Terribly sorry for the delays, FF website has been an absolute nightmare and I am many days behind!
-YD-
"Release me you pustule!"
"Adze, watch your mouth. We have company."
Vlad was ready to toss her away bodily and take about fifty showers before desperately begging Ingrid to make him feel clean again, but Adze was hissing and thrashing against her shackles. Roqueloire, currently keeping guard, noted the two's arrivals with confusion writ across his usually keen features.
"Sir?"
"Meet the leader of the groups trying to de-rail the ceasefire. Well one of them. Other ones dust, a good-faith gesture to the Slayers since they agreed to let me take custody of Adze until she drops."
Roque nodded, eyeing Adze warily as Vlad shuddered inwardly.
"And the other one was?"
"Malik Vaccaria. We'll talk when she's imprisoned."
"You wouldn't dare!"
Vlad dragged Adze by the shackles, avoiding actually touching her as much as possible. Roque followed in somewhat stunned silence, watched as Vlad shoved Adze into her new cells.
"You can't just keep me here until I give birth like some incubator!"
"Adze, you have been a plague on my unlife for almost a decade. You could have carried on as we were for centuries and I would have looked the other way while you cheated on me. But you couldn't just take what you had. Did you really think one day you would convince me to end the Peace?"
Adze didn't answer him, turning away and hissing at the fact her wrists were still shackled.
"Suit yourself."
Vlad closed the door behind him, feeling the space close in with its leadlined walls to keep Adze inside.
"Your Grandness... is she not still shackled?"
"Oh. Yeah. I'll undo them in awhile. Better buckle in for a long six months."
Before he had the chance to elaborate further to his second in command, Vlad heard a familiar voice that soothed his ragged soul.
"Vlad? I swear I heard him come in mum!"
"Adam, stop wandering the castle and go to bed!"
"I believe your nephew would like to say good day sir."
Still smarting from touching his garlic-awful wife, Vlad bade Roque to wait a minute and zipped toward the energy that told him where his son was.
"You called?"
"Vlad! You're back!"
Adam jumped on him; it had only been a night and yet he acted as though he couldn't have missed Vlad more if he had been gone for months.
"I did promise."
"I know but it's always better when you're home. You smell weird though."
Home. Adam called it home. Vlad loved that so much.
"Night in a Slayers Guild. Now do as your mother said before she yells at us both?"
Giggling, Adam nodded up at him and tottered off to bed. Ingrid waited to hear his door close before raising an eyebrow in Vlad's direction.
"That was fast."
"You weren't there. I found out who's been leading the little vigilante renegades who want to bring the Peace down. One you might remember from Garside, the other here."
It took her a second, but Ingrid was shrewd and intelligent.
"Adze and Malik?"
"Yep. He even thought the baby was his. He was not happy to find out otherwise."
Ingrid frowned. Actually, scowled was a more appropriate word; Vlad wasn't sure if that was because Malik had turned her down but not Adze. Wanting to cut that off, Vlad held up the locket.
"I know why Malik wasn't interested, by the way."
That got Ingrid's attention quickly.
"Why?"
"He was our half brother. According to him, anyway. He said his father gave him this... I need to figure out how to ask dad about it whilst saying I also had him staked."
Ingrid pried open the locket, a flicker of surprise appearing when their fathers face stared back at her before she snapped it shut and handed it back.
"Where is she?"
"Downstairs in a cell. I should go explain things to Roqueloire... where's Bertrand?"
Ingrid shrugged off-handedly.
"He had to go somewhere. Roqueloire said it had better be important."
"Roque is right... and Bertrand wouldn't just leave if it wasn't. He had better explain himself... as should I."
Naturally, Ingrid followed. She lingered by the doorway, almost a bizarre role reversal where she stood watch while Vlad spoke to Roque.
"Adze and Malik were caught red-fanged with breather families. By Slayers. If Mina and Jonno hadn't been on my side, they might well have executed her despite her pregnancy."
"So your wife is to stay incarcerated until she delivers your heir, at which point-"
"The Slayers take over her. Ramanga is going to burst a dust vessel."
