AN/: No I have not abandon this story. Though my muse has. I had to pretty much shoot myself in the foot to get this done. I don;t know what happened. I swear to god I wrote this chapter like three different times before I came up with this. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in ages. It was just like all of the sudden I was so written out and I couldn't get myself to write anything good anymore. So I took a break. Then I came back to things and I felt really out of it. I don't know you guys can be the judge of things. Anyway, you all should go back and re-read chapter 35 because I made some major changes that affect the Ball in this chapter and in chapter 37. You have been warned.
Running to the Enemies Arms
Chapter 36: Ready? Trust Fall!
by: deadlydaisy8o8
Originally Uploaded: Monday, June 13, 2011, 10:49PM
IMPORTANT: Re-read chapter 35. I went back and made some significant changes. It is crucial that you go and read what I changed to understand what the hell is going on.
Danny's POV
Me and Vlad were in the main kitchen inspecting all of the food that was being made for tonight. People, all in the same classic chef's white get-up, were bustling around each other, shouting out commands and asking for various things; occasionally there would be this loud beeping as a timer went off.
Why was I in the kitchen inspecting the food with Vlad? Easy, I was bored. And I couldn't get back to sleep after I woke up. That always happens. Whenever something big is going to happen I can never get to sleep. Anyway, I didn't really have that much to do and I figured I might as well tail Vlad while he was getting everything ready. That way I could be better prepared for tonight too.
The whole thing was really something to watch. Besides the fact that everyone looked at Vlad with fear it was funny to watch all of the people that went by go out of their way to stay out of a three foot radius where Vlad and I were standing. Wherever Vlad went everyone was very careful to leave him at least a three foot radius of personal space. It was like he was keeping up a personal force field. He wasn't though because I hadn't felt or run into one when I got closer to check.
Right now Vlad was inspecting a plate of little miniature pumpkins. Vlad had been staring at the plate of little cream puff thingies for a good long time now. I had watched Vlad do this 'inspecting' thing long enough today to know that if you weren't rudely dismissed right away, then there was something wrong. Honestly I don't know what Vlad was finding wrong with the little desserts. There were about thirty of them all arranged in a circular pattern on a serving tray that would be carried around later tonight. Each and every one had been painstakingly constructed with intricate vines and leaves coming off the top and a little poof of brown frosting that had had the top cut off of it to look like the stem. There was a faint gold dusting on them to give them dimension and the orange they were made of was just the perfect shade to set the whole thing off. They all looked perfect to me. Seriously I was torn between wanting to eat one and not wanting to mess them up because they looked so perfect.
The guy who I guess had made them was standing on the other side of the stainless steel counter waiting for what Vlad would have to say. He looked pretty average. He was in about his mid twenties with short brown hair and an average build. He probably wasn't half bad to look at when he wasn't red as a tomato and having trouble breathing. Finally Vlad finished studying the tray and looked up to the guy. Vlad's face was the picture of casual conversation, like absolutely nothing was wrong and he was going to maybe even give the guy a compliment. I always wondered how Vlad could switch his facial expressions like that. I'd have to ask him some time. Maybe he took an acting class or something? Anyway, the fact that Vlad didn't look mad seemed to calm the guy down a little bit. I wanted to tell the guy not to let his guard down that it was really all a trick to make him look stupid when Vlad did get mad. I'd seen Vlad do this little routine today already so I knew what was coming. The calmer Vlad got the more worried you should be.
Vlad sluffed up his sleeve and delicately with his index finger and thumb picked up one of the little desserts; his other hand held regally behind his back. I watched in anticipation as Vlad slowly turned the treat around in his hand like he was casually inspecting it. His eyes went from the mini pumpkin he was holding, back to the guy standing behind the counter. The guy was hanging on Vlad's every breath just waiting for what he would have to say. Honestly the fact that the guy was so nervous almost made me a little disgusted.
"Tell me, Jacob, did you have any leftover brown frosting when you were done making the four hundred of these like I had instructed?" The guy gulped before he opened his mouth clearly unsure of what the right answer was. Unfortunately for him there was no right answer. It was a trick question. Even by the way that Vlad had asked the question there was no way to tell what he wanted by asking it. That was another thing I was going to ask Vlad how to do eventually. I'd have to start making a list of things I was going to ask Vlad at this rate.
By the look on the guy's face I'd say he'd decided to go with the truth, which was a very good choice on his part. Based on my experience today, you always got yourself into more trouble by lying and trying to cover up your mistakes. The guy gulped nervously before he forced the words he wanted to say out of his mouth.
"Yes. I always make a little extra, just in case." Vlad nodded his head once before raising his eyebrow like he was innocently curious about something.
"So then you must have a valid explanation as to why this pumpkin's stem is shorter than its counterparts." When Vlad said this, the guy's eyes frantically went from the little pumpkin in Vlad's hands to the ones on the counter. Obviously he was trying to see the difference that Vlad had been able to pick out in the stems height. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water; grasping for an explanation. Vlad tilted his head slightly before he went on executing this guy's humiliation.
"No? I see… Jacob come around to my side of the counter." Jacob seemed to gasp for only a moment before he was hurrying along his side of the counter and rounding the corner to come within that magical three foot radius. Vlad stuck out the hand that was holding the ordurve as if offering it to the guy.
"Put this on the floor behind you for me." I looked at Vlad weirdly when I heard what he asked this Jacob guy to do. I didn't have a clue as to why Vlad would want the little dessert on the floor, or more specifically behind Jacob on the floor. Jacob nervously glanced from the pumpkin in Vlad's hand to Vlad once again before he slowly reached out to take the little pumpkin. He was obviously doing his best not to touch or even breathe the same air as Vlad while he did so. His hand was shaking so much I was honestly surprised that he didn't accidentally throw the pumpkin up against the wall.
Once the pumpkin was out of Vlad's hand Jacob very quickly set it on the floor close behind him; springing back to attention when he had done as Vlad asked. Vlad peered around the guy to look at the little pumpkin on the floor. Really it did look kind of funny. I mean, this pumpkin looked every bit like the real thing and it was just so radically out of proportion with everything else that was in the kitchen. Vlad took his attention fully away from the treat on the ground and back to Jacob.
"You've no doubt been standing all day Jacob; your legs must be tired. Why don't you have a seat?" Dumbly Jacob looked around him for a chair to sit in, eager to please. My eyes got wide as I realized what Vlad was going to have this Jacob person do. I glanced back and forth between Vlad and Jacob. Vlad was smirking with delight and Jacob was having trouble keeping himself from visibly shaking. There was no way that this guy was going to allow himself to be humiliated like this. I mean I had been watching Vlad humiliate people all day. He had insulted people to their faces and nobody had yet to stand up to him. Every single one of them just took it. Most of them even apologized! But I mean there was a line right? There had to a point where someone would refuse to take Vlad's crap. Finally Jacob found a chair and started to move to go sit in it. Vlad stopped him before he could move his feet.
