A.N. First story on FanFiction, so it might not be great but read please! I do not Van Helsing (weep) or any of the characters (double weep) apart from Maria.
There was once a princess who fell in love with a prince. For some time, they were together, happily until a monster kidnapped the princess. He made her forget about her past and eventually the princess fell in love with the monster and found out he was no monster at all…
The Dream….
"Maria…Maria….Wake up…Please" a voice whispered in my ear. I stirred a little before I opened my eyes.
It was the man who always haunted my dreams. Who was he? Did I know him? The tousled brown shoulder length hair, the dark grey sad eyes looking straight at me….
I was lying next to him, in a bed which seemed so familiar yet so…unfamiliar.
"Don't go…Please, why do you leave me everyday?" I asked.
"Maria, don't ask me that question, I have to save others,I do not want to lose you, do you understand?" he asked me, his eyes pleading. Sadness took over, I couldn't change his mind. I never would.
I woke up in a sweat. I looked around my surroundings, it was in the middle of the night, in my own bed, and thankfully, Dracula didn't wake up who was sleeping next to me. I lied back down, agitated. Every single night I could remember, I was plagued by bad dreams. Always the same three dreams, always the same scenarios, always the same man in my dreams. Were they something to do with the past I had but no longer remembered?
"Who am I, Dracula? A demon? A ghost? What was I before you met me?" I said.
He turned away and ignored me.
"Am I nothing? Was I always nothing? Will I always be nothing…to you?" I persisted.
Suddenly he shouted at me, "How can you say such a thing? I saved you, my love, from a sin so foul and terrible to say!"
But I still wanted to know more about myself.
"Why can I not remember anything about my past?" I asked, infuriated.
"STOP IT!" he yelled out.
"Why can't you tell me? Has it got something to do with the man in my dreams?" I said, exasperated.
"What man?" he said, his eyes full of fright.
Against my will, my eyes slowly closed and I was transported into another dream.
The second dream….
I was in the same room as the first dream. The bed covers lay disrupt on the floor. I was alone and scared. I stay silent and suddenly the window broke. Shards of glass flew everywhere and a shadow came towards me, I could not see its face. I stepped backwards, looking around the room…Something to save me. Anyone to save me. The shadow was looming closer and closer until I felt a hand on my arm. I heard myself scream so piercingly that my blood froze.
I woke up, sobbing and found myself still screaming. This time, Dracula woke up and comforted me.
"Oh Dracula!" I said, my tears running down my face onto my nightdress. I burrowed into his chest, like a small frightened child.
"Maria…My darling, did you have another bad dream?" he asked, his eyes clouded with anxiety.
"Yes, it was terrible, I was so scared, something grabbed me and…I-I-I screamed…" I stuttered.
I held onto him. He hugged me, as if I was made of porcelain. For I was still human and he was a vampire. One more day and soon I will be like him, I thought.
"Shh…There, my sweetheart, you must try to sleep, I do not want you to be tired for tomorrow, our wedding " he said, stroking my hair.
I loved him. I truly did even though people said he was a monster. I saw nothing wrong with him. He was more sad, more broken, more like a…man… than a killer. It reminded me of a conversation I had with him…
I tried to search for his heartbeat. I put my hand out on his chest, but no thumping of his heart appeared.
"Maria there is no point searching for the heart I do not have…For I do not deserve one…" he said, somehow meaningly. I looked at him sadly. Why would he say that? Why did he always think that he was a monster? I thought he was anything but.
Then I suddenly said, "I will always be your heart, I will always beat for you no matter what happens…I will always love you"
I looked into those black desolate eyes, hoping for some emotion from him. Instead, he turned away, almost shocked of my declaration. I heard him mutter softly under his breath. It sounded something like, "You don't deserve me, you never will…"
I smiled at him bravely even though I was still worried about what happened.
"I'll try to sleep my Dracula, I will try to sleep sweet dreams" I said.
I knew I wouldn't. The worst of my nightmares were yet to come.
I slid under the covers and closed my eyes, prepared for the third dream.
The Last dream…
I was in the same room, the bed pushed into the corner. I started to back in a corner, my heart beating too fast and I started to get light headed.
"Maria…Nice to see you again…Miss me?" someone asked.
I stepped back and ran downstairs so I could get someone to help me. Then I remembered, I was alone, I was isolated, and I was about to die.
I got something to shield me but suddenly it was thrown on the floor. What I will always remember, is that, on the floor, lay a broken crucifix. I was petrified, my heartbeat racing, my body numb with fear…Someone save me!
I woke up, scared. These dreams were…so real life. As if…they weren't dreams at all, as if, they were actually my memories. Were they? Would I ever understand my past?
I shook my head, my thoughts disappearing. Enough of the past, I mentally said to myself, focus on the present. I was going to get married! To Dracula!
I sat up, the bed empty. Dracula would be in another room, getting ready with his other acquaintances. I would get dressed alone.
