WHEN ARABELLA WOKE up, she stretched her arms above her head. Feeling a heavy arm over her waist, she twisted her neck to the right to see the bareback of Dracula. She nestled closer to his warmth, her fingers dancing up and down his spine.

A hum reached her ears as Dracula stirred beside her. He turned his neck to look at her and smiled. "Hello, darling, sleep well?" He smirked, tightening his grip around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

Arabella smiled, moving her hand to play with the loose black tresses of his hair. "It was perfect," she whispered, her cool breath fanning his nose. "Thank you."

Dracula grinned. "It was a pleasure, Arabella," Dracula gently pressed a kiss to her lips. "Will you check if it is night still for me?"

Arabella nodded as she sat up. She realised she was still naked and scanned the room for some sort of nightgown. "You don't have to get dressed up for me, Arabella," Dracula teased, his sharp finger skimming up and down her spine, shooting shivers through her body.

"Shut up," Arabella chuckled, leaning down to grasp a silk dress by the edge of her bed. She slipped it over her head and let it pool elegantly around her hips, but before she could go over to the curtains, Dracula began to pepper a trail of kisses along her neck.

Arabella moaned softly, melting into his touches. "I believe that your skin tastes even better than your blood, dragâ."

"Do you want me to check the time or not?" Arabella chuckled, through her heavy breath as Dracula skimmed her rough hands up and down the silky material of her dress, his fingertips brushing the tops of her bare thighs.

He breathed out a laugh against her neck, letting her stand up. He propped up properly, his gaze wandering over Arabella's figure as she walked over to the curtains.

The witch peeked through the thick curtains, making sure to manoeuvre them so Dracula couldn't see out of the window in case it was morning. Smiling she noticed it was still night, but the smallest hint of sunlight was just peeking over the horizon. "It's still dark, but it will soon be sunrise."

"Excellent," Dracula grinned, standing from the bed, still very naked. Arabella tried not to gaze at his lean figure for too long but Dracula still noticed her reddening cheeks. He walked over to her, grabbing her hips and dragging her closer. Her hands subconsciously landed on his bare chest, as Dracula squeeze her waist teasingly. "We've got to say goodbye to our guest."

Arabella nodded, sliding her hands up to his shoulders but her gaze caught sight of the buggy at the end of her bed. She gently pushed away from him and stilled over to peek at the baby, seeing it was a demonic child. "Was this here the whole time?" Dracula smiled and nodded as he pulled his trousers over his legs. "So you're telling me took my virginity with a baby a mere meter away from us?" She stared at the Count, wanting to make sure her assumption was correct.

"Yes, it was here the whole time," Dracula smirked.

"Do you not realise how strange that is?" Arabella commented, her hand pointing to the baby. The demonic baby reached out to her finger, it's small fangs on show to bite her. Arabella noticed and snatched her hand back to safety near her chest.

Dracula watched with a grin as he buttoned his shirt "Possibly. But now let's go see where Johnathan ended up to, shall we?"

"Dressed like this?" Arabella looked down to her spaghetti-strap silk nightgown that ended at her feet but the large slit travelling all the way up to her thigh revealed more than what she wanted Johnathan to see.

Dracula playfully pouted, tilting his head at her. "You look ravishing, darling," Dracula wrapped his arms around her waist. "You always look stunning."

Blushing, Arabella smiled, pulling the Count towards the door, after he had picked up the buggy. "C'mon, my love, time to find dear Johnny."

——

Dracula effortlessly dragged Johnathan's unconscious body into one of the brides-boxes, while Arabella dealt with the bride she hated so much. She kicked down an almost-broken table, grabbing one of the fallen table legs and plunging into the bride's chest while she wasn't focusing. The bride gasped and retched as she fell to the floor.

With a huff, Arabella nudged her foot against her side. There was a loose strand that hung over her eyes and as he huffed, it blew up and back to the side of her face.

An evil grin plastered to Dracula's his lips as he watched his lover brutally kill one of his brides. He stepped over the bleeding girl and yanked Arabella closer. With a lustful look in his eye, he pressed a kiss to her lips. His hands glided down to the back of her thighs and lifted her, moving her legs to move around his waist, pushing her against the mucky wall. "You're too perfect, Arabella," Dracula murmured, against her collar.

