Just Starting Out
1.23 - Count Vladislaus
Following the conservation with Cassandra and Kayla, Bella went upstairs, and immediately dropped the fake smile she’d been wearing since Cassandra had needed her affection. Shaking her head, Bella pushed open her bedroom door, and shut it behind her.
Once inside, she noticed that one of the bedside lamps was on.
“Kayla,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Bella walked over to the table, and the minute she opened up the top drawer, it was obvious that its contents had been thoroughly searched. Of course. Kayla was the sole reason her typically obedient daughter had suddenly decided to turn on her. As neat as it was having a celebrity author as a guest… Kayla needed to go. Bella wasn’t about to let anyone get in between her and her family.
Family was everything, after all. The Goths had long valued their family ties above all else, choosing to keep their secrets close to their chests, only revealing them to specifically prominent Willow Creek outsiders once they’d married into the family. Bella could still vividly remember the day she’d married into the family. She’d suddenly found out so much about the Goth family, how they’d kept in power for so many years now.
Cassandra was going against everything the Goth family had ever stood for. Choosing to bring people like Kayla and John Brooks close to the family, even if they originated from Willow Creek, was unprecedented. And associating herself with Malcolm Landgraab, an Oasis Springs native, and the son of the most terrible woman Bella had ever has the displeasure of interacting with, was nothing but unspeakable. The Goth family never brought in outsiders. And it was apparent that Cassandra was telling the three of them essential secrets that were never intended to leave the walls of the Goth Mansion. Their secrets was how they kept power, and Bella wasn’t about to let her daughter threaten their family’s legacy.
Bella took a deep breath, then pulled out her phone and rapidly dialed a number.
“Yes, it’s me, Bella! Tell me, how’s Mortimer doing?”
“He’s coming home today? Um… okay. I’ll make sure the house is ready for him.
“Hang on. Before you hang up, Vlad… I have a favor to ask of you.”
Earlier that day, while Cassandra had just pieced everything together and was confronting Bella in the living room, Malcolm called John into his room.
“What is it, Malcolm?” John asked, looking anything but pleased to be in same room as Malcolm.”
“Look at this,” Malcolm said, gesturing to his computer.
John hesitantly sat down in the chair, and read through an email from a Johnny Zest. Once finishing it, John leaned back in the chair thoughtfully.
“So… you’ve had an older brother this whole time?”
“Yes!” Malcolm exclaimed. “I can’t remember him all that clearly, but the name Johnny is so familiar to me. And I’ve had hazy memories since forever of hanging out with an older boy at the Landgraab Mansion back when I was really young. Which always struck me as odd, because other than that, Nancy never allowed me to bring any friends home.”
“Wow,” John said, shaking his head. “Nancy is even more awful than I originally thought.”
“You don’t even know the half of it.”
“So… are you going to see him?”
Malcolm nodded. “I need to. He’s someone who will actually understand what it’s like being the son of Nancy and Geoffrey Landgraab. Someone I can actually talk to.”
“When, though? You thinking now?”
“No,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “I know I might not be of much use here, I’m not as close to Cassandra as you or Kayla, and I doubt Bella and Mortimer would even want me in their house, but at least I’m here, right? Moral support, or something like that.”
“That’s… surprising to hear, coming from you, Malcolm.”
“I’m trying to be better, John, I really am. Now that I’m actually away from home and Nancy for what’s been way longer than a week, it’s really clear to me how much of a brat I was raised to be. I don’t think I’m ever going to truly get away from that, but at the very least, I can try, right? I owe it to you and Kayla, anyway. Especially you. Cause, honestly, if you’d come crawling to my front door if our situations were reversed? There’s no way in the world I would have let you in.”
“Well, I’m, uh, glad to hear it, Malcolm.”
Malcolm nodded. “Sorry. Just needed to get that out there. Now, what can we do to help Kayla and Cassandra?”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard from them all day…”
“Me either. That’s definitely odd. Kayla likes to text a lot so the fact that she isn’t is… concerning.”
John frowned. “Kayla’s been texting you a lot? That’s… odd for her… um, never mind. Do you think they’re alright?”
“I think we should go check out the Goth mansion, just to make sure.”
“We?” John asked. “Malcolm, even asking me to sit here and listen to you is a lot, I really don’t want to spend any more time with you than I have to.”
“Which I get, John. But if something actually did happen to them, having two people go is going to be a lot safer than just one.”
John tried to think of some argument to convince Malcolm otherwise, but he was pulling a blank. “Alright… fine. Looks like you have a point. Let’s meet up in 15 minutes.”
As John returned to his room to get ready for their trip to the Goth mansion. he couldn’t help but think back on what Malcolm had been saying. He honestly was glad he was trying to be better. As much as he disliked the guy, it was still good to see regardless. But the way he’d said it… it was almost like he was saying it more out of a sense of shame, rather than a realization that he honestly was terrible. Which seemed odd, because Malcolm clearly had realized that he wasn’t the greatest guy in the world.
