Castle Dreamtale

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Make sure to read the desc for warnings and such!

Hope you enjoy my interpretation of the Vampire Verse AU!

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    Lord-or-Lady Frisk of Outertale sat in their bumping carriage quietly, and with only the sound of the pouring rain to accompany them.
   As the sky had turned blacker of night, no one was more on edge of the dangers that could be lurking than the horses who pulled the carriage. Not that the driver or chauffeur were particularly happy to be out in the pouring rain when there could be vampires hiding in the pitch black.

   These were dangerous times for travelling at night. Word of vampires seemed to be everywhere in the kingdom these days.
   "My lady, may I suggest that we stop for shelter tonight? The horses are tired and can't see a thing in this dark." The driver yelled through the wood of the carriage to his passenger.

   They thought about it as they looked through their small window.
   In desperate times...

   "Very well. Take us to Castle Dreamtale." They responded politely.
   Before leaving on their long trip they had hoped that they would be able to just pass Dreamtale without stopping, but the weather had other plans, as it usually did. The Lord-or-Lady Frisk did suppose that there were worse places to stay than Dreamtale. After all, Lord Dream was always known to be a very kind host, as well as being a good friend to many in the land of Outertale.
   Not to mention, the rumours about Lord Nightmare were just fiction....
   Probably.

   Before long, their carriage was being pulled up the road to the Castle and stopped in front of the grand doors.
   The chauffeur hopped off the back of the carriage and quickly went to the carriage door to retrieve her lord-or-lady.
   "Quickly now my lady." She took their hand to help them down as the chauffeur used her coat to protect them from the rain and run to the doors.

  Lord-Lady Frisk pounded on the doors with her first until the butler peeked the door open.
   "Who is it?" The butler of the castle asked.
   "Lady Frisk of Outertale. Please tell the lords of the house that I'm here." They spoke with understandable urgency.
   "Of course my Lady, please come in." He opened the door for them before Frisk's chauffeur ran off to assist the driver.

   Lord-or-Lady Frisk took a sigh of relief as they walked inside. Sheltered from the rain but now at the mercy of social interaction lit by candlelight.
   They had never been in Castle Dreamtale before, though immediately it was obvious to Frisk that the castle was made of a much older architecture than their mansion at home. They of course, lived with their foster mother back in Outertale.

   The tapping of footsteps on the grand staircase drew Frisk to look away from the old castle walls and ceilings. Lord Dream met golden eyes with Lord-Lady Frisk at the same time as each other.
   "Lord-or-Lady Frisk! What a pleasant surprise!" Lord Dream was all smiles, as he usually was. He quickly made his way down the steps just to greet his guest, with his glittering gold cape flowing behind him gracefully.

   "I do apologize for arriving without writing to you first, and at such a late hour." They apologized as they both cupped each other's hands in a friendly manner.
   "Nonsense! That dreadful weather has already made you so cold, we're glad to have you for the night." Dream escorted Lord-or-Lady Frisk to the next room where the butler was already adding more wood to the fireplace.
   "I'm afraid that I can't stay very long as it is, my trip is a rushed one and I need to be back on the road at first light tomorrow." They informed. Usually, it was a little rude to stay the night and leave before having breakfast.
   It could be read as "I don't actually want to be here." And severely offend a host.

   "If you must, I wouldn't want to keep you from where you're going anyway. As I said, we're just glad to see you at all." Lord Dream seemed to be very easygoing about their desire to leave so quickly.
   Lucky for Frisk, since they truly "didn't want to be there."

   "If I may ask though, is it Lord or Lady Frisk this night?" As kind of a host as Lord Dream was, Lord Nightmare frightened most people whether they believed in the rumours or not.
   "Lady is fine, thank you for asking." Lady Frisk answered with a smile as they warmed their hands and legs by the fire. They were so ready to jump into a warm bed and avoid running into Lord Nightmare if at all possible.
   "Very well. And if you haven't eaten yet, would you join us for dinner?" He asked, "We were just about to start and I wouldn't want you going hungry under my roof."

   "If it's no trouble." Despite Lady Frisk's desire to avoid Lord Nightmare, their stomach was eating their corset at the mention of dinner.
   "Non at all! If I may?" Dream offered his arm to Lady Frisk, they linked arms with Dream as a friendly smile grew on their face and he escorted them to the dining room.

   Lord Nightmare was already sitting at the end of the table waiting for Dream, though he wasn't expecting someone else to be following him.
   Lady Frisk gulped upon seeing Nightmare sitting in the dark candlelight.

   Goodness. He even looked like a vampire in this lightning. But those silly rumours weren't true, so Lady Frisk had nothing to worry about.

   "Good evening Lord Nightmare!" Lady Frisk bravely greeted him as they slightly bowed their head to him, resisting the urge to do a full-on curtsy based on the sole idea that disrespecting him would make him furious.

   "Evening." He spoke back. His deep voice made him sound like he was displeased with their very existence, but still Lady Frisk resisted the urge to kiss his boot out of sheer fear of him.
   "Lady Frisk will be staying the night to seek shelter from the weather. They say that they can't stay for breakfast tomorrow however." Dream spoke so calmly to Lord Nightmare that it made Lady Frisk think that perhaps Lord Nightmare wasn't actually displeased with them. Perhaps that was just how Lord Nightmare naturally spoke.

   "Very well. I will inform the staff so your carriage will be ready to go by the time you're woken up tomorrow." Lord Nightmare informed before sipping from his glass full of, what Frisk bravely assumed to be, red wine.

   "Thank you my Lord." Lady Frisk smiled to him. Nightmare simply glanced at Frisk with a scowl, which quickly made them turn away from Lord Nightmare. Though Lady Frisk had to wonder if he was truly scowling, or if that was again just simply how Nightmare looked at people.
   If Lord Nightmare wasn't a vampire, then he sure wasn't a very friendly mortal.

   The servants walked in with plates of food and set them in front of each of the lords and their guest. As well as placing additional plates in the center of the table for everyone to take from as they pleased.
   "This all looks incredible!" Lady Frisk couldn't help but praise.
   "I'm sure the chef would be happy to hear you say that!" Lord Dream smiled as everyone dug in.

   Lady Frisk couldn't help but notice that the silverware wasn't silver at all, but it was gold-plated. One would think that King Asriel himself was eating with the two Lords from just how extra it was to eat with gold-plated cutlery. Unless they were purposefully not using the silverware for some reason.
   Lady Frisk knew that they were pushing their luck by letting themself think of such things.

   "Lady Frisk, how is everyone back in Outertale? Good I hope." Dream asked to break the silence.
   "Yes they're- oh my goodness! I'm deeply sorry! I haven't expressed how sorry I was to hear of Lady Nim's passing!" Frisk was ready to hide under the table for forgetting something like that. The host's mother had died suddenly and they hadn't even said anything about it. Both Lord Dream and Nightmare jumped at Lady Frisk's sudden outburst.

   "No please, don't apologize. It's quite alright." Dream tried to reassure them.
   "You didn't kill her." Nightmare muttered passively.
   "Our mother's death really wasn't as sudden as everyone makes it out to be. But please, there's no point in speaking about things like death at the dinner table." Dream would rather not talk about it.

   "Of course. You are right...." Frisk sank in their seat, more embarrassed and uncomfortable than before. Still a part of them wanted to know the truth about Lord Nightmare.
   They were right there in his castle. And seen as their mind wouldn't leave them be about the question.
  Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to learn the truth and silence Lady Frisk's curiosity with some answers.

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