The Final Bride of Dracula

Chapter Fourteen

Marscha sat at the foot of Alandra's bed.

"May I ask a question?"

Alandra looked up from what she was going. "Go ahead."

"If you hate it so much here, why have you stop trying to escape?"

Silence, it covered the room like a heavy quilt. Alandra set down the boot she had been polishing.

Her mouth moved up and down like she want to speak, but couldn't find the words. Confusion clouded her features as she shook her head.

"I... I'm afraid I cannot answer."

With that she ushered Marscha out of the room before shutting the oak door.

Alandra leaned her head against the door.

Her body felt heavy as she felt a sadness clump in her throat. Why had she stoped her futile attempts to leave?

Why had she decided killing all of the vampires was a ridiculous notion?

That was her job. Kill everything unnatural, make sure it stayed far away.

What had drastically changed her views?

Was it the way most of the vampires treated human life as a gentle beautiful thing? Was it the way that they had respected her for her courage to stand up to the man that gave them a bad name?

Perhaps it was the way they thought about everything. They carefully chose the words before they spoke. They realised that every thing they did would cause something to happen. Vampires were wise creatures.

She felt her stomach churn, she had killed many of them. Alandra simply killed them because they were out of the norm.

Did this make her the monster?

Alandra stood up from the ground and walked to her window. She pulled back the heavy curtains to watch the sun rise.

----

Marscha was walking down the hall a scowl on her face. Her eyes glued to the ground she wasn't watching where she was walking and plowed straight into someone. It knocked her flat on the ground.

"I'm sorry." She grumbled. She looked up to see Dracula standing in front of her. He held a wrapped package and she noticed his hand stuck out to help her up.

She took it with a thanks.

"My apologies master, I wasn't looking."

He sighed. "It's alright." She watched as he handed her the package.

She took it and looked up.

"Who?"

"Originally, it was for Alandra but.." he began, his eyes raked over her body.

"I feel like someone else might appreciate it more."

"And who would that be?" Marscha asked tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You. I must be going." Dracula tipped his head leaving a baffled Marscha in the middle of the hall.

She wanted to call out a thank you but as she turned he had vanished.

Marscha hurried to her room.

Once the door was closed she quickly removed the twine holding the paper tight around the box. She unwrapped the brown paper and looked at the box. Removing its lid she looked in its contents.

It was an emerald cloak, she pulled it out of the box to marvel at its beauty.

As she held it up in the light she could see a pattern of vines crawling up the sides and over the hood.

A black fur lined the insides of the material. Marscha ran her hands along it, feeling it bristle beneath her finger tips. She let a smile cross her face. Never in her life, which was a very long one by the way, had she received a gift so extravagant. Or ever received one from Vlad Dracula.

She slipped on the cloak, as she was smaller than its intended recipient, it covered her entire body. It warmer her nicely in this cold castle. Even though she was a member of the undead she always had some form of coat, or shawl. She positively couldn't stand the cold.

Why this was a bad day turned wonderful for her.