* MODERN SOUL .

  ❛ After all, when all else is gone, you may still have bitterness in abundance. ❜ // @movrningbride​

                                 jonathan grew weaker every day that he spent stuck within that cursed castle . he attempted to cling to the memory of mina , of lucy , of his family and friends that still persisted back in london and that , surely , awaited his return ... but his hold on such thoughts would often loosen . whenever fair verona taunted him , his faith in reason and decency would waver and , with it , all the teachings his father had bestowed upon him about good social manners . and there she stood again , both a beauty and a horror that continued to haunt his daily searches for an escape . only hatred spilled from her red lips , as if he , jonathan harker , were the enemy  (  as if he were the villain  )  ! if her intentions were to lead him to despair , she was indeed succeeding . but never would jonathan allow her to know the dimension of his distress . he faced her then , gazing upon her soft features , feeling both the pull and repulsion that he had known the very first night the brides had made their presence known .

                                       he felt a moistness in his eyes , one mr . harker did his very best not to show . but the frustration of being met with such vile cruelty , such pure unfounded hatred , left him weaker still . if he could make sense of his captivity or of his kidnapers , perhaps his throat would not feel as dry , nor would his heart beat so loudly between his ears . but verona , beautiful verona , she was the sharpest blade of all ... and she knew where to poke jonathan in order to make him bleed . he clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth :

❛ For you alone I will be weak. ❜ // @draculyr​

 the words which spilled from dracula’s red mouth caught jonathan harker by surprise . his pale hand lightly pressed against the dark stones of the castle’s wall , hoping it would offer him some balance ; a feeble attempt at remaining in contact with that which he KNEW TO BE REAL . his host was not what he seemed , of that jonathan was sure , but the englishman could no longer trust his own senses ; his eyes had made him witness to unspeakable horrors , his skin felt the nightly touch of something which should not walk amongst mankind ... and now he heard the count speak to him with such an enticing warmth that he , poor jonathan , nearly let his guard down in order to BE WEAK IN RETURN . 

                         but the wind whistled outside those walls , and with it the howling of wolves . the children of the night , as the count had called those beasts , clawed at dracula’s offering , shedding it of all its’ charm , reminding jonathan of all the times in which he had seen the flash of cruelty glistening in the corners of the other man’s eyes , reminding him that his stay had been prolonged BEYOND ANY MISUNDERSTANDING . jonathan felt as a prisoner . and , in his despair for familiarity , he allowed himself to be honest with the count .    “     ───   that is a gift which i cannot accept ,   ”    harker began , carefully , his pale gaze searching dracula’s sharp features , still confident that the creature standing before him was  NOTHING BUT A MAN . 

❛ I understand. ❜ // @wmina​

                       “ forgive me , i fear i might have not spoken clearly , ” 

                          jonathan harker was quick to raise his hand , as if this gesture alone would stop mina murray on her tracks . he hoped it would , for he dared not reach out and touch her , least she think  (  nay , realize !  )  that jonathan was desperate to feel her skin upon his . it was foreign to him , to struggle with this sort of infatuation . mr . harker had always been so skilled at keeping his composure but , when it came to ms . murray , everything he knew to be true became horribly frail . he was willing to second guess himself when near her    ───   ready to surrender whatever mina wished to have . A TERRIBLE THOUGHT HE DARED NOT SPEAK ALOUD ! not because he feared his dear friend’s rejection , but because jonathan could not stand the thought of mina and he growing apart due to his feelings for her . love was a blade dangling over his head ... if he were to speak its’ name , then it would surely fall . 

                        but this battle within himself had now transpired onto sweet mina . she thought he had left yesterday’s gathering in an attempt to avoid her . jonathan could see the hurt in her eyes . his heart had nearly leapt out of his chest and onto her palms then , ready to confess that the only reason he had gone there was , in fact , TO SEE HER . but she appeared with her arm wrapped around another’s man’s arm and her smile was wider and warmer than ever and mr . harker , being the infinite fool he was , went home without ever speaking a word to her .