There is a phrase that the mortals use… the struggle is real.
Vanessa never really understood that phrase at all … because, well, why would she? She, born a Bartlett vampire, had lived in Forgotten Hollow in a nice home… well, until the Curse caught up with them and their family was forced to leave. She’d lived in San Myshuno before that. She loved the city. The sights, the sounds, the various people milling about all the time.
Until their family finally fell into the last bits of ruin and she began the quest to lift their curse, so they could return to Forgotten Hollow.
Then, and only then, did she realize how it real the ‘struggle’ was. Being pregnant with twins was impossible. They were always filthy and always needing something. Potty training. Baths. Often at the same time. And food she couldn’t eat, so it went to waste if she wasn’t on top of it all the time.
How did mortal women do this? It was a learning curve, for sure!
If it weren’t for her being a vampire, she would have dropped from sheer exhaustion by now.
And then, there was Eric… and Dominic. Her two new fledglings who needed her guidance as their sire. The closer she came to her due date with Eric’s baby, the harder and harder the struggle became.
It was a relief when little Ericka was born and she no longer had the impending life inside her to worry about as well. For a while, anyway.
Before too much time had passed, however, she began to feel the need to mate again… urge to reach her goal as quickly as she could. Which lead her to Mortimer Goth.
Mortimer had been in her painting class for a while now and had been showing a little bit of interest in her. At least, there was an attraction there. She was sure of it. However, he was still enamored of his wife and that loyalty was fierce. He was not like Dominic or Eric, who were clearly looking for something outside their usual relationships. Thus, Mortimer became a side challenge for her. Every time he deflected her advances, she tried harder.
It was frustrating, but she wanted to claim him as a ‘trophy’ on her wall, so to speak.
And then, she decided another tactic. She would lay off the outward charms… lure him in with book talk and the promise of research for his writing. He had an affinity for the occult and wrote horror stories and ghost thrillers. He would be interested in the tale of the Bartlett Vampires for sure.
And then, while spinning her tale, she used her vampiric powers of suggestion to weave a seduction so strong he would never be able to deny her.
She got the result she desired. Mortimer in her bed. Er, coffin. And his seed planted safely inside her.
However, the seduction spell and the coupling left hr ravenously hungry and she gave into one more temptation… a deep drink from Mortimer. Afterwards, he was too drained to turn, as she had the others, so she gave him his Rose, and bid him return later.
When he did, she learned too late that sometimes, when in such a state, a fledging can be created without meaning to. Mortimer had already turned and was one her clan now.
Shortly after Mortimer, the twins finally grew into children, and Ericka became a toddler.
Vanessa found that having one toddler to deal with was so much easier… until the twins started coming home from school with projects to complete.
She even had time to call up her brother and get him to come and met his nieces and nephew. She missed Vic a lot, even if she did not agree with his desire to live more like the mortals.
During her pregnancy with Mortimer’s daughter, she became afflicted with a mysterious mortal disease. The tomes implied that this was something which happened rarely, but could be fatal if her powers became drained.
Drained was a common occurrence in a household with children who had science projects and babies who needed training.
Vanessa soon realized that she needed to be careful.
Thankfully, she made it through the pregnancy with no problems and gave birth to beautiful little Morticia. She had a lot of her father’s coloring. Vanessa was struck by that right away.
Soon after, it was time for Ericka to celebrate her birthday. Despite the fact that the smell of cooking human food made her sick, Vanessa made a cake and helped her to blow out the candles.
And not long after that, she was paid a visit by Lilith Vatore. The Vatores were the first vampiric children of the great Vladislaus Struad, who was rumored to have created all of vampire kind. Though on the outs with him currently, Lilith remained a strong presence in the vampire community. She tells Vanessa that she is aware of the attempt to lift their family curse. And also tells her and should she fail… in any way… the mystic backlash of the curse will mean the obliteration of her entire line.
No pressure there, right? Nope, none at all.
“So, I have no choice but to succeed?” Vanessa asked, sadness settling into her soul.
“None,” Lilith proclaimed. “We’re all watching you, Vanessa.”
She gifted Vanessa with another lost tome of Vampire Lore, and told her to keep reading, learning and growing. It was as much help as the Vatores were going to be.