I got out of the bed, walking over to the mannequin that had the dress, my dress, my wedding dress. It was beautiful, black silk embellished with tiny black crystals. I felt the silk, it was like touching flowing water. The veil was cushioned on the head. I took it and put it on my own. I walked over to the full length mirror. I looked odd. But then again, I was in a white nightdress and a black veil on my face, and it looked like I'd been dragged through bushes, as my hair was everywhere.
I took a deep breath in. I was nervous. I was very nervous, excited, scared, hopeful, happy…
I took the veil off. I walked to the table and I started to wash my face in the bowl of water in front of me. I combed my hair, excited to become a vampire. What would it be like?
Would I look beautiful? Would I look the same? Would I feel any different? Indestructible? Like a monster? Would I drink blood?
Well, obviously, I would be a vampire.
I swiftly changed into my wedding dress and put my veil on my head. I stood up and again walked to the full length mirror. Who was this beautiful vision smiling back at me? I looked away and opened the door. It was time. The clock striked ten and I walked over to the hall waiting for him.
Dracula was there in a moment, flying down, his hand in mine.
"You look beautiful" he whispered in my ear.
"You look…so….beautiful too" I said back.
He did, he truly did. Beautiful seemed inadequate. In a perfect fitting black suit, with a white rose pinned to his breast pocket, he looked amazing. He gave me a bouquet of white roses and I held them with pride as we both walked downstairs to the grand ball room where the wedding would take place.
It was a quiet affair, just Dracula's close friends and well, that was it. I couldn't obviously invite my family or friends because I had no idea who they were. We reached the end of the aisle of the grand room. He just placed his ring onto my finger and I placed my ring on his. No, of course, there was no 'you may now kiss the bride', he would have to place his fangs and convert me into a vampire.
He was about to place his lips on my neck when suddenly a sound erupted our peace. Someone jumped from the ledge above us.
"Dracula! Let her go!" a voice said. I looked up.
It was him. The man who I thought was a figment of my imagination. He had the same brown tousled hair, the same grey eyes….In the flesh. Ruining the day of my life. I didn't know how to react.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Don't worry, my darling, I will kill him" Dracula dangerously said.
"I'm ready" the mysterious man said, pulling out a silver stake.
"Oh Van Helsing, you think that a stake is going to kill me? What else have you got? Garlic?" he said sarcastically.
"Dracula, you know this man?" I asked, shocked.
He looked at me, all the colour drained out of his face.
"I-I-I—" he stuttered.
"Maria, don't you know me?" the man who was called Van Helsing said.
"How do you know my name? Am I meant to know you? Why are you always in my dreams?" I asked, suddenly frustrated.
"He's the man in your dreams?" Dracula shot at me.
"Don't you remember me? Maria, please, you have to!" Van Helsing said, coming closer.
Dracula and the small group of vampires stood up, prepared to kill him.
"No! Stop! Please!" I shouted at them, throwing myself in front of Van Helsing. They all looked at Dracula.
"What have you done to her?" Van Helsing shouted at him.
"I haven't done anything of the sort!" Dracula argued back, his fangs suddenly appearing.
"No! You will not harm this man!" I shouted back. Dracula looked at me, shocked. He could not do anything, he just stepped back and led the other vampires outside, but he stayed with us.
"Maria, I will do something to you which might make you remember everything, please, may I do it?" he whispered quickly.
I wasn't sure. But I was angry about how Dracula knew the man in my dreams but said nothing about him to me. And how he was about to kill someone innocent. Perhaps he was a monster…a killer maybe?
But something else, at the bottom of my heart, was telling me, that Van Helsing was the answer to all my questions about my past. Should I allow him to do it?
"Ok" I whispered back.
He moved closer to me and before I could resist him or Dracula cried angrily at him, he kissed me passionately on the lips. As soon as he touched me, a warm feeling flared into me so much that I felt I couldn't breathe. Heat went through my body, my brain seemed to refocus and slowly enough, I remembered the memories that I thought I would lose forever. The adrenaline was getting too much for me and against my will, I closed my eyes.
And the prince kissed the princess and she was from the monster's spell.
"My Gabriel" I whispered, my eyes still closed, as…
All the memories until that moment were lost and I would have never regained them unless my Gabriel Van Helsing didn't save me from him. Hate went through me like a stake punching into my heart, I hoped I would have the chance to kill Dracula. The utter monster, for months, he had bewitched me, made me his lustful object…I hoped Van Helsing would kill him, before Dracula did worse to him….
Gabriel's P.O.V.
…she fell into my arms. I slowly put Maria on the floor and prepared to die. My love for her was unbearably strong and I knew I would find her somehow. But my hate for Dracula, turned me into the monster I knew I would become…A killer.
"No!" Dracula cried out sadly, as he fell to the floor, "It can't be! For once, for once…" he said, heartbrokenly.
