Happy Pride Month + Black Lives Matter!
I realise this fic has a relatively small readership, but I've done away with most of the bigoted HTTYD fans so I'm making my stance known here too.
-YD-
Vlad yawned, his bed growing ever more appealing by the minute as he hung up his 'proper' attire, brushing a bit of dust off the collar. Ingrid was leant against his door frame, arms folded loosely across her chest.
"Sleeping?"
"Yeah. I might be up all night with the VHC. This could be the only sleep I get before school tomorrow."
He'd been more tired than usual since the Coronation incident too, a side effect of the clash between his vampire powers and not-yet-ready human body.
"That's such a weird thing to be worried about. But whatever."
"Can you wake me at sundown?"
Ingrid rolled her eyes, but she nodded. Much as his half-sister loved to antagonise him, she also knew who she was irritating, and in between being a royal pain in the ass, she was actually pretty supportive and helpful. Sometimes. She left to get a little more sleep herself, and Vlad quickly undressed and got into bed, the temperature still a little warm for his liking even with the tower shutters closed.
His short sleep was blissfully dreamless. Ingrid waking him up by pouring cold water on his face was not so blissful.
"Ingrid!"
He spluttered, but she only shrugged.
"You said wake you up. You didn't say how, and I wasn't standing around while you rolled over and said five more minutes."
Soggy and disgruntled as he was, Vlad opted not to argue with her - the sun was gone from the horizon, and so he needed to get cleaned up, dressed and prepared for meeting with the VHC. The important thing was that he was awake, he supposed.
"Yes, fine, in future I'll specify no near-drownings."
"Drama queen. You better start getting ready."
Groaning, Vlad flopped back and rubbed his wet face, grimacing at his sodden hair.
"Are you staying to watch me shower and change?"
"No, just making sure you don't fall back to sleep. I'm not being held responsible for you missing your meeting."
Sighing, Vlad reluctantly sat up and kicked the covers away.
"I'm up."
Ingrid left when she saw him heading to his chest of drawers, picking up clean underwear and grabbing his towel and toothbrush on the way to the bathroom. He didn't have terribly long - the trip from the VHC to Stokely was depressingly short when one was hoping to prolong the respite before he had to deal with the politics his unlife was condemned to be mired in forever.
He glared at his reflection as he adjusted his cape collar, then dug his Crown out from where he'd hidden it. His dad had tried to steal it once already, with his unconvincing interest in Vlad leaving for school and an audible scream coming from the tower, where Vlad had left the shutters open so his dad got a nasty sunlit suprise. And all the while, the thing was tucked safely into Vlad's backpack, being carried further and further from the castle with every step.
As he weighed it in his hands, Vlad felt the power that hummed through it, tugging at his own powers, urging him to put it back on. He needed to, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Even though, if he was honest, part of him really really did like it.
"Better get this over with."
He lifted it up, lowering the macabre headwear down over his hair. The sensation of doing so was still jarring, all but knocking the wind out of him as that powerful connection flared to life inside him. The dizziness passed before long, leaving behind the steady thrum of power that coursed through his veins. That strange sense of relaxation washed over him again, and Vlad headed down the steps from the tower in a surprisingly calm state.
Ingrid had changed into another of Magda's old dresses, that one black with a little red detailing. The fact they now sort of matched did something to Vlad, but it was hardly the time to be dealing with the incessant, incestuous attraction he still felt toward her.
The look on Ingrid's face didn't really do much for Vlad. Even with her usual ability to keep her expression on the murderous side of neutral, Vlad could see that Ingrid liked how he looked in his more vampiric attire.
"Well, I'm ready whenever they are. If they don't turn up, I am going to slip garlic in to all their drinks."
Ingrid let out a short laugh.
"You do have an advantage there, you can threaten them with all the things that can't hurt you yet."
"Yeah. Can't rely on that forever, but it would be fun to just sit at the head of the table at a VHC meeting, watching them all sweat while I toss a bulb of garlic from one hand to the other. Granted, my resilience is also my weakness."
"How so?"
