vampires without the noming
This was requested by Twisted-Wind on DeviantArt, and is based on her awesome Count Dragul comics. This takes place during Mina's initial stay in the castle, before she learns who/what Mickey is.
Count Mickey Dragul was restless. He could list several reasons why he couldn’t sleep. Winter had come, and so everything was just a bit chillier. One of his fangs might be getting a cavity. He could continue listing them, but none of them would be the real reason why he couldn’t relax. It was irksome to admit it, but he knew the reason behind his restlessness was thanks to the beautiful woman that was probably fast asleep only a few doors down. Mickey had only planned on letting Mina stay a day or two, while he made sure the men after her were long gone. Alas, she was impossibly beautiful, impossibly kind, and so Mickey found it impossible to stop thinking about her.
He got up and paced around his room. There had to be a rational reason behind this constant thinking of the maiden. She had been the first living thing this castle had seen in decades, if one didn’t count the visits of Doctor Goofy, and even his visits were more business than personal. Mickey had found himself so desperate to keep her company that he hid all of his vampire traits as best he could, and forbade the ghosts of the manor to make any appearance. He had even left out his actual name, knowing the terror that Count Dragul could inspire. He didn’t want to risk anything scaring her off. But why? Why did he care?
So what if she was a mortal? Mortals were nothing special. Yet she was, Mina was wonderfully special. She had given him all of her trust upon first meeting him, and had shown an interesting curiosity about his home. She lavished him with compliments, and gave him her full attention if she thought he needed help. She was actual company, and Mickey wasn’t sure what he’d do when she left. It was unpleasant to mull that over. What was he to do?
A loud shriek suddenly interrupted his quandary, and to his horror, he recognized the voice as Mina’s! What had happened? Filled with fright he hadn’t felt in years, he fled out of his room and headed towards the source, even as it began to die down. It didn’t come from the bedroom she was assigned to, and oddly had seemed to originate from the old ballroom that Mickey very rarely had use for. He slammed the doors open, terrified of what he was to see.
But Mina was no longer screaming. Quite the opposite - she was giggling with adorable laughter, clapping merrily at her new source of amusement. Standing in the center of the room and wearing the nightgown that once belonged to Mickey’s mother, she was surrounded by three ghosts with pork pie hats and big noses, and they were laughing alongside with her. Again, Mickey felt an emotion he hadn’t in a long time - this one being ‘dumbfounded’.
“I’ve got another one!” the leader of the Lonesome Ghosts, as Mickey had dubbed them, announced proudly as he hovered over Mina’s head. “What do you call a ghost that’s really pretty?”
“I don’t know.” Mina shrugged, eager to hear the answer. “What do you call a ghost that’s really pretty?”
“That she’s boo-tiful, of course!” Another Lonesome answered, and they all burst into merry laughter and applause once more. Mickey had tired of these jokes long before, and thus had tired of their obnoxious laughter even longer, but Mina’s laughter was delightful and harmonious, like listening to the fresh cries of a sparrow. She really did bring life to this castle in various ways.
She then caught him at the corner of her eye, and managed to settle down her chuckles in order to be polite. “Oh, good evening, Mickey.” She curtseyed as he began to approach them. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”
“I thought I heard you scream.” Mickey glared intensely at the ghosts, blaming them immediately. In turn, they whistled innocently at different octaves, twiddling their white thumbs.
Mina blushed, embarrassed that he had heard it. “Well… I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a walk to try and wear myself out. Then they showed up-” She gestured to the ghosts, who had turned their hats into halos - “And I was… surprised. ” That was putting it lightly.
Mickey frowned, but returned his attentions back to Mina, making sure everything was now all right. “And now you’re… not ‘surprised’?”
She shook her head, smiling brightly from ear to ear. “Oh, not at all! They’re so funny! Why didn’t tell me you had such delightful company living here?”
“That’s because we don’t live here!” The third ghost couldn’t resist. “Since we’re all dead!” They all laughed once more, and Mina had to put a hand over her mouth to stop her from joining in.