"For once what? You wanted to keep her like some sort of trophy against me? It took me months to track you down, I despise you and when Maria wakes up, she'll hate you forever!" I angrily shouted at him.
He looked up, his eyes glinted with remorse and madness.
"I didn't keep her for lust, Van Helsing, I kept her because I knew if she found you, she would never love me like she did" he said emotionlessly.
I was shocked. He was in love with Maria? Could it be that Maria was his heart's desire?
"You loved her?" I said, my voice less confident.
"Yes, Gabriel. At first, it was to get at you, to keep her as a prisoner until you showed up, but then she grew ill, deeply ill, and she needed me…So I began to treat her, respect her and I started to love her. And then I told her what I felt and she still hated me, she grew hostile and decided to escape and when I found her, I knew I had to bewitch her to love me because all I wanted, all I ever wanted,was to be loved" he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. For the first time in my life, my hunter killing instincts failed me because I knew, I was not able to kill Dracula. Stakes, garlic, holy water, werewolves were no match for him. Sure, they could trouble him for a moment, but they would hardly injure him.
Dracula began to stand up, his evil smirk suddenly appeared on his face.
"She still would have loved me if you didn't come waltzing in here and began kissing her!" he said madly, his eyes, usually a deep black, now a fiery red.
He began to close on me. I had to do something! There was no escape, if somehow, miraculously, I was able to, I would be killed by the seven bloodthirsty vampires outside the oak door.
"Prepare to die, Van Helsing" Dracula said, his fangs erecting.
"I've been doing that all this time" I smartly said, biding some time. I began to walk backwards.
"You're going to take your sarcastic manners to the grave, I see" he said, "Any last words?"
In my head, I began to pray…for forgiveness, redemption, salvation…
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc,
et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
"Oh Gabriel, you don't think that God will save you now?" Dracula cut through my thoughts.
"You don't know that for sure" I said, drawing out a sword.
Maria's P.O.V.
Memories of Gabriel and I, laughing, fighting, being together…
Memories before and after Dracula bewitched me….
Memories before I met Gabriel…
Memories of my home…
Memories of my only family, my father…
Memories of when I was a child…
I had got them all back.
I could suddenly hear shouting, a sword swishing in the air, and someone running backward and forth…
If only I could open my eyes. If only…
I could eventually move my body, but my eyes stayed still as stone.
Someone fell to the ground, and I could hear blood trickling from his body. No! Gabriel! He can't be dead!
That was all it took for my eyes to open and sit up. Dracula was about to attack Van Helsing when I yelled, "Leave him alone!"
He stopped, hesitating.
Dracula's P.O.V.
What can I do? Kill Van Helsing? Let him free? For a price? Shall I kill Maria, my only love?
No. I don't know what to do. She can never love me. Truth spread like poison around my body. She will never love me truly, I thought.
I looked into her eyes, her beautiful round blue eyes.
"Say you love me" I pleaded, stepping away from Van Helsing.
"You know I will never say such a thing" she said maliciously, " and even when I did, you know, that I was not myself, I was your puppet"
She stood up, coming closer, reaching for Van Helsing's sword.
"No" was all I said. As if one word could change my future.
"Yes Dracula, I despise you, the utter hate running in my veins is begging to kill you, and I won't fight it, and I know, I have the power to kill you, because you made yourself vulnerable to me" she said, walking to me, sword glistening in her hand.
"No" was again all I could say, stepping back.
"You are a monster, a killer, you have no conscience and I pray to God that Hell doesn't spit you back like the last time someone murdered you" she said, her eyes hard and concentrating on me.
"Please" I begged, still walking backwards hitting the wall.
She held her sword into the place where I would have a heart.
"I will never be sorry for this" was all she said and the sword pierced into my body…
Maria's P.O.V.
I held the sword into his body, until his eyes rolled back, until his body started to shake uncontrollably, until a black thick substance began to splurge, until he started to crumble and turn to ash, that was when my sword clanged to the ground.
I ran to Van Helsing, who was on the ground, breathing heavily. I kneeled beside him, holding his hand.
"He's dead, Gabriel, it's ok, please, listen, please, be alive!" I cried out.
He opened his eyes and smiled.
"I know Maria, I will never lose you again" he said, holding onto me, "I'll never forgive myself"
"Neither will I" I said, looking into those sad grey lifeless eyes.
I bent down and kissed him, and I didn't realize until tears dropped on his face, I was crying. I felt so weak, so happy that I was with Van Helsing again.
We were together. At last. The two lifeless souls forever. But there was still hope. There is always hope.
And the prince and the princess ran away from the monster's castle and loved each other so much. And they lived happily ever after.
For now.
A.N. There is more to come from my Van Helsing stories! Like: How Van Helsing met Maria (The Angel Gabriel and The Virgin Mary), How Dracula fell in love with Maria, and what happened after with Van Helsing and Maria (Lifeless Souls) and alternative endings to the Broken Crucifix! Review and wait for more!