He stands over her shrunken and pained form, like the darkened shadow he was, he stared over her.  Still so full of fight and fire, if only a little, enough to still resist pledging allegiance to her new lord.  That scent of that blood hitting the air, the sight of it as it pooled at her feet and on her body, it was very fortunate for her that he had some semblance of self control, or he would have ripped her apart like some starved animal, who’d been robbed of meals for weeks.  No instead, he takes the final steps towards her.  Now the distance between them had shrunk to near non-existent.  Trevor’s long clawed fingers tangle into her bloodied and matted blonde hair, pulling it back to force her to look up at him.

“Oh but that’s part of it, my fresh new slave.  To live with that power, you have to surrender your will.  Pledge your loyalty.”  Sell your humanity.  Words that were left out, knowing they’d make her less liable to give in.  “Say it, or I walk away, leaving you and your broken ribs and pierced lungs to fend for yourself.  Though if you prefer, I could just leave you to the mercy of the Reaper–”

 She didn’t even try and resist , as her head was yanked back by his own hand , she could see the amusement and excitement in his piercing yellow stare , of course he would be this way , after beating her to a plop and then breaking down her mental walls , that she tried so hard to keep up but in the end , it was futile and she had lost a fight , that she was never going to win in the first place . She felt useless and she felt degraded as if her skills and her year’s of training , were all for nothing and that she had untimely failed , those who she loved and cared about and this is what fueled her fire , that angered her.  “ I surrender ! “ she spat out , angrily as she glared up at him . She hated him , she hated him with all her might and soul and she would vow to , become better than him and beat him at his own game’s . “ Does it please you , my lord . “ she said mockingly to him , she wanted to rip that smug smile off his face . 

“A monster like me.”  He confirmed, the overconfident grin working its way across his unkempt and ancient features, arms falling to his side, allowing for a small shrug of his shoulders.  She was breaking, and she was breaking fast.  That pain had become too much, he could tell by the look on her face, the pained way she struggled with such a decision.  The fact she was even considering it proved he had gotten through to her, broken through those trained defences and that hunter’s willpower.  Steps are taken forward, his larger than life presence, looming over her weakened form, that inhuman grin only growing more dark as the monster hung himself over her.

“In a manner of speaking, anyway.  You’ll be a vampire, but you won’t be as strong as I am– Perhaps with years of practice and work you’ll come closer to being something resembling an equal.  It’s certainly the only way you could hope to stand a chance.  That pain will go away, and you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been.”  He’s not sure the sort of pain it entailed, becoming a vampire in the way that could be considered the hard way.  The Dark Lord had had no bite marks against his neck, no vampire had turned him.  Trevor had willingly sold his soul.  “You’ll serve me, but you’ll get the chance to overtake me when you feel you’re confident in your ability to do so.  All you have to do, is accept me as your dark lord.”

  Both arms now covered her stomach area , as her broken down and beaten body was aching to a full extent , she bled everywhere and she was covered in it rips and tears worn away , her attire , her hair a matted bloodied mess as her lips were bruised and cut as well as her cheek , they seemed to have dry blood covered beneath the wound .  Maria could feel his shadow looming over her , with it’s menacing grim and snare as it clawed its way towards her , enticing her to join to surrender , to claim a painless freedom into a new life , and by the grace of god it was so tempting and she wanted the pain to end , but she didn’t want to die , was she a coward for choosing this? a traitor? she didn’t want to think about it , why was it so tempting , why did she want to choose it . As she clutched her middle , and glanced down breathing harshly as her blood from her insides fell from her lips onto the , tile floor painting it crimson .She didn’t want to say it , she didn’t want to give him that power over her , or that satisfaction either . She would be his either way , serving him or dying by his hand . She had lost her strength and was loosing her will or maybe she had already lost it , a while ago . Maria was dying , she could feel it through her bones , the internal damage he had done to her , was unfix-able  and this would be a painless death , but she would still live . But as a monster , but she could choose not to be such as he , she could be different . “ Do not , make me say it . “ she gritted through her teeth . 

“And what good does it do?  All that willpower, and no strength to do anything about any of the darkness?  If strength doesn’t matter, how do you ever hope to over come the darkness?  This world doesn’t work like that, you can’t survive with oaths.  You can’t survive if you’re afraid– You can’t fight if you need a crutch to stand and face evil.  Winning is far from your sight, you have no power, no strength– No might to even stand let alone swing your fist again.”  Like some primordial carrion scavenging raptor, those eyes are on her, focused on every staggered breath, tracing over every bruise, and the way she held herself.  If she didn’t give in, she wouldn’t be long for this world.

