This chapter is a bit heated at the end, so be warned. But still, it's great. :D
Please read and review!
_
Whatever it was she was doing she needed to stop it.
Wish thought back to the night at the bonfire, and all those previous events before...and every single one of those memories was centered around the spanking vampire that had become her closest friend.
Friend. That's all she wanted to call him, nothing more.
Yet why does it feel like something's pushing her to make something more of it? She wasn't ready for a new relationship. After what had happened with Jake, Wish wasn't sure she would ever be ready. Her old boyfriend hurt her bad, and it left a wound in her heart and shattered her hopes for any kind of romance.
That's why there are romance novelists in the world, they mix fiction with reality and turn someone on by the flip of a few pages. Wish wasn't one of them.
If she couldn't have a happy plot why should her books?
And if any constellation, she needed to stop trying to work so hard trying to come up with some cheesy romantic plot. So she would disappoint her readers, so what? They'll still love fantasy and thriller...
Wish sighed as she adjusted her glasses before walking through the sliding glass doors of the villains' market. Technically, it was villains only, but no one seemed to mind her going in there. Plus, she's seen Lou bring Cleo in here a few times, so the place was pretty much public material. Wish had learned a bit about Cleo through Lou; smart, witty, strong, and she was a businesswoman and a model and even a mother of six! And she looked great doing it, Wish had to admit.
Of course, Wish thought any woman with an actual tan looked great doing anything. But the way Wish did anything, she was still considered dark and mysterious as any person would call a Goth.
"Good afternoon, Wish."
Wish turned and smiled as the Count walked beside her. "Hey yourself, Ed." She tried to sound non-flirty as she folded her arms and just gave him a friendly shrug. She still couldn't believe she gave him that 'vampires are sex symbols' comment when they had first met...
"Eh, remember vhen ve discussed about me bringing you to my home vorld?" The Count asked.
"Yeah?"
Then he smiled, his fangs gleaming. "I think this veek vould be a vonderful time to bring you there!"
Wish eyes lit up. "Are you serious? You're not yanking my chain, are you?"
"I am not yanking anything of any kind," the Count responded in confusion. "So vould you like? Ve can head there tomorrow. You meet me at my apartment and then I vill do the rest."
"You're on," Wish chuckled. She turned to look at outrageous prices of some cereal boxes.
And the Count had a good look of her lower back.
"Is that a Batman tattoo?" He asked, unable to stop staring.
"Oh!" Wish exclaimed before she quickly turned around, placing her hands on her back. She hadn't realized her mini coat was a bit folded in the back, thus revealing her personal touch to her skin. "Oh, I uh..."
CRASH!
She had stepped back in embarrassment and walked right into a stack of cans. She looked up at Count and smiled nervously, chuckling like an idiot. The Count lightly chuckled as he shook his head.
"Oh, you saw that?" Wish laughed nervously, blushing. "Yeah, that's just...um, yeah..." She slowly walked backwards, easing toward the exit. "I'll just...yeah, I'll see you later." And she dashed off, not before bumping into a standee and nearly tripping outside.
The Count watched her leave and he smiled.
"For someone who dresses like a bat I admit she's pretty cute."
The Count quickly turned to see Mr. Boss standing beside him, smirking at him.
"Vhat are you talking about?" The Count spat as he folded his arms. "Me and Wish? Oh, you are pulling on my gloves!"
"Then why are you bringing her to you homeworld?" Mr. Boss chuckled. "Since that time you brought Pottymouth there, and that went bad in this world, you've refused to take anyone there anymore." He eyed him carefully. "You said you'd never bring any 'mortal' to that fairytale place ever again...yet why suddenly you want to bring the Goth girl?"
The Count gulped. "B-but...this is Wish! It is completely different!"
"Oh, it's different alright," Mr. Boss laughed as he walked off to continue his shopping. "I can actually see some color in your face."
The Count looked up toward the security camera that worked as a mirror.
His pale face had become red.
_
Wish stuffed a few things into her backpack: clothes, a couple of books, a camera, some make-up, and her wallet. If the people in the Count's world accepted dollars, she would be prepared if there was some nice trinket worth buying. She didn't want to wear anything too Gothic right now, she wasn't sure if her Goth clothing would either blend in or make her look even more different. So she wore her usualy clothing, and she made sure her mini coat covered her back.
She picked up a few lavender candles she bought at the mall a couple of days ago. She wasn't sure why exactly she wanted to bring them along. Maybe because in the Count's world electricity was scarce...or maybe for a nice night of-
Wish shook her head at the thought. Too soon...And the Count wasn't that kind of guy...he probably had fangirls waiting for him...
"Hello?" Called a voice before knocking.
Wish smiled before she purposely dropped the candles into her bag before zipping up. "Door's open."
