A Vampire Thing

Chapter Eleven

Ingrid sat down comfortably in her chair at the dining table. It took her a minute to notice that her brother and father were not there. Weren't they eating breakfast? Perhaps they were both in the kitchen.

She waited for a moment, then Ingrid's throat suddenly felt like it was full of thorns, she began coughing. Holding her hand to her mouth, she moved it away to see ash resting on her palm. She'd just coughed up ash. That was weird

"Vlad?" She said, her voice slightly croaky, she shouted a little, "You there?!"

All of a sudden, Vlad sped into the room at at least a hundred miles an hour and crashed into the back of her chair. She jumped in fright and then blushed sheepishly.

"Ingrid!" He rubbed his now sore arm and then he was instantly pulling her up out of her chair, "Are you alright?! Blood and garlic! You disappeared! We thought you were ash!"

Ingrid stared at him, confused and bewildered. She stood like a puppet as Vlad grasped onto her arms and held her out in front of him.

"Talk to me! Are you alright?" Vlad looked genuinely worried. She wondered if he'd found out about the council asking her to take him to them. That must have been it.

"I'm alright- I'm sorry I didn't tell you straight away. The council...." She spoke quickly, explaining herself as Vlad tightened his grip on her arm, "They wanted me to bring you to them- to dust you- they were going to trade-"

Vlad cut his sister off, he softly said, "That was over a year ago."

Ingrid watched his mouth move, but she didn't understand what was coming out of it. A year ago? No. It happened yesterday.

"You've lost your memory, haven't you!" Vlad lowered her back into the chair. You were staked, and I saved you. But then you had this coughing fit and just sort of disappeared. It's... It's hard to explain."

"Wait," Ingrid put her hands on the table, digging her fingers into the varnished wood, "Did Erin stake me?"

Vlad's voice cracked a little, it obviously wasn't something he wanted to talk about, "Yeah, Erin staked you."

"I dreamt it. Or at least, I thought it was a dream. I woke... I woke up in my coffin... it had all been a dream... then you told me to come down here for breakfast." Ingrid was trying to piece this together.

Vlad sat down in the seat opposite her and leant over the table, hands folded, "Tell me what happened in your dream."

~

Wolfie opened the wooden doors, he couldn't do it. It wasn't exactly a very nice thing to stand guard when the person you were guarding was crying.

When he heard the doors creak open, Will stood up and ran inside the castle, he didn't even glance at Wolfie, he just looked around the entrance room desperately.

Wolfie watched him cautiously, "She vanished."

Will swerved around to face Wolfie and bent down, grabbing the werewolf's shoulders, "What do you mean?"

Wolfie shrugged, "She was there," He nodded his head to where Ingrid had been, "Then she wasn't. Vanished."

"No," Will shook his head, "She's still here. I'd know if she wasn't."

Wolfie didn't know what that meant, but it reassured him slightly and he didn't feel as upset. He still kept a close eye on Will, following him up the stairs.

~

Vlad looked Ingrid in the eye when she'd finished telling him about her dream, "All that stuff. It happened. It's not a dream."

Ingrid's face told Vlad that she didn't believe him. He raised his eyebrows at her, "I look older, right? That can't happen overnight. And, did you notice that we're not at Garside anymore?"

Ingrid quickly stood up and stepped around in a circle, "I didn't. It looks the same... different furniture though."

"Yeah, I guess Dad liked it for the similarities."

"So it all happened? Everything?"

Vlad nodded. He really felt for his sister. All the memories and realisations that must have been hitting her right at that moment. He stood up, went to her side and hugged her.

Ingrid didn't know if she was crying because she was happy or because she was sad. Either way, she felt the red tears flowing down her cheeks. So much had happened, so many important events, so many terrible events, some of the best moments in her unlife. Yet they all felt like a dream.

Will burst into the dining room and stood frozen in the doorway, staring at her. He looked both relieved and shocked, unsure of what he should do.

Ingrid felt her face light up. She knew she was crying tears of happiness. It didn't matter that he had betrayed her. To Ingrid, it had all been a dream. She had missed Will ever since he'd been dusted in Stokely and now she had him back.

She sped to Will, embraced him, and decided that she would never let him go.