Dating with Dracula

A couple hours later, after Elona freshened up she headed for the hotel lounge to meet Dracula for a nice drink and have some nice quiet time together. Despite the awkwardness after that last intense kiss, neither of them wanted it to ruin the possibility of their real first date, so Elona thought this might just be a good test run before the first official date.

She dressed in a casual but nice for a 'kinda date' and time with Dracula clothes of a modest soft denim jean skirt to show off just enough of her legs, with a rather tight blue V-neck short sleeved blouse cut low enough to show a modest amount of cleavage, with smooth fancy ridges going diagonally over her left side and comfortable black flats, and her hair was done simply in a refreshed ponytail and she wore a bit of just touched on make-up.

She sat lady like at the bar to wait for Dracula, and snacked a bit on what looked like nuts, and if they weren't she didn't want to know what they really were. She then saw it was Karaoke Night in the lounge again as she saw this time there were kids singing as it was a family edition. On stage were adorable little Dennis and a werewolf girl singing You Got a Friend In Me from the classic movie Toy Story and they sounded just precious together.

"…You got a friend in meee," they concluded the song together, and the modest audience clapped to for them, especially their parents whom Elona saw nearby, Johnny and Mavis, and Wanda and Wayne.

The next one onto the stage for a karaoke song was a bright green slime monster Elona had infrequently seen around the hotel, and mostly avoided because he made her uncomfortable for some reason, which just made her more uncomfortable because she knew the monsters at the hotel meant her no harm. The green slime monster began its song, the tune Elona recognized as the classic song I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, but his 'singing' just came out as incomprehensible gurgling like someone was trying to talk with water or through a mouth full of jell-o.

Elona and plenty of others in the lounge couldn't help but laugh a bit at the poor slime monster's singing, but everyone just took it in good natured stride and politely applauded the monster when he was done.

Next up was a nervous looking yeti kid, who shook from either nerves or excitement as she began singing with some nervous choking breaks in her voice to the popular song Let It Go from the now classic movie Disney's Frozen.

Elona held back a bit of a laugh as she watched the nervous but adorable little yeti girl sing to then be noticed by Wanda, Wayne, Mavis, and Johnny as they invited her over to join them.

To not seem rude she joined them at their table as they greeted her, "Hey, Elona, how have you been? Here for another Karaoke Night? You look really nice, are you meeting anyone special tonight?"

She smiled with a bit of nervousness herself now as she simply said, "I'm doing better than I have in a long time, and I'm meeting Drac here. He had to finish some work, but he should be here in a few minutes."

"So you and Drac finally started dating?" Johnny asked with a bit smile as he gave a thumbs up, "Awesome sauce."

"That is wonderful," Mavis said with a smile, "It's way passed time if you asked me."

"So, you're okay with it, Mavis?" Elona asked with a bit of uncertainty, knowing how kids felt about single parents dating, as one of her friends was an only child with divorced parents.

"Sure, Elona," Mavis said happily with reassurance to her, "As much as I know he loved my mom, I think he deserves the same happiness he finally let me have with Johnny. I'd only be worried if I thought you were someone who wanted to hurt him like humans from a long time ago, but now that humans love monsters I know you and Johnny are nothing like that."

Elona wasn't really sure how to take that, but she was just glad she was okay with Mavis in her book, so she just smiled politely and said,

"Thank you, Mavis. I know we don't hang out much, but I would like to get to know you and Johnny better, maybe even your son if that's okay."

"Hey, we'd love to hang out with you," Johnny said happily, "In fact, you, me, Mavy, and Drac should do a double date thing, it'll be so cool."

"Well, not yet," Elona laughed a bit nervously again, "Right now we're meeting for drinks, and our first 'official' date, at least to him is supposed to be right after he's done with paper work and stuff, so I don't know when that'll be other than soon. But we'll think about it, okay, Johnny?"

"Great, we look forward to it," Johnny said with his goofy smile and gave another thumbs up as Mavis smiled wide at the idea.

Wanda then suggested, "While you're waiting, why don't you sing another song? I actually enjoyed the last one we and the girls did with you a while back, and Wayne and I already did a duet together."

"I actually thought about doing another song with Drac when he gets here," Elona said, "But that might be a good idea."

"I'll sign you up, Elona," Johnny said, "But first, I'm up next now."

Johnny got up on stage, and did his own rendition of the 1990s rap classic Ice, Ice, Baby by Vanilla Ice, sounding pretty good with the rapping but looking really goofy and ridiculous as he did a Running Man dance with his usually baggy clothes flopping all over the place.

Elona and the others couldn't help laughing and enjoying themselves.

After another human man sang his karaoke song, rather badly of course, Elona went up on stage and selected a song she had wanted to do for a while now.

Fight Song by Rachel Platten:

Like a small boat, on the ocean/

Sending big waves into motion/

Like how a single word/

Can make a heart open/

I might only have one match/

But I can make an explosion/

And all those things I didn't say/

Wrecking balls inside my brain/

I will scream them loud tonight/

Can you hear my voice this time?/

(Chorus)

This is my fight song/

Take back my life song/

Prove I'm all right song/

My powers turned on/

Starting right now, I'll be strong/

I'll play my fight song/

And I don't really care if nobody else believes/

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me/

Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep/

Everybody's worried about me, in too deep/

Say I'm in too deep/

And it's been two years, I miss my home/

There's a fire burning in my bones/

And I still believe, yes I still believe/

And all those things I didn't say/

Wrecking balls inside my brain/

I will scream them loud tonight/

Can you hear my voice this time?/

(Chorus)

This is my fight song/

Take back my life song/

Prove I'm all right song/

My powers turned on/

Starting right now, I'll be strong/

I'll play my fight song/

And I don't really care if nobody else believes/

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me/

A lot fight left in me/

Like a small boat, on the ocean/

Sending big waves into motion/

Like how a single word/

Can make a heart open/

I might only have one match/

But I can make an explosion/

(Final Chorus)

This is my fight song/

Take back my life song/

Prove I'm all right song/

My powers turned on/

Starting right now, I'll be strong/

I'll play my fight song/

And I don't really care if nobody else believes/

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me/

Now I've still got a lot of fight left in me.

As Elona sang her song, she put so much heart and passion into it through her voice it just carried and reverberated throughout the lounge making nearly all activity within come to a near standstill as a deep silence fell for all to listen to her, for her voice was like a nightingale mixed with the strength of a Valkyrie rising up from a terrible defeat on the battlefield and getting ready to prove her strength and prowess once again; a call to all to join with her in the self empowering song of life and show that they too can make a difference.

As the song ended, the entire lounge remained silent for only a half longer before the entire entranced audience of both monsters and humans finally broke out in a thunderous applause with loud cheering and whistles for an encore.

Elona just smiled wide, making her face more beautiful in the eyes of someone she had come to care about deeply as he cheered for her, and she just basked in this moment in the spot light as she gave a few bows to the applause, the song seeming like a boost of renewed strength for her as a catharsis to finally let go of some of her burdens weighting heavily upon her soul for so long.

She finally saw who she was waiting for, and the small crowd spread away from Dracula as he held out a hand to her and helped her off the stage smiling at her.

"That was inspiring," he complemented to her with deep sincerity as he truly did feel inspired by the song and its simple yet empowering message.

"Thank you," Elona said through her growing smile and blushed a deep rosie pink.

He escorted her with her arm in his to a private both, everyone giving them a wide berth and tried not to meet his gaze.

Some silent and tense memory of what happened the last time the Count was in the lounge lingered, and the gargoyle bar tender had made it clear to the suit of armor guards to watch for any guest that got too tipsy or tried to make rude and inappropriate calls to the Count's daughter in the lounge, they were to be removed immediately as well as to leave their manager well enough alone unless spoken to.

