The girl woke up late at night, eyes bleary and her mouth tasting like chocolate and cotton. She sat up, idly rubbing at her eyes, still not fully awake. She wasn't sure where she was at first… but it was very warm, and a bit dark, and-
Suddenly she fully woke up, eyes widening with a tiny gasp as her hand fell back to her lap. She looked around frantically, and saw that yes, she was still in a castle. Not only that, but she was also in a huge bed with thick, warm covers, and wearing a black nightgown with lace and so many buttons, she still wasn't sure it wasn't a dress. She looked to one side, spotting a tall window that ran from floor to ceiling, allowing her to see a dark sky and a huge bright moon.
Then the events from before came back to her, and she felt her heart slowly stop racing. It was probably going to take a little bit to stop being so surprised when she woke up here.
It had been three nights since she was brought here, and she hadn't done very much.
After she'd taken the first real spoonful of throat medicine, her exhaustion and weakness had caught up to her, and she'd quickly started to drift off. She fell asleep as soon as she was transferred back to the bed and her head hit the pillow.
Then, as if her body wanted to make up for lost sleep, or perhaps to help fight the cold she had apparently gotten before being brought here, she just… stayed asleep for the most part.
She remembered barely waking up for short bursts at a time as someone nudged her to sit up and popped more chocolate and throat syrup into her mouth.
(Once she heard the vampire man asking "Is this really necessary? Will she even notice?"
And then the woman who pulled her from the water answered "Do you want to risk finding out?"
The medicine was always put in chocolate, in the end.)
She'd fall back into a heavy sleep and then be pulled up again and made to eat or drink something - the first time it was something thick and bland and sat easily in her stomach. Then she was given something savory with pieces of vegetables. And then sleep again.
And then the process would repeat.
Until now, apparently… now, she felt properly awake and alert again. As she sat there in the bed, staring outside, she considered how else she felt. Her throat didn't burn anymore, and though she still felt weak, it was better than it had been before. And her stomach didn't feel half-hollow anymore; not perfect, not properly full, but on its way. She felt… better.
Albeit uncomfortable, and sweaty, she noted as she felt her damp forehead.
Not wanting to just sit and wait for someone to come in - that was so boring, and she was tired of just sitting and doing nothing! - she pushed the blankets back and made to climb out of bed. The height forced her to drop to the ground instead of stepping down, but once she hit the floor, there were quick footsteps and her door opened.
Ericka took a moment to calm down before opening the door. No, no, don't just swing it open, she told herself. After a breath, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, poking her head in to see the girl. She smiled, even as the girl looked up at her with widened eyes.
"Hi there!" she called, making sure to keep her voice low and friendly. "You're finally up again."
The girl just stared.
"Does your throat feel better?"
She nodded, but didn't speak.
Well, that was fine. This all was a lot to take in, she had to admit. Heck, she herself had been in over her head the first few nights (weeks….) she'd been here. And she was an adult - she couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for a child.
A sick, hungry child.
Who was clearly running from a bad place.
And who clearly wasn't fully sure she could trust anyone yet.
They'd have to work on all that.
"Okay, hon," Ericka said, taking the girl by the shoulder and guiding her towards a side room. "First, you need a bath."
She watched the girl wipe her forehead again and bit back a laugh.
Half an hour and a lot of lavender bubbles later, the girl was being buttoned up into another of Mavis's old dresses. The two vampires had tried to find something that wasn't black. Or dark violet. Or navy blue. Or very very dark brown.
Eventually, with a short shout of victory, Drac had pulled something out of a box, a spring green dress with a full skirt and wrist-length sleeves, and a high collar.
And of course it had buttons. So many buttons.
"It's another of Mavis's dresses - she only wore it once, apparently," Ericka said, smoothing out the shoulders to get rid of some lingering wrinkles. "Didn't like the color… I think it looks lovely on you."
The girl turned towards the mirror, and recoiled, blinking. Ericka watched as she stared at herself, gathering up her skirt and turning first one way, then the next. Slowly, her curious and awed expression morphed into a frown.
"Not sure? That's fine. This is just temporary, we'll find you something else later." Ericka grinned, ruffling the girl's chin-length hair. The girl made another face and pulled away, combing her fingers through it and tucking it behind her ears. "We don't want you to look like a doll, we want you comfortable." She paused. "These are just the only things we have that'll fit, that's all."
We could get some new clothes later, a part of her said.
But what do we do with them after this? she pointed out.
She can take them with her. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Stop worrying.
"It's one in the morning, you missed lunch-" She laughed at the girl's startled, disbelieving expression. "-but I don't think anyone will mind if we get you something. Come on." She rose back to her full height and held her hand out. The girl eyed it suspiciously before slowly slipping her own smaller hand into Ericka's own. Then she led her out and down the hallway.
