"MOVIE KNIGHT: ACT 1"
It was Friday night and the library was closed early. The Knights were tidying up the place, putting books back on the shelves and sweeping the floor.
They needed to get everything ready for tonight was a special night.
It was Movie Knight.
Merlin had a collection of DVDs of various movie titles from Earth. He only got the best, the most popular, and the most critically acclaimed. He also had a few cult classics in his collection as well.
It became a sort of tradition for the Knights to sit down together and watch a movie on the last Friday of each month. To avoid any arguments, Merlin would offer them three movies from his collection they could watch and they would vote on what to see. Nobody ever complained and they always enjoyed every Movie Knight.
Tonight's Movie Knight was a bit more special as the Knights had invited some special guests to join them as well.
Harry was hooking up the DVD player to the large MirrorTV and making sure it worked properly. At the same time, Gabe, Darren, Rex, Kevin and Kyle had gone on a snack run for Movie Knight.
"OK, I think we've got plenty of floor space for our guests," Merlin decided, nodding in approval. "Mira, you got the movie?"
"Never fear, our entertainment is here," Mira smiled, holding the DVD case. It was a classic black and white horror movie. Merlin felt that modern horror movies would be too much for the Ever After natives. There was just so much blood and gore in them. So, a classic horror movie seemed like the best option.
"We've got the snacks!" Darren strode in with the others. "We've got chips, we've got candy, we've got popcorn and soda!"
"Just set them on the table for now," Rex instructed as they put their purchases down.
"The girls should be arriving soon," Arthur checked the time.
"This is gonna be fun!" Gabe beamed. He was so excited to have Holly join them for Movie Knight.
"It sure will, little buddy," Tristan smiled.
By 9 pm, the guests started to arrive. For this Movie Knight, the Knights had invited their girlfriends to join them.
"Glad you could come, Apple Pie," Lance greeted as he welcomed her inside.
"How could I not? You made it sound so fun," Apple giggled musically.
"So, what are we watching?" Raven asked.
"A classic," Arthur answered. He didn't say anymore since he did not want to spoil it.
The Squires also came with their dates, eager to watch a movie with their friends and classmates.
"Hey, Dex, Cupid," Harry greeted his friends.
"Quite the setup you got here," Dexter admired the snacks and the large MirrorTV.
"Merlin had to get the best home theatre system for Movie Knight," Harry replied. "He claims it enhances the experience."
"Sounds fun," Cupid smiled. "But what movie are we seeing?"
"How do you feel about horror?"
As everyone got seated with their snacks and beverages, Merlin stood in front of the MirrorTV, facing them.
"You kids are in for a treat. This is an old classic so please enjoy the show. Mira, please dim the lights."
The lights dimmed as the movie began. Everyone got comfortable as the opening credits played on screen. A black bat was in the background as the title declared the film to be called 'Dracula'.
"Oh!" Cupid gasped. "I didn't know that Draculaura's dad had his own movie!"
"Wait, Dracu-who?" Max blinked.
"Stringbean, shhh! It's starting!" Ramona hissed to her boyfriend.
The film started, revealing the mountainous countryside. A horse-drawn carriage was moving along the road. Inside, there were several people packed close together, one reading out loud from a book.
The scene was rocking, indicating that they were moving fast on the uneven road.
The reading woman was suddenly rocked by a hard bump. One man, who looked like he was suited for city life, tried to ask the driver to slow down. He was quickly shushed by another passenger, insisting they had to get to their destination before nightfall lest a nosferatu threaten them.
"Nosferatu? What's that?" asked Raven.
"Another name for a vampire," Arthur answered.
"What's a vampire?" asked Apple warily.
"You'll see, Apple Pie," Lance grinned.
The scene changed to show a small village and the villagers seemed tense. From an inn, the villagers were watching the carriage coming down the road into their borders. They seemed relieved to see the travellers coming like they had managed to escape an ill fate. Once they began disembarking from their ride, the villagers happily greeted them, although some gently closed their windows as if afraid of the outsiders.
The carriage drivers began to unload the luggage, but the city man insisted to keep his luggage on the carriage so he could continue on his way. The innkeeper translated the fearful muttering of the drivers. He offered to let the man stay overnight and take him to his destination after sunrise, but the man was insistent. He was meeting another carriage at midnight to be taken to Castle Dracula.
Just saying those words immediately caused the innkeeper and other villagers to become afraid.
Holly blinked as she held Gabe in her lap.
"What's wrong with Castle Dracula?"
"You'll see," Gabe answered, popping popcorn in his mouth.
