Authors Note: For anyone not familiar with this, when you see words in italics it refers to someone's thoughts as apposed to what they're saying…

To Dracula's delight, at about four in the morning, the girl began to stir. First her finger started to twitch, followed by a small groan and finally her eyes fluttered open. From where he sat in the shadows, he could see her and she could not yet see him. Knowing this, he observed the unusually long amount of time it took for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room they were in.

The girl looked confused as she cast her eyes around the inn, obviously not remembering the night's earlier incident yet. Finally, frustrated and a bit disoriented she tried to sit up in bed a little bit too fast. She let out a cry of pain and one hand flew to her neck instinctively. Upon discovering the bandage her eyes widened and she seemed to finally regain her memory. She settled herself against the back of the bed slowly, being careful not to aggravate her wound.

Good- she at least has some common sense.

Curiously the girl examined her hand and seemed pleased to find that her bleeding had not resumed as a result of her sudden movement. Without warning her eyebrows seemed to furrow and she looked down at herself. She pulled the quilt of her bed away and examined the dressings of her wounds that wrapped her torso. At the realization that her clothes had been removed and replaced with a robe the girl blushed.

"I had the inn-keeper's wife clean and dress your injuries." Dracula spoke up from the corner her was sitting in. He watched in amusement as the girl seemed to jump a bit in surprise. She was looking at him with wide, frightened eyes; like a cornered deer might look at the wolf that was about to tear her to pieces.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" Girl wondered meekly. From the sound of her voice and the unbalanced way she moved it was obvious that effects of the blood loss were beginning to settle into her limbs.

"Is it a crime in Paris to help out a woman in distress?" Dracula countered as he cocked his head to one side.

"No… but why would you help me? I have done nothing for you and I have nothing to offer to someone who is obviously of a higher social standing than myself… I'd like to know why you would bother helping someone like me?" She seemed to be honestly curious. For someone who had lost so much of her life blood she had a lot to ask.

"Is it so hard to believe that I did that without expecting something in return?" He inquired. As they spoke he was trying to figure out what she knew… and if she didn't know anything what he should do with her.

"Yea," The girl laughed, wincing a bit in pain. "Either you're lying to me or you've been living in a cave your whole life." At the questioning look she received she continued. "When has someone ever helped another person without wanting something for it? A human does not risk their life for another human they don't know out of the goodness of their heart; it's not in their nature. The instinct for survival is so ingrained into everyone's mind that they will forsake their own humanity for it if given the chance." She smiled a bit sadly.

"How… do you know this?" Dracula forced calm into his voice as his eyes scanned over her, trying to sense if she knew his secret. Her words were far too close to what he had experienced; she might be a danger to him.

The girl, her red hair matted with blood still, seemed to snap out of a trance. She looked up at him as she ran his words through her mind once more. "Oh! I'm sorry," she chuckled a bit at her own absentmindedness. "It's a long story; someone I know… well let's just say that they made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Dracula urged, moving his chair forward a bit. He sat in the dim glow of the only candle now and remained, for the most part, in shadow.

"I don't want to talk about it!" The girl quipped angrily in response. She drew her arms around her and Dracula could have almost sworn he saw her eyes flash in anger. He felt a surge of fury sweep through his body at the thought that this pitiful human would dare to raise her voice against him, but it was quickly replace by some amount of respect for her courage.

"Do you live in Paris?" the vampire muttered, changing the subject almost reluctantly. He would get what he needed out of her eventually.

"…I suppose if you were to say I lived anywhere than it would be here." Came the flat reply. She was obviously glad they were off the previous subject but a hint of irritation at his prying questions remained.

"Very well…" Dracula sat back in his chair. She was growing cautious with him. "What is your name then?"

"My name is Diana Aphrodine," the girl replied, looking at him. "I suppose there's no harm in your knowing that much."

"That is a-"

"Where are you from… Dracula? I believe you said that is your name." Her tone of voice had become very business like and adopted a fake sort of cheerfulness. She wanted to even the score obviously.

It seems I've misjudged the girl. Dracula thought. She might prove to be of some value to me later on. Provided I can keep her trusting me long enough to take advantage of that value…

"That is my name," he nodded. "I am from Romania; I make my home in the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania." He answered her.

"Transylvania…" The girl looked a bit thoughtful. "I have heard of it. Supposedly it is a cursed land that is filled with Werewolves and Vampires and all sorts of ungodly creatures."

"Is that what you believe in?" Dracula smiled to himself as he settled back into his chair. Now they were getting somewhere.

"If you're asking me if I believe they exist… I have seen them. Regardless of whether or not you believe me I have seen them myself." She muttered, seemingly off in a world of her own memories as she spoke.

"I believe you. I have seen them as well." Dracula assured. He was pleased; this was not a waste of his time, she did know some thing after all.

"Have you? And lived to tell the tale? You must be either very skilled or very lucky." The girl smirked at him.

"They are no bother to me; so long as they keep their distance." Dracula mused. "But what about you? How did you survive?"

"I? I was born a hunter." The girl snorted. "It's in my blood."

"What do you mean by that?" Dracula looked at her in interest. There was much he still did not know.

"Nothing- I just meant that I grew up with it. I've studied and hunted down many a monster that has gotten in my way."

"Really? How many?" Dracula hid a laugh at her pride.

"I've killed fourteen werewolves and nineteen witches… not to mention other, less dangerous creatures." Diana announced.

"And vampires?" Dracula prodded in interest.

"…One." Diana stated calmly.

"Only one?" Dracula's eyebrows raised.

"I don't much care for killing vampire's; so long as they aren't causing problems I have no need to interfere with them. As you said; They're no bother to me as long as they keep their distance." She seemed satisfied with that.

"And the one you did kill?"

"…Hurt me personally." Diana snapped furiously. Without another word she carefully got back under the covers and turned away from him. Obviously the conversation was over.

"Interesting…" Dracula mused to himself as he settled into the shadows again with his chair before the sun rose. This girl was still hiding something from him; he could smell it in her blood. He would find out what it was. Until then he was at least satisfied to know he had little risk of being killed by her; he had done nothing to harm her. If she were in better shape he might have been a bit more concerned with staying in the same room as a hunter but she was much too weak to be any threat to him as it was.

Authors Note: Thanks all of you. I'm going on vacation for a few days so I'm not sure when I'll be back but once I am I plan on continuing this.

Also; the reason Diana has killed so many witches and weres and the one vamp will become very clear in the next few chappies. It's not the beginning of some overly used "Monster Hunter" story line- it's actually tied in to the main point of this story. Yay me, lets hear it for creativity! I promise that once you understand more of her past this chapter will make sense; and once I explain more about what Dracula is doing in Paris then the reason he is actually trusting someone who claimed to have killed a vamp will also become clear.