer I know you are. I do not abide by your laws, and I am not yours to protect or to punish." You say boldly. Your head is suddenly jerked sidways as you feel a sharp stinging on your cheek just after the feeling of Devarion's hand strike you. You bite your lip as a tear rolls down your cheek. He grabs your chin roughly and turns your face towards his. Your eyes remain downcast, a shiver running through your body. Idiot! You scold yourself. In your weak state he could do anything to you and you couldn't stop him! Can't you ever keep your mouth shut?! You continue to scold yourself.
"Elizabeth, look at me." You hear Devarion tell you commandingly. You reluctantly look up into his eyes. Immidietly as you do so you suddenly pass out, hearing Devarion whisper, 'Fool' to you one last time.

When you awake the next morning you feel as if you are resting on a cloud. You become aware of your surroundings, but still do not open your eyes. You melt your body into the soft matress beneath you and soak in the cream feeling of the silk sheets on top of you. Your eyes then flutter open and begin to focus on what is around you. The room is fairly dark though several candles are lit allowing a decent amount of light to penetrate through the shadows. The room is made of stone, and you can see a large oak closet in the corner. A small nightstand sits next to the large bed you are laying in which is a four poster bed with sheer black drapes flowing over it. You can also see a large area rug covering most of the floor as you sit up. You can not make out the design but you are sure it is something grand. Little by little memories start coming back to you of the night before. You instinctively reach for your waist. You find that you have a tight bandage wrapped around it. You also discover that it is quite tender. You are dressed in a small, black night gown that only reaches to your knees. However, to your greatfullness it doesn't dip very far down to your chest.
"You're awake!" You hear someone exclaim happily. The door is thrust open and you see Kalira rushing in. She jumps on your bed and give you a big hug. The hug makes you flinch, your whole body covered in bruises from taking several hard falls last night. "Master has finally brought us home isn't it wonderful?"
"Home?" You question not liking the sound of it, knowing very well that this is not your home.