"Right here on the floor will be fine Jacob. You're still young. You can handle that sort of thing." Jacob stared dumbly for a moment at Vlad before he nodded and slowly twisted around to reach behind him and pick up the pumpkin that was in the spot he would sit once he was on the floor. You know, because that's the logical thing to do to avoid getting mini pumpkin dessert all over your butt. The guy didn't realize that the desert was there for a reason.
"Ah ah ah. Did I tell you to move the ordurve?" Jacob froze on his way to the ground leaving him in a sort of half bent over half twisted around position. After a moment Jacob's head slowly shook back and forth.
"Then I believe you are bright enough to leave it there and fill my request, hm?" My mouth fell open when Jacob merely nodded his head and moved to sit on the little cream dessert. Carefully Jacob positioned himself to sit directly on top of the little pumpkin. I looked to Vlad; completely not believing what I was seeing. This guy was seriously going to sit on a little dessert pumpkin because Vlad told him to. Vlad only smirked at me as if to say 'I told you so'.
I continued to just gape at this Jacob guy who was now sitting on the floor turning a shade of purple. I was torn between laughing hysterically and yelling at him for being such a wuss. The thought was having serious trouble making it through my brain that someone would willingly humiliate themselves like that without even a threat of punishment. Vlad raised his eyebrows at my reaction before he pulled up slightly on his pant legs to crouch down and be at Jacob's eye level.
"Now Jacob, can I be assured that you will not be making any more mistakes?" Jacob now wouldn't dare look Vlad in the face. He stared at his own lap and nodded not able to even give Vlad a verbal response. Vlad grinned mischievously at Jacob before he stood back up and spoke in a loud voice to address the entire kitchen.
"Anything less than perfection, everyone, is not an option. I see anything come out of this Kitchen that is less than perfect and you will have more than this fate to worry about. Carry on." Vlad's voice carried over the stainless steel and chrome effortlessly. Though it wasn't like anyone was straining to hear what he was saying. It wasn't until now that I noticed, but while Vlad was busy 'punishing' Jacob everyone had stopped to witness what was going on. As a result it had gotten quite and nobody had had to strain to hear what Vlad said.
Though the stillness didn't last long. With a burst of motion the Kitchen swung back into motion at Vlad's command. Shouts, beeping, and sizzling filled the air once more. I turned to back to Vlad only to find him already walking towards the door. I jogged a little to catch up. I still couldn't believe what I had seen. As soon as we were outside the Kitchen and in the carpeted hallway all of the noise died away. Needing to say something about the complete waste of time, dignity, and dessert I had just witnessed; I blurted out the first thing that came into my head.
"You could have at least let me eat it, you know." Vlad looked to me for a beat before he let out a hearty laugh. I couldn't help but smile a little bit when he did. I could tell that Vlad didn't get to laugh like that very often. Vlad quickly gathered himself to respond to my comment.
"You can have as many as you like tonight Daniel. I'm sure Jacob will be going through the batches that he's already made and replacing several. You can have the extra." I just shrugged and continued to walk along side Vlad. I was about to put my hands in the pockets of my jeans before I remembered that I wasn't supposed to. I had decided to wear a buttoned up oxford and a tie today, with my jeans. It was a compromise with what Vlad would have me wear, sort of. I decided I'd vent more of my frustration of what had just happened as we walked down the hallway.
"I just don't see why that was even necessary. I couldn't find anything wrong with the things. I still don't understand how you saw that little of a detail in the first place. And it's not like anyone else would have noticed it anyway." I shook my head slightly at the lack of reason for what Vlad had done. As I was shaking my head I caught Vlad smirking coyly out of the corner of my eye. It was the look on his face that sent a single possibility blazing through the front of my head.
"There wasn't even anything wrong with that dessert was there?" at my comment Vlad's mischievous smirk only grew bigger and more obvious. So basically, yes, there hadn't been anything wrong with any of the desserts. He had made the whole thing up just for his own amusement. I grabbed my head and dragged my hands down my face in disbelief. A low moan escaped my mouth as I grumbled to myself about the total fruitloopiness of the person walking next to me. Vlad laughed at my reaction.
"Oh come now Daniel there was no real harm done, and what's wrong with a little fun now and then? Besides I'm sure there's bound to be a mistake somewhere in the batch of ordurves he didn't bring out to show me. It's not like I was making some radical claim, and he made a perfect example of what would happen upon failure; ensuring that tonight I will receive optimum performance from the entire kitchen staff." I just shook my head again and brought my head up to face Vlad.
"So you felt it was necessary to pick out this one guy because you wanted to make sure that everyone was doing their best? Vlad there are other ways to get people to work hard, you don't have to threaten them." I stared at Vlad in disdain. He glanced to me while bobbing his head, acknowledging what I had said.
"Yes I am perfectly aware there are other ways to get people to perform at their peak. I could offer a positive incentive or be a 'nice person to work for' however I find those methods much more trouble than they are worth. If I made myself easily approachable people would feel more comfortable trying to leech off of my wealth in any way they can. I find that I have enough of that problem as it is." I looked away from Vlad when he made his point. It was a good one, honestly. It had not gone unnoticed by me that everyone we'd talked to today practically worshipped the dirt that Vlad walked on. The whole thing was seriously demented and overrated. I mean really? Yeah that Jacob guy probably didn't deserve to be called out by Vlad like that, but he never once stood up for himself or looked like he had any self respect. It was disgusting to watch; people completely abandon any sense of self importance they might have had when Vlad walked into the room. They didn't even know that Vlad was half ghost and could literally tear them apart if he wanted. The only reason they were acting like that was because Vlad had money and influence. It was like one giant super amplified version of what happens to me at school. I had figured out really quickly that the only way to get people to back off and give me some freaking space, was to be cold. Really, I had tried being subtle and nice about it at first, but it didn't work. People either didn't get the hint or didn't care that I was giving the hint in the first place. I guess I could kind of understand why Vlad would need to be mean.
I looked back up to Vlad to find him grimacing to himself, probably for the same reason I was. Still, I had to draw the line somewhere. What Vlad did back there was still pushing it.
"Okay fine, I get it, but you could have at least picked someone who was actually making a mistake and wasn't already about to wet himself just because you were there." Vlad turned to me as a smirk curled onto his face at my comment. I only raised my eyebrows a little bit in response. Vlad opened his mouth.
"Did I hear correctly little badger? Are you suggesting that my actions were justified? Whatever happened to protecting the innocent?" My eyes widened at how Vlad was twisting my words. I hadn't said that! A moment later I realized that Vlad just wanted to play a game of wits. A teasing glare settled onto my face as I responded.
