Forever Love

By the way, I don’t know if Kikuchi-sensei ever describes how humans become vampires in his stories. It seems like there’s as many methods as there are versions of the vampire legend, so I decided to use the more traditional method used by authors like Bram Stoker and Anne Rice.

Disclaimer: Vampire Hunter D belongs to Kikuchi Hideyuki and any other copyright holders for it. I’m just writing my own version of the end of the third book and second movie. And yes, I got the title from an X-Japan song, though the song has nothing to do with this fic.

Forever Love

By Annie-chan

Red, sightless eyes stared out from a deathly white face. Blood dripped slowly and silently over one side of the face, flowing over the unblinking eye to the ground below. Meier Link lay there, perfectly still, his head split down to his neck.

Somewhere in that lifeless shell, his consciousness still lurked. He was mad with fury, anger at himself for falling for that illusion of his love in the arms of the black-clothed hunter, and anger at Carmilla for tricking him like that. It must have been to get him away from Charlotte. Carmilla must want the innocent human girl for some private purpose. Oh, why did he leave her alone?!

The second the attack came, the second he felt his skull split, he knew what was going on. Had his throat still been intact, he would have screamed in rage. The Bloody Countess had promised to help Charlotte Elbourne and him, to aid them in their escape from the world that would not accept their love, much less their union. Humans cursed vampires for their feeding practices, and vampires thought humans too lowly and inferior to marry. In desperation, chased by hunters and prejudice, they had sought Carmilla for help. She had agreed to help them escape to the City of the Night, where they would be able to live in peace together, so they had come without a moment’s hesitation.

Unguarded and unwary, he thought. I brought Charlotte to her doom. How could I be so stupid?! If he had been able, he would have leapt up and ran back to Charlotte, to make sure she was safe. However, the grievous injury he had sustained in the sneak-attack would not let him. Even the most powerful vampires cannot immediately recover from a split head.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he felt energy gathering in him again. Flesh, bone, and brain tissue began to mend, and he felt the edges of the wound knit slowly together. Blinking the blood out of his right eye, he staggered to his feet, dizzy and weak.

“Char…lotte…” he rasped, his throat still raw. “Charlotte…CHARLOTTE!” In a burst of vampiric strength, he took to the air, his anger and fear feeding his power and making his eyes fairly flash. If the countess has laid even a finger on his love, he will make her dearly pay for every drop of blood spilled.

He flew blindly as he reached out with his mind, frantically searching for some sign of Charlotte, hoping desperately that she still lived. He was on the verge of howling in dismay when he finally found her. He had almost gone right past, her spiritual signature so weak and wavering that he almost missed it. She was lying motionless on the stone floor, her thick curls spread out around her head and shoulders. She looked unharmed from where he was, but the air stank of blood. It couldn’t have been from her, could it?

His eyes landed on a second figure not far from her, and he almost choked in disgust. He had seen many grotesque creatures in his long life, but he had never seen anything like this. Carmilla was crawling animal-like on the floor, her fright making her reckless. She was only partially reborn, the process to come back to life incomplete. D had interrupted the rebirth, and he was still nearby. She was terrified that he would finish what he started, killing her just like his father had. She wouldn’t be able to come back next time.

A blood sacrifice, Meier thought with a flood of rage. The seething blood mixed with Carmilla’s ashes was all Charlotte’s. The countess had allowed the human woman to come here just so she could bleed her dry and return to her old power.

“CARMILLA!” Meier roared, feeling his teeth extend and sharpen as he threw himself toward her. Claws exploded from his fingertips, itching to tear Carmilla limb from limb, to punish her for daring to use like an animal the one person he cared for. He had abandoned the castle and the land that had been in his family for thousands of years. He had fled across mountains and plains, running from bounty hunters like a common criminal. He had earned scorn from vampires who had once deeply respected him, as well as doubled the hatred the humans had for him by “kidnapping” Charlotte from her bed. He had even dared to go into the sunlight to save her, risking his own life and badly burning himself in the process. He had gone through all that for a human, a creature he was supposed to think no more than livestock, and Carmilla had snatched her away in almost no time at all. She will pay for this!

