"CHRISTY! CHRISTY! CHRISTINA! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!" Draculaura burst into her older cousin's bedroom, finding the vampire dark fairy hybrid sprawled across her lavender canopy bed with a photo album in hand.
"Yes?" Christina whispered, brushing her brown-purple streaked hair out of her multi-colored eyes, "What's happened?"
"DADDY'S GETTING MARRIED!" Draculaura shrieked, trying to pull her cousin off the bed to jump up and down but Christina remained rooted in place with a shocked, fish out of water expression on her face.
"What? Why? When? What?"
"Remember he wrote to us about Ramoanah? He met her at the Ice Ball?"
"I remember but-"
"THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED IN TRANSYLVANIA NEXT WEEK!"
"But-"
"WE'RE INVITED"
"What?"
"Not just-"
"Laura, please, please, please stop, i don't understand," Christina had started to shake, hyperventelating.
"Oh, here's the letter!" Draculaura fished the fancy parchment from her pocket, "I'm sorry, I meant to wait to read it with you but I just got so excited-"
"Please leave," Christina motioned to the door.
"But don't you want to-"
"Please"
Draculaura quickly backtracked shutting the door after her.
Christina slid from the bed, smoothing the wrinkles out of her oversized shirt. She shoved on her black fringe ankle boots while biting the inside of her cheek to keep from melting down. Pulling her hair into a lopsided ponytail she hurrried to the magic mirror across from her desk, stepping through the glass with a strangled yelp.
Maleficent was already waiting for her with open arms.
"Grammy-" Christina hiccuped a sob.
"You got the letter?"
"You knew?"
"Not until this morning, Dracula sent me a letter too"
"I don't understand"
"It's going to be okay, Christina"
"Doesn't feel like it"
Maleficent guided her into the nearest sitting room, keeping a tight arm around her shoulders as they sat on the overstuffed sofa, "But, don't you think it's a wonderful thing that Dracula's found love again? I know it's been a hard two years"
Christina couldn't bring herself to speak, still hiccuping sobs.
Why do things keep changing?
...
Draculaura was still bouncing on her toes when her icoffin rang. Snatching it up she answered with an excited squeal.
"I see you got my letter," Dracula chuckled on the other end of rhe line.
"I'm soo excited for you!"
"Thank you, now, your train tickets are on the vay, pack lightly please ve vouldn't vant to strain poor Clawd's back"
Draculaura giggled, "Yes Daddy"
There were muffled voices on the other end of the line.
"I've got to go, okay? I can't vait to see you both, I love you"
"Love you too"
...
The Following Monday Draculaura spun out of the dressing room at her favorite store, "Isn't it fabulous?" she smoothed the fabric of the sparkly pink knee-length dress.
The gathered ghouls and mansters clapped.
"I love it!" Clawdeen gushed, "All of the hidden bats are a cute detail"
"I didn't even notice them at first"
"They kind of look like, Count Fabulous," Frankie remarked, leaning in close to better see the detail, "Don't you think?"
"They do!" Draculaura nodded vigerously, "They just need little bows"
"I wish we were going," Cleo pouted, "This is going to be the wedding of the century"
"I KNOW!" Draculaura gushed with another spin, "Like something out of fairy tale, don't you think Christy?"
Christina looked up from her book with that same shocked look. The pages crinkled under her fingers, knuckles turning white.
"Hey," Shaggy stepped in, resting a hand on her shoulder, "I think I saw some new books being put in the window display of the bookstore, do you like, wanna take a look?"
"Yeah, sounds good, let's go, see you ghouls later"
"What's wrong with Christy?" Duncan looked after his childhood best friend in concern.
"She doesn't like change, that's all"
"No, I think it's more than that, Laura," Clawdeen replied.
"Daddy said to give her space"
"Okay so tell us about Ramoanah!" Frankie lightened the mood, "What's she like?"
"I uh, haven't met her yet but I bet she's great! Imagine all the fun things we'll get to do together! I hope they let me help eith the wedding"
"I'm sure they will"
...
"Can't-can't breathe-" Christina was close to hyperventaliating again.
"Let's sit down, okay?" Shaggy pulled her over to the nearest bench he could find.
Christina was experiencing a severe panic attack and was visibly shaking. Shaggy sat down beside her rubbing soothing circles into her back as he walked her through the breathing exersises she had taught him for when he got scared. They stayed like that for several minutes, Christina fighting to get her heart back under control before finally looking up at him through glassy eyes.