Roque winced slightly; he too knew the famous temper of Vlad's father in law.
"Perhaps."
"I'll have to figure that out as it comes... Roque, get some sleep. It's too close to dawn to get much done now, and I have some letters to draft. Adze isn't going anywhere. But just in case..."
Vlad placed argentalium across the door, floating it and feeling a little ill at the smell. Then he shoved the key to the fangcuffs through the door flap before locking it tight. They wouldn't be easy to remove by someone cuffed, but it wasn't impossible with the key.
He got some vindictive pleasure from knowing Adze had to struggle for freedom. Like Vlad had to struggle to feel safe because of her.
"Good day Your Grandness."
"Yep. Go find a coffin. We'll start tonight on what needs doing."
Ingrid waited quietly, followed Vlad to his study and leant against the wall. For the first time, his head was clear enough to appreciate Ingrid's dress - purple, velvety. Soft on her curves. Matched her shoes with a modest heel.
"What else happened there?"
"Well, the shambles of my marriage came out in front of the Slayers. I sorta forgot there were people there when I was telling Malik that sleeping with Adze didn't make him special. On the plus side, that particular embarrassment got him mad enough to cough up a whole lotta details. So it was indirectly worth it. His face when Jakob said he'd fucked her was quite something."
Ingrid only reached slightly - outwardly at least - but Vlad knew she would be turning it all over in her mind. Vlad started scratching out a draft of notice for why Adze wouldn't be attending her own baby party. That was going to be tricky.
"I'm sure the Slayers were very confused."
"Jonno pulled me aside to ask if it was all true, I could have lied I guess but what would be the point? He knew better than most how much of a wreck it was from the start."
He so hated to talk about that day. Couldn't shake the phantom ache in his chest when he realised Ingrid was gone. Although it had likely been the day Adam was conceived... he and Ingrid hadn't had sex particularly often that month on account of her thing with Ramanga, distraction with Malik and quite possibly her annoyance with Vlad for marrying somebody else - regardless of whether or not she had helped snare him into it for her own ends at the time.
Until Adam changed her priorities.
"I'm gonna have Roque tell the VHC I have a family emergency to deal with, just to buy me some time until Adam's birthday. Then I'll fix the rest, but he comes first. The vampire world can hold itself together for three more days."
"What about her?"
Vlad grit his fangs, tossed down his quill now the bare bones of what would need to be written and decided had begun. He was too tired and emotionally wrung out to really think them through clearly.
"Adze is spending the next few months in that cell. The Guild will be here when she gives birth. She'll get blood bags, I don't trust her with bottles but obviously she'll need to be fed to sustain the baby."
"Alright. Come on."
Somehow, he was amused by Ingrid just expecting him in her coffin, summoning him to go to bed ar dawn like an established lover. It was all the more potent a feeling when he considered that Roqueloire was in the castle. Could see Vlad's coffin dusty and unused. Smell Ingrid all over him from where they kissed and she stripped his clothes away.
Vlad undressed her in turn, seeking the feel of her skin on his to cleanse Adze's stain on him away. Ingrid surrendered to him in a way Vlad would never have believed possible, cradled his body with her own as they came together. Vlad watched her respond, the arching back and closing eyes, soft moans and needy hands. Lucifer, Ingrid was too much and yet Vlad would never get enough.
Afterwards, when Vlad crawled into her arms and trembled, Ingrid held him and waited for the bad to pass. The words that followed would never leave him.
"I'm thinking about telling Adam."
Vlad was still calming, didn't click immediately.
"Telling him what?"
"That you're his father."
That got Vlad's attention, rolling on his front to look up at Ingrid properly.
"What?"
"When Adze's gone. He's already more attached to you than I wanted him to get. He deserves to know he's not second best to the baby."
"He never will be, I swear. Are you serious?"
"Believe me, I wish I wasn't. I hold you entirely responsible."
He could see Ingrid's struggle in the tension of her jaw, the way she couldn't meet his eyes. She abhorred talking about feelings. Another question occurred to Vlad, and he deliberated about asking her.