"Well while I still have a heartbeat, I'm rather vulnerable to things like being set on fire or thrown out of a high tower window. And I haven't totally tested how much control of my powers I have yet. Plus I don't trust the VHC as far as I can throw them... with, with this on, is actually probably pretty far."
He gestured to his head before turning to face the window, seeing that night had well and truly fallen. The vampires on their way wouldn't be able to enter the castle without invitation, but Vlad didn't want to start his first 'meeting' as Grand High Vampire with a racing heart everyone could hear because he jumped in surprise when the door knocked. He ended up sitting down just to stop himself pacing, the relaxation of his Crown at odds with his nerves about what the blood and garlic was about to happen.
"Wanna bet they'll be fashionably late?"
"Normally, yes, but they'll be desperate to start exerting influence over me because of my youth, inexperience and lacking transformation. Plus, they haven't seen me yet, so there'll be at last one hoping this is a really elaborate prank."
Vlad felt more than he heard the approach, straining his eyes and seeing the little flock of half a dozen bats on the horizon, backlit by moonlight.
"They're here."
Even the Count stood up a little straighter, Vlad straightening his cape a little and gesturing subtly for Ingrid to stand near him. She seemed to understand the necessity, as he'd already warned her that older vampires in particular were incredibly misogynistic. And, given that Ingrid was so damned attractive, with a heady punch of her unique scent to boot, Vlad could only imagine the creepy behaviour there was potential for.
"Renfield, don't invite them in until you check none of them are holding stakes."
"Of course Master Vlad!"
The Count scowled when Renfield immediately complied.
"Don't scowl. He's the Grand High Vampire now, everyone is going to be jumping to his orders."
"That is not the point! This is my castle, and-"
He fell silent when the door knocked. For all his bluster and arrogance, even Count Dracula wasn't that stupid that he was about to disrespect the VHC to their dusty old faces.
"I know you like to antagonise people, but I want this over sooner rather than later."
Ingrid rolled her eyes, but Vlad knew she understood the situation - the habits of the VHC had come up quite a few times when they were trying to figure out who her father was, to impress upon Ingrid the importance that they keep her Dimidius... -ness a secret.
After a minute - and a panicked shriek from the direction of the front door - Renfield was shakily inviting in the VHC. Vlad was very aware of his height in that moment, having to look up at all of them. Even the shortest was several inches taller.
Five of them stood in a line, all looking at Vlad like they couldn't quite believe their eyes. Only one bowed in front of him, then moved to stand at Vlad's side.
"And you are?"
"Roqueloire, sir. Personal security of the Grand High Vampire."
"Well the last one was slain and nobody knows by who. So... don't stand behind me, if it's all the same."
Roqueloire frowned, but said nothing and stayed to Vlad's left. The other five members of the VHC continued to stare.
"Either take a bow or take a seat, you all look braindead as well as undead gawking like that."
Vlad's tone surprised them all, and while four of them gave (very, very small) bows, the fifth only took a step forward.
"You expect me to bow to a child?"
"Name?"
"Ramanga, I am-"
"Not important. And no, not to a child. To the Chosen One, the new Grand High Vampire? Absolutely."
How he knew he could, Vlad wsn't sure, but the Crown urged him on. With a gesture of his hand as though he'd pressed down on Ramanga's back himself, the man was forced over into a bow, letting out a loud grunt of surprise.
"See, now that wasn't so hard was it?"
When he saw the other members starting to watch with a mix of amusement at Ramanga's plight and a healthy mix of wariness toward Vlad, he let Ramanga stand. With a haughty shake of his leather coat, Ramanga attempted to shake off his embarassment, and took another step closer to Vlad.
"You insolent little-"
That time, he was cut off by Roqueloire, who placed a hand between Vlad and Ramanga.
"Ramanga, mind your manners. I believe he asked you all to take a seat."
Glaring, Ramanga made to turn toward the table, though he stopped short and had eyes on something a few inches behind Vlad, instead.
Well, someone.
"And who, my dear, are you?"
-YD-
I wouldn't go there if I were you Ramanga, if Ingrid doesn't kill you I reckon Vlad will.