Alright, I've had a rough day and HAD a plan for this chapter but let's see if my stressed out brain will still let me write. Hope everyone is still having as much fun as I am. On with the show!
PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKHOLDMUSICKILLSMYSOULPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK
Disclaimer: I do not own Hotel Transylvania or anything to do with the movie. I own my OCs thank you.
Ruthaven walked through the doors and abandoned the stillness that the darkness outside held, seeming to freeze the streets of the small town. He took a deep breath of the air inside and immediately tuned out the noise made by the music and drunken chatter in the bar. His eyes scanned the crowd, searching, picking through the mass of bodies for the individual he sought. His keen vampire senses were perfect for finding his old friend like nothing else in the world.
He had been searching for her in hopes that perhaps she knew of some way to revive the Pillars. Even with all of his years and the knowledge gained in them, Ruthaven knew nothing of use. He had not felt so useless since the beginning of his life as a vampire and that had been a long time ago indeed. Too long for many to fathom and yet Dracula himself was older and the events of three years ago reminded Ruthaven to never forget that fact.
Dracula was the Undead King for a reason and he deserved respect.
He grinned to himself as his vampiric gaze found who he had been seeking and he quickly crossed the room and settled down at an empty table in the back. He sat back and propped his feet up on the bench across from him, turning his head to look out at the crowd. He waved his hand to the barkeep and ordered a light meal and a double shot of vodka.
Vodka was one thing he enjoyed about the world.
His food and drink arrived in a timely manner and he smiled at the young girl, thanking her and smiling wider at her blush, as she returned to her post behind the bar. He began to eat, slowly and leisurely, taking his time before knocking back his vodka and leaning back in his seat again.
"I've spent a fair time looking for you." He said to the empty table. "You certainly don't make it easy." He smiled.
There was no answer.
"Don't play coy with me now. You know that you cannot hide from me." He said before taking another bite of his food.
"Can't blame me for trying to have a little fun." The low and rough feminine voice floated across the table from the seemingly empty space before him. "It has been long since you have sought me Ruthaven, why are you here?"
"Can I not simply enjoy time with an old friend?" He responded.
"You are well aware that I know you better than to believe such lies. Our little group does not often seek one another out."
"Straight to the point then?" He sighed. "I should have known better than to try." He shook his head, grinning with mirth.
"Always and yes you should have. Slipping in your old age aren't you?" The smirk on her face was audible.
"Old is an understatement." Ruthaven chuckled before sighing. "I need your help."
"Obviously. With what?"
"We have all spent out immortal lives in different manners. Ancient monsters such as you and I do not feel the same fear as others do in regards to humans. Much of our lives is spent amongst them in fact."
"And?"
"You especially, have chosen to observe the mortal realm. I always search for you in these sorts of places as you have always said that drunkenness often equates to honesty. Therefore..."
"You expected to find me in a pub? I'm not Isobel."
"Not what I meant and you know that." He sighed, face pinching in distress. "My point is….that you have been too many places, seen and heard many things and I was hoping that you would have the information I seek. It's only a thread of hope but it was all I had. You, out of all of us, can go places that none of us can."
"What is it?"
"Do you know what took place three years ago upon the night of the Winter Solstice?"
"No, until recently I've been spending my time wandering through various tribes in various countries. I found the solitude…..relaxing." There was a huff of breath. "But on the night in question….I am aware something happened but what, I do not know. I felt...a pressure upon my very soul, a tug, and pain. Terrible pain as if I was mourning the loss of a loved one."
The table wobbled on uneven legs and sank as weight was placed opposite of Ruthaven.
"What happened to the Pillars?" The effort of holding back tears was obvious in her voice.
"The Pillars…..are far older than even we can comprehend. They have their duties and their secrets. It was their biggest duty and greatest secret that caused what you felt that night. Be thankful that you were not there." He shuddered. "I fear….I-…." He choked and sucked in a deep breath. "The Pillars have been petrified." He told her, voice shaking.
There was a flicker in the air before him and Ruthaven shielded his eyes from the sight with inhuman speed.
Elsewhere in the tavern a woman screamed. She leaped from her place with wild eyes and screamed, ranting about sheer nonsense before rushing out the door being chased by her brother who sought only to help her.
What she had seen in the dim light before Ruthaven was not meant for the eyes of the living and her mind fractured after a mere glimpse.
"Forgive me." She whispered shakily. "Forgive me." Her voice broke into a sob. "I was shocked I-I lost control."
"You bear a heavy burden." Ruthaven whispered. "Do not let it destroy you."
There was silence as the two sat and the inhabitants of the bar got over the shock of what had just happened but before long the conversation was as loud as ever.
"What happened?" She asked and so Ruthaven told her.