Arabella moaned, tilting her head back to thud against the wall. However, the scream emitting from the box that held Johnathan caught her attention and killed her enlightened mood. With an annoyed groan, Dracula gently placed the witch back on her feet. He strode over to the box, flinging it open and ripping the decaying Johnathan from the box and throwing him to the ground. Johnathan groaned in pain. 

"Johnny, this is interesting. I've never seen it work with a baby before. Never," Dracula mocked, crouching down to coo at the demonic child. "I think I might keep it on for a while. I hope this doesn't mean that I'm getting sentimental," He commented, with a teasing smirk knowing it would grind Arabella's gears.

Arabella scoffed playfully. "Your sentimentalism grew last night, my dear," Dracula chuckled over his shoulder as he locked the baby in the wooden box.

Johnathan spoke up, catching both of their attentions. "Why did you kill her?" He asked the Count.

"Who?" Dracula questioned, turning around to face Johnathan and the corpse of his bride. "Oh. I didn't. Arabella did."

Johnathan gasped, turning to face the young woman behind him. Arabella finally noticed the blood splatters on her face and gown and wiped some from her cheek. "I suppose I wanted to see if she would die. Plus, I didn't like her."

"Oh, come on, my darling Arabella," Dracula chortled, causing Arabella's head to snap in his direction. "You couldn't have been jealous of her. You hardly knew her."

"Neither did you, Dracula," Arabella countered with a raised brow. "But then again, you hardly know any of your brides."

"Except for you?" Dracula proposed with a playful smile.

Arabella's breathe hitched. Normally, any woman would leap at a chance for marriage. Especially to someone as handsome and charming as Count Dracula. But something felt off about being his bride. "Really? As much as I love you, I'd rather not be one of your brides that gets stuffed in a box and starved for decades."

Dracula cheekily smiled with an understanding nod. She had admitted her love for him. He always knew she loved him, but it was the first time she had spoken openly about it. It may not have gone registered by Arabella herself, but Dracula noticed but chose not to speak of it in front of Johnathan - it was a personal matter after all.

"Oh, Johnny. Don't give us that look. You were a child once. Didn't you break your toys apart to see how they worked?" Dracula mocked. 

"You both monsters!" Johnathan declared, his expression looking increasingly more and more terrified as he attempted to shuffle away.

"And you're a lawyer," Dracula countered.

"Nobody's perfect, Johnny," Arabella finished, positioning herself so Johnathan couldn't escape. Even if he did somehow manage to get past Arabella, he was too weak to get far enough.

Dracula knelt by the dead bride, toying with the broken table leg through her chest. "Ah, a stake through the heart. You see, sometimes the legends are right. This is not one you can test too often, though. I only ever have three brides at a time," Dracula commented, making Arabella roll her eyes.

"Brides?" Johnathan weakly questioned. 

"Brides, yes. I think that's the right word for it," Dracula nodded, standing up. 

"More like blood-hungry sluts," Arabella muttered. Her soft mutter did not escape the superhuman hearing of Dracula though as he softly chuckled under his breath. 

"Well, Johnny, you see. I am trying to reproduce which can be a bit of a challenge when there is only one of you," He playfully squinted in Arabella's direction, for her only to stick her tongue out at him. Johnathan found a route around a crate that Arabella didn't notice and tried to crawl around it. "Oh, Johnny! You're about done, aren't you? She was a thirsty little thing, and to think that she was going to keep you all to herself!"

"Outrageous! It's truly scandalous!" Arabella teased, spawling across the top of the crate, the back of her hand dropping down to her forehead in faux agony and distress. The slit in her now-bloodied nightgown revealing her bare leg as he propped it up on the box. Dracula tensed his jaw at the sight, trying his hardest to contain himself, and focus on Johnathan but Arabella was making difficult.

"Are you going to kill me?" Johnathan squeaked out. Arabella flung her head back, her dark long hair falling over the edge of the crate, as she peered at Johnathan's withered complexion. A part of her still pitied the poor English lawyer who only planned to visit Dracula for one day but ended trapped with him for months, but another part saw the humour behind it. The role reversal between the two men before her - how Johnathan was now the old, withered decaying man and Dracula was the young, suave, calmly-spoken English gent.

"Of course, we're going to kill you, Johnny!" Dracula declared, grabbing his cloak and throwing it around his shoulders. "Why does death always come as such a shock to mortals?"

