A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.
I can't remember…
Did people want to see an heir in this fic?
Chapter 2: EqualThe sound of wings flapping cut the still, night air around the manor.
Slowly four figures emerged from the sky drawing closer and closer to the open window. They began to transform the moment they crossed the threshold.
One male figure emerged clutching another to him closely. The young vampire clutched Erin to him in his arms, not hesitating in his transformation as he took long purposeful strides across his study.
Vlad gently set Erin down on the slightly battered leather couch. The study was large and more comfortable than the sparse throne room. While he called it his study, Erin spent a lot of time in here as well, she'd feel more comfortable in here.
He wanted to take her to their room but he didn't want people traipsing around their room and their coffin would be too low for Erin to be treated. He pressed a kiss to her hair as he straightened up.
"RENFIELD!" He shouted making the walls and foundations quake under the power of his cry. He knew Renfield would arrive shortly.
He chanced a glance over his shoulder
Vlad flicked his wrist and a pair of fang cuffs flew across the room latching themselves around the still unconscious Bertrand's wrists.
"Vlad?" Ingrid questioned, she couldn't' believe Vlad would do this to Bertrand.
"He attacked my wife Ingrid." Vlad told her, his voice calm. He wasn't angry with her, he'd do the same if they cuffed Erin if she was in the same situation Bertrand found himself currently in. "He won't attack you but he might attack her again. Can you guarantee that he won't hurt her?"
Ingrid remained silent, Vlad had a point. Bertrand had listened to her at first but he'd quickly changed and attacked her. Ingrid shook her head slowly, she felt like a traitor. Bertrand was almost her fiancé but she didn't know who he was at the moment.
She sent the most apologetic look to Bertrand, she couldn't believe how useless she felt. Bertrand's impassive mask didn't crack once, not even his eyes showed a glimmer of familiarity. Ingrid looked away and shuddered, promising herself that she would get the old Bertrand back.
There was no if about it, she would get him back.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad hovered over Erin, Renfield checked her carefully, using a bag of sterilised tools that Vlad really didn't want to ponder over the uses for over half of them.
"We need to find a way to cool her down." Renfield muttered, the scorching heat radiating from Erin was too much for the vampires to withstand and almost too much for Renfield to bear. He'd used a paper thermometer on her and it was reading extremely high – high by even breather standards. Something needed to be done before she burned from the inside out.
Ingrid suddenly appeared with ice in her hands. Vlad yanked the stuffing from the cushions and packed it inside, it wasn't ideal, the melted ice would seep through but it was all he had. He pressed it around her body, she didn't shiver but he would have to check on the ice constantly to make sure it was beneficial to her.
Renfield took a sample of her saliva and DNA placing it inside two test tubes. The DNA test tube he placed on the side once more but with the saliva he dropped it in a liquid. He then scrutinised it closely.
"I don't know what to do." Vlad whispered in complete despair, perching himself on the arm of the settee, he gripped Erin's hand, rubbing the back of it carefully with his thumb.
Renfield tapped the test tube. "You were just the same last time Master Vlad." Vlad's brow furrowed in confusion, he didn't understand. "When you wore the crown for the first time you had the same symptoms." Vlad couldn't remember much about that apart from the splitting headache afterwards. He didn't wish that headache on anyone.
The liquid inside the test tube didn't change colour it remained clear. Vlad watched Renfield's expression carefully, taking care to memorise it all. Renfield gave an affirmative gesture and seemed pleased with the results whatever they meant.
He bent down and began to pack away all of his instruments, he had no use for them now.
"What do we do?" Vlad asked. The manservant ceased what he was doing for the briefest of seconds but Vlad noticed the reaction. "Renfield…" He drew out slowly, he needed an answer. Renfield looked uncertain at first before his features fixed in a position that spoke for him reaching a decision.
"We just have to wait Master Vlad, nothing can be done."
It hadn't taken him long to wake up, hopefully it wouldn't take Erin long either.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad pushed Bertrand into one of the cells, he really didn't want to leave Erin but he wanted to keep her safe and keeping Bertrand away from her at the moment would ensure that. Now she was awake he could leave her for a few minutes to deal with Bertrand.
He waved his hand and immediately a barrier came down. Even if Bertrand managed to somehow get out of the cage or damage it in any way the barrier would keep him contained.
Vlad winced as he looked at Bertrand, there might have been a time once when he wished Bertrand was locked up in a cage but that time had long since past.
Bertrand gripped the bars, tugging on them as he tried to escape. Vlad's power made sure he couldn't. Mikhail and Baylor sat opposite him, looking at each other and Vlad in fear..
"What happened to him?"
Vlad ignored them "If my mate dies I swear I will slay you *and* your clans."
They took his words to mean that Olga had hurt her in some way – that she'd tried to kill her. "We didn't want your mate dead…"
Vlad didn't want to hear what they did and didn't want. "Olga forced the crown onto Erin's head." He leaned towards them menacingly, "She'd better recover or, I promise you, mercy won't even come into it."
