Author: yeknodelttil
Show: Young Dracula
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairing: Vlad/Erin
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Dracula. This is purely for the enjoyment of its fans, created by a fan.
Summary: SPOILERS FOR 3X11. The alphabet is a strange thing, a bunch of letters but rearrange those letters into words and they have the power to hurt.
A/N: This doesn't link to either of my stories, Truth and Consequences or 'Honesty and Deception', I just had to write this after watching 3x11.
YEKNODLETTILYEKNODELTTIL
Words are strange things, they can be one letter long or twelve or more letters long. On their own the letters mean nothing, but together they mean everything. Some words can cut and hurt, others can fill the heart with joy.
Four words circled in Vlad's head, around and around like that stupid song you only had to hear once.
Trust. Five Letters.
Deceit. Six letters.
Fool. Four letters.
Love. Four letters.
Four words that would never fool him again. He trusted, he was deceived, he felt a fool and worse he was in love.
He loved her as strange as that sounded. The vampire and the breather. No make that the vampire and the slayer. Weeks ago he laughed at Romeo and Juliet, now he knew how true it was at least neither were dead – yet.
Erin didn't smell like a slayer to him, she never had. Maybe he spent too long with blinders on to notice, or to ignore it. He couldn't deny she still didn't smell like one, if he wasn't deceiving himself.
He'd always been the one who was lied to, the one who couldn't trust anyone, couldn't have friends because he knew he'd loose them.
Ingrid arms felt strangely comforting around him as she rocked him, whispering comforting words into his ear. He'd never truly been hugged by a member of his family before. She'd always pushed him away in the past and he didn't deny that he still didn't trust her, but in that moment he felt as if someone truly cared about him.
In that moment he didn't realise how much he felt alone. How desperate he'd been to have someone that he could talk to, to confide in…to love.
He tightened his arms around her, just for once not caring that he wasn't supposed to feel. Even so he refused to let any tears fall, he wouldn't allow himself the pain of knowing he cried over someone who never loved him.
Love is nothing without trust. Erin didn't trust him enough to confide in him other when she was in trouble, yet he confided in her like the idiot he was. Vlad realised then he didn't know anything about her, he didn't even know her last name.
Trust left him open to deception. He'd told her everything, never once realising that she'd never told him anything in return. She deceived him that she was a vampire and then a slayer.
To be deceived meant being a fool. He'd let her grow close to him and she'd always deceived him. He was a fool in front of his family, how could they expect their future leader to protect them if he couldn't see through her deception?
To be in love made him a fool. He'd let himself be blinded by her; he wanted to protect her even now he knew the truth. He should want to kill her, drain her dry as his nature commanded but he couldn't do that.
In that second he made a choice and his heart turned to ice.
Bertrand got what he wanted.
Vladimir Dracula was now cold and unfeeling – a true vampire.
The End
A/N: This has been in my head since the end of that episode. I think Gerran Howell did a fantastic job throughout the episode to make us feel and understand what Vlad was going through.
