Jonathan van Helsing couldn't sleep that night. It was way past midnight and the tingling feeling he had all day intensified. Through his window he could see the dark, old castle looming over Stokely that looked so vastly different from the rest of the town with its little, colourful houses staying in the lower valley.
It was Vlad's birthday, something that had had plagued his thoughts for days and he wanted nothing more to waltz up there and slay vampires that he knew must have been there at this moment. He saw bats flying around the castle, more than usual. He couldn't ignore the Draculas living side by side with them anymore.
It had been surprisingly quiet the last two years, too quiet...Just because there was no evidence of Count Dracula draining innocent human beings didn't mean that it wasn't happening. Ingrid was no longer there so she was some other slayer's problem but now with the youngest Dracula officially joining the undead, it couldn't lead to anything good.
Sure, Vlad had been mostly amicable and anybody else would say that he was a nice kid but all that was surely going to change now. All vampires were evil and Vlad had shown enough to him that he knew it was true.
Jonno couldn't wait until one of them slipped up and killed an innocent person to have an excuse to slay them, he knew the Draculas were a threat and they had to deal with them. But not tonight, at least that's what his dad said. No matter how much training they had done - storming into a castle full of vampires was suicide. Jonathan grumpily agreed not to go out this night. He turned around in his pull out bed, hearing his dad's snores from the other side of the caravan. They were going to deal with the Draculas. But not yet.
The next thing Vlad noticed was that he was back in the mirror room. The blood mirror standing in the exact same place it did before. He didn't know how much time had passed but Vlad felt like he went through a multiple days adventure trip that made him become a whole new person. He was still himself but...different.
He could basically feel power and strength coursing through him and he had to suppress the urge to display it right now, his fingertips itching to throw a fireball and destroy something. He could still hear the echo of his reflection from when they were in the mirror but it was silent now that it was a part of him. Was he supposed to feel it? Maybe it was in him, all the changes being a part of it, not just the "evil" voice.
Vlad turned around and gasped when he saw himself in the mirror. He did not expect to still have a reflection since it had merged with him now but nonetheless he stepped closer to look at himself.
He was surprised at how normal he looked. He had always been pale since living in a dark castle with Count Dracula meant there wasn't much going outside and the last few weeks Vlad felt especially sensitive towards the sun. But now his skin seemed almost translucent, unnaturally pale, his blue eyes looking even brighter than before.
Vlad hesitated but he opened his mouth. He had seen his fangs before, the toothache that came along with them growing had never really subsided, it had simply just been there in the back of his head the entire time but now it was gone. And his teeth now were nothing like the ones he had seen in the school bathroom mirror four days ago.
The last time he examined them his canines had already been lengthened, a little longer than the average person but now there were two on each side that were even longer and sharper and looked like they could cut through anything. Especially skin. Vlad shuddered.
He was still wearing the same robes that he came in with but now he really looked like a vampire. Vlad didn't know how to feel. In the past it would've been something that made his stomach churn and he remembered the feeling of distaste very well. But now there was also pride blooming in his chest, an emotion he couldn't control, like it was ingrained in him.
All of a sudden the mirror flickered. Vlad furrowed his eyebrows and wondered what was up when his reflection started disappearing. The last thing he saw was his face, mouth slightly parted that revealed a hint of fang, before it vanished. His reflection was gone.
Huh. So that was it.
He made his way towards the door, he didn't know how long he was gone but everyone was probably awaiting him eagerly. He almost didn't want to step out, it meant facing his dad, facing all the other vampires. He felt quite content just staying alone in the quiet.
Vlad slowly turned the doorknob and opened the big wooden door and was immediately assaulted with all sorts of noises and smells. It was now he realized how soundproof the mirror room actually was. There was chatter coming from the main room, he could make out scraps of conversations and hear them so clearly like they were directly at his ears. His hearing ability had already improved before the transformation but now it was overwhelming.
He stepped forward and had barely managed two steps before his father appeared at his side. "Vladdy, you made it!" Vlad felt a pang of irritation at the name. He was a fully turned vampire now and his dad was still calling him Vladdy. Seriously?
"Come with me, come with me." He followed his father to the main hall that he would've went through anyway. But he couldn't deny that the thought of reentering a room full of elite vampire guests that pretended to give a shit about him didn't seem very inviting. He didn't want to be with a group of people, he wanted time alone. Time for what, Vlad didn't know yet and it seemed like his dad knew what he was thinking when he gave him no choice and tugged him along to the hall.
When they entered the room the previous chatter grew silent and everybody looked at Vlad. His face didn't betray any feelings but inside he was squirming uncomfortably from the attention directed at him. He never liked being the center of attention and that hasn't seemed to change.
