Chapter Text
The sun was setting and turning the lower half of the sky orange. Fresh air filled the bedroom through the window that had been wide open a couple of minutes ago, which naturally and delicately awakened the count from sleep. On this coming night, Dracula woke up in his father's castle. Before Drac's arrival there for just one day, Vlad tried to make his former room look the best, as if he was going to stay for more than a month.
His bed was covered with a white lace sheet and a matching bedspread. The only thing Dracula accepted being white was the bed linen. And his black satin pajamas were in stark contrast to it. Rubbing his eyes, he assumed that he must have tossed too much during sleep, since the entire bedspread was huddled on the edge of the bed. Without a doubt, it was like that.
Groaning, he stretched out on the mattress with difficulty, feeling a fleeting strain pain pass through his arms and legs. Perhaps he had got too soft in this bed for so many hours, getting used to the comfort. Drac yawned, thus completing all the procedures for returning to wakefulness, and looked puzzled towards the window. Even before going to bed, he had planned out every point of action immediately upon the onset of morning, and now all plans were pushed out of his head. Fortunately, he did not panic after having made sure that Vlad would have woken him up if he had overslept.
As if guessing his son's thoughts, Vlad quietly entered through the slightly open door, to his surprise finding Dracula sitting on the bed in a slight daze.
"Good morning, handsome!" he laughed and sat down next to him, hugging slightly frightened Draс to himself and covering him with the cape. "Well, you see, and you were afraid you'd oversleep!"
"What time is it now?!" He anxiously grabbed his father's fancy vest worn just for the special occasion. Vlad was well ahead of him in readiness, but he didn't have so much reason to be nervous.
"Here, here, hush now..." Vlad gently unhooked his hands from his clothes. "I'm telling you, you didn't oversleep, sweetheart. It's ten minutes past eight. Damn, I've never really had to calm fiances down before a wedding..."
To confirm his words, he pointed Dracula to the pendulum clock, standing inconspicuously in the corner. The young vampire was relieved to be sure that it wasn't worth worrying about time. But this didn't mean that there were not many other reasons mixed into one big thrilling event called a wedding.
"Where's Martha?" he asked another question, the absurdity of which he realized later.
Vlad took a deep breath, gaining the unflappable patience that he should have reserved for the night ahead. "She's at home. And she definitely won't come before you, so relax and dress up! Come on, come on!"
With the help of his own motivation not to keep his bride waiting in case of delay and not without the assistance of his father, Dracula was almost completely ready for the event in twenty minutes or so. He was left to only spin in front of the mirror, examining himself from all sides. But it didn't end there either.
"Do you remember about the mantle?" Vlad interjected, delightedly appraising the result of his, well, their efforts.
"Seriously, Dad?" Drac held out with annoyance. His wedding outfit in particular was approved about a month ago. And no matter how the Count resisted, Vlad did his bit by insisting on a wedding mantle, while Martha convinced her future husband that he would look stunning with a white lace shirtfront around his neck, standing out from the main black color scheme. Dracula thought to himself with a nervous grin that only the crown was missing, but now he was afraid to mention it, so that the words wouldn't be inadvertently fulfilled by someone certain.
"Hey, mouse, what are the excuses?" Vlad defended his opinion, reluctantly breaking away from admiring his son (and himself) in the reflection. "It's just as important for the groom as the veil is for the bride!"
"Really?" he snorted. "Am I really not that perfect for you without this?"
"You're always equally perfect for me, my boy," he fawned to refute, kissing him on the back of the head. "But think about it, why don't you do without this collar for just one, the most important night of your life, huh?" He slightly tugged on his own, with a scarlet lining. "And just look at yourself. Won't one tiiiiny mantle make my little prince even more handsome?"
Before answering, Drac heeded the advice and again studied his appearance a little perplexedly. The suit was quite in keeping with its time and fashion and consisted of a short jacket with two buttons, a vest with discreet patterned embroidery, a shirt and straight trousers, and on his feet shimmered patent-leather pointed shoes, which he especially loved. He imagined himself wearing the mantle and chuckled.
"So, first of all, Dad, I'm not little anymore. And secondly, how many meters is it long, you were saying?"
"Uh, well, don't worry, you won't get tangled up!" Vlad awkwardly supported him. "All you have to do while wearing it is made your way to the altar, stand by it for a while, and then you're free to actually move. That's it!"
Drac pondered his words, and gradually fear began to creep into his soul with renewed vigor. He mentally replayed the entire wedding scenario in his head and felt a little panic-stricken. He had yet to arrive at the castle, which had been chosen in advance for the celebration, and delve into these grandiose scales. Dracula Impaler was far from the last of the vampires, and entering this stage of life was destined to be high-profile and legendary. And he understood long time ago that he wanted it to be like that. If he and Martha had wanted otherwise, Vlad would have met them halfway without objection. But Drac was still worried. Including about his beloved, who had not been given such an impressive amount of attention before. The only thing everyone wanted was for the wedding to be a success.
Vlad didn't miss his open concern. The older vampire checked the clock again, reminding himself that the carriage would be ready for departure soon. Lifting his son's chin, he met his lost eyes.
"Hey, darling, relax for now, okay? I'm worried a bit like you. You know, in a way, this is my first time too..." Seeing the misunderstanding, he quickly explained. "You are my only son, who has the only wedding today, come on. You know your sister, it's more likely that hell freezes over than she will marry someone. So this wedding is one of the most unique events in my life."
Drac barely had time to nod in agreement when there was an insistent knock on the door. They exchanged glances, Vlad smiled at him once more to cheer him up in the last official minutes at his family home. After that, Dracula finally was to move into their new castle with Martha, a small one, but their own.
"The carriage is ready, sir. We can leave right now..."
"Wait for us there, Jen!" Vlad responded lively and took Drac by the hand. "Well, are we ready?"
"Yes..." He managed to pull out an answer, although his voice traitorously shrank. His father let go of his hand, knowing that holding it too long wouldn't do any good, and opened the door for him to let him go ahead.
"Come on, all the guests are waiting only for us and Martha! It will be very good if we arrive there a couple of hours earlier."
"Wait, will Lydia be there?" Drac remembered the question that was on his tongue.
"Who knows?" Vlad shrugged, not looking upset about his daughter's possible absence. "But I'm with you. I will always be with you."
Only a few hours remained until the most crucial moment. Dracula was ready to withstand all conversations with guests, acquaintances and not so much, to hear a ton of bad jokes from friends and prevent his father from mocking them, try not to get stressed out, for just to go through it with her.
It seemed that all the issues had been settled, and the father and son had already boarded a carriage heading to one of the most remote and safe places in Transylvania, where weddings of immortal lovers had been held for many centuries in a row. Dracula regularly had a shiver down his spine as soon as he returned to the idea that he would soon see his zing and take her as his wife.