The Stray

I awoke to a plush, carpeted floor against my side. Not linoleum, the recognizable smoothed texture of my floor plenty familiar from all the times I rolled out of bed quite literally. Nor was this the covering upon my floor a few feet from my bed, this was too luxurious, to fine compared to the coarse and shortened fibers which I owned. Still groggy, for I couldn't have slept for more than four hours judging by the feel of it, I propped myself upon my elbow as my other thumb and forefinger rubbed gently at my eyes. The alien nature of the room was only further confirmed as I gained awareness by visual observation. It looked old. Older than even medieval castles I had visited when on a brief tour of Spain. The walls were plain stone, though decor was carved in in certain places. A fireplace here, pillars there. The rest was elaborate tapestry and curtains, varnished wood decor, and of course the rug on which I lay.

I could vaguely see the first vestiges of the sun on the horizon, unsure which changing of hues I stared at beyond the window balcony. Whichever it was, the baleful traces of light illuminated a heavily forested mountainside. It occurred to me, ever so subtly as I was enraptured by the landscape before me, that I still happened to be sitting in an unknown home in naught but pajama pants and socks.

"Oh my," A voice, distinctly female, caught my attention almost instantly, "Someone vying for my favor with a treat? Or are you perhaps an admirer possessing some skill and attempting to impress?"

I balked at the sight of her, brushing her way past the heavy curtains before the window I'd been staring out of. A hefty, fur-collared cloak adorned her, covering up part of an elegant, yet modest dress darker than the forest green. A pale glove tapped her lip in contemplation, as her self-assured saunter brought her slowly forward. Aside from a sliver of her other shoulder, her garb concealed her seemingly porcelain skin, immaculately perfect in such a way I couldn't help but to think I must've been dreaming. Her plentiful raven locks only served to starkly contrast her pale complexion, further emphasized by her entrancing eyes, each a deep, dark pool that I could wholly affix my mind staring into. A smile, almost as hypnotic as her gaze broke my focus, quickly replacing my calm confusion with one somewhat more frantic. Hastily, I retreated from her approach, scrambling backwards up shallow stairs on to some dais before encountering something solid, which upon meeting me slammed shut. I stopped dead in my tracks at that, rather concerned about making any further noise, worried that so much as a peep would draw additional unwanted attention from any others who most certainly resided here. Wherever "here" was.

The briefest glance back, just long enough for me to register an ornate four-poster bed gave her the unnerving opportunity to close the several step gap that had been there not seconds before, much to my shock. Trying to steady my breathing, even as she brought herself almost face to face with me, seemed a futile effort, her air of confidence giving the distinct feeling of a predator with cornered prey. A softer smile, though no less disconcerting, crossed her lips as she cocked her head slightly.

"So? Which are you?" Again, though now without polite escape, I found my eyes drawn to hers, almost compelling in some fashion. "Or are you perhaps neither? You don't have the scent of fear as much as previous offerings. But if you were an admirer, why would you shy away?"

Try as I might, words refused to come to me. It was all too strange, too quickly. The most I managed was stammering and stuttering, a trait which I'd experienced at no point that I could recall. Her finger below my chin silenced my errant noise, and moving it to my lips she spoke again.

"If it distresses you so, an answer can wait." Cupping my face in her palms, she brought us both to standing slowly, my eyes still transfixed on hers as the four-poster seated us both.

"I'm not." Finally, I found myself able to speak once more, even as she discarded her robe, hanging it upon the end of the bed before the window and exposing the flawlessness of her lithe shoulders. "Either, I mean. I don't even know how I got here. Or where here is, for that matter."

"A stray, then?" A light chuckle escaped her as some of her dress departed from her, squeaking as it transmuted, wings fluttering as they settled above us. She took a seat leaning over me somewhat, the growing light behind the makeshift drape revealing a sparkling crimson in her gaze as her hand effortlessly put me on my back. "Perhaps I should take you in, then? A most curious pet, at least until we find your home, hm?"

"But before all that, a drink before I go to bed." Words I feared to hear hit me, every reminder of why I'd been so hasty to put space between us to start refreshed, all for naught as her fangs sank tenderly into my neck, gently sucking until I could stay awake no longer.