I do not own Dracula. I only own Annabell.
Story Start
"We most certainly will enjoy tonight," Lucy said with a smirk towards me as Mr. Grayson released my hand and went to greet his other guests. "What was that about, Annabell?" she questioned me while latching her arm with mine and pulling us towards the middle of the room where a bunch of light bulbs were being passed around to the guests.
"Nothing," I replied quickly trying to play it off as if the man's presence had no effect on me.
"Liar," Mina sang as she joined Lucy and I.
"He just seemed familiar, that's all," I finally whispered as my eyes followed the man around the room. I was surprised to see that he also looked at me from time to time when he wasn't greeting guests.
"Well maybe you met him in America. He's from there," Lucy said with a wave of her hand.
"Maybe," I said to pacify the girls even though I knew that I had never met this man before when I was traveling in America. "He seems so familiar though, where have I seen him?" I thought before focusing on Mr. Grayson as he paused in front of everyone and handed me personally a light bulb. A little heat raced into my cheeks at the look he gave me when our fingers grazed each other.
Mr. Grayson kept his eyes locked with mine as he started his speech on how his invention would change the world. I didn't miss how he sent a smirk towards the oil men in the corner of the room, who were staring speculatively at the light bulbs in their hand. With a nod to his butler, Mr. Grayson watched with excitement at the little light bulb resting in my hand.
"Is he expecting magic to occur?" I thought while also looking at the object. A gasp left me when the light bulb started to glow, and soon the other light bulbs in the room started to glow as well. Looking up at Mr. Grayson, I saw him smiling happily at his accomplishment. "Amazing," I whispered and then frowned the light bulb began to dim. Mr. Grayson looked a little put out by the occurrence, but he took it in stride.
"That was weird," Lucy muttered and Mina nodded her head. The two women disappeared into the crowd with their men, while I walked towards Mr. Grayson, who was acting happy but he seemed a bit down.
"Mr. Grayson," I said politely since he was so deep in thought. When he looked up at me, I smiled and said, "I'm not sure how you made this happen, but if you can get this to succeed then you will have created something so innovative and yet so dangerous."
"What do you mean by dangerous?" he questioned me while motioning for me to walk to a quiet part of the room.
"As you have probably already guessed, the men in this town that own the oil companies do not want anything that would take away their business. Your invention would do just that. I enjoy your innovative idea, and I think you should continue to pursue it. However, just stay alert of who is standing in front and behind you. I'm sure you do not want a dagger and bullet shoved into your heart," I told him honestly while watching the man's competition.
Mr. Grayson chuckled and I jumped slightly when he grabbed my hand. When our eyes met again, he placed a small kiss on my knuckles and I felt a pain flash through my mind as some image of a man appeared in my thoughts. The man surprisingly looked like Mr. Grayson, but he had longer hair and a wilder appearance.
"Annabell, are you all right?" he asked me softly after I had put a hand to my temple.
"Sorry, yes I'm fine. My head just started to hurt for a moment. I must be tired after traveling," I said and he gave a small relieved look.
"Where have you traveled from?" he asked as his butler approached us holding two glasses of champagne. "Thank you Renfield," he told his butler, who gave me a small smile.
"Thank you," I said as well when Mr. Grayson handed me the glass of champagne. "I traveled from America. I went over there to live and study for a while. Now I'm back home because my Uncle wishes for me to settle down and marry," I said and rolled my eyes at the last part.
"You do not want to marry?" he questioned me with a raised brow.
"I do, but so far no man in this city has caught my interest or I intimidate them too much," I said with a sigh.
"Intimidate?" he asked with a chuckle. "My dear, you are beautiful but I do not know why you would be intimidating," he finished before taking a sip of his drink.
A smirk slowly crossed my face before I finished my drink. "Well you've just met me so you don't know how I'm one of the only women to truly speak my mind in this city. However, there is more to me than just that, which scares men away. If you are free, then please join me tomorrow night at the local sports club in the city," I told him and gave Renfield directions to the club. "Have a good night, Mr. Grayson," I said and walked away from the man with a smirk still on my face.
I told Mina and Lucy good night before meeting back up with my Uncle and getting into the carriage to go home. My uncle gave me a curious look at the smirk he saw on my face, which never really promised anything good. He waited until we got home to ask me the reason for my countenance.
"I just might have found someone interesting," I said before disappearing into my room to sleep.
That night I had a strange dream. I was walking through the halls of an old castle with a serene smile on my face. I did not feel uncomfortable or out of place. I felt as if I was home. A deep chuckle drew my attention and I walked into a bedroom, where a man was lounging on a bed with a relieved look on his face. The man smiled at me and held out his hand.
"Good morning, my love," the man said and I gasped at the sight of Mr. Grayson as the man on the bed, but his hair was longer and he was shirtless. "Love," the man said softly confused at my shocked gasp, but that was the moment that I awoke in my bed gasping for air.
"What was that about?" I muttered while placing a hand over my erratically beating heart.
