-/-
"Well isn't this lovely, the three of us all together again…" Mycroft's attempt at levity fell decidedly flat.
In fact, neither of his guests so much as glanced in his direction. No, they only had eyes for each other. Which was interesting…
They hadn't seen each other in two years, and yet the emotions between them had not cooled to disinterest, or lingering resentment like Mycroft had expected. Oh, there was a decidedly more dangerous feel to the exchange of gazes; Mycroft didn't need to be an empath to pick that up. Yet there was subtext too, and although feeling emotions was not something Mycroft was particularly good at, unpicking them in others was a particular talent…and there was something here he might still be able to use.
Perhaps an attempt at pushing them together might still bear fruit, either that or it could blow up in his face again. Perhaps it simply wasn't worth the risk, now Plan B was so well advanced, only Mycroft wasn't one to give up on an idea simply because it was difficult.
"Well?" Dracula eventually grew bored enough of their glaring contest to break the awkward silence.
Agatha looked well, no she looked more than just well. She had that swagger back, he had seen it once at the convent, then again on The Demeter when she had Captain Sokolov and his little band of misfits to boss about. It was a type of smug arrogance that had Dracula, torn between strangling her, or kissing her senseless; only right now he wasn't sure which impulse would win out. It had been far easier, to hang on to his resolution to cut Agatha Van Helsing out of his life, when she wasn't seated across a desk from him.
Leaning back in her seat Agatha waited longer still, waiting until Dracula seemed to be on the point of bubbling over before… "I want to tell you a story."
Of all the things Dracula might have expected her to start with, that opening had not been anticipated, even if it was instantly familiar. And he just couldn't help it, the burst of laughter was ripped from him, most unwillingly.
"Are you trying to be funny Agatha."
"No, I am trying to get you to listen to me." Agatha answered with a sigh. How many times had they been in this situation, how many times would they be again? "I know it may seem strange to say this considering the circumstances, but I don't want to be at odds with you, none of us do, despite what you might prefer to believe…"
"What, that this is some pathetic form of revenge? That you have whipped up the others, in an attempt to lash out at me?"
"Why would I want or need revenge?" Agatha backhanded, amusing herself by feigning confusion, before smiling brightly and brittlely. "Oh, you mean for forcing me to give up a job I was good at, whilst you swanned around the world 'recruiting'?"
"By requiring you to do your duty and care for the clan." Dracula corrected her, part of him wanting her to show even a flicker of jealousy. These fake smiles, this nonchalance of hers was irritating. Though her turn of phrase was as ever on point.
"Why would caring for my sisters be a chore? Why would I resent that; oh unless you meant it to be an insult?"
Biting his lip, knowing that there was no response there that could throw him in a good light, and surprising himself by the fact that that did still matter, Dracula feigned a closed smile. "Your story then."
"Well there once was a King of England called John…"
"Oh, I didn't realise we were getting a history lesson…"
"Now he was unpopular among his own nobles because he kept infringing on what they considered to be their basic rights and freedoms. Eventually those same nobles decided enough was enough, and they got together to draw up a charter; something that set out what they considered to be their inalienable rights."
"I am hardly King John, and you are not a bunch of disgruntled Barons." Dracula tutted. "What do any of you have to complain about, you are housed, fed, clothed…no one is threatening you…"
Choosing to carry on if Dracula had not interrupted, Agatha added. "What followed was a rather bloody time, both sides arguing they were right, until finally an accord was signed between the two parties, a charter that despite further bloodshed would form the basis of all English rights and laws."
"So, I take it you and your little group of airheads have pulled together your own Magna Carta?" Dracula scoffed. "And how exactly do you expect to pressure me into signing it, are you planning on declaring war if I don't?"
"Nothing so inelegant; bloodshed is for the foolhardy." Agatha countered, wrinkling her nose as if the thought disgusted her. "But we do have a plan."
"Well do go on, I am fascinated." Dracula drawled sarcastically, yet it felt good to goad her, it felt good to be doing anything with her again. It had only taken a few minutes in her company, for Dracula to realise just how much he had missed this infuriating woman.
"At the moment this little protest of ours is contained, only a few teachers, yourself and Mycroft know about it. In fact, no one outside of our clan, even knows about our proposed charter. As such with a simple negotiation, and a quick resolution, no one else would ever need to know. Clan business is clan business."
"Allowing us to preserve the façade." Mycroft suddenly interjected, and Dracula could almost see those gears whirling away below the surface. "Sir perhaps we could at least hear what they are propo…"
"You still haven't answered my question Agatha, why should I care if word got out? I would win eventually." Dracula was certain of that, in any longer conflict, he held all the real power and the resources.
