Entropy

Prologue: One Single Dream

Author's Note: Hello, all. This is my first Van Helsing fic, so please be gentle. I just watched the movie for the first time on my computer this weekend...even though I didn't get the chance to see it on the big screen, I liked it anyway. Soo...this is my story. It's set in a little AU universe where Anna magically didn't die after a huge werewolf jumped on top of her. However...she lost her memory. And we'll go from there...

A chill of fear ran up her spine as the beast turned to her, it's fiery eyes boring into hers. She could not sense a shred of human sense left in them. But no...she had to be strong. It leaped towards her with fearsome speed, teeth dripping blood and saliva, hulking form contorted as it ran towards her. She stood as if in a trance, clutching the cure in so tightly her knuckles turned ivory white. She couldn't move but could only reach out numbly to plunge the cure into the hide of the werewolf as it toppled onto her. She was vaguely aware of a crushing pain, and then everything began to waver and slowly fade out. She felt as if she were strangling, her lungs crushed and her limbs felt as if they were tied down. She could only struggle slowly, as if she were underwater. A sudden premonition hit her—she was going to die. Right here, right now. Suddenly the moon ducked behind a glowering cloud and the werewolf, with a scream of pain, turned back into a man. A tall, dark, man...She redoubled her efforts to break free, tearing against what was restricting her...

The woman sat up abruptly, completely and utterly disoriented. Her violent panic screeched to a halt as she realized the bonds she had been resisting were just the blankets. Slowly unwinding the mess of bedclothes from her body, she looked around the room, squinting in the bright light.

Almost from habit, she took inventory of herself. Her ribs hurts, probably more than one of them was cracked. There was dried blood from numerous scratches on her face, arms, and stomach, but her legs seemed relatively unharmed, but slightly shaky.

A sudden thought caused her pause. Habit...what other habits did she have? She couldn't recall anything, and felt a slow wave of panic creeping up to envelop her.

"What is my name?" She cried out loud, beginning to shake. "What is my name?" A tremor of fear crept into her voice. The dream with the werewolf...it was the only thing she could recall, along with the man's face.

She made for the door of the room immediately, but quickly realized she might do well in putting on some clothes. To her surprise, a set of clothes, including lace up boots and a tight corset, were folded neatly inside the closet of the spacious room. She pulled them on, and they fit her perfectly. She had been expecting that.

Striding out of the room, she heard voices floating up the stairs. She took a moment to glance around the hallway. It was richly decorated, and there was a portrait at the far end of the hall. She walked toward it slowly.

It was of a woman and man, the man with light brown hair, pale eyes, and an easy smile, the woman with dark curly hair, pallid skin, and a serious expression. She slowly reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair. Dark. Curly. It matched that of the girl in the portrait's exactly.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, she spun on her heel and nearly ran down the stairs, screeching to a halt when the dull ache in her ribs threatened to become an acute pain.

Pausing for breath, she could hear the voices more clearly now. They appeared to be coming from two men in the next room. Slowly, unsurely, she walked towards the closed door. She paused for a moment with her hand on the doorknob, the cool metal numbing a still stinging gash on her hand. Then she twisted the door open, scrutinizing the two strangers.

The taller one, who looked slightly familiar, stopped in mid-sentence, freezing when he saw her. The shorter man turned around, and beamed at her. "You're finally awake, eh?"

The tall man looked at her dead-on, an expression in his eyes she couldn't quite read. "Anna..." He said quietly, walking towards her.

A sudden flash of panic awoke in her. She suddenly recalled where she had seen this man last. The werewolf!!

"You tried to kill me! Get away!" She screamed, stumbling back away from him. She slipped; her injured body used to the sudden frantic motions, and fell hard on the floor.

The tall man hurried towards her, something like alarm and worry in his shadowed eyes. "I—I'm sorry." He whispered, "I was not in my right mind at the time."

"Who are you?" She demanded roughly, standing up quickly, cheeks slightly pink with shame at having fallen down in front of the two strangers.

Both of the men stopped short.

"What did you say?"

"I asked who you were." She said shortly. "Is that so uncommon?"

"Anna...you...you don't remember?" The man who had been the werewolf asked, walking towards her again.

"How often must I repeat myself—keep away from me!" She hissed, dark eyes aglow as she took another step backwards. She paused suddenly. "Is...is that my name? Anna?" Her optics were suddenly full of a sort of childlike innocence.

"Anna Valerious." The shorter man affirmed from across the room, but the tall one took another step closer. Anna drew back once more.

"You don't remember anything? Anything at all?" He questioned her harshly.

"Nothing."

Author's Note: For those of you who are a bit slow, that was Anna and Velkan in the portrait. Thanks for reading, I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Reviewers will get rubber duckies...or cookies...whatever. (By the way, if my italics aren't showing up on this story, will someone tell me?)