1 

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Amalia couldn’t decide between Madonna or Elvira. Both were bold, fun, and either would probably ruffle the feathers, or skirts, of the nuns that walked by her on her way to campus. Decisions, decisions. She decided on Elvira, the height of the wig made her feel powerful. As she braided her hair back and put the wig on, she looked over at the fake pair of fangs on her table and decided to put them on, it felt right for the occasion. In the first semester of her junior year at Oxford, she volunteered for the hit show, “The Dating Game”, that chose their campus to film an episode for their new college series. Amalia didn’t date, she barely went outside during the day unless it was absolutely necessary. What if she wasn’t attracted to any of them? What if they weren’t attracted to her? What if the date was horrible and she became the laughing stock of her class? She’d have to transfer schools and change her name, pretend it never happened. Start a whole new persona…kidding.

Maybe.

Walking under the arches of the halls and taking glances out of the window, Amalia watched the sun begin to set, the colors melting into one another to become something new as the breeze created the oxygen that gave life to the night. This alone gave life to Amalia. There was something different in the air tonight, but she couldn’t tell if the feeling caused her discomfort or excitement. “It’s just nerves,” she said to herself and kept walking till she made it to the theater where filming was taking place. She walked slowly down the steps, careful not to step on her dress, as eyes followed her all the way to the stage. This wasn’t new to her, people tended to stare because she was so tall, which somehow made her intimidating. As she approached the stage, the producers helped her to her seat, and tested the lighting and sound, while looking for a place to attach her mic pack and microphone. As the lights dimmed on the audience and the stage, Amalia was filled with the same excitement that she felt walking by the sunset. 

Let the games begin.

“Welcome, ghouls, goblins, and mortals, to the Dating Game! I am your host, Captain MacGregor,” he tips his pirate hat, “and tonight we are going to find love for one of your very own, Miss Amalia, or should I say…Amalvira,” the audience erupts in whistles and catcalling as the spotlight opens on Amalia. She rolled her eyes. She hoped that the men she had to choose from had more manners than the ones in the crowd. 

“Tonight, we’ve gathered three eligible bachelors roaming this spooky town to win the heart and a date with our good friend Amalia, so let’s introduce them and get on with the game, shall we?” The host turns to face the camera, “Since this is a Halloween-themed episode, the bachelors will be referred to by their costume instead of by contestant number,” he turns back towards the audience, “In the first chair we have Mr. Firefighter…” and the girls screamed as if Michael had just walked in the room, “He must be shirtless,” she thought to herself.

“In the second chair we have Mr. Vampire, or shall I call you Count?” The audience laughs. A vampire? Amalia looked down at her costume and licked the fake fangs attached to her teeth, no way it was this easy. There just so happens to be another vampire on the show? She looked around for the cameras thinking this was a prank, and when she inevitably found one she remembered where she was and laughed to herself. “Relax, Lia,” she whispered.

“For our final chair, we have Prince Charming,” he didn’t get much of a reaction. Understandably so, who wants a Prince nowadays? The camera turned to Amalia and she could hear the mic turn on as the host directed her to ask the first question. She looked down at the card under her leg, “Are you..a..morning person or a night owl?”

Mr. Firefighter: “I’m definitely a morning person! It’s the perfect time for me to get a workout in before class and-

She immediately stopped listening. 

Count: “The night is my haven. Everything’s more meaningful then, quieter. Society goes by a different set of rules upon nightfall. I’m eternally intrigued by it, therefore I am a creature of the night. Always have been, always will be.”

That’s more like it.

Prince Charming: “Well, um, I’m more of a day person myself. I enjoy the sunshine and feeling the warmth on my fa-

Ok anyways. Amalia couldn’t stop thinking about the Count’s voice. It was sultry, low, enchanting…she was instantly drawn to it. He said his answer so nonchalantly as if it were obvious. She jumped to the next question just to hear it again,

“What is your idea of the perfect first date?” Her voice echoing in the theater.

Mr. Firefighter: “I think keeping it simple and exciting is a great way to go. Maybe rock climbing or bowling?” Maybe not.

Count: “Something intimate, like a meal under the stars. We’d drink the finest red…wine, of course. A stroll after to see where the night takes us.”

Amalia was hooked on him. Nothing about his responses felt forced, he was who he was…her face twitched as she realized she liked him.

Prince Charming: “Well I love music, so maybe we would go dancing and grab a drink afterwards. Something casual and fun.”

“I’m sure his Cinderella would love that,” she thought.

We eventually got to the final round of questions and finally it was her turn to choose a date. She obviously had an attraction to one, but wondered if this was all too easy? And what a coincidence that they both happened to be dressed up as vampires tonight. Even though this all felt like one big prank, she did feel a connection to him, as if they were supposed to meet this way. As if they were supposed to know each other. As if the sun set on this day knowing the next wouldn’t happen before they had locked eyes for the first time.

