A/N: I don't own any "Dance of the Vampires" stuff, and all that jazz.

Prophecy Outside the Inn

         "To Heidelberg! And a glorious future!" shouted the jubilant Professor, rushing to the awaiting coach with the transfusion apparatus under his arm.

         "We'll be right behind you, Professor," said Alfred with an evil grin. He and Sarah followed the Professor quickly. The three piled into the coach and with a word from the Professor, the coachman set off. Sarah grinned at the Professor, baring her fangs, but the Professor calmly pulled the cross he was wearing around his neck out of his shirt. Sarah and Alfred hissed, shrank back, and tried to open the door of the coach, but they discovered, rather painfully, that the handle was plated with silver. Sarah cried out in surprise as the Professor suddenly attached the transfusion device to her arm. The other end was in his arm. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out. Alfred dared not do anything while the Professor still had the cross; all he could do was watch as Sarah slowly became more and more human, until the Professor finally turned off the machine and detached the tubes from his and Sarah's arms.

         "Don't even try, Alfred," he said, placing another cross around Sarah's neck. Alfred stared at the cross, then looked back at the Professor. "It's your turn."

         "B-b-but Professor," he stammered, "you can't g-give me the transfusion yet! You're too weak."

         "It's a risk I'm going to take," the Professor said resolutely. With a movement quicker than any man the Professor's age should be, he stuck the tube in Alfred's arm and switched the transfusion apparatus back on. Alfred tried to fight, but he too passed out soon. The Professor just watched over him and Sarah as the apparatus did its work. Alfred had been right; the Professor shouldn't have reverted him back so soon after reverting Sarah, but he had to. Still, it was all he could do to reach out and switch off the device when the transfusion was completed. He fell back against the seat, drifting off to sleep swiftly, thinking of seeing his daughter again when he returned home.

Heidelberg, Abronsius mansion 30 minutes earlier

         Sara Abronsius sat on her father's bed reading a book, eagerly anticipating her father's arrival. She snapped her book shut suddenly, and tossed it haphazardly aside.

         "That's got to be the hundredth time I've read Faust!" she said to herself. "When is Father getting home? What time is it anyway?" She got up off the bed, left the room, and went to the hall to check the elaborate grandfather clock. Nearly six a.m. She'd been up all night again. She sighed. Why couldn't she sleep at night anymore? Ever since she'd turned eighteen three days ago, she had just lost the ability to sleep at night. She could only sleep during the day. Her father didn't know, thankfully, or else he'd be stringing garlic around her room and making her wear a cross around her neck. Why did he have to be so protective? 'At least he doesn't know that I'd like that to be the reason,' thought Sara. 'He'd be using his transfusion apparatus on me if he knew.'

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sara looked up in surprise. Who'd be calling at this hour? She went to the door and opened it. A handsome young man stood on her doorstep. Tall and dark, with chin-length blond hair and puppy-brown eyes, the stranger smiled at Sara in a charming way that made her shiver delightedly inside. Composing herself, she smiled and said, "Can I help you?"

         "Are you Sara Abronsius?" the stranger asked in a velvety voice.

         "I am," replied Sara.

         "Well Miss Sara, I come on behalf of your father," the stranger said.

         "You do?" asked Sara in surprise. "Oh, come in then!"

         "Thank you," said the stranger politely. He entered and Sara closed the door behind him. "First things first, I've been rude; allow me to introduce myself. My name is  Jonathan Heinrich."

         "I'm pleased to meet you Jonathan," said Sara. "What news have you of my father?"

         "Your father is doing well in his search," Jonathan replied, "and he wishes you to know that he was successful in his mission and is returning home soon."

         "Oh wonderful!" said Sara happily. "Thank you."

         "You're welcome," replied Jonathan, dispensing with the sophistication a little and becoming more informal. He looked at her for a moment, not saying anything. 

         "What is it?" asked Sara.

         "Will you come outside with me?" asked Jonathan. Sara nodded and took his hand when he offered it to her. They went out into the garden together and Jonathan looked up at the stars for a moment, then looked into Sara's eyes and smiled.

         "What?" asked Sara.

         "I'm sorry," said Jonathan softly, "I just had to see if your eyes sparkled as brightly as the stars. I didn't think so, and I was right." Sara blushed and turned her head away with a smile.

         "Thank you," she murmured shyly. She looked back at Jonathan to find him smiling at her. They stayed out under the night sky for a while, with Jonathan telling Sara stories, fantastical tales of princesses, endless magical nights, and vampires. He knew just what to say to capture her attention and hold it. After a time, Sara couldn't tell how much, he looked to the sky again.

         "Oh look," he said pointing, "the moon is eclipsing." Sara looked up and smiled at the phenomenon.

         "There was a prophecy about this," she said quietly. "You spoke of it before, though you romanticized it a bit."

         "I did, didn't I?" replied Jonathan. He smiled at her again and gazed into her eyes. She realized he had slipped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, but she rather enjoyed it. he leaned very close, to whisper something in her ear. "The total eclipse of la luna," he whispered, causing a wonderful shudder to rush through Sara. He kissed her cheek, then her ear, then her neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations, opening them with a small gasp of surprise when she felt two small, sharp somethings pierce her flesh.

         "Oh, you," she breathed in wonder. "You're a vampire." It was a rather obvious statement, but no one cared. The prophecy suddenly came rushing back to her, as he father had told it to her:

         "If a virgin of eighteen by the name of Sara willingly allows herself to be bitten at the total eclipse of the moon on Halloween 1880-something then the vampires will conquer the Earth and dance in the light of the sun."

         Her father had gone to Transylvania to save a girl named Sarah there, but he hadn't thought that it might be his own daughter who was in the prophecy! She felt herself falling, but Jonathan held her close. Finally he pulled away and smiled at her again, a drop of her blood still at the corner of his mouth. She gazed at him in rapturous wonder and smiled back. Jonathan swept her up in his arms and carried her to a stone bench nearby, sitting her down comfortably and seating himself next to her.

         "The Count von Krolock knew your father would come to try and stop him," he said softly, "so he acted to avoid that. You were the one the prophecy was written for. Ironic, isn't it, that the vampire hunter's daughter is the one destined to bring us all to the ultimate power! That, of course, is why you were chosen. Your father thought that you were safe because you were a vampire hunter's daughter, but that just made it all the more tempting. The Sarah in Transylvania was also bitten, by the Count, but that didn't really matter. The Count bit her to divert your father's attention away from you and because he loved her. He asked me to come her and fulfill the prophecy in his stead. So while your father was off on a wild goose chase in Transylvania, you were left alone and unprotected. With your father out of the way, your dark longings for the wonders we possess could be realized without interference from your well-meaning father. And so they have."

         "Yes," murmured Sara. "Yes, they certainly have." She smiled up at Jonathan, blinking in surprise when she accidentally cut her lip on her new fangs as they grew in, but ignoring it when Jonathan smiled at her. He leaned closer to her, and she to him. Their lips met. 'Wait 'til Father finds out about this!' thought Sara gleefully.

~THE END~