Chapter 28
Is It Worth It
Freddy still couldn't believe that he was seriously considering becoming a vampire. He had heard stories from his biological family of the cursed few who were turned into monsters, and had doomed themselves to an eternity of serving the beast who stole their humanity. With all that he had seen and experienced in the past few weeks, serving Karen might be the best thing that ever could happen to him. Not to mention that getting to spend eternity with her would be a blessing, not a curse.
He was lost in his thoughts when Mavis came into his room as a bat. "Dennis!" She was calling for her son, looking to see where he had run off to. She still hadn't gotten used to him having more vampire friends, and he tended to spend most of his free time with Connor.
Mavis noticed Freddy sitting on his bed not even paying attention to her. She could tell something deep was troubling him, and she wanted to help him with whatever it might be. She cleared her throat, at which Freddy finally looked up at her, startled since she was still in her bat form. "What's wrong?" She asked him as she sat next to him, turning back into her vampire form.
"Nothing," Freddy lied to her. He wasn't sure how to explain it to her, and if she'd even understand. She tilted her head and gazed into his eyes; she knew exactly what was wrong as she and Johnny had both struggled with the exact same question.
"You want to know if you should do it, don't you?" Mavis asked him, her eyes not hiding the fact that she had read his mind, even though Freddy didn't know that the color of her eyes gave it away. They were still red, but in the process of returning to their usual shade of blue. Freddy was worried about how he could explain this to her, but before he could, she added, "I fought the same thing with Johnny."
Freddy couldn't believe the couple had the same conflict he did currently. "Why did you struggle with it?"
Mavis looked guilty since she never told anyone that she had never told Jonathan about the possibility. Then she thought of Jonathan's reaction when he found out from Dracula that the two of them were supposed to discuss it before they wed. "I kinda knew that he'd want to, but I didn't know if I could have turned him."
"But couldn't your dad have done it?"
"Maybe," Mavis said frowning, "but my dad said that it is less dangerous if your zing does it. I was worried about taking too much of his blood, and maybe… well, you know." She couldn't admit that she was scared of possibly killing her zing.
Freddy hadn't thought of exactly how one was turned into a vampire, or if it was dangerous. He worried if Karen could do it to him, however he knew that she would if he wanted her to. Even though he had first asked about it, it was her who asked him if he still wanted to go through with it. "I don't know if I should."
"Maybe you should talk to my dad," Mavis said smiling at him, as she placed her right hand on his shoulder blade. "He knows more about it than he'd let you think."
"What do you mean?" Freddy had heard many of the legends and stories that the cursed Dracula had turned innocents into monsters in order to have more to serve him. But he never could have guessed the real reason.
"Just let him explain. And Johnny could help you too."
After Mavis left him, Freddy laid down to rest his eyes for a few minutes. He eventually dozed off, and had a dream. He saw his namesake and a strange woman in a black dress with a choker around her neck. The two appeared to be talking to each other near a lake as he walked over to them. "Hello, Freddy," the woman said softly to him with a large smile on her face.
Freddy had heard her voice before. It was the same one that he had heard come from Samantha when she was possessed when he first met all of them. He could only focus on her mouth, which contained two fangs similar in length to Mavis's. Freddy remembered the name that Dracula had shouted out when he heard that voice on that night. "Martha?" he asked
Martha simply smiled at him. "That is correct, Freddy. My name is Martha Lubov Dracula; Mavis's mother, and Karen's best friend."
"It's … an honor … ma'am," Freddy said despite being unsure how he should address her. There was something else that looked familiar about Martha; she bore a slight resemblance to his sister.
The older Frederick laughed at his nephew because of his awkwardness around Martha. Looking deep into his nephew's eyes, Frederick said softly while placing his right arm on Freddy's left shoulder, "It's worth it."
"What?" Freddy was surprised, as he didn't know how his uncle could have possibly known about the struggle he had been fighting since the night he met Karen, but trusted him.
