Chapter 71 - The Festival

As Vladimir took care of his baby daughter, Victoria, his thoughts went to the revelation of his past to Delia almost a year ago. He couldn’t be luckier, he had no idea if Delia would be accepting or not and much to his relief she had been. Victoria’s first birthday was coming up soon and her older sister Valerie would be in high school before long. That meant yet another conversation he and Delia had yet to have. The girls were both vampires.  He knew the instant he held them in his arms the first time. He figured Delia knew, but they had avoided any talk of what that might mean.

Delia had taken to pouring herself into her garden this past year. She worked tirelessly night and day when she wasn’t taking care of the girls. It seemed to give her some purpose that Vladimir didn’t quite understand but it made her happy and so it made him happy.  

Delia, however, had become frustrated.  She needed a certain mushroom and so far had not been able to find it. She had them before they were stolen when they moved to the new house along with all of the other fruits and vegetables that she didn’t have with her. She desperately needed to find it for the cure potion. She began to look everyday and make daily the trips to the Elixir store to see if they had received any. She had everything else she needed for the recipe. Delia hadn’t let Vladimir know what she was doing. She couldn’t give him hope until she was ready.

Victoria

Victoria's birthday came and went without fanfare and she was now a toddler; and a cute one at that.  Valerie was so glad she could play with her now as she no longer just ate, pooped and cried. Since they shared a room they spent a lot of time together.  Valerie liked being a big sister.

 

Things began to settle into a routine for the next couple of years. Victoria quickly learned to walk and was talking to anyone that would listen including her reflection in the mirror in her playpen.  

Days settled into a predictable rhythm after Vladmir told Delia how he became a vampire. Delia helped Valerie with her homework each evening while Victoria entertained herself in her playpen and Vladimir would play soothing music in the background. Things felt perfect for Delia except for one thing; she still hadn’t found the right mushroom for the Cure Potion.  It also seemed they never left the house.  She was becoming stir crazy even with all of the distractions. 

The Spring Festival was going on and Valerie had asked Delia if they could go. She told her daughter she would check with Dad. That evening as they prepared for bed, Delia asked Vladimir if they would be able to go to the Spring Festival; that Valerie really wanted to go and frankly she did too.  It would be really good to get out of the house for awhile. 

Things had been quiet since the takeover and there had been none of the resistance that Vladimir and Elvira had anticipated. So when Delia asked him, he didn’t see any harm. He said they would go over the weekend. Delia was happy and knew the girls would be too. She felt like things were going to be okay as she snuggled up next to Vladimir.  

The weekend came and the foursome piled into Delia’s ‘car’ for the trip downtown to the Festival.  They headed out in the late afternoon as Vladimir couldn’t be in the sun for long periods. As they crossed the bridge they could see their home up on the hill behind them. Delia couldn’t believe that was where she lived and scooted next to Vladimir and put her head on his shoulder while he drove the rest of the way into the city. 

When they arrived Vladimir took Victoria and they went over to the bouncy bees and he helped her ride them.  She and he both had a ton of fun.  He couldn’t help but think about the child he lost so many years ago.  He smiled to himself that he was given this new chance to be a father, but in the back of his mind he knew, this time was fleeting. Both of his girls were vampires and when they matured, they would no longer be ‘normal’ and would have to stay out of the sunlight and drink blood to survive.  Soon he would have to address it, but not now.  He wanted desperately to savor the time they still had.

Valerie was dying to hunt the colored eggs.  Delia and she both grabbed baskets and Delia showed her how to find them.  Valerie was wide-eyed at the beautiful eggs and quickly ran off to find some of her own.    

Before they left, Delia made sure they got a family portrait to remember this time with her family.  She promptly hung one on the wall in the basement and placed the other on the dresser in the bedroom.

The next morning they had an unexpected visitor; Delia’s favorite vamp – Elvira. She and Vladimir were having a heated argument.  Delia walked over to see what the discussion was about and find out why she was there.  Neither of them realized Delia was standing there. Elvira was furious with him for leaving the house without body guards. He told her they just needed some time out of the house; it was beginning to feel like a prison. Elvira ranted at him, “You should have thought about that before you decided to marry Blondie and then make babies with her. If this gets out, it will expose your weakness. They will come after your precious Blondie to get to you. Personally, I don’t give a hoot about her, but alas, I know you do. Don’t let it happen again Schlick, or you will once again find yourself a widower and we will all go down with you.  In fact, you may have compromised yourself already!  Be careful and NEVER EVER do that again!”  Elvira turned to leave and saw Delia standing there. She rolled her eyes and said, “Oh – Hi Blondie – just leaving.”  Then she turned to Vladimir and said seductively, “See you tonight handsome,” and winked at him.  Delia really wanted to hit her.