"What about us? I mean... after she's gone the VHC will eventually want me to remarry."
"I haven't decided. You can always stall them for time with tales of mourning and busy fatherhood."
Ingrid had a point, and Vlad knew better than to push her on it. He let the matter slide; he didn't dare risk her changing her mind. To one day hear Adam call him 'dad' had been but a distant dream only days before.
"Ok."
They kissed until Ingrid was ready to sleep, Vlad's own exhaustion quick to catch up with him as they settled for the day. Ingrid woke him and kicked him out before nightfall, and Vlad had to dash for his room before Roqueloire got up. Showered and dressed, Vlad padded off to the kitchen, pulling down a box of blood bags for Adze.
"It's almost my birthday!"
Adam didn't even reach the kitchen before he called out to Vlad, satisfied the vampire would already be there. Even if he didn't know why Vlad was often up so early.
"I know!"
"I'm going to eat cake and watch Dragons! It'll be so fun!"
He was exceptionally energetic that morning as he pushed bread down in the toaster and - under Vlad's supervision - made himself a cup of tea. Vlad downed soy blood; he wasn't risking eating when he had to deal with Adze. He might just throw up.
"Can you put peanut butter on cake?"
Adam was eyeing the jar speculatively as he spread it on his toast liberally.
"I think people tend to actually mix it in with icing or filling rather than just slather it on, since peanut butter isn't very sweet. You can buy these weird American chocolates that have peanut butter filling, I'll have to see if they sell them in Transylvania anywhere."
"Blood, it's a good job he brushes his teeth more than you did."
Ingrid glided around the door, wearing the purple velvet dress of yesterday. Perhaps now Vlad was there to appreciate it fully, and appreciate he did. Her lipstick was red, but when the candlelight caught it just right it was enchanting.
"Hey, my oral hygiene is excellent now! Dad only taught us to brush our front teeth for the health of our fangs. Mrs Branagh took me to that breather dentist and he explained it all to me properly."
Ingrid hummed, leant against the wall with a glass of something dark and sharp-smelling.
"Somehow... That's even worse."
Vlad shrugged in return, still glad he'd learnt to take care of his teeth before Ingrid started regularly invading his mouth with her own whenever she felt like it. It would have been mortifying to have her turn him down based on bad breath. Not to mention unpleasant for her.
"Well, it's in the past now. I brush my teeth and floss my fangs."
"Is Rocky still here?"
"He should be. Actually, he should be up by now."
Vlad closed his eyes, seeking the energy of a non-Dracula vampire amongst the castle's usual hum of familiarity with blood relatives. His bodyguard was already in the basement, guarding Adze.
"He takes his job too seriously sometimes. I have to take this blood down to the basement, I'll take him a drink."
They didn't want Adam knowing Adze was caged in a cellar cell if they could help it. Let him feel safe in her absence.
Roque bowed and sniffed slightly as Vlad entered the basement area, noting the box of blood bags. Vlad handed Roqueloire a bottle first, which he took with a polite murmur of thanks.
"You could have had breakfast before coming down here you know. Adze isn't going anywhere."
"Yes sir."
Rolling his eyes in a sort of fond exasperation - some bats never changed - Vlad drew in a deep breath before shooing away the argentalium to open the door. As expected, Adze tried to leave, but Vlad was ready for it and held her back to the wall with an outstretched hand. The other hand tipped up the box of blood into her coffin, a pile of freshly filled blood bags - some fresh from the Guild, others vintage bottles drained so Adze didn't have glass to hand.
"You can't really expect this to go on indefinitely "
"Not indefinitely. Until you give birth. Then you cease to be my problem. You'd already be ash if you weren't having my baby."
Despite being restrained by Vlad's powers, Adze's lips curled into a sneer.
"What would the vampires think if they knew how easy their leader was to control?"
Vlad tried not to be affected, but Adze knew the chink she was in his armour and his powers wavered for a second before be could tighten them. She noticed, smirked further.
"Pathetic."
"That wasn't control. You had to drug me to fuck you. Doesn't say much for your looks huh?"