-------

Now out of the balcony, Arabella guided Dracula to stay in the shadows as the sun was in the midst of rising. She laid his cloak of the floor for him. He laid the weak Johnathan on the concrete floor and rolled him into the sunlight. 

"If you don't mind, I need you to do one last thing for me," Dracula asked Johnathan as he laid beside him, away from the orange hue illuminating the roof. "I haven't seen her in hundreds of years. Describe her to me." 

"Who?"

"I've had artists paint her and poets capture her in words and Motzart wrote such a pretty little tune. I- I really should have spared him, but what does a lawyer see? Johnny, in my memory, she sits behind the second-highest peak at this time of year, and she's quite red. Is she red, Johnny?"

Johnathan painfully looked at the rising sun. "Look for yourself."

"But that will burn me to dust."

Johnathan turned on his side to look at Dracula once again. "Good."

"Fair enough. Absolutely fair enough," Dracula smiled. 

"Will you put me in a box?"

"Keep your eyes on the sun, Johnny. It'll be the last time you see her," he soothed. "There is a box waiting for you in case you walk, but most people I feed off just die. So you'll be fine."

Johnathan started to weep, and Arabella moved closer kneeling by the two men's heads. "Oh, Johnny. Don't you see? An end is a blessing! You will die a brave and honest man, whatever God you believe in will pass judgement wisely, I'm sure of it."

"Death is the mountaintop from which your whole life is at last visible. From beginning to end. Death completes you."

Johnathan seemed to dismiss their encouraging speeches as she spoke his next words. "Spare me!"

Arabella groaned, standing from her spot to stand away from the couple. She could still hear their conversation but she mainly focused on the sun. She felt remorseful at the fact that Dracula wanted one thing - to see the sun - but he couldn't. And it was her doing. But then she reminded herself that he did deserve it. Everyone that ever made a mockery of her and some poor innocent folk deserved what she gave them.

Arabella turned back to Dracula and Johnathan to catch the end of their conversation. "I swear that you let me live, I'll do everything in my power... to stop you."

Dracula grinned, raising his brows as he placed both hands on Johnathan's face. "Quite right. That's my Johnny. Welcome to the mountaintop." And with a quick twist of his wrists and a sickening crack of bones, Dracula snapped Johnathan's neck with such force that his head did an entire 180-degree turn.

"Well, that escalated quite quickly, didn't it?"

-------

"What now, dear?" Arabella asked, sitting in the shade.

"We wait," Dracula simply answered.

"For what?"

Before she could get a verbal answer, she received a visual one. Johnathan's lifeless body began convulsing and jolting around against the rough concrete. Arabella raised her head from her blood-stained palm and watched curiously at his frantic movements. Dracula had just sat down beside Arabella and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side when it started. 

"Oh, my goodness, that was quick!" Dracula commented.

"What's happening to him?" Arabella asked curiously in his ear.

"He's becoming undead," He whispered back with a mischievous grin. "Johnny, Johnny! Usually, people have a lie down first. You're going to be a lively one, aren't you? You came back so quickly. That was impressive," Dracula teased, watching as Johnathan crawled to the edge of the roof. "You even have the beginnings of a will of your own. None of the others had much beyond hunger, but look at you go!" Johnathan was now propped up on the edge of the roof, looking down at the long fall to the river. "Don't you see? This changes everything! Stay! Stay! You could be my finest bride," Dracula now stood at the edge of the shade as Johnathan stood high on the stone railing, preparing to jump. "The others just became beasts, but you've kept your spirit. Johnny, you're like me -"

"I am not like you!" Johnathan shouted. He turned around, the metal cross that the Romanian carriage girl gave to him dangling from his neck, catching the sunlight. The beam shone directly into Dracula's face, causing him to scream and collapse to the ground in a fit of pained jitters. Arabella sprung to action, dragging him into the shelter of his castle, watching as Johnathan fainted, falling back towards the long fall to the river.

Arabella tried her best to calm the screaming Count in her arms but it proved difficult, so she had to resort to a sleeping spell. Placing her hand on his warm forehead, she closed her eyes. A second later, Dracula's body went slack in her arms. Scanning his face, she tried to find any scars, burns or bleeding caused by the sunlight. But found nothing.

With a furrowed brow, she gently caressed his cheek, wondering why the light didn't hurt him the way they both thought it would.