Past Echoes and Future Hopes
****The Great Hall, and hour later
After getting caught up with her sister and her family, everyone refreshed and changed into nicer clothes for the family dinner, Elona in a new semi-formal backless deep red dress with long sleeves and a shorter skirt and a green sash and matching red flats.
The Great Hall still had its flamboyant if macabre holiday decorations from the Holiday Party earlier in the week, but the gathering was now smaller and more intimate with some tables lined with favorite foods, both human and monster.
Elona couldn't help but smile as everyone was there; Dracula on her arm, Mavis and Johnny together, and her monster friends and their guys, the Drac Pack, and even Johnny's family had come, keeping their promise of visiting the hotel for the holidays.
Her niece and nephew had easily befriended Dennis and his best friend, the little werepup Winnie, and DJ even got along well with Dennis' mischevious human cousins Troy, Conner, and Parker and they good naturedly teased Dennis and Ally while Winnie kept them from going too far.
The only thing that brought it down a bit for Elona were her parents, whom she decided to mostly ignore until they apologized for their behavior towards her and all the pain they put her through.
Once or twice, Maggie tried to talk to her, but Elona wasn't yet in the mood to talk until she tried without so much religious mumbo jumbo or her father criticized her for abandoning her life and leaving everything behind without his approval.
So all they could do was stand to a side of the Great Hall as they talked by themselves.
"What if she was right?" Maggie asked a bit sadly, "What if we have been prejudice and never realized it? Have we really strayed so far from the righteous path of God's love and mercy?"
"I don't know about that, Maggie," Stewart said with a sigh, "But I always liked Daniel and he's good for Liz, and I admit I was foolish to think his heritage would hold him back from success. It's just there are still people out there that wouldn't take him seriously becaue of it."
"And what about our son?" Maggie questioned, "Did we really do something wrong to make him the way he is? What if he's alone the rest of his life and never gives us more grandkids?"
Stewart just scoffed a bit, "You know I don't buy into 'it's a disease' or it's a choice nonsense, Maggie, I thought you understood that at least. I just wanted to keep my son safe because there's still so much stigma surrounding it, especially in the Military, I didn't want him to get hurt. We did what we could with our children and they have to make their own decisions. We just have to hope they make the right ones."
"I'll keep praying they do, especially our sweet Ellie," Maggie said, "Because as charming as that man is, there's something about him, about this whole place that doesn't seem right with me."
"He's just a skilled actor," Stewart tried to reassure her, "Although I admit, he may play it too well and for so long he may actually believe he's Count Dracula, and that's not healthy. Elona's still really impressionable and may have just gotten really caught up in it all."
"You may be right, my dear, I just can't shake this feeling there's something about this place."
"I used to worry about the same things you are now," a female voice said.
Stewart and Maggie noticed they had company, another older human couple with a blond haired woman with a prominent figure and glasses and a heavy set man with graying reddish hair.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," the woman said, "I'm Linda, and this is my husband Mike, we're Johnny's parents."
"Maggie, and this is my husband, Stewart, we're Ellie's family."
"Nice to meet you," Linda said perkily, "You're worried about Elona and Drac? I had my reservations when Johnny started seeing Mavis, and her being a Vampire no less. But once I got to know her and the rest of the monsters, and how much she and Johnny loved each other I realized it didn't really matter where she came from."
"I supposed that's true," Maggie said with some lingering reservations, "I just don't want her to do something she'll regret for the rest of her life."
"We worried about that, too, for a while," Mike said, "I even worried Johnny wouldn't do anything useful with his life after he said he wanted to travel the world, and while I wouldn't have expected working in a hotel for monsters would be the first choice of a job I'd wanted him to do, he's become more mature and a better more responsible man than I expected and I'm proud of him for it."
"So you see, things worked out wonderfully for us," Linda said with a smile, "Even if it is something pretty freaky, that doesn't mean it was bad. Freaky, but not bad."
"I supposed you have a point," Maggie said with some lingering doubts, "God does move in mysterious ways."
"Whatever helps you to sleep at night, I guess. But once you get to know Drac and everybody else, I'm sure it will work out for you, too, despite everything that's happened."
"What're you mean, what happened?" Stewart asked with some suspicion.
"Well, there was the whole situation with our grandson earlier in the summer during his birthday, and Johnny told us about how poor Elona got hurt a few nights ago," Linda explained, "But seeing she's okay now, that definitely shows things can only go up from here."
Stewart and Maggie could only look at each other.
