It was the middle of the night when Nathara Bridea awoke and was unable to go back to sleep, for she felt like someone was watching her.
Little did she know, this is exactly what he wanted.
She was staring out the window, wondering what the hell she saw the night before.
"What were you?" she asked. Her voice was soft and delicate mixed with a British accent.
"I think you mean "who", cara mia," a man's voice replied.
Nathara gasped, and quickly turned around. She didn't see anyone.
"Is someone there?" she asked.
"Of course, I am, cara," the voice replied.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Look up!" the voice instructed.
Nathara looked up, and let out a small but fearful scream as she looked up at a vampire, who was hanging from the ceiling.
"Who the hell are you?!" she asked, taking a step back. "How did you get in here?!"
"That does not matter just yet. And if you must know, darling, I came through the window," the man said confidently, a smirk on his face as he looked at her.
"What do you want?" she asked as she took another step back.
"Just to watch you, cara. And maybe a chat," the man said, a little too casually.
He began to walk over to her. Her back was now against the wall.
"I'm listening!" she said.
"You are a stunning mortal, cara mia. Tell me, would you like to hear a secret of mine?" he asked.
The man stopped in front of her, placing a hand on the wall beside her head.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"That depends, cara mia. What would you offer~?" the man smirked, his fingers gently trailing along Nathara's jaw.
Nathara didn't flinch like she did all the other times. She just glared at him.
"I want you to leave and never come back," she told him.
The man raised an eyebrow, a slight chuckle escaping his lips as he did so.
"You're a feisty one for a mortal, aren't you?" he said, his fingers gently wrapping around her chin.
He leaned closer to her.
"Let go of me!" she said.
"Or what? Are you gonna put that cute, little, mortal mouth to use~?" he asked.
The man gave her chin a gentle pinch. He was getting a kick out of teasing this feisty mortal. It was different from how most reacted to his presence.
"Ugh!" Nathara groaned, pushing him away from her. "Gross!"
"What's the matter? Can't handle a little teasing? I suppose a pretty girl like you isn't used to it," he said, chuckling at her reaction. "You, cara mia, are a feisty one. I could have fun with you~."
"Excuse me?!" she asked.
"What, cara mia? Do you think I wouldn't enjoy having a feisty little mortal running around the church~?" the man asked, smirking slightly. "You would certainly like to cause some chaos, wouldn't you~?"
"Church?" she asked, gently taking his hand off of her chin. "Is it... like this one?"
"I suppose you could say that," he smirked.
"Oh," she said.
She looked down, a little disappointed.
The man tilted his head, noticing the change in her expression.
"What's wrong, cara mia? Not a fan of the Catholic Church~?" he asked, a teasing tone to his words.
Nathara sighed.
"Go find another nun. I'm not going to another church like this place," she said.
The man chuckled, a little more genuinely this time.
"Ah, you were a nun, weren't you? No need to be so down, cara mia. I don't need a nun~. You're more than enough~," he said, lifting her chin slightly.
Nathara gently pushed him off of her.
"You ask for me to be a member of your Catholic Church, but my answer is no," she declared.
"Hmph. Don't want to be a good little ragazza and serve the Dark Lord~?" he teased. "How disappointing~."
Hearing something about the "Dark Lord" caught her attention. She snapped her head up to the man.
"You caught that, did you? The Dark Lord, cara," he smirked. You've heard of him, yes? I work beneath his wing~."
"What is your church?" she asked.
"It's the Church of Ghost, cara mia," he answered. "Our Lord's empire~."
"Ghost?" she questioned. "We're going to see them tomorrow night!"
"Oh, well, isn't that surprising?" he chuckled.
"Look, I know it's weird, but Sister Cumulus wouldn't stop begging Sister Rosanna to bring us to see them," she explained. "Cumulus loves Ghost."
The man chuckled, a teasing glint in his eyes as he looked at her. His voice was low, seductive, and filled with a hint of humor.
"Sister Cumulus, you say? She seems to have great taste. The Ghost rituals are quite... entertaining~," he said.
"Are you going to this one, too?" she asked.
The man laughed, almost a chuckle.
"Of course I'll be there, cara mia. I wouldn't want to miss this show. I may even watch over you in the crowd, if that interests you~," he winked.
"Well, maybe I'll see you there?" she shrugged.
"Oh, you can bet on that, cara mia~," he said.
"Well," she said, "I'll make sure to say hello."
The man smirked, then looked at his watch.
"Well, it's getting late, cara," he said. "You should go to sleep now."
Nathara nodded.
"I will," she said.