John concluded that trying to understand the inner workings of Malcolm Landgraab’s mind was only going to give him a headache. After all, he still believed that he wasn’t gay. How that was possible completely boggled the mind. He just hoped that Malcolm meeting his long lost brother would clear things up for him, and maybe then, he could start to realize other important things about himself.
Soon enough, the two of them were outside the Goth mansion. It seemed like there was still some activity going on inside, something there likely wouldn’t have been much of if Cassandra and Kayla weren’t okay.
Standing within the front yard, in front of the massive bay window that looked into the living room, John turned to Malcolm. “I know that the Goth family is unusual, but don’t you think that Bella or Mortimer doing anything to Cassandra would be a bit much? And I’m sure that as long as Cassandra is there, Bella wouldn’t threaten Kayla in any way. Cassandra would protect her.”
“You’ve only ever met those two when they were trying to play nice,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “I’ve overheard some of the conservations they’ve had with my parents during times when they payed a visit to the mansion, and they were far from pleasant. I wouldn’t put anything past the pair of them. Even involving Cassandra.”
“Seriously? Every time I’ve met them, Bella is very vocal about how much she loves her children, and I’m sure Mortimer feels the same, even if he isn’t as expressive.”
“Whatever, John. I know what I’ve heard, and I’m not going to leave just because they’re keeping up appearances.”
Malcolm walked further into the yard, forcing John to scramble after him.
“This just really doesn’t sit right with me, Malcolm!” John called out.
Malcolm ignored him, and kept pushing forward until he reached the Goth’s backyard. Once there, he stopped and waited for John to catch up.
John walked in, and wondered if it could even be called a backyard. The whole thing was cement. No wonder Cassandra felt like she’d had a terrible childhood.
“What do you think? Do you bet there are people buried under here?” Malcolm asked, tapping his foot on the ground.
“No, Malcolm, of course not!”
John looked up at the house, trying to spot either Kayla or Cassandra through the windows. The lights were on the attic, but that was much too high for him to spot anyone. And plus, that was likely just Alexander. It was his room, after all. He had to admit it. Malcolm had put him on edge. He just wanted to catch a glimpse- that was all! Once he’d done that, he’d head back to the hotel. But for now, he was actually concerned.
“Hey, John, look at those bats! Isn’t that cool!” Malcolm said, pointing.
Overhead, two bats soared to the second floor balcony.
Once there, in two puffs of black smoke, they turned into human figures. One of them was unmistakably Mortimer, while the other was a tall, pale stranger who barely looked human.
“Indoors, Mortimer. I’ll deal with these two,” the pale stranger said.
Mortimer nodded, and went into the house.
“W-What are you?” John stammered.
The stranger disappeared into mist, then reappeared on the ground in front of John.
“What do you think, child?”
“Of course, of course, of course! The Goth family are actually vampires,” Malcolm said incredulously. “The whole stereotype, living in the dark, victorian mansion, choosing to wear black to further emphasize how pale you all are… oh, this is too good.”
“Wait… does that mean that Cassandra and Alexander…?” John muttered.
“No matter,” the stranger said. “I’m Vladislaus Straud, head of the Vampire Clan. I’d say that it isn’t a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but you won’t remember it anyway.”
“Wait, what?” John said.
Vladislaus ignored him. “Bella asked me to remove just the memories of you two snooping around her house and discovering too many of her secrets, but I think I’ll take away this whole day."
Before John or Malcolm had a chance to react, Vladislaus took a few steps back, raised his arms, and began to take away their memories. “A long lost brother. Wanting to be better; shame you won’t remember that. And… snooping around because you hadn’t heard from… wait! You two aren’t the pair I needed! You two didn’t spend any time discovering secrets in the mansion!”
Vladislaus tried his best to end the spell early, but it was too late. He was stuck trying to take memories that John and Malcolm didn’t have. As a result, he grew weaker and weaker until he was forced to turn into a bat, and disappear into the night sky.
John and Malcolm collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Suddenly, the door to the backyard slammed open, and Bella stormed out onto the patio. Waving a hand, she brought John and Malcolm back to consciousness.
“I can’t believe this,” she spat. “My secrets, exposed, all because two nobodies from a nobody family and a Landgraab decided to meddle in my family’s affairs.”
“What… what are we doing here?” John muttered. “The last thing I remember is going to bed in my hotel room…”
“Vlad had to just take the whole day, huh? Show off,” Bella muttered. "Just... come inside. Looks like I have no choice but to explain everything.”
Bella held the door open, and John and Malcolm slowly, but groggily entered the house. Neither of the two of them remembered anything that’d been said or done in the last day.