“Come Delia.  We need to talk,” said Vladimir as Elvira left the house.  He saw the look on her face and sadly realized she probably overheard the entire conversation.  They went down to the study and sat down.  Delia was close to tears.  Even though she knew the history between Vladimir and Elvira, every time she saw that witch it sent shivers up her spine and she wanted to claw her eyes out.  And now it seemed there was more he needed to tell her.  She didn’t know if she could handle much more. 

 “What Vladimir? Is your family your dirty little secret?” spat Delia. 

“No Delia,” replied Vladimir calmly, “but you need to understand, if there is anyone that wants to overthrow me or take revenge against the takeover or even for disposing of Anastasia, then you and the girls are at risk. You must remain at the house and if you have to leave, then you need an escort.  Valerie already has a body guard assigned to her to follow her to school.  And we still have eyes and ears on our house so you are safe while you are here.  We are pretty sure no one knows about this place.” 

“Vladimir, or should I call you Handsome, Vlad or Schlick or even Sexy?” started Delia still seething from having to see Elvira in her house.  Then apologizing for being vindictive she said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. But I have an idea. It is something I have been working on for the past couple of years since you told me about your transformation. I have a recipe for a cure. We can cure you of vampirism and then we will no longer need to be afraid. It was going to be a surprise when I had it ready.” 

Vladimir was dumbfounded.  He knew Delia had thrown herself into her garden with a vengeance but had no idea this was why. 

When he didn’t say anything for a minute Delia became frustrated as his lack of enthusiasm or even a comment and said, “Say something!  This is good.  Don’t you want to be normal?”

“You have the cure? That is only a legend.  Even the witches can’t cure us,” replied Vladimir, “that is just ludicrous and wishful thinking.”  Then a thought occurred to him, if Delia indeed had the cure, then his daughters could be cured and that was something he would never let himself think could be true because if it didn’t happen, he would be terribly disappointed as would Delia.

“Delia,” he continued somberly, not answering her questions, "there is more.  Valeria and Victoria…..”  Delia interrupted before he could finish his thought, “Please, don’t say it Vladimir.” Vladimir sighed and nodded his head and continued, “The girls don’t know yet. When they reach the age of 19, the curse will manifest itself fully. There will be no pain, not like I had to endure as my body changed.”

 

“Vladimir, don’t you understand, “said Delia, “My cure…it would work on them.  I just need to find the last ingredient.”

“Do you really believe it Delia? It is real?" Vladimir dared to ask. "Vladimir, darling, I really believe it will work," said Delia,"Every potion I have ever made and used did exactly as it was fabled to do. I am just about as old as you and I am mortal. Please let me do this for you and for the girls!" "I can't stop you from going out can I? Then you must take a bodyguard nexttime you leave the house. You heard Elvira, we may already be compromised and an attack against me may be imminent,”  Vladimir said sadly and added, “Now, I must leave. I have to go to work.”

“To meet with Elvira, you mean,” shot back Delia. She couldn’t help but be jealous.  She knew Elvira hated her as much as she hated Elvira. But at least they both had Vladimir’s well being at heart.  “Delia!  It’s YOU I love, not her. Stop it. Please,” begged Vladimir.  “I'm sorry," said Delia softly, "I just can’t help it when she flaunts it in my face. I'm going to check on the girl's. Please - be careful.” Delia turned and went upstairs to the bedroom that her vampire daughters shared as her husband left for ‘work’.

Valerie and Victoria were already in bed for the night when Delia went to their room.  She crawled into bed next to Valerie and had a hard time going to sleep.  She kept thinking about how she could find the last ingredient for the cure. It reminded her of curing her son Alex not so long ago and her search for the elusive Life Plant. She was so upset that she no longer had that or the glo-orb mushroom she needed to complete the cure for vampirism. Then she knew the answer. Just ask where to find it at the Elixir store.  She had never told them what she wanted. With that final thought she drifted off to sleep next to her daughter while she waited for her husband to return home.

Morning came and when Delia wasn’t in their bed, Vladimir panicked. He ran to check on the girls and saw Delia lying in Valerie’s bed and smiled to himself. When he walked in, Delia jumped up and ran to him and hugged him so thankful he was home. She always missed him when he was gone, but with the recent revelations, it was even worse. She worried about everything now. Just a few days ago, everything was perfect. Now she was back to her normal dysfunctional self. Why is everything never as it seems?  

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