I felt hands cradling my head as I regained consciousness. When I opened them I saw Baba Yaga looking over me, with my head in her lap. Renfield was next to her smiling at me.
"Young witch is awake." She smiled.
I sat up and looked around the ceiling we were in. Six chains hung up on the wall and five holes were spread between them. In front of us stood Dracula, still green but his outfit was purple again with cape, behind lines of red light.
"You!" I got up to march up to him.
"Careful, the wires are hot." He warned. I cried out as my hand touched the lights. "I told you."
"Let us go you big jerk." I glared at him.
Dracula looked boredly down at me. "Change me back to normal and I might consider it."
I scoffed. "I'm new at this witch thing. I don't even know how I turned you green." I threw my hands in his direction.
He looked at Baba Yaga. "Then you can teach her to change me back."
She glared up to him. "Then return amulet and wand."
When she said that I looked down to see my purse missing. "Where's my spider." I demanded.
"Oh, that thing," he smirked, "it's with the Wishbones. So you have nothing to worry about."
"Where are the Wishbones?" I asked.
He smiled wickedly. "They're in the rocket that holds the ice sphere." He laughed. "Very soon they'll be frozen and launched into the sun."
"No!" The three of us gasped.
"Let them go." I demanded.
"I'm afraid Emma made her choice of betraying me." He huffed.
"You betrayed her first." I pointed out. "You lied about not knowing Baba Yaga, you had her and her family, plus me, cursed, and when you first met her in person you practically kidnapped her under false pretences."
"You tried to destroy me!"
"Only because you left us no choice."
"You could have married me."
"One I don't even know you and two you've been a jerk to me the entire time we've met."
"No I haven't."
"You ejected me out of your jet, lied, and tried to hurt my friend and her family."
"I've done no such things. You and my treacherous servant are about to discover what happens when you betray the Prince of Darkness."He turned around and marched away.
"Jerk!" I called out. I slumped down on the ground and wrapped my arms around myself. "What are we going to do?"
"Nothing we can do." Baba Yaga sighed.
"But wait for the world to freeze." Renfield added.
I started crying in frustration and felt them rub my back. We stayed that way until Baba Yaga gasped.
"Look!" She cried. I wiped my tears away and saw my magical black smoke. It formed a line out into the hallway in front of us. "This means familiar has escaped and is now looking for you." She explained.
As soon as she said that the door opened and Spider came scurrying in. "Spider!" I jumped up in joy.
"Saved we are!" Baba Yaga danced with Renfield.
As soon as Spider was in front of us they pulled a familiar glove out of my purse. Renfield and I made a confused noise.
"Baba Yaga knows what to do." She excitedly said.
Spider threw the glove in between the wires at her. When she caught it she placed the glove on her hand smugly. Renfield and I gasped as she reached for the wires and pushed them to the side.
She pointed her head towards the exit. "What are you waiting for? We are free."
We looked at each and smiled before leaving our prison.
I bent down and scooped my purse and Spider into my arms. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I laughed as Spider squished my face in happiness. "Ok Spider let's go stop Dracula." Spider saluted and hopped scurrying towards the door.
"Hurry, I'll stop the sphere from growing anymore." Renfield said.
"Help you I will." Baba Yaga told Renfield.
Once outside the door we headed our separate ways.
As soon as we reached an open door I could hear Dracula's voice.
"Pathetic creatures, look at you. Hideous, weak, timid."
"But we are a family." I heard Emma. "Something that you will never have." That last part was harsh but Dracula's a jerk so he deserved it.
"And neither will you."
Dracula did not just threaten my friend. I ran screaming into the room and stopped when I saw a giant green bat. "I'm sorry, what?" I stared at the bat.
"Lizzie!" I heard Emma yell my name.
The green bat stared at me in shock. "How did you escape?" Spider hissed at him. "Oh, so that's how." Dracula's voice came from it.
"Dracula can turn into a giant bat?" I looked at human Max. I turned to see all the Wishbones were back to normal. "You're all human again."
"We sure are." Fay nodded.
"And all it took was a group hug and being happy again." Max stated.
"Happy," Dracula spat, "an emotion you will never feel again. Especially you Lizzie." He glared at me. "You'll stay a witch forever and never be human again. What kind of life is that?"
