The countless eras of books, film, and TV I'd taken in on Earth led me to expect I'd be brought to a grand throne room. That didn't seem to be the case. I suppose they are quite pointless, especially when you don't have a kingdom or a mass amount of followers. Instead, I was brought to a large, open drawing room. A fireplace to my left, a glass case of swords on my right, and directly in front of me, a fancy black leather couch backed up to frosted glass panes.

Sat upon the couch was whom I could only presume to be the illustrious demon lord. He wasn't too dissimilar to many vampires I knew back home; bone white skin, long black hair, glowing blue eyes. He was rather relaxed, telling me that he harbored no fear to my power. I must admit, I can't say the same in return. There was an intense energy radiating off of him. Something tells me what I'm feeling is only a fraction of his power. His soul is locked away in a box, and I'm simply experiencing the light seeping out through the cracks in the hinges.

Kuza disappeared after dropping me at his master's feet. I have yet to set eyes on that other human, Ryan. I was left alone with the God of Shadows. For now, that's where my focus needs to be, though I have not forgotten my reasoning for coming to this place.

The demon lord didn't even flinch. He simply stared at me, not saying a word. Admittedly, I allowed my mind to drift off in the silence. I nearly had a heart attack when a circle of black flames suddenly burst up around me. He titled his head only slightly, a smile playing at his lips.

"Sorry, but, it's in my best interest to keep you subdue for the time being." He said.

"I would do the same if I were in your position." I replied.

He snickered, "Would you now?"

I was just a toy to him. I knew it the second I heard his tone. He rose from his seat, walking over to me. As he stepped through the fire, he whisked a flame into each hand. It clung to his arm like lace. He brought his hand up to my chin, his thumb resting so delicately on my lower lip and the fire around his wrist reaching for my throat like a dagger.

"You thought yourself too good to serve me before, but I won't hold it against you. You didn't know any better." He said, "You do now, don't you?"

"I can see you're more powerful than me, if that's what you're asking. I'm not looking to cause trouble or to align with you. I'm just looking for a way home." I responded.

"Say I could help you. Why would I do you a favor? A stranger, whom came to my home uninvited?"

"Can you help me? Or is this all hypothetical? If not, I would be open to negotiations."

"Negotiations." The demon lord laughed.

His hand clasped my neck and hoisted me into the air. The fire below us danced back and forth, transforming into tentacle-like shadows. A pit of darkness opened below us, horrific looking hands and crawls reaching up out of it. He could stand on it like it was solid ground, but something tells me if he were to drop me, I'd be falling for awhile.

"Forgive me." I feebly spoke, "In my world, others bow down to me. They fear me, the way people here fear you. I suppose I don't know how to properly act in front of a greater being. I would be grateful if you were willing to help someone like me, and I'd repay you however you see fit."

"You've still got a long way to go. Frankly, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't waste the energy. However," He closed the gate to Hell beneath us and dropped me in the process. I crumbled to the ground, struggling to catch my breath as he continued, "Vampires are technically a parasite, or so I understand from my servants. I have to isolate you, for the good of this world. You'll remain here, in my servitude, and if you prove your worth, I'll consider sending you home."

"Thank you, Sir." My pride is beaten to shit.

"You may refer to me as Lord or Master Horror, Ricky Horror that is. I've heard a lot about your kind, but my servants seemed a little unsure on the details. The coffins, the stakes, the blood drinking, how much of it is true?"

I brought myself back up to my feet, responding, "I need to drink blood from a living body to survive. Technically, I can get by on animal blood, but if you want me at my full strength, I have to drain a human once a week minimum. The same goes for coffins. I technically can sleep in a normal bed, but it's not the best for my health. The stakes, and silver, and holy water, it's all bullshit. The only things that kill vampires are daylight and decapitation."

"Noted. I don't exactly have coffins just laying around, despite what you might think, but I'll see to it that you have one."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"I'm not as cold as you might think. I just needed to scare you into submission." He chuckled. The demon lord, Ricky apparently, began to walk past me. As he did, he snapped his fingers. I felt a weight on my neck. Looking down, I discovered a chain with a lock had wrapped it's way around my throat. "You're on probation for the time being. Come on, I'll show you to your room."

Um, what the fuck just happened? In a matter of seconds, he went from terrifying villain to just... chill with me? I'm not exactly complaining, but I hope this isn't a normal thing. Imagine someone with his power having a mental condition, like borderline personality disorder. Maybe that's why he locks himself away like this. He can't be trusted around others. Or maybe, he just doesn't like people.

"Are Kuza and Ryan your only other servants?" I asked as we walked.

He sighed, "Unfortunately. I had another, but he chose to leave, and I didn't have it in my to stop him." It sounded like a sore subject. I wanted to ask, but I knew it wasn't right.

Instead, I offered a different question. "So, the other two, do they need something from you like I do? Or do they just serve you to serve you?"

"Kuza's mind is coming apart at the seams. I'm the only one keeping it together. I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I don't do it as a way to control him. I do it because I care for him a lot. The same goes for Ryan, but for different reasons. He's got a nasty curse on him. I'm keeping it at bay. They don't serve me in return because they have to. They do it because they want to. Maybe you'll come to be the same way."

"I'm not sure about that. I have a life elsewhere. They must've too, if they both came from Earth."

"They found they liked it here better." He stopped before a door. "Who knows. Maybe you will too... I'll send Kuza out to fetch you some food. I enjoy human souls myself, so he's gotten rather good at hunting them. In the meantime, get some rest. You'll need it. Your body isn't used to this realm. It'll catch up to you soon."

I wanted to ask, but I wasn't too keen on getting an answer. He unlocked the door for me, pushing it open only slightly. Hesitantly, I entered the room. It was... Beautiful. A four poster bed sat upon a rise, floor to ceiling glass panes, and an iron chandelier. I haven't lived in such Gothic luxury in over a hundred years at least. I've missed this type of art and craftsmanship.

Though I still miss my home, my coven, my world, there are worse places I don't be stuck in. I guess I got pretty lucky with this. However, there's still the question of how the Hell I ended up here. I'm hoping once I meet Ryan, he'll be able to give me some answers. I could tell, Kuza was far too skittish to help me in those regards. We'll see.

—

a/n

This plot is pretty open ended, so if anyone has any suggestions or anything they'd like to see happen, please let me know!