"I don't think you were listening close enough, I am on the victim's side. When did I ever say that Jacob got what he deserved? He was completely innocent and the only reason his butt is covered in orange frosting is because you were bored. He didn't even do anything wrong. Don't try and give me any of that 'ensuring optimum performance', crap either. You were bored and I could tell. You can't go around humiliating people for no reason. That's just cruel." Vlad looked to me with one of his eyebrows raised. There was this smile on his face like he was secretly amused with something. I made sure to pay close attention to what he said because of it.
"Fine you've caught me. I certainly did think there was a need for an amount of entertainment. I was operating under the pretense that someone who so obviously feared me deserved to have their beliefs vindicated. However it's apparent that you think that there was someone who deserved to be humiliated more than Jacob. Do tell who that might be?" Vlad looked at me like he was challenging me to come up with a better option than Jacob. I thought for a minute to make sure that I picked out the right person from my not-so crystal clear memory of what had just happened. I hadn't really been paying attention to the rest of the room.
"There was that one girl over in the corner. She was kind of bigger and she didn't really look like she was doing anything when we walked in. She wasn't really wearing her hairnet all the way either and that's kind of gross. You could have picked her." I looked up to Vlad to see what he would have to say. He just looked at me like he was unimpressed before he rolled his eyes the tiniest bit and turned forwards again. I sighed. Crap I probably should have paid more attention to the room we were in. There was probably a person that wasn't doing what they were supposed to at all and I had missed them or couldn't remember. I spoke up again; hoping to redeem myself a little.
"Okay so I can't really remember if there was anyone in the room that would have deserved it, but that's not important. I mean, messing with someone like that for a laugh is sort of lame anyway. Really, even I figured out how to work that prank a long time ago. Now that I think about it, it's kind of stupid that you didn't pull something more complicated. If your goal is to get a group of people to back off or work hard you should have done something that would have affected the entire room. You can make invisible duplicates right? Why didn't you just… What?" I stopped as I heard Vlad start to chuckle beside me. I was pretty sure I hadn't said anything funny. Vlad turned to me again as we rounded a corner.
"No no, please do continue to tell me how wrong it was for me not to have pulled something more elaborate in the kitchen. Really, I was starting to see things from your point of view. Why should I hold back when I can really do so much more? Next time I'll be sure to follow your advice little badger." I stopped and my mouth fell open. I was about to protest and say that I hadn't said anything like that when it occurred to me that; yes, yes I had. I had been just about to explain to Vlad how it was stupid that he didn't take full advantage of the opportunity to pull something over on everyone in the Kitchen. Vlad continued down the hallway with his hands behind his back, laughing to himself. I blinked a few times before I snapped out of it and jogged to catch up with him.
"Get back here fruitloop!" Vlad slowed slightly so and I quickly leveled off beside him. Vlad sent me a glare, obviously for me having called him a fruitloop. I sent one right back.
"Hey, I told you multiple times now that I don't like your stupid pet name. You keep calling me little badger and I'm going to start calling you fruitloop." Vlad scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh Daniel, what are we going to do with you? It's true you have made a great deal of progress but you still have so far to go before you're up to par. We'll continue to work on it I suppose." I was about to ask what the heck Vlad was talking about when we rounded another corner. As soon as we did anything I had been previously thinking zipped out of my head. When we had turned the corner we had walked into the entranceway to the ballroom. It was a short but wide hallway that connected the hallway we had just been in to the actual ball room. The area kind of felt something like a lobby area. The floors and walls were made of stone, like an actual castle might be. All of the individual stones were carved to fit perfectly together so that there wasn't any grout in between any of them. The ceiling was at least two stories tall and was made of a really dark aged wood. There were windows that went up the length of the wall. Inside and framing the windows were iron bars that looked less than safe the way they twisted and bent up towards the ceiling. I had been about to stop to take in the whole scene when I felt a gentle hand on my back urging me forward. I glanced to Vlad for a second to see him smiling at me. Wanting to get a better look at the room before we moved through the stone arch to the actual ball room, I ripped my gaze away from Vlad. There was a guy on a ladder along the side of the wall. When I looked it was clear that he was putting up these really creepy looking torches in the spaces between each of the windows. The only other person in the room besides the man hanging lights, me, and Vlad, was a woman who was very diligently sweeping the huge floor.
Again my attention was demanded somewhere else as I heard an engine like a lawnmower start up. The noise was huge as it bounced off of the rock floors and ceilings. It was obvious that the noise was coming from the other side of the stone arch that me and Vlad were about to pass though. I looked up to Vlad again and he only continued to smile down at me. Deciding to let the curiosity get the better of me I let myself be guided into the ball room by Vlad whose hand was still on my back.
As soon as we passed through the stone arch it was obvious where the noise was coming from. It was a surprisingly small red generator that looked to be hooked up to some other kind of air compressor with all kinds of tubes and cords. The tubes lead to a group of three people on ladders spraying some fine gray dust on the windows on the left side of the room. The windows themselves matched the ones in the weird hallway, with the same twisting sharp iron bars; the only difference was these windows had to be at least three stories tall. I don't know what the guys were doing to the windows but the ones they had already finished working on looked like they had been aged a hundred years in some haunted house, while the ones they hadn't gotten to yet still looked sort of 'castle like' and clean. My attention was drawn away from the guys by the windows as another guy started to walk towards me and Vlad. He had a protruding beer gut, a bristly beard, and mustache. As the guy walked towards us he pulled at some papers that he was holding under his arms. As everyone was that got within at least ten feet of Vlad, he was nervous. Though I had to say this guy was handling the close proximity to Vlad much better than the Jacob guy was. Whoever this guy was it was apparent that he was in charge of whatever was going on in the room.
"Mr. Masters, good to see you! I hope everything is to your liking thus far. Everything has gone off without a hitch and we're actually ahead of schedule." I looked to Vlad as he nodded curtly to the man now standing at the edge of that oh so impenetrable three foot radius.
"Very good Martin, very good. Though you understand I will be taking a look around regardless." Martin nodded enthusiastically and opened up his arms to gesture around the room where more than five different things must have been going on at once.
"Of course. What would you like to see first?" Vlad seemed to look around the room for moment, taking everything in, before he turned to me.
"What would you like to see first Daniel?" My mouth opened and closed in surprise as I looked back and forth between Vlad and the manager guy. Vlad just looked at me expectantly while the manager person looked like he was being thrown for the same loop I was. Finally I snapped out of it long enough to pick something to go 'inspect'. Okay whatever; I guess I could handle this. I glanced around the room and my eyes quickly fell on a bedroom sized white tent in the middle.
