The flame flickered in the dark as it burned the wick it was set upon. Alex walked up to the candles that were before her. She stared into the flame thinking about how her life would change now. It was her sixteenth birthday, and that meant new responsibilities, new challenges, and new enemies. She was ready to face her new obstacles. Taking a deep breath, she extinguished the candles in one final blow. The lights came on.
"Happy Birthday!" everyone cheered while giving her a round of applause. She looked around the room at her family. She looked to her father, Vladimir, and then to her grandfather, Count Dracula. Her grandmother, Sally, sat at the table smiling with teary eyes toward Alex. Reinfield was in the corner eating a bug he found on the floor. Taliltha, her tutor and bodyguard, ran up to Alex and wrapped her arms around her in a big hug.
"You'll finally be one of us," she said tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You should be proud of yourself."
"I am. I just wish my mum were here to see me now." Alex answered shifting her gaze to ground. Vlad came around the table and put his arm around his daughter. He pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.
"Why don't we start opening presents? I think a certain someone has a very special gift for you," he offered pulling out a small jewelry box in shape of a coffin. Alex perked up and took the box out of his hands. She pulled off the burgundy ribbon that was on top and opened the box. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a dragon pendant. The dragon was dark red and held a clear crystal between its claws. The dragon was enclosed in a circle with an azure colored crystal above its mighty horns. She smiled back at her father happily. She had been given the most sacred gift in her family. Vlad took the necklace out of the box and put it around her neck. "With the Dracula family coat of arms, you will practically be invincible."
"Practically?" she echoed holding the pendant in her hand.
"Well…mostly? Just know that you are and always will be a Dracula." he answered. Alex smiled and hugged her dad tight.
"Thank you dad! I'll never take it off and other vampires will flee from my sight. " She teased. Vlad tensed up for a second because he never let Alex go in the outside world anyway. He felt it was too dangerous, especially with a bounty on all of their heads. He was also worried that the Vampire High Council would find out that he had a daughter. There were secrets about his family that wouldn't go over too well at the VHC. As the Grand High Vampire, he was the only one who could protect them. That's why he kept communication to and from the outside limited. However there were some exceptions. Sally stood up and pulled out a black and purple gift bag from under the table.
"Here's a gift from George and me." She said pushing the gift bag toward her. Alex pulled the sparkly purple tissue paper out and found a black sketchbook. It was encased in a leather material and had her initials stitched on it. She looked through the rest of the bag and pulled out colored pencils. "Vlad told me how much you like to draw so I thought you should have a proper place to practice your skills." She added. Alex walked over to her grandmother and gave her a big hug.
"Enough of these childish presents. My gift will triumph over all others. I have the present she really needs." The Count said pulling out a flat medium box that was wrapped in black wrapping paper. Alex looked to her dad and laughed then took the box in her hands. She couldn't tell what it was but he said it was the best. She unwrapped the box and then opened it. There was a red and black fabric folded up inside. She took it out and it was revealed to be a cooking apron. In bloody red letters, it had the words, "Bite the Cook." Vlad and Sally rolled their eyes collectively. Alex tried the apron on while Talitha helped tie it up in the back. "It's a perfect fit! Now she doesn't have to get dirty when she cooks and cleans. You are welcome." He continued. Vlad looked to his father and sighed.
"What did I tell you dad? Can't you be a little less sexist toward Alex?" Vlad asked. The Count shrugged indifferently.
"Alex, why don't you check what's in the pocket." The Count suggested. Alex had a confused look on her face. She slowly put her hand in the pocket thinking it would be something gross like maggots or slugs. He always assured her they were the finest in England, but she didn't care either way. She put her hand in the pocket and she felt a small plastic piece connected to something metal. She assumed it was a keychain. She pulled her hand out and it was a set of her very own car keys. Her mouth dropped and she gasped. "Now you can run to the store, too. Just be careful with sharp turns in the hearse." He warned. Alex started jumping up and down. She ran over to the Count and gave him a big bear hug. He wasn't too thrilled about that but he appreciated the gesture.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she squealed. She took off the apron and then ran toward the courtyard door. Vlad looked to his dad with his arms crossed.
"What?" The Count complained.
"Her own hearse? Really? Why couldn't you have gotten her a puppy or something?"
"She's sixteen, Vlad. She wants to go out into the world. You can't keep her here forever. She will found out the truth…about everything."
Vlad looked down at the ground and then sighed. He still wanted to shield her from the outside world. He used his vampiric speed to travel to the bottom of the stairs before Alex could get to the last step. "Not so fast." He said blocking her path.
"I just wanted to take it for a quick spin. Please let me go this time. I never get to leave this boring old place." She begged.
"Alex…it's dangerous out there. You aren't ready."
"When will I be ready?"
"When…you get your powers."
"Ok, then lets go to the blood mirror." She began to turn around.
"Not yet...Renfeild has to polish it."
"Fine…" she sighed and began to slowly go back upstairs to the party. Vlad watched her go and waited until she was out of sight. He went out into the courtyard. He found the hearse parked near the gate. He held his hand up and the tires all flattened. The windshield cracked and dents were made in the sides. Vlad turned around and closed the door and made sure it was locked. He knew his dad was right and that he'd have to tell Alex the truth tonight.
