Stranger than Fiction
Chapter 15
Back to school, ho-hum…
Because she had missed some time, Jo had double the work to make up. Since her reasons for missing classes had been legitimate she had not been penalized, but she knew she could not afford to miss more time. The work, while not actually hard to do, was time consuming; for the past two days, she hadn't seen Fangula at all, and had only managed to talk to him once on the phone.
This last was her room mate's doing. When Kate wasn't out with some person or other, she was on the phone, planning other such outings. To her credit, she had been solicitous about Jo's accident, and had even brought up supper those two nights. Now, on the third day since her release from the hospital, Jo was alone once more, with her books strewn about her bed. Fortunately she was almost at the bottom of the work pile, so she could afford to kick back a little. In fact, she was finishing up with the last assignment, with a bowl of microwave popcorn as her only companion.
When the phone rang, she assumed that it was just another one of Kate's friends and let the machine get it. At the fourth ring, Kate's bubbly voice filled the room: "Hey, you've reached the room of Kate and Jo! If you're hearing this message, we're probably out having a good time! Leave your name and number, and one of us will track you down. Later!"
Jo rolled her eyes. How embarrassing! When had Kate recorded that?
Beep: "Ah…he—hello? Jo, this is Rosamund…if you are there, could you…er, 'pick up'?"
In her confusion, the vampire woman's accent had become thick. This was one trait she and her son shared; whenever Fangula was flustered or upset he would roll his R's, and sometimes he would be almost impossible to understand. The worst was when he would lapse into Romanian, which Jo had only ever seen once or twice.
Jo made a dive for the phone, making a mental note to erase their conversation afterwards. "Hi, sorry, I thought it was one of Kate's friends calling."
"Ah, I greet you. I thought, perhaps, we could meet tonight and talk." Said Rosamund, who had thought it best to get right to the point.
"Is something wrong? Is Fangula okay?" Jo asked, speaking quietly.
"Oh, no! No, he's fine. It is nothing like that. I merely wish to speak with you; that was the reason for my coming here to America in the first place."
"Oh." Jo said stupidly, twisting around to look at the clock radio on the night stand behind her. It was 7:00 at night, a safe time for vampires to be out and about.
"Can you meet me at the…" there was a pause, as if Rosamund had stopped to look at something, "the Happy Pirate? It is the only dark restaurant I could find." She sounded apologetic; the name of the eatery left much to be desired.
"Oh, um, sure…" Jo agreed, trying to remember where that was, "What time?"
"As soon as possible; I am at the table farthest to the back. Do hurry…the waiters are wearing pirate hats…"
Jo chuckled, and they said good-bye. It occurred to her that she could be walking into a trap, but she discounted this immediately. Even if Rosamund had secret designs against Jo, she probably wouldn't risk acting on them in public. Besides, the vampire woman seemed to be genuine, and was a Lady to boot. After erasing the message, Jo caught a ride with one of the students on campus, and she made it to the restaurant in twenty minutes.
* * *
While Rosamund waited for Jo, the ridiculously garbed waiters kept coming to the table and pestering her about what she would like to have. Finally she consented to order some coffee, which she forced herself to sip whenever one would look at her. She disliked this, having to hide her nature, but it was a necessary evil. Also, she was getting hungry; it had been several days since her last successful hunt, and she was very picky about whom she did choose. Like some of the vampires in Anne Rice's novels, of which she had read two, she preyed only on the evil doers; she would sometimes go many nights without blood, until she found someone committing rape, or something of an equally horrid nature. She disliked killing, but she still needed the blood and would hunt when her body demanded it; taking the 'evil ones' helped to ease her conscience somewhat. Though she didn't know her son's hunting habits, he was much the same. Not even the other monsters knew what he ate while he was out prowling the streets, but the truth was he rarely ever killed.
Count Fangula would only take about a pint from a victim, and leave them to heal as he found someone else; this was why the people of Charterville had yet to figure out that something was going on. Vampires were able to cast a sort of spell on people who had passed puberty, a spell that would make them forget any such encounter; the only remnant would be the bite mark on the neck, which by then would look like nothing more than a pair of mosquito bites. This was Fangula's usual method of securing the precious blood. This was why Vlad hated him so much, but what the vampire chief didn't know was that it was Fangula's mother who had instilled such lessons of morality in him.
Rosamund looked up, instinctively knowing that Jo had arrived, and she rose to greet her as she approached the table. "Thank you for coming at such short notice."