"What's that?" Vlad got an amused smirk on his face and turned back to the manager person.
"We'll be seeing the chandelier first then." The manager guy looked from Vlad to me and then to Vlad again as he blinked and nodded.
"Okay, then right this way." I followed Vlad and the other guy and we quickly came to a stop as the manager person had to open a slot in the tent for us to walk through. I hadn't been able to tell from further away, but up close it was clear that the inside of the tent was completely sealed off from the outside. By now I was really curious as to what exactly was going on with this supposed, 'chandelier'. First it's in a tent and now the tent it's in has to be sealed off for some reason? Yeah I thought it was weird too.
The manager person held open the flap he had just unsealed for us to walk through. When Vlad didn't immediately go through I looked over to see what he was doing. He nodded with his head for me to go through first. Slightly apprehensive about what exactly I would be finding on the other side I looked back to where the tent was being held open and was careful not to get snagged up in anything as I stepped through. Vlad was right behind me. As soon as we were through the manager person started resealing the door.
On the inside of the tent, the noise from the air compressor died away slightly, but not much. As soon as the four people on the inside of the tent realized who had stepped through they all stopped their laughing and chatter. None of this seemed to phase Vlad so I tried not to let it phase me either. I turned my attention to the massive chandelier in the center of the tent. It had to be at least as tall as Vlad if not taller. The diameter I would guess had to have been six feet. At least it was apparent now why the tent that housed it had to be so big. The light fixture was huge. Though I guess it had to be if it was going to realistically light the equally huge ball room.
The entire thing was covered in hanging crystals that surrounded currently unlit candles. The metal that held everything together was a brushed gold that didn't look tacky despite the shear amount of it. The fixture was currently being held up by a kind of wood makeshift tripod thing, but there was an obvious place for a chain to be hooked up so that it could be hung from the ceiling later. I jumped slightly as the manager person started talking on the other side of Vlad.
"So, we've already refitted the electrical sockets with candle holders like the chandelier originally had. We just got in the shipment of fifty eight Black Widows and are in the process of getting them on the chandelier, as you can see. I imagine it will be a couple of hours before they finish their job and we can get the chandelier back on its chain and ready to be lit for tonight." My eyes got wide when I heard what I thought I heard. I searched the tent for the deadly insects and unfortunately I wasn't disappointed. The team of four people that had been in the tent before were carefully hustling back and forth between a small table with a large stack of jewelry sized cardboard boxes next to it, and the chandelier. I watched the process, in shock more than anything.
A person would walk over to the table gently grab one of the small cardboard boxes and carefully pry it open. The person would then stick one of their gloved hands into the box and carefully remove a shiny black spider on their fingertips. Next they would glide over towards the Chandelier and wait patiently for the spider to walk off of their hands and onto the glittering crystals.
I looked closer on the chandelier itself and saw that there were already a lot of spiders on the thing. Every once in a while the right light would be caught in some of the spiders' web and it would flash into visibility before it was gone again and you couldn't tell it had ever even been there. I was shaken from analyzing everything again when Vlad started to talk.
"Very good. Though I am slightly concerned that the chandelier will not be sufficiently covered in time for the Ball, is there any way that we could perhaps encourage these specimen to spin their webs a small deal faster?" I just blinked at Vlad as the purpose for the deadly little bugs was made clear. He just wanted spider webs on his chandelier. Vlad was steadily gazing at the manager waiting for an answer to his question. Not really knowing what to do when Vlad was looking at him like that he just started spouting half sentences.
"Well, I'm not sure if there's…but I suppose we could try…I'm not certain it's possible-"
"So you're telling me that you had fifty eight of some of the most deadly spiders in the world brought to your house just so they could put spider webs on your chandelier?" I snapped out of my temporary brain freeze to question Vlad with disbelief. Vlad, eager to abandon whatever the manager had been saying, turned to me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. I hadn't really been paying attention to whatever he had been saying so I didn't realize I was cutting the manager off until he gave me a look of annoyance behind Vlad's back.
"Yes Daniel that's exactly why these particular arachnids are here. Is there a problem? " I decided it was okay to ignore the manager guy and continue talking to Vlad. I mean it wasn't like he was saying anything useful anyway. Plus it didn't look like Vlad had minded that I interrupted. I rolled my eyes at Vlad as I let him know exactly what the problem was with having all these deadly spiders here.
"You do realize that other sane people will just go to the dollar store and buy a bag of fake spider webs to put everywhere themselves. I mean this thing is going to be up in the air where nobody's going to be able to get a good look at it anyway. Sure authenticity is great and all, but common. This is over the line. It's just not worth it." I crossed my arms when I was finished and waited for Vlad's reply. He had to admit this was at least a little bit ridiculous. Vlad shifted his weight and just continued to smirk at me.
"So that is the problem is it? You're still uncomfortable about having incomprehensible amounts of money at your fingertips? Daniel this sort of frivolity is something you are going to have to come to expect. Believe me when I say that when this is finished, it will be something far more spectacular than any mere commoner decoration you are accustom to. There is a very large difference between this and that cheap cotton everyone else uses. It is this sort of detail, Daniel, that sets me above the crowd, and being set above the crowd is entirely about the details. You'll learn as much eventually." Vlad clapped his hand lightly on my shoulder as he turned again to look at the giant, crystal, spider infested chandelier, "Now if only I could find a way to get this sufficiently coated for tonight." Oblivious to the fact that the manager was about to open his mouth again; I decided I'd give my two cents. To me the answer to the problem was pretty obvious anyway.
"Why don't you just get some other little bugs in here?" Vlad turned to me again with a curious expression on his face. I caught a glance at the manager guy before Vlad started talking, and he didn't look too happy with the fact that I had stolen Vlad's attention, again.
"Why would we want more insects in here Daniel? They aren't going to do anything but be eaten up by the spiders." I nodded slowly; was Vlad seriously still not catching on? I thought it was pretty obvious. I guess it's what would get me motivated, I mean if I were a spider.
"Yeah, that's what they'd be there for." Vlad now didn't even open his mouth and just continued to stand there and wait for my explanation. I sighed a little bit and shifted on my feet; a slight blush coming to my face. "Well I mean if there were actually bugs in here for the spiders to catch maybe they would see more of a purpose to make their webs in the first place. I mean what's the point in making a web if there isn't anything to catch? I don't know, it made sense to me." Vlad looked at me very curiously. I couldn't tell if he was impressed or if he was stopping himself from laughing. I watched as Vlad turned to the manager and the other four people in the tent.
"Well would something along those lines be plausible?" I watched as Vlad started to go around the room and make eye contact with everyone. You could tell who Vlad was looking at because the person on the receiving end of Vlad's stare would choke up a little bit. Vlad got to the fourth person who had been in the tent before he got an answer. When Vlad moved his gaze as if he were going to the next person she stuttered to life.