“Give in.”  It’s far from a request, the dominating tone of the dark lord, raining from his fanged, monstrous maw, those demonic eyes still contemplating ripping her throat apart, putting her out of her misery.  “If you give up, I’ll spare you.  If you pledge yourself to me, I’ll give you the power to one day potentially be greater than me– To maybe kill me.  If you continue to fight and resist, I’ll make the remaining hours of your life agony, rending flesh from bone and twisting you and breaking you until you beg for your own death.  Those are your three options, huntress.”

  Her strength , her physical strength was about on it’s last thread as it snapped and she fell to the ground , her knees tucked under her . Tears threaten to spill from her eyes , it was a natural emotion to feel fear and she was no lesser weaker because of it , fear is what boosted most into bravery , made the weak stronger and it made a will to live for other’s . But Maria’s strength and her walls were coming to a crumble as he beat and banged on them , each minute that she left them unprotected , and be damned if he broke through them so easily . Being in so much pain , made her weaker and she was less likely to stand again and if she did , she would need the help .She hunched forward and groaned as that broken rib , poked and prodded her left lung; she could easily feel it .  Gritting teeth as she once more , can taste her own blood in her mouth . “ You’ll turn me into the monster , that you are.. “ she said as she was cut short her sentence with another , booming of pain blasting throughout her body , everything ached and was swelling or was swelled and her throat was beginning to hurt from where he had grabbed her . “ If I pledge to you...”  what was she saying?! she wasn’t , no she couldn’t , but her body screamed for help and defeat as well as her green hue’s did , but she herself wouldn’t admit to it; her pride as a hunter wouldn’t let her . But if she couldn’t beat him , in this form then maybe he was right , about what he said; she could beat him in if.. no ! she couldn’t ..  could she ..

“How truly fascinating that you have even the will to rise to your feet left within that pitiful body of yours.  Remarkable further, is that you still rise, and haven’t the faintest idea of how futile your fight is.  You tire, you bleed, you bruise– You break.  I could still fight you at my full strength, something you have yet to even see, while you’re only getting weaker as this battle progresses.”  It was frankly nothing short of a miracle that she could even bring herself to her feet after the punishment she endured.  Those harsh and uncaring eyes never leave her, taking in ever haggard movement, and pained breath.  Broken rib.  Should he have desired he could end this quickly.

“I have lived as a man, fought as a man, and died as a man to become what I am now– You who fight in the light always confound me.  How adamant you are to prove yourselves.  What makes you still fight?  What brings you to your feet when you can barely support your weight?”  Trevor hadn’t breathed air as a man for centuries, hadn’t fought for anything he believed in or felt the beating of his warrior’s heart in so long, he’d long forgotten what it meant to be a man, to fight for the good of others.  After all he’d been the one to cease the Belmont name centuries prior.  The Belmont had long given himself over to the darkness that swelled his heart and poisoned his mind.  “Why bother?  You’ll never be strong enough to stand toe to toe with me.”  Arms cross, somewhat agitated over his broad chest, those monstrous amber hues only serving to narrow further.  Why was it so hard for mankind to just kneel when they were told?

  She staggered forward only to , fall to her knees as each breath escaped her it burned , it burns through her whole being . She was angry and rightfully so , she was in a pitiful state and perhaps site , this is not how she will die; she refused to die on her knees and so she willed herself , she pushed herself through all the pain and the hurting she was currently in , she rose slowly with wobbly legs , such a newborn deer should have , when it would take its first steps . “ Strength has nothing to do , with it . “ she augured back as she glared at him through , the matted mess her blonde/orange locks became in , this fight . She flinched as she took a breath , of air; falling on the back of a high back chair , which it seemed to be a miracle it was still in it’s place , seemingly the entire room was a mess , considering they had just fought and were still doing so .  Her arm hugged her middle , she was wounded and bleeding and by now her throat and neck were probably showing signs , of bruising , she could see it now his finger prints around her neck , deep purple and slight blue . “ My will to live , my will to do good and preserve it . My will to help those people , who you have relentlessly tortured and played with . That is what keeps me upon , my feet . “ she answered , through gritted teeth . Then she hunched over as a sharp pain , sparked through her body as if she were struck by lightening , she lifted herself up again; her arm shaking as she delt with the pain to face him . “ Because I am a huntress , and my oath is true and I shall honor it . “ she replied in a monotone type voice . The chair was all that was holding her up and she knew it , she was frightened but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him see it , on her face .

