Series 1 Episode 1: The Arrival

~Transylvanian~

"English"

'Thoughts'

Thunder rolled above, grey clouds obscuring the once blue sky as the dusty hearse pulled up outside the castle on top of a large hill. A man with a face half covered in boils and the other half in dirt and grime by the name of Renfield stepped out from the driver side, his chest easing as the stress of the long journey began to dissipate from his body and he set about unloading the vehicle, starting with the two large coffins.

The first one was rather extravagant, constructed of dark mahogany with intricate golden decoration. The coffin belonging to his Master, the infamous Count Dracula. Making use of a small trolly to wheel him into the main throne room of the castle, when he returned for the second coffin, much less extravagant, a pale wood with a thin coat of dark purple paint that had started to chip during the journey from the old country. When he went to pull out the coffin, he was stopped by a firm yet dainty hand.

~I'll take her in.~ despite the years of residing in Transylvania her voice still held the slightest hint of her original Japanese accent, following up from her small hand Renfield met the gaze of the Asian woman, her skin like his master was almost unnaturally pale, with shoulder length dark blue almost black hair and dark blue eyes.

~eh suit yourself~ he muttered snapping his hand back.

Smirking and with deceptive strength she proceeded to slide the coffin from the hearse and steadily carry it into the castle.

~Girl, get her stuff~ Musa called back.

A tanned girl with honey brown hair and jade eyes stepped from the hearse, wearing an old dress, its natural colours faded with small tears, the short sleeves riding up to expose small sparse scars. Lowering her head in a small nod, she set about gathering her mistress' possessions.

It wasn't nearly as extravagant on the inside as their last castle had been, not that it had a chance to compare to their ancestral home, especially with the rush in which they packed their stuff with the angry peasants storming the castle, it was a minor miracle none of them had been dusted in the onslaught.

The two coffins were both propped up in the centre of the throne room while the salvaged possessions were brought in and placed in the appropriate places by the two human servants and the two underage vampire siblings explored the castle, and quickly getting in a debate for the tower room.

"I already called it." Vlad protested as he returned to the throne room.

"When?" Ingrid snapped.

"In the hearse."

"Well…I called it before you were born, so kiss my cape." Ingrid replied after a moment of hesitation.

The extravagant coffins lid swung open more like a door than a lid.

"What on earth are you two squabbling about now?" came the tired voice of the Count as he stepped out of his coffin to look around his new abode, his expression setting in a disappointed scowl. ~So, this is what we've been reduced too.~

"You said find a castle…it was the best I could find on such short notice." Vlad said quietly, averting his gaze.

"It'll do." The Count sighed, switching back to English, trying to correct his tongue, they needed to keep a low profile, which would be easier if they spoke something more native. "Now, what were you arguing about."

"Err who gets which room…"

"Then it's simple, Vladimir will have the room."

"What?!" Ingrid snapped.

"It is only right my son and heir should get the best room." He answered, his hand massaging his temple as he bit back a yawn. "Renfield, find a room for my coffin, it is far too early for me to be awake."

"Yes Master." Renfield said quickly before using the trolly to take the coffin to one of the many rooms in the castle.

Musa stepped back into the room, ~girl, take her down to the crypt, it's the most defensible room in this place and we'll see about getting things properly sorted tonight.~

~Yes ma'am~ Flora answered with another obedient bow of her head and she retrieved another trolly and proceeded to wheel her towards the crypt before struggling to get the coffin down a steep curved stair case, occasionally knocking the coffin against the wall, her heart jumping into her throat each time as she feared the door swinging open and the vampiress within punishing her.

Timidly the coffin was placed in the centre of the crypt, bare stone walls decorated in a variety of thin and thick cob webs, new and old, a deep chill slicing through Flora from the poor insulation.

The lid of the coffin swung open like the one before, even creaking like an old wooden door, Flora dropped to her knees, not even wincing as she felt her knee skid against the cold stone floor through her clothing. Her mistress sat up, her sanguine hair reaching down to her waist, small streaks of black accenting it, her skin deathly pale, her crimson eyes opened tiredly, her gaze swiftly moving round and taking in her new surroundings. Her expression melted into a sneer.

~I know it isn't as glamorous as home but…we need to keep a low-profile Bella~ Musa said softly as she stepped up to the coffin, offering the vampiress a hand out of her resting place.