In another corner of the Great Hall, Elona talked with a small group which included her little brother Sean, Dracula, Vlad, Mavis, and even Johnny.
"I think I see why you stayed here, Ellie, this place is so amazing and so accepting. Though, doesn't it feel like you're leaving around the Walking Dead sometimes?"
The Vampires gave confused if slightly insulted looks while Elona just laughed a bit as she said, "More like the Addams Family or the Munsters. But at the end of the day, or I guess night in this case, it doesn't matter because I've never been so happy as I am here, especially with Drac."
"I couldn't agree more, Elona," Johnny said with a goofy smile as he hugged Mavis close, making her smile in return, "I've never found a more amazing and awesomer place."
Dracula smiled at Elona as he brought her closer to him as Sean said, "You're so lucky, sis. I just wish I could find someone special."
"I know it's hard, Sean, but I know your Zing is out there somewhere, you just have to keep looking for him."
"If only Mom and Dad weren't such sticks in the mud about it my whole life I might've by now," he complained.
"Eh, I sometimes still don't get it myself," Vlad said, "But then again, a lady I once knew said she went both ways. I thought she meant with humans, so she wasn't too picky about it. Then again, I admit I might've dabbled a little, too, mostly with humans when I was in my 100s. Oh, the trouble I got into, heh, heh, heh."
"Okay, Dad, nobody wants to hear about your dabbling," Dracula complained as he gave a bit of an embarrassed frown while the others gave confused if surprised looks.
"Speaking of closed minded jerks," Johnny spoke up, hoping to relieve the embarrassing tension, "I've been wondering, whatever happened to Quasimodo and Bela? We haven't heard from them for a few days now."
Dracula and Vlad gave suspicious if smug looks.
"I put a restraining spell on Bela," Vlad explained, "And I did warn him if he tried to cause trouble, the consequences would be severe for him. Clearly he found some loopholes, but I finally took care of the schmuk. Here he is."
Vlad reached into a pocket somewhere on his person and withdrew a renewly shrunk and frozen Bela with his wings wide spread and a goofy shocked look on his beastial face.
"After he tried to chase after that bouncing plumber, he forgot about the spell that keeps him from getting too far from me and he just froze in the air. I found him this and way and reshrunk him, and I can only think of one thing even worse for the little worm."
He gave a loud whistle between his gnarled blue fingers as he yelled happily, "Hey, kids, you want your chew toy back? Come and get him!"
He threw Bela like a ball into the whirlwind of rough housing werepups, and the pups just went wilder as Bela was tossed around and lost in the mini cyclone of rambunctious pups.
The small group gave some laughes, Vlad smirking the biggest about it.
"And what about Quasimodo?" Elona asked.
Dracula just gave a smug smile as he remembered a few nights ago.
****The Haunted Forest, three days earlier
It had been an eternity and he was exhausted, yet he needed to find shelter before the sun set again as he made his way out of the Haunted Forest.
Quasimodo had spent the last 36 hours hiding wherever he could from the enraged Dracula, and he now realized his former boss was more powerful and dangerous than he ever imagined. He had heard some stories of his reputation, but he dismissed them as mere rumors or exaggerations. Now he could see there may have been truth to the stories.
He followed the edge of the inland lake so as to have a source of water if he were to survive and perhaps make it to a human village and steal what he needed, and his trek hadn't been easy as he was filthy, his waiter's tux ripped and torn, and he was sore and bruised, despite his stamina and endurance.
He had spent most of the night hiding in any undergrove or hollow tree he could find to avoid the Prince of Darkness's sight or even evade that traitorous and vicious Bela, and surviving on small animals for food though they proved difficult to catch. He made a small exception to avoid rats for his precious Esmeralda's sake.
As he made his way deeper into the forest to follow the lake and take a quick drink to quinch his thirst, he looked around as though suddenly feeling like he was being watched and it wasn't by any natural animal of the forest.
For a moment he only dismissed it as his imagination acting up again when a familiar voice boom out at him,
"Quasimodo!"
He gave frightful cry and just panicked at the sudden call of his name as he saw a pair of familiar red glowing eyes between the snow covered trees.
The next moment, a familiar tall figure in black stepped out from the shadows between the trees, the glow faded from his eyes as he did so yet the expression on his face was dark and clearly angered.
"M-monsieur Dracula," Quasimodo squeakily stammered with tangible fear and apprehension as he gave a crooked smile, "Y-you're looking well."
"Don't try to suck up, Wilson," Dracula warned with annoyance, "And I know a thing or two about sucking."