"Oh, no problem. What did you want to talk about?" Jo asked as she sat down.
"Perhaps you would like to order something first?" asked Rosamund, who had spied a waiter approaching them.
"Hello, ladies. Are you ready to order?" asked the pimple-faced kid, who looked to be about seventeen.
"Just an iced tea, thank you." replied Jo, seeing Rosamund's hackles beginning to rise.
When the waiter left, Rosamund leaned forward and whispered, "That insolent boy kept appearing at this table every minute and a half; I timed it!"
Jo saw a flash of fang behind the woman's red lips, and she realized that the vampiress was far from being angry; quite the contrary, she was extremely amused! That was no sneer; it was a suppressed grin. Rosamund brought her hand up to shield her fangs from view.
They were still giggling when the waiter returned with Jo's drink…and almost spilled it. He left again, and Jo shook her head as she pulled the bit of paper off the end of the straw and squeezed the lemon wedge into the glass. "Oh boy…So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked.
Rosamund became a little bit more serious, and sighed. "Well, to begin with, I know that my son has asked you to marry him. Whether I approve or not, and I do not say that I disapprove, I think that he will do it anyway. I merely wished to get to know you, and to give you an idea of what you are getting into."
"Oh…" Jo stirred the tea with her straw and frowned pensively.
"I tell you right now, I am not going to mettle. What my son does is up to him, and I do like you. I hope we can be friends."
"I do, too…He—Fangula, I mean, mentioned something the other day…what was it…Dhampires?" Jo asked hesitantly.
"Mmm, yes…that is part of what I wished to speak to you about. Did he tell you what they are?" she inquired, and when Jo nodded she continued, "All right…that makes it a little bit easier. For the most part, we vampires do not like them. They are being pulled in two different directions, and if the human side wins out they become hunters. If the vampire side wins, they usually get careless and get themselves in trouble. So far, there has only been one dhampire who managed to adapt to life in both worlds, but Vlad destroyed her."
"Why?" Jo asked, appalled.
"Because he did not like her." Rosamund said with a trace of bitterness. "If you do marry my son, I trust that you will think carefully before you have children. As much as I would like to be a grandmother, and indeed I would love them dearly, it might be best in the long run for…well, it is your decision to make, not mine."
"That's okay, I know what you're saying." Jo smiled, sipping her tea.
Rosamund sighed, relieved that what she had said hadn't been taken the wrong way. Then, lacing her fingers together on the tabletop, she asked, "What do you feel when you look at my son?"
Jo thought carefully for a moment, not sure how to answer this. She was sure that Rosamund was uninterested in the sexual aspect of their feelings for one another…Finally, she looked up. "I feel like…like a piece of my life, a piece I didn't even know was missing, has suddenly fallen into place. I almost feel like I'm being lifted, like someone has hold of my heart, and is lifting me from the ground by it, but it doesn't hurt…I don't know how else to describe it."
Rosamund shook her head in wonder. "That was one potent love spell!"
"Yeah…" Jo sighed, then straightened up when she became aware of the dopey grin that was plastered on her face. Rosamund pretended not to notice.
"What do you do for school? I mean, what are you training for?" asked Rosamund.
"Oh! Well, I haven't chosen a major yet. I'm taking a student success course, English, History…um…and Social Sciences. I'm really not sure if College is for me, but then I haven't really given it much of a chance."
"Mmm…I think it is worth it, to learn new things." The vampiress mused, and the double meaning of that statement was not lost on Jo.
Instead of commenting on that, Jo changed the subject. "Fangula mentioned that he was married before, but he didn't love her."
"Ah, yes…his father arranged the marriage, hoping to gain status. Neither of them wanted to get married. Did he tell you that when he protested, Adrian—my late husband—struck him in the mouth, splitting his lip, and called him an ungrateful little…er, pardon the crude language, 'shit'?"
"No." Jo shook her head, her eyes widening as she felt a pang in her heart for Fangula.
Rosamund nodded. "The woman treated him like dirt, but he was stuck until Victor Nussbaum drove a stake into her heart. He almost didn't escape with his own life, and I think that was the first time that they didn't get their bat…I know that it is a terrible thing to say, but I was glad when that happened because then he might be able to find someone to be happy with. And now, with you, he seems to have found that happiness…I…I have decided to give you my blessing. I just hope it works out for the best."
Jo was torn between crying and laughing, and ended up doing both as Rosamund reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze. "Thank you…"
"Don't thank me…I always did want a daughter."