Mikhail looked at him shocked, not at his threat but the fact that Erin wasn't dust. "She wore the crown? And survived?"
Vlad nodded slowly, he was proud of Erin for being strong. He knew she was strong when he met her but she'd done something only he could withstand. She truly was his equal.
Mikhail looked down as did Baylor as they considered this new information signalling the end to their conversation with Vlad.
Vlad had stopped looking at them almost the moment he'd walked into the room, his gaze was locked with Bertrand's. He wanted to see if anything of his former mentor emerged but nothing seemed to be breaking the barrier of Olga's bite.
Vlad studied Bertrand, he was standing tall and regal, not one shred of emotion on his face. He almost expected Bertrand to say nothing but his name, rank and serial number. "You attacked my wife."
"She hurt Olga." His voice was monotone and Vlad nearly shuddered in response.
"Olga attacked Erin first, Erin was defending herself."
"I have to protect Olga, take me back to her." Bertrand demanded, he needed to be with Olga the bite demanded it but his head and heart demanded that he stay here with Ingrid and the rest of her family.
"I can't do that." Vlad would never do that.
"Take me back to her!" Bertrand's tone rose in fury and Vlad knew this wasn't Bertrand. His mentor never spoke like that. He'd only done it once when he'd fought verbally with Ingrid.
"No." Vlad repeated his decision slightly differently. While 'no' was only one syllable it was still the most powerful form of negative answer. "We are a family, Ingrid loves you. You must still love her for you to listen to her."
Bertrand whispered his next words with conviction, as if they were sacred and true which was nothing further from the truth. "Olga loves me and I love her."
Vlad froze he felt sick but managed to squash it down inside of him, "That's the bite. You asked Ingrid to marry you."
"She turned me down."
"She still loves you, she wants to marry you." His voice was partly pleading for him to remember what he felt for the eldest Dracula sibling.
Bertrand didn't answer he fixed his gaze on a point over the smaller vampire's shoulder. Vlad noticed this, it was a typical Bertrand technique when he didn't want to answer him.
Vlad knew he wouldn't get any further for now, he could only hope Bertrand considered his words.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
The silence had begun comfortably in the study, gradually over time becoming more and more tense. There were things left unspoken for both of them, things they needed to broach.
"Technically you have a Council again." Ingrid warned Vlad, Vlad's Council would be automatically reinstated as he didn't have an official Queen.
Vlad shook his head, he wasn't going down that path again, "I'm not having a Council."
"Vlad you don't have a choice." Ingrid spat at him, if Vlad left it any longer he'd lose his authority again.
"They betrayed me Ingrid. They caused me to lose my throne…"
"Vlad you need to crown Erin now," She paused, waiting for her brother's reaction, "Before the hundred days limit is up."
"It's only been eleven days…"
"The sooner you do it the better for all of us."
"Erin is unconscious!" Vlad shouted at his sister. "I'm not crowning her without her consent or her knowledge."
"I'm saying when she wakes up…"
"She will be too weak for a crowning…"
"You don't know that." Ingrid protested without thinking.
"Because I've gone through it too Ingrid. Don't you remember? When you left me for dead?" Vlad shouted at her, he knew to stop before he opened more old wounds in particular mentioning Will. Granted mentioning Will didn't pack the punch it once did, it was still a sore subject in the terms of Ingrid now feeling guilty for trying to go against Vlad.
Ingrid looked down, she knew about that. It was a sore subject for both of them, she honestly hadn't thought before the words came tumbling from her lips.
"Its the only way to protect both of you from this again." Ingrid shouted back at him, why couldn't her brother stop being so pig headed and listen to her. He didn't always have the answers and at this moment she was the only one who did.
Vlad stood taller, he wasn't going to let her win. "I will protect my mate, Ingrid. My mate will be crowned when she'd well enough not before."
Ingrid nearly said 'he hadn't done a good job before' but she managed to stop herself, she knew Vlad would be beating himself up enough over that.
"Your mate will stake you if you don't stop shouting." A croaking, weak voice cut in from behind them.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad sped over to the couch as fast as he could a smile crossing his face, his teeth glistening in the light as he beamed. Vlad brushed her forehead; her temperature was much lower than before. Renfield had been right, it wouldn't take her long to wake up.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Fine." She didn't sound it at all. Her eyes were slightly closed and that made Vlad worry, she could just be tired but he doubted it somehow.
Ingrid and Vlad shared a concerned look; Erin always tried to convince everyone that there was nothing wrong with her.
Erin tried to push herself up but she couldn't force herself upright. Her arms shook with her weight, the felt and acted like jelly, soon she couldn't maintain the position; every single second was a strain. She let out a groan and let herself flop back down on the couch.
Her eyes immediately caught the light in the room, and she winced screwing them tightly as pain spiked throughout her skull. She'd never known this kind of pain before, not even when she used to get migraines as a breather.
Vlad gave her a sad smile, he knew what was wrong straight away. "It'll be there for a few days."
Erin groaned again, it felt like nails were being hammered into her skull.
"I'm sorry." Vlad whispered, pressing his forehead firmly against hers. He felt like he'd failed her.