"If you truly are in love with Karen, then you should do it," Martha said mirroring what his uncle had told Freddy. "I think that you'd enjoy being a vampire, and more importantly, I know that you two zinged. Talk to her or my husband if you have any questions. He knows the price you will pay better than you think."
"What does that mean?"
"Let's just say there is a reason he wears high collars all the time," Martha added chuckling. "Jacob could also help you."
Freddy woke up after hearing this, not noticing at first that Dracula had entered his room while he slept. Dracula had sat in an armchair in his room. When Freddy finally saw him, Freddy screamed, "What are you doing in here!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that Mavis said that you would want to talk about something," Dracula said to him in a fatherly tone.
As Freddy's eyes began to focus, he noticed that Dracula was not wearing his cape as normal, and something drew his attention to two marks on Dracula's neck. "I didn't know that a monster could get a hickey," Freddy said chuckling to Dracula.
"A hickey?" Dracula questioned to the human not sure of what he was referring to before he figured it out. "Oh, you are referring to the scars on my neck."
"Sorry," Freddy apologized to Dracula, worried why the vampire had snuck into his room.
"Yes, you see, I wasn't born a vampire," Dracula said as Freddy began to understand what Mavis and then the dream of Martha had told him, "I was turned by my father. But unlike why you are thinking about it now, and why Jonathan in the past thought about it, it was not out of love. Rather my father wished to have servants who would be completely loyal to him."
"So that's what she meant," Freddy said silently, but was horrified when Dracula looked as if he heard it as well.
"Do you mean Mavis?" Dracula asked, and Freddy nodded not wanting to mention the dream of his wife. "I told her about 7 years ago when we won the opportunity to open the hotel to humans. I knew one day she would have to turn Jonathan, even though he found his inner monster on his own."
"So is it worth it?" Freddy asked bluntly. His face almost looked as if he was afraid of what the answer would be
Dracula frowned, "There was a part of me that wished I would not have survived the transformation. But if that had happened, I never would have had Mavis, nor met Martha or Jonathan." Dracula noticed Freddy's expression, and shook his head. "No, Freddy. It had nothing to do with being a vampire, but rather the reason I hated it at first was that my father had me feed on humans for many years until I finally was sickened by it. But as I told Jonathan, when you are willing to go through it for love, then it is worth it."
"Does it hurt?"
"For me, yes, everything hurt," Dracula grimaced as he thought back to the day his father bit him. "The bite was painful, but that was only the beginning. As your body adjusts to the changes it can be the most excruciating thing you could imagine. I can only assume if rivals childbirth, although I cannot be certain. But I have heard stories of some those who were changed that the bite is actually quite pleasant, and some are unconscious when the physical changes occur, so they don't feel them."
"You still didn't answer my question." Freddy asked it again, "Is it worth it? Would you do it again if you had the choice?"
"I wouldn't even question it. I'd do it in a second."
"Thanks, Drac," Freddy said as he hugged the vampire. Dracula initially squirmed at the embrace of the human, but then realized that Freddy was expressing deep gratitude for telling him the truth. As he separated from Dracula, Freddy asked, "Is there anything I need to know for when we do it?"
A smile reappeared on Dracula's face. "First, it will only work on a full moon. Second and more importantly, you must have pure motives. If you wish to be a vampire simply for the powers you will get, you could end up like those damned bats who fought with your grandfather; nothing but a soulless monster. We have some time to talk about this, as you are still a very young man."
"I just want to be with her forever," Freddy said expressing his true reason.
Dracula smiled even wider at his unlikely friend, placing his left hand on his shoulder as he added, "And that is the most pure motive of all. Just remember that when the time finally arrives when you two do it, and you should be fine."
"So it has to be Karen?"
"Has to may be a little strong, but it is definitely less risky if it would be her." Dracula remained for a few minutes to answer a few more minor questions, before leaving Freddy to think about what he had said to him.
A few hours later, Jonathan visited his distant cousin. "What's up, cuz?" Jonathan asked, sporting a friendly smile.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Freddy asked, worried that Jonathan wouldn't want to talk about his decision to want to be transformed.
