Work Text:
“Are you sure you’ll be okay, dearest?” Dracula, lord of all vampires, king of the night, asks as he fidgets nervously.
“We’ll be just fine, love.” Lisa reassures, smoothing out a wrinkle on his cloak, “If anything, I have the mirror, you needn’t worry.
Two months after their son had been born in their little cottage, and already there was trouble at the castle. Apparently, some recently fledge vampire decided he was strong enough to try and take over the castle while Dracula was gone.
And had gotten beheaded trying.
However, there was some damage done to the lower levels, and the soldiers insisted that Dracula come and decide whether or not to go to war with the vampire noble who had turned the man, so after little Adrian was put to bed, Dracula prepared to leave.
“Alright, I’ll be on my way then.” he kisses her cheek, shortly nuzzling it, “I’ll be as quick as I can, I promise.”
“I know, Vlad.” she nods. He gives her one more kiss, before heading through the mirror, looking back a couple of times as if to make sure his wife is still standing there.
As the mirror breaks apart, fragments tucking themselves away neatly, Lisa sighs, returning to her desk.
What to do, oh what to do…
Her year and a half with the love of her life had certainly been exciting, and entertaining, but alas, she was human. She longed for the company of others, now more than ever. She wished for her family, who had died of plague before she had even reached double digits. She wished for friends, ones who would not cast her out and abandon her once they learned of her profession.
She groans, scolding herself and doubling down on her work. Being a doctor in these times came with sacrifices, and moping over them wouldn’t do any good. So she buried herself in a book on the recreational uses of fungi and tried to forget all about it.
… until a knock came at the door. Bewildered, she looked up from the texts and turned towards the door. Who on earth would be awake at this time of night? Was there an emergency of some sort?
She stands up just as there’s another knock, “Coming!” she calls, thanking whatever higher power there may be that Adrian was a heavy sleeper.
Lisa opened the door, not to be met by a patient or a messenger, but by a tall, shirtless vampire with crazy red hair.
“Godbrand?” she blinks, confused.
“Good evening, my Lady.” he greets, bowing his head slightly, “Is Lord Dracula home?”
She shakes her head, “No, you just missed him. If you need him, he just went-”
“No, no, no.” Godbrand shook his head next, putting up a hand, “I just came to drop this off.” he picks up a shield that Lisa just now notices, and holds it out to her. It’s absolutely beautiful, crafted from a fine red wood, with the silhouette of wolves decorating the rim and with runes carved into the metal.
She glances between Godbrand and the shield, “I… don’t understand.”
“It’s for the baby.” he says, “You know, like a… gift of sorts.”
“Oh…” she smiles, taking the shield, “How thoughtful of you, Godbrand. I’m sure Adrian and Vlad will love it.”
He gives a half smile, shrugging, “Yeah.” and lets go of the shield.
Immediately, the full weight of the shield caused Lisa to start tilting towards the ground, but before both she and the shield hit the floor, Godbrand grabbed it.
“Shit.” he murmurs, “Sorry, forgot it might be a bit too heavy for you.” he stands straight back up, taking the shield from her, “Want me to… bring it inside for you?”
“That’d be just fine.” she steps to the side, gratefully allowing him to step inside, “You can set it down next to the couch for now.”
Godbrand hums in acknowledgement, doing as told and setting it down, “Well,” he sighs, turning back to her, “I’ll be on my way then.”
Lisa frowns, “So soon?”
“Well, I mean… you know,” Godbrand stumbles over his words, “I figure you may not be comfortable with a, vampire such as I being around while your husband is away.”
“Nonsense.” she insists, “I can handle myself. Now, would you like some tea?”
Vlad’s eyes narrow as he observes the damage. Very little in terms of structural integrity, but annoying in the sense that his horses were now all scattered around the surrounding forest. He sighed, thinking of his poor horses as the soldier next to him gave his seemingly endless reports of the incident.
All he could think about was wanting to be home in bed, with his child laying on his chest and wife by his side.
He was so worried about them… Lisa and Adrian…
He wondered what they were up to right now...
“And so after I get done disinfecting and re-bandaging the stump, the man asks me when his hand is going to grow back!”
“You’re kidding me!” Godbrand’s gasps, taking another sip of his tea as he listens.
“I wish I were! Turns out the man thought that your body parts grow back, and his reasoning was that since fingernails grow back after they fall off, why not a hand?”
The two burst out laughing, Godbrand banging his fist on the table as Lisa nearly doubles over, holding her gut.