He left before he started to shake, slammed the cell door shut behind him. Vlad had forgotten Roqueloire was there, heard everything through the open door.
"Are you alright sir?"
Vlad couldn't help but step back. Adze made him feel so vulnerable, his powers and strength nothing when she wanted to manipulate him in such an intimate, private way. And so Roqueloire saw Vlad tremble with a fear he couldn't seem to quash.
"Fine. If you could keep to yourself what you just heard, I would appreciate that."
Roque absolutely understood what he had just heard. What it meant. Why Vlad was shaking. He could turn Vlad into a laughing stock, tell everyone the most powerful vampire in the world couldn't even stand up to his wife.
"Of course sir."
Vlad eyed Roqueloire. He seemed genuine enough. Even took a step further back from the shaky young vampire.
"Thank you. I'll need you to go deliver some missives, damage control has to start immediately if there's a chance of keeping this mess contained."
"Not a problem."
He wasn't up to this. If Adze hadn't attacked him and gotten pregnant he could have let the Guild execute her and been free with the faith still in the Peace. Adze's affair with Malik would have been part and parcel of her own poor decisions. Now the Slayers knew she cheated on him, that their marriage had been so strained Vlad hadn't even known she was out hunting humans.
"I better go finish writing them. I didn't have the energy to finish this morning... where did Bertrand say he was going?"
"He didn't. But as I know the tutor is fond of your nephew, I was certain it was an important matter and I would never have left this castle unprotected."
"I guessed as much. Thanks Roque. Enjoy your breakfast."
He left the basement, finding small warm arms wrapping around his middle before he realised he was in the kitchen again.
"Don't look so sad Vlad. Everything will be ok."
Adam hugged him tight, smiled up at him and Vlad's heart turned over in his chest. He ruffled the boys soft hair, inherited from his mother rather than Vlad's own messy, thin hair.
"I know Adam. Thank you."
"Do you have important stuff to do today?"
"I do, but we can work together in the library if you like?"
Nodding eagerly, Adam dashed off to get his books and homework. Vlad headed to get his VHC paperwork, setting up on opposite sides of the reading table. Adam had a new dragon t-shirt on, green and red with small wings.
"I've not seen that t-shirt before."
Adam looked down at it, beaming.
"It was a birthday gift from Bertrand that he said I should open early in case he wasn't here that day. It's Toothless. From the books, not the movies. Cool isn't it? I meant to save it for the actual day but I spilled ink on my other t-shirt."
"Very cool."
Vlad tried to pen suitably dismissive but somewhat informative notes - one to say all visitors were banned from Castle Dracula while Adze was pregnant as the process was taking a toll on his 'dear wife', another to remind everybody the punishment for violating the cease-fire was a dusting. Then a third to Ramanga personally informing him he too was not permitted in the castle. Just in case.
Ingrid found the two in there, only raising an eyebrow in response to Adam explaining his new attire. Vlad signed the bottom of his notes, then headed down to relieve Roqueloire.
"Forgive me for being forward sir, but are you not worried that your bloodbound will suffer some sort of madness induced by boredom if she is not mentally stimulated for the entire six months?"
"As soon as I find her a hobby she can't use as a weapon I'll be sure to give her something to do."
"I see. Understandable."
"Deliver these to be sent out en masse. The third is for Adze's father only, send the fastest carrier bat there is and tell them to get away before he reads it. You have permanent invitation to this domicile Roqueloire, I would prefer you utilize it and come in via a bat hole to limit how often I have to answer the door and risk being staked."
"Yes sir. I thank you. And what of your own father?"
"Oh I've little doubt dad is probably going to show at some point and give me terrible parenting advice. But he hasn't yet, and I'll recognise my father anywhere."
Roque left, and Vlad ummed and ahhed about staying to guard the cells before being distracted by a knock at the door. He frowned, zipped up to the door and pulled at the handle. Nothing came flying as a surprise attack, so he opened it wider and saw Bertrand. He wasn't alone.
He had a wolf next to him.
-YD-
Finally catching up!