I glared right back. "I don't care what I am. As long as my friends are happy and safe. That's what love is all about."
"Oh Lizzie." Emma wrapped me up in a hug and her family smiled at me.
He snarled. "Love? You dare tell me about love. How can you love anyone without feeling happy?"
I crossed my arms. "Love isn't about happiness, it's about the experience we have. The little moments we give our loved ones and the content of being with one another. Just because it's harder for me to feel happiness doesn't mean I don't have loved ones. I don't know who told you that happiness is the only important thing in love but they're wrong. When you're with someone, with family, you have to take the good with the bad. Because love will always have it's ups and downs and I think that's beautiful. It gives me hope that someday I'll find love too, like Emma has with Frank."
"Then you can love me." Dracula said.
I raised my brow at him. "You threw me off a jet and plan on freezing the world."
"Not to mention a monster." Fay added.
Dracula snarled. "If I can't have love, then no one can." He walked towards the only desk in the room.
"No!" All the Wishbones cried and went after him. Dracula was easily throwing them around one by one.
Spider was tugging the leg of my jumpsuit and pointed at the curtains. I noticed the light spilling from the edges. I knew what to do.
"Did you really think you could defeat me?" I heard him monologuing. "Me! The Prince of Darkness." I heard a crash and Dracula yell from pain. "The scourge of Transylvania, say goodbye to your-" I finally pushed the curtain open, Dracula started yelling louder than before.
I turned around to see bat Dracula sucking his thumb. The sunlight covered the desk he was in front of. "Quick," I looked at Frank, who was closest to the entrance. "Open the curtain and run towards the door."
Frank pulled the rope next to the window and the curtains opened. Everyone, but myself, ran towards the door away from Dracula who tried to grab them. He hissed in pain as the sunlight touched him.
"Pathetic mortals!" He growled. "You cannot defeat me. The sun will eventually set."
"Lizzie," Emma called out, "we still need to stop his plans."
I nodded in acknowledgment. But, didn't tell them that Renfield and Baba Yaga were already on it.
"Will Lizzie," Dracula walked towards my direction, "it's just you and me. Unless you have a way to get past me."
"We need to get Lizzie out of there." Fay panicked.
"But how?" Max asked.
"I'm sure we'll find a way." Cheyenne slowly descended from a chandelier, via aerial silk, in front of the Wishbones.
"How long have you been up there?" I asked.
"Oh, just a little while." She responded.
Dracula huffed. "What makes you so sure she'll be able to escape me?"
"Call it a feeling."Cheyenne looked back at the Wishbones. "Let's go find our other friends."
"Renfield might be able to help like before." Max suggested.
"Sit tight Lizzie, we'll be back with reinforcement." Emma called out.
They all ran out the door leaving me and Dracula behind. A ray of sunlight separating us.
Dracula snarled in the direction of the Wishbones and faced me. "Your friends will never be able to stop me. I made sure that the ice sphere would continue to grow even if the rocket didn't launch. And I'm the only one with the knowledge to stop it."
"I don't believe you." I stomped my foot. "All you've ever done is lie. I bet Renfield knows how to stop the sphere."
He looked flabbergasted when I mentioned Renfield. "Wh-what? No, he's only a man servant. Why would he know about the ice sphere in the first place?" His eyes moved side to side, never once looking at me.
"Considering the fact he told us about it, I'm pretty sure Renfield knows about it." I crossed my arms in disbelief. "Do you always lie when things don't go your way?"
"I most certainly do not." He tried crossing his arms, but his wings wouldn't let him. He turned back to his humanoid form, pretending his little hiccup didn't occur.
I chuckled and shook my head. "For someone so terrible, you're ridiculously adorable."
He looked embarrassed and scowled. "I'm the prince of darkness. I am not adorable."
My legs started to cramp. Being mindful of the red button on the desk, I decided to sit on the sunlit desk."So what's this?" I picked up a glass tube with a single snowflake inside.
"A small sample for what's to come." He smirked.
"Huh," I examined the tube and looked at him. "I wonder what would happen if I used this on you?"
"You wouldn't." He backed away.