“Christ, wait till the boys back home hear this one!” he wipes a blood tear, catching his breath, “Lisa, you are a riot!”
“Best part about being a doctor is the stories you get.” she says, taking a sip, “What about you? My husband says you go out on your boats quite a lot, you must have lots of stories about your seafaring.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.” he chuckles, reclining back, “I practically live on them. This one time-” suddenly, the sounds of a baby fussing and crying interrupted their conversation.
“Oh dear.” Lisa said as she stood, “One moment please.” she tells her guest, rushing up the stairs to the loft and smiling as she sees Adrian.
“Hello, love.” she coos as she lifts him up, rocking him as she walks back down the stairs, “Did you have a good nap?”
Adrian cuddles against her, yawning and squirming in her arms. He tilts his head as he spies Godbrand, who stares back with the same sort of curiosity.
“Well, here he is.” Lisa beams, “The man of the hour.”
Godbrand hums as he leans forward, putting his hand to his chin in thought as he inspects the dhampir.
“Quite the fangs he’s got.” he comments, sticking a finger in the baby’s mouth and gently forcing it open to get a better look, “Didn’t think they’d be so prominent.”
“It was quite the surprise to us as well.” Lisa chuckles.
“Yeah… you know, he could almost pass for a vampire.” he continues, when just as abruptly as before, a knock comes from the door.
It’s such a surprise, that it takes Lisa a moment to respond, “Pardon me, can you hold him for a moment?” she says as she unthinkingly places Adrian in Godbrand’s hands and goes to the door.
This time, three vampires stand before her.
“Good evening.” Sharma bows, with Cho and Raman following suit, “I hope we did not disturb you.”
“No, not at all!” she smiles happily, “Come right in, would any of you like tea?”
Raman looks around the house as she steps in, “How kind of-”
“What are you doing here!?” Cho hisses, and they all follow her glare to Godbrand.
Godbrand stares wide-eyed at the three, holding Adrian away from him like he’s holding a bag of rotting vegetables, “I could ask you the same thing.” he snarls.
“I asked you first.” Cho snapped back, putting her hands on her hip.
Godbrand looks at the other two vampires, who give him the same glaring look, and over to Lisa as she takes her baby back, before answering, “I came to give the lady a gift.” he sighs, “And she invited me to stay. Your turn.”
“We came bearing gifts as well.” Raman says matter of factly.
Godbrand rolls his eyes, “How generous of you.” he murmurs, voice dripping with venom.
“Are we not allowed to celebrate the Prince’s birth?” Sharma smirks, “Or perhaps, are you just mad this means your plan to weasel your way into Dracula’s good graces have failed?”
Judging by the vein bulging out of Godbrand’s forehead, he doesn’t seem to take very kindly to this, “How dare you insinuate-!”
Lisa loudly clears her throat, and the bickering ceases.
“Now then…” she says, taking her seat once more, “Where were we?”
The noble was extremely apologetic, stupid as well. He made a show of offering to pay for the damages and repeated much too many times how disappointed he was in his fledgeling. Dracula was smarter than that.
The vile thing had to have learned it’s hatred for him somewhere.
God, as annoying as it would be to have someone ranting in his face about how awful he was, Dracula would prefer that to this poor boot-kissing act.
“Here, my Lady.” Cho slides a small, wooden box with beautiful lettering and scenery painted across it’s lid across the table, “In my country, the umbilical cord and the baby’s health is related, so it is kept for safekeeping in these boxes. I know western tradition has the umbilical cord disposed of, but I figured you can place the rest of it when it falls off in here.”
“Oh, Cho, this is beautiful!” Lisa turns the box in her hands, observing each delicate stroke of ink as Adrian sits on her lap, “You know, we actually do still have Adrian’s cord.”
Cho’s face lit up, “Really?”
“Yes, yes! Vlad and I kept it so we could study it, but this will be a perfect place to put it once we’re done.” she assures.
“Speaking of health,” Sharma speaks up, placing a large vial of something on the table, “I’m aware massages and oils are necessary for a mother and her child’s health.”
“Oh?” Lisa smiles kindly, though she’s unsure of what he’s talking about, “It looks expensive.”
“Only the best for the Lady.” he states proudly.
“Indeed.” Raman agrees, taking out a jar and placing it beside his, “Here, this tonic should be good for his health as well.”
“What’s in it?” Lisa asks as she picks it up, removing the lid and sniffing the contents.
“Nothing unusual.” Raman says, “Just honey, ghee, and gold.”
Lisa’s unable to hide the look of shock on her face, “Gold?”
