So I'm sick throughout my holiday and then I break my toe…yay! *sarcasm*
Ok I lied about the quick update but I find it hard to find inspiration to write if I don't think anyone is reading :/
It took Vlad a lot longer than he would've liked to get back to Garside. It didn't take long for the weather to clear up after his little temper tantrum and he was left taking to alleys and back roads to avoid the sun's burning glare. It was rather annoying that permanently grey England would suddenly have a beautiful sunny day half way through winter! And said sunny day had made getting back to the school very difficult.
He eventually reached the school as two thirds of the way through his return the weather turned violent again and Vlad guessed Ingrid had pissed off his father in some way or other.
About mid-morning he finally got to the school and realised that he'd already chopped his therapy session in half. He felt rather pleased with himself until he got to the Dracula's section of the school.
Adele was waiting in the throne room. And she was smiling.
With a decidedly false smile she ushered him calmly to the room he'd spent the previous session. She sat on her comfy chair and the clipboard was in her hand again.
He glanced at the sunlight filtering through the window. Was it worth getting fried to escape this infernal woman? He decided perhaps it wasn't.
"Do you have any idea what you want to do after school Vlad?" He looked up sharply from where he'd been tracing patterns on the chair arm. It was a fair question – which he had no answer to. He wanted to escape. Avoid his destiny and the eternity of death and destruction that awaited him.
"I'm going to take over the school from my dad." He murmured somewhat unenthusiastically.
Adele frowned. "No, what do you want to do?" She sighed. "It's okay for you to want different things from your family you know," Vlad knew that but there were just some things he couldn't escape. He decided to go with the honest answer.
"I want to travel," Go somewhere new and start all over again - like he could ever do that. His destiny was as effective as an argentalium ball and chain at keeping him with his family.
Adele, as expected, gave a reassuring smile and Vlad's nails dug crescent moons on the arm of the chair. "Is there anything stopping you?"
Vlad could've laughed. Was there anything stopping him? Everything was stopping him from leaving. Adele scribbled something down on the clipboard. "Your father perhaps?" She asked casually and Vlad's gaze shot up to meet hers. She gave an attempt at a smile which for once became a slight grimace. "You aren't the only one," She pulled a sheet of paper out and Vlad had time to glimpse Ingrid's name on the sheet. "It's obvious that your father has been a serious cause of grief for you and Ingrid. He has neglected his daughter and put a serious amount of pressure on you, ignoring the wants and needs of both of you."
She pulled a sheet of paper from her clipboard. "With a statement from both you and your sister I can easily have you emancipated away from your father." Her words left Vlad utterly frozen. As a child he would've given anything to have an escape, he would've even allowed himself to be spirited away from his family, just to avoid his future but what would being emancipated from his father do now? It wouldn't really do much other than piss Count Dracula off. Vlad was tempted just accept because of that but there really wasn't any point. Vlad lifted his head, met Adele's brown eyes and shrugged. "My father isn't a problem and I don't need these stupid sessions!" He scowled, his lip set in a rather childish pout.
Adele pursed her lips slightly. "I can't help you if you won't let me Vlad," Her tone annoyed him even more.
When would she get it?! "I don't want your help!" He snarled. "I don't need it!" He briefly noted his fingers tearing through fabric covering the chair. He got to his feet angrily. "The only reason I'm enduring this is because I'm being forced to!"
Adele just looked at him, dark brown eyes searching him, reading him. "It's understandable. You don't want or want to need help but it is alright; you're only human."
If only... It was rather ironic but Vlad didn't find himself curbing mirth. A Bertrand-like voice burst into reprimand in the back of his head. He had to go it alone; he could never trust anyone else.
Vlad made for the door and Adele didn't bother to stop him. "I'll see you next Saturday Vlad."
As he exited into the corridor Vlad made an almost silent. "Mm."
The Guild certainly had got their act together with access to a bigger budget Erin mused as she observed the secluded building. They'd even managed to get a guard tower. Their equipment must have become so much better, and their science too. Ryan's face briefly floated in her mind and with it were the streaming emotions of her human self. With ease she stomped on the feeble human with her sharp stilettoes and headed through the parking lot. It had been getting far easier lately to leave the old Erin behind, so much easier that she was almost tempted to pick up a new name and begin again. Almost. There was just one thing she couldn't abandon, one writhing snake that could not leave her alone.
A certain Vladimir Dracula, who'd worn the face of innocence as he tore her life away, and then had the audacity to take high moral ground with her.
She smiled; the image of plunging a stake into Vlad's heart was a day dream too desirable to ignore. She was still grinning when she used the callbox to summon Jonno to let her in. He wasn't looking too great if she was honest.