The door slowly opened and there stood the Count. He seemed almost nervous as he gave her a small smile, playing with his fingers.
"I know I said for you to meet me next door," he apologized, "but I vanted to see how you vere doing."
"I'm fine, really," she told him. Though the scars of the past are forever burned on me...she thought almost angrily. She hooked on her backpack and smiled at him. "All ready."
"Good," he said before he extended his hands toward hers.
Wish looked at it for a few moments before looking at him in confusion.
"Eh..." He chuckled nervously. "It is required that you hold my hand because I'll transport both of us." He gave her a nervous look. "Do you mind?"
Wish gazed down at his hand. Then she slowly shook her head. "No, I don't mind." And ever so slowly, she slipped her hand into his before grasping it lightly.
The feel of his strong hand felt rock hard, yet there was a certain smoothness to it. And he was wearing gloves...she wondered what his skin felt like...
She quickly pushed that thought aside as they both walked out her door and she locked it behind her. He turned to her as they stood in the hallway.
"You ready?"
Wish smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Okay!" He said cheerfully. "Here ve go!"
He lifted his free hand up, and before Wish knew it, a cloud of purple smoke completely engulfed them...
_
"Wish?"
Wish has closed her eyes shut for the past few minutes since being taken in by some freaky cloud. She expected pain to happen when it came to travel, of course, if the movies were true...
"Wish..." Repeated the voice ever so softly. "You can open your eyes."
And she did...and they grew wider.
They stood upon gravel stone in the middle of what was considered to be a market place. But not like the 21st century kind, it was the historical kind. Never had Wish seen such fresh food...
And the people, oh, the people! It was like reading "Inkheart", except better! The people were dressed in what Wish would call fantasy clothing. True, it seemed some people had adopted the clothing people in her world would wear, mini dresses and tank tops and trousers, but it was still a nice, fantastic sight.
She looked down at her clothing in worry before gazing at the Count.
"Eh, don't vorry," he assured her. "If you'd like, we can find you a nice dress. Black if you want."
Wish smiled. "I'd really like that."
Their eyes shifted down to their hands, which were still clasped together after the small trip to the Count's home. Embarrassed, they quickly let go.
"So..." Wish began nervously. "Am I going to see this Frank guy?"
"Oh, yes!" The Count beamed. "Let us go!" And he called for a carriage, an actual one with horses, and they both were on their way to Frank's house.
_
The carriage trip lasted for almost half an hour, but Wish didn't mind. She enjoyed looking out the window toward what appeared to a kingdom unlike anything she read about. Growing up, Wish loved to read about kingdoms and castles and all that fantasy stuff, but this particular kingdom...The books were so overrated.
The hills were gold with fresh yeasts as farmers tended to them for daily bread, children were playing with dogs and other animals, and dragons were flying in the sky-
Dragons?
"Ah, I see you've noticed Era Gone-It's Flying service dragons," the Count smiled as he watched. "Like in your vorld, in this vorld, dragons are our preferred airplanes."
Wish blinked before she looked at him in bewilderment. "You mean...? They won't kill anyone?"
"Vhat? No!" He laughed. "They banned that thousands of years of ago!" He gave her a smile. "Things are not always what you read, Wish."
Wish again looked out the window to see a werewolf and what might have been a woman with wings, a fairy perhaps, making out in a corner of what appeared to be a bakery.
Wish smiled before adjusting her glasses as the kissing couple disappeared as the carriage moved on. "I'm glad for that."
_
"Cousin Ed!" A big bulky man greeted the Count as he and Wish exited the carriage and strolled to a large castle.
"Cousin Frank!" The Count laughed before he and his cousin shared a manly hug.
Wish smiled as she watched the little family reunion. Gazing at the man known as Frank, Wish had to admit that the Count had quite the interesting relatives.
Frank's skin was green and he had screws sticking out of his neck.
But his wife...
"Hello, Edward," she greeted with a smile as she appeared at the gate of their castle, holding something in her arms.
Man, she was gorgeous. Slightly tanned skin and devilish red lips, the only thing that was weird was her hair that was complete stacked up like a popsicle stick.
"Ah, Francine," the Count greeted politely as he stood tall and smiled at her. Wish noticed that his fangs were gleaming even brighter as he stared at his cousin's wife. "So nice to see you again as well ." He turned to Wish. "I'd like for you to meet my good friend, Wish Brenna; she's a novelist."
Frank smiled at Wish. "Wow, cute thing she is. You sure she isn't from the sirens' place?"
Wish smirked nervously as she averted her eyes in embarrassment. Sirens were beautiful women who attracted men to their doom, they were sea monsters under their skin. Wish wasn't sure if she should be flattered or offended...