The bar tender eyed Dracula a bit wearily as he cleaned some glasses, as well as looked around the lounge quickly to make sure everyone was behaving themselves, and so far all was well as no one was even looking at him and his lovely human companion and was being left well enough alone.

In their quiet corner, Dracula ordered him and Elona two non-alcoholic drinks, one with one of his blood substitutes for him and a fruit drink for Elona. She gave him a small look of annoyance as she said,

"Still determining what I can and can't eat or drink, Drac? I can drink a safe amount of alcohol, despite my condition, I've done it before."

He just looked back at her with some sternness as he said, "I just don't want you to over indulged right now, besides we don't really know what effects my lounge's usual drinks would have on you, some of them are pretty strong and I've heard of humans dropping after the first swig." He gave a small smile as he continued with a softer tone,

"But I don't want to to argue right now, we're here to have a nice time and just enjoy ourselves. I haven' t seen you for a while."

She gave a small smile too as she saw him place a hand over one of her hers and he slowly leaned towards her and be close to filling her entire line of sight, then she asked a bit coyly,

"So is this finally our first date?"

"Not quite," he whispered with a smile back to her, "But it will be soon, as I have something special planned for a real romantic night out."

She gave a small laugh, really looking forward to it. But it faded as she became a bit more series as she said,

"Look, about what almost happened earlier…"

Dracula just gave a bit of a confused look at first, but just smiled as he teased a bit, "The kiss? It was amazing…"

"Yes, it was," Elona said with some reserved doubt, "but I mean with the way you were touching me…"

Dracula lost his smile as though a look of hurt slowly came over him.

"I just want to make something clear for both of us," she slowly said with some sadness, "As much as I like you, Drac, there are some things I can never do again."

"Elona," he breathed low, but she flinched away from him as he reached out to her face.

"Please," she pleaded to him, "I just can't, not like that again. I want things to work with us, but not like that. There're some lines I can't ever cross again."

Dracula looked at him with some hurt disappointment, yet it wasn't too surprising to him. Despite beginning to finally come out of her shell, the pain still linger with her as he could see it in her eyes. But he was patient, and more importantly a gentleman of noble birth and a proud ancient bloodline.

As a Vampire he waited a long while with Martha before they were married, and if he must he can wait for her, even for a thousand years.

He promised her they will take it slow, and as a Dracula he kept his word.

He gingerly held her chin between his long cool fingers, gave her a small yet loving smile as he said low and patiently to her,

"Of course. I understand completely, and I will court you for the rest of my immortal life if I have to."

She smiled appreciatively to him as he gave her a peck on the lips, then said,

"Now let's just enjoy ourselves before it's our turn to sing again."

This surprised Elona a bit as she said, "I was going to ask you about that."

Dracula just smiled at her as their drinks finally arrived.

For a short while they talked small talk or about little trivial things, often clinking their glasses of drinks and enjoying some monster style snacks.

Finally their turn for a duet karaoke came, and Dracula allowed her to pick a song they could sing together, and lucky for her he knew the song she picked well enough.

Dracula's family gave big smiles as they saw him and Elona get on stage again, Johnny got out his smart phone to record the duet together. Considering how amazing they were together in karaoke last time, he wanted to share this with friends and family back in California and across the world.

Just Give Me a Reason by Pink, featuring Nate Ruess

Elona:

Right from the start/

You were a thief, you stole my heart/

And I your willing victim/

I let you see the parts of me/

That weren't all that pretty/

And with every touch you fixed them/

Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh/

Things you never say to me, oh, oh/

Tell me that you've had a enough/

Of our love, our love, our love/

(Chorus)

Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough/

Just a second, we're not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again/

It's in the stars/

It's been written in the scars of our hearts/

We're not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again/

Dracula:

I'm sorry, I don't understand/

Where all of this is coming from/

I thought that we were fine (Elona: Oh, we had everything)/

Your head is running wild again/

My dear, we still have everything/

And it's all in your mind, (Elona: Yeah, but this is happening!)/

You've been having real bad dreams/

You used to lie so close to me, oh, oh/

There's nothing more than empty sheets/

Between our love, our love, oh our love, our love/

(Both to the Chorus)

Just give me a reason, just little bit's enough/

Just a second we're not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again/

I never stopped, you're still written in the scars on my heart/

You're not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again.

D: Oh tear ducts and rust/

E: I'll fix it for us/

D: We're collecting dust/

E: But our love's enough/

D: You're holding it in/

E: You're pouring a drink/

D: No nothing's as bad as it seems/

E: We'll come clean.

(Both to the Chorus)

Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough/

We're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again/

It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts/

That we're not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again. (Repeat chorus 2X)

Oh, we can learn to love again/ (Repeat 2X)

Not broken, just bent/

And we can learn to love again.

As the song neared it end, Dracula and Elona smiled widely as they put their arms around each other, Dracula's on Elona's waist and her arm up to his shoulders as they gently swayed like a light willow tree together in a soft breeze to the last of the music and looked deeply into each other's eyes.

The entire lounge just burst into applause, completely enthralled with the magic between the two, while Mavis just shed a little tear of happiness for her father and the new human woman he was falling in love with.

Finally, Dracula and Elona gently embraced more and kissed deeply and passionately, making the lounge guests applause and cheer louder for them.

Johnny finally stopped his recording and took a minute or two to upload the new video to all of his social media accounts, all while he had a big goofy grin up on his face while showing Dennis what he was doing for Papa Drac and Elona.

In a dark corner of the lounge, once more a pair of repulsed eyes watched them and just cringed inwardly at what she saw.

Esmeralda finally took her leave before Dracula's and Elona's singing was done and sneaked her way to the Count's office.

For now it was dark and quiet like a tomb, but Esmeralda used this to her advantage as it was unoccupied at the moment and she just needed to make a quiet and stealthy grab of what she needed while it's owner was pathetically distracted.

She squeezed her way through narrow and tight holes in the walls and under the crack of the door, making her way to Dracula's thick wooden desk.

Sniffing around, the little gray rat skittered through the office and quickly climbed up the desk, sniffing at locked drawers. She finally found the one with what she was looking for, but as it was locked she knew she couldn't force it open.

She struggled a bit as she squeezed her way through the tiny keyhole, giving straining squeaked grunts as she wiggled through and finally got into the drawer.

Picking the lock from the inside, Esmeralda finally got it loosened as she then struggled to push the drawer open to get out and make her way out of the office with her prize; Quasimodo's confiscated smart phone.

"I had a nice time," Elona said with a smile as she had to say good night, or rather good day to Dracula after he finally escorted her back to her suite.

"So did I," he said, finally getting the courage to give her another quick if passionate kiss on the lips, "I'll see you soon."

He finally gentlemanly opened the door for her and she said good-bye with deep blissful sigh.

The shrunken head on her door knob smiled wide at what he had overheard and said to himself,

"Mm-mm, those two are smokin' for each other."

Inside her room, Elona felt as though she were blissfully floating on air as she just wandered through her living room and sat down on the couch with a deep happy and blissful sigh.

If this wasn't really a first official date, she didn't know how it could be topped.

She just sat alone for a few minutes before deciding to get some rest when there came a rather loud knock at the door.

Wondering who it was at this hour and unsure if she should be mad or irritated, she opened the door to be pleasantly surprised to see Isadora.

"Hi, Isadora," Elona greeted with a polite and friendly smile.

"Hello, Miss Elona," she said with a curtsy, "His eminence wanted this delivered to you as soon as it was ready."

Elona saw the housekeeping witch presenting her with a wrapped package that seemed to be from a high fashion boutique. She took it from Isadora and hesitated for a moment as she said contritely,

"I'm sorry, Isadora, I don't have much for a tip right now."

"Quite alright, Miss Elona," Isadora said with another polite curtsy, then hopped onto her flying broom and said modestly, "Happy to do it. If you need anything else, I'm at your service."