"I mean, you did try to use the full scaled one on my friends." I swayed the tube back and forth. He looked frantic as I teasingly tipped the open end. "But, I did turn you green and my friends are fine."
Dracula's eyes lit up with recognition, as if he had forgotten. "Turn me back to normal." He demanded.
"Turn me back to normal." I countered.
A dangerous glint passed his eyes. "Only true happiness can break your curse. Perhaps I could remedy that." He looked at imaginary dirt under his nails. "I am still looking for a vampire bride after all."
"You need to stop asking everyone to marry you first." I slammed the tube back on the table. Emma and the others better be coming soon.
"I do not ask everyone to marry me." He denied.
"Sure, bet you didn't ask that girl 1,000 years ago to marry you." I rolled my eyes.
He looked surprised. "Who told you."
"Baba Yaga," I picked up the tube again. "Maybe I should use this on you. In honor of the woman whose family you got rid of."
"I didn't, I didn't," he took a deep breath and rubbed a hand against his mouth. "I was in love, truly in love. She meant the world to me. When I first saw her she was helping one of my bats out of a trap. Back then all anyone wanted to do was find a way to destroy me. Back then everyone knew the name Dracula.
Her name was Mary, she had fair skin, eyes blue like the bluest sapphires, and hair black as the blackest midnight. Many in her village rumored that she was my daughter. So her family lived in the mountains close to my castle. It was the reason our paths crossed.
One of my bats was out longer than usual. So I flew out to find them. I heard the screeching of a bat and then silence. I thought the worst, but then I heard purring and giggling. And there she was, holding up an empty trap and my bat cuddling up to her. As soon as I saw her I fell in love.
I sought out Baba Yaga, to help me get closer to her. She disguised me as a human and I was able to get close. She thought I was a villager that lost his way. But, I told her I lived nearby and only came out during the dark. She even asked me if I ever saw Dracula.
After we first met we kept seeing each other. Every day we would talk, laugh, and get to know each other more each passing day. Soon she extended an invitation to meet her family. But, her grandfather was very sick at the time. It reminded me how mortal she was.
I asked Mary what she would say if her family was granted immortality. She said it was a nice thought. After a while I became a part of the family and was the happiest man alive. What I didn't know then, and forgot today, was that happiness removed the spell. The day I asked Mary for her hand in marriage I transformed back into Dracula.
When she said yes I had transformed in front of her and her family. They all screamed in terror, and I thought transforming them into vampires was the solution. But, in my moment of panic I have forgotten that turning them would also remove their soul. They were mindless, obedient servants. Once I came too, it was too late to realize my mistake.
Mary, horrified for what I had done, ran into the woods. Her mother, father, and grandparents were thirsty and freshly changed. They followed her and tried to hunt her down. I wouldn't let them get to her, so once I reached her I took her to my castle. She spent days cursing me, and I demanded Baba Yaga to transform them back into humans. The old witch claimed that there was no magic to turn a vampire back into human.
I locked her away and asked Mary what she wanted from me. She asked to be reunited with her family. She asked to be turned into a vampire. Once I did what she asked, she too became soulless."
Dracula's lower lip quivered as he finished his story. "I ruined her family, but I could never." He wiped away imaginary tears. "The villagers that still believed she was my daughter found them. They captured them, tied them to the stake, and waited for the sun. When I found out it was too late, the sun was already rising."
"Oh," I swallowed, "I'm sorry to hear that, but you still tried to destroy the planet and sun." I placed the snowflake down. "I certainly feel bad for you, but that doesn't excuse your behavior."
"What of yours?" He glared.
"What do you mean?" I asked with confusion.
"You had every moment to tell the Wishbones how to break the curse." He looked angry. "You had the ability to reunite them when they were separated. You even have power to stop me, not just the snowflake, but the sun as well." He pointed towards the two open curtains. "So why don't you?"
I blinked at him. Did he really think I would...wait. "You think I want to kill you?"
"Of course!" He threw his arm up. "You were going to engulf me with that accursed liquid, while I was in my Lazarus bath. What did you think would happen?"
"I don't know," I shook my head, "probably give you a rash."
"A rash?" He looked outraged.
