**Five years later**

I sighed as I folded the last T-Shirt in the dresser. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the old, weathered mirror. I had grown a lot since I first came to live here. It was in a way I couldn't describe. Maybe it was just my boobs. I don't know, but it almost pained me to leave this place. I looked away and packed my T-Shirt.

"Mommy?" A tiny voice called. I turned around to see Desdemona, my little 4 year old girl. She had black hair, just like her father, but she looked exactly like me when I was young. I smiled and waved my hand over. She scuttled over quickly, then climbed onto the bed. It took all that I had not to laugh.

"Mommy, where did mister Igor go?" Dess asked. I smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Mister Igor decided to move." I replied. "He...he found someone else he wanted to live with." I didn't tell her that Igor couldn't stand Vlad anymore, and decided to be a caretaker for one of the werewolf clans. Dess didn't need to know that her father was a vampire. Sure, she knew about werewolves and fish people, frankenstein and zombies, but something had always refrained me from telling her. A few weeks ago, she even met Kurotsuki. Only I could see her hideous appearance. Dess, however, admired at her black eyes.

"All packed?" A voice asked. We both turned around to see Vlad. Dess smiled and jumped off the bed, running to her father.

"Daddy, you're home!" Dess exclaimed. Vlad chucked, picking her up off the ground. I smiled and looked at the two. The incident hadn't killed him. Although we were really afraid for a long, long time. He was asleep for at least 6 months before he finally woke up. But, whether it was good or not, the phoenix tears hadn't completely healed him. The Carpathians' poison had still ate away at Vlad's immortality, along with his supernaturalness. Vlad no longer had his blue skin, or sharp teeth. Although he still enjoyed wearing his old clothing, he couldn't turn into a bat, or hypnotize people.

Vlad had done something no supernatural has done before. He had become a human.

"Dess, vhy don't you go play with Uncle Chester for a little bit?" Vlad commented, looking at his darling daughter. Dess smiled, jumping up and down.

"Then can we eat cake and have a tea party, Daddy?" Dess exclaimed excitedly. Vlad laughed, kissing her on the forehead.

"Of course we can, dear." Vlad replied. He slowly set Dess down, and the two of us watched her shuffle away. Vlad closed the door behind him.

"So, are we all set?" I asked. Vlad came over to me and sat on the bed.

"Yep. Our new home is ready to be moved into, and I have King Tut and Frankenstein villing to vork the first shift Monday." Vlad replied. I smiled. Since Vlad had become human and Dess had been born, we decided we really didn't need this entire castle to live in. So, we both decided to make a museum out of the castle. Vlad would be the manager of it, of course. He knew the castle inside and out, the history behind it and what significance it held. Although our new home held nothing in comparison to it, at least it was still old and gothic like the castle, instead of a typical suburb.

Vlad rubbed at a sunburn on his hand. I laughed and pulled his hand away from it.

"Vlad, you have to let the burn heal." I remarked. Vlad groaned as he collapsed onto the bed.

"But Minaaaaa, I've been nocturnal for 700 years. Even though I'm not a vampire, I still seem to burst into flame vhen I step outside!" Vlad complained. I laughed again and stood up, closing the dresser drawer.

"C'mon, no crocodile tears." I replied. "I think her whinyness comes from you." Vlad raised an eyebrow, then sat up.

"Oh really?" He said. "Last night, I'd say you were pretty whiney-"

"Hey hey hey!" I exclaimed. "We agreed. What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom." We glared at each other for a minute, then laughed. Vlad stood up and hugged me, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck.

"I love you, Mina." Vlad murmured. I smiled and hugged him back.

"I love you too, Vlad." I murmured back.

-
"Are you ready to go to your new home?" Chester asked Dess as me and Vlad walked out of the castle. Dess pouted, hugging onto my old dolly (the one Vlad fixed for me).
"I don't wanna go." Dess whined, hiding her mouth behind the dolly. I chuckled as I took her from Chester.
"C'mon, it'll be fun." I cooed. "Besides, if you're a really good girl, Daddy might take you to the castle with him sometimes." This seemed to cheer Dess up, because she smiled widely, then waved at the castle.
"Bye bye, house!" She exclaimed. "I'll come play soon, ok?" Vlad laughed and he leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"She's so much like you vhen you vere young." Vlad whispered. I looked at him.
"Well...as long as you don't start becoming her imaginary friend, I'll think we'll be ok." I replied. We both laughed together. Chester looked at Dess and smiled. He had grown since 5 years ago. He was skinnier, healthier, with a fine stubble across its face. It suited him. He looked up at me. I smiled. Our conflict had been resolved. I had forgiven him for trying to kill Vlad since it was really all Eric's fault, and he had accepted that I didn't love him. It was difficult for him to manage for a while, but after he found his new girlfriend, Camilla, he was quick to change his mind about me, and vampires.
I looked up at Vlad. "Ready to go?" Vlad nodded.
"Yes." he replied. He kissed me, then we both headed out to our new home.

Dess woke up to the sound of moaning. She was half expecting that Mommy and Daddy were just playing their mommy-daddy game, but it was different. It was more pained, agonized. She slipped out of bed, slowly opening the door. Her new house was still foreign to her, but she was clever enough. She followed the sound of the moan, walking down the hall. She pressed her ear against mommy's door just to make sure it wasn't them. She walked down the halls, down to her toy room.
There were lots of toys, scattered here and there. She held onto her dolly, looking around. Most of her toys were dolls, but she had a table and a tea set that mommy had gave her for her birthday there, too. Slowly, the moan grew louder, and from the floors seem to emerge a pale blue man.
He was in very odd clothing. He didn't have clothes like daddy, but almost the kind of clothing she saw in her favorite movie, 'Alice in Wonderland'. He had large bags under his eyes, and chains around his wrists. The man looked down at the child, lifelessly.
"Who...are you..." The man moaned. "Get...out..." Dess tilted her head.
"Why?" Dess asked. "And why are you moaning? You sound like Daddy." The man's face turned confused, then it suddenly turned red as though he had realized something he wish he hadn't.
"This house is cursed..." The man moaned. Dess still just stared at the man.
"You look like the Mad Hatter in my storybook." Dess replied, absent mindedly. The man frowned.
"I was a hatter, when I was alive..." The man trailed off at the end of his sentence. Dess blinked and smiled.
"You're gonna be my best friend from today on," Dess declared. "Ok?"