The first time she ran into it, it was by complete accident.
While Drac had been downstairs in the lobby tending to an issue, Ericka had begun to move her things out of her suite and into his chambers, the pair having finally become engaged and in agreement to start living together. As she found out, her husband-to-be certainly did live up to his 'sneaky-pants' nickname. His chambers had plenty of secret openings and trapdoors, most which were old escape routes in case a human mob ever invaded the hotel, but some were practical. The bathroom, for example, which she discovered when placing a box next to that wall and triggering it to open up widely. Or the closet, after an item from one of her other boxes fell out and hit the wall, causing it to open up as well and show off his many satin pajama sets.
The next secret opening that she discovered, however, was the one that interested her the most. When leaning against one of the stone walls in her exhaustion of tugging a particularly heavy box into the room, she felt one of the stones under her palm give way. She straightened herself up right before she could fall into the opening the wall gave way to. This was not a closet or restroom as before. Instead, there was a stairway it seemed, that led downward.An old escape route?Curiosity getting the better of her, Ericka decided to walk down into it, her boots clicking against the stairs and echoing as she went along. It rounded downwards for a bit, before opening up to a larger space that looked much like the attic or basement, but just a bit smaller. Extra boxes and trinkets were all around, but Ericka hardly took notice of them. The one item that had caught her attention was right at the opposite end, imposing and hard to miss, practically stealing all the breath away from her lungs.
The portrait.
Oh, she'd heard of it plenty of times before. Johnny had mentioned it to her the most, telling of how large and stunning it was to see, and how even more emotionally captivating it was to him after Drac had told him about its true meaning. Mavis had mentioned it on occasion to her, too, the woman in the portrait of course having been her mother. The least she'd heard of it however was from Dracula himself. She could understand why though. It was a difficult thing to revisit, and she never pushed him to talk about it. Although, she had to admit to herself that sometimes she did want to know more.
Ericka's first instinct was to back out and return up the stairs to the chambers. But, as she went to go to do just that, she found that her feet did not want to move. She didn't want to leave… not yet at least. She turned to face the portrait again, taking in its details as she approached it.
It was a simple piece, but very impressive and lifelike nonetheless. Martha was there, a small content smile on her lips and with such a kind look in her eyes. Her hair matched her outfit in its dark shade, the locks wavy and long, cascading down her back. Delicate fingers were intertwined gently with another set of pale fingers, and the figure was easily recognizable. Drac. He wore a much more animated smile on his face, his features not having aged one bit since the day that the painting was made decades and decades prior. She grinned a little at the happiness shining in his eyes, but soon her smile faltered.
He's happy because ofher.
Ericka swallowed thickly. By no means was she jealous of Martha, but sometimes it was hard to accept that she was not the first woman to steal Drac's heart and give him the euphoria that a zing could offer. She sighed, and almost felt tears pricking her eyes, but she quickly stopped herself before any could fall. Instead, she lifted her head up, staring at the woman in the portrait. She cleared her throat.
"Um… Hi…" she began awkwardly. She regretted her sudden idea, shuffling from foot to foot, but then continued forth. "I don't know everything about the monster world yet… maybe youcanhear me, maybe you can't… but I figure it's about time I introduce myself." Ericka looked at her. "My name is Ericka Van Helsing. Yes… I am a part oftheVan Helsings. But I promise you that we're not the way we used to be. My great-grandfather and I, I mean. We're the only ones left. You see… there was a cruise that we planned a few months ago. Yes, it was to lure in and kill all monsters… a-and Dracula." She rubbed the back of her neck. "But when he actually came, almost nothing went as planned because Dracula zinged. I know now that everyone used to think a zing only happens once in your life, but he reallydidzing. And…" - Ericka paused, feeling nervous - "it was with me."