She was then gone in a green mist fill blink of an eye as she flew down the hallway in a whoosh.

Elona closed her door as she looked curiously at her package and set to opening it, and as she unwrapped the tissue paper inside, she just gasped and smiled wide at the dress she saw.

She then read the card it came with and read:

-Elona,

I had this made just for you for our first date. I hope you like it.

Yours,

Dracula.

Elona's spirits just soured higher in this moment.

****Chicago, two days later

In her home office, Liz was taking a break from her work to try and relax her tired brain with entertaining junk on the internet, or look through her social media accounts to see what any of her friends or family had been up to.

She browsed through some of her favorite websites until something weird caught her eye, a simple recording someone had posted of two people singing karaoke together called 'Draculona Duet' which had oddly gone viral and was still getting more views.

Liz at first thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the woman in the thumbnail of the video looked just like her sister, yet somehow different as she stood next to and had her arms around a man in an old fashion looking tuxedo and a cape. Out of simple curiosity she clicked the video to play and watched.

She found herself enjoying it, but was completely stunned and slack jawed as she realized it really was Elona singing with some rather handsome guy with a mysterious and fun charm to him somehow, and Liz found herself smiling at how happy her sister looked next to him and that same happiness radiated from him as well.

Yet after she watched the video once through, she also became worried for Elona and was unsure of something. Being a bit of an over protective sister for so many years, especially when it came to matters of the heart for Elona, Liz just had to be sure of something. So she called her husband, kids, and Sean to come watch the video again with her.

"Whoa, who's that guy she's singing with?" Sean asked as bit awe struck with something more than curiosity, "He's really good looking."

"Yes, he is, Sean, now settle down," Liz told him as they all watched the video again.

A few minutes later, the grown-ups gave some smiles as well as puzzled looks to each other while DJ and Ally smiled for their aunt.

"Mommy, is that Auntie Ellie's new boyfriend?" Ally asked with a happy innocence, "He looks nice."

"Yeah," DJ said with a growing smile, "He's got an awesome cape. I'll bet he's a superhero."

"I don't know, sweetie," Liz said, "Maybe, or it's just some guy she's singing with and they're friends. And no, Danny, superheroes are just fun pretend from comic books, people wear capes in real life for different reasons."

Daniel gave his wife a raised eyebrow as he asked, "Are you worried he might be some new douche bag that'll take advantage of her and she'll get hurt again? I don't know about you, Honey, but Elona looks really happy to me. Maybe this is that guy she told you about, you know the European Count and hotel manger she's met."

Liz gave the paused video another look as she saw a blissful smile on her sister's face and the tall darkly dressed man standing beside her and giving an equal if not deeper blissful smile in return.

She went through her thoughts and finally said, "Well, ever since she came out of her coma she has been looking happier than I've seen her in a long time whenever we've Skyped, and this Count looks like he really likes her, and I don't know, he does look like he has some really old school looking charm to him. Maybe it's that old fashion tux he's wearing, plus he does fit the description she told me really well."

"He's a Count," DJ mused with curiosity, "So he's like a king or something? Cool."

"Does that mean if Auntie Ellie marries him, she'll be a queen?" Ally asked with a growing smile and an adorable fairy tale imagination taking off as she asked with a squeak, "Does that mean I'll be a princess?"

Liz just laughed a bit as she kissed her daughter's forehead as she answered, "No, sweethearts, a Count isn't really a king, but yes I think he is some form of royalty, and you'll always be my princess, Ally."

Ally giggled at this as her big brother did a gagging sound.

Daniel finally suggested, "If you're worried about Ellie, darling, we could book a flight to Europe and go find her, see what she's really been up to this past year."

Liz just gave a sigh as she said with a reserved reluctance, "As much as I'd like to now, Dan, you know we can't because we don't have the money right now. Besides, Ellie made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone where she was because she wants to be alone."

Her kids gave saddened disappointed frowns like their mother was saying they were never to going to see their favorite aunt again. She gave a small smile she hoped would reassure them as she said,

"But that doesn't mean we won't see her again someday soon."

Everyone smiled at this, then Liz noticed Sean hadn't said anything for a while now.

"Are you okay, Sean?" Liz asked, "You've been awfully quiet."

Sean seemed to smirk at some personal joke as he said, "I'm just wondering if that dirt bag has seen this yet, 'cause I'll bet he'd just have a cow, or Mom and Dad."

"I'd be the first to pay money to see that," Liz smirked, "But you look like you were in deep thought there."

"I just can't help getting this feeling I've seen that guy somewhere before, but I can't remember or put my figure on it."

"We'll figure that out later," Daniel said as became stoic, "I'm wondering if we should talk to Stew and Maggie about this as well."

Sean just gave a bit of a glare as Liz just gave a bit of a sigh and said with a another reserved tone, "I think we should keep this to ourselves for now, Dan, because as long as Dad sides with that jackass about Ellie, I don't think there's any reasoning with them."

"Okay, darling," he agreed as he gave her a kiss on her forehead, "But we'll have to talk to them about this sooner rather than later."

"If you say so," Liz sighed, "I just hope Ellie knows what she's getting into, because even before that jackass she hasn't always had the best judgment or luck with men. I just hope this one is different."

The rest of the family agreed with some nods and then made their way to the kitchen to have dinner together.

****Hotel Transylvania, two weeks later

It was a crisp and clear Saturday night, the night two certain love struck people had been looking forward to for weeks, and now that it was finally here both began to get nervous swarms of butterflies or bats in their tummies, yet fluttered with growing excited anticipation.

Before at least 6:30pm during the day, Elona spent a little time with the girls at the spa to try and relax before her big date with Dracula. To make her feel better and even more fabulous for her date, Eunice redid Elona's nails while Gustav gave her a facial, a massage and some female zombie spa hair stylists did her hair, giving it a shampoo and done up in a braided bun.

Elona then got ready in her suite as she looked herself over in her new dress from Dracula, a beautiful fuchsia pink satin sleeveless dress with a simple pattern of flowers interwoven into it, and with a modestly deep V cut with an hourglass cut at the waist to contour and accentuate her figure, while the skirt flowed and stopped just above her knee, and she wore matching sharp toed flat shoes.

Looking herself over and over in a full body mirror for a while, even as she put on a modest look of make-up, she just felt she needed to look perfect and wasn't yet satisfied.

Meanwhile, Dracula did the same thing in front of a mirror in his chambers despite casting no reflection. He was feeling so nervous about this date he mixed up his clothes and put on a pajama top instead of a formal shirt as he couldn't really keep his mind on what to wear, or he tried restyling his hair and part it on one side but it just got must up so he kept it slicked back as usual.

He finally whirled in a billow of indigo mist to a more formal version of his usual tux and similar to the one he wore to his daughter's wedding years ago, a deep charcoal black with a pure white silk shirt, fuchsia vest and a black bow tie which he took a moment to straighten out with a couple of small tugs to tighten it.

But something for him was still missing, so after a moment of musing he waved his hand and a charcoal black top hat appeared which he proudly put on, and then he made a long black cane with a bronze bat atop it appear.

Feeling like he was finally prepared for a night on the town, Dracula made his way to Elona's suite so as not to be late, and he made it with at least two minutes to spare.

Although he stood with a gentlemanly poise and dignity, he had a swarm of ten thousand bats in his stomach as his mind raced with worry like he had forgotten something. He suddenly realized mere moments later he didn't have a bouquet of flowers or a corsage for Elona, so he knocked a few times on the door as he put a hand behind himself and made a few roses appear in his hand.

Behind the door Elona jumped at the knocking, knowing it was time. She took the knob as she took a deep breath and smiled to herself as she whispered nervously,

"It's gonna be great. It's just a date, just be yourself."

