A/N: hi, it's me again. In case you're wondering, "Tasia" is pronounced Tah-see-ah. (at least in my opinion) I wrote the later part of the next chapter with Dracula open on the desk next to me. All the action and dialogue in that scene is copied straight from Bram Stoker. The only difference is that in my story, D is present in the room. Hopefully it's not plagiarism since I'm telling you it's not mine…

Chapter 2: Gifts

Much later that night, D awoke to the sound of a wolf howling. He stared up at a strange ceiling, and realized where he was: The Belus' cottage! He was lying on a rug on the floor, wrapped in a blanket. There was a sweet-smelling bundle of cloth rolled up for his pillow. He must have drifted off to sleep while reading to them! The fire in the hearth was low, the logs glowing orange. Tasia was sleeping on her little bed across the room. D stood up, and looked around for his cloak and his hat, which happened to be hanging from a peg on the wall by Tasia's bed. D silently walked over to it, and Tasia opened her eyes, looking at him. "Are you leaving?" she whispered. D sighed.

"I have to go, I can't stay here," he said softly. "But I promise I'll come back soon." He pulled down his hat and set it on his head.

"Liar," Tasia teased with a smile. She shivered and pulled her blankets closer to her chin. "You said that last time. I probably won't see you until my eleventh birthday!"

"Soon," D repeated. "I'll come back soon. Please tell your mother that I'm thankful for dinner and everything." He turned to go.

"Wait!" Tasia said, sitting up. "A birthday present," she said suddenly. "Won't you give me a birthday present before you go?"

"I'll give you anything you wish for," D said with a smile. He bowed low, sweeping off his hat elegantly. "What do you want?"

She repressed a giggle. "A kiss," she whispered, her eyes dancing with the light of the fire. She started to giggle again and she held a blanket-wrapped fist up to her mouth.

D was frozen. "A what?" he asked, his horror rising. "I don't…"

"shh! Come on D!" she swung her legs out of bed and came hurrying across the cold floor to stand in front of him. She took his hands in hers again, smiling brightly. D hung his head, fearful and betrayed. "All right.. I'll just give one to you instead!" D jumped at this, and raised his head to protest, but at that same instant the girl had closed her eyes and was leaning down to plant a little kiss on D's forehead. This combination of actions led to their lips brushing against each other, and Tasia's eyes flew open in delight. D stared at her in wonder. "See," she said, trying not to giggle again. "Now promise you'll come back soon!"

"I promise," D said, bewildered, and Tasia squeezed his hands a little before she let them go.

"Goodnight," the girl whispered, moving backwards towards her bed.

"Goodnight," D replied, and quickly slipped out the door. He took off into the forest at a run, his mind whirling. It was a dark night, but he could see perfectly. Why had Tasia done that? Was that really a human kiss? D didn't understand, but he wanted to get himself away from her, and at the same time he never wanted to let her out of his sight again. It was a frightening and wonderful experience, and D felt suddenly very grown up and important, full of hope and excitement for the days ahead.

The leaves crunched under his flying feet, and before long a wolf came and trotted easily beside him. D glanced at it coldly. "Get out of here," he commanded. "Leave me alone!" The wolf growled and seemed to challenge him. Soon another wolf came bounding out of the shadows, and followed along on D's other side. D gritted his teeth, angry at the beasts, the servants of his father. A third wolf appeared, and chased him from behind, and D could sense that the three were conversing in their strange animal way, taunting him somehow. "Go away," D warned, feeling his anger swell. "I said to leave me alone!" the wolves laughed silently at this command, and D went blind with rage. He skidded to a halt and turned on the wolves, who were but three blurs in his red-clouded vision. He felt a torrent of cold energy rush out of him, some kind of hideous dark power, and with a yelp each wolf collapsed to the ground. D came to his senses, dizzy, and he immediately sensed that the wolves were dead. He could smell the blood from their gaping jaws, and it sickened him. He choked and vomited, falling to his knees in the dirt. He staggered to his feet, stumbled a few steps, and collapsed unconscious.

His father hurried through the forest the next morning in a dark hat and cloak, his red eyes squinted against the daylight. He was uncomfortable being outside in the light, but concern for his son drove him on. Suddenly he spotted the small, black-clad body, and something like fear tore through his cold heart. The tall, thin man gathered his son into his arms, and sighed with relief that the boy was quite clearly alive. He noted the three dead wolves with a frown, and then quickly turned towards home.

D opened his eyes as a glass of water was held to his lips. He coughed and drank, and then looked around, meeting his father's cold, ruby-eyed gaze. D looked down, guiltily examining the blankets. "Are you well?" his father asked quietly. "I was very worried about you."