The bloody mass that bore Carmilla’s distorted face shrieked in terror and dismay. She had forgotten about the girl’s fiercely protective lover, and had all but stumbled into his arms. Snarling like an angered beast, Meier ripped her to pieces in seconds, allowing his killing instinct to take over completely. He didn’t stop until there was nothing left of her but ashy, sludgy blood. He then stood there for several minutes, his more civilized side taking control once again, breathing hard and shaking in placated wrath.

“Charlotte!” he cried suddenly, remembering why he was so angry. His arms ached to hold her, to pull her close and keep her safe from any harm. Spinning on his heel, he found her again, still lying motionless on the cold, hard floor. Two thin gashes were on her neck, the marks of teeth that had been ripped forcibly from the flesh. He ran over to her and dropped to his hands and knees beside her, calling her name over and over again. He gently gathered her to his chest when he got no answer. “No…” he moaned. “No, no, no, no…” His eyes stung sharply, and a pain was growing in his chest. He had never cried before in his life, but he couldn’t stop himself, nor did he want to. A tear slipped silently down his white cheek.

The tear landed with a soft plip on Charlotte’s face right below her left eye, trailing down her cheek like she herself had shed it. The skin twitched minutely, her lips parted, and a weak, nearly inaudible breath escaped.

“Charlotte!” Meier cried again, only in surprise and elation instead of dread and sorrow. “You’re alive!”

“Meier,” she whispered, a faint smile coming to her pink lips. “Meier, my love…”

“Don’t die!” he pleaded uselessly. “You can’t die on me…! Please…”

“There’s still time…” she breathed, too weak to voice her words. “Please, sweet one…”

“Time?” he asked, though he knew what she meant. He had honestly not wanted to do it to her, unable to imagine such a pure being thirsting for blood and death every night, resisting both hunger and lust to keep from feeding from her. But, she had insisted that she wanted it, offering her neck to him in utter love and trust. It was also the only way to save her…

He threw aside his misgivings. There was no time to deliberate anymore. He opened his mouth and sank his ivory fangs deep into the still fresh wounds.

Charlotte gave a shuddering gasp as he did so, feeling sharp sparks of pleasure within the pain that bloomed in her neck and shoulder. It was no illusion this time. It really was him holding her, his lips pressed against her skin, his teeth buried deeply in her flesh. She managed to bring her arms up and around his neck and shoulders, holding him as tightly as her weakness would allow. A deep, primitive desire was rising within her. Oh, God, how she needed him…

He pulled out before the desire could burst, extracting his now bloody teeth from the gashes, careful not to drain so much blood as to kill her. He heard her murmur his name in protest. Her eyelids were half closed, and he guessed that it wasn’t just weakness due to blood-loss that caused it. Her cheeks were very pink, blushing. She didn’t look nearly dead; she looked…aroused.

“Later, my love,” he assured her, hoping there really was a later for them. With one sharp fingernail, he slit the thin skin on the underside of his wrist, bright red blood starting to flow over his ghostly white skin. He often marveled that the white skin of a vampire hides such bright blood underneath. That thought was miles away now, however, as he lowered his bleeding wrist to her petal-like lips. “Drink,” he said softly in explanation.

It was unnecessary. As soon as the first drop touched her lips, a gnawing hunger hit her. With both hands, she held his wrist to her mouth, sucking hard on the thin wound, drawing tangy-sweet nourishment from his immortal veins. A thin stream of blood escaped and ran down her chin.

After several minutes, she showed no sign of slowing, and he was starting to feel the effects of losing blood. As gently but as firmly as he could, Meier pried his wrist away from her.

Charlotte was stiff and shaking, her breath coming in quick bursts. The change was starting to come over her, and there was now nothing anyone could do to stop it. She was past the point of no return. He held her tightly to him, one hand stroking her hair in an effort to calm her. He had been born vampire, so had never gone through this, but if it wasn’t painful, he guessed it at least extremely uncomfortable.