* * *
That night, after Jo had finished her assignment, she called Hillhurst's number. The thing was, she never knew who was going to pick up the phone…
This time, it just happened to be Mums. "It's your dime, Freak Show, start talkin'!"
"Hey, Mums. Is Fangula there?" she asked, deliberately ignoring his 'greeting'.
"Hey, what's up, Beautiful?" the mummy teased, "Yeah, he's here, glaring daggers at me…what…hey…ouch! Okay, okay! Sheesh…" there was the sound of a scuffle, and the crash-tinkle of something breaking. Then Fangula was on the line.
"Hi, sorry about that. What's up?" he asked, sounding breathless.
"Oh, not much. I was just talking to your mother." She replied.
"Oh, no…" he groaned. "Where did she corner you and why?"
She laughed, and said, "She didn't corner me! She asked me to meet her at a restaurant, and we just talked."
He snorted, and said, "About me, right?"
She could hear that he wasn't really annoyed, so she went on, "Partly. She said she just wanted to get to know me. It's really not as bad as it sounds. In the end, she said we had her blessing, and we made fun of the waiters."
"She said that?" he asked, smiling, not surprised at all; she had said the same thing to him earlier that day.
"Yeah. Now we just have my parents to worry about."
"What about Drew?"
She twisted the phone cord around her finger, and replied, "Well, he told me I could do a lot worse."
"He said 'worse', not 'better'?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yup." She grinned.
"But why? He hated the idea of us being together."
"Well, I think it had something to do with your saving my life." She said quietly.
"Well, I…I couldn't just…"
"I know." she smiled.
"When can I see you again?" he asked.
"How's tomorrow?" she returned.
"Mmm…that's no good. How about tonight?"
"Tonight?"
"Yeah." he cleared his throat. "It's kind of important."
"Oh…okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Great! So, I'll see you then."
"Yeah. I love you." she said.
"I love you, too."
* * *
Drew pulled up to Hillhurst, and Jo took a deep breath to calm herself. What had been so important that he had to see her tonight? It didn't sound like it was something bad; he would have at least sounded upset. Also, from the few not-so-subtle hints her brother dropped, he was in on it too. Oh, well…nothing to do but go inside and face it, whatever it was…
They passed through the door, and were greeted by Count Fangula, who seemed to be alone in the house. While that itself was hardly possible, not even Flabber came in to greet them. It was almost as if there was an unspoken agreement that this was just for them. "Hi, Jo."
"Hey…what's going on?"
Drew headed for the parlor, and she looked after him and wondered, not for the first time, if he was in on it. When she looked back, she saw Fangula taking something from his pocket. It was a black velvet box.
"Jo, when I asked you to marry me that night, I was caught up in the moment. I was a little hasty. I even forgot about this." He opened the box, and inside was a very old looking diamond ring. It sparkled as if it had just been cleaned and polished, but it was obviously antique, and very special. His hands shook slightly as he held the box, and he continued, "This belonged to my grandmother, who died long ago as a human and passed this on to my mother. She in turn gave it to me to give to the one I choose…and I choose you. Will you wear it?"
She practically knocked him down with the force of her hug, and he laughed, "I guess so! Here. Here, give me your hand…" he removed the ring from the box, and slipped it gently onto her left ring finger. It was a perfect fit. "Well…now it's official. We're engaged for real."
"Oh, isn't that just sweet?" called Mums from the parlor doorway, making kissy sounds and hugging himself.
"Darn it, Mums, get back in here!" yelled Flabber, whose hand shot out of nowhere on an arm that stretched, dragging the mummy back into the parlor. "Don't ya know the meaning of the word privacy?"
"Sure, I just don't care."
Jo and Fangula glanced at each other, and burst into hysterical laughter. Mums would never change!
Author's Note: FYI, the next chapter might contain a sex act; I've already written it two ways. In one version it is understood that they will have sex, and in the other one it goes into more (not graphic) detail. Your reviews will decide which one it will be. I did my best to keep it in the R level and not the NC-17 level, meaning some petting but nothing you wouldn't see on HBO. I know that NC-17 is no longer a rating option (which sucks, because I like to read those stories sometimes), so I've tried to abide by fanfiction.net's rating rules. If, when I get that chapter up you are offended, please tell me instead of reporting me, and I'll be able to clean it up a little. As much as I hate having to do that, I'd rather have that happen than have my story taken down. Okay, enough groveling. See you guys next chapter! ^_^