A/N: I will be answering comments in my notes

EVERLASTING ROSEPEDALS: Yes, things are going to get pretty out of hand with the whole 'council' bit. Thanks for reviewing

"Oh," Mavis said in feigned surprise. "You've never heard of them? I would have thought that Dad told you about them by now with how much time you spend together."

"Well, who are they?" Ericka asked.

Mavis sat up straighter and began to speak animatedly. "The vampire council is a really old, really strict group of mostly elder vampires who regulate all matters in the vampire world. My own dad holds the title of Grand Vamp there, actually. They're very stern about not breaking their laws, and most of the time there aren't many violations. Well, except, I don't know about now..."

Ericka 's eyes went wide and she leaned forward with concern on her face. "Mavis, what's going on?"

Mavis sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, you see, if I remember correctly, I am pretty sure there was this law that forbids a human from coming into ownership of a monster property. And you know, given that you're married to my dad now, who owns this hotel…"

She trailed off, knowing full well that Ericka realized what she was trying to say by the expression that she wore. "Wait, so... do you know what happens if the law is broken?"

Mavis shook her head. "I have to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what the punishment is, but I have heard plenty of rumors. Hanging by the eyelids. Defanging. Forcibly eating a bucket of garlic or wearing silver..." Mavis shivered slightly at the thought. "And the worst of all could be termination."

Ericka 's eyes widened in horror. "Termination? Like, the death penalty?" Her voice rose several octaves, sounding more like a squeak than anything else. Mavis just nodded grimly.

"Oh man, I shouldn't have said anything. Now I've ruined your wedding, and put all these horrible thoughts in your head - "

"No, no!" Ericka interrupted. "I appreciate you telling me. Just…" She paused as she ran her hand through her platinum hair and took a deep breath. "What should we do? Why wouldn't he tell me about something so critical like this?"

Mavis got nervous as she fumbled for an answer. "Uh.. well... maybe he just forgot! He's got a lot of things on his mind since he runs the hotel... for now," she emphasized at the end.

Ericka's brows creased with worry as a result. She just got Dracula all to herself, and now she was going to lose him already? She stayed silent still as Mavis rose up from her seat and downed the last of her punch from the glass.

"Well, I suppose we better get back to the party. Enjoy everything while we can, you know?"

Ericka nodded faintly and followed Mavis back inside with a numb feeling inside of her. This wedding had been going so wonderfully; she'd finally found love, gotten married and could possibly even become a mother! How could this be happening now? A commotion a few tables down across the dance floor caught her attention. Her husband was surrounded by his friends who were cheering him on as he chugged down as much Blood Beater as he could. The man got several more swigs before letting out a big satisfied belch. His friends gave him an encouraging pat on the back as he wiped the remaining dribble from the corner of his lip and looked up, catching her gaze. His face lit up, and over the music she could hear him call: "Ericka! Honeybat!" He began to make his way over to her, but Mavis's warning words of the vampire council rang through her head again and she sprinted away with a start, hiding amongst the sea of dancing monstrous bodies. At that moment, a lively popular dance song began to blare out of the speakers of the dance floor, causing everyone to break into a frenzy of clapping and whooping. It seemed like it was the perfect opportunity for a quick escape.

Ericka weaved through the dancing crowd, gracefully navigating her way past through lithe movements and well-placed steps as she ducked beneath arms and stepped over legs. All at once, she bumped into a large body behind her, and saw that it was Eunice. The other bridesmaids were also with her.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Where were you? Felt like you were gone forever, and a bride can't miss her own reception party!"

Ericka gulped. "Heh, heh, right! It's just that I… I uh…" She thought about what to say, and then got an idea when she looked down at the emptied chalice in her hand. "The punch I drank while I was talking to Mavis kind of upset my stomach and, to be honest, I'm not feeling completely one hundred percent quite yet, so if you'll please excuse me!" She tittered nervously and then quickly grabbed the hems of her dress to scurry away.

"Ericka, honey, wait!" Wanda called out. The wolf turned to the others "What was wrong with the punch?"

Mandy shrugged. "Nothing that I can tell," she replied.

"Ah, it's probably because she's a human. Some humans can't tolerate some monster foods, just like some monsters can't tolerate human foods!" Eunice offered as an explanation. Then she put a finger to her chin and pondered. "Although, there really wasn't anything wrong with the punch that I could think of." But she waved a dismissive hand and turned to the girls. "Remind me to try it later on again!"

The female monsters nodded and continued with the dancing.

With some success, Ericka was able to make it to the buffet table somehow undetected. She quickly ducked under it, ensuring the cloth covering that extended down from the table concealed her. She heard Drac's voice again, only steps away as he passed by the table calling out her name.

"Ericka? Ericka? Sweet blood orange, where are you?"

"I don't understand Drac," Frank piped up next to him. "How can you lose your bride at your own wedding reception?"

"No questions, Frank, just help me keep looking!" Drac snapped in response. A second later, the voices of Frank, Murray, Wayne, and Griffin aided the Count along in calling out for her. Once they were completely faded out from her hearing, she breathed a sigh of relief and backed up. She briefly yelped when she felt a cold, metallic machine right behind her and whirled around to see what it was.

Or rather, who it was.

"Ericka!" her great-grandfather exclaimed, a sheepish look on his face and a mouthful of food in his cheeks. "Fancy seeing you down here."

She stared at him, baffled. "Great-grandfather? What are you doing here?"

"Well, eh, I live here, don't I?"

"Er, yes," she replied. "But I mean, like, here under a table? You're not still hiding from my monster friends, are you?"

The sheepish look on Van Helsing's face returned full-force. "Eh heh, well…"

Ericka rolled her eyes. "Great-grandfather, how many times do I have to tell you, nothing is wrong!"

"Yes, yes, well, from the look of it it does look like something is indeed wrong." He crossed his arms and looked at his great-granddaughter. She stared back at him with wide eyes and then blurted out the truth before she could think twice about it.

"Oh, great-grandfather, something horrible has come up!"

Van Helsing scowled. "What? It's that Dracula isn't it?! You just tell me what it is he did, and I'll blast that vampire to kingdom come!"

Ericka frowned at him. "No! It's the fact that he's in danger because of me!"

"Is that all? I'd say that's a good thing!"

"Great-grandfather…"

Van Helsing put his hands up. "All right, all right, just putting it out there. So what is this big problem?"

Ericka gulped. "Well, because I'm a human and coming into ownership of the hotel alongside Drac, we've just violated one of the vampire council's really strict and ancient rules - one that is punishable by death!"

Van Helsing's eyes narrowed. "The vampire council you say?"

"You know about them?"

"No," he answered, "I've only heard rumors of a group of higher vampires that are supposed to govern the monsters. You can bet I tried to uncover their location, but I regret to say that I failed. Besides, it was only a side matter during the time where my main focus was to hunt and kill Dracula specifically." He sighed. "Well, I suppose you should talk to the Count about trying to appeal to the court - "

Ericka shook her head. "No! He can't know about this. He's the last person who should know about this! Please, great-grandfather," she said, looking into his eyes with a pleading look. "I know you and I have had our differences ever since that night on the cruise ship, but I don't know what else to do! I'm not a monster, and monsters are the only ones who can own a monster property!"

The old man suddenly snapped his bony fingers. "Ah-hah! I've got just the thing down in the lab. Just, uh, hold on for the drop, okay?"

"The drop? What dr - OOOOOP!"

Ericka shrieked as Van Helsing opened a trapdoor beneath the two of them under the table and the pair plummeted downward and out of sight of the party to the hotel's basement.