"I-I don't see why not." Vlad smiled slightly as he brought his gaze back to the girl who had spoken.
He waved his hand in a little circle gesturing for her to continue. She quickly obeyed. "W-we usually inject hormones into the widow's food to get them to produce more silk, but as far as a short term solution I don't see why that wouldn't work. It sounds logical enough." Vlad grinned a little to himself as he stood a little taller, giving everyone in the area the impression he was about to give an order. That was a good thing, considering that's what he did next.
"Very well, one of you shall go fetch the appropriate insects that would be needed and the rest of you can continue to work on what is already here. Martin I believe we are done here and that a trip to check on the lanterns progress is due. That is, unless there's a problem?" Vlad turned to give Martin a look just as he was shooting me a glare. The manager's face quickly fell as he saw that Vlad had caught him glaring at me. He stuttered to life and was quick to try and redeem himself.
"N-no problem. I don't have a problem. Okay then we should be going now. Right this way." I don't know if it was because we were inside the tent this time, but Martin unsealed the door much faster than he had coming in. This time Vlad invited himself out first and I tailed close behind. I could still feel Martin glaring at my back, like it was my fault that Vlad had caught him glaring. Yeah right, okay I'm sorry I had interrupted the guy but it's his own fault for so obviously glaring at me because of it.
Vlad didn't wait for Martin to reseal the tent once he was on the other side and just started walking away. It wasn't hard to figure that if Vlad wasn't waiting I wouldn't be waiting either. I didn't exactly want to spend unnecessary time next to a person who obviously wasn't happy with me at the moment. I jogged a few steps to catch up with Vlad. We were headed to the stage at the back of the room behind the white tent we had just come out of.
Once we got behind the white tent and my view of the stage behind it was clear, it was very obvious what Vlad had meant by 'lanterns'. Set up on the stage was a pumpkin carving area. But the pumpkins being carved weren't exactly your average everyday pumpkins. The things were bigger than any pumpkin I had ever seen. I didn't even know it was possible for them to get that big. They must have stood at least two and a half feet tall. I wouldn't be surprised if those things had weighed over five hundred pounds. Giant piles of pumpkin guts sat around people who were diligently carving away on tiny stools in front of their respective pumpkins. The pumpkins themselves were slightly elevated off the ground too, on some wooden boxes. It was still kind of hard to hear over the air compressor, but as we got closer you could hear the slap of pumpkin guts being thrown to the blue tarp that covered the stage the carvers were working on. The whole thing looked like a very serious operation.
Vlad led me around to the back of the stage where there were some stairs so we could get up without having to climb awkwardly. We came through the heavy red curtain and onto the stage. Everyone who was working had in ear plugs and looked like they were all way too far gone in their own little worlds to notice we were there.
While Vlad and I had been walking around the stage, Martin had decided to just hop up the more direct way. He walked through the staggering of carvers towards us. He had to shout slightly to be heard over the air compressor still running for the guys doing the windows.
"Some of them have been going at it for at least three hours now. They should be coming up here on a lunch break pretty quick. Do you want to take a quick look around and see what they've got so far?" I watched as Vlad gave a curt nod and waited for Martin to lead him around. Martin saw Vlad give him a look and he sprung into motion. Quickly he led us around the mounds of pumpkin guts. We started at the edge of the stage; working our way back to the curtain.
Right away it was obvious who had been working longer than everyone else. The first person we walked by was still working on clearing out their pumpkin. They had cut off the top and their entire arm, shoulder, and neck would disappear as they reached down to try and grab all of the guts that were inside. Then there were people who were done scooping out guts. The giant mounds of orange mush sat next to the people as they carved away. However the things these people were carving were not turning into jack-o-lanterns, they were turning into sculptures of horror. Even from just what they had gotten done, the twisted pain hate and terror filled faces that the carvers were starting on were evident. Yeah, it was pretty insane. I could never do anything like that. I was lucky if I could draw a good stick figure. These things looked amazing and they weren't even halfway done yet. They had to look pretty bad ass when they were lit.
I stayed out of the way as Vlad inspected the pumpkins and the Manager person rambled on about things I didn't really care about. I watched Vlad as he slipped again into his business persona while I trailed behind, falling into the background. I was kind of shocked when Vlad had included me in that last little conversation about the chandelier. Up until now I had just been watching. Just following Vlad around and noticing different things about how Vlad operated around other people.
Vlad glanced to me a couple of times as we moved on around the Ball room, making sure that I was still there and I guess to see how I was doing. We looked at the tables being decorated with antique candelabras and black lace table cloths. We inspected the chairs around the tables; constructed to look like something out of the Middle Ages, complete with heavy iron rivets and dark worn hard wood. I watched as Vlad instructed where people were to put the twelve foot suits of armor and creepy looking coffins that were delivered to the room. Vlad talked to the people on the ladders doing stuff to the windows, making sure that everything was running okay. The entire time I just watched and listened.
It was something to watch really. It wasn't so much that Vlad commanded attention, but that most of it was automatically given to him. The way he held himself ramrod straight with his shoulders back and his chin slightly up stated that he wouldn't stand for any nonsense. So people didn't give him any. Of course there were a lot of times that I was flat out disgusted with the way people would practically throw themselves at Vlad's feet; catering to his every whim. It was obvious by now that Vlad was pretty disgusted with that little aspect of things too. It was weird because I thought he would be ecstatic about people throwing themselves over him like that. I mean he was supposed to be the evil villain right? Evil villains were supposed to love that kind of stuff. I guess I was wrong when my assumption came to Vlad though.
It was weird to watch Vlad interact with people. I had never really seen him talk with anybody normal before. I had only ever seen him when he was in the middle of trying to do something less than admirable. Now though he was different. If Vlad reminded me of anything it was a military general. He didn't speak unnecessarily and when he did it was to give an order or reprimand someone. He walked around like he expected immediate obedience, so that is what people gave him.
Though he wasn't just an emotionless zombie. I could see him smirk whenever someone would sputter over themselves after he had addressed them. He was obviously amused when it was apparent someone was about to have a heart attack just because he had said their name. When someone made a mistake or his orders weren't followed correctly he would press his lips into a thin line and fix the wrong do-er with an icy glare. That was enough to make most people blush and start to shake before we moved on. For the most part Vlad kept himself isolated. Not like physically, he was always around other people. But he would always seem like he was on a different wavelength than everyone else. People would talk to him but he wouldn't really connect with anyone or act like he was paying anyone his full attention. He kept to himself and really the only time he would fully smirk or seem like he was in the same universe was when I was talking to him.