The innkeeper tried to warn the city man to prevent him from going. He described how the people believed Dracula and his three wives were vampires, creatures of the night who hunted people and drained their blood for sustenance.
"Ew," Poppy shivered.
Cupid pouted. Yes, vampires did need blood or at least a source of iron, but all the vampires she knew were really nice! Dracula didn't hunt people at night like that! If this was where the 'normies' learned about monsters, no wonder they were so wary of them.
The city man didn't believe the so-called superstitions. He was about to leave before one of the passengers passed him a crucifix to protect him. As the carriage left, the villagers spoke among themselves in their native language. Some prayed for the man while others called him a fool for what he was doing as the sun sank over the horizon.
The scene then changed to an upward angle shot of a large and foreboding castle which was covered in shadows and gloom. It was perched on a cliff, its shadow hanging over the land like an ominous symbol.
"Looks like my mom's evil castle," Raven compared.
"No surprise there," Arthur remarked. The dark and spooky aesthetic definitely fit her evil tastes.
The scene then changed to what looked like a darkened crypt with dirt floors and several coffins. One by one, the coffins began to open as hands with long nails slipped out. Worse, a giant spider crawled out of one of the coffins, causing several in the room to yelp in fright.
Emerging from the coffins were three beautiful women with long flowing gowns. However, they somehow did not appear right. They walked slowly through the crypt, as if they were in a trance, or perhaps not quite alive.
Meeting them was a tall man, wrapped in a black cape. He had a regal bearing and an intense stare. There seemed to be a glow around his eyes as he looked to the three women while they slowly walked towards him. Wordlessly, he turned to begin walking up the stairs to a higher portion of the castle, the three women wordlessly following him as the rats in the dungeon squeaked and a wolf howled in the distance.
"This is so creepy!" Ginger trembled as she grabbed Rex's arm.
"Bela Lugosi was a master at his craft," Rex admitted, feeling a little creeped out as well despite the film being very old by his standards. "He doesn't even have to say anything to set the tone."
The scene changed again, this time showing a man covered from head to toe in a coat and hat, only showing his face as he waited in an ornate carriage at a crossroads. Nearby, the first carriage arrived and the city man was rather unceremoniously let off before he was left behind with his luggage.
"The coach from Count Dracula?" the city man asked the driver. The driver didn't reply but merely stared, his eyes somehow glowing in the darkness. He instead gestured and took the man's luggage, letting him enter the carriage. With a flick of the reins, they took off down the misty and narrow road towards the ominous castle in the distance.
The road was rough and rocky, making the trip rather bumpy and uncomfortable. The city man soon had enough and stuck his head out of the window to try and get the driver to slow down. As he did so, he stopped as he saw a large bat flying over the horses, somehow easily keeping up with the carriage. The man seemed to lose his voice and slipped back into the carriage.
Finally, the carriage arrived at the castle proper and came to a halt. The city man stepped out of the carriage, ready to scold the driver for his reckless driving on such a treacherous road. As he moved to where the driver sat, he lost his voice when he saw the driver had mysteriously vanished.
The main doors to the castle opened ominously. With little choice, the city man warily stepped inside. The main hall of the castle looked more like a ruin. Parts of it were crumbling, massive cobwebs hung everywhere, and bats squeaked and fluttered outside the windows with no glass to keep them out. The city man gulped, looking very worried as he examined his surroundings.
Very suddenly, there was a light on a candelabra as a figure walked down the stairs. He was not at all concerned about his crumbling surroundings. The city man was slightly distracted by the rats running around the floor before he noticed the man near the foot of the main stairs, somehow having passed through a massive cobweb which barred the way without touching it.
"I am Dracula," the darkly clad man greeted with almost a welcoming smile. "I bid you, welcome."
"I love his accent," Faybelle admired.
"At least they got the accent right," Cupid mumbled.
The teens were really getting into the movie now. They could feel the suspense as if anticipating something terrible was going to occur.
Dracula began escorting the city man up the stairs but stopped when a wolf howled in the distance. With an almost fatherly smile, he turned back to his guest,
"Listen to them...children of the night. What music they make!"
"Brrr!" Poppy trembled in Tristain's arms. "It sounds innocent, but…"
"It's become a very well-known line," Tristan nodded.
Dracula continued escorting his guest up the stairs, the man looking now distinctly uncomfortable. He followed somewhat hesitantly, not quite sure if he was in the best situation. As he looked away, he turned back and stopped, realizing that Count Dracula had somehow passed by a massive cobweb which covered the stairs but did not disturb it. He had to use his umbrella to tear a hole open so he could step through. Nearby, an unnaturally large spider scuttled away, making everyone cringe.