Mickey rolled his eyes at the humor, but his anger and annoyance was dying down. The important thing was that Mina was all right and she wasn’t frightened, even if that was strange. “I… thought you wouldn’t want to stay here if you knew about them.”
“You don’t have to hide anything from me.” Mina beamed sweetly, and if Mickey’s heart could beat, it would have done so very rapidly from seeing her this way. “I owe you my life. You can tell me anything, and you’ll still be you.”
The weight of his worst secrets felt much heavier on his chest now, and he shifted his feet uncomfortably. The ghosts spared him further explanation as one of them had a brilliant idea. “Say, since the miss is okay with it, how about we get everyone out here?” Without waiting for approval, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled hard. In the next moment, the floor almost took on a glow as dozens and dozens of spirits began to float upwards, flooding the room with their presence. Minnie was in awe of all the denizens of the dead, ranging from dancers to knights to servants and all kinds of passed people.
“My goodness!” Mina breathed, exhilarated by the sight before her. She carefully walked around in an effort to try and see them all. “You all live - I mean, you all stay here?”
“Thanks to the Master, fair lady!” A knight took center stage by approaching her, carrying his head under one of his arms. Yet even to this, Mina didn’t show a trace of fright. She was completely fascinated, and giggled shyly as the knight bowed to her. “I am the Headless Knight. The Master has allowed us to stay within these walls until we are ready to pass on. He’s quite the generous fellow, if I do say so myself.”
Mina turned to look at Mickey, impressed by his welcome manner, and Mickey felt very humbled by just how much respect shone in her gorgeous eyes. “That’s one of the kindest things I’ve ever heard of.” She held her hands to her heart - gloves hands, and Mickey would have thought it strange that a girl would wear gloves to bed, had he not been so distracted by having earned a compliment from her. It was a marvelous feeling, and he gladly welcomed it.
“It’s nothing too great.” He tried to play it off casually, though he couldn’t fight the smirk on his face. “This castle is big enough, the space may as well go to someone.” He swore he could live off all the admiration she was gazing upon him and be full for months. What a stellar power she had over him!
Mina may have gone on praising his greatness, but now the other ghost were rushing to greet her as well, thrilled to have someone new in their home. Mickey was a little jealous of the attention they had, but managed to stay back and watch all the introductions take place. In the space of mere minutes, she had proven to be even kinder and more tolerant than he thought she was capable of. He loved her all the more for it.
… He what now?
The realization was almost like a stake to his chest. Oh, no. Oh, no no no! He couldn’t be! A creature like him couldn’t be capable of love! What did he know about love, anyway? He became dizzy the more he tried to reason it out, but like he had tried to make up excuses for why he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t deny the truth of how he felt. He groaned, putting a hand to his face. In trying to hide all the things for her to be afraid of, he’d given himself a new fear. A vampire in love with a mortal - that was a sentence wrought with doom.
Oblivious to Mickey’s internal conflict, Mina was having a grand time making new friends. As she shook pale hands and tried to memorize the names, she couldn’t help but notice one spirit wasn’t joining in on the festivities. There in the corner was what appeared to be a bride, watching Mina intently but making no movement toward her. Perhaps the poor dear was shy. Mina made her way towards the bride, and curtseyed once more. “My name is Mina. What’s yours?”
The bride didn’t answer right away, and looked down at Mina’s hands. Ever so slowly, the ghost lifted a finger, and pointed at Mina’s gloved hands. “You’re engaged to be married.”
Mina’s eyes widened. “How… did you…” She trailed off, and the room was silent. All eyes of the room were on her, including the dark red ones of Mickey, who hoped he had heard wrong. Mina hesitated, but then pulled off her gloves. There, exactly where the bride had pointed, was an engagement band around her finger. “… Yes. I am.” She refused to return Mickey’s gaze.
“Many salutations, Madam Mina!” The Headless Knight cheered, raising an arm in congratulations. “Do tell, when is the happy day, and who is the lucky groom?”