A tear slid down D's cheek. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not your fault," Dracula said comfortingly. He hated the sight of his son's tears. "Three of my wolves died protecting you," he said, giving the glass of water to D. "You can't blame them for attacking you though… they know who you are."

D was confused. "What happened?" he asked, figuring it was a safe question.

"I didn't really examine the wolves," Dracula said, "but it seems to me that some hunters must have attacked you as you walked in the woods last night. They must have beaten you so badly that they were convinced you were dead, although it is a mystery to me why they didn't make sure by cutting off your head. Perhaps the wolves scared them off, even though they managed to kill three of them." Dracula sighed. "of course you had healed yourself by the time I found you, but it must have been a horrible experience." He patted D's shoulder, and his expression turned hateful. "I will teach them a lesson for hurting you," he said viciously. D gulped and set the water aside, clutching his father's cold hand.

"No, father, don't," he pleaded weakly. "The… the hunters are only afraid of us. It was a natural thing for them to do."

"Natural?" his father sneered. "Naturally, the humans should bow to us as their masters. Yet I have been too lenient. They have forgotten their place, and now the peasants see their kings as some kind of diseased animal. They hunt us like animals. They refuse to submit! D… they must be punished. It's the only way to restore the natural hierarchy of the species."

It scared D to hear his father rationalize in such a cold, childish way. "What about Mother?" he cried out meekly. Dracula appeared frozen for a moment, staring off into space. Then he collected himself and turned his crimson gaze on his son.

"She was… a great distraction to me," the vampire king said calmly. "When I was with her, I was able to forget… the way that things are. I allowed my sovereignty to decline. But look at me, D- I have kept my word to her thus far! I have not tasted human blood since I met her."

D looked at his father's white hair, his aged skin, and the weariness behind his blood-colored eyes. But D felt no sense of respect for the long abstinence of his father, for he knew the bloody centuries of history that preceded it. He felt a sudden revulsion. How dare this murdering monster pretend to have some claim to righteousness, in the name of D's precious mother? D felt himself quiver with anger and grief.

"It was a dream, my son," Dracula said quietly, staring off into the darkness again. "Like all human life, it was but a brief, sweet dream, and now it is over. I am the king of the vampires, and humans mean nothing. Your mother is dead, but I am not, and you are not, and we shall never die. The choices open to us are to rot forever in misery or to take our rightful place in the world, as kings."

"I'd rather rot, and I wish you would too!" D exclaimed furiously.

Dracula stood up suddenly. "You've had a terrible experience; I'm sure you'll need some time to rest and recover." Calmly he left the room, ignoring his son's ranting.

"I don't need to rest! I wasn't beaten by any hunters- I killed your stupid wolves myself! I killed them myself!"

Dracula closed the door, effectively blocking out his son's voice. Inhaling deeply, the old vampire raised a hand to his forehead. His hand shook with emotion, but his face was expressionless. After a moment's pause, he hurried down the dark hallway.

Several days passed uneventfully, and D took refuge in his father's library, reading by the light of a lamp, although he didn't need it. He thought of returning to the Belus' house, but he feared that the wolves might take their revenge on him for killing three of their brethren. He still wasn't sure how he done that, and the memory of it scared him. D was curled up on a couch reading when he heard laughter in an adjacent room. Putting down his book, he went to investigate.

As he stuck his head through the doorway, a girl gave a shriek. "Is it HIM?" she nearly screamed. The other two girls in the room began to giggle. The excited one collected herself, realizing her mistake. "No, it's just that half-breed runt."

"Slut," D returned under his breath, knowing that the girl had heard him. The girl cocked an eyebrow at D and rose to her feet, her skirts rustling. She glided gracefully towards D and then suddenly snatched up his jaw in her cruel, cold hand. D felt himself choking in her grip.

"Now, is that any kind of name to call your adoring sister? I think not." She shoved D backwards and he bounced off the wall, gasping. The girl laughed haughtily.

"Such a naughty word from such a young little mouth! That human bitch spoiled you so," the second girl said.

"Still, he's quite a handsome little brat," the third girl said, coming over to pat D's head. "There there, dear little brother. It's not your fault that you were an accident and a miserable failure. Father's getting a bit senile in his old age- it's perfectly understandable.

"Who are you?" D asked, looking at the third girl suspiciously. The first two he knew well- they were Carina and Sabina, D's half-sisters. The third, however, was much prettier than his sisters, and bore no resemblance to his father. She had bright blue eyes and pale golden hair, curly and beautiful. She looked very human, except for the thirsty gleam in her eyes and the cruel smile of her pointed teeth.

