The vampire was fidgety.... The vampire was restless.... And by GOD was it distracting..:!

Abraham had been attempting to read through and sign reports from their latest missions as well as look over orders for supplies and confirm them. 

With the vampire being restless, however, it was impossible to fully concentrate at all! The blasted beast was moving around, grunting, growling, kicking at things now and then, grunting, sitting down, standing up, going in a circle only to lay down on his stomach, roll over, mess up the carpet, go over to the bookcase and take out books only to put them back again with a dry 'thwmp thwmp'.... And it was driving Abraham mad. 

Abraham put down his pen with a loud groan, pinching the bridge of his nose as the vampire took his fifth roll on the carpet. 

".... Servant." he said, not removing his hand from his face, but the vampire did stop, looking up at him from it's place on the carpet. It looked confused, having no idea what was wrong. 

".... What's wrong? Why aren't you able to simply sit still and be silent? I've allowed you to read the books in the bookcase, there are plenty to go by, and I know for a fact that you've only read the upper row this far" he said sharply, his irritation obvious in his voice. 

Oh dear, was Abraham irritated? Wonderful~ That was always fun, and he hadn't even been trying this time! 

"I'm simply bored, master. I'm restless. Books are nice sometimes yes, but I need to roam, I need to run...! There is snow coming, the tension in the air is unbearable. I simply can't sit still~" he purred, a smug grin on his face. It was true, there was snow coming and he had always enjoyed snow and winter. The sun wasn't out as much, meaning that it was a lot more comfortable to roam around during winter for longer periods of time. 

"I haven't been let out of the house ever since you captured me, master. I haven't seen the moon for months and I most certainly haven't been able to roam around. It's only natural that I'd become restless after a while, is it not? Master~?" he purred, knowing once again that he was in the right. 

"Watch your tone, slave... Don't get cocky with me..." Abraham muttered, lowering his hand to rest his chin on it as he thought about what had just been said. 

It was true... Every single word the vampire said was indeed true. The creature hadn't been let out, Abraham simply hadn't thought about such a need arising. Was that truly a need? His curiousity did peak slightly honestly, and he seriously considered letting him out to roam. 

"..... So you need to roam? Is that something that vampires usually need?"

"Quite indeed. To a vampire, there are few things better than roaming, taking in fresh air filled with scents, revelling in the world, hearing the tiny sounds of creatures in forests and in the ground, climbing and running or simply walking. It isn't a necessity for life, but it most certainly calms us down" the vampire replied, more than accustomed to the human's curiosity now. 

There was another moment of silence as Abraham thought the suggestion through. He supposed he needed a break and a walk could be rather nice. He wouldn't get anymore work done tonight if the vampire truly was that restless after all. 

With a final sigh he stood up and walked over to put his large, red coat on. 

"Very well, let's go for a walk then. It's a wonderful night after all. Come" he said with a small smile, opening the door and walking down the stairs, the vampire close on his heels. 

The night was chill enough to turn Abraham's breath to little puffs of mist, making it very obvous that the vampire didn't need to breathe as there was no mist coming from him. Abraham was glad they he had decided to allow this, the clear air doing wonders for his head which has seemingly been clogged with work and stuffy air. 

The vampire took a deep breath, not even bothering to hide his relief of finally being outside. So many scents, so many sounds, so open, so fresh, so WONDERFUL!!

The creature looked truly blissful and Abraham couldn't help but chuckle as he started to walk. 

"Come... Walk with me" 

"Is that an order, master?"

"No, it's an invitation.... Servant" 

And so the two walked as the snow started to fall, a comfortable silence settling as the snowflakes melted on Abraham's skin and gathered as fuzz on the vampire. 

Walking in a winter wonderland

"I did what?" Abraham asked, truly baffled with what the vampire had just accused him of. 

"You put holy water in my blood last night" the vampire snapped, obviously pissed beyond belief because of hunger and well.... Who would want to find out that one's dinner was poisoned? He had the right to be furious, so Abraham excused him. He wasn't the perpitrator this time however...

"I can see your frustration if this truly happened, servant, but I assure you it was not my doing. Why would I want to harm or weaken my own bodyguard?" he asked, pointing out just how stupid Vlad's accusations had been. 

The beast silenced as the words sank in. He was still growling however, not at all pleased that his dinner for the night was wasted. 

"It doesn't matter who it was, now what am I supposed to eat tonight?" he grumbled further, acting more like a spoiled child than a great lord, and Abraham sighed as he stood up in order to walk over to the beast. The vampire towered over him but Abraham had learned to look beyond that. 

"You have survived without blood for nights on end, servant. Another night will not hurt you" "I didn't need to be in my prime condition back then"

"You don't need to be now either. Even without dinner you'll still be stronger than whatever comes after me"

"I'll be hungrier tomorrow"

"You'll survive"

"I'll eat your men"

Abraham silenced then, glaring at the beast and twisted the seal in a warning, making the beast grunt and clutch his chest with a painful expression on his face. 

"You will not touch them, slave" he growled with a dangerous tone in his voice and straightened himself up further.  "The seal prohibits you from doing so, it will be impossible to get around it, even for a master of manipulation such as yourself"

The vampire's grin merely widened through the pain, knowing that he could fight his way through this. 

