One Big Happy Family

Chapter 1: Viktor's Dilemma

April 20, 1912: Mystery Spell, Massachusetts

Viktor sat in the den, holding his head in his hands. His three sons were all present, and for once, all quiet. Their father had just finished recounting his horrifying trip from Cherbourg on the doomed ship, Titanic. On the fateful night of April 15, 1912, the ship sank after hitting an iceberg, taking down with it more than fifteen hundred passengers. Among them was Josette Lafoure, Viktor's fiancée and Lorie's mother.

Viktor had attempted to rescue both Josette and Lorie, but was caught up in an impossible scenario, where he had to make a choice between the two. Josette ended up making that choice for him, by going back inside the ship and locking the door behind her. With that sole action, she sealed her fate. Josette chose her own death over her daughter's.

Lorie had already boarded a lifeboat, but when she spotted her mother on Titanic's deck, she jumped into the icy waters trying to swim to her. Of course, the little girl was too weak to overcome such harsh conditions and started to drown. Viktor ended up diving into the Atlantic and rescuing Lorie. Since he had no idea whether or not she would survive her near-drowning, he decided on the spot to transform her: he drained her of all of her blood and fed her his own, turning Lorie Bartholy into a six year-old vampire.

***

Nicolae was standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest, as his father finished his woeful tale. He shook his head in disbelief hearing about Josette's tragic demise. Nicolae had met the beautiful French soprano in 1906, when Viktor first started courting her. Josette had recently given birth to Lorie. Therefore, in essence, the Bartholy brothers had known the little girl that Josette had named Lorelei, since she had been a tiny baby. They had all grown fond of Lorie and of her mother.

"I am so sorry, Father," Nicolae murmured. "This was truly... an unexpected tragedy."

Peter went up to Viktor and placed a hand on one of his shoulders.

"There are no words that can express my grief... Josette was a wonderful person and we will all miss her very much."

"Thank you, Peter," Viktor appreciated his son's compassionate gesture. Even though he and Peter weren't particularly close, Viktor knew how much Peter had cared for Josette —  she had been a kindred spirit to his middle son.

Drogo sat quietly in an armchair, in the corner of the den. He had formulated a rather vicious plan before the Titanic disaster had happened. Drogo hated Viktor and always looked for a way to get back at him... for many reasons. Knowing that Viktor had planned to bring Josette to Mystery Spell and marry her there, prior to turning her into a vampire on their wedding night, Drogo had hoped he could get to her first and transform her himself. In that way, he would have been Josette's maker, depriving Viktor of that special bond and privilege.

But his plan had obviously fallen apart when Josette died on Titanic. Drogo was upset that once again, fate had undermined his careful schemings. Yet, at the same time, Drogo was also saddened by Josette's death. He had held no grudges against her. In fact, there was a point in time when she had almost become Drogo's lover. He didn't know what to say to Viktor. So, instead, he asked:

"So now what? Lorie is a vampire. She will remain six years old for all eternity."

"That's right," Viktor sighed. "I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't transformed her, she would have most likely drowned... or frozen to death."

"We understand, Father," Nicolae reassured him. "You were under a lot of pressure... without the benefit of having much time to decide what to do."

Peter nodded in agreement. "And I'm sure it's what Josette would've wanted you to do, in any event."

"Yes... Josette begged me to save Lorie at all costs. She told me to do whatever was necessary," Viktor replied. "Knowing fully well what that entailed."

"How long do you intend to keep Lorie mesmerized?" Drogo asked.

"I really don't know," Viktor shrugged.

He had already told his sons that when Lorie had first woken up on a lifeboat in her new, vampiric state, she had been overtaken by grief and rage at the loss of her mother. Her first instinct was to attack the humans on board. Fortunately, Viktor was quicker than her. He immediately entered Lorie's mind and mesmerized her into submission. Viktor then forced Lorie to fall asleep... or more like a deep, vegetative state, in order to save not only the passengers, but Lorie too.

"It was a terrible sight," Viktor recalled. "Lorie literally wanted to jump on that poor woman in the lifeboat and rip her throat out. If I hadn't been there to stop her, she would've murdered every person in sight. Which would not have boded well for either one of us once we made it to the Carpathia... our rescue ship."

"This is a new phenomenon for all of us," Nicolae pondered. "None of us have ever dealt with a vampire child."

"I have... a long, long time ago," Viktor said. "And let me tell you... it was not a pleasant experience by any means."

"What did you do... with it?" Drogo asked.

"I had to kill him," Viktor replied. "He was nine years old, and out of control... on a non-stop killing spree."

"You don't think Lorie will do the same thing, do you?" Peter asked, horrified at the prospect.

"Like I told you... I don't know... She's been asleep since I originally mesmerized her," Viktor said wistfully.

"Perhaps... since there are four of us against one little child... we could restrain her more easily," Nicolae suggested.

"That's what I'm hoping, too," Viktor agreed. "It's why I decided to go ahead and bring her here... to Mystery Spell."

"But maybe we should have a plan of action before you wake her up," Peter said.

"Yes... I am open to suggestions," Viktor lifted his head and looked at each of his sons in turn. "Because, I sure as hell don't know how to proceed."

"We could chain her to her bed," Drogo proposed. "That way... she'd at least remain subdued."

"That seems extreme, don't you think?" Nicolae arched an eyebrow.

"I don't know..." Drogo said. "If Lorie's as aggressive as she was on the lifeboat... it might not be a bad idea."

"But we wouldn't want her to wake up and find herself chained by us," Peter interceded. "That would start our new relationship on the wrong foot."

"Perhaps I should just let her sleep for a while longer," Viktor murmured.

"Would it hurt her, in the long run?" Nicolae asked.

"I don't think so... but I can't be completely sure," Viktor replied.

"Well... she's got the rest of eternity to be awake," Drogo said pragmatically. "I say we give ourselves enough time to come up with a doable plan before we wake her up."

And so, the decision was made. Lorie Bartholy would remain in limbo until her vampire family figured out what to do with her.