He could order additional guards in, have them all sent to separate locations and wait for them to break one by one. Isolation would break their resolve quicker than starving or punishing them would.
"Yes, you would." Agatha admitted it freely, savouring the look of confusion on Dracula's face as she agreed with him.
"But how much damage, would be done to your reputation in the mean time? You might crack a few of us quickly, but you know how stubborn some of us can be. We could drag this out, for weeks maybe even months, definitely long enough for the news of a revolt in your clan to spread. Even if you were able to win eventually, and bend us to your will, the story would never go away. It would be gossiped about, behind hands and fans at every social event you ever attended. Count Dracula, the Elder who couldn't even control a bunch of women."
Gossip…that was their master plan. If it wasn't so damn ingenious, Dracula would have laughed at this women's warfare. It was insidious, and unfortunately also damn effective.
Raising his hands as if in surrender, Dracula somehow managed to keep his anger on a tight leash and feign calm. "Alright I will bite, what do you want?"
"Nothing more or less, than the right to control our own lives, what lessons we take, where we live, where we work, who we marry. Basic rights that these women have grown up with, and this antiquated society of ours seems determined to strip away." Agatha answered simply.
"Now hold on a minute." Mycroft interjected, already he could see his carefully crafted empire crumbling. All those potential marriage alliances destroyed.
"I don't see what objection you would have Mycroft, you would also gain these rights, and it is not you who would be granting them. Unless you have another reason for objecting you haven't declared?" Agatha slammed Mycroft down verbally, and for a moment Dracula felt a frisson of pride at her reaction.
"My only concern is for the wellbeing of the clan."
"Clan Dracula is currently over 90% female, I would say the happiness of that significant majority would be a deciding factor in the clan's wellbeing. Unless of course when you say wellbeing Mycroft, you, actual mean power and influence; because if that is the case someone needs to introduce you to a thesaurus."
It was getting harder and harder for Dracula not to laugh. Oh, he was mad as hell at her still, but Dracula could still be mad at her and admire her skill at the same time. His little nun had really come into her fangs in the last two years. Gone was the vampire who had cowered when Gilles de Rais had chastised her, now Agatha knew her power, she radiated it.
Agatha had a new army of the faithful to draw power from and it showed. An army he had given her the bodies for, but she had done the hard work in building…he was almost proud…and just like that Dracula felt the tightly wound anger towards her, towards his decidedly unique clan start to unwind…
Suddenly the idea of forcing them all to submit and to keep on submitting for eternity sounded exhausting. Yes, it would be amusing at first to see the mighty brought low, Agatha was too damn proud for her own good, and yet it was one of the things he liked most about her. His unhumble nun.
"So, you want me to sign away my power over you." Dracula summarised the position. "Hmm there is not much in the situation for me, now is there? I mean if word of this charter got out, I would be far worse off than if I just slaughtered the lot of you and started again…which is of course still an option. You know the law well enough, as your Elder I wouldn't even be punished for it." Dracula replied toothily.
"Outside of necessities, you have not impressed me as a man, who resorts to murder as a default position."
"Tell that to the Turks, or you former sisters." Dracula countered, his smile growing as Agatha's smug smile dropped. So that was still a sore point, as was threatening people she cared about. It was cruel to bait her so, but somehow that just made it all the more delicious.
"Count Dracula you once impressed upon me your belief in free will, of course this was before you ascended to your current position. I would like to think that such power has not corrupted you entirely." Agatha began only for Dracula's laughter to cut her off.
"Oh Agatha, Agatha, appealing to my nobler qualities, you really must be desperate."
"Perhaps it is foolish to hope, to move you, by appealing to you as a man…"
"Oh, I didn't even realise that was an option, by all means dearest Agatha feel free to appeal to me as a man; I didn't realise I my absence you had fallen quite so low as to prostitute yourself."
Now that blow also struck home.
"I don't know what you can possible gain by insulting me Count."
"Oh, I don't know, some measure of satisfaction, a reaction, anything and nothing. I mean I know it is petty, but we are all flawed creatures at the end of the day?"
There was nothing left to say to that, no more arguments left to make. Dracula was toying with her, baiting her; he had no intention of listening to reason, not from her at least, there was no point in her staying any longer. Standing up Agatha went to leave without further comment. She would return to her sisters and admit her failure.
"Agatha sit down!" There was a steel of command, that almost had her knees bending of their own volition; yet somehow Agatha resisted the impulse and forced herself to remain standing.
"You really are the most vexing woman." Dracula tutted, and it was hard to keep the admiration from his voice. "As well practised as your arguments were, you really do not have much experience at negotiating. Courtesy at least dictates that you wait for the other side, to present their counter offer first, before storming out in a huff."