"A spider spinning his web for the unwary fly," Count Dracula seemed to comment idly. "The blood...is the life, Mister Renfield."
Nervous, but not wishing to offend his host, the now named Renfield followed Count Dracula.
"And so he has sealed his fate," Max grinned.
The scene changed to a much more welcoming room with a roaring fire, several lit candles, and more signs of comfort rather than the decaying castle outside. Dracula removed his cloak and seemed to change to a much warmer visage. He provided food and drink for Renfield who seemed to relax at the much cosier atmosphere. The group watching the film certainly didn't relax as they still felt a dark tension, especially among the fairy tales.
The two began to discuss business. It soon became apparent that Count Dracula had wished to lease some property, a place called Carfax Abbey. Renfield apparently was an agent of the firm who was facilitating the deal and had travelled to Dracula's castle in order to have some papers signed to close the deal. Renfield seemed eager if only because he was back on familiar ground or the deal may prove to be a lucrative one. Dracula seemed pleased by Renfield's professionalism...and how he kept the lease and the trip a strict secret.
As the pair conversed, Dracula's eyes seemed to gain that strange stare and Renfield became uncomfortable again as he passed the paperwork to the Count. Dracula seemed to be distracted by the paperwork, his noble visage slipping slightly as he absently told Renfield his travel plans, heading to a place called London.
"Where's London?" asked Apple.
"It's a city, a big one. At the time this is set, many considered it a capital of the world and centre of the British Empire," Lance explained.
"You remembered your history?" Harry blinked, making Briar snort.
"I prepared beforehand," Lance shrugged.
Dracula idly mentioned that he would be bringing three boxes with him.
"Boxes, right," Gabe munched on his popcorn despite Holly's shivers.
As Renfield was folding up some paperwork, he flinched when he got a papercut, drawing some blood. Immediately, the Count's entire posture changed. He hunched over with his hand out and his eyes like those of a predator. He stalked towards Renfield who was not taking notice of the man in favour of his hand.
"No! No! Run Renfield run!" shouted Ginger. She wasn't alone as many of the others tensed and tried to warn Renfield of the impending danger.
As Renfield tended to his wound, the crucifix which Renfield had been given tumbled into his hands from where it hung on his wrist. The Count recoiled as if the very sight of the holy item caused him pain, shielding his eyes from even seeing it.
Renfield, unfortunately, mistook the Count's actions as recoiling from the sight of blood and reassured him that it was nothing. Count Dracula seemed to recover himself, although his stare remained and his speech was a bit stiffer like he had just managed to control himself. He offered Renfield some apparently very old wine although he oddly never drank any himself, claiming he never drank wine. He then bid Renfield goodnight and left, leaving the clearly nervous man to his own devices.
"That was too close," Briar sighed. "This is getting intense even for me!"
"Wow! What a villain!" Faybelle admired. "He's got all of it going on! The charm, the castle, and he's clearly got some kind of international plot going on. If he goes for a damsel, he's got to be some kind of villain role model!"
Kevin struggled not to give the plot away to prove Faybelle right.
Renfield continued to eat and try to get comfortable, but he clearly could not. A fog had rolled in and he was clearly nervous. Finally, he approached one of the windows and opened it. He stared out into the night for a few moments before a large bat emerged from the fog. Renfield recoiled from the sight of it and for an unseen reason, passed out, falling to the floor.
Emerging from a doorway, showing more ruined castle with mist flowing through it, the three women from before slowly entered the room. Almost as if they were gliding, they approached the unconscious Renfield and it did not appear to be for a benign reason.
They were halted when Dracula emerged from the mist in front of the window. Entering the room, he gestured the three away and they quickly obeyed. Dracula then turned to the passed out Renfield. After that moment, he knelt down beside the man, grasping his shoulders and leaning in closer before the screen went dark.
"What's Dracula doing to Renfield?" Apple shivered.
"Nothing good if the screen just went black like that," Raven remarked. So far she was enjoying the film. It was gothic, spooky and Count Dracula was hauntingly charming. A lot of it was just her style, even if she was creeped out like everyone else.
Ramona recognized a predator when she saw one and Dracula was the type to lull his prey into a false sense of security. It was why Renfield's fight or flight response had not triggered.
Meeshell had hidden behind Ben as things got too scary. Classic horror relied on suspense and leaving things to the audience's imagination, which proved to be quite effective.