Season 1 Episode 10: Answers: Part 2
"This isn't possible…I have a pulse...a bloody pulse." Bloom gasped out, her voice barley even a whisper, her eyes wide with shock as she pressed her fingers to her neck, feeling the steady beat of her now living heart, she could feel her blood pumping through her veins, her lungs filling with air before releasing it. She was alive.
"You have a what?" Vlad asked in a confused tone, his eyebrows coming together as he processed what Bloom had just said.
"Go protect Elizabeth...I've got to go check something out." Bloom muttered, before turning and taking off in the opposite direction. She knew where she needed to go to find the answers she sought. If she had a pulse, could breath and was truly alive then she was no longer a vampire and if that was the case then her reflection would have returned. She had to get to the Blood Mirror.
...
She found the mirror with ease, with the Count occupied with trying to feast on Elizabeth's blood while Vlad and Chloe tried to protect her and since Robin was sleeping, blissfully unaware of the danger his mother was in, there was no one who could stop her in finding the ancient relic.
Bloom approached the Blood Mirror cautiously, if she was right and her reflection had returned then the power of the mirror would be triggered by her vampiric blood and would grant it life once again. She had defeated her reflection once before, but if she could do it again was anyone's guess but if she couldn't then her reflection would consume her completely. She tore away the cloth that hid it from view, she gazed upon it, she saw her reflection glaring back at her. Her reflection casually shifted from side to side, contained by the mirror.
Bloom remained vigilant, watching her reflection for the slightest hint of it breaking out of the mirror. Then pain. Pain thundered throughout her system, she gripped her gut before falling to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought to control the pain. Her eyes shot open and returned to her reflection, it seemed she too wasn't unaffected by the pain, while she had remained stood and wasn't gripping her gut she was panting, sweat glistening on her forehead.
"What's happening to me?" Bloom gasped out.
"Your body is forcing you to transform as your current body will only last a few hours before it dies again...the vampire blood that courses through your veins is killing you, a human cannot live with vampire blood in their system." Replied her reflection, her knees seemed to go out too, she fell forward and rested her hand on the glass of the mirror, catching herself.
"But why is this happening?" Bloom gasped out as she continued to fight to control the pain.
"You saw what I saw, we were born twice first time a human the second time a vampire, so when the garlic dust knocked you out...that stuff is usually lethal to vampires and would have been if it had been a larger dose...something triggered inside your body, a survival instinct, it forced your vampire side to subside...forced us to separate while keeping us connected. Perhaps with practise that body will be able to sustain itself but at the moment it's dying and even separated I'm still linked to you, I can feel it, we're dying. But there's more,
"you sense that power within us, as I do, we both know it is powerful, but that power belongs to your human body so it weakens slightly when the vampire side uses it, now listen and listen carefully you must embrace the human side and when the vampire side awakens you must embrace it, create harmony between the two and your power will be most effective in either state and you will to do more stuff without having to transform." the reflection explained.
"How do you know all this and why are you telling me" Bloom questioned, confused by the fact the reflection normally represents the darkness within you that wants to kill you, take control of your body not help you.
"Like I said because you already merged with me, if you die, I die and as long as you're human I can't cross the barrier into your world. You have to become a vampire again to survive and I will live within you once again and if you become stronger I become stronger and I know this simply because, when I was first knocked out and brought back into a mirror until I truly awaken I was able to find that voice again and she told me this, now before you go remember this when ever you have a reflection what your looking at is yourself exactly except with a few differences, if your human and look at the reflection you see a vampire and vice versa." the reflection explained, her fangs overlapping her lower lip.
"Vampires don't have reflections." Bloom snapped, the pain causing her to become more irritable.
"No but fairies do." with that the reflection faded before Bloom could ask more, she then headed to bed she couldn't risk anyone finding out about her new pulse and she couldn't protect Elizabeth without her powers especially considering what would happen if her pulse was discovered.
The Next Day…
Bloom awoke, her hand shot up and pressed against her neck, checking for a pulse but found none, she smiled and pushed open her coffin door. Only to be met with the sight of Vlad sitting upon his bed staring at her.
"Okay, come clean what was that stuff about a pulse last night?" Vlad questioned, a stern expression upon his face. Bloom was trapped she had to say something, if she didn't Vlad would never stop questioning her and that would only draw more attention to her and that was the last thing she desired. She had to say something but she couldn't without revealing her fairy self, and if she doesn't come clean Vlad will eventually find out.
Bloom let a small sigh, deciding that she might as well get it over with and explained everything, everything about the secret room, her sudden transformation, her focusing her powers and the confusing talk with her reflection. Vlad was sceptical at first but when Bloom showed him a demonstration of her ability to transform he quickly changed his tune when she stood before him in her fairy form.
"I don't understand it either but this has to stay a secret and I cannot stress that enough, I just hope the answers to all my questions will be revealed in time." Bloom said before reverting back to her original form and flashing down stairs to keep an eye on the Count while everyone was coming down for breakfast, for some reason he had a bit of toothache. Though Bloom chalked that up to one of Vlad's methods in keeping Elizabeth safe and resolved to question him on it later.
…
Bloom entered the 'living' area of the castle to find the others, excluding the adults seated, she claimed a seat beside Vlad and opposite Chloe.
"I just thought of something if we can't stop this marriage you two would be step sisters" Robin laughed as he looked from Chloe to Ingrid, they bother stiffened at the very idea of it, Bloom couldn't help but sigh as she recalled how her father had decided that rather than Elizabeth being a meal that she be his wife, after she cooked a few meals and massaged his temples to help with the pain of his tooth ache. She really couldn't believe the Count at times.