She finally opened the door with a big smile as her eyes went wide at seeing Dracula in a slightly different tux than what she was used to seeing him, and she felt like she was really dating a nobleman from European aristocracy with sophistication and class from the 19th century.

Dracula just went wide eyed as he saw her open the door, and he just gave a low sharp breath as he went wide eyed with a stunned silence as he smiled and said low,

"You look beautiful."

Elona's face blushed brighter behind her make-up as she smiled with flattery and said shyly, "Thank you, and you look…wow! Beautiful, too…I mean uh, for a guy…er, uh…really dashing. Oh, man…"

Dracula blushed as well as he gave a nervous chuckle saying, "Thank you. These are for you."

He presented the small bouquet of pink and red roses from behind himself to Elona and she just gave a small gasp as she took them and sniffed them lightly. He then presented his arm to her for her to take and they finally began down the hall and he escorted her to the rounded driveway where a hearse limo waited for them and the Headless Hearse Driver held the door for them in the back.

As they drove through the Haunted Forest, which the ride for Elona was smoother than she remembered when she first arrived at the hotel, Elona asked with nervous anticipation and curiosity as they went through the hidden tunnel,

"So, where are we going, Drac? What are we going to do on this date?"

Dracula just smiled as he said with a sly smile, "It's a surprise."

Elona couldn't help but smile at his sketchy secrecy, now eager and looking forward to whatever he had planned.

They soon arrived in the nearby town, and while many places had closed early, like with many moderately sized towns there were some places that were set to be opened late into the night, and one place was a high class Chinese restaurant called Madame Hua's, which had architecture resembling a traditional Chinese temple right down to graceful curves on the wide roof and the golden colored guardian lion statues flanking both sides of the entrance.

As Dracula escorted Elona out of the hearse she was wide eyed with awe at the beautiful building and was certain it was something far out of whatever she could ever afford in her life time as Dracula then explained to her,

"I made reservations some weeks ago, but I understand it's nearly impossible for most humans to get one. But, let's just say they made an exception for me."

Elona gave him a suspicious and curious look as they went in and were greeted by the tuxedoed maite'd, a handsome Asian middle aged man who gave a genteel smile to the new arrivals and gave a bow and greeted them,

"Welcome, do you have reservations?"

Dracula gave a nod as he said, "Two under the Count."

The maitre'd's eyes widened a bit as though he remembered something and gave a smile as he said, "Ah, yes, yes, we've been expecting you, Count. Please, right this way."

As their host led them through the immense and ornate dining room, Elona saw how it really pulled off its Chinese theme with beautiful tapestries painted on silk depicting scenes of Chinese history and perhaps old legends and folklore from the ancient and proud country; a stone fountain like a miniature waterfall quietly flowed with a graceful cascade of water near the entrance with a beautiful landscape painting of green mountains and rolling hills of the Chinese countryside above; above hung red and gold paper lanterns while scattered all around the deep polished wood of shelves and open walls were golden statues of Chinese dragons and Buddhist statues, alongside wide open fans with ornate Chinese writing, and all throughout the place came the aroma of delicious food such as sweet and sour chicken, orange shrimp, chow mein, and even a hint of egg rolls.

As Dracula and Elona walked through the large dining room, dozens of patrons looked up from their meals and actually waved and said hello to Dracula, to which he gave polite nods and a tip of his hat until the maitri'd finally brought them to a private round table with a deep red table cloth with images of golden dragons woven into its lining and a small flickering candle lighting the middle in a holder shaped like a lantern. The maitre'd held a dark wooden chair with more ornate and intricate designs carved into it and Elona took a seat as did Dracula as he hung his top hat on a nearby hook and sat next to Elona.

The maitre'd wished them well and to enjoy their dinner as a pretty female server came and gave them menus to order from as well as poured some water to drink.

"You seem pretty popular here," Elona commented as she browsed her menu.

"Pretty much the whole town loves me and my friends," Dracula just said with a shrug, "But tonight is just about the two of us."

He smiled to her and gently put a hand on hers, which she returned.

He ordered them some non-alcoholic drinks, which Elona frowned at a bit and tried reasonably to say, "Drac, you don't need to keep being over protective of me and what I eat or drink. Tonight's a special occasion, and you don't need to worry I took all my meds before we left. I can handle a small wine or a tiny bit of champagne."

Dracula seemed to think of this as his face frowned a bit, and he just said, "Maybe later, Elona, my d…uh, I, I want to try some of the food here first."

Elona gave a bit of a look and decided he may be right and so should take it slow for now.

She then asked a bit awkwardly and nervously, "So, is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

He gave a small smile as he said, "I don't know, what do you want to talk about?"

She sighed a bit as she said, "Well, I worry that all we have to talk about is the pain of the last people we were with, and usually a big rule for a first date is never to talk about that. So maybe we can try to avoid that for tonight."

"Yes," he agreed quietly with another small smile, "I'd rather talk about better things, like what you hope to do next."

Elona just gave a bit of a nervous shrug as she pressed her lips together, her mind racing a bit of what to say.

They soon gave their order and the food look delicious and too pretty to eat as it was brought on porcelain white square plates, and they were even given some tea to drink with their dinner and chopsticks to use.

Dracula looked over the odd utensils for a few moments, not quite sure what to make of them as he twiddled them between his long fingers and tapped them together a few times.

Elona gave a small chuckle as she watched him and said, "Haven't you ever used chopsticks before?"

"It's been a long time since I've been to China, or anywhere for that matter even before I built my hotel," Dracula admitted with some embarrassment.

Elona became curious and interested as she asked, "So, you've traveled before? I'd love to hear about it. But, first, let me show you how to properly hold those."

She tried to show him how to properly hold chopsticks between his fist two fingers and with his thumb, and when he tried to pick up some food with them he somehow managed to drop one.

"I'll get it," Elona offered a little over eagerly.

"No, Elona, it's fine, I'll get it," Dracula insisted.

But she was already looking around and searching on the floor for his dropped chopstick, feeling around on the floor for it and hoping it wasn't dirty already. She moved further under the table, mentally hoping no one was watching and ignoring Dracula's pleas to come back up.

She finally found it but nearly slipped out of her chair and grabbed something covered in cloth to keep from slipping further and heard a faint yelp, which startled her and she hit her head on the bottom of the table.

She straighten out quickly as she sat back up with an awkward tenseness as she placed the chopstick on the table and looked to where her hand was; right on Dracula's pants in a very personal area. She tensed more as she quickly removed her hand away and blushed a deep red while Dracula awkwardly tensed as well as he looked at her and blushed.

A thick silence passed between them for a long minute, neither saying anything nor knowing what to say.

Finally, as Elona straightening out a napkin in her lap she said with a bit of a choked voice, "Uh, we should just use the usual fork and knives."

"I suppose so," Dracula agreed with a quiet squeak, though he became a bit concerned as he asked, "You hit your head, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she stammered with embarrassment.

For a few long silent minutes, they said nothing to each other and just ate in peace, Elona's mind racing for her to say something as a tingle went up and down her spine while the swarm of butterflies seemed to increase by a thousand in her stomach, while Dracula pushed his food around on his plate and just stared at it with a tangible numbness to his being.

Finally mustering up some courage to say something, Elona spoke quietly, "I didn't mean to do that. We're both adults here, and we shouldn't let that ruin tonight."

Dracula took a nibble of noodles as he listened to Elona, blushing a bit as he tried to meet her eyes.

"No, we shouldn't," he said low as he cleared his throat, "I want this night to be perfect."

"So do I. But I admit I'm…so nervous…"

He gently placed a hand on hers again and gave an understanding smile as he said, "So am I. It's been a while for me, too, and I supposed it's also because I've never dated a human before and you never dated someone like me before."

She gave a small laugh as she said, "Yeah, I suppose so, but it shouldn't bother us because we're really not that different. But I admit, I've wondered what it's like for you, being you, you know."