~I am well aware~ she said as she took the offered hand and climbed from her coffin, her free hand falling to caress her still developing baby bump. As she stepped from the wooden shoddy casket she ran her tongue over her teeth, her canines lightly pointed, her fangs stowed until she needed to feed. "It is why, I've been considering an alias for the duration of our stay." She cringed; the words sounded so wrong.

~Oh…~ she paused, correcting herself, "oh, have you come to a decision?"

"Yes…I will take the name…Bloom and whatever my father decides to use as an alias for our clan name…" the words still felt wrong, licking her teeth every half a dozen words as she forces herself into this new language, internally betting that the slayers guild would not expect the infamous Belladonna Demetria Dracula to go by Bloom.

"Bloom?" Musa said, tasting the name, "it's cute."

Bella was suddenly behind her and as Musa began to turn, she was startled as she felt a firm slap to her behind, hard enough to lift her an inch off the floor, though how much of that was her startled jump and Bella's strength was anyone's guessed. The Asian girl grinned, draping her own arm round the vampire's waist before leaning in and pecking her cheek.

~Mmm maybe I should call you cute more often…~ Musa said, her breath caressing Bella's neck as she pulled her closer.

~Do and I'll hang you from the ceiling by your own thread~ Bella growled into her neck, letting her fangs grows and scratch a fine line along her flesh, stopping just short of penetration.

~Ohh…promises…promises…~ Musa shuddered, lightly thrusting herself against her girlfriend, only to moan as Bloom stepped back from her.

"Now…before that…I want you to make a room beneath this one…I need my abode to be completely hidden until my child has matured…if we come under siege…I need to be hidden…that mob got far too close to staking me…"

"Anything you want Bella." Musa sighed, lowered her head as she went about the task.

Bella stepped towards the still kneeling breather. When her dark high heeled boot entered her vision, Flora lowered her head further and pressed her lips against the shining leather, long since trained to greet her Mistress and owner with the highest respect.

"Get up."

Flora leapt to her feet, nearly stumbling and falling back to the floor. Bella took hold of her wrist and pulled it up until it was at her lips, with a free hand she began to trace her uncannily sharp nail along a faded scar on the underside of her arm. Flora closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself. Her nail sliced through the skin of her arm, leaving a shallow faint cut.

Bella wrapped her lips around the cut and began to drink. Originally the girl had being purchased as a meal from some vampire smugglers the specialised in…fresh supplies. But after the peasants revolted against them, the girl had graduated to slave and living juice box, Bella would refrain from biting her to ensure a constant supply of fresh blood to feed herself and her unborn child, until she was no longer of use. That was until the girl proved to be oddly useful with an affinity for nature-based spells, now Bella had much grander plans for the young breather.

Once she had her fill she pulled away, having taken perhaps half a pint of the girl's blood, she was sure she would recover quickly, unfortunately she had to pace herself.

"Rest for now, but I expect my belongings to be in my new room before the sun sets."

"Yes Mistress." Flora answered, mentally shivering at the ideas of what her Mistress could and would do, should she be displeased. She returned to the floor, dragging herself to the wall, currently lacking any chairs the floor was the only place she could sit, unless she wished to sit atop her Mistress' coffin which was far from a good idea.

…

With a mild cry of irritation Vlad through his cloak to the ground, frustrated with his dad's unyielding declaration that he would not be allowed a television. It had been the only reason he wanted the tower room, hoping for the best reception, now all he'd done was ensure he had the most distance to travel to get to bed.

The room was mildly larger than Ingrid's but that was the only saving grace, lacking any proper insulation the room was cold, the stone walls like ice to the touch. He would need to do something to ensure he wouldn't catch his death, maybe his dad would pay to have some glass placed in the windows…though knowing him, the idea of Vlad catching his death might give him warped ideas of early fangs and his 'glorious son and heir' swooping down on the peasants below in the dark of night to feed on their hot sweet blood.

The mental image made him cringe.

"Not happy with your new room Master Vlad?" came the almost amused voice of his stuffed animate hellhound.

"When I asked dad about getting a tv…" he took a deep breath and affected a snobbish 'respected' tone, "…if you want to see moving pictures Vladimir run around the portrait gallery."

"I wouldn't recommend it, it's a good way to get dizzy, you might do yourself an injury." Zoltan replied flatly, his fangs bare in a small smile.

"I was hoping this would be different, a fresh start…low profile…a chance for a normal life, at least until we return to Transylvania."