Eventually we got done looking at the Ball room and we made our way back into the carpeted hallway. It was only then that I realized how loud it had actually been in the Ballroom, enhanced ghost hearing aside. The silence seemed to ring a little bit and mine and Vlad's footsteps (okay well mostly mine) seemed to thud loudly in the empty halls we were walking in. Now that we were away from other people Vlad seemed to relax out of his stiff posture a little bit and he became more human. The way Vlad dropped his barriers when we were in between going from place to place in the mansion; he intentionally or unintentionally made himself easier to talk to. It was now when we were alone that I would voice my thoughts or ask questions before we arrived at our next destination and he put his walls back up. I kept up with Vlad's long strides as we walked down the hallway.
"So where are we going now? I can't think of anything else you need to check on. We covered the food and the ball room. What else are we going to do?" Vlad smiled slightly at my curiosity before he replied, not slowing in the slightest.
"We only have a few more things to oversee before we can retire and prepare ourselves for this evening, mainly the parking arrangements that will have to be made to accommodate everyone. We won't be doing that until after we have lunch however. You are still much too thin and I will not have your afternoon meal delayed any further than it already is." I glared lightly in response to the jab at my weight. Really I was getting better. The fact that Vlad was cramming me with carbs and protein at every available meal was probably a large part in that, but still.
We made our way to the dining room and sat down in our usual spots. Vlad at the head of the table and me directly to his right. Like she knew that we were coming, Tiffinany opened the door to Vlad's private kitchen with her hip; miraculously balancing at least ten different dishes on her arms. She set a very small toasted sandwich in front of Vlad with a glass of iced tea and then set the rest of what she was carrying in front of me.
I sighed as I looked over the copious amounts of food that Vlad was expecting me to eat. Vlad only chuckled at my antics as he watched me look over the challenge set before me. It was a beef roast, mashed potatoes with a gravy lake, broccoli with some cheese sauce, a garden salad with all kinds of fixings on it, French onion soup with some crackers on the side, and a tall glass of milk next to a complementary glass of water. I sighed and unrolled the silverware from its napkin.
There was no way I was going to eat all of this. I never did. Argue as I might against this much food being made for me in the first place, Vlad would go ahead and have it all made anyway. I picked up my fork and started shoveling food mindlessly into my face. When I paused to get a gulp of milk down I caught Vlad grimacing at my table manners. I only smirked and continued to shovel away. The only reason I was getting away with eating so fast right now was because when Vlad had tried to reprimand me for it earlier, I had argued that if I was going to finish my huge meal in any sort of timely manner that I had to eat quickly. Vlad daintily put down the half of his sandwich he was working on to talk.
"Daniel, do you even know how to conduct yourself at a dinner table. This sort of display will not be acceptable tonight." I rolled my eyes as I swallowed the mashed potatoes that were in my mouth, going back in for some more beef.
"Of course I do Vlad. I'm not that stupid. Gezze. You know it'd be easier for me to slow down and show you some manners if you didn't expect me to finish a full three course meal in the time it takes you to finish a half a sandwich. We've been over this." Vlad winced in disgust as I shoved a piece of meat that was probably too big into my mouth.
"Dan-" Vlad and I suddenly stopped as we were interrupted by a weird sounding chime. My first instinct was that the sound was a doorbell, but I wasn't sure. That's what it sort of sounded like anyway, maybe if the doorbell was underwater. It wasn't like anything I had ever heard before. And anyway, it couldn't be Vlad's doorbell.
I'd asked why I hadn't heard any doorbells earlier, with all of these people showing up for the ball. Vlad had said that it was unreasonable to try and have a doorbell that would be loud enough to carry throughout the whole mansion, so he just had all of his staff carry around a little buzzer things the size of about a quarter in their pockets. When someone pressed the doorbell at the front door the buzzer would vibrate, like a cell phone, and they would know that someone was there. So the weird chimes that sounded like they were underwater couldn't be a doorbell. The sound just sounded so, I dunno, ghostly. It made me almost as anxious as if my parents had been showing me a ghost invention.
As the short tune reverberated throughout the dining room I looked to Vlad to explain what the heck was going on. He had sighed and nonchalantly gone back to eating his sandwich. Before he took a bite he caught me looking at him and explained what the noise was.
"It's nothing to worry about Daniel, merely a signal to the workers that their lunch is over. Now as I was saying before, I may let you get away with your barbaric displays under your flimsy excuses here, but proper etiquette is not a joking matter when we have company. As soon as I deem you well enough to go back to eating regular portioned meals you will be practicing proper table manners whenever anything so much as passes your lips." I allowed myself to relax with the explanation and Vlad's return to regular conversation. It was a good enough explanation for me at the moment. Though I would be asking questions later, like why did it sound so weird? I had never heard anything like that before what would you even use to make a noise like that? I decided to let myself fall back into conversation now that my anxiety over the ethereal noise had been explained away.
"Whatever Vlad. You know, it doesn't exactly help that the food is so amazing to begin with. I can hardly be held accountable for my food intake when you put something this awesome in front of me." Vlad smirked as he brought his sandwich down from his face again.
"Well I'd imagine that to someone who was accustom to eating food that was glowing and alive most meals, anything would taste heavenly in comparison. Now stop your chatter and eat, you've still got a long way to go before I'm letting you leave this table." I rolled my eyes and picked up my fork again to eat some more broccoli. I wasn't impartial to broccoli but it actually tasted pretty good with whatever this sauce stuff was on it. I wasn't kidding about the food being amazing. I swear the roast had actually melted in my mouth. I swallowed when I was done chewing and was about to go in for another forkful when I froze.
As I breathed in through my nose the air that went rushing down my wind pipe felt freezing. I had trained myself a long time ago to stop breathing at this point and prevent that infamous puff of cold air from coming visibly right back out of my mouth and giving me away. I waited five seconds before I exhaled, allowing time for the air to warm up in my lungs. In those five seconds I assessed my surroundings, going straight into battle mode. My pupils dilated and my blood pressure immediately rose in anticipation. I had a duty to take care of.
As I put my fork down I realized I was alone in the room except for Vlad. This was good news. I wouldn't have to come up with any hair brained excuses as for why I was leaving. A quick glance to make sure there weren't any security cameras and I got out of my chair, going ghost as I did so. I would let Vlad know what was going on. He would want to know whether there was a ghost in his house, I was sure. I was already wasting time though. I had to get a move on. I had innocent people to protect.
"Vlad there's a ghost, I'll be right back." At any other time I might have seen the brief look of panic and worry that flit over Vlad's face; I might have wondered why a ghost was showing up now, of all times, when one hadn't shown up before. However this wasn't any other time; right now I was in the zone, and by the time Vlad had registered what I was doing I was already through the floor, following my ghost sense like a dog on sent. It took maybe three seconds before I was led to Vlad's lab.
