Fantasy Dracula (CLOSED)

[BuddhistDracula]

It was a cold and stormy night on Borgo Pass. Dracula was in his pajamas, under a warm blanket on the couch in his library. The fireplace was lit, but it wasn't fire - Ioan had put on a magical light. It was warm and cozy like fire, but without looking like it. Or the ability to burn down the whole castle if left unattended.

Ioan was sitting in an armchair next to Dracula, his wheelchair nearby. He just couldn't stand to look at fire. Not after all he'd been through.

Toma sat at a table near them, bent over a big book. All of them were reading. Dracul was reading some novel, Ioan and Toma were buried in books on astronomy - their all-time favorite subject.
"Ioan, do you ever try to envision the curvature of time and space Einstein proposed?" Toma asked after a bit. "I think it's super interesting, but also pretty hard to do."

Dracula looked up from his book and smiled. "Is that what you two worry about every night?"
Ioan smiled as well and looked back at him. "Technically, yes."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Attracted by the noise, Wynnie had floated over the two astonomy enthusiasts. Because she was partially translucent, she didn't cast much of a shadow, and when you're not entirely physical, you don't make much noise, which was possibly why she hadn't been heard or possibly even seen until she spoke up. "Some of the wanderers that pass by say Einstein's spirit is still running around," she said to join the conversation, "I hear he's still working on theories at Princeton."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

Toma flinched as he heard her voice. "Oh, I didn't hear you. That's pretty cool. I'd love to meet him."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"I'm sure if you could make the trip, you'd find him somewhere," Wynnie smiled, "I don't know if he'd be in a talking mood, though."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"Maybe, but Daniel told me that not all ghosts are visible for humans..." Toma reminded her.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Maybe," Wynnie shrugged, "I don't really know, I haven't been human for centuries."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

Ioan carefully got up and transferred to his wheelchair. Then he came over. "Yes, I have tried to visualize the curvature of space-time. And it gives me a headache every time..."
Then he produced an old photo out of thin air. It showed a bunch of young men, obviously university students. The only elderly people in the picture were a professor - and Ioan.
Ioan pointed at one of the young men. A handsome young man, with a moustache and dark, curly hair. "Do you know who that is?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wyn looked at the photo confused for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I keep forgetting time passes," she muttered, "I've never seen that man."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"This is him," Ioan told. "Albert."
Toma looked at Ioan in disbelief. "Albert Einstein?"
Ioan nod. "Yes. We studied together in Zurich. He studied physics and math, I studied physics and astronomy. Your father knew him as well."
Toma looked over to Dracula. "Really?"
Dracula nod. "A little."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Hmm," Wyn pointed at the professor next to Ioan, "Who's that?

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"Oh, that was our professor," Ioan replied, looking at the old picture. "He was a good teacher, but I forgot his name."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wyn looked at the picture for a few more minutes, before floating away from the photo. "What do you think will happen when you die?", she asked Ioan, "THink you'll pass on or stay here?"

 

[BuddhistDracula]

Ioan chuckled at this question. "No idea. Last time, I stayed."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"If you managed to stay once, you can most likely do it again. I didn't even have the opportunity to turn, I just died."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

Ioan looked at her in a bit of confusion. "I stayed because some vampire must've bitten me before..."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"That's my point, you had controlled circumstances."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"If I die again, it's over for me as well. I either go immediately or stay as a ghost for a while and then go," Ioan explained.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Oh," Wyn nodded, pretending she understood. At best, she had an casual understanding of vampirism. "Did it hurt?"

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"Depends on how you die. It's the dying part that can be painful. The changing itself doesn't hurt. It's like you're dead for a few minutes or hours and then, you wake up again," Ioan answered, hoping it'd help her understand. He gulped and became a bit more quiet. "For me, it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"How did you die?", Wynnie asked, "I was mauled by a bear, so I know how that feels, but did you have a heart attack, did someone shoot you?"

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"No, the shooting didn't happen until 2016," Ioan answered. "I was imprisoned and tortured for months and then burned alive while the whole town was watching..."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wyn flinched at the description. "That hurts just hearing about it."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

"My whole body is a burn scar." Ioan took off his wig and rolled up his sleeve to show some more obvious scar tissue. Then he unbuttoned his pajama shirt and showed how skinny he was... and he held his thumbs up. It was obvious they had been broken before. "They're crooked but luckily, they still work just fine."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wyn winced at the marks, she knew all too well the pain of being destroyed from the outside in, but at least she had died before the bear got to her insides! "Have you... have you tried disguising the scars? None of the other spirits like showing their death shape, I can't imagine vampires do."

 

[BuddhistDracula]

Ioan buttoned his shirt up and put his wig back on. "Why should I hide it? Shall those be ashamed who stare."