He recounted the events of Sorry Night and the deeper he got into the story the more times he waved for the barkeep and the more vodka he downed. It was by no means a tale that he wished to tell or an event that he wished to relive but she had the right to know and perhaps she could help. It was not the most horrifying event he had witness or even played a part in but it was still something he wished to forget.
He owed too much to Dracula to let him go out like this. Ruthaven refused to allow him to sleep the centuries away while everything he loved withered and died around him. He would not let Dracula awake alone to nothing but loss and despair. The man had surrendered too much to the darkness that filled his life and Ruthaven was determined to let him keep what he had gained this time.
He talked late into the night and explained the reemergence of the Elements and the attempted imprisonment of Dracula.
"Those fools." The voice hissed. "I never liked Erzabet thought. She is far too vain."
"They cannot be fools for acting without information they were never given. But Shadow has certainly regained the fear that monster kind once held for Dracula."
"He does have quite the temper on him but he's mostly all talk." The roughness to her voice made her seem depressed or sickly but Ruthaven knew better.
"So, you have never stopped traveling my friend. I am desperately seeking any information that might free The Pillars."
"I am sorry to say that I know nothing." She answered sadly.
Ruthaven fell forward onto the table, cradling his head in his hands and groaning in despair.
"I had hoped." He whispered shakily, voice barely audible.
"They have covered their pasts well and any secrets they hold shall remain as such unless they give their consent." He sighed again. "I had not known the horrors of their creation until now, and I wish that I had never learned." He paused, staring off into the bar. His gaze landed upon a man attempting to gain the affections of a woman who was obviously eyeing a petite blonde across the bar. "They have suffered much." He rasped, holding back his tears.
"Yes, yes they have." A comforting weight settled upon Ruthaven's forearm. "But they are strong. We will not abandon them to torment. We will find a way before it is too late. To our very last breath, we will scour the earth."
"Come with me." He begged. "Please, I need you. I need your help. You are far more intelligent than I."
"Ruthaven…you know-you know that I-"
"You will be amongst kin!"
"Kin or not I am still a danger should I lose control."
"And yet you spend all your time with these…humans." He sneered.
"They are so short lived and their existence….wrought with tragedies. No one would notice should one perish by my weakness."
Ruthaven snorted angrily.
"Look around you!" She hissed. "A moment ago a woman was driven from her mind within these very walls and still these mortals chatter on. They have already forgotten her fate in favor of more…pleasurable ends. Not only are they short lived but their memories fade quickly as well. Their minds are small."
Silence filled their little corner for a short time as they simply observed the flow of humans who still lingered in the late hours. Ruthaven breathed steadily as he waited for the vodka to lose some of its potency in his veins.
"I need you." He said again and silence followed.
"Alright." She sighed. "I will join you but I require my rules be followed and a long cloak to be safe."
"Anything you require shall be yours." He responded with a grin. "I am certain that you could be of far more help than I."
They conversed through the night, remaining in their place in the dark corner of the pub. Ruthaven allowed himself to indulge a bit more and throughout their time no one noticed a single man in the far back talking to the nothing across from him.
Or if they did, they are mortals and their minds are small. Best to push such darkness away and seek out their own satisfaction and pleasure. No one cared about a single man whose mind may have been warped. Ruthaven was simply another one of the nobodies that wander amongst the humans, having long ago lost their way and their importance to much of the world.
But how mistaken their veiled view is indeed. He blends in but he not one of the nobodies. He is Lord Ruthaven and his age is too great for any mortal to fathom. He is a fierce warrior, trained by one more vicious than any. Darkness plagues the soul he surrendered and Dracula saved. Wars and battles loom in his past and he is aware that more are sulking about the corridors of his future.
Ignored in the back of a dingy pub sat a great being of power, strength, and primal might. So silly the humans can be and so small is their vision of the world. They know nothing of the shadows that still linger amongst the life of the world, remnants of an ancient time. They once knew of the deep magic but the knowledge has long been lost to them, remaining only in myth and lore of gods and foul demons.
They now fear magic, for magic is the tool of monsters.
To the immortal ones of this world they are no more than cattle, every so often needing to be culled for the sake of the herd. Knowledge of the Vours and the secrets of the Pillars had long been slaughtered from the histories of mankind, but it arises once more. Whispers fill the streets of the hotel and the creatures who dwell within.
They are exposed and the Vours revealed to all and, with the foolishness of man, the need for a great culling may come again.
PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKINTENSEPAGEBREAKKEWLPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK
Aha! Finally, it is done! I know it's a bit short compared to the others but I really like the ending. I got on a roll there and it just seemed like a good ending. Thanks to everyone for reading and Hopefully I can get another one up for you soon but I'm on a trip and the place I'm going has no wifi. It will be agony I assure you so you're not the only ones suffering. Review please? Reviews give me motivation and happiness!