Chapter 37

"Where did you get that child?" her eyes darted to his mouth. "If you even think of feeding on her-"

Dracula cut her off. "She is for you, Anna," he said as he stepped in and shifted back to normal. "You said you wanted a companion, so I went out and found a child. She's yours."

Anna was shocked. "But you stole her!" she cried. "Her parents will be worried sick and it will cause an uproar!"

"No it won't, my dear princess," cooed Dracula. "This girl has no parents. Her brother is a monster hunter like you, but he has no love for her. So I decided to bring her to someone who would love her and raise her happily."

Anna didn't know what to say. She didn't want to bring that girl into a life filled with running from Dracula, yet at the same time she could feel an attachment being made from her heart to the girl. As much as she didn't want to say it, Anna knew she would not want to part with this child. She held out her arms, Dracula gave her the girl.

"What is her name?" asked the princess.

"Clarissa," said Dracula. "But she goes by Lara." He looked at the sky. The moon and stars shined back at him. "You will be free when the sun comes up, Anna. Until then I will give you a chance to get to know your daughter." With a snap of his fingers he disappeared. The doors and windows locked.

Anna sat on her bed and stroked Lara's hair. When she held the girl closer Lara's arms wrapped her neck. The princess smiled. 'I will always love you, Lara,' she thought. 'I will raise you as my own and teach you to be a good young lady.'

She kissed the little girl on the forehead. Lara stirred and woke up. Her eyes widened when she saw Anna.

"Are you Anna?" asked Lara. The princess nodded. "Does that mean you're my mommy?"

Anna smiled. "Yes, sweet girl," she said. Her face fell. "But I wish I could say we were in good circumstances."

Lara looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Lara, do you remember that man who brought you here?" asked Anna.

"Oh, you mean Vladislaus?" said Lara. "Of course! He said if I went with him I would get a new mommy!"

Anna smiled sadly and rearranged Lara's hair. "The thing is, Lara, he's not who you think he is," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Lara.

"He's a vampire," said Anna. Lara's eyes widened. "Like Count Dracula?" she asked. "Vladislaus IS Count Dracula," said Anna. "Vladislaus is his first name." Lara started to tremble. "Did he bite me?" she asked.

"No," said Anna. "He didn't bite because he wanted me to have you." She stroked Lara's cheek. "You see, Lara, like you I have no parents. They were killed when I was a child, so was my brother. Dracula wanted me to have a companion. So he kidnapped you and said that you would be my daughter."

Lara was shaking with tears in her eyes. "Does that mean you're going to hunt him and leave me behind all the time like Chris always did?" she asked.

Anna kissed the little girl's cheek. "Not really," she said. "You see, Lara, right now I'm his prisoner. In the morning he'll let us go, but in a week he'll kidnap us again and make us play a series of deadly games with him. I don't know how long he intends to do this but that's what life with me will look like." The princess looked sad. "Most likely you won't enjoy it and wish you were back with your brother. I'm sorry I couldn't be the kind of mother you wanted."

Surprisingly Lara didn't push Anna away. She wiped away the princess' tears and smiled sadly.

"That's not true, Mommy," said Lara. "I couldn't ask for a better mother. You're willing to stay with me and not leave me alone all the time like Chris did. Count Dracula is scary, but as long as I'm with you I'll be alright."

Anna smiled at Lara's courage and kissed her cheek. "Then welcome home, Lara Valerious!" she said.

"I'm happy to finally BE home, Mommy!" said Lara.

The two Valerious princesses fell peacefully asleep together. And when they awoke the next morning they were no longer in Castle Dracula. Another game time was up, but Anna promised Lara they would be ready for the next one, or so she hoped.