Yes, yes, you are late, I know. Sorry guys, it's just a bit hard to update at times, college is up again and it's not very easy to keep a good pace at it (whenver somebody tells you university is easy, feel free to tell him how wrong he/she is) Allas, I bring you another chapter of this story.
Count Dracula opened his eyes, only to find complete darkness around him. He was conscious of a small weight on his chest, and it took him a couple of seconds to remember it was Claire's head, who hadn't yet woken up. His eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light around him, which wasn't really necessary, since he knew his way around the room without the need to look around. He used the time left for Claire to wake up (not much, hopefully) to do something he hadn't done in quite some time (since Martha, his first wife and Zing, died): remember.
He could remember his life as human, ruling Wallachia with what he had deemed at the time as harsh but fair methods. He wanted to forget those years, but Alzheimer and other memory afflictions were unheard of on vampires, so he was forced to remember those years, probably the darkest ones in his life, years where he had actually enjoyed being cruel against his enemies. Admittedly, it was very far from some of the things he was credited with. He hadn't been a cannibal nor a merciless killer of innocents. It was true he had impaled people, but they had always been enemies of his, bent on destroying his rule over his territory and terrorizing his people. Still, it didn't mean it had been right at any rate, and he regretted many of his actions of those days past. It was thanks to one of these actions, though, that he was now the King of Vampires (a tittle he had never accepted).
He had learnt of the capabilities of Dark Magic through an ancient warlock and sorcerer, who tricked him into giving away his mortality for powers beyond his grasp. The Count didn't even blink before accepting, not stopping to think what giving away his mortality would mean. The old warlock had then given him a vial, half-full of a blue-ish liquid that didn't look appetizing at all, and then instructed him into drinking the liquid completely. The future-vampire did so immediately, expecting something overly dramatic to happen, like an unholy smoke enveloping him from toe-to-head. But nothing happened, or at least it seemed like so. The warlock bid him farewell at that exact time and disappeared, never to be seen again. It wasn't until Vlad Tepes III returned to his palace and stood in front of a mirror that he realized what had happened: his skin wasn't wrinkled anymore, his eyes weren't glazed, but bright and seemed full of… life? He even felt better than when he woke up in the morning, full of energy and without any of the physical afflictions he had begun to suffer of. Yet, he was very, very hungry. It was a strange hunger, one that called not for the finest and thickest steaks to be found, nor for the freshest produce of the territory. It was a hunger that called for something he hadn't yet tasted, but he was eager to find and try. He didn't need to go far.
Right outside of the room he found a young maid, scarcely 20 years old. She recoiled at his sudden appearance, but stood her ground, looking down to avoid eye contact with the famous ruler.
"My lord, supper is ready and the table is set for thee."
There was something… irresistible about her. She had a slender figure and fine facial features, but that was not what was drawing his attention to her. He could hear her pulse, slightly agitated, he could feel the heat of her body, and he could even detect a sweet smell coming from her.
It was intoxicating.
He lunged forward, like a wild animal, operating out of the basic instinct to feed and quench his hunger. The girl didn't have time to do anything but let out a small gasp as he sank his newly-grown fangs into her neck. Her blood was a sweet nectar, beyond the taste of anything he had eaten in his life. But it was also addictive, turning him into a murderous monster for years to come, stalking entire villages and feeding himself indiscriminately.
Dracula closed his eyes, willing the memory to go away.
"Now I remember why I hate introspection" he muttered slightly
"Huh?" Claire exclaimed, waking up from her slumber. The Count smiled. He might have been a monster at some point of his life, but it was long behind him. He wasn't the vampire he used to be, his Zing had made sure of that. Even after her death, he sought no revenge against the vile beings that cold-heartedly murdered her, instead retreating as far away as possible and raising his daughter to the best of his abilities. And now? His life had changed for good again, giving him another chance at love. And parenthood.
"Nothing, my love. How are you tonight?"
"Better than last night, I could finally have a good night's sleep without…" she was interrupted by the crying of an infant, and she sighed slightly, "…that"
The old vampire chuckled while his wife got up from the bed to check on the crying infant. Lilith Dracula was on a crib (Mavis' old crib), crying in order to gain some attention from one of her parents, a ruse that worked well for her every single time. Claire picked her up and rocked her on her arms, while Dracula moved to her side to take a look at the most recent addition to the Dracula family.
"Good morning, little Lilith. How's our little ghoul tonight?" he cooed, to which the baby answered with a long and healthy dose of babbling. Both parents looked at the baby with warm smile; she was, after all, proof of how much they loved each other.