Dracula seemed to know what she was trying to ask without sounding insulting, and falling rather short of her intent which just amused him. So he just said with amused patience,

"Well, you know Denisovich was a late fanger, and I guess it wasn't just because he's half human but he may have gotten it from me because I was a late fanger."

"A 'late fanger'?" Elona asked confused but curious.

Dracula smiled a bit for a moment, then it fell a bit as he told his story, "For most Vampires, we have to get fangs before the age of 5, otherwise we never really get our full powers. Just before I turned 5, I had a wonderful baby raccoon for a pet, her name was Lulu and she was my best friend. But my father wasn't so crazy about it, and so he did a spell he called his 'wussy exorcism' to bring out my fangs by possessing my lovable Lulu into a demon. Long story short, he frightened my fangs out of me by possessing something I loved so much because I found it so sweet and innocent."

His tone seemed to become bitter with some lingering sadness and anger, making Elona feel sorry for him but also a bit concerned and skittish as she thought she saw his eyes glow a faint red. He took a breath to calm down as he momentarily closed his eyes, and then smiled at her again as he said more calmly,

"But that was a long time ago, and I'm just happy my dad and I are talking again after so many centuries of not seeing each other."

Elona gave a bit of a smile, happy for Dracula and his father, though it brought bittersweet memories of her own family and how much she missed them as well as how much she was still angry and hurt by her own parents. But if she never saw them again, she will always try to remember the happier times.

"You're lucky," she said low, "It sounds like your dad was pretty cold and callous, though, kind of like mine after what happened to me."

He held her hand gently as he gave a sympathetic but encouraging smile.

"Maybe one day you'll see them again, and like my dad they'll learn how important you are to them and they were wrong."

"Maybe, I guess," Elona said with some doubt, "But for now I just want to move on, and I've finally accepted what's happened. For a long time I just brooded and whined about what happened to me, but now I think it's worked out for the best. I have new friends and a new place to stay, and I hope to start a new job with you soon."

She gave him a smile which made his widen a bit more as he said, "You will, but for now I want to talk about other things, like what you did or saw on your travels. You've mentioned them occasionally, but I want to know more, or what this Chicago is like where you're from."

Elona smiled a bit and told him a bit of what her home town was like, even a bit of her old job at the museum she worked at.

"My work could be tedious and boring sometimes, but I learned a lot and it just kept my passion for learning going and I had dreams of becoming a head of maybe the astronomy department or a curator for the museum, maybe even get a Ph.D. Of course, it wasn't always easy trying to decide what to major in because I have a lot of interests as you can see, but I loved what I did at the museum and I even went to a lot of them during my travels, even in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Greece, just to name a few. Did you know that the Greeks have a lot of different names and definitions for love?"

Dracula gave a bit of a raised eyebrow at this out of the blue question in the conversation, but he smiled a bit as he said charmingly,

"I think I recall that bit, would you care to tell me more?"

"Well," she blushed a bit bashfully, "Uh, Philia is supposed to mean friendship and the love between close friends."

Dracula took her hand into his and gave a tender smile as he said, "And you've made plenty since coming to my hotel, and I know I count among them."

"Yeah," she breathed with a tingling shyness, "Um, and Storge is supposed to mean the love between families."

"And despite getting on each other's nerves, especially with my grandson and his heritage or me and my own dad, I know we still care about each other and I think of all my friends as my extended family."

This made Elona smile more as she clasped Dracula's hand in hers more as well, said with a small growing confidence,

"Agape means an all encompassing love or love and compassion for everyone around you, most monotheistic religions think of it as the love between God and man and altruism, or it might be like universal love and compassion taught in Buddhism. I suppose in a way it's what you showed building your hotel for the monsters of the world."

Dracula continued to smile, while Elona's faltered a bit as she said, "Philautia is supposed to mean self love, being confident and happy with who you are, something I think I've been lacking for a while. It's like accepting and being comfortable with yourself, but not to the point of vanity or narcissism, you know?"

"Mm," Dracula hummed low, "I'm guilty of crossing that line, but when I learned the importance of others' needs, especially being a father I like to think experience has made me see things in a different way, and I'm a better person now."

"Yeah," Elona breathed with a smile as the fluttering in her stomach became a bit stronger and her eyes again locked with Dracula's, making the world around them fade away as their hands raised together, touching palm to palm, "And uh, Ludus is playful love, kind of innocent enough like two kids just playing together, or flirting, and it could lead to something deeper."

She began to give short shallow breathes as her thoughts began to cloud over staring into Dracula's occult blue eyes; himself feeling light and hallow in her very presence, for she was becoming his true essence and most imperative reason for being in the deepest sense, not since Martha of whose soul may now reside within this mortal body.

"Yes," he simply whispered.

"And Eros," she nearly whispered, "means a more intimate romantic kind."

"Yes" Dracula said low, "Kind of like the god of love Cupid, but it's his Greek name. And if it's strong enough, it could lead to a deep everlasting and eternal love called Pragma."

"Eternal," Elona whisper, barely audible yet Dracula heard her as clear as a bell.

Their fingers intertwined as though two things had merged to become one, a connection deepening to as yet unfathomable and unseen depths. Elona's eyes momentarily glimpsed to their gentle grasp, seeing how truly alike and yet only minuscule different they truly were.

Surly, there had to be something infinite and eternally binding between them, timelessness with no bounds.

An unseen force began to draw them together again, something far stronger than both of them as they slowly closed their eyes as the distance closed between them as a small fire began to grow within them in sync. Their entwined fingers felt each other's pulses speed up to also become one, feeling each other's warmth as their hearts pounded within their chests as distant thunder.

Their faces were inches apart and coming closer together for a passionate kiss, and perhaps something more…

"Excuse me," a male voice said with an awkward politeness, making Elona and Dracula snap apart so hard at being startled they knocked a lot of their food onto their laps.

Dracula's eyes again briefly glowed a deep crimson as he tried to hold back a snarl as he said low and dangerously, "Yes?"

He and Elona looked to see a young man in perhaps his early twenties in a tux and with a high tech camera in his hands, now giving a tense finch as he saw their food spill over.

"Oh, my god!" he gasped with some guilt, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you guys like that."

Several servers, and even the restaurant manager, saw this and immediately set to quickly and efficiently cleaning off Dracula and Elona as the flustered manager stammered out,

"Richard, what have I told you about sneaking up on customers that way?! I'm so sorry, Your Grace, we'll replace your order immediately, and it's on the house."

Dracula gave a frowning glare to the manager and the restaurant photographer, who just stood frozen in place not knowing what to expect and seeming more afraid of his manager than the Vampire he disturbed.

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't help it sometimes," Richard stammered quickly.

Dracula held up a hand and everyone stopped their cleaning in an instant, then with a wave of his hand in blue mist everything was restored to near normal including his and Elona's formal attire being cleaned.

"It's quite alright," he tried to say with a tense if controlled calmness, "Now what do you want, so there aren't any more interruptions?"

The servers left to bring a new order for him and Elona while the manager glared at Richard as he said a bit timidly,

"I just want to ask if you and the lovely lady would like a souvenir photo, as it's my job here."

Dracula looked over to Elona as she just shrugged with a small smile seeing he was unsure of this. He shrugged a moment later and said,

"I suppose so, but from now on we want to be alone."

"Of course, Your Grace," the manager said genteelly if a bit submissively, "I'll be sure you and your lady friend are not bothered for the rest of the evening."

The manager left to attend to this as he gave a displeased look to the photographer. As Dracula and Elona leaned in close nearly touching cheek to cheek, both feeling a little flushed, and trying to give genuine smiles as Richard finally took a picture of them. He then told them with a bit more confidence,

"I'll have this developed for you tonight, folks. I also wanted to ask if it's alright to have your autograph, Count, sir, as I'm a huge fan, though the wolfman is a close second for me."