"I thought it would be watered down with your bath." I reasoned.
"When you mix the ingredients together you still complete the recipe." Dracula looked at the sun. "There is only one weapon against me that requires direct, and unfiltered, contact."
"I-," I bit the inside of my cheek and made up my mind. I closed the curtain, the desk free from sunlight.
He looked at me with surprise. "Why, why would." He walked towards the desk. "You've just given me access to my weapon." His hand, which I noticed had swollen fingers, was shakily hovering over the button.
"Are you going to push it?" I walked over to the desk. This time choosing to sit at the chair in front of the desk.
"I'm getting to it." He looked back, then at the button, then back at me again. "That's my chair."
"And chairs are meant to sit on." I crossed my legs. "Again are you going to push the button?"
Dracula frowned as he stared down at the button. "No," he turned around and sat on the desk. "What's the point, Renfield has probably disarmed the sphere and rocket by now." He looked at me. "The better question is: Why are you not leaving? I could attack you at any given moment."
"So," I leaned back, "why aren't you attacking me?"
"Is that what you desire?" He snarled at me.
"I actually want to go home." I shrugged.
"So what, you're going to leave and stay a witch forever." He huffed.
"Being a witch isn't so bad." I rolled my neck. "You make it sound like I'll lose everything by being a witch. My other friends will think I got contacts. Having magic will probably help me at work. Not to mention I gained a new friend." I pet Spider's head. "You should try making friends instead of getting someone to marry you."
"How do you propose I do that?" His eyes flashed red. "Beg? I tried that. Bargain? I've done that as well. Build a bond? You know where that led to." He put his hands on either side of my head. "Nothing I do is enough to find love. Let alone friends."
I looked up at him. "Have you tried introducing yourself first; without lying who you are?"
"I did with Emma." He shouted.
"You never properly introduced yourself until, after the fact you cursed her to become your vampire bride." I pointed out.
His eyes still stayed red, but he looked defeated.
"Lizzie!"
Dracula looked to the side where the door was.
"What have you done with Lizzie." I heard Emma shout.
"I've done nothing." Dracula defended himself.
"Then where is she?" I heard Max ask.
"I doubt you would just let her go." I heard Fay huff.
I could see Dracula's eyes redden. "Do you need to eat?" I asked.
He looked back at me. "No, why do you ask?"
"Your eyes are red." I pointed out.
He pulled out a red pill and quickly swallowed it. "I must have forgotten to feed after all the commotion."
"Why are the young witch and Dracula so close?" I heard Baba Yaga.
Others wondered the same.
"Maybe they kissed and made up?" Fay suggested.
Dracula looked flustered. "There was no kissing. Why would there be kissing." He straightened up and took a step back.
"We had a talk." I got up from the chair. I walked over to the Wishbones and friends.
"Do all talks involve being close and personal." Fay teased.
I rolled my eyes, and heard Dracula sputter, as I closed the last curtain.
"What are you doing?" Max gasped.
"What?" I tilted my head. "I don't think he'll be coming for us any time soon." I turned my head to look at Dracula. "Or, destroy the world."
"What makes you so sure?" Emma glared at Dracula.
"It would be lonely." I smiled back at Dracula. "When you stop being a jerk, introduce yourself to me."
Everyone, but Cheyenne, looked confused.
"But you know who I am." Dracula sounded confused.
"And you're still green." I smirked.
He scowled. "You need to reverse the spell."
I looked at Baba Yaga. "Think you teach me how?"
"How did spell go?" She asked.
"Turn this fiend into green."
Baba Yaga tapped her chin. "It is strange spell, simple too. Could be broken if fiend is no longer fiend."
"Another reason to properly introduce yourself." I gazed back.
"Why would you want to get to know a creep?" Fay asked.
"He's adorable and our little talk was nice." I pat a sleeping Spider's head. "I think it's time for us to go home."
"You're leaving?" Dracula sounded hurt. "But, how do you expect me to properly introduce myself?"
"I'm free during the weekend." I turned to see a hopeful look in his eye.
"Renfield," Dracula stood tall, "take the Wishbones and friends home. Oh, and take 2 weeks vacation. You deserve it."
Renfield smiled. "Of course, sir."