"I guess," Jonathan answered, not completely sure what he would want to talk about. He was humoring Mavis by coming to talk with Freddy, as she didn't explain to him the battle Freddy had been struggling with for the past few weeks.
"Why did you want to do it?" Jonathan looked unsure of what he was asking, and stared at Freddy for a few minutes before Freddy elaborated. "I mean why did you wanna be a vampire?"
"Oh, that," Jonathan said, followed by a sigh as he was relieved it wasn't getting as personal as he feared. "Well, the biggest reason was that I never wanted to put Mavis in the position of having to protect me again. I love her so much that I never wanted her to have to worry about me."
"Was that it?"
"Well, no. I mean, I want to spend forever with her too. I didn't wanna make her watch me get old and die."
"Thanks, Johnny."
"Anytime." Jonathan placed his right arm around the shoulders of Freddy and smiled at him. Freddy didn't realize how cold a vampire's touch was, as the contact with Jonathan almost made him shiver. "So, are you gonna do it?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe you should talk to Drac."
"Already have. I think he wants me to do it too."
Jonathan squeezed his arm slightly around the back of his neck lovingly, "Just trust yourself, dude."
Freddy was smiling again as he said, "Thanks, Johnny."
Freddy continued to think about it for the next few days, when Jacob, who had returned to the hotel for a short visit came to see him. "My sister says that she thinks I can help you," said Jacob as he led Freddy to the roof. The two sat down just below the peak of it in silence for a few minutes before Jacob added, "So, let me guess; you're thinking about being transformed, aren't you?"
Freddy gasped slightly, but realized that Jacob had told him that he was there at the request of Karen. Freddy thought, She must have told him about it. "Yeah, I guess," Freddy said nervously, afraid that Jacob may misunderstand. "I mean, Drac told me that you zinged with a human, right?" Jacob nodded at the question. "Did you guys do it, or even think about it?"
A sad smile came over Jacob's face. A very select few ever knew about his zing, Juliet. He had only told three monsters: Dracula, Karen, and Martha. He wasn't sure how many humans knew about the couple, but he knew that her family knew about their children, both of whom were girls that never developed vampiric abilities. "We talked about it many times, but she always decided against it. She didn't want to lose her family. Even after her parents passed away, I still couldn't convince her to be turned."
"Wait, her parents would have…" but Freddy was interrupted by Jacob.
"They most likely would have disowned her, and their grandchildren."
"That's horrible!" Freddy exclaimed, shocked that people could be so heartless to someone they love.
"It was, but this was more than 250 years ago; thank the stars that attitudes have changed somewhat."
"I don't understand why you didn't just do it anyway."
"That wouldn't have been fair to her," Jacob said frowning, as he placed his left hand on Freddy's shoulder. "Think of it this way, we had 40 really good years together, and I still am around to see what we had brought into the world through our descendants. If she would have survived, which would have been questionable with her not being a willing participant, what it she would have hated it?" A tear entered Jacob's eyes as he added, "And worse, what if she hated me for it?" Jacob shook his head as he added, "I couldn't have lived with her hating me, even if I did what I knew was best for us."
"So, should I?"
"You're different, Freddy. You don't have anything to give up," Jacob said, the tears disappearing from his eyes as he stretched his arm out to wrap it around the back of the boy's neck. "Everything you want is here, and with Karen. I think you should, but only you can know for certain."
"Well," Freddy said slowly, "there is my sister."
Jacob gasped. Freddy had never told anyone he had any family other than Gustav. "You have a sister?"
"Kind of. I mean she's not really my sister. My mom adopted her, but I love her the same."
"How old is she?"
"Well, about that," Freddy said trying to stall, "we're not really sure. I mean, I think she's about 16, but she didn't remember what year she was born."
"You must think about her, then. I am sorry; I thought you had no family left."
Despite the fact that it might mean losing his sister, Freddy was fairly sure he should do it. He still wasn't certain about what he would be in for, as Dracula hadn't been a completely willing participant, and Jonathan didn't feel the process. Even still, he knew he should do it.
