Two Bats in the Night

Past Meets Present

"Dracula?" Ericka walked up from behind him and laced her arms around his shoulders. She placed a soft kiss on his head then looked up towards Emma, "um, hello?"

And that was all it took for Emma to leap out of her seat and run towards Ericka; however, instead of the hoped-for hug, she received a karate chop to the gut. Of course, this should have been expected given that Great-Grandfather Van Helsing would never have let her know about her twin sister. He'd probably assumed her dead after the fateful night and why tell about something unimportant?

"Sorry," Emma said as she backed away from Ericka. Her chop hadn't hurt her, but she understood the message. "I guess you don't remember or know me."

An uncomfortable pause passed by. Ericka glanced between Dracula and Emma while Emma seemed too overwhelmed by the sight of her sister to say anything. Feeling pressured, Dracula began to speak.

"Well, honey bat, this is Emma," Dracula spoke softly as Ericka stayed behind him, holding to his cloak as if it were her security blanket, "she came last night saying to be your long-lost twin-sister, as well as a few other interesting things."

"I don't have a twin sister," Ericka eventually stammered out slowly, "my Great-Grandfather told me I was an only child. He's my only family."

Emma, still with hope in her eyes, patiently nodded while her sister spoke. She moved back to her seat, placing her hands in her lap in an attempt to look as inviting and kind as possible.

"Well, Ericka, given Great-Grandfather's hate for monsters, I doubt he would have told you about me," Emma smiled just wide enough to show her fangs, "you see, I fanged just before turning three. That's why Great-Grandfather did what he did. I was unable to keep our parents' secret."

Ericka looked aghast as Emma's words sunk in. Was she insinuating that her Great-Grandfather had something to do with them growing apart? With her not being able to remember her parents?

"I don't know what you're talking about," each word painfully drug out from her lips.

Dracula motioned for Ericka to sit next to him then asked a nearby server to bring some breakfast foods. Ericka took refuge under his arm and prepared herself for what this newcomer had to say.

"If you're my twin sister," the question couldn't help but escape from Ericka's lips, "and my Great-Grandfather knew you were a vampire then what did that make our parents? What does that make me? What did my - I mean our - Great-Grandfather have to do with all of this?"

"That's a lot of questions," Emma's smile was now tinged with sadness, "why don't we get some breakfast in our stomachs first? I traveled a long way to see you and am quite famished."

Ericka agreed and soon after the server came with a plate full of pastries as well as glasses of orange juice. They participated in small talk over the quality of the service at the hotel, how delicious the food was, and things of the like. Slowly, they became more comfortable with one another. Then breakfast was over.

"I suppose it's time to talk about the elephant in the room, huh?" Emma attempted a smile and shifted in her seat, "you have a lot of questions. Let's answer them one by one."

"That sounds good," Ericka swiped the crumbs from her face and thought of what she wanted to be answered first, "if we are twins and you are a vampire then why am I not?"

"That's a good question and I can understand why you would be confused about that," Emma smiled and looked towards Ericka, "the simple answer would be that we are three-quarters vampire. But, I'm sure you want me to explain on a deeper level than this, huh?"

With Ericka's consent, Emma continued.

"You see, Great-Grandfather's wife - our Great-Grandmother was a vampire." Emma spoke slowly to ensure every word would seep in, "our grandparents said that she zinged with him and thought her love would be able to open his eyes to let go of his hate towards monsters. But, she never told him she was a vampire. Instead, she used creative ways to pretend to be human. She gave birth to our Grandmother - who logically was half-vampire and half-human. Are you following me so far?"

"Um, yes and no," the shock was difficult to speak through but Ericka was managing since Dracula was by her side.

"Okay, that's better than expected!" Emma spoke light-heartedly, hoping to help soften the blow. "Well, our Grandmother fell in love with a vampire as well. Grandmother gave birth to our father. Since Grandmother was half-vampire and our Grand-father was a full-vampire, our father was three-quarters vampire. Our father met our mother and she was also three-quarters vampire. So, when they gave birth to us, we were the same."

Purposely pausing for a break, Emma looked over Ericka to see how she was handling this news. It seemed to not be settling in quite yet. Perhaps she needed to know how everything played out. How all these vampires lived under her Great-Grandfather's nose.

"You're probably wondering how that all happened, right?" she asked with a sympathetic smile, "well, our Great-Grandmother eventually realized that Great-Grandfather's hatred towards monsters was too strong. So she faked her death at a seemingly early age then stalked behind him to make sure that any monster he caught or tried to kill were saved. She also looked after our Grandparents and parents. They were all really careful to make sure that Great-Grandfather never learned the truth and snuck to him medicines in his food to keep him healthy because, despite his many flaws, they couldn't help but love him."

"Then, why did they leave him and me," Ericka had lots of doubts but was becoming more and more willing to listen.

"It was my fault," Emma could no longer meet Ericka's gaze but looked to the ground instead, "I fanged earlier than they expected and when I did, I was right around Great-Grandfather. I revealed that I was a vampire and once Great-Grandfather learned this, he devised a plan to kill anyone who tried to protect me."

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Hi! It's the author, Ericka Martha Dracula!

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