"Apologies Count, I wasn't aware insulting me, was merely a prelude to making a counter offer." Agatha's words and smile were brittle thin, but they held.
"Mycroft it strikes me we have been most lax in our hospitality, we should have offered Agatha some refreshment. See to it would you."
"But I thought I might sta…"
"Now Mycroft." Dracula all but growled, looking across at the other man for the first time.
Dracula waited until the door closed behind Mycroft and they were finally alone to speak. "Right I would estimate we have at the most two minutes before he comes back to get this agreed."
"I don't under…"
"Of course, you don't dratted woman." Dracula snapped back, his charming veneer stripped away. His dark eyes suddenly full of all the emotions, he had been doing his best to keep hidden. "Do you think I give much of a damn who any of you marry, what classes you go to or don't go to. I don't care for micromanaging the clan Agatha, I never did."
"So why not simply agree to our terms?" Agatha questioned, suddenly curious. The moment Mycroft had left it was like a switch had flipped, gone was the arrogant aristocrat, the man before her was far more intriguing.
"And have it dripped like poison into the ears of my rivals?" Dracula spat back. "Mycroft is good for many things but he cannot resist playing his political games. Do use the brain I credit you with having Agatha. I may choose not to play politics, that does not mean I do not understand how it works. As such the two of us are going to come an agreement now, that will not pass outside of our clan. I will agree to all of your conditions, with certain stipulations!" Dracula added fall stalling Agatha's victorious smile.
"You will all pay me all due deference in public, that is not negotiable. All new vampires must attend the mandatory classes that make them functioning members of society, anything less would be insulting to our clan name and frankly dangerous."
Nodding Agatha had to admit that so far, those amendments seemed fair.
"When it comes to choosing further study or agreeing to a marriage. You will all go through the motions of appealing to me for approval first. I will grant it, but there must be no talk before hand that undermines my position. You drum that into their thick heads. If the façade of my power is damaged in anyway, then this deal is off."
"Alright I can do that."
"And lastly, if we are approached by other clans for alliances, which we will be. I will have the right to offer the proposed marriage to any female of my clan, I will not force them to accept, but the rituals of polite society must at least be observed…Including the presentation rituals and all supporting preparation." Dracula added, watching as that shoe finally dropped and Agatha all but burned a hole in him with her glare. "Non-negotiable."
"All this just to force me to simper and curtsey?"
Smiling magnanimously Dracula shrugged, as if that thought hadn't even occurred to him. He was going to have so much fun with this.
"You above all people must lead by example Agatha, you are the eldest, you will be the first female from our clan to be presented to society. If you make a bad impression it will damage the clan's reputation, it will damage the future of your sisters. Stop fighting me on everything and start working with me."
"And this is all you want?" To Agatha it didn't make sense, Dracula was giving up far more than he was gaining.
"I am a simple man Agatha, I always have been. I want a good meal, a good fuck, decent conversation and for my legacy to continue. All of which would be a damn sight easier if you weren't fighting me at every turn."
"And you don't expect anything more from me? I confess this is not how I expected this to go. I honestly thought there would be more yelling and arguing."
"Why, Agatha Van Helsing are you disappointed?" Dracula teased, all teeth and needling. "I mean I'd accept more if you were offering. Or was it more, that you needed me, to force you into it…Is that what you were hoping for coming here? That I would try to blackmail you back to my side. You always did love to play the martyr." He rose from his seat and stalked closer to her.
Reaching out he caught a lock of her hair between his fingers, running them along its length, before reaching up and tucking it behind her ear. Allowing his fingertips to linger on her face. It was an indulgence, an expression of sentiment he would probably regret later. Yet at that moment there was no power on earth strong enough to stop him touching her.
"Did you miss me that much Agatha?"
"You clearly didn't miss me." Agatha somehow found her voice, struggling to keep it level, and deliberately not answering his question but not denying it either.
"Oh, but I did, I only sent you blondes and redheads for a reason. I spent two years running away from you Agatha Van Helsing and look where it got me; right back where I started from."
He had missed her, he had run from her. Of all the things Agatha had expected to hear from Dracula upon entering this room, that sort of confession had never occurred to her. "You admit it?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Dracula shrugged, frowning slightly as Agatha continued to gape up at him in surprise.
"I've had two years to think, about what I would say to you, given the opportunity. I won't pretend I wasn't very angry with you, that I spent the last two years trying to fuck you out of my system. Only it clearly didn't work. I thought it had, which only shows what a damn fool I am. I asked you to marry me Agatha, one doesn't usually do that unless there is a connection of some strength."