Once again I might have noticed at another time that I didn't exactly have a Fenton Thermos, or that I wasn't exactly allowed to be in Vlad's secret lab without permission, but I wasn't thinking. I was in battle mode, and right now the only thing that mattered was the ghost. My muscels rippled as I psyched myself up for battle. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. I had to go beat it and send it back to the Ghost Zone at any and all costs.
I came through the ceiling of Vlad's lab in time to see the doors to Vlad's Portal hiss shut. I eyed the air around the portal suspiciously. There wasn't a ghost I knew that would go through the trouble of shutting the portal once they had gotten through, which meant that it had to be a ghost I didn't know. I racked my brain for info on the ghosts Vlad had let me read up on in his Ghost Files; preparing myself for what might be coming.
I had been subconsciously aware of Vlad's signature slightly behind me on the way down to the lab. I had grown accustom to the presence of Vlad's signature over the weeks we spent training every day. Its specific feel no longer sent me into a panic whenever I felt it within my range it was familiar and I had spent enough time around it now that I wasn't put on guard because of it. So when I had felt Vlad change and follow me I hadn't been distracted, and I wasn't surprised to hear him when he started speaking behind me either.
"Daniel, are you sure there is someone here? None of my alarms are going off and unless someone has tampered with-"
Clang-Clang-Clang! The sound of three metallic bangs rang through the lab and a voice screamed from behind the heavy metal doors of the portal. My head snapped to the noise. Images of Behemoth, or some equally huge and dangerous creature pounding ruthlessly on the other side of the doors formed in my head. I was pulled back from my speculations as a voice came shortly after the banging had stopped.
"You dare lay a hand on me Plasmius! You shall pay for disgracing me in such a way! Forget about your contract. Do you hear me? I don't care if the twerp is coming. What grounds is that to shove me out the door? You open up this portal right now and face me or you can forget about me doing any favors for you ever again!" I just gapped at the portal doors. I knew that accent and aristocratic tone anywhere. I let my muscles uncoil themselves a little bit as the threat level was taken down a few notches in my head. I hadn't fought her in over a year actually; she was nowhere near powerful enough to pose a threat to me anymore. The adrenalin that had been building in my system seemed to recede as I realized that I wasn't in any real danger. For one, she was on the other side of the doors at the moment; however that happened. And two she wasn't really a threat to me in the first place. The question now was what did she want with Vlad? What was this about a contract? I turned to Vlad.
"Desiree?"
The under-water-chimes sounded again before there were more loud clangs on the door. Once again I was taken off guard by the noise, but this time it definitely sounded like it was coming from within the room. Once again I was reminded of a doorbell, especially with the way something was restarting the short tune over and over in a vicious manner. Like a little kid who doesn't know to only hit the doorbell once. I listened to the chimes interspaced between the loud clanging Desiree was still making. And then it all made sense in a very weird way all at the same time. My initial suspicion had been right; only it the doorbell wasn't for the front door, or even any regular old door. Vlad had a doorbell on his Ghost Portal.
"Plasmius!" I watched as another Vlad appeared next to the controls for the portal and both Vlad's shouted at the same time towards the door.
"Be patient woman!" My head whipped back and forth between the Vlad by the portal and the Vlad that was hovering with me by the ceiling. When did Vlad make a duplicate? Why couldn't I feel its signature? Why would Vlad make an invisible duplicate with a suppressed ecto-signature to go answer to door when he could just as easily float down to answer it? While the Vlad by the portal was now typing furiously away, the one that was with me sighed and started to talk.
"Daniel, stay behind me." What the heck would Vlad want me behind him for? It's not like Desiree was dangerous or anything. What the heck was even going on? What was with the door bell, the duplicate, the contract?
"Vlad, what the h-"
"Stay behind me and I'll explain latter. Just do as you're told!" Vlad's eyes flared as he lashed out with impatience. I flinched back slightly at the unexpected outburst; putting my hands up in a defensive gesture before getting behind Vlad. Obviously now was not the time to ask questions. Appeasing Vlad was more important than getting my answers at the moment. I could always ask latter. Plus I might find something out if I just watched. The portal doors hissed open again and the Vlad that had been typing by the controls dissolved and was reabsorbed by the original. A very angry Desiree was quick to come through the portal and spot us near the ceiling.
"I have half a mind to leave without helping you at all Plasmius! How dare you shove the door in my face?" Vlad crossed his arms and glided down to meet Desiree at the portal doors. His aura flared dangerously and energy rippled through the room causing a shiver to run down my spine. Desiree obviously felt the ripple of power as the shade of green on her face paled. When Vlad spoke it was in a low hiss that I was only able to pick up because of my ghost hearing.
"And I, my lady, have half a mind to show you the consequences of thinking that you were invited into my home as soon as I had opened the portal doors. I had intended to conduct this affair without Daniel's knowing, as not to cause him any unjust alarm. However you seemed to have remedied that quite nicely haven't you? You will comply with my requests or you will become acquainted with my ideas of a suitable retaliation for your insolence." What the heck? Vlad was doing something behind my back? I felt a swell of anger at the thought that Vlad was hiding something from me. I should have known he wouldn't stop being his secret manipulative little self just because I was living with him. What was I thinking; letting my guard down like I had? I was such an idiot! My fists clenched in betrayal and anger at what Vlad was obviously doing. Once again I found myself automatically trying to shift into 'hero mode' to fight the 'villain'.
I tried vigorously to put Vlad in that villain position again. I really did. Here he was doing something obviously evil, if he felt the need to hide it from me. I tried to see this from my old point of view. I really did. I tried to force myself into that old way of thinking so that I could take out whatever evil plot was obviously unfolding right before my eyes. I tried so hard to be mad at Vlad in the name of justice, like the superhero I was supposed to be. I needed to get into the maind set to fight the villain and save the innocent. But I couldn't. As hard as I tried to be mad because Vlad was doing something evil. I found myself more angry with the fact that Vlad had hidden something from me.
Whatever Vlad was planning I did not envy Desiree; being at the receiving end of the pupil-less red eyed glare that Vlad was undoubtedly giving her. I could tell by the way she suddenly shrunk back and shivered. It was so out of character, to see Desiree knowing how highly she thought of herself, cower under Vlad's harsh gaze. I cautiously got closer to the two so that I could hear what they were saying. Vlad might try have hid this from me before but he wasn't going to now. I paid rapt attention as Desiree cooed.
