Note: I keep forgetting the disclaimer. I didn't create most of the characters and I certainly make no money from them. Also, I've messed with the timelines a bit here. Lionel shows up in this story, which is technically impossible, since he wasn't introduced until the second movie. But I needed him, so here he is. He's an agreeable chap in that way.

"Transylvania? Are you out of your mind?" Joseph's professional demeanor had slipped just a bit. "That's just – why?!"

She waited a moment, then asked "Are you finished sputtering?"

"I am not sputtering. It's just that no one goes to Transylvania on holiday. Why would you even consider such a thing? Why not Paris? Rome?"

She shook her head somewhat tersely. "You are sputtering, and you're wrong. I've been to Paris and Rome too many times. I don't want to go to London or Brussels, either. This is a trip just for me. I've always wanted to visit Bran Castle. There are museums and galleries and a dance festial in Sibiu thatt would be just perfect. I just want to do something different."

"You've been reading Bram Stoker," he charged.

"Well, yes." She sounded somewhat contrite. "But I've always been fascinated with Eastern Europe. I want to see the countryside for myself."

"No reliable cellular service, almost no diplomatic contact – this is going to be a nightmare!" he grumbled.

Clarisse stood and breezed past him on her way out of the office. "I'm sure you're right. It is Transylvania, after all."

Joseph stood staring after her. Finally he shook his head and walked down the hall to his own office. Surely she was up to something. She couldn't really want to go to Transylvania, could she?

Evidently, she could. He sighed and turned on the computer. Time to start a crash course on Romanian society and tourism.