"You didn't ask, you t..told." Agatha stammered, reaching up to push his hand from her skin, yet the moment their hands touched she could feel it. There hammering away between the two of them, like a blazing fire, and Dracula could feel it too judging by his grin.
"So, you do desire me still…That's interesting…"
"Desire has never been our problem." Agatha whispered softly, she could feel the pull between them, it was like a physical thing and it would be just so easy to give in to it.
If she so much as leant in his direction, Agatha knew Dracula would take that as an invitation, and she wasn't strong enough to go there a second time. Losing him once had broken her heart, losing him a second time would break her completely. And she would lose him, maybe not straight away, but when he realised she wasn't going to budge on the children issue. Agatha knew there was no point even trying to explain why, Dracula would just call her fears irrational.
"Agatha…" Dracula's breath ghosted across her lips, his own hunger growling at him, to take what he wanted and damn the consequences…but he held back. It had to be her, Agatha had to be the one to cave first. She had refused him, and Dracula had some pride left. No, it had to be Agatha who made the first move…she had to be the one to bend.
"But it doesn't change the essentials, does it? We both want different things. I can't…I won't give you what you want. That hasn't changed."
Only she wouldn't bend. Pulling away sharply, Dracula felt it again, that sharp stabbing pain where his useless heart was located.
"No…No it doesn't change the essentials. You are clearly still as deluded as you ever were."
Reeling from that unexpected low blow, Agatha blinked away tears. Was this all that was left of them, two people who clearly couldn't get over what was between them, and yet couldn't move on either. They were stuck in a trap of their own devising. Both of them wanting from the other, things they were unwilling to give. Dracula wanted a family and Agatha was unwilling to give up on the future she had chosen for herself. So now they were reduced to lashing out, and hurting the other, just because they could?
"You should know I am courting another."
And the blows it seemed just came on coming.
"Oh…" What else was there to say. It was bound to happen one day, only Agatha had expected it to be far from now, when she was over these feelings, when she had at least moved on.
"I will expect you to show her all deference after we are wed and provide her whatever support she will need."
"You don't expect much." Agatha retorted bitterly, laughing through the tears that gathered in her eyes.
"This suffering is all by your own hand, do not blame me for it." Dracula retorted, ruthlessly squashing the impulse that rose within him to comfort her. Savouring her tears, if that was all she had left for him.
"You hold the power to change things Agatha you always did…you still do." He added thinking that perhaps she needed that reminder. There was still time to change her mind.
Things weren't irrevocably settled with Isabella, there was an alternative suitor. Elder Pazzi might be insulted, by his choice of a turned bride instead of his precious daughter, but it would be worth it, if only Agatha would come to her senses.
"Can't you just bend a little…I would not expect you to bear more than 2 or 3 children." Dracula's tone was almost cajoling now. "That would leave you plenty of time for your studies. I would be a loving and attentive father and husband." He added. "Agatha you only have to say yes, and I will give you everything you could possibly desire. I would never see you regret it."
"Only 2 or 3. I became a nun for a reason Count, one of those being that I had no desire to become a mother. And you know full well that after marriage I would have no such studies to conduct; Scholars cannot marry or have offspring, you know that…"
"I know nothing of the kind. Don't you think we could change those rules if we worked together?" Dracula snapped, reaching out and grasping her shoulders, shaking her slightly in order to shake some sense into her. "But you won't even try, what the hell are you so afraid of? Being happy, having to give this, us, a chance?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Then make me understand." Dracula was nearing the end of his tether.
"No…no this was a mistake, it was all a terrible mistake." Agatha was babbling now, her eyes searching for a way out, one which miraculously appeared a moment later. When a decanter laden Mycroft stumbled across their little
"Oh, excuse me I will just…"
Twisting out of Dracula's arms Agatha bolted for the door. Relieved beyond measure when Dracula let her go.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted at delicate moment sir." Mycroft apologised, pouring the count a large glass, as he suddenly looked like he needed it.
"According to Agatha there is nothing left worth interrupting." Dracula muttered bitterly, downing the glass in one.
"If you wanted I could put off the Pazzi family visit." Mycroft hinted, hoping that the extended time he had left them alone might have resolved things, yet if possible, things seemed to be even worse.
"No invite them…In fact I think we should throw a party whilst they are here, invite all the important people, and the senior members of my clan should also attend, don't you think?"
"Sir are you sure that is truly wise…"
Forcing a smile Dracula glared down Mycroft's objections. No a party was just what was needed, he had tried reasoning with her, and his words had fallen on deaf ears, so let's see what a little jealousy could accomplish.
-/-