The host interrupted her thoughts, “Amalia, who do you choose?”

She took a deep breath, “I’ve decided to accept a date with…

2 

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She learned his name was Edmon. He was also a junior at Oxford, an engineering major. How had she not seen him before? They decided to cash in on their date that evening, ending up at an intimate restaurant on campus, as he described in one of his answers. Seated outside under the stars, it was just them dining, and to Amalia it was perfect. With only 3 candles illuminating their faces, Amalia took the opportunity to look at his face. Edmon had raven-like hair, slicked back, with obsidian eyes that have been trying to break through her skin since the moment they met after the show. Any other girl would’ve been terrified by his appearance. He was intimidating, in a way that made Amalia understand what people meant when they said the same thing about her. Edmon’s smile was thin but stretched across his face, like he didn’t want to reveal to anyone that he was capable of smiling, but everytime he looked at Amalia he couldn’t help himself. After a few moments of studying one another, Edmon finally said, “So what about you? Are you a morning person or a night owl?

“Definitely a night owl, I prefer the darkness. I find it to be comforting…I know that probably sounds crazy.”

“Not at all, I completely understand what you mean…”

“You probably can’t go outside during the day anyways,” Edmon’s eyes widen slightly as confusion briefly swipes across his face, but then Amalia laughs, “...Count.” 

“Oh, oh yes, of course, the sun does no good for me here,” he grabs the bottle of red and pours wine in both of their glasses, 

Amalia leans forward, squinting her eyes, “How old are you anyway?” 

Edmon leans forward as well, “How old do I look to you?”

She shrugs, “You could probably pass for 23..24…when was your birthday?” Edmon looks down at the rings on his fingers and begins fidgeting with the one on his right thumb, “Many moons ago.” Amalia’s eyes trailed down to the ring on his thumb, it was gold, with a small sea glass pendant in the middle, filled with a deep, glossy, red color.

“Where’d you get that ring from?” She asked.

“A friend gifted it to me when I needed it the most.”

“Well that’s very generous of them…” She continued to stare at it.

“Very much so, I will never be able to repay them,”

“Who was this friend of yours, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“He was a childhood friend of mine, from my mother’s home country…he lived at the top off this massive hill, it took ages to walk there. You could see his home from any part of the town, but those views didn’t do it justice. The architecture of his home was absurd, massive arches and ceilings, charcoal colored brick stacked from top to bottom, velvet drapery all around the windows, it never seemed to catch the sun. Maybe that’s why I love the darkness so much, his home was submerged in it, and I had never felt more at home anywhere else than at the top of that hill. As I was heading off to college, he gave this to me as a parting gift.”

“Wow…forgive me, I must’ve missed his name?”

“Oh of course, his name was Drac. Drac Yoola.”

Edmon doesn’t pick his head up, only his eyes look up at Amalia, waiting for her reaction. As her eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair in shock, Edmon began to chuckle.

“I got it from the costume store down the road, but you should’ve seen your face!”

Amalia rolled her eyes, “Oh I’m sure…”

“Here,” he said, “Let me see your hand.”

Edmon slips the ring off of his thumb and meets Amalia’s hand in the middle of the table. The flame from the candle in the middle reaches the palm of Amalia’s hand, “Ow! Shit!” She yanks her hand back, 

Edmon blows the candle out, “Let’s try this again…”

He reaches across the table and lightly touches the top of her hand, before sliding his fingers underneath her palm to gently pull her hand towards him, his eyes never leaving hers. Amalia couldn’t bring herself to break eye contact with him. They were both trying to read each other’s minds, figure the other person out, but right now she couldn’t pay attention to her thoughts at all. When he touched her hand, this lightning bolt shot through her, and before she knew it, she was wondering what it would be like to be closer to him.

He slips the ring on her finger as he says, “Your hand is freezing, are you cold?”

She managed to spit out the words, “A bit,” and before she knew it, Edmon stood up and took off his cape to put it around her shoulders. As he leaned over to tie the front together, she looked at his mouth and noticed the sharp ends of his canine teeth,

“What are you staring at, hm?” 

All Amalia said was, “Those.” 

His tongue swipes over one as he looks down at her,

“You wanna know what they feel like?”

Amalia didn’t hesitate before she answered,

“I do.”

Edmon pulled his chair around the table so that their knees were basically touching, no table in between them, and he said, 

“Just one thing…you know what happens after this, right? I don’t have to go through the pamphlet with you?”