Finally, she quieted down and stilled in his embrace. Looking down at her, he saw that her skin was milk-white, and her lips were blood-red. He could feel no breath or heartbeat, but he could feel that her soul was still there. She had died, but she would continue to walk the Earth, forever young and just as beautiful as any born vampiress.

He had saved her. She was still with him.

“What a foolish, wretched girl,” a horribly soft and emotionless voice said from not far from where Meier knelt. He looked around and beheld a tall, thin form clothed entirely in black.

“What?” he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing.

“She’s been changed,” D said calmly, reaching for the sword that hung at his back. “I’ll have to kill her now.”

“Never!” Meier hissed. “I’ve gone through so much to have her. I won’t have you taking her away!”

The dhampir hunter was undaunted. “Step aside, Meier Link. My job is to bring her back to her family, not to kill you, but I will if I have to.”

Meier laid her gently down on the floor and stood, turning to face D. “You will have to if you wish to even come near her, half-breed.” This man may be the son of the King, but he had chosen a life of slaying his father’s people, his own people. He was worse than humans.

“I admire your determination,” D admitted to the younger man, “but it will not save her, I’m afraid.”

“Why can’t you leave her alone?!” Meier demanded. “She came of her own will, and she let herself be changed. She wants to be with me! She loves me! It would be cruel to take her back!”

“You have no right to speak out against cruelty, vampire,” D replied. “It may be true, but I am a hunter, a mercenary. I pursue the targets I am paid to pursue, and I don’t let my feelings or emotions get in the way.”

“You have never loved,” Meier said softly, a deadly tone in his voice. “You have never cared so strongly for another that your own well-being and preservation mean nothing next to their safety! You have never felt the bliss and the agony of real love!” His voice lowered to a hiss. “One day, you shall, and you’ll realize how utterly wrong it is to tear it so wantonly apart!”

“Perhaps,” D said after a long pause, “but that day hasn’t come yet.”

Meier roared in frustration, but was forced to go on the defensive when D moved to attack, wishing not to waste any more time bandying words while his target may retreat to safety.

Nearby on the floor, Charlotte’s eyelids fluttered open, revealing sleepy red eyes. For a moment, she thought she had been dreaming, but realized with a jolt that it hadn’t been a dream. She was a vampiress now. Meier had changed her to save her, though he had initially hesitated at the thought, instead resisting his desire to drain her blood. But, where was he now? Further, why was she on the floor?

She looked out into the middle of the room and almost cried aloud. There was her lover, locked together in mortal combat with the half-vampire hunter, D. Meier had the blade of D’s sword in his claws, but it looked like he had stopped it in mid-swing, and it was taking all his strength to keep D from completing to motion. D appeared to be no more or less strong than Meier, and the two were engaged in a risky stalemate. The first one to tire would be grievously wounded.

Charlotte got to her feet, ignoring the tiredness that still hung over her. Without thinking, she ran toward the two men, her only thought to protect the man who had given up everything to protect her. If D managed to stab his heart or cut off his head, Meier was done for.

“Meier!” she cried, throwing herself at the white-haired vampire.

Meier saw Charlotte coming, but she was too quick, and he was too surprised to tell her to stop, or even to cry out. She was substantially smaller than him, but the impact still knocked him sideways. His grip on D’s sword blade slipped, and he cut his fingers on the super-sharp edge before he lost contact with it completely. As he hit the hard stone floor, he heard metal slice through flesh, and he smelled blood spray through the air.

“NO!” he howled, fury and horror welling up inside him. He saw her fall to the ground, the white wedding dressed stained red with the blood that came from the long gash across her torso.

D looked as surprised as Meier felt terrified. He apparently had expected her to intervene as much as Meier had.

Meier half crawled, half threw himself over to Charlotte, calling her name. Catching her up, he felt relief flood him as he realized the cut was long, but relatively shallow. Her heart was unharmed. She hadn’t been slain. Already, she was beginning to heal.

