The taste of alcohol lingered in Vincent's mouth. It was cheap and terrible, but alcohol, nonetheless. It left the incomparable feeling of numbness that he craved as we walked back into Halloween town, the sun beginning to peak over the horizon. He was coming off the drunken high, but still felt the undeniable warmth that came with it, unfamiliar to unbeating heart of the young vampire.
He was out, late of course, and had found himself exhausted after a long night of partying. He knew that he shouldn't have, with Halloween around the corner, but Barrel was convincing, and there was one particular werewolf girl who managed to send her word that she was very interested in him, and would love to see him there. He didn't appreciate the bite marks she had left on his shoulder when they had hooked up in the bathroom, which in retrospect, was utterly revolting.
The manor was in view, just in time with the sun rising quickly. Any time Lock, Shock, and Barrel had a party, he was always so exhausted for days on end. All he wanted now was to grab a bite and get some sleep. He regretted the party a bit more as he made he way to the front door, and found one of the elder vampires standing in the window.
When he opened the door, the same vampire now stood at the foot of the stairs. The distaste on his face was evident, as was his disappointment in his crossed arms.
"Where were you Vincent?" His monotone voice was the start of Vincent's hangover.
"I was busy networking." He slipped his coat off his shoulders and hung it on the coat rack. "I have to make connections with my fellow youth after all."
"This is not acceptable behavior. We have much to do before Halloween. Jack is counting on us."
Vincent rubbed his eyes and groaned. He didn't want to hear about Jack, or what Jack wants, or what Jack needs. Halloween was on a decline. There wasn't much more Vincent could do. Vampires just weren't that terrifying anymore. Why should he work so hard on Halloween when Women in the human world were mistaking his attempts of fright for attempts at seduction. The amount of work he had to do was absurd and unnecessary at this rate.
"I'll start whatever tonight, yeah? I'm exhausted." He tried to walk up the stairs past his elder.
"Now, now, where do you think your going?" The elder grabbed his shoulder. "The brothers have been up all night to play catch up with your absence."
"And? Are you going to make me do dishes or what?" Vincent's wittiness was nonexist.
"No, no, you're going to run the errands we couldn't." The elder pointed to the boxes by the door. "Jack needs the first one, and the second one needs to be taken to the tailor. I know Jack is at the town hall now, but you'll have to hurry if you're going to catch him there."
"You have got to be kidding me." Vincent pushed his hair out of his face. "This seriously can't wait until tonight? The sun is already up."
"Maybe if you had been home earlier than sun up, it could have been done earlier and it could have been avoided." The elder withdrew his hand. "This is no way for a prince to be acting. What would your father say?"
Vincent hated when the Elders did this to him. Prince this and prince that. He couldn't step too far forward without being reprimanded for being un-princely. And as for his father? He wouldn't have cared less.
"Fine. Fine. Don't expect me to be up early then. I'll get up when I manage to recover." Vincent went back down the stairs to the coat rack. He pulled his coat back on as the Elder droned on. He couldn't hear him over his head pounding. He put on his sunglasses and hat, and tried to figure out how he would hold his umbrella while he carried the boxes.
He struggled to grab everything, and when he did, he realized the nausea caused by a mix of his hangover and now extreme hunger. As much as he wanted to put off these errands for a nice glass of o negative, he just wanted to get back to his coffin as soon as possible. Jack was just going to have to deal with a grumpy vampire.
xXx
Halloween town was almost completely empty, save for a few witches gossiping at the town square. What could you expect from a town completely populated by creatures of the night? They were all asleep, except for the obnoxious pumpkin king, Jack Skellington.
As he entered the Town Hall, he felt the urge to throw up, but pushed past it to get through this dreadful errand run.
The mayor was sitting at a table with Jack, looking over a few blueprints. His face changed to the exasperated one when Vincent let the door slam before him. It was a bit comforting to find someone to be so on edge when he felt like utter garbage. His face changed back, though, when he realized who he was.
"Vincent, what a surprise!" Jack stood up, and bound towards him.
"Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too, Jack. It's the top box. I've got to get going-"
"Oh! This is such perfect timing, Vincent. We were just finalizing the final blueprints for your elders. We just have to go over one more thing and we can send it along with you!"
The mayor's voice annoyed Vincent to no end. "I'll just pick them up later-"
"Now now, it will only take a few minutes, Vincent. We can catch up, talk about how your Halloween plans are going."
"I really don't-"
The door opened from behind Vincent, interrupting him once again. He didn't want to deal with anyone else, but turned to see who it was anyway. Jack's wife, Sally entered, followed by a girl that he didn't recognize. He tried to look her over, but his umbrella got in the way, adding to the tragedy of his situation.
"Sally, darling, what are you doing here? And with our little pumpkin princess in tow." Jack's face turned to an undeniable look of concern.
Pumpkin princess?
Vincent made it imperative that he keep this creature in his line of sight. Since when did jack have a daughter? And when he did manage to see her, when did Jack have a hot daughter?
She stood at about five foot four, which he measured against his five foot eleven. She was maybe and inch or two taller than her mother, who stood beside her. She had her father's hollow black eyes, but a small mouth like her mother's, and the palest skin he had seen. She was sewn together at her joints, making her a very interesting reflection of her parents. Her long white hair that nearly floated around her face gave her a ghostly appearance.
While she may have looked rather strange, there was no denying that she was attractive, leading to a mixed reaction from Vincent. A bit of a "Yeah, I'm interested, but Jack's daughter…? Ew." reaction.
"She was terribly bored, Jack, she's been wandering the house all day like a lost soul. I figured that I would take her with me to the town hall to give her a bit of a new perspective. We didn't pass anyone on the way here." Sally's apology brought Vincent out of his trance.
"Are you sure? Sally, we've discussed this. Halloween is so close now and her presentation needs to be a complete surprise to all of Halloween town. Aside from the mayor and now Vincent."
Sally turned to Vincent, a bit of a surprised look on her face. She must not have noticed him when she passed. "Oh, hello, Vincent, sorry to make such a ruckus."
"No big deal, I just have to go. The top box, Jack-"
"Well, we don't have much of a choice, no do we?" Jack smiled and clapped his hands together. "Vincent, this is our daughter, Eve. She's going to be presented at the Halloween festivities this year as the Pumpkin Princess. Isn't that exciting?"
"That's great Jack, but I'm not really in a position for introductions-"
"Eve, this is Vincent, the Prince of the vampire coven. Speaking in technically, he's around your age."
She turned to him, her head to the side. Her eyeless glance was a bit unsettling to him.
"I like your sunglasses." her voice was small, but pretty like a songbird.
Her statement set him a bit off. What a strange comment to make as a first impression. "I, uh, thank you?"
She gave him a smile, closing her eye sockets. It was strange to see that on anyone but Jack.
Jack then took the box from him and smiled again. "Thank you so much for your delivery, Vincent, but I'm afraid I would like to spend a bit of time with my family. We'll have to touch bases another time."
Vincent was relieved. "Yeah, yeah, another time." He turned and rushed towards the door.
"It was nice to meet you." Eve called to him, and he gave her a small wave before he left.
On his way to the tailor, Vincent's thoughts were consumed with the princess. He knew he wouldn't be able to go home unless he visited a certain tree house that housed a few certain people that would be more than interested to know that there was a new mouse in their cat and mouse game.