Monster High Diaries: Draculaura and the New Stepmomster Read online

  “I’m glad the cameras don’t bother you,” Elissabat said. “They’re with me all the time lately. You see, after I became the vampire queen, my studio decided to do a reality show about my unlife as both queen and Hauntlywood actress. When they heard I’d gotten an invitation to Dracula’s wedding, they thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get some great shots of the vampires of Transylvania at their very best. So we’re doing a piece on vampire scaritage and what it means to celebrate a marriage, vampire-style. I told them I would allow them to film things this weekend as long as the cameras don’t get in the way of the festivities!”

  Cleo laughed. “How could cameras ever be in the way? And I’m sure they’re going to be thrilled to have footage of me too. Look at us!” She linked arms with Elissabat. “A vampire queen and an Egyptian princess. Hauntlywood will be dying of excitement. Transylvania is bursting with celebrity and royalty this weekend!”

  One of Elissabat’s assistants whispered something in her ear. The vampire queen nodded. She said, “I’ll see you tonight at the bride’s family gala, ghouls. But now, duty calls.” Elissabat and her entourage walked off, followed by the crowds of screaming fans.

  “This weekend is going to be totally voltageous!” Frankie said to Draculaura as they made their way into the Chateau’s enormous lobby. “A spooktacular wedding, a Hauntlywood boo-vie crew, you get to meet your new stepmomster—”

  “Oh my ra!” Cleo said, interrupting her. “Look at this place. You were right, Draculaura—this hotel really is fit for a queen.”

  The lobby of the Chateau Transylvania was indeed a sight to behold. The giant space was filled with dark purple candles that appeared to be floating in midair. The walls were covered in thick black tapestries with elaborate ruby red designs woven through them. The floors were made of black marble that gleamed in the candlelight. Vampire butlers stood hunched in every corner, ready to serve.

  “Allow me to show you to your room.” Fangsly suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gestured for the group to follow him.

  “Can you just wait for a sec?” Draculaura asked. She looked around the lobby, disappointed to find it mostly empty. “I was just hoping to say hello to my dad before we go upstairs.”

  “Ooh!” said Frankie. “And maybe we can meet Ramoanah. We need to thank her for inviting us to the party tonight!”

  “I’m afraid your father is unavailable at the moment,” Fangsly said coolly. “He has stepped out, with plans to return before this evening’s gala reception.”

  Ghoulia grunted. “He is probably just seeing to last-minute details.”*

  Draculaura reluctantly nodded. “You’re right, Ghoulia. I’m sure he has a ton of wedding stuff to take care of.” She gave her friends the brightest smile she could. “I guess I’d just hoped that Ramoanah and my dad would be here waiting and that I could spend some time with them before the rest of the guests fly in. I wanted to offer my help and see if they need me to do anything for the wedding. I want to see Ramoanah’s dress too. But I guess I can wait until tonight!”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to get to know Ramoanah over the next few centuries or so,” Frankie reminded her with a smile.

  “You don’t have to spend every second with your new stepmomster this weekend,” Clawdeen teased as the five of them linked arms and followed Fangsly through the hotel’s dim passageways. “For now, you can kick back in a clawesome suite with your four ghoulfriends. Let’s get ready to knock ’em dead with our killer style tonight! I, for one, have the perfect outfit to wear for dancing the night away!”

  My dad and Ramoanah are obviously trying so hard to make all my ghoulfriends feel so very welcome in Transylvania! I am surer than ever that Ramoanah is going to be fangtastic! Sending that special carriage to pick us up, our very own BUTLER!!, and this fangulous suite. (Half of Monster High would fit inside this hotel room with us.…It’s seriously that huge!) Uugh-mazing.

  Dad’s open-mindedness about other monsters is one of the things I love most about him. He’s worked so hard to fight for the rights of all monsters around the world—and he’s always been really great about accepting all my non-vamp friends. A lot of important vampires are so old-fashioned, and Dad gets that traditions can change. I bet Ramoanah is just as open-minded!

  Ooh! Gotta go. Frankie just found another room in our suite, and I’d better check it out.

  Smooches,

  Draculaura

  This room is a scream come true!” Frankie cheered when Fangsly propped open the door to their huge hotel suite.

  “Oh my ra!” Cleo said, stepping inside the cavernous room. “Now this is a suite fit for a princess!”