*Clank*

The two turned. Vlad's eye brows knitting together. A grappling hook? There was a grappling hook sliding back up his wall, about to slide back his 'window' before it snagged on one of the cracked bricks.

"Is that different enough for you Master Vlad?"

Vlad ignored the stuffed wolf, rushing forward to look out the window, the grappling hook was connected to a thick yellow rope. And at the bottom of the rope was a…a boy? A dark-haired boy? Wearing a cloak, steadily making his way up the rope towards the window.

Vlad just stared, mouth agape as the boy climbed closer and closer. He didn't know how long he was staring, feeling as though by the time he blinked he was already face to face with the boy, deep brown eyes meeting his own.

"Ahhhh!"

The boy began to fall, losing his grip startled. Vlad grabbed his arms, grunting from the sudden weight, the boy grabbed onto his own, almost pulling Vlad out with him.

"Who are you?" Vlad gasped, bracing his knees against the wall to steady himself.

"What a brilliant time for introductions." The boy answered, his short nails digging into Vlad's jumper.

Gritting his teeth Vlad began to pull the boy back up and through the window, falling onto his back when the boy's waist cleared the opening. Another shared cry and they were both on the floor, the boy laid atop of him, his cloak bellowing around them, covering most of Vlad from sight. If anyone would come in, they would be hard pressed on which of them was the vampire, Vlad's legs visible between boy's and his face only a couple inches the boy's.

"Err…hi I'm Robin." The boy said, a light blush to his cheeks, appearing beneath the pale make up covering his face. With a mild grunt the boy sat up, now fully straddling Vlad.

Vlad prayed to all that was unholy that neither his father nor his siblings came into his room right now.

"V-Vlad." Vlad returned with a light stutter; the boy was still on top of him. "Err can I get up?"

"Oh…oh! Yeah, sorry!" the dark-haired boy scrambled off the preteen vampire.

Vlad pressed his palms against the floor, pushing himself upwards until he was sat upright. The boy was crouched, but it was very obvious he was taller than Vlad. He shook his head, trying to order his thoughts.

"So…why were you climbing up to my window?"

"Oh…well I knocked on the door but this guy sent me away, so I thought I'd…" he drifted off as it seemed to dawn on him just how…strange his choice of action had been. Earlier it had seemed to make perfect sense to him, new neighbours had moved into the castle on the hill, driving a hearse…he had to meet them, so when he was turned away, he looked towards the camping equipment and found the grappling hook his dad used for rock climbing.

"So, you climbed in through my window…the tallest window of the castle?" he had to give the boy points for ambition and showmanship.

"Well sort of…yeah…" he looked away in embarrassment.

Heavy footsteps echoed up the staircase out of Vlad's new room.

"Vlad what the hell are you playing at?"

"Bats…" his eyes flicked from the partially open door to Robin. "Hide…now!"

"What? Why?" Robin asked, his words almost merging together in his rush to get them out. Vlad didn't stop to explain, he reached forward pushing the boy, causing him to fall onto his side before he was shoved under the bed with some loose clothes and a large trunk, Robin nearly hit his head on it.

Peaking from beneath the bed Robin saw a pale hand snap out from round the corner of the spiral staircase just outside the partially open door. The hand slapped against the door, forcefully swinging it open. A dark-haired girl stepped into the room, Robin's mouth fell open, she was beautiful.

"Ingrid?"

"What the bleeding hell are you doing up here! I'm trying to get my room organized and all I can hear is you making a racket!" Ingrid screeched, while there'd only been a few mildly loud bumps from the room, after being denied the tower room, she was already at the brink of her breaking point.

"Nothing…just unpacking." Vlad said nervously, his eyes briefly flicking over to the bed, Ingrid noticed, her own eyes gliding over to the single bed, with the odd bag of clothes on top of it, she stepped towards it.

Robin slid further under the until he exited out the other side, ducking behind Vlad's duvet that had partially slid to the floor, obscuring him from the girl's sight. Ingrid kneeled and looked under the bed, frowning when she saw only a medium sized trunk and a bin bag still half full of clothes. She pulled back and stood back to her full height and turned back to a now substantially paler Vlad.

"What's up with you breather boy?" she said, her lips returning to her usual scowl.

"N-Nothing…" his eyes flicked back to the bed again, his expression one of confusion for an instant before he mastered it.

"Ugh whatever, I don't have time for this, just keep it down." She stormed out of the room.

"S-Sure…"

The door slammed shut.