Compared to the last time she saw him it was obvious; great purple bags under his eyes and lips curled downwards faintly in an expression of sorrow.
"God," She said on seeing him. "You look like shit. What the hell did they do to you?" The slayer scrutinised her with a guarded expression.
"Things happened," His eyes went distant before his expression became determined. "And with your help we can take down Vlad for good."
Erin raised her eyebrows, sceptical. "And the vampires?" Jonno regarded cautiously and she gave a soft laugh. "You're not going to take down Vlad and leave the vampires standing." Jonno opened his mouth but Erin continued speaking. "To be honest I don't give a damn what happens to the rest of the vampires, you can kill all of them for all I care." Her expression turned serious. "As long as I live," She smirked. "Come on then," She gestured to the door, her eyes dancing with malice. "Let's go take down the big bad vampires,"
If Jonno felt uneasy by Erin's change of personality, he certainly didn't show it. He led her down a hall until they reached an office marked with Mina's name. "Where's Mina then?" She asked, looking around the minimalistic room. "I doubt she would agree to working with a vampire,"
Jonno glanced at her, his expression hard, yet miserable. "She's gone..." He murmured going through the draws of his desk. "Ingrid did it and Vlad covered it up." Erin gave a regretful nod, sober for once.
"Ah…" She murmured.
Jonno nodded. "Yeah…" His hand hovered over a draw where their plans were stored but decided against it.
Erin watched him with interest as he decided not to trust her. "So what I am going to be doing for you?"
"Someone has to lure Vlad into the trap." Erin's expression turned rather sour.
"What do you mean by 'lure'?" She growled; if he was asking her to care for Vlad, pretend to care for Vlad she'd be furious.
Jonno seemed to sense her anger but not the cause. "Make Vlad trust you so you can trick him," He lowered his voice. "He still cares about you." He paused. "You can use that."
"I'm not trying to trick him." She snarled. "I'm trying to kill him!"
Jonno met her eyes with a serious gaze. His face showed none of the emotions bubbling just beneath the surface, nor the wobbling morality he was facing. "If we succeed Vlad will have a fate worse than death."
Count Dracula scowled. His son was in his room sulking, moping. The sessions that Miss McCauley had strongly suggested had done nothing for his son except made him sit in his room alone brooding like one of those silly sparkly vampires from those books, Midnight he thought they were called. From how the head teacher had described the sessions then Vladimir should've been behaving properly after the first hour. Ingrid had, even before her transformation – and she was a girl.
He pushed the door open slowly, poking his head round the door. His son was sat on his coffin scowling at the wall. "Ingrid told me about your mercy when it came to the slayer…" He began in a low and dangerous voice.
"And you listened to her?" His son replied sourly.
"Yes I did, surprisingly," He added. "And I'm very disappointed in you Vladimir." Vlad glared up at him.
"Aren't you always?"
The Count chose to ignore that particularly bitter remark. "You should be eating slayers! Not letting them escape unharmed!"
"He wasn't exactly unharmed," Vlad murmured.
"Yet you still let him leave alive! After he tried to stake a member of our clan!" The Count leaned closer. "You know I do not care what happens to Ingrid but I do not condone this! Who's to say that next time he won't stake someone important?"
Count Dracula's frustration didn't even faze Vlad and he simply responded. "Go away dad."
Vlad's psych was spread on the table before her and she wasn't sure she liked what she was looking at. Trust issues, serious isolation, repressed emotions, and the list went on, and on. Alex McCauley blanched and looked at the notes from Vlad's most recent session with Adele.
It was obvious he was just as depressed as Ingrid had been but this time it wasn't as easy to solve it seemed. The elder Count sibling had only needed someone to talk to while Vlad wanted no help; he wanted to be alone. This was no problem aside from how unhealthy it was and what had caused Vlad to withdraw from people, and there was no simple answer – he just didn't want people around him.
Adele had suggested that some of Vlad's issues had come from Mr Count's God awful parenting but she then had written that Vlad's misery wasn't all from the confinement of his father's pressure. She was suggesting talking about Erin.
Even Alex knew that this was a sore subject. She'd tried to ask about Erin's departure from the school but Vlad had made it rather clear that he didn't care and if he knew he wasn't telling her. If Alex was honest she was fairly sure the majority of this bitterness and isolation was from how their relationship went up in snarling flames. She remembered finding them in a corridor together yelling all sorts of vulgar, obscene words at each other in a colourful manner. When she'd broken them apart they'd both vanished within minutes but it was obvious their fight was far from over; they'd probably just taken it somewhere she couldn't catch them.
She took another glance at the notes and sighed grabbing a highlighter.
She highlighted the word Erin.