  “Whoa!” exclaimed Clawdeen. “Clawesome.” Beside her, Ghoulia’s and Draculaura’s mouths hung open in wonder.

  “I take it this is to your liking?” Fangsly stood still as stone near the door while they raced into the suite. Much like the Chateau’s lobby, their room was dimly lit and totally elegant. Right inside the door of the suite was a huge sitting room filled with comfortable chairs and couches and a huge chaise longue.

  Off the sitting room were five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom! Cleo quickly claimed the room with a plush canopy bed. Clawdeen took the smallest room, which was filled with gold-tinted faux-fur rugs that made the space feel warm and cozy. Ghoulia immediately settled into a bedroom that was lined in bookshelves filled with all kinds of books. Frankie snagged the room that was wallpapered in black-and-white stripes.

  “Just look at this coffin!” Draculaura squealed, running into the last bedroom. In the center of the room, there was an enormous coffin lined in dark pink silk. The room was stuffed with beautiful black and pink roses. Count Fabulous flapped into the room and got cozy in one corner of the pink ceiling. “Thank you, Fangsly. This room is so totes freaky fab.”

  “Make yourselves comfortable,” the serious butler said. “The bride’s family has asked me to inform guests that dinner will be served at eight o’clock in the Scaritage Ballroom. They have requested that everyone arrive promptly. Dancing will follow the formal dinner.”

  “You got it,” said Clawdeen. “Turn on some music, and these ghouls will be there!”

  Fangsly added, “If there is anything you need this weekend, just ring for me and I’ll fly up straightaway.”

  Draculaura and her ghoulfriends flounced from room to room in their suite, checking out all the secret nooks and comfy corners in each bedroom. Then they gathered in the sitting room to get dressed for that night’s reception. The ghouls tried on several different outfits, giggling as they each held a mini fashion show in the center of their very own Chateau Transylvania suite.

  Cleo looked royally gore-geous in a dress made of gold and teal bandages with gold snake-strap sandals and a scarab necklace. Ghoulia was fiercely elegant in a bright red shredded taffeta minidress. Frankie looked voltageous in a sleek neck-to-knees black-and-white lightning-bolt-print dress. Clawdeen’s sparkling purple tiger-print dress was offset with a gold studded belt and a pair of killer black-and-gold boots. And Draculaura was wearing a fangtastic layered, ruffled pink skirt with a black glitter top with pink lace trim and a jeweled pink bat-wing necklace.

  When they had all brushed and wrapped and primped (and charged up, in Frankie’s case), they made their way back down to the lobby to explore the hotel for a bit before the dinner was to begin.

  “Draculaura!” someone called from near the door. “Yoo-hoo! Draculaura, dear.”

  “Ooh!” Draculaura said, tugging her friends toward a group of glamorous-looking vampires. She whispered, “Come and meet Lady and Lord Coffington. They’re like an aunt and uncle to me. They took care of me sometimes when Dad and I were still in the vampire court.”

  “Draculaura,” Lady Coffington said, her arms out in a welcoming gesture. “It’s lovely to see you, my dear.” She glanced at Draculaura’s friends and lowered her arms. “And who are these…creatures?”

  “These are my ghoulfriends from Monster
High, Lady and Lord Coffington. This is Cleo de Nile, Frankie Stein, Ghoulia Yelps, and Clawdeen Wolf.”

  Lady and Lord Coffington exchanged a look. “I thought you would have become friends with”—Lord Coffington cleared his throat—“the other vampires at Monster High.”

  Draculaura giggled. “Don’t be so old-fashioned, Lord Coffington,” she teased, holding out a finger and playfully wagging it at him.

  Lord Coffington took a deep breath and finally forced a smile. “I’ve been undead a good long time, young lady. It can be hard to change your ways after hundreds of years.” Reluctantly, he nodded at Draculaura’s friends and said, “Please accept my apologies. Of course any friend of our dear friend Draculaura is a friend of ours. Welcome to Transylvania.”

  Lady Coffington nodded and smiled awkwardly at Draculaura’s friends, then leaned in to Draculaura to whisper, “Has Lady Ramoanah met your ghoulfriends yet, dear?”

  Draculaura shook her head. “No. I haven’t even met her yet!”

  “Well,” said Lady Coffington, her smile growing even more strained. “That should be…interesting.”