Grip tightens further around the smaller woman’s throat, oh the temptation to crush her throat like it was nothing was there.  How brave she was to still spit in his face despite being, you know, in a very tight corner that meant certain death.  “Right.”  His whip finds its way back onto its clasp on his waist.  The deep yellow glow of those hateful eyes the only source of light beyond the moon itself, only narrowing itself further as the old dark lord’s hand wipes the disrespect from his face.  “You know, you’re in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth.  You hold no power right now.”  Which he makes all the more evident as that free hand swipes hard across her freshly whip-marred cheek in a bedrock shaking slap that fills the air with that awful sound.

“So how about you show your lord a little more respect?”  He very unceremoniously throws her across what was once their arena, making sure she collided hard with one of the harsh stone walls.  “It’s so very tempting to just kill you and be done with it.  I’m sick of all this rebelling, all these young hunters thinking they’ve got what it takes to fight me.”

  She’d been in tighter corner’s before , but this was an extremely tight corner to the point were moving , would be a major issue . Her face scrunches up more , in the obvious pain she was in , and the number he was doing on her throat with just the squeezing of his hand , then she felt it; the stinging pain of a very hard and painful slap , he’d just backhanded her across the face . Which in turn , caused her head to jerk to the side , as she gritted her teeth , tasting the familiarity of her own blood , the slap had split her lip and it was oozing blood as she felt it drip down onto , her chin .  “ I hold power , you know why.? because I am still alive , and while I live , I will try with all my might to take you down , belmont . “  she answered , as she glared at him . It was all like slow motion to her , as she collided with the wall on the other side of the room . She herd something crack , but she isn’t quite sure what broke as she laid on her stomach , the wind knocked out of her as she tried to regulate her breathing , more of her blood dripped onto the tiled floor as it dripped , from the side of her head now . Her eyes began to close , but she fought the darkness that threatened to take her away, from this argument as she lifted her head and glared at him , and then she laughed as she flinched . “ Respect . Respect is earned , belmont and you have earned nothing ! “ she yelled at him . As she fought to stand , and once she did; she flinched as it was her rib that had broken . 

unbeknownst to the huntress, another had been on the trail of the large warg that had attacked a village near severin, killing a good number of its inhabitants before a priest had managed to ward it off with holy water. surely the creature would return the next chance it got, but before then, the village had called upon the aid of the last belmont, who had once again rebuilt his family’s old estate after the fall of dracula. the people had broken free of the church’s influence and had realized they needed the protection of all hunters, belmont or otherwise – dracula had left behind so much corruption in his wake, that too many foul creatures believed themselves free to do as they like now that their master had been vanquished.

trevor confronted the warg as it entered the opposite end of the clearing, dead leaves crunching beneath his boots as he advanced upon it. the beast was swiftly taken care of, the blessed whip, vampire killer, wrapping around its neck and choking it to death with some exertion from the hunter. the whip was once again brought back to his side, and just as he was making to leave and inform the villagers that their threat had been taken care of, he heard the peculiar screech of an owl from above, accompanied by quick, small footsteps. those of a woman, undoubtedly, and as trevor turned around, his gaze fixed upon the other.

❝ oh, did i? well, it’s hardly my fault that you were too slow, huntress, ❞ he answered with a small smile, shrugging lightly. ❝ yet, i do apologize – did those villagers set you to the task as well? if so, they shouldn’t have, given they sent me after it as well. ❞

 this was a job , she wasn’t getting paid for; which she hardly minded , it was something good to do for those who couldn’t help themselves and the hunt , well it thrilled her like it always did . hunting down , what was a evil just like; the evil that was exterminated so long ago , but she promised them it’s head , to confirm that it was gone and that they were all safe , and the head she was going to take . swiftly with her twin blades , she swiped downwards and decapitating the demon who caused so much death , and destruction in it’s wake . then she wiped her blessed blade on the grass , wiping off it foul blood from her blade . looking up towards the sky , maria whistled easily as she held up her right arm; she watched Oscar soar with ease , and gentleness as he came landing upon her forearm , as the white owl flexed and stretched his wings , before tucking them back into his body; the owl reared it’s head and screeched at him and she couldn’t help but smile at her companion as she smoothed out it’s puffed fur , knowing Oscar was trying to look , bigger probably seeing the other hunter as a threat to his territory . then maria glanced back at the other hunter and shook her head to his words .                     ❛  only slow because , of my tracking skills . ❜   she replied easily .         ❛  nay , a village from the east . apparently this damn thing , has been causing trouble , for over two-hundred miles .   ❜  she answered softly .