Chapter Text
The first thing she registers is the smoke.
Smoke, with its acrid scent that stings at her nose and makes her choke. It engulfs part of the room in thick, cloudy plumes. She takes a few steps back in instinct, surprise and confusion gripping at her. Thankfully, she isn't alone. The shape of a man becomes apparent as it reaches her and stands by her side in a protective manner. Her eyes widen when she sees who it is.
It's Dracula!
But, from the look of it, he himself didn't look to be the danger in this situation. He wore an expression of worry as he looked from her to the bundle she was holding.
She looked down at her arms, surprised to find that the bundle was actually a child - the same child she had seen in the dream-like vision that had crossed her mind when trying to eliminate Dracula under the sea. Something within her told her that it was hers, despite the fact that she didn't look much like her at all, and the paternal concern that was in Dracula’s eyes told her that it was his too. She shook her head in shock - a child with Dracula? She took a closer look at the baby's features. It was clear that her father had the upper hand when it came to genetics - the dark, jet black hair stood in wispy tufts atop the girl's head, her eyes glimmering with the same blue irises. All in all, the baby was beautiful. Who knew the Lord of Darkness could bear such an adorable descendant.
But her attention on the baby was drawn away when the reason for the fear became apparent. Aside from the smoke, there was a chorus of angry shouting from outside. A mob had converged outside the building, with dozens of men and women with torches and pitchforks. Several managed to break open the glass windows from downstairs and throw the flame-lit torches inside. The fire began to spread more rapidly, with the flames reaching into the room, burning down the beams from the ceiling and alighting the curtains. Fear began to grip at her more fiercely than ever as the shouts of the angry mob on the outside rose up louder and more aggravated. Dracula seemed to know that there were critical matters at hand as well. There was a certain sense of urgency in his eyes. She looked back up at him as he caressed his cool hand on her cheek.
"Go, hide," he whispered, a hint of urgency present in his tone. He gestured outside the window where the angry mob was. "I'll take care of this."
There was worry in his eyes, but he gave her a reassuring squeeze on the hand. She nodded, trusting him to protect her from the danger, and, slowly, their fingertips gently brushed away from each other.
He took off down the fiery staircase whilst she, clutching the baby in her arms, began to back away from the windows and doing her best to avert any flaming furniture. She could faintly hear Dracula down below attempting to calm the rioting crowd, explaining that he was not a threat. She did not hear the rest, however, when a figure suddenly burst into the room, a sharp wooden stake in hand.
He looked fiercely at her, a furious expression on his face. "Vampire!" He hissed, raising the weapon.
Vampire?
Within a second the figure had reached her and an agonizing pain shot through her chest. She cried out in terror, legs collapsing beneath her as she struggled to breathe. She registered the flames licking ever more closely than ever, saw the figure retreat from the room and felt a warm pool of blood seep through her clothes in dark crimson streams. Frantic footsteps raced up the stairs and a new figure leaned over her - the one of Drac.
She barely caught a glimpse of him through her bleary, fading vision as he kneeled beside her, cradling her body to him as violent sobs seized him.
Then all was silent.
Ericka jolted awake, heart racing, and body trembling. For a moment she couldn't seem to get her breath; she stared at the ceiling above, trying to catch her breath as she remembered where she was. The walls of her room. The clock on the nightstand seemed to click in sync with her beating heart. She turned to look at it. It was eleven thirty. She was expected for a date at precisely midnight, as she had suggested, and she couldn’t be late. Swinging herself out of the cot, she stretched her limbs and prepared to do herself up, ignoring the small feeling inside her that hoped he would find her appealing.
Aboard the ship, in the cantina, there was a romantically lit restaurant. The ship’s fish crew members played music in a mariachi band and assisted in serving drinks.
Entering from opposite ends of the restaurant, Ericka and Dracula approached each other. She wore a simple jumpsuit-type outfit that was white and had sunflower patterns on it. Drac had a dark orange-and-black Hawaiian shirt with a simple pair of white slacks. He smiled as she approached.
“You look ravishing ,” he complimented.
“Oh!” Ericka said with a blush as she adjusted the sunflower floret that was behind her ear. "Thank you."
In a gentlemanly fashion, Dracula used his magic to pull out a chair for her and then make her comfortable. They sat in a short silence for a moment, Drac’s suave smile turning into a more nervous expression as he now came to the realization that he finally had Ericka to himself. How should he break the ice?
Clearing his throat, he began. “So… eh… does Captain Ericka have a last name?”