Vlad began to make his way upstairs to check on Alex. As he made his way up, he heard a loud banging on the front door. The banging grew louder for each second he stood there. He had an eerie feeling about it. "Go away!" he commanded in a loud booming voice. The door was silent for a second and Vlad thought he had scared off the visitor. As he took one more step, the door swung open and a dark figure was in the doorway. Vlad speed traveled to the middle of the room and hissed at the intruder. His fangs flashed and ready to attack. "I order you to leave!" he growled. The figure walked into the dimly lit foyer and Vlad retracted his fangs upon recognizing them.
"Miss me, bro?" Ingrid teased walking into the room. She had left the Dracula household after a big argument over how untrustworthy she was. Vlad knew he couldn't trust her even if she was his sister. It wasn't in Ingrid's nature to change for the good.
"Nice to see you, Ingrid. Now get out."
"What's the matter? I can't spend time with the family anymore?"
"From what I recall you weren't too keen to being with the family."
"Well things change." She said with a sly smile. Vlad stared at her for a minute trying to figure out what motive she had.
"The VHC sent you, didn't they?"
"I don't like to talk about work but let's say they did. I guess they'd be wondering what exactly went on in this little castle of solitude of yours. I'm sure they'd love a piece of juicy gossip to sink their fangs into."
"There's nothing to report, so why don't you save your time and leave?" he snapped before turning his back on her and making his way back upstairs.
"If there's nothing to report then why does it wreak of breather in here?" she asked with a devious grin as if she put the final nail in his coffin. Vlad froze in his tracks.
Alex sat at the table with her grandmother and Talitha. The Count sat in his throne reading the Vampire Weekly as if Alex's birthday never happened. Alex took a bite out of her cake.
"Gran, you should try some of this cake. It's really good." Alex suggested trying to cover her mouth full of cake.
"Um, I don't know. What kind of cake is it?" Sally asked peering over at it.
"It's chocolate and pigs' blood." Renfield answered starting to cut her a piece.
"Uhh…I think I'll pass. Wouldn't want to ruin my dinner." She said uneasily.
Alex shrugged and continued eating her slice of cake. In the midst of her getting another spoonful, Taliltha sprang up from her seat.
"Alex we need to go." She urged while grabbing her arm.
"Can I at least finish my cake?" Alex asked with her mouth full again.
"No time. We have to hide you." Talitha answered while grabbing Alex's presents that were on the table.
"What's going on?" Sally asked with a bit of wavering in her voice.
"Ingrid's back." Taliltha said quickly before leading Alex to the door that went to the hallway.
"Who's Ingrid?" Alex inquired utterly confused in the midst of the chaos.
"I'll explain later, but let's go!" she urged before speed traveling Alex to a different part of the castle.
"Ingrid? That traitor!" The Count bellowed finally putting his newspaper down. Sally sat at the table confused on what to do. She grabbed her purse and then started heading for the door. Before she could get there, the door opened to reveal Ingrid had already made it up there.
"I knew I smelled breather." Ingrid scoffed at the sight of Sally.
"It's nice to see you too, Ingrid. I was just leaving." Sally said a bit intimidated. Vlad came into the room and put himself in front of Sally.
"Leave her alone." He said sternly.
"Don't tell me what to do, mongrel." She retorted back. Ingrid pushed past them and began to nonchalantly look through the things in the room.
"What do you think you are doing, Ingrid?" The Count asked standing from his throne.
"Just looking for some nail varnish I left here." She answered looking through a book that was lying by the table.
"You won't find it because we burned all of your disgusting girl stuff. Isn't the right Renfield?" he said looking over to Reinfield in the corner. Renfield was too busy painting his nails to notice that anyone was talking to him. Once he did realize it, he tried to hide the varnish behind his back.
"Oh, yes master!" he finally answered. The Count sighed at his stupidity. Ingrid snapped the book shut and glared at them all. She knew something was up, and all she had to do was get someone to spill the secret. Who would squeal first she wondered. Her eyes went straight to Renfield and then to Sally. Ingrid sat down at the table, and snapped her fingers at Renfield.
"I'm thirsty. Go get me a drink." She commanded. Renfield headed for the door.
"No! I'm not wasting my blood supply on a traitor!" The Count snapped and pointed for Renfield to go back where he was. Renfield sighed and went back to where he stood.
"Renfield! I said get me a drink!" she hissed glaring at her father. The Count glared back with the same intensity.
"Renfield, don't you dare move." He ordered. Ingrid and the Count continued to glare at each other until Ingrid got up.
"I'll just get it myself." She growled before disappearing to the kitchen. Vlad looked to his dad and then to Sally.
"We have to keep Alex as far from Ingrid as possible. She'll find out Alex's secret and then report us to the VHC." Vlad said.
"Why don't we just kick her out on her fangs?" The Count suggested.
"Because we need to convince her that we have nothing to hide. I'm going to check on Alex." Vlad responded before disappearing.