Vlad was lying in an odd position on the couch. Mina, who had gotten so much older since he first met her, seemed to like sitting this way. He had one leg hung over the cushion and his head was on the arm rest. It was actually really comfortable to him. He stared out the window, bored because his little friend was studying for finals. She was so much busier these days. Well, that was what came with getting older. At least for a little while.
That had been an issue between all three of them lately. The third party in the argument being Igor, of course. Mina wanted him to turn her. It was a sensitive subject. Vlad had been taking her breath away, metaphorically speaking, for eleven years. He just didn't feel like he could actually kill her. Especially not after what had happened to Lucy.
The vampire shuddered. For the last several years he had kept Thomas's letter and watched Lucy Harper's grave. He would have done anything to have never met his son. No, that wasn't quite right- he only wished to be able to have saved his best friend's sister. Mina hadn't been the same since the accident.
She wasn't stupid, of course, and had figured Thomas's role in her sister's murder. He had been nice to her, but now she made it very clear that he would get what was coming to him if the vampire ever returned. Vlad, through it all, did want to see the other count again. What more could he do with his only son, the only sign that he had ever been human and the life he had had? The man was a spoiled brat, or had been. He had no idea what they would do if Thomas ever returned. He felt lost.
Thomas had just returned to America from Europe. He had spent a handful of years, maybe eleven, there. It was fantastical memory trip for a spoiled vampire of his stature. Goodness, Paris was so crowded in some places that he hardly had to hide a body after a killing. But it got old after a while. Without even thinking he found himself in a vaguely familiar little urban town. It reminded him of his father. About the mistake he had made. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. This WAS the town where his father resided.
The Count- he loved the title he had inherited dearly- had fed before entering the suburbs and was glad for it. He was scared to kill anyone in Vlad Hide's territory after the Lucy incident. He wondered if that stupid little human girl had put all the pieces together yet. He wondered if she was still alive or even human anymore. "Vell, Thomas old boy," He chuckled and adjusted his glasses, surprised even now that they held on when he was hanging upside down from a tree. "Vat say you and I pay a visit to daddy dearest?"
Mina was going on a trip to visit some of the colleges around the state and couldn't come over, again. Vlad was beginning to wonder if he was losing her. The idea of biting and turning her pulled ahead again like a race horse. What if she grew tired of him? He dismissed the thought for now and wondered how on Earth he was going to keep himself entertained for the next couple of days. Maybe he could visit some of his friends? They had been curious about him and the 'werewolf' girl for years.
There, like a savior, was a knock on the door. He got up to answer it, but the door was already opening. "Daddy dearest!" Thomas had him caught in a hug before Vlad could so much as flinch. The vampire's father shoved him off like a disease. He stared at Thomas, dumbstruck.
"What are you doing here?" Was the first question, or demand, out of his mouth.
Thomas got up and brushed himself off. The Count noticed that his son's attire had changed greatly since their last meeting. His beige suit had been replaced with a black one with red pockets and a pair of handsome shined leather dress shoes. He had been living just the way he used to without really being affected by Lucy's death in a moral sense. It did leave its mental scars though. Don't get him wrong, though, he did mean the apology he had left. "I came to visit, Vlad." He frowned. "I guess you haven't found it in yourself to forgive me, then."
Vlad growled. "Mina has never trusted another monster since then. Because of you." He poked his son in the chest, but not hard.
"Well, she shouldn't have gotten involved with the undead in the first place." The other vampire defended himself weakly. He knew he was wrong. "Listen," He sighed. "I want to apologize face to face."
"Thank you. You know I care about you." Vlad said quickly. "But you're not welcome here, with Mina around."
So she was still alive? "Vat do you mean?" Thomas knew that the little girl would probably hate him, but what could she do?
"Master Thomas!" Igor hurried in for a fashionably late greeting. He had decided very quickly after the other vampire disappeared that he liked Thomas better than Vlad. He wasn't soft. He brought the man a tall glass of blood and smiled generously.
Vlad slapped Igor on the back of the head, telling him to leave. "At least someone is giving me a varm velcome." Thomas smirked. Vlad clenched his fists irritatedly.
"Like I said, it vould be great if you stayed but Mina von't allow it." He crossed his arms.
"Since ven does a human have any say in whether I stay or go?" He asked, growling faintly. The little girl had no right to be ordering him or his father around.
"Since I fell in love vith her." Vlad said the words before he thought them. He swallowed deeply. Thomas wouldn't leave until it was done now. The younger vampire looked shocked and then smiled cruelly. He would do it himself if he had to and the count knew it. Vlad Hide had just doomed his best friend.