Amalia laughed, “Yes I know, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure? You’re young, you seem like a sweet girl, I don’t wanna take advantage…” Amalia just nods, Edmon continues, “I don’t wanna sound like an animal or anything, but…I’ve been craving you all night.”

Amalia slowly tilted her head to the side, studying him, 

“Go ahead. I’m ready, I promise.”

Edmon leans forward, reaching up with his hand to trace his fingers along her chin before holding it. He looks in her eyes for a moment, noticing a similar obsidian color, before gently pressing his lips against hers. A warmth immediately filled his body as he moved from her lips to her neck. Marking his territory with his tongue, he places a kiss on the area before opening his mouth, his fangs finally feeling the breeze of the cold night only to pierce the cold skin they’ve come into contact with. As Edmon bites down on Amalia’s neck, her eyes close, with his other hand holding her neck in place as he bites down. He squeezes her arm tighter and tighter as his fangs become familiar with Amalia’s flesh.

Finally, he let go, taking his fangs out of her neck, and leaning back in his chair to admire what he had created.

3 

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Edmon made eye contact with Amalia, her face stone cold. Then, slowly, a smirk crept onto Amalia’s face. She raised her hand to caress his cheek,

“Aw…that was adorable.”

As quickly as Edmon smiled back at her, her smile went away. Amalia’s hand had moved from his cheek to his neck, her grip tightening as Edmon squirmed in his seat, confused and in pain. Amalia’s eyes turned to onyx stones as she yanked him towards her, his chair falling as he was brought to his knees by Amalia,

“Shall I show you how it’s done?” She brought his face to hers, opening her mouth so he could see the fangs she wore pop off of her teeth, only to watch Amalia’s canine teeth stretch and elongate from her gums as fear fell on Edmon’s face,

“Wait, wait, wait I can explain-” Edmon yells.

“You didn’t feel the need to before, why start now?”

“I didn’t expect you to be, to, to actually be-

“Powerful?” Amalia had heard enough. She blew out the 2 remaining candles on the table, and looked back at Edmon’s face, now drenched in tears.

She licked the tears off of his face before biting into his neck, letting the blood fill her body as the vibration from his screams soothed her, giving her the satisfaction she had been craving all day.

A noise from the front of the restaurant startled Amalia, and she looked over her shoulder to see who or what it could be, blood all over her chin. The moment she turned to confront the sound, a new sound caught her attention. The sound of grass being stomped on.

She quickly turned to see Edmon sprinting across the grass towards the nearest building. A guttural scream of frustration erupted from Amalia as she stood up and wrecked the table in front of her, she walked in annoyance in the same direction as Edmon, still sprinting for his life. 

Clearly he didn’t know how this worked, maybe he needed a pamphlet to explain.

As Edmon weakly climbed the steps to the top of an administration building, he propped himself up against a pillar to prevent himself from passing out from blood loss.

Amalia appeared from behind the pillar,

“You mock me.”

Edmon jumped and began to crawl away, to any place, to get away from her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, what did I DO to you?”

“You put on your costume to put on this act of seduction to lure girls in and take advantage of their vulnerability…tell me, mortal, is that what you think of me?”

She follows him as he uses all of his remaining strength to crawl away.

“NO, I just, I honestly just wanted to get laid tonight, that’s the whole reason I went on that stupid dating show. I didn’t know I- please, please don’t hurt me, let me go and I’ll- I’ll change I swear,” he pleads. 

Amalia laughs as anger fills her body, “I fear you don’t have a choice now.” She knew it. For a second she thought she had found someone who understood her, who could actually see her for who and what she was, and yet, all he did was make fun of her, use her identity as a bridge for sex. She was about to give him the vampire fantasy that he had been hoping for all night, and luckily for him, he was going to live in that fantasy forever.

Edmon backs up to a wall and struggles to keep his head up. Amalia grabs him by the collar with one hand and chokes him as she pushes him up against the wall, his feet dangling off of the ground.

In a voice, raspy from an unquenched thirst, she whispers, “Here’s what I’m going to do for you, sweet Edmon…I’m going to give you the thrill you’re searching for…I’m going to gift you with a thirst, a sexual desire, and a hunger so deep, that you will never be able to fulfill yourself. An eternal itch you cannot scratch, so that you can relive this night, and this feeling, forever. As a gift from a friend, when you needed it the most.”

She puts her fangs to his neck once more, draining whatever was left of him before he selfishly ran away. The squirming eventually stopped, his body going limp as Amalia let him fall to the floor.

She wiped her lips and looked up at the moonlight, finding comfort in its presence once again.

Amalia turned back towards Edmon, her potential lover, turned offender, and now newborn. 

She lifted his face, drained of its warmth and color, now having more in common with Amalia than ever before,

“Bite sized romantics, but all the more filling…were we not?”

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The End.