He was about to tell Karen that he was ready to do it, but something stopped him the day before he was finally ready to tell her.
Frederick appeared to his nephew again in a dream, but this time he was alone. Freddy was unsure where Martha had went, but didn't ask about that. He could tell that his uncle had something much more pressing on his mind that he needed to be told.
"I see that you are about ready to do it," Frederick told his nephew, who nodded in reply. "However, there is something that I must ask you to do first."
"Anything, uncle," Freddy answered unsure of what would be requested of him.
"You must bring you sister her," Frederick said directly. "She has a secret that has been hidden from both you and your grandfather, but all will be revealed when the time is right."
"Why? What does Maggie have to do with any of this?"
"Margaret belongs here, Freddy." His uncle wouldn't explain anymore about why, because the truth would be too shocking for him at the present time. "There is one other thing, Freddy." The boy waited to see what instructions his uncle would give him. "You must not bring any of your new friends. If any of the hunters saw them, they would most likely try to engage them in battle, and that must be avoided at all costs."
"Yes, uncle. I will do it alone if I must."
"You don't need to do it alone, but there is only one person who could be of assistance to you."
"Who is that?"
"Do you remember Ivan?"
"Ivan?" Freddy had remembered that about 7 years ago they had lost one of their best snipers. His name had been Ivan. But, when they tracked the GPS device in his clothing, it led them to a bloodied corpse that was so badly destroyed they couldn't identify the person with certainty, and they just assumed that it was him, as he was dressed in the uniform, but it was ripped to shreds. "He's dead, if it's who I think it is."
"No, Freddy. He's not dead, but rather Dracula helped Ivan fake his own death in order to resume the life he had before Gustav kidnapped him." Freddy was in tears as he realized that many of the soldiers that he was around were either convicts or kidnapped, but in either case they were indoctrinated into believing that monsters were vicious and brutal. "Dracula knows where he lives now, and could probably help you find him."
"Okay, uncle. I will ask Drac about him."
"I always knew that you weren't like your grandfather," Frederick said smiling at his nephew, as he ran his fingers through Freddy's hair. "Thank you for redeeming our family."
Freddy woke up again from his dream, again not sure what it meant. The only thing that he remembered was that he had promised to bring his sister to the hotel.
Technically, Maggie wasn't his sister by blood, but his mother had adopted her after she found her abandoned one day as she walked after the death of her husband. Freddy's mother always wanted to have more children, but her husband, Andrew died just after she became pregnant with Freddy. Several years later, Gustav allowed her to adopt Margret, even though there was always something a little different about her. This didn't stop Gustav from training her to continue in the family trade, even though she despised it even more than Freddy did.
Dracula had almost forgotten about Ivan. Even though Dracula had invited Ivan to vacation at the hotel at no expense if he ever wished to, he never came to visit. Wilbur had also wanted him to serve as a groomsman at his wedding, since the two had met when they were both young. Still, Wilbur never received a reply to the request, and feared the worse about his friend. "I can lead you to his home, if you wish," Dracula told Freddy as he prepared to depart.
"Drac, I can't ask you to come. Uncle says that it could start a battle if you do."
"I am willing to take that risk."
"But I'm not!" Freddy shouted bluntly. "Too many people here depend on you."
Dracula eventually relented, and told Freddy where Ivan had settled after he left the hotel. He only asked one thing in return for this; that being to bring Ivan to the hotel so his friends could see him one more time. This was a condition that Freddy was more than willing to agree.
Freddy left the next morning to return to his former home in Bucharest. He had told all of his friends that he would return as soon as possible, but there was something he needed to do before he could fully commit to being with Karen forever, along with everything that entailed. Upon hearing this, Karen was fairly sure that Freddy had made up his mind about being transformed, and he would probably do it.
Needless to say, everyone wished to accompany Freddy on his journey, but he had to politely decline. His uncle said that he needed to complete this quest without any of his new friends. But that didn't stop two small bats from stowing away in the hearse he borrowed for his journey.