“Indeed. It will be good for his developing mind. His skin as well.”
All of a sudden, Cho snickers, trying and failing to hide her giggles behind her hand, “Between Sharma’s oils and Raman’s tonic, your babe will have the finest skin is all of Wallachia!”
The others, Godbrand included, all joined in her amusement. Adrian looks up at the giggling adults, before promptly spitting up.
“Oh dear.” Lisa gasps, quickly taking a kerchief and wiping his mouth. As she goes to toss it into the hamper, she notices the vampires all staring at him, with what could only be described as pure horror on their faces.
“What… what was that...?” Godbrand stutters.
“Should we call Dracula for you?” Sharma asks, slight panic in his voice, “Should we fetch water? Something from your medicine cabinet?”
Lisa stares at them for a moment, when it suddenly clicks, “Don’t worry, it’s normal.” she reassures, using her gentle doctor voice.
“That was anything but normal!” Godbrand exclaims, “The kid just… I don’t know, just did that!” he motions his hands wildly at said kid.
“It’s just milk is all.” Lisa explains as she wipes the remaining drool from Adrian’s face, “Spitting up is completely normal for human infants, and he’s got that perk from my side.”
Collectively, the vampires all sigh heavily in relief.
“However, it’s nice to know Adrian will have other adults looking out for him where I can’t.” she sighs, a melancholy look in her eyes.
The vampires all look at each other, each sharing the same look of awkwardness and unsureness.
Godbrand coughs, “Well… you know, I heard Dragoslav and Zufall were in the area as well.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Raman nods.
“Is that so?” Lisa says,immediately perking up, “I suppose it’d be very rude of me to not invite them over when you all are here. That’s how curses start, you know.” she jests, “Would any of you care to hold Adrian while I contact them?”
Finally.
Finally, finally , finally , he was done.
Paperwork was sorted out, orders had been given, punishments decided.
Dracula was so ready to just go home and nap for the next week.
As he stepped through the mirror, he sighed happily, taking a deep breath and feeling the tension melt from his shoulders.
Then, his ears pick up on multiple voices out in the living room.
Lisa smiles as she sits back in the loveseat, watching the vampires which gathered around Adrian as he sits on the floor, teething on his toys. She glances over at the gifts which have joined the growing pile of presents, a small potted tree from Zufall, and a bundle of thorns tied with red ribbon from Dragoslav, who also gave the instruction to tied them to the cradle to ward off any potential spells.
“Has he shown an appetite for blood yet?” Dragoslav inquires.
“Well, I’m sure Vlad has told you I had to drink animal blood during the pregnancy.” Lisa explains, “We tried giving him rabbit’s and goat blood, but he seems to prefer milk.”
“Perhaps deer blood?” Zufall suggests, “I’ve heard human meat supposedly tastes like veal, perhaps there is similarity between the two.”
“Well whatever you do, don’t give him pigs blood.” Godbrand comments, “Trust me, you don’t want to risk it.”
“I’ll… take your word for it.” she nods, smiling politely. After a bit more chat about Adrian’s sleeping habits and his physical nature so far and whatnot, Zufall and Dragoslav soon drift back to the vampire generals, to join them in conversation and observation about the child.
“He seems to be quite popular, doesn’t he?” Godbrand smirks, resting an arm on the back of the chair.
“Yes, it’s very good.” she says as she watches Cho take one of her hair sticks out of her bun, jingling the end above Adrian. Adrian giggles and reaches for it, making grabby hands.
“I was worried he’d have trouble fitting in with your lot.” Lisa sighs, picking up her tea cup.
“Yeah, you were saying earlier.” he hums.
“I already know that my people will give him a lot of trouble, I know I won’t be able to protect him…” she leans her head back, shutting her eyes, “It makes me feel a little better, to know at least one side of his heritage will make him feel welcome.”
Godbrand looks over to her, silent.
“It’s gonna be so hard for him, Godbrand, and it scares the hell out of me.” when she opens her eyes, she notices a contemplating look on Godbrand’s face. It almost looks out of place on him.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” he says after a moment, “With you guys as his parents, he’ll have a good head on his shoulders, and he'll be strong enough to take on anything.”
“Oh?” she grins, as if encouraging him to go on.
“You know, we vikings have a saying. ‘Everyone has some friend, even among his enemies’. There’s no doubt, he’ll have people who despise his blood on both sides, but… I think it also means double to opportunity for him to find where he belongs among people.”
“That… that’s very wise of you, Godbrand.” she says, a bit surprised.