“Miss Elbourne,” D said, shaking off his surprise. “I was sent to take you back to your father and brother, but you’ve allowed yourself to be changed. I have to kill you now.”

Meier was about to bite out a reply, but Charlotte beat him to it.

“No, wait!” she cried. Twisting free of Meier’s tight grip, she stood up, pulled a small gold ring from her finger, and pressed it into the hand D was not holding his sword with. “Take this back to my father,” she pleaded. “Tell him that I’m dead, that you had to kill me, that Meier killed me, that I killed myself, anything! I don’t care! Just, please, let me stay with him!”

D didn’t immediately reply, taken aback by her sudden offer. Leave a job unfinished and lie about getting it done? In all the centuries he’s walked the Earth, killing vampires and monsters his only purpose and only goal, he had never done that. It would be so easy to skewer her heart here and now. Yes, he’d have to deal with her raging lover immediately afterward, but he was sure he could handle Meier.

“Please,” Charlotte repeated, clasping her hands together as if she were praying. “Please, do this! I’m begging you!”

D felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a memory was stirred. Thoughts of another young woman he had once seen in a torn wedding dress began to surface. She hadn’t been wearing the dress at the time—she had been wearing very little at all—but she had also stood before him and pleaded with him, looking at him with the same hopeless love and desperation. Only then, it had been directed at him, not someone else…

Doris… he allowed himself to think. It was not often that he said her name, even to himself. He wasn’t sure if it was love or not, but he had felt a confusing array of emotions centering on her, and it had frightened as well as intrigued him. He still felt on pins and needles about it, though it was many years ago now.

“D?” a voice said. “What are you gonna do?” It was the parasite in his hand, speaking too quietly for the others to hear. D momentarily ignored it and looked at Charlotte long and hard. Meier had stood and now hovered close behind her, ready to lash out if D made any suspicious moves.

Finally, he closed his fingers around the small ring.

“All right,” he said.

“Really?!” Charlotte cried, a little girl’s delight in her eyes. “Oh, thank you!”

D didn’t reply, but turned and sheathed his sword, walking away.

“What are you doing?!” another female voice suddenly demanded. Leila had finally arrived. D had left her somewhere in the confusing castle to pursue Carmilla and Charlotte, and she had just now found her way to the large room they were in. “You’re not letting them go, are you?!”

“Yes,” was D’s simple reply.

“You’re crazy!” Leila shouted, drawing her gun and aiming at the two vampires. She would get Charlotte in the heart, and to Hell what her lover would think of that. Before she could fire, however, D’s thin, surprisingly strong hand closed around her wrist, squeezing hard enough to make her drop the gun. “Ow!” she yelped. “What was that for?!”

“She’s dead,” D said. “That’s all her father and brother need to know.” He scooped the gun up from the floor, then dragged the protesting Leila out the door and toward the outside of the castle. They were gone.

Charlotte’s legs gave out from under her, and she dropped. Before she could hit, Meier caught her, lowering them both gently to the floor.

“I thought for sure he would refuse!” Charlotte gasped, visibly relieved. She clutched at Meier, her head against his chest.

Meier couldn’t speak for several moments. The nightmares were all over. They were finally free to love each other in peace, without bounty hunters and deceitful countesses trying to tear them apart. He merely held her tightly. Before long, however, he looked toward the east wall of the room.

“Meier?” Charlotte asked.

“Dawn is coming,” he explained, helping her to her feet. “We should go deeper into the castle.” Without waiting for a reply, he swept her up and took off, seeking the quickest way into the most protected parts of the castle. He smiled at the gasp she made when he picked her up, as well as the slender arms that wound around his neck for balance, but he did not stop until he knew they were well away from any windows that may let in the sunlight. He didn’t know if the curtains on the windows actually worked or were just decorative.

“Are we staying here?” Charlotte asked when he set her down. They were in what looked like a guestroom. Whatever it was, it had a bed to sleep in while the daylight lasted.

“For today, yes,” he answered. “Tonight, we fly to the City of the Night.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she cooed. She hadn’t any idea what the City of the Night was like, save what little Meier told her, but any place she could live in peace with Meier would be paradise to her.