"I belong to your father," she said with false sweetness. "I was here before he ever met your miserable mother. When she came along, he forgot about me for a while, so I've been asleep… but now I'm quite awake, and I'm quite happy to be back. My name is Aloisia."

"Oh!" Carina exclaimed. "He's falling asleep! How perfect!" The other two closed their eyes and sighed.

"Yes, you're right!" Aloisia said excitedly, clapping her hands. "Let's hurry!"

"Wait, who are you talking about?" D asked, confused.

Sabina looked at him in disgust. "Can't you sense it? No, I suppose not. There's a human man here, a fully living one!"

D's eyes widened in fear. "He's here on business, Father's business! You mustn't disturb him."

"Annoying brat! Stupid little boy! A human man, here on business? What sort of business do you suppose it is that he is here for? Father isn't here right now, and the three of us have been utterly neglected lately. We're going to have a bit of fun."

"No!" D cried, but it was too late… the three of them had already slipped through the wall. D could faintly hear their ethereal laughter through the walls. Gritting his teeth, he raced out the door in pursuit. He had to take the long way through the castle, being unable to float through walls like his sisters. Following the sound of their excited, twittering voices, D arrived at the door of one of the small, unused rooms in the uninhabited portion of the castle. The door was ajar, and inside, D could see the three girls leaning over the sleeping body of the human man, giggling to each other and whispering all sorts of evil and mischievous things. D bit his lip, but he didn't know what to do. If he tried to restrain his sisters, the man would surely awaken, and see them all. D didn't know what his father would do to them if he knew that they had broken his command, or what would happen to the poor human, who would probably pay for his knowledge with his life. Suddenly D sensed that his father had returned. He dashed down the stairs, almost colliding with his father at the bottom. Dracula had a large heavy bag slung over one shoulder, but D barely noticed it.

"My sisters-" D said. "they've found the man!" Dracula's eyes flashed angrily and he vanished immediately, taking the heavy sack with him. D rolled his eyes, briefly annoyed at his lack of such an ability, and began to run back up the stairs. By the time he reached the little room again, the danger had passed. The human still slept. Sabina and Carina had savage and smug expressions on their faces, but Aloisia looked wild and desperate, fearless in her impudence.

"How dare you touch him, any of you?" Dracula whispered harshly. "How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me!" Aloisia tossed her head and laughed spitefully.

"You yourself never loved; you never love!" she accused, and laughed at him again. Sabina and Carina laughed with her, sneering, mocking their father. It that moment D almost felt sorry for his father, crouched protectively over the human, an old, sad creature. Aloisia didn't dare to say the name of D's mother, but D was fully aware of what she was inferring, and he caught the distant look in his father's angry eyes. The vampire king decided not to react to the mockery of the three women, but instead turned back to the human, making sure that he was still asleep. What he said in reply to Aloisia's accusation was a low mutter, but D heard him command the three of them to leave.

"Are we to have nothing tonight?" Carina said, with another little laugh. She pointed at the forgotten bag on the floor. D noticed that something inside it was moving, and his heart leapt with fury and pity. His father nodded, and Carina pounced on the bag, with Sabina and Aloisia close behind her. D knew there was a human child in the bag, and that its life would soon be sucked out of its veins. He thought briefly of Tasia and clenched his fists. His father's head was bent, his eyes closed, as if feigning regret for the child's fate. The child made a pathetic attempt to cry out through the gag in its mouth, and then the three sisters disappeared, taking the child with them. D swallowed, unable to bear the thought of what was happening to the child at the hands of his cruel sisters and the beautiful, dreadful Aloisia. Dracula sighed and lifted the man gently from where he rested on the couch.

"What are you going to do with him?" D asked quietly.

"I'm taking him back to his room," Dracula replied. "Those impossible sisters of yours… thank you for alerting me, D. I was almost too late."

"Why did you bring them a child?" D asked, his voice trembling.

Dracula stiffened, and looked his son square in the eye. "They are thirsty, as am I. It has been a long time."

D leaned back against the cold wall, gripping the stones with his fingernails. His father walked past him, carrying the limp body of the foreigner. D squeezed his eyes shut as a high-pitched wail echoed through the dark castle from somewhere far below. D cracked his eyes open, glaring at the dark blur of his father's retreating form. "I hate you," D whispered. "I hate you…I hate you… I hate you!" It was a relief to finally utter the words that had been nesting in his heart for so long, but there was also a terrible ripping feeling, as if the kind and gentle spirit of his mother was being torn out of him, and a tide of evil darkness was surging in to fill the hole it created. It was that same terrible feeling of power that he had felt when he killed the wolves that night, and D was afraid of himself.