She looked at Martha, almost expecting a reaction from the still picture. Regardless, she gave herself a moment before continuing. "I have to admit that I didn't like him at all at first. I mean, my great-grandfather raised me with horrible stories about how he was evil and only wanted to kill innocent people to suck all their blood out and make himself more powerful." Ericka laughed. "I know now that all ofthat'snot true." Ericka let out a dreamy sigh. "I can understand why you fell in love with him. He's such a sweet, wonderful man. It's no wonder he worked his charm on me. Even if I didn't know it at first, I… well, I zinged too." Ericka felt her cheeks heat up as she remembered how he saved her in the booby-trapped Altantian rubble. "It was hard for me to admit at first. I thought I had to fulfill some legacy that I now see was just so dumb to begin with. But I'm so glad I did admit it. I mean… Ilovehim! I love him with all my heart. And I don't ever want any harm to come to him ever again."
Ericka paused as she looked down at her finger, seeing the small jeweled spider ring that her fiancee had used to propose to her only a few days prior. Ericka gulped as she lifted her hand up to show it off.
"And now… Dracula's asked me to marry him." She furrowed her brows in worry. "I promise I'm not replacing you. Drac doesn't see it that way either. Nobody at the hotel does. And to be honest… I'm actually reallyexcitedto become his wife." She put her hand at the bottom of the painting. "You were so lucky to have Dracula as your zing. You had a beautiful connection with each other, and you had a beautiful daughter as the product of your love. And… I'm so sorry about what happened to you. You deserved to live out the rest of your life as Drac's wife and Mavis's mother. But it didn't happen like that, because of someone who thought the same way my great-grandfather used to think… the same wayIused to think…"
A lone tear slipped down her cheek.
"I know that I said it before, but I love Drac. If he ever had a chance to love again, to find azingagain, I can't even begin to describe how honored I am that it turned out to be me. I feel like I hardly deserve it. But a zing never lies. So I want you to know that I promise to be there for him and make him happy as best as I can. I love him. I always will… no matter what happens to us."
Her lip trembled.
"So, I hope that you can forgive my actions of the past. The persecution you guys faced was so wrong, and the humans are moving on from that. Folks are saying that we're starting a monster-human legacy now," she said, giggling a little. "And I don't really doubt that we'll live up to that." Ericka looked deeply into Martha's blue eyes, finishing out. "So thank you, if you can hear me, for listening. And if not, well… thank you anyway."
She gave the last nod before turning around, ready now to walk away feeling much better about herself. But as she did, she was not expecting to come face to face with Drac himself.
Ericka gasped. "D-Drac!" Her eyes widened and she backed away a little, biting her lip in worry like a child caught in an obvious lie. "Honeyfangs, I - "
Explanations were cut off with a kiss, Drac cupping her cheeks and moving their lips together in sync. Ericka was too stunned by his reaction to properly kiss back just yet, and only managed to press back lightly for just a moment before he pulled away. He caressed her hair, speaking softly and staring deeply into her eyes.
"Oh, honeybat, I'm so sorry…"
Ericka looked at him, bewildered. "Drac, what areyouapologizing for?I'mthe one who shouldn't have been down here in the first place. I mean, this looks like a private room and - "
"Shh, shh, shh," he hushed gently. "It's not your fault. Now that we're going to be married, there shouldn't be any secrets between us. You're always welcome to anything in my room or at the hotel." He pecked her lips and smiled. "I should have shown you the portrait a long time ago. I should have talked to you about Martha instead of having you wait around and not know…"
Now Ericka wanted to reassure him. "Drac, honey, you didn't have to talk about her if you weren't ready."
"But Iamready," he told her. "I've been ready… I was just too scared about whatyouwould think. But now…"
Ericka nibbled at her lip again. "You, uh… you heard most of that, didn't you?"
Drac nodded. "Pretty much every word."
Ericka blushed, and Drac laughed. "Don't be embarrassed, sweetheart. I liked your approach. I'm just sorry that it came to that… I really should have told you about her."
Ericka smiled and hugged Drac. "It's okay. It actually felt good to get all of that out of me. But, since we're here now… do you think that maybe youcouldtell me a little bit about her?"
Dracula glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Only if you want!" Ericka quickly added.
Dracula chuckled. "OfcourseI do. What do you want to know?"
She thought about it, but eventually only said, "Whatever you want to tell."
And so he did.