Erin was confused, "What for?"
"Letting Olga put that crown on you." He said it as if it was obvious.
"Come here." He leaned down fully knowing what to expect. Erin leaned up and kissed him softly, there was nothing to forgive as far as she was concerned. Her eyes fluttered closed at the contact and she pressed into him.
Vlad supported her wrapping an arm around her back as he felt her muscles begin to tremble once more. Erin knew she could relax her tense muscles at his gesture and she moaned slightly. When she'd worn that crown she honestly hadn't expected to survive she was amazed she had.
He slanted his mouth as she opened hers to allow him to deepen the kiss. Their tongues brushed gently before battling for dominance. Vlad felt a stray tear escape at being able to kiss her again, he honestly had doubted he ever would be able to hold her again when Olga had slammed the crown onto her head.
"I'll fetch Renfield then." Ingrid muttered, knowing full well that neither vampire would be listening to her.
Slowly the couple pulled back as the door banged shut, startling them out of their private world.
"I love you." Erin whispered to him.
Vlad closed his eyes, resting their foreheads together in their oldest form of affection. "Love you too."
Erin didn't bother to pull back she didn't' have the energy. "How did I survive?"
"You shouldn't have." He whispered, he couldn't believe that she'd worn the crown. If he was Olga he would have said the crown was fake if not for the following vampire to turn to dust and the power display the crown had shown towards her.
"Then…" She was cut off as the door was thrown open once more and a blur sped into the room.
Ingrid had clearly dragged an unsuspecting and no nauseated Renfield to check on Erin. While they were glad he was there she really did know how to ruin a serious conversation.
Ingrid knew what she'd done but she was concerned for Erin, she wanted any problems to be picked up early on. She replied to the scathing look of her brother with a calm, innocent one of her own, "What?"
Vlad just shook his head, they'd talk later. It was better for Erin to get checked out now.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Erin was rapidly growing tired of being poked and prodded by Renfield. She felt fine apart from the fact all of her muscles felt like there were tingling, the sick feeling rolling in the pit of her stomach, and the weakness. At the moment though she was pointedly trying to ignore the sensation which felt like her head was being twisted from her neck.
"Her temperature has gone." Erin looked at Vlad smugly. "But her weakness won't be gone for a few days at least. Mistress Erin wasn't at her best after the stun grenade so it'll take her longer to fight off." Erin's face fell. "The headache will linger as well." He only confirmed Vlad's words.
Erin could survive the weakness, the feeling nauseous, the tingling, the ringing in her ears but she couldn't survive the headache.
"It gets better. I promise." Vlad whispered into her ear making her turn it towards him before wincing at the sudden movement.
She had to admit there was something comforting in the knowledge that Vlad had been through it as well. The only worry was that the crown and power had been designed for him, it had never been designed for her.
"Where were Jonno and Mina?" Ingrid asked angrily, the slayers were supposed to have met them there but there were no signs of them at all.
Vlad couldn't believe that Jonno and Mina would let them down over something so important. Getting Vlad's crown back had been everyone's main goal along with getting Bertrand back.
"Maybe they were held up." Erin offered before rubbing her temples – it used to work when she was a breather but was clearly useless as a vampire.
Ingrid marched over to Vlad and held out her hand, "Where's your phone?"
Vlad's hand went to it instinctively in a protective gesture, last time he'd lent it to his sister it had come back badly fire damaged and completely irreparable. Erin laughed before coughing slightly, Vlad looked at her in concern but she shook her head.
"Give it to me Vlad." Ingrid demanded making a beckoning gesture with her hand.
Vlad stood slowly, arching away from her pulling the phone from his pocket. "I'll contact them."
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad pressed the end call button on his phone, forcefully enough for the screen to almost crack and pushed it into his leather back pocket. It had been Erin's idea so that Jonno and Mina could contact them.
"No answer?" Ingrid asked him quietly, Vlad shook his head in response. They never ignored their phones, not even in meetings. He'd tried both their personal mobile numbers and their slayer phones getting no answer from either of them.
"I need to find out why Jonno and Mina weren't there." Their absence had nearly condemned them to a slaughter. Vlad was glad he hadn't been relying heavily on them but it was still serious enough.
"Maybe they were scared." Erin offered, although she had never known them to be scared of anything and especially not since they had all started working together. She also knew they'd never go against Vlad so there was no point in suggesting that they were trying to raise an army to slaughter them
Vlad shook his head frantically, but he wasn't angry, Erin was just considering all of the options. "I can't believe that." He pushed himself up, "I've got to find out where they were."
He purposefully strode across the room towards the window, fully intending to find out where they were.
"You'll have to do that later." Erin whispered quietly, preparing to say something but Ingrid beat her to it.
Ingrid looked at Vlad, a curious look on her face. "Vlad aren't you forgetting something?"
Vlad looked at her blankly before realisation set in.
They were right.
He had forgotten something…
Something extremely important.
TBC
A/N: What do you think?
Did people want to see an heir in this fic?
Thanks for reading.