Though Mina was smiling, it no longer contained any warmth or joy. It was forced, and she rubbed the ring on her finger, as if it was a wound she longed would heal and vanish. “… His name is Mortimer Rodawn. It’s an arranged marriage… part of a business transaction really.” The words and their reality hung in the air, and the happiness of the room was replaced with an uncomfortable quiet. Knowing that such a good girl as Mina was being forced into a loveless marriage was enough to dampen anyone’s spirits. Mina swallowed hard, and began moving away quickly. “W-well… it’s getting late, and… I’m really very tired. I think I’ll go to bed. It was nice meeting you all.” She gave one last curtsey, and headed for the door.
The Headless Knight tried to apologize. Mickey tried to reach out toward her. Whether she ignored or didn’t notice the efforts were hard to tell, and soon enough she was gone. The ghosts began to disperse, upset that their cherry guest had an actual excuse to leave, and a miserable one at that. The Lonesome ghosts hovered around their master, questioning the situation. “Gosh. I guess she’ll have to leave us eventually to marry that Mortimer guy, huh?”
Mickey merely nodded. It was for the best. He lied to himself and said it was a relief. Now she wouldn’t have to know about his dreadful feelings and she’d live in blissful ignorance of his pain. He almost wished a ray of sunshine would find its way into the room and burn him to dust. It had to better than what he was feeling now.
The second ghost rubbed his hands together, not willing to give up so easily. “You know she wouldn’t have to leave if she got married to someone else!”
What a silly idea. Mickey looked up at them to tell them just that, but when he saw they were staring at him intensely, he understood the implication. Mina marry Mickey? His cheeks turned such a shade of red that he was very sure even his big ears were scarlet. “That… that’s your worst joke yet!” As if she would agree to such a preposterous notion when she only knew Mickey for a few days! Though she would look very nice in a wedding dress. As if she’d want to stay in this castle for the rest of her life! Though she would have to stay by his side every waking moment. As if she’d stand to kiss him when his fangs could easily pierce her! Though the idea of her kissing him was enough to make Mickey miss where he was walking and wind up walking into a door.
He never got a second of sleep, and though he continued to blame the cold winter, the image that kept him awake was that of Mina snuggled up to him in their bedroom.
Count Mickey Dragul was restless. He could list several reasons why he couldn’t sleep. Winter had come, and so everything was just a bit chillier. One of his fangs might be getting a cavity. He could continue listing them, but none of them would be the real reason why he couldn’t relax. It was irksome to admit it, but he knew the reason behind his restlessness was thanks to the beautiful woman that was probably fast asleep only a few doors down. Mickey had only planned on letting Mina stay a day or two, while he made sure the men after her were long gone. Alas, she was impossibly beautiful, impossibly kind, and so Mickey found it impossible to stop thinking about her.
He got up and paced around his room. There had to be a rational reason behind this constant thinking of the maiden. She had been the first living thing this castle had seen in decades, if one didn’t count the visits of Doctor Goofy, and even his visits were more business than personal. Mickey had found himself so desperate to keep her company that he hid all of his vampire traits as best he could, and forbade the ghosts of the manor to make any appearance. He had even left out his actual name, knowing the terror that Count Dragul could inspire. He didn’t want to risk anything scaring her off. But why? Why did he care?
So what if she was a mortal? Mortals were nothing special. Yet she was, Mina was wonderfully special. She had given him all of her trust upon first meeting him, and had shown an interesting curiosity about his home. She lavished him with compliments, and gave him her full attention if she thought he needed help. She was actual company, and Mickey wasn’t sure what he’d do when she left. It was unpleasant to mull that over. What was he to do?
A loud shriek suddenly interrupted his quandary, and to his horror, he recognized the voice as Mina’s! What had happened? Filled with fright he hadn’t felt in years, he fled out of his room and headed towards the source, even as it began to die down. It didn’t come from the bedroom she was assigned to, and oddly had seemed to originate from the old ballroom that Mickey very rarely had use for. He slammed the doors open, terrified of what he was to see.