"Sorry"
"No, like, don't you dare apologize," he took her face in his hands, kissing away her tears, "You have nothing to apologize for"
"I just-I-"
"Shh, shh, it's alright, you don't have to explain anything to me"
"But-"
"No, no buts, do you like, still want to got to the bookstore?"
"Yes, please"
...
Christina restlessly paced her bedroom, trying to hold herself together. She should have been estatic, shouldn't she? While she was happy Dracula had found someone new she felt conflicted, her already shattered heart fracturing into even more pieces. With a frustrated grunt, she turned back to her open trunk, her fanciest dresses staring back at her. One for every expected event, all in comforting shades of purple with black or silver accents.
"Christina?" Draculaura poked her head inside, "Do you want help?"
"No, Laura"
"Can I still offer a suggestion?"
"Sure," she did feel bad for raining on her cousin's excitement.
"I think you would look beautiful in one of your Princess dresses"
Even as a teenager, Draculaura still refered to Christina's fancy royal gowns as princess dresses. In a way, they were exactly that but saying so felt strange.
"Which one? I-I don't want to draw attention.."
"What did you do with the one from last spring? The one with the hidden dragons?"
"This one?" Christina held up a sateen gown with embriodered roses and green trimmed ellbow length sleeves.
"Is thar the one with the-"
"Spinning skirt as you used to call it? Yes"
"Show me where the dragons are again?"
"Here," she pointed to various places on the loose sleeves, "You really think I should wear this one? For what?"
"The ceramony? Maybe? You didn't buy a dress-"
"Okay"
"What really?"
"Yeah, that was the last outfit I needed to pick anyway"
"Yay!" Draculaura excitedly hugged her cousin, "Trust me this is going to be great fun!"
...
The train ride was a long one in a private car. Clawdeen and Duncan sat beside Christina and Shaggy while Clawd, Draculaura and, Maleficent sat across from them. Draculaura chatted excitedly. The thought of a romantic wedding. The wedding of the century with all the glamour of the vampire court as the back drop? It was enough to make her squeal over and over and over.
"Draculaura, please" Christina clamped her hands over her ears.
"Sorry," Draculaura tried to calm down, reclining back into the plush red seat, resting her head against Clawd.
"It's okay," Christina caught her fairy tale book before it could land on top of Jade who rested at her feet.
"What story are you reading, Christy?"
"Thumbilina,"
"Is that the one with the fairy wedding at the end?"
"Mm, I'm not there yet, she just met the mouse"
Duncan looked over her shoulder at the picture spread across the pages of Thumblina at the door of the field mouse in the dead of bitter winter. As he watched, the kindly mouse took Thumbilina by her shoulders and brought her inside.
"Does it not weird you out that they move?"
"No, Mom used to make them come off the page when she read to me"
"Yes," Maleficent laughed, "I seem to remeber you chasing the gingerbread man through the castle on one of my visits"
"The fox caught him and back to the page they went," Christina wistfully smiled, returning to her book.
The group fell into a comfortable silence, one by one the teens fell asleep only to be woken up sometime later by the loud screech of the train whistle as they entered the station. Rubbing their eyes the boys gathered up the luggage while the girls sleepily staggered onto the platform.
"You are the Dracula party, correct?" a gaunt-faced vampire in a bellhop uniform inquired walking toward them with an arched eyebrow.
"Yes," Maleficent replied.
"Velcome," the vampire bowed, "I am Fangsly, I've been charged with taking care of your every need this veek, may I take your bags?"
Clawd was all-too-happy to hand over the luggage. Draculaura's version of pack lightly was vastly differnt from her fathers. The others followed, Duncan helping load the bags into the surprisingly spacious carrige that awaited them before climbing in.
"I'm so excited to see our rooms," Draculaura exclaimed, "Daddy said they're all personalized to the guests"
"Where is it the wedding being held again?" Christina briefly looked up from her book.
"Chateau Transylvania, it's said to be as magnificent as the castle but you know how tourist websites are," Draculaura smiled, "I saw something about a library there maybe you can check it out?"
"Maybe," Christina shrugged returning to her fairy tale book, hidden behind the large volume she checked that the key to her personal library was still safely tucked between the pages. Draculaura meant to cheer her but a vampire ran library wasn't likely to have books that caught her interest I just want to blend into the background as much as I can.
...