Quasimodo just laughed low and pathetically as his mind raced and he quivered with fear, trying to find an opening for escape and maybe find an area open to the sun for safety.
"So," he said with an awkward stammer, "H-how is the lovely Mademoiselle?"
Dracula's eyes narrowed at the mere gall he showed to even dare showing concern for his beloved, and for him that was the final nail in the coffin. So to speak.
"She is going to be fine, no thanks to you, Wilson," Dracula said coldly.
"Oh, well, uh…that's good news."
"Yes, it is. Maybe you can guess the bad news…for you."
Quasimodo's pseudo-smile fell as he asked fearfully, "W-what are you going to do to me?"
Dracula just gave a bit of a dark smile.
A yellow tingle went down Quasimodo's crooked spine to make him momentarily freeze, not liking what Dracula might be implying.
A pregnant moment stretched out between them, waiting for the other to make the first move.
The next thing Quasimodo realized he found himself trying to run in the opposite direction from Dracula, not so different from like he tried to do almost two nights ago.
But he only got a few steps away as Dracula rolled his eyes and just froze Quasimodo with a gesture of his hand.
He then telekinetically brought the traitorous hunchback back to himself as Quasimodo's eyes shifted rapidly to then face eye to eye with a perturbed Dracula.
"I should destroy you here and now, on the spot," Dracula declared coldly, seeing the fear clear as crystal in the hunchback's yellow eyes, "But I moved passed such things centuries ago. I don't know what you're real problem is, and frankly I don't care anymore. You went after my beloved and she did nothing to you, and for her I will see justice done. I've given you too many chances, Wilson, and you've blown it."
He seemed to give a questioning grunt of what Dracula intended to do to him.
Dracula just smiled a bit darkly as he said, "There are so many ways I could torture you, but again I'm not like that anymore. So, I've decided there's only one thing that will be the worst thing in the world for you."
He grabbed onto Quasimodo's torn shirt and began walking back to the hotel, the hunchback grunting fearfully in protest the whole way back.
"Oh, let's just say he's in the worst place in the world for him, and he's right back where he started," Dracula said amusedly, making everyone give looks to each other but shrugged it off.
"Well, things can only get better from here," Johnny said, he then took his drink as he called out, "Can I have everyone's attention, please."
Silence fell over the Great Hall as everyone watched Johnny and he announced, "I just want to say how awesome it is to have everybody here for the holidays, and while it hasn't been easy, I'm just glad we're all together and I just know the future is going to be bright and awesome. Merry Christmas, everybody!"
"Merry Christmas!" the humans echoes, while the monster gave "Scary Creepmas!"
Everyone took a drink and smiled, Dracula's heart soared at the scene as it was perfect. Then as though on cue, a little spider came down to his face and sqeaked happily,
"It's ready!"
His eyes widened and he announced, "Could I have everyone's attention now, please? There's something important I have to say."
As everyone watched, he took Elona's hand and guided her to the middle of the floor as he said, "Elona, when you first came here, I didn't know what to do with myself. Then everything just seemed to…uh, eh…oh, bat crap, I had this speech in my head and,…"
"Drac, are you okay?" Elona asked with growing concern as she saw him breakout in a light sweat and she could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he gave a bit of a goofy crooked smile, "What going on, what're you trying to tell me?"
He took a deep breath as he said with a shaky broken voice, "Well, I'm saying I love you, you're my eternal Zing, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Elona's eyes widened a bit as he pointed up to the ceiling, where everyone looked as lights brightened to reveal a giant sparkling elaborate and ornate spider web with the words 'Elona, will you marry me?'
Everyone just gave soft gasps of awe as they starred up at the ornate spiderweb tapestry, Elona's eyes were the widest as she slowly looked down to then see Dracula on one knee holding a box with a gorgeous golden ring with Celtic knotwork design of a clauddagh and a heart shaped diamond with bat wings.
Elona was just speechless and numb as she watched Dracula smiling happily and expectantly at her as he said nervously,
"I know you've been through a lot, and I want to give you everything you deserve. I know it won't be easy, but I want try, to do it with you. So, what do you say, my Night Star, will you marry me?"
Elona looked around, suddenly really nervous at all the eyes on her as everyone looked on. Butterflies rose in her stomach, along with astonishment and even a joy she had never really felt before.
"I, uh, ababa…gah, agh, gaga, bleh, bleh, bleh," she stammered out nonsense, for a moment Dracula thought she was making fun of him, but then her eyes just went wide as a wide smile spread across her face of pure joy as she shouted,
"Are you kidding me?! YES! Yes, I'll marry you!"