But Mina was no longer screaming. Quite the opposite - she was giggling with adorable laughter, clapping merrily at her new source of amusement. Standing in the center of the room and wearing the nightgown that once belonged to Mickey’s mother, she was surrounded by three ghosts with pork pie hats and big noses, and they were laughing alongside with her. Again, Mickey felt an emotion he hadn’t in a long time - this one being ‘dumbfounded’.
“I’ve got another one!” the leader of the Lonesome Ghosts, as Mickey had dubbed them, announced proudly as he hovered over Mina’s head. “What do you call a ghost that’s really pretty?”
“I don’t know.” Mina shrugged, eager to hear the answer. “What do you call a ghost that’s really pretty?”
“That she’s boo-tiful, of course!” Another Lonesome answered, and they all burst into merry laughter and applause once more. Mickey had tired of these jokes long before, and thus had tired of their obnoxious laughter even longer, but Mina’s laughter was delightful and harmonious, like listening to the fresh cries of a sparrow. She really did bring life to this castle in various ways.
She then caught him at the corner of her eye, and managed to settle down her chuckles in order to be polite. “Oh, good evening, Mickey.” She curtseyed as he began to approach them. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”
“I thought I heard you scream.” Mickey glared intensely at the ghosts, blaming them immediately. In turn, they whistled innocently at different octaves, twiddling their white thumbs.
Mina blushed, embarrassed that he had heard it. “Well… I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a walk to try and wear myself out. Then they showed up-” She gestured to the ghosts, who had turned their hats into halos - “And I was… surprised. ” That was putting it lightly.
Mickey frowned, but returned his attentions back to Mina, making sure everything was now all right. “And now you’re… not ‘surprised’?”
She shook her head, smiling brightly from ear to ear. “Oh, not at all! They’re so funny! Why didn’t tell me you had such delightful company living here?”
“That’s because we don’t live here!” The third ghost couldn’t resist. “Since we’re all dead!” They all laughed once more, and Mina had to put a hand over her mouth to stop her from joining in.
Mickey rolled his eyes at the humor, but his anger and annoyance was dying down. The important thing was that Mina was all right and she wasn’t frightened, even if that was strange. “I… thought you wouldn’t want to stay here if you knew about them.”
“You don’t have to hide anything from me.” Mina beamed sweetly, and if Mickey’s heart could beat, it would have done so very rapidly from seeing her this way. “I owe you my life. You can tell me anything, and you’ll still be you.”
The weight of his worst secrets felt much heavier on his chest now, and he shifted his feet uncomfortably. The ghosts spared him further explanation as one of them had a brilliant idea. “Say, since the miss is okay with it, how about we get everyone out here?” Without waiting for approval, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled hard. In the next moment, the floor almost took on a glow as dozens and dozens of spirits began to float upwards, flooding the room with their presence. Minnie was in awe of all the denizens of the dead, ranging from dancers to knights to servants and all kinds of passed people.
“My goodness!” Mina breathed, exhilarated by the sight before her. She carefully walked around in an effort to try and see them all. “You all live - I mean, you all stay here?”
“Thanks to the Master, fair lady!” A knight took center stage by approaching her, carrying his head under one of his arms. Yet even to this, Mina didn’t show a trace of fright. She was completely fascinated, and giggled shyly as the knight bowed to her. “I am the Headless Knight. The Master has allowed us to stay within these walls until we are ready to pass on. He’s quite the generous fellow, if I do say so myself.”
Mina turned to look at Mickey, impressed by his welcome manner, and Mickey felt very humbled by just how much respect shone in her gorgeous eyes. “That’s one of the kindest things I’ve ever heard of.” She held her hands to her heart - gloves hands, and Mickey would have thought it strange that a girl would wear gloves to bed, had he not been so distracted by having earned a compliment from her. It was a marvelous feeling, and he gladly welcomed it.
“It’s nothing too great.” He tried to play it off casually, though he couldn’t fight the smirk on his face. “This castle is big enough, the space may as well go to someone.” He swore he could live off all the admiration she was gazing upon him and be full for months. What a stellar power she had over him!
Mina may have gone on praising his greatness, but now the other ghost were rushing to greet her as well, thrilled to have someone new in their home. Mickey was a little jealous of the attention they had, but managed to stay back and watch all the introductions take place. In the space of mere minutes, she had proven to be even kinder and more tolerant than he thought she was capable of. He loved her all the more for it.
… He what now?
The realization was almost like a stake to his chest. Oh, no. Oh, no no no! He couldn’t be! A creature like him couldn’t be capable of love! What did he know about love, anyway? He became dizzy the more he tried to reason it out, but like he had tried to make up excuses for why he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t deny the truth of how he felt. He groaned, putting a hand to his face. In trying to hide all the things for her to be afraid of, he’d given himself a new fear. A vampire in love with a mortal - that was a sentence wrought with doom.
Oblivious to Mickey’s internal conflict, Mina was having a grand time making new friends. As she shook pale hands and tried to memorize the names, she couldn’t help but notice one spirit wasn’t joining in on the festivities. There in the corner was what appeared to be a bride, watching Mina intently but making no movement toward her. Perhaps the poor dear was shy. Mina made her way towards the bride, and curtseyed once more. “My name is Mina. What’s yours?”
The bride didn’t answer right away, and looked down at Mina’s hands. Ever so slowly, the ghost lifted a finger, and pointed at Mina’s gloved hands. “You’re engaged to be married.”
Mina’s eyes widened. “How… did you…” She trailed off, and the room was silent. All eyes of the room were on her, including the dark red ones of Mickey, who hoped he had heard wrong. Mina hesitated, but then pulled off her gloves. There, exactly where the bride had pointed, was an engagement band around her finger. “… Yes. I am.” She refused to return Mickey’s gaze.
“Many salutations, Madam Mina!” The Headless Knight cheered, raising an arm in congratulations. “Do tell, when is the happy day, and who is the lucky groom?”
Though Mina was smiling, it no longer contained any warmth or joy. It was forced, and she rubbed the ring on her finger, as if it was a wound she longed would heal and vanish. “… His name is Mortimer Rodawn. It’s an arranged marriage… part of a business transaction really.” The words and their reality hung in the air, and the happiness of the room was replaced with an uncomfortable quiet. Knowing that such a good girl as Mina was being forced into a loveless marriage was enough to dampen anyone’s spirits. Mina swallowed hard, and began moving away quickly. “W-well… it’s getting late, and… I’m really very tired. I think I’ll go to bed. It was nice meeting you all.” She gave one last curtsey, and headed for the door.
The Headless Knight tried to apologize. Mickey tried to reach out toward her. Whether she ignored or didn’t notice the efforts were hard to tell, and soon enough she was gone. The ghosts began to disperse, upset that their cherry guest had an actual excuse to leave, and a miserable one at that. The Lonesome ghosts hovered around their master, questioning the situation. “Gosh. I guess she’ll have to leave us eventually to marry that Mortimer guy, huh?”
Mickey merely nodded. It was for the best. He lied to himself and said it was a relief. Now she wouldn’t have to know about his dreadful feelings and she’d live in blissful ignorance of his pain. He almost wished a ray of sunshine would find its way into the room and burn him to dust. It had to better than what he was feeling now.
The second ghost rubbed his hands together, not willing to give up so easily. “You know she wouldn’t have to leave if she got married to someone else!”
What a silly idea. Mickey looked up at them to tell them just that, but when he saw they were staring at him intensely, he understood the implication. Mina marry Mickey? His cheeks turned such a shade of red that he was very sure even his big ears were scarlet. “That… that’s your worst joke yet!” As if she would agree to such a preposterous notion when she only knew Mickey for a few days! Though she would look very nice in a wedding dress. As if she’d want to stay in this castle for the rest of her life! Though she would have to stay by his side every waking moment. As if she’d stand to kiss him when his fangs could easily pierce her! Though the idea of her kissing him was enough to make Mickey miss where he was walking and wind up walking into a door.
He never got a second of sleep, and though he continued to blame the cold winter, the image that kept him awake was that of Mina snuggled up to him in their bedroom.