Dark Truths

Author: yeknodelttil

Show: Young Dracula

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

Pairing: Vlad/Erin

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Dracula. This is purely for the enjoyment of its fans, created by a fan

Spoilers: Series 3 of Young Dracula. Episode 7 onwards mainly.

Summary: Secrets are hard to keep especially when you try to keep them from the people who care about you the most and dealing with them can be even harder. However when the secrets begin to become complicated with emotions neither Vlad nor Erin is safe. Vlad/Erin.

A/N: This is dedicated to my mum who gave me the initial idea for this fic. She mentioned one thing and she's convinced it's true, I'd noticed it before but hadn't given it much thought. I won't say what her comment was until the next posting.

Thank you to all those who read 'The Cursed Saga', you're support was overwhelming.

Also sorry for the rating increase, I thought it was necessary for this fic. All will become clear as to why but I will never increase to an M, so don't worry about that.

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Chapter 1: Suspicions

It really didn't take a genius to figure it out.

Erin could see it the moment he returned but she didn't want to say anything to him. He'd changed but no one else seemed to realise it, no one except her that is.

Now the book was gone there was no point in hiding it anymore. She hated the thought deep down that the only reason she hadn't acted was that she was clinging to the fleeting hope that he could find a cure for Ryan in that stupid book.

There were little signs all along and Erin had noticed each and every one.

That's what angered her – only she'd noticed.

Now it was time to reveal her suspicions.

She couldn't keep the truth hidden any longer; it hurt too much to do so.

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The room was bustling with activity. Renfield was busy cleaning up the dust piles that Sethius had caused – a dozen or so of them in total. The dustpan and brush Renfield used was old fashioned and metal, holes were rusted into it so every scoop he cleared up he lost half of it on his way to dispose of it.

Wolfie wasn't helping matters running through the piles Renfield had created, spreading them out further across the hall.

The Count stood over Renfield dictating where and how he wanted the ash scattered. He wanted to make sure that Sethius could never be resurrected in any shape or form.

Ingrid shadowed her brother in every move he made. She could see him growing more and more frustrated by her, she was eager to learn because she was eager for the power her brother had promised her.

"What do you want Ingrid?" Vlad finally asked his sister, stopping in his tracks and fixing his gaze directly ahead before turning around to face her.

Her tone was full of politeness, "I just want to help." Vlad knew better than to trust her straight away. What he'd promised her would only last for so long before she'd want it all again.

"You can help by finding something else to do?" He questioned cheerfully, "You can put your vampettes somewhere." He suggested. Ingrid glanced over towards them, she'd forgotten about them. They were no longer of any use to her as her brother had given her what she wanted. "Or get rid of Bertrand's 'friends'." He muttered, he didn't like being outnumbered even though he could easily wipe them all out like Sethius had said.

Ingrid seemed to think the latter was more up her street and she cast a sly smile towards Bertrand. He tipped his head in answer, a half smile crossing his face with a quick pout following. Something about that small exchange spoke volumes but what it spoke was a complete mystery.

Her heels clicked across the floor as she made a beeline for Bertrand.

Vlad watched them closely, making a mental note to take care in watching them closely.

Trust was earned and neither Ingrid nor Bertrand had earned his yet. Trust will important to have, wasn't an easy thing to gain.

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Erin slowly crossed the room towards Vlad who'd been caught by Jonno and Mina, his posture was different. He seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes from wandering around the room as he looked at them, he looked… bored.

Although her shoes made no sound on the floor his gaze snapped to her, her but his eyes didn't soften the way they used to and he looked at her with a piercing gaze. Erin tried to smile back at him, she didn't want him to notice how she was feeling.

Jonno seemed to bristle with her being close, Vlad saw how he was acting and glanced towards Erin. Erin seemed to be avoiding Jonno's eyes. She felt guilty about using him and Mina to save Vlad and his family, she'd done the right thing but it didn't mean it was any easier. She was now an outcast amongst their kind. Her and Ryan had been practically brought up by the Guild, her time at Garside Grange was the first time she'd ever been to a normal school.

She'd known what she was sacrificing when she'd done it. It was worth it in her mind, something she'd have to remember whether or not the next few weeks would be trying for her.

Erin heard Vlad's heated reply when she finally listened into the conversation. "I gave you my word." Vlad told them seriously.

"A vampire's word means nothing in our world." Jonno told him, his tone was scathing as he looked at Erin. Erin could see the cogs whirring in his brain, he wanted to send her a scathing comment but he was restraining himself from doing so because of Vlad's presence.

"I've never gone back…" He began angrily but felt Erin's hand come to rest comfortably on his shoulder. He glanced back at her, she nodded slowly. "A written agreement then?" Erin squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"We need to find out the damage you caused first." Jonno spat at Vlad.

"I caused?" Vlad couldn't take the credit for this. It wasn't his doing the casualties on the slayer side. He looked startled at the accusation.

"Jonno." Mina spoke sternly, intervening before the argument got out of hand. "We need to think this over Vlad, everything that has happened. Then we'll give you an answer."

Vlad straightened his posture before slumping down slightly as if remembering he wasn't supposed to stand tall. "Take as long as you need."

Mina nodded beginning to walk away through the crowd, she realised that no footsteps could be heard beside her own. She turned slowly, seeing Jonno hadn't moved from staring at Vlad. Jonno's chest rose and fell angrily and with determination. He glanced every now and again at Erin, resentment in his eyes.

"Come on Jonno." The young slayer snapped to attention, his gaze breaking away from Vlad's. Vlad didn't move, he watched Jonno's actions carefully.

Jonno turned in a military fashion, turning at an angle that could cut glass. He strode deliberately from the room, not once looking back over his shoulder. His crossbow, unloaded, swung limply at his side.