Everyone just cheered as Dracula rose to embrace Elona in a tight hug and put the beautiful ring on her left ring finger and shared a kiss.
He then signaled to his friends and the Drac Pack was suddenly on the stage where their band instruments awaited as Frank began playing a rock tune on his guitar that seemed like something from the 1980s, but actually more contemparay and the rest of the gang soon followed along with the rhythm.
Simultaneously, the Great Hall became covered in dancing lights as a spotlight fell upon Dracula and Elona; Dracula's formal gentleman's jacket, tie with onyx jewel, down the sides of his black silk pants, and the inner fuschia linning of his cape suddenly became covered in glittering sequins to make him sparkle and flash as he made a microphone appear in his hand and he began singing to the upbeat rock music and just spinning Elona around as he took her hand to dance with him once again.
It was the song Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon:
Oh, don't you dare look back/
Just keep your eyes on me/
I said you're holding back/
She said "Shut up and dance with me!"/
This woman is my destiny/
She said, Ooh-ooh-hoo/
Shut up and dance with me!/
Everyone began clapping to the rhythm of the upbeat tune, except for Stewart and Maggie as they just watched on with numbing shock at the scene as Dracula continued to sing like he was serenading Elona:
We were victims of the night/
The chemical, physical kryptonite/
Helpless to the bass and the fading light/
Oh, we were bound to get together,
Bound to get together/
She took my arm/
I don't know how it happened/
We took the floor and she said,
Oh, don't you dare look back/
Just keep your eyes on me/
I said you're holding back/
She said, 'Shut up and dance with me!'/
This woman is my destiny/
She said, Ooh-ooh-hoo,
Shut up and dance with me!/
A backless dress and some beat up sneaks/
My discotheque, Juliet teenage dream/
I felt it in my chest as she looked at me/
I knew we were bound to be together,
Bound to be together/
She took my arm/
I don't know how it happened/
She took my arm and she said…!/
Oh, don't you dare look back/
Just keep your eyes on me/
I said you're holding back/
She said, Shut up and dance with me!
This woman is my destiny/
She said, Ooh-ooh-hoo/
Shut up and dance with me!/
Oh, come on, girl!
For the next minute, Elona danced with an exuberant vigor in her own style to the music, somehow still so seductive and fascinating to Dracula as he spun a couple of times to make his sparkling cape flare as Elona spun towards him with the rising crescendo as he then caught her and dipped and rose her quickly as they danced and he sang on:
Deep in her eyes/
I think I see the future/
I realize this is my last chance/
She took my arm/
I don't know how it happened/
We took the floor and she said,
They danced on to the drumming music in a brief spin as Dracula pumped his knees in and out to then bring her close and spin them on thin air as he levitated as though weighing nothing, to sing on a bit more softly:
Oh, don't you dare look back/
Just keep your eyes on me/
I said you're holding back/
She said Shut up and dance with me!/
This woman is my destiny/
She said Ooh-ooh-hoo/
Shut up and dance!/
Don't you dare look back/
Just keep your eyes on me/
I said you're holding back/
She said Shut up and dance with me!/
This woman is my destiny/
She said, Ooh-ooh-hoo/
Shut up and Dance with Me!
Ooh-ooh-hoo, Shut Up and Dance With Me! (2x)/
The song rose loudly to end on a brief jamming note as Dracula spun her to the beat to then dip Elona again.
The next moment tiny fireworks started bursting all around them as they kissed, making the small crowd of their friends and family cheer on and offer up congradulations.
A tear came to Vlad's eyes as he watched the happy beautiful scene and came up to his son to say,
"I certainly hope I'll receive an invitation to this wedding, unlike the last time."
"Don't worry, Dad, I promise you're definitely invited this time."
Vlad smiled to his son and gave him a fatherly hug.
He then excused himself as he had something important to do, write to someone important he knew shouldn't be forgotten as well.
Meanwhile, Stewart and Maggie couldn't believe what had just happened before their eyes as they were just aghast and speechless.
"What are we going to do, Stewart?" Maggie questioned with a growing trepidation, "Is this really the kind of future for Ellie?"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this," he said as he excused himself from the party to go just outside the door and pull out his phone.
He dialed for a familiar number, and didn't care about the massive bill it will come with as this was an emergency.
The person on the other end finally answered and he said urgently, "Jason, pack up and get over to Transylvania now. Ellie's about to make a HUGE mistake.
THE END?