  Suddenly, the front doors of the Chateau were flung open, and a large group of vampires clad in fang-to-toe black swept into the lobby. In the center of the crowd—tall, handsome, and impossible to miss—was Dracula.

  “Father!” Draculaura cried, rushing over to greet him.

  “Draculaura,” Dracula replied, pulling his daughter close for a hug.

  Draculaura stepped back and looked at the other vampires who had come into the Chateau with her father. They all stared back at her, unblinking. They were so still, so serious-looking, that it almost seemed as though they weren’t even real. Their skin glowed white in the candlelight that lit up the lobby, and dark circles surrounded their gleaming black eyes. This must be Ramoanah’s family, Draculaura thought. Draculaura’s gaze settled on a frighteningly beautiful woman who was right next to her father. In a timid voice, she said, “You must be Ramoanah?”

  The woman nodded, lifted one perfect eyebrow, and said, “How do you do?”

  “I’m Draculaura,” Draculaura said excitedly. “It’s so fangtastic to finally meet you.” Draculaura looked expectantly at her new stepmomster-to-be, hoping she would pull her in for a hug or at least crack a warm smile, but instead Ramoanah just stood there looking rather stiff and uncomfortable. Maybe she’ll need a little bit of time to warm up…? Draculaura thought uncertainly.

  “It’s an honor to finally meet you,” Ramoanah said without moving.

  “Draculaura,” her dad said, touching Ramoanah’s arm. He glanced between his daughter and his wife-to-be. “Darling, we have a few finishing touches to put on the welcome gala that Ramoanah’s family is hosting tonight. We also have several last-minute wedding details to attend to. If you’ll excuse us, I’m sure you and I will have a chance to catch up later. As Fangsly has probably already told you, all our honored wedding guests will be gathering in the Scaritage Ballroom very shortly.”

  “Oh,” murmured Draculaura. “Um, okay. I guess I’ll just see you at dinner tonight, then.” She glanced at Ramoanah and her family and smiled warmly despite her disappointment. “Thanks for inviting us to the welcome gala. I bet it’s gonna be fangulous.”

  “We have invited all the guests who have already arrived in Transylvania for the wedding,” a woman standing beside Ramoanah said in a harsh voice. She introduced herself as Ramoanah’s mother. Her hair was streaked with gray, and she wore a chilly frown on her face. “Your father told us you were arriving today, and it seemed…inappropriate to not extend an invitation to you and your…guests. Despite our hesitation.”

  “Hesitation?” asked Draculaura.

  “Mother…” Ramoanah said in a low voice.

  Dracula quickly spoke up. “Ramoanah’s family was originally thinking of having a small dinner party with only a few members of their immediate family. But when we realized how many of our guests would have already arrived—including Elissabat and Lord and Lady Coffington and, of course, you—Ramoanah and I suggested that they include everyone. That’s why we have a bit of a last-minute scramble to make sure the kitchen is ready for our larger party.”

  “Why don’t you help your dad and Ramoanah with some of the last-minute stuff?” Clawdeen suggested.

  “Yeah, Draculaura. You’re great at planning parties,” agreed Frankie enthusiastically.

  When Draculaura’s two friends spoke, the crowd of vampires around her father swiveled their heads to gape at them. Draculaura tried to ignore their stares and hoped her ghouls would do the same.

  “Right!” Draculaura said cheerfully. “My ghoulfriends and I would love to help with absolutely everything this weekend. Ramoanah, I would be honored to help you with your dress or makeup or…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed how uncomfortable Ramoanah looked and how angry Ramoanah’s mother looked. After a long moment of silence, she continued in a tiny voice. “Or, you know, anything else you might need?”

  “I’m quite sure I can…manage things just fine,” Ramoanah replied.

  “Fine with me,” Cleo sniffed. She didn’t like the chilly tone these vampires were taking with Draculaura. Besides, she had no intention of lifting a finger this weekend. That’s what servants were for after all.

  “Draculaura,” said her father gently. He looked apologetic. “Many members of Ramoanah’s family have just arrived at the Chateau. They still need to check in to their rooms and dress for dinner.” He gestured to the vampires standing around them. “As the hosts of tonight’s gala, Ramoanah and her family would—ah—prefer to handle the preparations on their own.”

  “Without my help?” Draculaura asked sadly.