"Urgh I'd rather be undead" Chloe said, her expression one of disgust, earning herself a glare from Ingrid.
"Ingrid stop glaring at Chloe, the marriage is never going to happen, not if I have anything to say about it." Bloom growled.
"It says here you mum must drink dad's blood and then she'll become his slave forever" Vlad stated as he indicated to a large paragraph in the ancient tome in his lap.
"That books a little out of date Vlad...or a bit too vague, the simple drinking of vampire blood isn't enough to make her his slave, it's if she dies with her blood still in her system that she becomes a slave, you see if a human dies with vampire blood in their system they will then later rise again as a Ghoul, eternally bound to the one who gave her the blood, whether she likes it or not, unable to refuse a command or ever raise a hand against her master, even if she wants to, in some cases when a human becomes a Ghoul they lose all sense of self and become nothing but a blood thirty cannibalistic monster that will cater to every whim and desire of her master." Bloom explained, the others all gawked at her.
"What? I research Dark Creatures extensively." Bloom said with a light shrug of her shoulders.
"Well I guess it's a good thing then that we don't have to worry about that, she isn't likely to drink his blood anytime soon now is she." Chloe spoke up.
"He'll have a plan, he may act it at times but he isn't stupid." Bloom stated.
It was at this point that Elizabeth entered the room, wearing some of Magda's old clothes that she'd left behind after one of her 'visits', her hair done up in a bun. There was an unsettling resemblance between her and Magda. The stink of the vampires in question, their mother was still imprinted on these clothes. The scent of the vampire quickly filled the room. Bloom picked up on it with ease, her fangs extending as the stench wafted into her nose, her instincts screaming at her to tear Elizabeth's throat out as she remembered Magda.
"Hello loves, what do ya think?" She asked as she gave them a small twirl "The Counts invited me for Transylvanian cocktails." She explained.
"Well...the dress is nice." Robin muttered, it was a dark purple, tight fitting dress, while it wasn't as tight on her as it was Magda it did look admittedly good on her.
"But you can't go." Chloe protested, rising from her chair in frustration.
"And why not?" Elizabeth questioned her daughter as she gave her a stern look.
"...Because...because...he's a vampire." Chloe stammered desperately, not knowing what to say, Bloom's gaze narrowed on the diminutive blonde, everyone else turned to see Elizabeth's reaction, her smile hadn't even left her face.
"Oh you children have just the craziest imaginations." Elizabeth laughed, smoothing out her dress before deciding to move on to where she and the Count were meeting.
The second the door closed behind her Bloom was out of her seat and in front of Chloe, her hand curled around her tiny neck, slamming her back into her chair and against the back of it, her eyes burning scarlet, her fangs fully extended. Chloe froze, her breath caught in her throat, unable to look away from the vampire's eyes, her eyes wide with fear.
"How many times do I have to say that what we are is a bloody secret!" Bloom hissed, Chloe didn't or rather couldn't respond "Now, listen and listen carefully, if I find out you so much as try to reveal what we are again, you're going on the menu." She snarled, before releasing Chloe's neck as the younger girl nodded rather quickly in response to Bloom's threat. Bloom gave her a small smirk before stepping away from her.
"Now don't concern yourself with dad, I've got an idea on how to ensure Elizabeth doesn't join the ranks of the undead." Bloom explained, her body dissolved into smoke and flew from the room.
"So do I." Vlad said as stood from his chair and left the room.
…
Vlad and robin had crept into the study where the Count and Elizabeth would be heading to have their 'Transylvanian cocktails' planning to jump out and scare Elizabeth so that she'd drop her drink, it wasn't the best of plans but sometimes the simplest of plans were the best. Unseen by the duo a bat hung from the ceiling. The Count and Mrs Branagh soon entered the study the Count quickly poured two 'cocktails', he handed one to Elizabeth, a small smirk playing his lips.
Elizabeth gave him a small smile as she accepted the beverage, she admired the scarlet liquid as she thanked the Count for his hospitality for allowing them to stay with him while Renfeild dealt with the cockroach infestation, she reaised the rim of the glass to her lips, they touched the rim, parting to allow the liquid to flow into her mouth, the liquid began to move to her mouth, the two preteens moved to jump out.
The duo froze as the all too familiar shrieking of a bat echoed throughout the room, it flew from the corner in which it had hid and began to fly around Elizabeth's head and as expected shrieks emitted from her, her hands shooting up and waving round frantically to swat the bat, she dropped the 'cocktail' half of its contents falling over her front and threst landing in a puddle on the floor.
Elizabeth ran from the room screaming, the Count snarled at the bat, it shifted into the form of Bloom, she dropped to the floor, landing in a crouched position, her gaze locked with her father's, her irises burning with a scarlet glow, her fangs fully extended, her claws digging into the floor.
"How dare you..." The Count began.
"Oh shut it dad." Bloom snarled "As if I'd just standby and let you turn Elizabeth into a Ghoul, we need to keep a low profile and you turning her into a Ghoul would blow our cover, attract attention with her disappearance and then more attention when she starts to feed, Ghouls can't be fed by a simple badger stew or a few cockroaches, they need raw and bloody flesh, their hunger is insatiable and it wouldn't be long before she starts tearing apart the locals." She snarled.
The Count fell quiet, he snarled at her once more before taking his leave.
That was the final chance the Count had as Renfeild returned to the castle once again having caught all the cockroaches, twice, after the Count had him release them again so that Elizabeth would spend the night again and Graham had arrived to take his wife and children home when he learned where they were, having been away on a job.
A/N Changed the ending and a couple scenes as well as fixing the grammar, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, not sure when the next chapter will be redone or when the newest chapter will be added.