"Why don't you get yourself ready? In the meantime I can feed our little vampiress"
"Of course, darling. I'll be ready in no time" Dracula answered, as he stepped into the bathroom with a set of clean clothes.
O'Donnell stepped into Hotel Transylvania's entrance at almost that same time. The lobby had relatively low activity at this early hour, but he knew that the ambiance would change in the next hour or so, especially so with Wayne's pups. Hope little Nate is not as rowdy as them, or I'll be in a spot of trouble. Despite the few powers he had (which he rarely used), Padraigh O'Donnell was a human to the core. This was of special concern to him and Mavis, since he knew that unless he asked Dracula to help Mavis turn him, he wouldn't live enough to see his child grow up. It was a strange thing: he was a human, and Mavis was a vampire, yet Nathan O'Donnell was a full-fledged vampire. It seemed like the baby-vampire had only inherited some of his looks. Maybe some of my powers too, but there's no way to tell right now. Still, he had a more pressing concern in his head right now. He would cross the vampire-turning bridge when he got there.
"Good evening, sir!" exclaimed one of the security armors in the lobby, snapping ramrod-straight and saluting in a quasi-military way.
"Good evening. Any chance I could have a word or two with Mr. Dracula?"
"Of course, sir. We'll let him know you are here. Would you care for some breakfast while you wait?"
"Errr… no thanks, I'll wait for him right here in the lobby"
"Very well, sir"
The Irishman saw himself to a nearby couch and pulled one of the magazines from the stands, but his head was way too focused on the issue he was having that he soon re-positioned the magazine in its original placed and settled himself in a deep-thought position, one leg supported on top of the other.
Dracula arrived to the lobby twenty minutes later, with his younger daughter in his arms. He quickly spotted his son-in-law and headed in his direction, noticing the human's puffy eyes and his pensive state.
"I hope I don't look as bad as you do" the Count joked, attracting O'Donnell's attention.
"Vampires don't get puffy eyes because of lack of sleep, so you are good"
"I wasn't expecting you. Why the sudden visit? I mean, it's not like I'm complaining, but it's just a bit weird for you to show up here without notice. And where is Mavy?"
"Actually, I wanted you to give me some advice. You mind?"
"Not at all. What's the matter?" Dracula said, sitting Lilith on his lap, who babbled at O'Donnell, acknowledging the presence of her brother-in-law.
"Well, yesterday I got a call from the guy I left my company in charge of. He said that there was a matter that needed my attention and that I should come back to sort things out. I would normally do so without a problem, but I have a weird feeling about this one. I don't know why, but something doesn't add up, and it kept bugging through the day. Plus, now that little Nate is with us… I don't feel good about leaving Mavis alone with him, but we can't take him with us on the trip. I really feel bad about this, because I know Mavy wants to take a final trip before getting into parenting full-time, but I can't ignore what my gut is telling me. What do you think, Drac?"
The vampire had been listening intently to the human, and he had to admit it was a tough call.
"Well, I can't tell you what to do, Padraigh, but I think that sometimes gut feelings are there for a good reason. Many a man has paid dearly for ignoring them. That said, sometimes they are nothing to worry about. There's no way to tell which this one is, you'll have to make a gamble. As for little Nate, you know that we would be glad to look after him. Maybe little Lilith will have a babbling partner" as if on cue, the little baby on the Count's lap giggled and smiled at them. O'Donnell could not help but chuckle at her, and reflect that the olden vampire was right, the choice was his to make. Which doesn't necessarily meant it was going to be an easy one.
"I guess I'll talk about it with Mavis. We might be able to piece a plan together. Thanks for listening"
"No problem, kid you are family and we are here to help. Now, you should go, before Mavis worries about you not being home so early in the morning. Say hi for us to my daughter, and tell her we expect a visit soon."
"I will, see you later"
So, there it is. This one is kind of (too) slow, but I wanted to create some kind of "lore" to Drac's vampirism (it's not really good, or original, but it was the best I could muster), and to shed some light into what O'Donnell is. Anyways, as usual, leave your reviews and thoughts-suggestons, I appreciate them, and hopefully I'll update again this weekend. By the way, to all the future authors who might be reading this: don't be afraid to write your own fics. We all started somewhere, and sometimes the ideas we think are stupid are not at all, and they turn out to be what people have been waiting for. Seriously, guys, the only dumb idea is the one you don't share. We are all good people around here. Well, most of us...