Light in the Dark (Young Dracula) 1

Ch. 4: SlayTime TV

"What do you mean your dad wants help making a movie?" Anna asked. 

"He's gotten hooked on television and now he wants to make his own." Vlad explained. 

"And my brothers are trying to enter a film contest to get on tv and they gave the Count the idea." Robin added. 

"And he wants our help?" Anna asked. 

"We're the only people he knows and he doesn't need to pay us." Vlad said.

Dracula sat in his homemade director's chair and forced everyone to wear hats with their jobs written on them. "Why do I have to do this stupid job anyway?" Ingrid asked, pointing to her hat that said "makeup". 

"Because we have camera men and makeup girls." Dracula replied into a record horn which he was using as a megaphone. 

"Script-editing lackey, come here." He said to Anna and beckoned her with his finger. She walked up and stood next to him. He leaned in close to her. "Right, let's run through the script. So, Renfield enters with a big bowl of blood-" 

"A big cream cake." Anna corrected him. 

"And he trips on a carelessly abandoned coffin lid." He continued. 

"A skateboard." Anna corrected him again. 

"With hilarious results. Right, I think we're ready for a take. Makeup girl." He finished and Ingrid shuffled up to Renfield. He awaited his makeup happily but she shoved the large powder puff in his face which knocked him back. His foot hit the skateboard, he tossed his tray of cream up, and he fell back into the bookcase. Books fell onto his head as he laid on the floor. The finishing touch was the cream tray coming down and hitting him in the face. "Ingrid!" Dracula shouted into his 'megaphone'. 

"Yes daddy." She replied condescendingly. 

"You and I are going to have to have a long frank discussion about job satisfaction. After you've cleaned up this mess." He told her, putting down his megaphone. 

"Okay dad." She replied in the same tone and walked over to the books, picking one up. "What's this? 'Top secret. This diary belongs to Magda Westenra.'" Ingrid read. 

"That's your mother's private diary. Give it to me." Dracula said and shot up quickly from his seat. He took it from her hands and read. "'Private! This means you Count-y. If I ever find out you've read this, I will twist your... until you' what?! I think maybe we should honor your mother's privacy." He read and closed the book, going back to his chair. 

"Nah." Ingrid and Vlad both said. 

"Let me read it dad, I'll find a good bit." Ingrid said and took the book back. "'July 7th 1994, The count is driving me mad. He is so s*xist, he ignores our beautiful, brilliant daughter and spends all his time with Vladimir. He say women just don't have what it takes to be successful vampires. But I will show him. I will swap Vladimir with a baby from the boring British family who are staying in the village. They will take him far away to Britain and the count will bring their baby up as his own. Then we will see who's got what it takes.'" Ingrid read and Vlad grew uneasy. Robin had just told him of their stay in Transylvania when he was a baby. 

"Mistress Magda always enjoys a good laugh." Renfield said while laughing. The Count made him stop. 

"Vlad my boy.. you're not my boy?!" He stood and looked to Vlad. 

"I knew it!" Robin said repeatedly. "I was on holiday in Transylvania twelve years ago. I must be your son." He said and Anna rolled her eyes. Something was wrong. It didn't make sense to her.