Love wanted to shout, to move away, to check on Elora, to do something - anything.
But her body felt as though it were encased in ice and no matter how hard she willed it, she was unable to move from his gaze.
She found herself nodding once in his direction as if her body was not able to leave his question wholly unanswered.
"Wonderful! And firstly, do not worry about your loquacious friend here, she'll be up and about in no time with no memory of tonight, I'll make sure she's dropped off back at her home before then." He explained, still crouched in front of Love and smiling softly.
"So, first question. What are you?" As he asked the question his smile dropped and his voice shifted to a more serious tonality.
Love frowned at this. What kind of question was that? Was he utterly mad?
She found she could move her head a little easier than the rest of her body and titled it to the side, perplexed.
"What am I? I'm a human of course." She answered.
"Ah, I see. So you're not aware of it. Hmm, ok. Next question, who were your parents?"
"I don't have any parents."
Ezra opened his mouth to ask another question, but suddenly closed it again frowning slightly.
"What do you remember of either of them then? Tell me anything you know."
Love flinched at this, and tried once more to resist answering. Who was this person to demand such personal information from her by force?
But once again, her mind refused to listen and she felt as if the words were forced from her throat against her will.
"I don't know, I have no memories before the age of 7. At the point that I can remember, my mother had died and there were no records of my father." Love explained coldly in a flat voice.
"How did your mother die?" Ezra pressed.
Love paused to scowl down at his persistence.
"A vampire killed her in front of me." She spat out through gritted teeth.
Ignoring her obvious anger, Ezra frowned in confusion.
"But why leave you alive?" He muttered to himself confusedly. Nevertheless Love was again compelled to answer.
"I hid. My mother…made me hide. It's the only memory I have of her when she was alive. But because I couldn't remember anything else, I was confused and I didn't know where to go, so I waited. I waited for help."
This was the most Love had spoken to a stranger in her life upon a first meeting and she glared into his eyes resentfully at the unconsenting intrusion into the worst of her memories.
Ezra was no longer smiling.
"How long did you wait?" He asked softly.
"Two days." Love replied coldly.
Ezra sighed once more, this time with a hint of regret as he slowly stood up from the floor and moved to his desk to retrieve something.
As soon as he had moved his eyes away from her, Love felt her muscles relax and realised that she could move freely again.
'Run, I have to run and get help.'
Hesitating slightly, she glanced at Elora, but she knew she would never make it to the exit carrying her, all whilst being pursued by a vampire. She had already seen how fast their movements could be.
And so, Love sprang up from the couch with as much celerity as she could muster and turned towards the door to run.
And she did run - straight into what felt like a solid wall. She saw stars behind her eyes as she smacked head on into the vampire that had now suddenly appeared in front of her.
'So fast.'
Love looked up into two shining emerald eyes.
"Stay still. Do not scream" Ezra requested. And her body locked into place. She tried desperately to strain every muscle in her body, willing herself to move even an inch away, but it was to no avail.
"Good", he smiled. "Now tilt back your head."
Love unwillingly complied, her head tilting back whilst her eyes stayed fixed to his.
Ezra gave a crooked smile before lifting the small knife and making a small cut into the palm of his own hand.
'Wait, what is he doing?' Love frowned in confusion.
"Open your mouth please, Love."
Love's eyes widened as her mouth started to open against her will, whilst Ezra waited in front of her with his hand raised, smiling calmly. Her jaw clicked as she strained against the mysterious force that compelled her to obey the demand, but her attempts to resist failed just the others had before it.
"It's time to wake you up, Love, I'm sorry if this might hurt a little, but you'll understand in time." Ezra almost whispered these words as he raised his hand above her open mouth, and a few drops of dark blood dripped down her throat.
As soon as his blood had entered her mouth, she felt as though every cell in her body had begun to vibrate with a strange intensity. At first it was a pleasant feeling, as if a strange energy were coursing through her entire body.
But then came the pain.
First her chest tightened uncomfortably and a searing pain began to blossom deep inside of her very core. And then her blood felt as though it had turned to a corrosive acid that burned as it pulsed throughout every organ, muscle and joint. Even her bones began to ache and crack as though her body were being stripped down and rebuilt.
She wanted to scream but was unable to counter the previous command.
Do not Scream.
So she stayed silent and still as her body burned. She soon realised that she had become unaware of the passing of time, and that she had at some point fallen to the floor, unmoving and still without uttering a single sound.
Suddenly, as if through a long tunnel, Love heard the sound footsteps and felt cold arms lifting her body with startling ease.
"I'll see you soon, Love." The melodic voice whispered in her ear.
She tried to answer but couldn't feel her mouth, and then everything blurred until she couldn't find her eyes. The final thing Love felt before her vision turned to black was her mind falling into a dark hole and a burning sensation covering her skin.
Love continued to fall until she felt as though she were drowning in the dark, unable to resurface.
***