Before he could stop himself his eyes drifted towards the glasses most of the guests were holding in their hands and he immediately felt a sudden thirst overwhelm him. His throat felt extremely dry like he hasn't drank in days and he couldn't pry his eyes away from the dark red liquid swirling in those glasses. He wanted it, he had to have it. At any price.
The Count seemed to sense what had gripped his son's attention so strongly. His own transformation was over 600 years ago but he still remembered it like it was yesterday. All his senses had been on overload and blood the only thing that had been on his mind. The bloodthirst was especially strong right after the transformation and it was best to take care of it right away. He had drained three peasants on that night alone, a good way to start like his father said, and it still hadn't felt like enough.
He clapped in his hands. "How about a drink for the birthday boy to celebrate?" The Count knew Vlad was in no condition to think clearly, which was evident on how he didn't even protest. Back in his days they had kept breathers in the cellar and were presented to you on your birthday but now a bottle of blood had to do.
Renfield made it his mission to get one so quickly he tripped over himself on the way to the table. The vampires took a step back when Renfield wobbled past them and sneered disgustedly. Even though he was human, Renfield's smell was something that was the complete opposite of appetizing.
He grabbed one of the decanters and filled a glass with the red liquid. It was always pretty cold in the castle but the decanters made sure the blood was kept around normal body temperature, fresh and warm. No one wanted to drink cold blood.
Renfield gave the filled glass over to the Count who held it out to Vlad in a ceremonial fashion. "For you, Vladimir!"
The smell so close was even more mouthwatering, Vlad knew in the back of his mind he once had felt disgust about it and then there was something else tugging at him too, reminding him of something important but none of that mattered in this moment.
His dad was right, what he had experienced before was nothing to it now. He eyed the red liquid for a moment but he didn't have the patience to relish the look of it. He tipped the glass slowly even though everything in him screamed to just devour it.
"Vladdy!" Another voice resounded through the hall that wasn't his father. Vlad looked up and almost dropped his glass. "Don't you think these two would make for a great first meal?" His mother came down the stairs in a long wine red dress, with none other than Robin and Chloe in tow. She had a tight grip on both their necks and smiled deviously, her fangs on display.
The Count looked just as surprised as Vlad but he masked it quickly with an inviting smile. "Magda, you're here, how wonderful! When did you arrive?"
"Oh, not long ago, don't worry, darling. I heard about those beautiful breathers Vlad keeps in his tower and I just had to check them out, you don't mind Vladdy, do you?"
She flashed a sickly sweet smile at Vlad while her long fingernails scraped over Robin's throat who visibly gulped. This was not his first encounter with Vlad's mother and while she was still drop dead gorgeous, she was also terrifying and he had no doubt she would kill them if the opportunity arose.
Robin looked at Chloe who tried to appear calm but he knew she was just as frightened than him, if not more, her lips were trembling and her eyes stood wide open like a rabbit that was caught by a fox. This had been a bad idea from the start and now they were paying the prize. They were exposed to all vampires, the only one they could count on to save them now was Vlad. Robin turned and snuck a helpless glance at the birthday boy, the first time after the transformation.
He didn't look much different. In fact, Robin couldn't detect any visible differences, Vlad wore the same robes that he greeted the both of them in a few hours ago and he still looked just as pale as he did before. No, maybe a bit more. And what did he hold in his hand? And wait, did his eyes just turn red?
Vlad couldn't answer his mum, his throat felt too dry to open his mouth. He thought he felt hungry before, all the blood bottles were calling to him but now the smell was so intense it covered the entire room and took over all his senses. And it wasn't stale, unmoving blood drained from some person god knows when and where but the source was right there. Vlad wanted nothing more than to speed over and sink his fangs into his friends necks.
He made one step before he froze. There it was again, that tugging at the back of his head. One phrase made it through the haze of his bloodlust.
Friends, they are your friends!
He looked up again and saw Robin and Chloe standing in the claws of his mother, being scared as hell. These were his friends and he had been so short of draining them without hesitation, just like the reflection said. Disgust and a crushing feeling of guilt built up inside his chest but at the same time the craving didn't stop.
What was wrong with him?
He still wanted to taste their blood even though they were his friends and that made him feel even more guilty. Vlad knew he couldn't do it, he had to fight through it. He had to find some way to get Robin and Chloe out without them ending up as any of these vampires' meal.
He had to find a way to get them out without him ending up being the one to kill them.
A/N: I did not plan to end another chapter with Robin and Chloe in danger, I was just writing and then this happened.
I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter so please let me know what you think! I'm also still open for feedback about the transformation!