“Think you could tell that to your husband?” he chuckles, “Because often times he acts like I got nothing up there. I mean, no offense, but sometimes the guy acts like he’s got a stick up his-
“ Ahem. ”
Everyone in the room looks towards the dark voice to see Dracula, standing in the doorway of the lab and looking very, very unamused.
“What. Is going. On?” he snarls, voice low and dripping with venom, his eyes glowing red with rage.
The vampires all straighten up, taking a couple of steps back from the infant, who begins to whine, missing the attention.
“Vlad.” Lisa stands and rushes over to her husband, placing her hands on his chest as if to prevent him from charging forward. Before she can get another word in, he grabs her hands, looking her over.
“Lisa! Where did they hurt you, dearest? What did they do to you?” he frets, worry lines clear as day on his face.
“Vlad, they haven’t done anything!” she pleads, “They came to bring gifts, nothing more! In fact, I was the one who invited them to stay for tea!”
Vlad stares at her in silence, and then gently picks her up and puts her aside. Lisa worries at her bottoms lip as he strides towards the generals, all of whom cower and tense. It’s like watching mice trying to make themselves small to the eyes of a cat.
Without a word, he bends over and picks up Adrian, patting his head as he babbles and clings to his father.
He sighs deeply, “Thank you, for the gifts.” he speaks loud and clear, like issuing a report, “It is very late, and my wife is human and needs her rest. I trust you to see yourselves out.”
The last part was very clearly a threat disguised as a polite farewell, for before Lisa could even blink and make sense of what just happened, the front door is pulled shut, and she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
Dracula turns to her, with the look in his eyes that shouts “We need to talk” and makes her feel like a teen about to receive a lecture from and old hag.
“Lisa, my sun, my love, my everything.” he says, walking back to her side, “What on Earth were you thinking?”
“I’m not sure, Vlad. What was I thinking when I walked into your castle?”
“Lisa, this isn’t the same!” he exclaims, “You and Adrian were all alone, in a room full of vampires! Politically important ones! Do you have any idea what they could have done to you!?”
“Vlad, please.” she scoffs as she goes to the table, gathering the cups and plates, “If they were that stupid, they wouldn’t be in your council.”
Adrian coos and tries to climb up his father shoulder’s, only to be held in place.
Vlad grumbles under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Lisa, these parasites are conniving, and are willing to take any risk if they think it means serving their own agenda.”
“Yes, all vampires are no-good villains and all humans are selfish fools.” she drops the glassware into the sink a little harder than she meant to, throwing her hands up, “So why don’t we all take the Castle to the mountains and lock ourselves in the higher levels, that will keep us safe, right?”
“Lisa, I-”
“Because you were so happy by yourself in the middle of nowhere. No wait, I have a better idea. How about a secluded island in the middle of the ocean.”
“Lisa.”
“What?”
Dracula opens his mouth to talk, holding it like that for a few moments, before shutting it.
“Nothing to say?” Lisa crosses her arms.
“I… I just…” Dracula slumps over, seemingly unaware of Adrian pulling on his raven hair, “I worry… Lisa, I’ve seen what humans are capable of, what vampires can do as well. You must understand, I know I can hold my own against the cruelties of the world, but to lose you or Adrian, to see you hurt… I don’t know if I could handle that.”
“...Oh Vlad.” she sighs, placing a hand on his cheek, “I know you worry, I worry too, believe me I do. I just have this crazy idea that if you have better expectations of people then maybe, just maybe, they’d want to prove they can live up to them.”
Vlad looks into her eyes, shining, twinkling with such optimism, that it’s contagious.
“Alright…” he nods, conceding, “But from now on I want you to tell me before anyone comes in.”
“Fair enough.” she yawns, rubbing her eyes.
“Now come on.” he grabs her shoulder, urging her up the stairs, “We’ve had quite the exciting day, I think it’s time to rest.”
“Nooooo, just a little longer.” she whined, but still pulled her dress over her head, leaving herself in just her small clothes. Not bothering to put on pajamas, she flopped onto the bed. Vlad walked to the opposite side, unclipping his cape and letting gravity remove it from his shoulders before laying down, his son lying on his chest.
“I love you.” he murmured like a lovesick boy, watching her drift off to sleep lovingly.
“Love you too…” Lisa whispers, heart slowing down, body relaxing as she fell into slumber.
Adrian coos, grabbing a button on his father’s shirt and pulling at it. He looked up as his father looked to him, smiling, “You’re mother is quite the handful.”
He responded by blowing spit bubbles.