Ericka suddenly became nervous. Last name? Of all questions, a last name? She blurted out the first things she saw as a fish waiter brought over their food. “Guacamole!”
Dracula raised an eyebrow. “Ericka Guacamole?” he said, considering the name aloud. “That’s so… international.”
“No,” she giggled. “It’s guacamole for us to share.” And now it was time to make her move. Distracting Drac, she called attention to the full moon. He turned around, and for the moment that he sat considering the moon in the sky, she poured an entire bottle of concentrated garlic oil in the guac. It should be able to do the trick, after all, since her great-grandfather had taught her that all vampires are supposed to be intolerable to garlic.
“Mmmm,” she hummed as he turned around to face her again. “The food here is to die for.” Taking a chip from the basket, she dunked it in the guacamole and fed it to him. He hummed in contentment at the flavor, and before he could say anything she shoved two, four, seven more guac-loaded chips straight down his throat. The vampire’s mouth was loaded, nearly choking as he chewed it up and swallowed it all down.
“Holy moly… that was a lot of guacamole!” Drac said jokingly.
Ericka stared at him, trying to hide her confusion. Wasn’t he supposed to be sick by now? “Are you… feeling alright?”
Dracula nodded. “Totally fine. Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” she said, brushing it off.
Just then, a strange feeling did begin to grip at Drac. Waves of discomfort swarmed in his stomach in an uncomfortable manner and he clutched at his abdomen in slight pain.
“Ohhh,” he groaned. “There, uh, must have been garlic in the guacamole…”
Ericka’s eyes lit up. “Is that deadly for you?”
“No, no, no…” Drac tried to reassure through gritted teeth and struggling with words. “It’s just… I’m… garlic… intolerant …”
With that, a sort of gas began to concentrate in his stomach, and then he let out a loud toot that was accompanied by a rather atrocious smell. Ericka blinked rapidly as she registered what just happened. A red flush crept into Dracula’s cheeks and he smiled awkwardly. “Eh heh… was that you ?”
Ericka rolled her eyes, turned away from him, and put her head on her arm with an angry pout. That didn’t work. How was she supposed to get rid of him now? As she thought through some other ideas, Dracula’s accented voice timidly broke through the thick silence that had formed between them.
“Please forgive me,” he said. “I’m just very nervous. You see, I haven’t had a date since… well, since my wife died.” He paused awkwardly and looked down.
Wife? This captured Ericka’s attention. Something suddenly came to her mind - the girl from the dream… her dark hair and blue eyes that resemble her father’s. Was she the same girl that had accompanied him now on the ship? “Your daughter… she wouldn’t happened to have been a baby when that happened… would she?” Ericka asked tentatively.
Dracula turned back to look at her with wide, surprised eyes. “Yes…” he began. “How did you know?”
How did she know? “Oh… uh… you made it sound as though it was a long time ago. But then again, I guess a long time ago for humans may not be the same for a long time ago for vampires.”
Dracula shrugged. “Yeah, I guess,” he agreed. “But yes, I do consider it a long time ago. It was a challenge to be a single dad, but…” he sighed, “I did the best I could for my Mavis.”
Ericka felt pity towards the man. For the girl to not have grown up with a mother was a similar situation to what she herself had experienced. “I never knew my mother,” she admitted. “Or my father.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry to hear that,” Drac said concerned. “Who raised you?”
“My great-grandfather. I grew up on this ship.” There was some regret laced into her tone, but she swallowed it down. She did not want to get too vulnerable in front of the vampire.
“That’s why you’re a captain,” he responded, processing the story she was telling.
Ericka nodded. “Yeah. It’s all that I’ve ever really known. It was something that was expected… a family thing.”
"I understand,” Drac said. “Family is everything. We all have to honor the past. But… we make our own future ."
His words continued to affect her, as though she were in a therapeutic session rather than on a date. Captaining The Legacy , as comforting as it had been, was something she didn’t want to be stuck doing her whole life. She wanted to make her future, and he really seemed to understand that in a way that her great-grandfather had deprived her of.
Then a bizarre thought entered her head - could she make a future with Dracula? Could they be… together ? She flushed at the thought of his strong arms around her waist, and her arms around his neck, simply holding each other. It would feel so right, so natural. She assumed he must have been having similar thoughts by the look on his face. His eyes flitted from her lips to her eyes and back to her lips before he closed them and continued to lean in.
Her heart fluttered as she found herself leaning in as well, wanting him to close the gap faster than the pace he was going at.
And then, the thought of her great-grandfather flashed into her mind. The legacy, the purpose of the cruise, her mission…
And she pulled away in an instant with a gasp at her own actions.