It was strange, Ericka thought, walking hand in hand with a child. Oh, sure, she'd led Dennis around from time to time, and sometimes had to wrangle a wolf pup or two. She'd been on babysitting duty for Dennis before (with or without Winnie), and on ships sometimes she had to help a lost child find their mom.
But this… this felt different. And she couldn't quite figure out why.
Another thing she'd have to figure out later.
The families' own rooms had undergone quite a few renovations and remodels over the years. Rooms added, converted into something else, combined into a bigger room or divided up into smaller ones, a balcony added here, stairs added there… At this point, both hers and Drac's space and Mavis and her family's space were more like large apartments, with multiple rooms and a kitchen area in each one. The kitchens were a blessing; it was easier to cook where they lived instead of needing to constantly go downstairs.
It also meant that she didn't have to lead the girl into the downstairs area again. Ericka didn't know what had happened down there on that first night, but she didn't want to bring her back into a floor crowded with monsters. That wouldn't be much help, at least not now.
They did want to get her downstairs later, they didn't want her hiding and afraid of everyone the entire time she stayed here, however long that would be. But that had to be handled delicately. And with time.
So for the girl's first real meal, she was brought to hers and Drac's kitchen area.
Though apparently the two wouldn't be alone.
"Johnny?" She stopped, frowning at the sight of her son-in-law already working at the counter. "What're you doing here?"
"Wanted a sandwich."
"You have your own home to do that?"
"Wanted to hang out with you two," he added, sounding like it was obvious. He held up a butter knife, which he'd just wiped clean of mustard. "Either of you want one?"
Ericka glanced at the girl. The child was staring at him as if she were surprised to see him too, but she didn't flinch or look afraid. "Ehn, I'll take one. How about you, honey?"
The girl stared for a bit, a silence stretching just long enough that Ericka wondered if she'd even heard her. But then she nodded, and Ericka felt a weight lift off her chest that she hadn't even realized had settled in. "She'll take one. Don't go too crazy with it, though!"
"Hey, I wouldn't give Dennis one of my sandwiches, I'm not doing it to her, either," Johnny said, opening the bread box again. "Okay, kid, sit down and welcome to Chez Jean...y."
Ericka snorted a bit at the attempted joke, but the girl stayed silent as the two sat down, watching Johnny's back almost suspiciously. As he worked, she leaned backward a bit, craning her head to try and see what he was doing. Then she leaned forwards a bit. Then she slid off the chair and actually walked up to him to see what he was doing.
Ericka just sat, holding back a grin as the girl grabbed the hem of his shirt and made him jump. " Jeez, kid, you're a ninja… I'm almost down, one second."
The girl huffed, but went back to her chair, sulking with her chin resting on her arms.
Ericka made a quick note of what she was staring at.
A few minutes later the three were eating a late lunch, the adults' sandwiches packed with condiments, meat, lettuce, and two cheeses… while the girl had just one slice of each. That seemed to suit her fine though, and the adults watched with barely-restrained grins as the girl carefully ate the crusts off the perimeter of her sandwich before starting over again from the top.
Johnny spoke first. "Dennis doesn't like crusts," he said, nodding towards the now crustless sandwich. "He always peels them off before eating it. Maybe he should just give them to you."
The girl shifted her eyes in his direction.
"My kid. The boy who sat with you. He's been asking about you and if you wanna play, if you don't think he's a baby or anything."
"Wait…" Ericka frowned, swallowing a bite of her own food. "How old are you, hon?"
The girl held the sandwich in her mouth and held up both hands, all ten fingers splayed. Then she grabbed her meal again before it could open up and spill the leaf of lettuce onto the table.
"Ten's still a good age for board games. Or Mario Kart - you ever play Mario Kart?"
The girl shook her head.
Ericka had an idea of what he was doing. Asking some questions in a casual way, trying to gauge what her life might've been like. If she'd been on land long, what she might've been doing. "What did you play? We've got lots," Ericka prodded.
She just shook her head. No video games. Maybe no games at all.
They'd change that, too. Just because she couldn't be bored.
"You like soda?"
"No soda yet," Ericka said sternly, frowning. She looked briefly at the girl, who looked curious. "We don't need you getting an upset stomach."
"Okay, sorry - how about juice? You like apple juice?"
The girl looked curious still, so Ericka got up to get the drinks.
"It's kind of weird, not having something to call you," she offered tentatively. "It's rude to call you 'girl,' or 'kid' all the time…"
"Ohhh, good point, Ericka!" Johnny agreed, leaning on his elbows across the table and grinning at the girl. "What can we call you?"
The girl gave him a wry look, one that screamed 'Do I look like I can tell you?' Ericka bit her cheek to keep from grinning.
"That's cool, we can guess. Laura? Bridgette? Oh my god - Ariel."
Each time the girl shook her head. Ericka just set a plastic cup in front of her. This would take a while.