  “That is correct,” announced Ramoanah’s mother. “We do not need nor want help from any of—”

  Draculaura cringed as she waited for Ramoanah’s mother to finish what she was saying, but Clawdeen cut her off. “Let me guess. You don’t want any help from non-vampires, am I right?”

  Instead of replying, Ramoanah’s mother sniffed and turned her head.

  “Perhaps we should go check on things in the kitchen,” Ramoanah suggested a moment later. “Mother, would you please go check on things in the dining room?”

  Without another word, Ramoanah’s mother swept off toward the dining room as Ramoanah took Dracula’s hand and gently pulled him toward the kitchen. Dracula managed a small smile at Draculaura and her friends as he was whisked away.

  “Let me know if you change your mind and decide you need anything,” Draculaura called after them. “Anything at all…” But neither Dracula nor Ramoanah turned around.

  “Well,” Frankie said a moment later. “That was, um…interesting?”

  Draculaura was close to tears. “That was a major fail! So much for my hope that I’d get to be her maid of horror. I’m surprised she even invited me to the wedding!”

  “She did seem a bit chilly,” agreed Clawdeen. “Maybe she spent a few too many months in Antarctica,” she joked, trying to make her beast ghoulfriend smile.

  Draculaura sighed. “What am I going to do? My new stepmomster hates me!”

  “She doesn’t hate you,” Frankie said, and all the ghouls nodded in agreement.

  “How could she hate you?” Clawdeen added. “She only just met you! And besides, you happen to be absolutely fangulous, remember?”

  Draculaura couldn’t help but smile.

  “Give her some time. She is probably as nervous as you are,”* moaned Ghoulia.

  “You’re right, Ghoulia,” said Draculaura, perking up even more as she saw the encouraging smiles on the faces of her friends. “Maybe I do need to just give her some time to warm up to me. I’ll kill her with kindness, and soon she won’t be able to resist me!” She beamed at her friends. “It’s going to be fine, right?”

  “That sounds more like the ghoul we all know and adore,” Cleo said. She put her arm around Draculaura’s shoulders. “Now, who wants to explore this golden Chateau before dinner
?”

  I know Dad must have told Ramoanah that the ghouls from Monster High would be here for the wedding. It was Dad who told me they could all come in the first place (he’s also the one who told me Clawd couldn’t come along), so I can’t understand why Ramoanah’s family acted so chilly toward all of us.

  As for Ramoanah’s chilliness…well, I’m going to look on the bright side (as I always do!) and assume that Ramoanah just has prewedding nerves or something. Maybe she was so busy with wedding stuff that she forgot to mention it to her family. And that’s probably what’s making her seem a little unfriendly. I’m sure she must be nice when you get to know her a little better, or Dad wouldn’t have fallen in love with her. Right? He said she was sweet, so I guess I’ll just have to wait to see that side of her for myself.

  I can’t wait for the welcome gala. It will be so nice to get to sit and chat with Ramoanah and Dad during dinner. We can talk all about the wedding, and I’m sure they’ll decide to let me help out with some of the last-minute plans.

  I bet the food at the Chateau Transylvania is to die for! And dancing!! Clawdeen and Frankie are so excited there’s going to be dancing. I wonder if they’ll play the theme song from the new Vampire Majesty boo-vie? Wouldn’t it be a scream to see Elissabat dancing along to a song from the boo-vie she starred in?! Oh, and maybe we can teach everyone the zombie shake! How fangtastic would that be?!

  Gotta go explore the Chateau before dinner. More later.

  Smooches,

  Draculaura

  The ghoulfriends had such a blast exploring the west wing of the Chateau that they lost track of time. “We’re going to be late for dinner if we don’t hurry!” Draculaura squeaked.

  In their hurry to arrive on time for dinner, they got lost as they wound back toward the lobby through the twisting corridors. There were dozens of hidden passageways in the Chateau, which dated back thousands of years. Every time they came around a corner, they stumbled upon a new and fangtastic room they hadn’t seen before. There was an art gallery in the east wing of the Chateau, alongside an elegant gift shop and a jewelry store that sold precious ancient gems. (The ghouls had to drag Cleo out of there, and she only agreed to leave after Draculaura promised her there would be plenty of time later for shopping!) The west wing of the Chateau housed a super-fancy spa that the ghouls agreed they couldn’t wait to check out later in the weekend.