Dracula was still a bit perturbed about the whole interruption, but not to seem rude or ungrateful in front of Elona, he took a napkin and a pen and signed it for Richard.

"Thank you," he breathed with a growing excitement, but then eyed Elona as he asked with a not so subtle flirtatiousness, "And what will a beautiful girl like yourself be doing after dinner tonight? Perhaps you'd like get a drink afterwards."

Elona just gave a glare of annoyance at the photographer, showing she wasn't interested while hardly noticing Dracula was trying with limited success to hold back a growl of clear jealousy as his nails grew as he gripped the table cloth hard enough to leave holes.

Richard just took a half step back as he cleared his throat and stammered more courteously with some nervousness,

"I'll, uh, have this ready for you soon."

He finally left, allowing Dracula to take another deep breath through his nose to calm down as Elona looked at him calmly if a bit worriedly.

"Are you going to be okay, Drac?" she asked quietly and patiently.

He tried to smile reassuringly as he said, "Of course, Elona, I'll be fine. It's just this dinner hasn't gone quite as I had hoped it would, and that human almost made me want to…"

He went silent, but Elona knew why he didn't finish his sentence.

"I know," she said with a small smile of her own, "He made me want to yell at him, too, but I didn't want to cause a scene or seem rude."

They both gave nervous chuckles as their new course finally arrived. As they set to eating again, Elona suggested,

"Richard did have one good idea. Though, I know I need to be careful with what I eat and drink I wouldn't mind going out for some drinks tonight. Just a little bit because it's a special occasion and I rarely drink alcohol anyway. So what do you say, Drac, maybe we could have some champaign or a bit of wine tonight? I promise I'll be careful and you don't need to be so protective of me."

He gave this a though for a long moment as he felt unsure of the suggestion and still wanted to protect her and keep her healthy and safe, but maybe just for tonight he could make an exception.

"Alright," he said with a smile, "But not until later tonight, as I still hope to make this a wonderful date for you and I have more planned for this evening."

"Really," Elona said intrigued, "Like what?"

"I have tickets to a play."

Elona's smile widened as he told her this, but he wanted to keep what they were going to see a surprise.

The rest of their dinner was finally quiet and undisturbed as they wanted it to be. Just sitting together and enjoying each other's company and talking about small trivial and sometimes nonsensical subjects, yet somehow Dracula made them seem so romantic and funny as he made Elona laugh with his signature snarky sarcasm.

One comment he said to her, "Sometimes I don't which is worse to deal with, an angry mob with torches and pitchforks or overly excitable fans demanding an autograph or a selfie picture, or even the ones with their flashy cameras called the pepperoni."

"I think you mean paparazzi," Elona laughed.

"Whatever," Dracula dismissed, "But I admit, I'd rather deal with crazy fans than an angry mob out for my destruction because at least fans look up to us in some weird way, and it's all I really wanted."

Elona smiled to him.

As they finally finished their dinner, one of the serves offered a menu of desserts and they too would be on the house if Dracula so wished. He politely declined, which at first disappointed Elona, but where they were going he heard already had a selection of desserts and sweets for the show. So he insisted on paying and even left a modest if generous enough tip for the servers and manager, though he did tell the manager to better train his photographer, because if he worked at the hotel Dracula would fire him on the spot.

Before leaving, they enjoyed their fortune cookies and read their fortune to each other.

"Love is something you find in every lifetime" Elona's fortune said.

"In darkness there is light, let it shine bright" Dracula's fortune said.

They hung onto these inspirational messages as Dracula put them into an inside vest pocket and made their way out Madame Hua's and an envelope with their picture was handed to them; one picture unsurprisingly, Dracula didn't show up it while another was digital and showed both Elona and Dracula smiling with their arms around each other. They courteously said good night to the maitri'd as they went out into the cool crisp air of the night.

Elona thought they needed to call a cab or the hearse again, but the theatre they were going to wasn't too far away and Dracula insisted they take a nice quiet stroll through the town and enjoy the crisp night air arm in arm.

For a few minutes they walked down the street in quiet companionship passing other people who walked down the street, most even recognizing Dracula and giving hellos again to which he returned with a hello and a tip of his hat.

As they made their way along the street, a rather unsavory looking group of six rough looking men walked in the opposite direction towards them. Elona held a little closer to Dracula's arm as they made her nervous for some reason and she just hoped they would pass on by. She focused on the street ahead of them and concentrated on not making eye contact with any of them as most of the men just eyed them with a bit of curiosity or a bit of disinterest.

As they finally passed each other Elona gave a bit of a deep breath to calm down and slow her racing heart, not noticing the small gang had stopped and eyed them more closely as they gave each other intrigued but wicked smirks.

"'Scuse me, mister," the most burly looking one dressed in ripped denim vest, jeans, and leather boots said, making Dracula roll his eyes again and turn to face another admirer.

"Yes, if you want a picture, please make it quick," he said, "We are on our way to a play, and I don't want to be late."

The other five men just laughed as their supposed leader said with less than good intent, "Oh, no I don't wants a picture, sir, I was hopin' you could helps me and my friends with a little money troubles as we're a little shorts for a party we're goin' to."

Dracula just gave a raised eyebrow to this as Elona held a little tighter to his arm.

"You two looks like youse ready for a party, too," one of the other thugs said as he approached Elona too closely, "This is a fine, fine lookin' chick with you, Mr. Top Hat, maybe she'd like to join us."

He sniffed at Elona's hair too closely, making her flinch a bit as she gave him a bit of a fearful but growing hot glare.

"Excuse me, a little personal space, please," she said hard with some mustered boldness.

"Ooh, she gots spirit," the sniffer mocked.

They began to brandish weapons such as steel knuckles, one or two had stiletto knives, and the burly looking leader drew a gun.

"C'mon, Top Hat, this is a party," the leader proclaimed, "Although, what's with the ol' school threads, ya goin' to a costume party? Just hand over your wallet, and nobody gets hurts."

Elona looked up at Dracula, waiting for him to do as the lead thug said, but he just rolled his eyes as he said with clear irritation,

"Are you kidding me? Some things never change with you humans, do they? Still gangs of hooligans out on a beautiful night just to rob and steal from those who appear weaker than you, it's pathetic. Well, too bad, sweethearts, that's not gonna happen. Leave us alone, or I will be forced to hurt you."

The thugs just laughed at Dracula, making Elona glare at them but also smirk a bit at how stupid they must really be. She didn't notice the sniffer was closer to her now until she felt his dirtied hand on her shoulder and yanked her hard from Dracula, making her give a startled yelp as he suddenly put his thick arm around her neck as though to choke her and held up his metallic knuckles to near her face as he declared with a roughened voice,

"Maybe the chick would likes to party wit' us. C'mon, sweet cheeks, hand over yours purse and maybe we'll takes it easy on youse and your caped boyfriend, capishe?"

"Drac!" she cried.

As Elona struggled against her would be captor, Dracula whirled to them as he yelled with a growing hot anger,

"Get your filthy hands off her, you damn human!"

He was about to come to Elona's rescue but the five remaining thugs piled upon him, but with his superior Vampire strength he flexed his muscles and threw them off of himself as Elona simultaneously stomped onto her captor's foot so hard she may have cracked a bone and made him yelp and cry in surprised pain. She then elbowed him in the gut, kneed him in the groin and hit his nose with the palm of her hand; all part of a defense class she learned before leaving Chicago, as it was a dangerous city at times and in certain neighborhoods.

This actually made Dracula smile for a brief moment, but the thug was still tougher as he tried to shrug off the brief pain of the places she hit and he yelled with a growing seething anger as he snarled,

"You damn stupid bitch! I'm gonna fuck you up so bad!"

He tried to land a punch to her but Elona managed to dodge it with quick reflexes, but she wasn't quick enough to keep the thug from grabbing her by an arm and throwing her against a wall and making her slide down as she groaned in pain.