"Oh, come on in, you guys!" Francine smiled before she led them into their massive home. "I'll have our chefs make some meat pies and tea. Wish, it's so nice to meet you." She gave her a smile, and the thing she held in her eyes began to writhe.
Wish smiled at the bride of Franken...er, Frank. "Thank you, ma'am." She caught a glimpse of the moving object in her hands.
It was a baby girl. Tanned skin, green hands, and hair that was beginning to stack up.
_
"Mmm, I can't believe I didn't try mutton sooner!" Wish said as she spooned another helping into her mouth.
For the last few hours since they arrived, Count's relatives were very nice people, despite major differences. Some of the Count's other relatives arrived at Frank and Francine's castle as well. Some were spanking vampires like the Count.
"It's a very popular dish here, hon," said one of the spanking vampires, the Count's sister. "If you've noticed the sheep around the kingdom..."
"Oh, they're so cute but so delicious!" Wish laughed before gulping down another helping. The others laughed. Wish turned to Francine who was feeding her baby daughter her milk. "Can I hold Franchesca?" Though the baby was nothing like the babies in Wish's world, it was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen.
"Oh, she would love that," Francine smiled before gently placing the child in Wish's arms.
That baby smell...the good one. Franchesca smelled of special flowers and sweet candies. She cooed as she reached a small hand toward Wish's glasses and fondled with them a bit, tickling her nose. Wish laughed as she let her do so.
Francine was the luckiest woman ever to be a mother to such a precious child. Franchesca was indeed the luckiest little girl ever to have Francine as her mother...
Mother...
Wish had to admit she envied Franchesca for having a mother who loved her to no end, refusing to leave her no matter what. Wish's mother was never like that. And, as painful as it was the truth, Wish had to face the fact that maybe her mother never loved her. Maybe never loved her father...
Screw her, Wish thought bitterly as she smiled to herself before she handed back Franchesca to Francine to continue her feeding. That cow can go burn in her own hair extensions. I'm living my dreams, no matter how much she hated my dreams.
"My little brother tells me you write a lot of books," his sister began.
Wish blinked. "Well, yeah. Horror, fantasy..." She didn't bring up romance because then she would be bombarded with suggestions and it really hurt her head to get so many things jammed into one.
"Books here have become a little dull," the snorted. "I'd really like to read some of your books sometime."
"Uh, Bell!" The Count groaned. "Please don't use a spell to bring some character to life again! It was a nightmare trying to capture that lion before trapping him in that wardobe and sending him back just in time to read the chapter with the witch."
"Don't hate because I'm a teacher at Beverly Hillwart's," Bell stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm sure your girlfriend would love to see me teach my class sometime." She smiled at Wish.
Wish nearly choked on the tea she was drinking. "G-girlfriend?"
"Bell!" The Count cried as his eyes widened in embarrassment. "We're just friends."
"That's what some beauty said before she moved in with some beasty boy and got married," Bell giggled.
"Uh, could I have some more oyster cookies, please?" Wish asked nervously, trying to change the subject. And she did love oysters...
_
Night slowly came to the world, and to Wish's surprise, the light source worked like in their world...except it was run by pixies and fireflies.
How did Wish know?
Apparently the Count had dated the head of the light company for sometime before they just went o being friends. Bell showed her picture of the girl the Count had dated. Though she was no bigger than the size of someone's fist, she was gorgeous.
And her skin had color.
Wish sighed as she walked into her huge guestroom. Marble floors, a queen-size bed, and a balcony that showed her the entire kingdom before her, Wish wondered if this was the place Marie-Antoinette slept in before she was be-headed...
Other than historical figures and all that magical stuff, Wish thought back to what Bell said.
Girlfriend? To the Count?
Sure he was quite attractive, and his smile could brighten a room, and his hands were just so strong...But still, it's just...
Wish had enough pain in her life. And while she knew the Count wasn't the kind of guy to break a woman's heart for selfish reasons, she was just too scared to take a risk.
"Wish?"
Wish turned to see her door slowly open and there appeared the Count standing in the doorway.
"I just vanted to see if you are enjoying your room," he said as he averted his eyes. "I didn't mean to valk in on you in your-"
Wish raised an eyebrow before she looked down at her night attire. A black top and short shorts that were very tight at her butt. It was obvious her tattoo would be shown...
"Um Ed?" She began. "This is my night clothing. It's not lingerie...at least, no entirely."
The Count slowly looked at her before laughing nervously.
Poor guy, Wish thought. He must have not taken sex-ed in school...
"Hey, care to chat for a while?" She offered. "I'm not tired."
"Eh, me neither," he chuckled nervously before they went and sat on her bed.
"Hey, thanks again for inviting me over here," Wish told him with a smile. "Your family's great. And your niece is so cute for a franken-baby!"