"..... And if it doesn't?"

"Then you'll be punished severely"

"And what if I cannot protect you then?"

More silence as Abraham realized that the vampire had him in a firm grasp. Icy orbs burned holes through crimson ones but in the end he did sigh and remove his glove, reaching for the silver knife he always had on his person. 

"On your knees..." he demanded, the beast following his command. It was humiliating indeed to bow down before a human like this, but this was Abraham van Helsing. The one man who had ever bested him.... And his blood was an exceptional treat.  It was easily worth the humiliation. 

With a swift move, Abraham cut his palm open, causing the beast to purr as the smell of his blood filled the room.  The hand was offered to him and he took it gently, as if it was the greatest, most valuable treasure he had ever recieved. 

"Five licks and that's all" he stated, an oddly pleasant tingle going through him as he saw the former count on his knees, nuzzling the palm of his hand. 

The beast was growling, hissing at Abraham if he so much tried to talk to him. It wasn't hard to see why, it had reason to believe that it would be hurt after all. Every night since the vampire had been bound to the hunter there had been pain. Experiment after experiment, all to analyze his abilities and make him stronger. The progress made it worth it, made it easy to ignore the screams of agony and the pleas for mercy once the beast broke enough. 

That would all have to come to a stop however, and Abraham wasn't too pleased about it himself. It was necessary though and they had gotten enough results and answers about the creature's body already. Further experiments could be carried out on captured stray vampires.  All for the good of humanity. 

There was a price to being the now most famous vampire hunter in Romania and England alike: He was being targeted constantly and he was unable to sleep properly nowadays. He had to have guards outside his room, sleep on a pistol loaded with blessed silver bullets and the entire room sealed off with the Host. Even despite that, three vampires had gotten in during the previous week, and they had assured him that more were coming as they drew their dying breaths. 

Abraham needed a body guard. Someone, or something, that could protect him constantly, mainly during the night. Something that no vampire could handle, a beast that no one but himself could control and the one beast that couldn't harm him. The risk of his own men turning on him was greater than the threat that this vampire would one day get loose and attack him. 

The conclusion had been simple: Dracula would be his new bodyguard. 

He shuddered at the mere thought of having the creature that close to him at all times, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Without him and his organization there would be no one to end the vampire attacks in England. 

He turned his icy blue gaze to the still snarling creature on the ground and clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

"Be silent, slave. There will be no more experiments on you starting tonight" he said, content as the growling was cut off as if something had clogged up the vampire's airpipe. The red eyes stared at him in blatant hate and disbelief, obviously believing this to be a bluff. That filthy human enjoyed his screams and his agony after all, what reason would he possibly have to say such a thing if not to raise his hopes only to crush them.  That was what he would have done after all....

"The vampire attacks against this estate have increased and I am in the need of a bodyguard. You will spend every hour in my company from sunset to sunrise. You shouldn't be needed during the days, but from this night on, your biggest priority will be my safety. Am I making myself clear?" he demanded sharply, an eyebrow raising as he didn't get an answer. A slight twist of the seal corrected that however as a whine escaped the vampire along with his answer. 

"Yes.... master..." he growled, having been ordered to refer to Abraham by that title long ago. 

The beast was confused. He had fully believed that Abraham would lie, but this seemed oddly legit. Of course a hunter such as Abraham would be hunted down by vampires stupid enough not to realize that such a thing would only lead to their death. Abraham had successfully bested Dracula after all, any other vampire was small fry. That did not mean that Abraham was invincible however..... It all made sense. Abraham was a logical man after all...

"Where will I reside, master? Surely my coffin will not fit in your chambers, and it would most definitely ruin your home decoration if we were to put it in your office" the former count asked spitefully, obviously making fun of his master as much as he possibly dared.

"You will still sleep down here, servant. Having you walk around exhausted and not fully rested would be a danger to my staff and you would not be as sufficient in your protection if you slept upstairs"

True that. 

"I will provide you with blood, clothes and a bath. I can't have you walk around in the house like that, you look like a beggar" he frowned, hiding a small smile. He quite enjoyed seeing the horrible count broken like this after all.....  "That beard of yours needs a trim... I'll have my servants give you a bath and bring me to my office"

Said and done, the old count was brought up to be washed. He didn't quite approve of the male servant's touches, but he supposed it was a small price to pay to finally be clean and get out of the filthy, itchy rags he was currently wearing. 

His hair was trimmed as well as his beard, he was scrubbed and cleaned, and when he was dry he was given clothes. They weren't completely new nor were they terribly fancy. They dressed him in a simple pair of black pants and a white button-up shirt. Nothing too much, but enough to make him presentable. The claws on his feet proved to be a problem though so he wasn't given any shoes or socks which he was completely fine with. He had better grip like this after all and as long as his feet were allowed to be clean he didn't mind. 

He was lead up to the office once he was done, Abraham turning from his place in the windows where he had been admiring the silvery full moon. The servants left and Abraham chuckled as he saw the beasts almost blissful face as he finally got to see the night sky again even if it was just through a window. 

".... Beautiful night for a new beginning, wouldn't you say, servant?" Abraham asked with a grin. 

"..... Indeed... My master..."