"Elona!" Dracula cried with worried fear, but his eyes suddenly glowed red as he felt a hot anger growing in his chest and he began to give a dangerous low snarl.

The next moment the crooks tried to dog pile upon him again, making his knees buckle for a few long seconds. But as the growing rage burned within him, it gave him a surge of super strength to allow him to again throw the assaulting thugs off of himself as he gave a fierce and dangerous roar as his eyes glowed deep crimson and his face turned ghostly white and more skull like again; dark blue mist surrounded his figure as his claws grew sharp and deadly.

"Oh, shit!" one of the thugs yelled as they took a couple of steps back in fear, "That guy's some kinda Vampire!"

"Get 'im!" one of the others shouted, rallying his comrades to attack Dracula.

They all tried to ambush Dracula as they gave battle yells, but Dracula just gave a dangerous snarl as he easily back handed four of the thugs to send them flying back hard several feet, knocking one of them unconscious as he hit the stone paved street with hard bodily thumps while another groaned in pain as his head swam with a small concussion, but the third shook off his pain and joined with his leader and the other two for another attack on the enraged Dracula.

However the forth one gathered himself up as he stammered with a cowardly mumble, "Screw this, I'm outta here."

He began to limp away as the burly leader yelled at him, "Get back here, ya damn coward! You'll fuckin' regret ditchin' us!"

The leader then just waved the deserter off as he aimed his gun as the still vulnerable Elona while Dracula tossed the last remaining thug aside as he tried to stab him, but the steel knife just went through him like he was smoke.

For Dracula, it seemed to happen in slow motion as he saw the bright scarlet glow of the lead thug's body heat as he aimed a weapon at his mate, and it gave off a loud but brief crack of thunder as his version saw a deadly projectile head for his mate as it left a faint wispy trail of smoke behind it.

Elona only heard the gunshot, but the next half second Dracula's dark misted form was right in front of her taking the shot and never letting it even touch her. It took her mind a long second to realize what just happened and just froze with shock behind Dracula as he gave a deadly growl at the lead thug and his face twisted more with anger.

Something seemed to change in the lead thugs brain as a primal ancient fear over took him as he saw what Dracula just did, making his entire body begin to quiver with fear and go wide eyed as the very air around them became several degrees colder.

He gave an incoherent mumble as he dropped his gun and seeing this deadly unnatural creature he dared to challenge eye him with a growing hatred, and something more primal. He took one quiet step back from Dracula as he tried to mumble,

"Okay, t-take it easy, man…I-I d-didn't mean…d-d-didn't know y-y-you were…Oh, Shit! Stay away from me!"

He turned and bolted away down the dark street, but this was a big mistake as it just enticed the now nearly feral Vampire as he eyed the thug as fleeing prey, and he the predator being lead on an exciting chase.

The thug became a silhouette in the dark street, but Dracula followed a half second later to literally blend with the shadows as he gave chase, leaving a stunned Elona behind.

The thug ran down a side alley, not really knowing where he was going but only thought of escape, only to find to his detriment he had run into an alley with a dead end making him give a defeated whimpering cry as he realized his mistake.

Seeing no way out, he would have turned around to go back the way he had come, but the air became cold again to make him shiver and he stopped in his tracks as he saw the pitch black silhouette of Dracula coming down the alley in a glide with a quiet yet sinister whoosh of air around him as his eyes glowed like red fire from the depth of Hell.

As Dracula got closer to the last thug, he began to beg with a stutter, "P-please, Mr. Vampire, me and my friends d-didn't m-mean anythings…I-I mean we d-didn't kn-now…"

Dracula just gave a hiss like a snake as he cornered the cowering burly human, silencing him from his begging as the thug just continued to quiver with growing fear.

"You should've left us alone," Dracula said low with a dangerous tone, a deep dark otherworldly echo reverberated from his voice as he spoke.

The thug whimpered low as he tried to give a small cowering smile, stuttering low, "Th-the guys, and m-me, w-we w-were just…we didn't kn-now, aack!..."

Dracula's cold hand was suddenly around his neck, choking him as Dracula said, "I thought humans had changed, but you're obviously a rare exception."

"P-please," the crook begged again, "Don't…don't…what're ya gonna do to me?"

"Protecting what's mine," Dracula said low, "Maybe I've been stupid, and it's been a long time…"

The thug's eyes widened a bit more to near the size of saucers, not liking what the Vampire might be hinting about.

He gave a sinister smile as he said low, "I don't want to ruin my appetite, I am still on a date, y'know, but I am feeling a little thirsty…"

The thug struggle and whimpered more in Dracula's grip as he saw his mouth open wide and his fangs grow longer.

The next moment, there was a faint crunch.

Back on the dark street, Elona picked herself up and tried to move and stretch out aching muscles from her pain from hitting the wall, worrying about Dracula and what he might do.

She flinched a bit as she briefly heard a blood curdling scream, but it was gone the next second as there came silence. She stared in silence in the direction the lead thug and Dracula had disappeared down, her mind racing yet numb.

She finally got her thoughts together as she quietly called out, "Drac! Drac, where are you?"

She finally heard footsteps coming toward her, and they were familiar. Dracula finally emerges from the darkness, wiping off his face and making disgusted groans to himself. As he saw Elona, he ran up to her as he cried,

"Elona, my darling, are you alright?"

For a moment she didn't seem to register what he said as she eyed him up and down with some numbed shock. He saw how she looked at him, making him hesitate to come closer to her as he said gently,

"Elona, it's me. They tried to hurt you, are you okay?"

"I…I think so," she said quietly, "Just sore, and I'll probably be bruised a little. Drac…did you…?"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the question, but he knew what she was wondering by the worried look on her face.

He slowly and gently put a hand to her cheek, and it reassured him she didn't try to pull away or flinch at his touch.

"They almost…they tried to hurt you, and I just…"he tried to explain, finding it difficult to word his thoughts, but he took a breath as he reassured her, "No, he lives, just weakened. But it wasn't easy…trying to hold back…I almost let it control me again. But, it tasted…off…ashy, fatty…uggh!"

He quivered to himself a bit, to which Elona gave a small laugh as he finished, "I'm reminded why I switched to a substitute in the first place a century and half ago."

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

He just gave her a raised eyebrow as he said, "Of course, I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you, will you be okay? Do you want to go back to the hotel?"

Elona seemed unsure of this, but she began to gather her thoughts again as she remembered all the trouble he went through and the wonderful time they were having now.

"No, but we should call the police," she suggested.

"I already did," he said as he showed her his phone, and he looked at the time, "We still have a few minutes, and can still make it for the late night matinee."

They were arm in arm again as they walked down the street again, almost as though none of it happened.

Elona said quietly, "It's so easy to forget who you really are."

Dracula didn't know what to say to this as he just gave a bit of a dropped look to her as she said, "Well, maybe that's a good thing, because you know this but you're so much better because of it. It shows I can and have done the same thing."

They gave each other smiles at this as Elona then asked with curiosity, "I've been curious for a while now, what made you lose your taste for real human blood anyway? Or where do you get your blood substitute?"

Dracula seemed hesitant to answer this as he said slowly, "That's something that's really personal, and maybe can be talked about later. I just want to enjoy what's left for the evening and be with you."

"Okay," Elona conceded, but then gave him a bit of dirty but amused look as she asked, "Did you just call me 'darling'?"

He gave an awkward laughed he tried to play it off, "What? No, no, I said eh…uh…"

She just looked at him with a bit of glare, showing she wasn't fooled, then laughed a bit as she said, "It was nice, would you mind if I called you Dracy-pooh?"

She gave an overly sweet and cute tone at the last two words as she batted her eyes, making Dracula give a groaning laugh, "Please, no way, don't get me started on that?"

