DWF: OMG! Only two reviews?! Well, I should be so ashamed: I thought I would get more than that. I am going to finish this story in about three more chapters, then maybe I can start a sequel…That is, if you liked the first.

To Kairi's Twin, I shall not kill Lithia off…I will let you read to find out what happens next. I just decided to leave the world at a cliffie.

Better get started then…

Chapter 10: Bring Me to Life

The blood fell from his eyes like red rain, adamantly refusing to cease. His mind ached, and he pressed his lips uselessly against the lifeless lips of his unrequited love. His kisses were more for himself than for anyone else. He heard a gasp behind him, and a heart wrenching sob from Erin, whose presence was undoubtedly behind him. Erin and Gather had returned to his side, and he settled down.

"She's…No, she can't…" Erin said, weeping into the chest of Gather. Vlad nodded, and turned his eyes on another image; Lithia's silent form.

"She is…" was all that the plagued King of Vampires could choke out. His voice felt like acid, and he knew that he did not sound like he was heartless anymore. Erin could finally see the changes, the vindications of his actions. Now, his misuse was finally catching up with him, and all he could do was pine for what was and which might have been.

What he did not see was that the blood he leaked from his eyes was dripping into her mouth, and unto her tongue. It then ran its course through her blood stream, and vampire proteins attached themselves to the rabid disease like miniature viruses. The hybrid virus had been neutralized by the properties of Dracula's tears, and it was up to her own body to start recovering.

Dracula continued to weep, and kiss every part of her forehead, neck, back, and shoulders. He would have the satisfaction of knowing her taste, smell, and feel of her skin, before Erin would have to bury her. He would give her the best area, just in front of his mother's grave. He would bury her with honor, and place her ashes in an urn of exquisite beauty-just like her. Her body would be placed on a great pyre, and as his people's custom of warriors, she would have the best.

He wiped his tears away, and pressed him lips against her collarbone. Strangely, her body was still warm and healthy looking skin. He shook away all thoughts of his punishment, this burden on his soul and heart.

A dull, thump, thump! Thump, thump! echoed against one of his ears. Was he hearing things? Surely, no, that couldn't be true…

A sharp intake of breath…God! Was he actually going crazy, now that he had finally seemed to crack. He could take no more punishment from the God who had been his enemy throughout his life, and with whom he had found retribution in the arms of his love.

"Vlad?"A voice faintly whispered against his chest, called out his name. The agony of his heart was now thrown into an anxious burning in his chest, the wounds of moments before echoing deep within his mind. He dared not hope…

Growing stronger, the voice rose from deep in his arms. It reverberated through his chest, sent his blood speeding through his veins. No, she couldn't have…

Dracula released her gently to lay her head and back on his lap, as Erin and Gather were silenced by him. The trio watched, as if by a miracle, Lithia gasped, opened her eyes, and coughed in the first few breaths of her second life. Erin, shocked and suddenly exhilarated, screamed in happy relief, and rushed to tackle her best friend, as Gather watched from a few feet back. Dracula, who had quietly, rose to his feet, waited while the soul sisters embraced in happy reunion. Tears of joy then flowed down the cheeks of both Lithia and Erin.

Dracula's heart was slowly recovering from the momentary shock, and he felt it burn no longer with sorrow, but with lustful happiness. He cleared his throat, and felt both female gazes upon him. He lifted an eyebrow, and waited for Erin to move aside. Grouchily, Erin rose to her feet, and stepped into the arms of Gather. Dracula turned to Gather, and nodded, while Gather nodded knowingly. Gather then tugged on Erin's sleeve, and whispered something in her ear. Erin smiled, and nodded.

"Lithia, I'll talk to you later. But right now, Prince Charming of the Vampires wants to talk with you alone. As much as I regret having to share with him, I must. After all, he was the one who wept hardest for you," Erin said, and nuzzled Gather happily. They then disappeared in the trees, and into the deep darkness of the woods.

Lithia looked up into Dracula's electric blue eyes, and smiled gently. "You wept the most for me? How tragic of you. I believe you're getting soft with me around. And I am definitely flattered!" She said with a seductive purr.

Dracula was taken aback, and his eyes widened. He cocked one eyebrow, and sat down beside her. "You surprise me, my dear. I expected you to rise from the dead spouting flames, like my coat of arms."

Lithia laughed. God, he thought, I missed the sweet sound of her laughter! He grinned devilishly, and crawled so that he straddled her beneath him. He took her hands, and kissed up the underside of her arms, up to her shoulder. She shuddered, and he moved his face so that his was inches from her own.

Lithia breathed in his scent, and felt her stomach tighten in response. Breathlessly, she replied with a half moan, "I'm sorry I hurt you, Vlad."

Dracula, in response stopped, and gazed deep into her green eyes. His eyes were burning, intense with passion. "What you did," he said, planting a rough, biting kiss along her collarbone, "was break my curse. Before you resurrected me, I was doomed to suffer death without redemption. My heart was hollow, and my soul belonged in Hell. I was but a shell of the man I was. You," Here, his kisses became less chaste, causing her to moan with arousal, "released me from death, and gave me a new life. I am, hopelessly, inadvertently, irrepressibly in love with you. So do not apologize to me for giving me another chance. Because, I regret nothing of the time spent with you, and in fact, it is I who should be apologizing for breaking your heart and almost killing you. Lithia, again I am so sorry for all that I have done to you."

Lithia rose so that she was as close as she could get to him, and ran her hand along his cheek in a delicate caress. "I love you, Vlad. I forgive you, if you'll forgive me." In response, she heard a guttural moan, as he knocked her into the ground. It was then, that both of their lips met, passionately embracing each other in an enigmatic dance.

The kiss was brutal, and he grazed his fangs along her lips, tasting her blood on his tongue. He heard a gasp, and suppressed it deep in her throat. Her lips parted, and he aggressively wrapped his tongue around hers. It was heated, burning within their hot mouths, and it left both of them breathless, wanting more. They parted when Lithia could no longer breathe.

"I want you, Lithia…I want the taste of your lips to be mine forever. I want your body to be one with mine, I want to wake up each night with your scent pervading, intoxicating my senses. If you follow me to the depths of the castle," He said, lustfully allowing his hands to travel wherever they wished, as Lithia's stomach tightened at the innuendo. His hands had traveled to the small of her back, and were descending further into the darkness. Lithia, more from reflex and instinct, arched against him. He laughed and released her with little more than a biting kiss against her shoulder.

"Run with me Lithia…Fly into the endless stars with me…For then, I shall claim you as my mate, my bride. My beloved," he said, changing forms once more.

Lithia, seductive and provocative, rose, already half changed. "I think you just asked for it, Count Chochula!"

With that, both rose to the sky, two shapes dancing in the moonlight, flying in endless circles around each other. The moonlight showered them with the bliss of lovers, as they reached the point of the story in which the characters finally meet the words, "And they lived happily ever after."