"She looks just like her mother," the Count chuckled. He eyed Wish carefully. "Are you-?"
"My mom was a blonde," Wish cut in quickly, twitching her nose at the mention of the woman she despised so much. "A dumb one. I, luckily, got my hair from my dad."
"To be honest," he chuckled, "I can't really see you as a blonde and a Goth."
"They're very rare, actually," Wish chuckled. "But still...blonde...I'd rather have my hair shaved off that look like some stupid Barbie doll!"
"Barbies are pretty," the Count stated.
"Yeah, yeah," Wish muttered as she folded her arms. "So are fairies, pixies, and even mutants." She sighed. "I know I'm not pretty but-"
"Vhat?" The Count gasped. "Vho said you are not pretty?"
Wish raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, no one actually. I just assumed-"
"Never assume," the Count told her in a soft but firm voice. "Especially about your looks."
"Oh, what looks?" Wish rolled her eyes. "Do I embody the image of beauty of some goddess or something?" She added sarcastically.
The Count paused for a few moments as he simply gazed at her.
"Yes."
Wish nearly fell off her side of the bed as she heard his answer.
He thought she was pretty? Pale-skinned, dark influenced, paranormal fanatic her?
"I aplogize for that if it surprises you greatly," he said before standing up. He looked her in the eye. "Vhen I first met you, I thought you vere the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And...and vhen you told me of your undeserving past, I...I felt hurt inside. For you..."
Wish just sat there, staring at him like and idiot. The words just flowed out of his mouth and she just listened like a student to her teacher...
"No one deserves pain, Wish," he told her sincerely. "And that is vhy I tried to not show my feelings vhile around you. I was afraid...I vas afraid I vould cause more pain."
Wish barely found her breathing as he spoke with sincerity. He shared the same fears she did...both concerning her. It warmed her heart to see how even more caring he could be for some simple Goth as her.
She gazed at her hands...hands that were used for writing stories, that hadn't been held to for a while. Remembering how she had held the Count's hand, a feeling washed over her as she looked toward the Count once more...
He slowly turned from the bed and walked toward the door. He sighed before he turned to her with a saddened expression.
"You are a vonderful girl, Wish," he told her. "As your name implies I wish you the very best."
As romantic statements come and go, that was by far the best. And he used her name.
Yes, she was still scared, but looking at the Count...whom poured his heart out to her and was ready to take rejection for the sake of leaving her unharmed. That was romantic...
That was love.
The Count turned to the doorway and reached over to turn the knob.
"Count Edward Spankulot," Wish called out.
The Count turned to her, wondering why she had used his full name. He watched as she strolled over to him. He was startled when she placed her hands on his shoulders. And then...
She kissed him.
His eyes widened as soon as her lips touched his. He had never been kissed before, and the feeling felt like something he never felt before.
It felt wonderful.
Wish slowly broke the kiss as she looked deeply into his eyes, her arms now wrapped around his neck.
"You're a romantic borne, you know that?" She laughed, despite the wonderful feeling she just had as she had kissed him.
"I-I am romantic?" He asked. He gazed into Wish's eyes, filled with both love and concern. "Wish, you might get yourself in danger and-"
"What danger?" She cut in softly as she pulled him closer to her. "I'm not afraid." She averted. "I admit, I will forever be pissed for what my ex did to me as well as what my bitch of a mom had done to me. But..." She smiled at him. "I'm starting fresh. This very night." She nuzzled her nose against his chin, something she had been wanting to do for a long time since they met. "As my name implies, that's what I wish for."
The Count felt himself shiver from her touches as well as they way she caressed his back and arms. He never felt anything like this before...
Placing a gloved finger under her chin, the Count gazed into her eyes before ever so slowly, he brought his lips upon hers, bringing to a slow, passionate kiss. Wish moaned softly as her eyes fluttered close, enjoying the moment. It became even better as he placed a hand on her hip, being careful he wasn't touching something personal.
Slowly breaking the kiss, Wish lightly trailed her lips along the side of his jaw, and he gasped softly. He was a bit surprised when she took one of his hands and placed it on her lower back. Right where her tattoo was.
"Wish..." He sighed.
She smiled as she nuzzled his neck. "Mmm...sleep with me?"
"Do you wish for that?" He asked carefully.
She smirked before taking his hand and dragging him to the bed. "I'm wishing on something else as well..."
"Vhat else could it be?" He asked in confusion.
Wish just smirked before she lowered them both unto the bed. "You'll see, my sexy vampire..."
The Count blushed at that remark, but he allowed himself to hold her close as she kissed his cheek, the warmness of her lips washing away any fear or confusion he had.
That special night finally gave Wish the ideas she needed to make the perfect romance novel.
_
If you can spot movie and/or book references then you rock! ;)