"Okay," she teased, "but do you have any other pet names for me?"

"Maybe, Honeybat, or Sweetie Fang, I call Mavy those all the time when she was growing up…" he went silent for a moment as she gave him a bit of teased disgusted look, making him stammer a bit, "Or, or, uh… just Honey, or how about Beloved, or My Love?"

She just laughed as she said, "Those are all nice, but you're so cheesy, too."

They laughed together.

They made it to the theatre with a bit time to spare and got to their seats, up front in the center row at the Mezzanine level, giving them both a breathtaking view of the classic Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet.

The presentation turned out to be a wondrous spectacle, yet its spirit still moved the audience to tears, especially Elona as she just loved this tragic love story.

During intermission and after the show, just for the occasion Dracula allowed him and Elona to enjoy a few drinks of wine and delicious confectionary treats, which featured a variety of chocolates and many sugared pastries like cream puffs or strawberry tarts, served for the audience guests.

At one point Elona noticed him trying to subtly pour a dark red liquid from a vial into his drink, which he explained was his emergency blood substitute.

Elona just shrugged at this as she finished off her third glass of wine for the night.

It was getting late, and they both were having a wonderful time, but it was getting time to leave as they were getting a bit tipsy. So some theatre attendants helped them, as well as many other intoxicated guests, outside to call them cabs to take them home or made sure a sober member of their party was with them to drive them home.

"I-I don't need a cab call…hic," Dracula refused as the valet offered assistance to him and his date, "I…I already gots my own."

He gave a really loud whistle through his fingers, and the next moment the hearse limo was there coming to a sudden stop as its tires squealed on the pavement.

They gave awkward laughs as the Headless Hearse Driver helped them inside, then his master ordered them with a bit of a slurred tone, "Heady, back to the hotel, and step on it…Hah, hah, hic…"

And the hearse shot forward like a bat out of Hades out of town and into the Haunted Forest.

"I want you," Elona said, feeling a growing need she had been trying to suppress all night, "I want you to take me."

"And why do you want to do that, My Love?" Dracula mused.

"So you can do whatever you want with me!" she replied, followed by a hiccup.

Dracula froze at this, not quite sure what to think as he remembered what they had talked about before. Yet his desire for her just grew and he just couldn't resist any longer.

He got a devious expression on his face as he ran his long fingers through Elona's long hair. Lowering his face to hover barely an inch above her own, he whispered, "You know I'd like that very much."

Closing the distance between them, Dracula extended his tongue and dragged it across Elona's lips, savoring the taste of her skin against his far more than the drink itself, as he collected every last drop of wine. Elona's body tingled in an excited arousal at the touch of the vampire's cold tongue sliding across her skin, making her give a faint moan and her desire for him grow even more.

Craving for her lips, Dracula leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Both of their mouths opened enough for their tongues to entangle as Dracula took in the taste of both the wine and Elona as she wrapped her arms around his long neck.

Elona climbed into Dracula's lap, her dress riding up as she mounted him like a cowgirl. With one hand Dracula pulled Elona closer, drawing her deeper as their lips delved and retracted, tongues exploring one another, and eyes half closed in an intoxicating passion. His free hand ventured beneath the dress and pushed aside her bra, cupping her immense breasts.

With the rhythmic bouncing of the hearse driving down the forest road, Elona rose and fell atop on his lap as the stirring in their loins climbed higher and higher.

At last, Dracula could take no more.

He wanted Elona. He craved for Elona. He lusted for Elona.

Grabbing Elona's legs, he raised them to the hearse's ceiling and reclined her against his lap and on the seat as he pulled her underwear off her legs and tossed it over in the back seat. When he took sight of her crotch, Dracula's eyes grew so large people would think they'd burst.

Smirking, Elona traced the outline of his hardened member inside his pants as she lowered her body to rest on the seat, her gaze angled upwards to meet his eyes. She was so drunk that she wanted him so badly as much as he wanted her. Her hand began to tug at the zipper of his pants.

Dracula's hardened cock shot out from his boxers and even in her drunken state, Elona gazed straight at the vampire's dick in deep shock.

Good grief, he's so big! But, on second thought who cares? Tonight, she will belong to Dracula forever.

"Are you ready to take me?" Elona asked, teasingly.

"Holy rabies, yes!" Dracula replied in an excited drunken stupor, his eyes sparkled with anticipation as the hearse propelled their bodies closer and closer to one another.

They became consumed in an all encompassing make out kiss again, preparing themselves for what was to come, but the next thing they knew someone shouted,

"Welcome back, guys! I hope you had a…Oh, my God and Holy freakin' Rabies! What the hell are you two doin'?!"

They broke their make out as they gave cries and yelps, trying to save their dignity and keep whoever it was from seeing what they were about to do. Dracula looked to the open hearse door to see Johnny greeting them in the driveway, with Mavis holding Dennis near him, and through his blurred drunken vision Dracula could barely make out Johnny's parents and three young nephews upon the hotel stairs as Linda tried to cover the young boys' innocent eyes.

Dracula gave a snarl as he asked hotly, "What are you doing, Jonathan? You just ruined a…"

"I-I was just…I mean my family came for a surprise visit…a-and we wanted to surprise you when you and Elona got back, but uh, this obviously wasn't a good time, so uh…oh, boy…" Johnny stammered on as he tried to explain, but clearly Dracula was too drunk to listen as he gave an angered enraged cry and flew out at Johnny in a drunken madness, frustrated at having his moment with Elona ruined.

Luckily Johnny saw this in time and ducked away with quick reflexes from Dracula's grasp to hear the poor drunken Vampire fly over him and hit one of the old gnarled trees flanking the hotel entrance. Everyone saw Dracula with his arms out and his cape blanketing him as he slip down with a faint groan as he slid down the tree.

While the boys, Dennis, Troy, Connor, and Parker all laughed at this, Johnny, Mavis, Linda, and Mike just flinched and looked on him in sympathy.

However, Elona, too tipsy to really understand what just happened and just laughed at poor Dracula's predicament for a minute as she tried to straighten out her dress. But then the next minute, she began to feel queasy as she became dizzy and her vision blurred over. Then gradually a pain grew with her abdomen and grew worse, overcoming her like a sudden wave.

She gave a loud pained moan as she tried to fight it off, but it was too much.

This seemed to snap Dracula back to his present situation and become a bit more sober.

"Elona," he called to her, and was by her side in a flash of indigo mist and a faint zip of his pants as he looked her over and became deeply worried at how she was clenching herself into a fetal position and groaning in pain.

"I…I don't feel so good," she moaned weakly as she looked at him with eyes becoming bloodshot as a paleness came to her face.

Becoming more and more worried, Dracula gathered Elona into his arms and flew into the hotel with all of his family and in-laws watching in silence.

Unbeknownst to Elona and Dracula, a certain little gray rat had been hiding in their hearse the entire time they were on their date, recording what was going on.

While Esmeralda only got what happened at the beginning before Elona and Dracula left, and near the end what had happened just now, it wasn't much but she became certain her master and friend will be incredibly please with these last few minutes she recorded with Quasimodo's camera phone.

This might finally be enough to really discredit and humiliate Dracula, and finally make him see Quasimodo was right all along.

I want to thank all who have read my Hotel Transylvania story this far, and I hope it's enjoyed to the end. I honestly didn't think it would get to be this long.

I also have now past over 9 thousand views/reads of this story and I'm just so humbled.

Please continue to leave your thoughts, critiques, and reviews because they encourage me to continue writing.

Also, I'm thinking about changing my author name and want to throw out some ideas, and you can leave your votes to me in the reviews or in my PM.

1) Imagina Sparx, 2) Cosmina Sparx, 3) Figmentina, or 4) Cosmina Inspira.

Thank you, everyone!

Also, a big thank you to Gotham317 for all their input and help! :)