A sudden thought came to her, and she smiled widely.

“Charlotte?” Meier asked, blinking. He had never seen that look on her face before.

“We are married, Meier,” she said softly, coming closer and touching his chest. “We took each other’s blood. We are one now.” She looked up into his eyes, her lips coming within an inch of touching his.

“One,” he whispered. He had denied his urges for so long, wishing to keep her pure, but he could feel them melting quickly away, being replaced by a ravenous desire. He crushed their lips together in a hard, biting, hungry kiss. The next thing he knew, she was on her back in the bed, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him. He, with great effort, broke the kiss, looking down into her hazy eyes.

“Please, my love,” she breathed. “I can’t wait any longer.”

He groaned softly and kissed her again, pushing his tongue into her mouth. His fingers were quickly undoing the fastenings of her clothes, undressing her with as much skill and speed as if he had undressed her dozens of times. His hands groped and squeezed and caressed every bit of her, reveling in the way she whimpered and writhed beneath him.

Finally, he had them completely undressed. He lay over her, suckling softly at one of her breasts as his fingers played mercilessly between her legs, bringing her to the peak of arousal, but stopping before she reached release, letting her then cool down a bit before he touched her again. It frustrated her, but it also made her crave completion even more.

“More!” she cried, bucking up against his hand.

He grinned, removing his fingers and replacing them with something much bigger, much more filling and satisfying. She arched and wailed as he entered her. He groaned, his vision beginning to faze out. He pushed into her again and again, his deep, powerful strokes waking the vampire carnality in them, their desire and pleasure able to pass far beyond what mortals feel.

He was breathing hard, every ounce of his focus on her, his hands gripping her upper arms so hard that they would have bruised a living being. She was crying out shrilly with every thrust, writhing and twisting and bucking in an attempt to bring them even closer together. Finally, she pulled him fully down on top of her, not caring how heavy he was. His comforting weight pressed her hard into the mattress, but it felt so good, she couldn’t even imagine letting him go.

Suddenly, she shrieked as he hit her sweet spot so hard and at such an angle that she couldn’t hold back anymore. Tension exploded within her, and she clutched unbelievably tight to him. She was trying to melt into him, to become physically one with him as well as spiritually one.

He gritted his teeth, trying to hold back, but her inner walls contracted urgently around him, drawing him in and shattering what little was left of his restraint. With a long, low moan, he emptied himself into her, his body spasming with the intensity of it.

Neither of them knew how long they lay there, dozing, content to be in each other’s arms. However, before Charlotte dropped off completely into sleep, she managed to murmur a few simple words:

“I love you, Darling,” she purred. “Since the moment I saw you, I’ve loved you…” With one finally yawn, she fell asleep until night once again covered the world.

“Yes,” he whispered softly, kissing her hair reverently. “I love you, too, Charlotte.” Sleep quickly claimed him as well, but not before one last word slipped out: “…forever…”

Owari

Author’s Notes: Hmm…this got a little longer than I thought it would. Oh, well. It’s good, I hope. Is it? The sex at the end was added on impulse, by the way. I’m in a citrusy mood lately. Perhaps it’s the vampire’s allure. *wink* I tried to stay in character for everyone, and I hope I succeeded. Please let me know if I did or not, but if you’re displeased, I hope you’re nice about it. This is my first fic for this ultra-doom-and-gloom book/movie series, and I’m kinda nervous about how well I did. I put a small but obvious reference to the very first VHD book and movie near the end, of course. I like the older one as much as I like the newer one. In case there’s a difference—I haven’t read the books—I used the movie version of Doris telling D that it’s okay if he took her blood. I don’t know how it happened in the book, unless it’s exactly the same. Anyway, I’d really like you all to tell me if you like this fic! Let me know in a review or an email to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!

Is it just me, or does Meier Link look like Folken Fanel with white hair and red eyes? Not to mention that I’ve heard Folken described several times as “vampire-like”. The resemblance is uncanny…