"Well, that went well." Zoltan commented.

Vlad went rigid.

"What? It talks?" Robin asked, sitting up, his head popping up from the far side of the bed. "How…?"

Vlad's world was crumbling around him as Robin stared at the stuffed hellhound.

"…Whoops."

"Zoltaaan!" Vlad whined, burying his face in his hand.

"Sorry Master Vlad."

"It spoke again!"

"Not helping."

"How does it talk?"

Vlad took a deep breath. What could he do now? If he told him the truth, they'd be run out of town again. If he told him nothing he'd blab and they'd get run out anyway. If his dad found out…he likely wouldn't survive to leave the castle. 'What do I do?'

"I…don't know what you're talking about."

"That stuffed wolf just talked, twice!"

"I didn't hear anything."

Robin hesitated. Maybe, he'd pretend he didn't hear anything? Maybe he'll be scared of being called insane?

It may have worked…if Zoltan wasn't looking back and forth between them like they were playing tennis.

"It's alive!"

Vlad looked at Zoltan for the first time when Robin started pointing at him. And placed his palm against his face again.

"Thanks a lot Zoltan."

"Sorry Master Vlad."

"Robin…this is Zoltan he's a…a hellhound."

Vlad hung his head. No doubt the breather would run screaming. He didn't know if he'd want his dad to find him or not. Either way his fresh start was lost before it even begun.

"A hellhound?!"

Wait. He sounded…excited? Not scared?

Vlad looked back to the boy and sure enough his expression was one of amazement and excitement, not one of terror.

"Err…yeah…"

"Cool!"

"Cool?"

"Yeah! That's awesome!" he was now looking at Zoltan with an intense eagerness. "Can I pet him?"

"Pet him?"

"Would you like me to bite him Master Vlad?"

The boy…Robin suddenly looked much less eager.

"No…and…yes you can pet him…" he was speechless.

Robin stepped round the bed and timidly began to pet the stuffed hellhound, starting with his back before slowly moving to his head as his confidence built.

Vlad did not expect this. Why wasn't he running away screaming?

"Aren't you…"

Robin looked up.

"Scared?

"Err no?"

"To be fair Master Vlad he did scale the castle to get in here."

He did have a point. This definitely wasn't a normal boy.

The tightness in Vlad's chest eased only to regain a stiff grip as after the realization that he still had the chance of a fresh start and a normal life was followed by the fact he'd need to get Robin out of the castle without his dad knowing he was here.

Vlad looked out the window, it was still light out but the sun was starting to dip, the once white sky becoming a dull grey.

"We better get you out of here before my dad finds out you're here."

"Why?"

Vlad hesitated, he couldn't let on they were vampires, or just how much danger Robin was in.

"You did scale the castle; the Count may not take kindly to discovering an intruder." Zoltan answered, half saving him and half condemning him.

"Count?"

"My dad…and yeah…I don't think he'd be too happy with your breaking in…"

"Oh…right…"

"Come on." Vlad took Robin's wrist and pulled him to the door, pausing a moment before opening the door a crack and peering out. Holding his breath. He couldn't hear or see anyone. He pulled Robin into the stair way and began to make his way down the stairs.

"Keep quiet." Vlad whispered.

...

Belladonna stretched lazily as she stepped into the throne room. She was bored. Musa was using magic she'd learned from school, something tower? Bella could never remember the name. And Flora was still bringing her things into the crypt, stacking boxes in preparation to take them down into the room Musa was constructing. With the constant noise from Flora and the shattering of stone by Musa Bella had no chance of resting and had decided to wander the castle.

~Ugh…I'm so bored…~ her eyes slid over to the window, wooden shutters in place, and while no light crept in Bella could still feel the effects of the sun. Its presence made her tired, made her want to slumber, a dull fatigue in grained into her bones.

~There has to be something to do around here.~

One of the side doors swung open, there was a clutter of movement. Bella looked over just in time to see Vlad slam the door shut behind him.

"Bella…" his voice sounded off, Bella paused, rolling her tongue in her mouth.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-No?"

He definitely looked shifty, Bella began to focus her attention on her brother, her hearing picking up his heartbeat, slightly above it's normal. A slight acrid scent was mixed in with his natural scent and the bitterness of sweat that had accumulated from the extended time in the hearse, fear.

She flexed her fingers, repressing the desire to hunt, she loved the scent of fear.

"Then why…are you scared?" her tongue ran over her upper set of teeth, shivering slightly as her canines sharpened.