They hadn't acted like this barely half an hour before when they'd helped defeat Sethius. Erin was missing something.

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As soon as they were out of earshot Vlad spoke. "Slayers can't be trusted." He spat quietly making her shudder. She couldn't do this any longer, she definitely needed to talk to him. She pretended she hadn't heard him. Vlad saw her shudder and had no reason to suspect she'd heard him. He hoped she hadn't as it would make things more… complicated for him. "You okay?" He asked her quietly, ducking his head down to catch her gaze and lure her eyes upwards.

"Yeah." She whispered, rubbing her neck from the twinges that remained there from the way Vlad had stretched it. Vlad pulled her hand away and gently placed his own fingers there, caressing the area tenderly, moving up to her jaw. He inspected the area closely, caressing her skin softly. Erin fought not to lean into his touch.

Vlad looked down at where her blue plaid shirt had slipped from her shoulders. He could see vivid purple marks already appearing. He undid the top button. Erin let out a gasp and tried to pull away. He looked at her, his eyes commanding. Erin froze and nodded – she didn't have any other choice. She only wished she'd actually put another shirt on underneath this one. With his right hand he pushed her shirt away from her shoulder, inspecting the marks. She had clear thumb prints from where he'd held her firmly. He closed his eyes and looked away before moving behind her to look at the back of her shoulder. His thumb print was there, clear for all to see.

He released the shirt and moved to her right shoulder. There was nothing on her shoulder but the top of her right bicep showed clear marks from where he'd gripped her tightly.

Erin hadn't winced at the time or shown any other signs that he'd been hurting her so he hadn't thought to loosen his grip on her. He forgot how adrenalin affected breathers and that must have stopped her from feeling pain.

Earlier he'd noticed her rubbing her elbow from where he'd pushed her forwards after finding her already escaping Bertrand's grasp.

Vlad stepped back and shook his head, this shouldn't have happened. He didn't mean to hurt her. Erin saw his sudden change and lifted her shirt back up over her shoulder, wincing as the pain began to kick in.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He hissed at her, sickened himself at the damage he'd caused her.

"I didn't think it would matter." She hissed venomously at him. Vlad looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect that reaction from her. He searched her gaze looking for a reason behind her attitude, he couldn't put his finger on what it was but it made him panic slightly. Something he hadn't experienced for a while.

Erin was surprised in that moment to see the compassion in his eyes. It made the moment all that more confusing too her. "Sorry." She tried to cover herself. "I'm just tired." She didn't want him finding out what she knew about him in public. She wanted to confront him on his own.

Dark purple bags rested under her eyes, they fluttered frantically. "How long have you been up?"

"I've lost count." She muttered under her breath. She'd stopped counting the hours forty eight of them ago. She knew she had more to go as well.

"Get some sleep." He told her quietly. He could cover for her, stop people asking questions about where she was and what she was doing. He was good at that, he'd had practice over the last couple of months.

"I don't live here anymore." She reminded him, the one place she thought of as home and she didn't live there.

Vlad gestured towards the wing of the school with their living quarters with his arm, already turning away. "Go to my room while I finish sorting out down here and…"

Erin managed to dart in front of him at a pace that would have done a vampire proud and stop him in his tracks.

He looked at her in confusion.

"I need to talk to you Vlad." That tone there and then wasn't a good one.

"Later, okay?" He asked looking behind her towards Bertrand and his 'friends'.

"Now Vlad." Her tone left no room for discussion and it worried him. Erin had never been this firm with him before; it was a side of her that genuinely intrigued him.

The niggling thought at the back of his mind returned – she knew more than she was letting on at the moment.

Erin reached down and grabbed his hand before pulling him from the assembly hall in one fluid motion. He seemed confused at first but followed her silently. Erin tightened hers around his and he instinctively shifted his hand to lace their fingers together as their hands fit perfectly.

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They silently walked down the corridors.

Vlad could hear her heart racing and was concerned as to why it was racing and what that meant. He listened to the sound of her breathing to find it quickening and not from the walk.

He reached out with his mind to brush against hers but to his surprise he couldn't feel her mind at all. His boots clattered against the floor as he increased the force of his step as he grew irritated about being kept in the dark.

They turned down a familiar corridor in the west wing that led to their rooms. Erin's room was bare, the Count had ordered Renfield to strip it out, burn the coffin she'd been sleeping in. He'd claimed it reeked of breather, a miracle since Vlad had only had a taste of her scent tonight for the first time. All that was in her room was her coat and bag. She hadn't taken her bag with her before so at least she had some clothes at the school to wear.

Erin halted in her tracks, twisting the stiff door handle firmly. It creaked and groaned, the sound loud enough to wake the dead as it inched round in the mechanism. The contrast was amazing as the door opened cleanly without a noise exposing them to Vlad's room.

Erin yanked on his hand and pushed him into the room. He didn't stumble under her force and she used a lot of it. He walked towards his coffin, still open wide. He hadn't bothered to close it. The curtains were still drawn from getting changed in the sunlight and he hadn't bothered to open them when he'd returned.

Erin shut the door and leaned on it, the extra force forcing the catch into the lock. The door didn't have a key to lock it so her weight would have to do for now. Vampires didn't need keys when they could click their fingers and the doors would lock automatically.

She knew if he wanted to get out all he had to do was move her physically to one side.

She looked at him, all masks dropping. She fixed him with a gaze of pure anger and betrayal. He seemed shocked at her reaction and clearly unsure how to respond to it. "Vlad, did you know that what you see in the mirror isn't what people see when they look at you, you see everything reversed?"

That confused him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Erin folded her arms over her chest. "You know exactly what it means."

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading.