Fanfic100-Dracula, Prompt #073.-"Light"
Title: Alright
Fandom: Dracula: General Novel
Characters: Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker, Quincey Harker
Prompt: 073. Light
Word Count: 469 wds.
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: LDT here. My slightly tardy fic in honor of 6 May (Jonathan Harker's Arrival at Count Dracula's Castle Day).
The cry woke Mina immediately. Her thoughts flew first to her son, sleeping in the nursery next to her room. Without pause she grabbed the robe from the end of her bed and threw it on as she all but ran to the next room.
Moonlight shone brightly through the window, but she lit a candle nonetheless. Seven month old Quincey’s bright eyes peered back at her in the flickering light, alert and curious. He was silent, following his mother with his eyes as she crossed the room to his bassinet. Mina scooped the baby up and cradled him in her arms.
The night was surprisingly warm for May, almost stiflingly so. She went to open the window a crack, no so much that Quincy would catch a chill, but enough that the air could move. The world seemed hesitant, and deathly still. She paced the room, humming bits and snatched of old tunes she didn’t even know she knew.
She heard the cry again, this time more distant than it had been at first. Quincey blinked silently at his mother as she froze in her pacing. She listened, waiting, and it came again, louder and more pained. Gently she kissed her son’s forehead and laid him back down.
Candle in hand, she crept down to the far end of the hall. The door there was open, allowing a soft glow to spill into the hallway. She came to the edge of the light and stopped, listening to the quiet whimpers she could now hear. She blew out her candle and let the darkness hide her. The heat, the light, the sound-it was oppressive. She wanted run back to her own room, with the window wide open and the light shut out with drapes, and the silence. Instead, she peered around the doorframe.
Jonathan’s sleeping form trembled in his bed. The sheets were kicked onto the floor and he clenched his pillow tightly over his head. Candles burned brightly on the nightstand, the bureau, and the windowsill in front of the tightly locked window. He curled convulsively, unintelligible sounds and words bursting from under the pillow along with his cries.
Mina crept in and sat gently on the edge of the bed. When she placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder, he started violently, reflexively swinging the pillow at her. She caught it as he sat up, his terror-stricken face slowly relaxing.
“You were having a nightmare,” she said quietly. She reached out and touched the white hair at his temples. He took a few deep breaths as she tucked his pillows and blankets back into order around him. “Everything’s alright,” she said, “go back to sleep.”
As she stepped back into the darkness of the hall, Jonathan whispered “Nothing’s alright.” Mina felt a chill down her spine.
Fandom: Dracula: General Novel
Characters: Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker, Quincey Harker
Prompt: 073. Light
Word Count: 469 wds.
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: LDT here. My slightly tardy fic in honor of 6 May (Jonathan Harker's Arrival at Count Dracula's Castle Day).
The cry woke Mina immediately. Her thoughts flew first to her son, sleeping in the nursery next to her room. Without pause she grabbed the robe from the end of her bed and threw it on as she all but ran to the next room.
Moonlight shone brightly through the window, but she lit a candle nonetheless. Seven month old Quincey’s bright eyes peered back at her in the flickering light, alert and curious. He was silent, following his mother with his eyes as she crossed the room to his bassinet. Mina scooped the baby up and cradled him in her arms.
The night was surprisingly warm for May, almost stiflingly so. She went to open the window a crack, no so much that Quincy would catch a chill, but enough that the air could move. The world seemed hesitant, and deathly still. She paced the room, humming bits and snatched of old tunes she didn’t even know she knew.
She heard the cry again, this time more distant than it had been at first. Quincey blinked silently at his mother as she froze in her pacing. She listened, waiting, and it came again, louder and more pained. Gently she kissed her son’s forehead and laid him back down.
Candle in hand, she crept down to the far end of the hall. The door there was open, allowing a soft glow to spill into the hallway. She came to the edge of the light and stopped, listening to the quiet whimpers she could now hear. She blew out her candle and let the darkness hide her. The heat, the light, the sound-it was oppressive. She wanted run back to her own room, with the window wide open and the light shut out with drapes, and the silence. Instead, she peered around the doorframe.
Jonathan’s sleeping form trembled in his bed. The sheets were kicked onto the floor and he clenched his pillow tightly over his head. Candles burned brightly on the nightstand, the bureau, and the windowsill in front of the tightly locked window. He curled convulsively, unintelligible sounds and words bursting from under the pillow along with his cries.
Mina crept in and sat gently on the edge of the bed. When she placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder, he started violently, reflexively swinging the pillow at her. She caught it as he sat up, his terror-stricken face slowly relaxing.
“You were having a nightmare,” she said quietly. She reached out and touched the white hair at his temples. He took a few deep breaths as she tucked his pillows and blankets back into order around him. “Everything’s alright,” she said, “go back to sleep.”
As she stepped back into the darkness of the hall, Jonathan whispered “Nothing’s alright.” Mina felt a chill down her spine.