Mmm she so wanted to hunt.

"Scared? I'm not-"

He was cut off as Bella went from the other side of the room to a couple inches in front of him within the blink of the eye.

"Don't lie to me, I can smell it on you."

She inhaled deeply as if affirming the truth to herself, taking in a stronger dose of his scent. There was something else. Something…that made her hunger.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Bella took a step closer, raising an eyebrow.

"Vlad, I know fear." Her irises flashed scarlet.

"Maybe…I don't know…maybe it's from when we were ran out from Transylvania…fear does tend to cling…?"

Bella paused, it was possible, the whole way here…that hearse stunk of sweat, blood and fear. Would he still smell of it? She turned her head and sniffed at her own clothing, there was a familiar scent but…she shook her head.

"Go get a shower." She turned and stepped away from him, turning her back on her brother, frustration building in her chest. She needed to hunt.

Vlad took the opportunity he had, opening the door enough for Robin to slip out and ushered him behind a couple book cases that had yet to be properly placed and filled.

There was that scent again. Bella looked over her shoulder as Vlad closed the door again. Her eyes darting around the room. The scent was stronger now. Strong enough to place. A breather. There was the urge to hunt again.

"What's wrong?" Vlad asked.

Bella inhaled deeply, filling her nose with that delicious scent. Her stomach felt as though the bottom had fallen out and was begging to be filled, Flora's blood forgotten for the time being.

~Bella?~

Her eyes snapped back on her brother, snapping out of her reverie.

"I smell breather."

"A breather? Err maybe it's Renfield?"

"No…" she began to move around the room, looking each way and sniffing harshly, there was no mistaking that scent.

Vlad began to quickly usher Robin towards the door with his hand while his sister was occupied, he'd have to run to get out before she caught him but if he got outside, he'd be safe.

Robin moved to the edge of the book shelves, he wasn't sure what was happening but he could ask questions later and he rather not hear Vlad's dad go on a tirade. The girl Vlad was talking to stepped towards him, and he felt the sudden desire to run.

He didn't understand it but his legs began to move. His footsteps heavy as they slapped against the floor, within a couple seconds he had cleared most of the room and was reaching for the door only to skid to a halt as the girl was suddenly in front of him. How?

Her hand snapped out and grabbed his shoulder, a small cry of pain escaped him as a vice like grip squeezed him, he could feel the bruise forming beneath her hand. She leaned towards him, her other hand gripping his upper arm, her mouth opening as her fangs extended and she quickly moved to his neck.

"No!" Vlad cried as he ran forward and gripped her arm, trying to wrench her off of him, her grip didn't even budge but she did pause in her attempt to bite him and looked towards her brother.

"What?" she asked, fangs still extended and stopping her lips from fully meeting.

"Don't hurt him." He was still trying to pull her hand from him. "He's a friend."

She let go.

"You're vam-" Bella snapped her fingers and Robin paused mid declaration as he fell into a trance.

"Explain."

"He climbed in through my window…I was trying to sneak him out before dad found him…before he found out we're vampires."

"He climbed in through your window?"

"Err yeah…he didn't even freak out when Zoltan spoke…please Bella this is my one chance for a normal life."

"Vlad, we're not normal."

"I know…but please…while we're here…I want to have something of a normal life before…before I get my fangs…" he drifted off, looking away.

Bella's shoulders slumped, her fangs retracting.

"Fine."

Vlad looked up, a hopeful expression on his face.

"I'll make him forget we're vampires, but be careful…we've come here to rest and restore ourselves, the last thing we need is for the slayers to learn we're here."

"They won't."

"Good." She turned to face the entranced breather, staring into his eyes. "You will forget we're vampires. And should you ever learn what we are again, you will be unable to tell anyone." She turned back to Vlad. "Now get him out of here."

With a snap of her fingers Robin blinked, back in the room, his face constricting in confusion, Bella stepped past him, maybe she should find Flora and have another feed.

"So…thanks for stopping by…" Vlad said nervously as he opened the door, Robin stepped outside, the dim light of the evening washing over him.

"Err yeah…" he rubbed his eyes. "So…I'll see you at school yeah?"

"School?"

A/N Well I decided to try and reboot an old favourite fic of mine, I really enjoyed writing it the first time and I'm hoping it'll be the perfect one to get me back into writing.

What do you all think? Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I'm planning to make this a multi crossover as it gets deeper into the story.