Dracula opened his eyes and stared at her with confusion.
She shook her head and began to stand up. “I-I’m sorry… this is a bad idea. I have to go.”
Dracula rose up from his seat taking a couple of paces to her. “Ericka… wait, did I do something wrong? I’m so sorry, if I did, I - “
“No,” Ericka interrupted. “Just… I…” But words failed her, and she quickly turned heel and left, leaving the vampire alone with his perplexed thoughts.
Stars dotted the sky above. A full moon shone brightly overhead as she sat across from Drac, a bowl of food between them. She had assumed it was guacamole, but upon closer inspection, she saw that it was some sort of paste with what looked to be cockroaches mixed in with it. It doesn’t seem to faze her however, and she willingly accepts the treat with a content munch as he feeds her. Taking a swig of some rich, red substance in a chalice next to her, she watches him carefully. His face is slightly illuminated by the light of the candles scattered around the small table they are sitting at. His eyes, wide and dilated, look at her with such enthrallment, as if she's the only woman in the world.
"Is there something you want?" she asks teasingly. He seems to be shaken out of his daze and he looks at her with a blush.
"M-me? Oh! N-nothing..." he stammers. The blush on his cheeks grows darker and she giggles and looks up at him with hooded eyes.
"Well... there's something I want..." she replies coyly, causing him to tense up.
She begins to lean forward, slowly closing in on him until their mouths meet.
He tasted sweet, like honey, and his lips were incredibly soft and pillowy, providing the perfect cushion to press against as she kissed him.
He doesn't react at first, too stunned to even do anything at first, but then he melts into the kiss, his hand cradling the back of her head. They pull apart after what seems like hours and they are both breathing heavily. She smiles shyly at him and he returns it, still dazed and completely flustered.
"That was... um... nice." he mutters quietly and she nods, leaning up close to his face again.
"I agree," she murmurs softly before leaning in once more...
But before the gap was closed, she was abruptly cast out of her daydream by the sound of two rambunctious werewolves skidding their way across the deck around her. They paid her no mind, but even the sight of the couple so happy together saddened Ericka’s mood even further. Why couldn't she have that with Dracula? Why couldn't she feel those soft lips on her in real life? The answer? Because she was a Van Helsing. A monster-hunter who was supposed to hate Dracula.
With a sigh, she continued walking along the deck as she had been for the past few hours, head hung low and shoulders slumped. The date had gone off in ways she hadn't expected. Her feelings were beginning to stir in ways that she had never felt with anyone before. Could it be - dare she think it - love ?
"ERICKA!"
Ericka leaps back in surprise as her great-grandfather's head suddenly bursts out of one of the ship’s ventilation pipes. He did not look pleased.
"Where have you been, young lady?"
Ericka shrugged and tried not to look nervous. "Oh, just doing work stuff…"
Van Helsing looks skeptical though as he looks at her sunflower-patterned romper. "Wearing that ? You were with him ! I know it!"
Oh no . "What? With who?"
He doesn't buy into the act. " Who? You know who! You have been sneaking around my back and trying to kill Dracula again, haven't you?"
"So what if I have!" she explodes. “I am a GROWN woman! I have a right to kill whoever I want.”
Van Helsing shook his head. “But it’s not just about you. You could have ruined the legacy. What if he discovered who you really were?”
Ericka sighed and clutched at her head. This legacy was driving her up the wall, and her confused feelings toward Dracula were of no help either. “I know! I wasn’t thinking… there’s just something about him that drives me crazy! I just see him, and I want to - “
“Punch him?” her great-grandfather suggested.
“I guess…” she answered tentatively. “I just can’t wait to get this over with!” That, however, wasn’t the whole truth. But she couldn’t tell him the whole truth. Her great-grandfather made certain to hammer in how she shouldn’t be interested in having a relationship. He would go mad if she told him that Dracula of all people had potentially caught her eye.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “it won’t be long now. Once you recover the instrument of destruction, no one can stop us… not even Dracula!”
The werewolves then burst around the corner after making another round of the ship. They stopped abruptly when they saw her and Van Helsing, not sure what to make of the situation. But Van Helsing reacted quickly.
“Spies!” he cried, blowing tranquilizing darts at the two. The wolves fell upon the deck, unconscious, as Van Helsing ordered Ericka to bring the pair along with her to hide them. They went below to the secret chamber and stuffed the werewolf couple inside a closet and out of sight. The secret of Ericka’s identity was safe once more.
For now.