"Of course Plasmius, forgive me. You know my temper, I got out of hand. Now what was this wish you requested?" It was a very poor attempt to draw Vlad's anger away from her, but it looked like Vlad was going to allow it to work. So Vlad was going to make a wish? What kind of wish? Would he wish that I would go back to my own life? Was Vlad planning to get rid of me and that was why he didn't want me to know? Vlad couldn't get rid of me. He…He just couldn't! I was trying my hardest to be good. I really was. Where did I go wrong? Was Vlad going to wish everything back to normal? Wasn't that what I wanted? I didn't even know anymore! I watched Vlad nod curtly to Desiree as he turned to go pick up a stack of papers on the counter.
"Yes, you'd simply need to sign the-" Suddenly I all my questions couldn't wait anymore. I burst forward, stopping Vlad from giving Desiree the suspicious papers.
"What the heck are you doing? Why is Desiree here? What are you going to wish for? Why didn't you tell me about this? Are you going to get rid of me? What did I do wrong? Are you plotting for something? What the hell is going on!" I waved my arms wildly trying to convey just how panicked I was at finding that Vlad had decided to do… well something, right under my nose. Worry and anxiety started to bubble inside me at what Vlad was doing. Vlad just sighed tiredly as he turned to face me. The fact that Vlad wasn't freaking out seemed to help my nerves a little and keep them at a manageable level. Somehow, if Vlad wasn't freaking out, then I had less of a reason to freak out.
"You recall, asking about how I was going to get a room full of rich power hungry aristocrats to keep quiet about you being my heir?" I nodded and shifted slightly out of my tense pose. What the heck was Vlad on about? Vlad saw me lower my guard slightly and started moving again towards the papers on the counter. "You may also remember how I responded that I would have my 'ways' about keeping them quiet?" I nodded again as I watched Vlad pick up a stack of what looked like five or so papers, all neatly stapled together. He walked over to me and held them out stiffly for me to take, so I did. "These would be those 'ways' I was referring to." I just gave Vlad a confused look as I took the papers glancing at them quickly before looking back up to Vlad. He only raised an eyebrow and gestured for me to read. I just looked at Vlad a moment longer before looking down to the papers in my hands.
I, Vladimir Plasmius (also known as Vladimir Masters but referred to from here on as Plasmius) wish that no human who finds themselves knowledgable of Daniel Phantom's (also known as, Daniel Fenton referred to from here on as Daniel) connection to myself financial or otherwise, would be able to communicate with another in any way shape or form the information pertaining to this topic. I, Desiree agree that this wish will comply with all of the conditions that follow.
1) Plasmius will not be affected in any way by the restrictions of the wish so it remains that he may distribute information as he sees fit.
2) Any information that Plasmius makes public* that falls under the category of being information addressed in this wish is no longer subject to the effects of the wish. (*Information is "made public" if and only if Plasmius specifically addresses a member of the media with the intent that the information being shared is to be made knowledgeable to the general public. That is to say people who have no connection or correspondence whatsoever with Plasmius.)
3) Information that Plasmius shares with another individual…
I stopped reading after it was obvious that Vlad was just closing loopholes. I looked back up to Vlad and over to Desiree, who had now taken to waiting impatiently by the portal doors, twirling her hair around her index finger.
"So you're just going to wish this?" It was so simple. For Vlad it was almost too simple. What about getting rid of me? What about his evil plot? Vlad rolled his eyes before taking the papers back from my hands and continuing on his way to Desiree so that she could sign.
"Yes Daniel, you should know by now that the simplest plans are often the best ones. That means there is always less to go wrong. Hand me that pen would you, if your heroic impulses are satisfied?" I was hopelessly lost. This was it? That was all Vlad was going to do? It was so harmless, so benign. Energy and anxiety that had been coiling ruthlessly inside my chest started to unwind so quickly I felt the pressure of tears at the back of my eyes. I couldn't believe this was it. I wouldn't believe this was it. There had to be something that Vlad couldn't explain away.
"What about the chimes? What about my ghost sense that got me down here in the first place? What about the duplicate at the door? How do you explain that stuff?" Vlad's shoulders seemed to drop marginally and he suddenly looked every one of his forty two years.
"The chimes are the doorbell to my ghost portal, as I assume you've already deducted. The sound is produced so that only Ghosts, or in our case half ghosts, can hear it. I accomplish this by submerging a set of rigged orchestral chimes into a pool of liquid ecto-plasma. The sound produced will only resonate to an audible level within other ectoplasmic substances as a result. Our altered DNA allows us to hear the noise, without alerting the rest of the staff that I have someone waiting at my portal doors.
You're ghost sense was triggered when Desiree decided that she could come uninvited into my home. As soon as she stepped into our dimension she was within your range.
And when I heard the doorbell initially I sent an undetectable duplicate to deal with the problem so that we might have avoided this whole debolical in the first place. Obviously that plan failed spectacularly. I didn't think it prudent that you be so caught off guard by more ghostly interaction as you inevitable were.
Now, the pen Daniel?" It was a moment before everything registered in my head and I got my limbs to cooperate. I took two steps to the counter to retrieve a fancy fountain pen that Vlad had obviously set there earlier for this event. Still in a daze, I plunked the pen in Vlad's outstretched hand. Vlad nodded in recognition before he turned to Desiree and presented the pen and paper for her to sign. She seemed to have gained back some of her confidence, because the way she took the things from Vlad was rather more haughty than necessary. I was only half paying attention as Desiree quickly looked through the papers signed them and made them disappear in a puff of green smoke with a bored "so you have wished it so it shall be.".
I didn't really know what to do with myself at the moment. Everything had just happened so fast, I didn't know what to think. Vlad was just making preparations for the ball. He wasn't scheming or plotting; he only kept things from me because of his paranoid delusion that I would overreact to Desiree. He had only be trying to protect me and do what was best for me? Vlad quickly dismissed Desiree before he was standing in front of me snapping me out of my half aware state.
"Daniel." I shook my head and blinked. I looked at Vlad, startled to see that he had even changed back to his human form without me knowing. He sighed heavily before he was addressing me once again. It was obvious I was still too out of it to say anything for myself.
"Daniel, I'm never going to hide anything of importance from you. The only reason that I tried to hide this was because I knew you would react this way. I think we can both safely assume that things would have continued just fine had events turned out as I'd planned them. It is obvious to me that you still get overly anxious whenever ghosts are concerned. I wanted to avoid the hassle it would cause you if I had alerted you to one being here." Vlad gave me a concerned look and placed a hand on my shoulder before he turned and started to walk back towards the labs exit. When I didn't move to follow him he sighed once again. Without turning around he issued a command.
"Daniel, go relax in your room. I'll come to get you when it's time to get ready." I looked, now not as dazed, to Vlad as he ascended the stairs and out of sight. The simple command was something my brain could easily get wrapped around while I tried to process everything else. More without my knowing I floated through the ceiling towards me room to maybe take a short nap.