: Mikael's POV :
For a moment I only stood there, staring at the family tree, as the news sunk in.
Married.
I was married.
To Gabrael.
Well, on the one hand, that explained a lot- why I felt like I'd known him, had once been so close to him, why I felt so compelled to take care of him, why the few memories I did have all seemed to include him in some way, why I couldn't seem to keep away from him.
But on the other hand- why hadn't I remembered this sooner? Did Gabrael know? Would he care, if he did? What did this mean for us? What did we do now?
My eyes snapped open and my mind went into defense mode as I felt it.
Evil.
I can always sense evil; it feels like fire covered by a sheet of coldest ice. It disquiets the soul.
It was coming from the armory.
Well, that's not good. We don't want to face evil when it's armed.
I ran out of the library and sprinted as fast as I could towards the armory. I was met by Carl, and together we burst into the dark room. My eyes opened wide in understanding as I smelled the wet, musty smell.
"Why does it smell like wet dog in here?" Carl asked.
"Werewolf!" Gabrael exclaimed, running in towards us.
"Right, you'll need silver bullets then," Carl said, tossing him a box.
"Well done," Gabrael called as he ran out into the rain.
I glanced at Anna, who was crying and looked incredibly shaken. I glanced at Carl, then sighed.
No, that's alright, I'll talk to Anna. Even thought she wants to run a stake through my heart.
"Anna, are you alright? What happened?" I asked.
"I-It's my brother, Velkan," Anna cried through her tears. "He's… he's a…"
"He's the werewolf?" I asked.
She nodded miserably. I looked her over quickly, searching for bite marks.
"He didn't bite you, did he?" I asked urgently.
She glared at me. "Of course not! I'm his sister! He loves me, he would never harm me!"
I shook my head. "Velkan would never harm you. The werewolf, however…"
"We have to find him, before Van Helsing does," Anna said, running for the door.
I exchanged helpless glances with Carl before grabbing my trench and following her outside. Much though I didn't care for Anna, I knew that if we left Gabrael alone with the werewolf for too long, the werewolf would die. He has a tendancy to kill monsters if he's left alone with them for too long. Somehow, I didn't think Anna would be pleased with that.
Anna led me through the streets of town until we reached the graveyard. I stopped short as I watched as, almost in slow-motion, Gabrael pulled out his gun and aimed at the werewolf who leered at him.
"Gabrael!" I cried, drawing my own guns.
"No!" Anna yelled at the same time.
She knocked me out of the way, running for Gabrael.
BANG
Time went back to normal as Anna wrenched the gun up to the sky. Gabrael and I watched helplessly as the werewolf ran away. He growled in rage and wrapped a hand around Anna's neck, pushing her against the wall.
Well, much though I kind of enjoyed seeing that, I couldn't let him kill the gypsy princess. She was still family, after all.
"Gabrael," I said softly, laying a hand on his arm.
"Why?!" he growled at Anna.
"You're choking me!" she gasped.
"Gabrael," I said again, a little louder.
"Give me a reason not to," he said, shaking me off.
"GABRAEL VAN HELSING!!" I yelled.
He turned, locking eyes with me.
Cue the butterflies.
Wait… who said cue the butterflies?!
He seemed to regain control of himself, to find composure in my eyes, for he let Anna go and walked off, drawing a deep breath.
"I can't…" Anna panted. "If people knew…"
"He's not your brother anymore, Anna!" he exclaimed, in the midst of a fit of temper that I knew well not to interfere with.
"You knew?!" she asked incredulously.
"Yes," Gabrael sighed heavily.
"Before or after I stopped you from shooting him?" she demanded.
"Before," he admitted, turning to face her.
"And still you tried to kill him!" she yelled, pushing him.
I figured right about now was a good time for a little intervention. I grabbed Anna's shoulders, pulling her back so she couldn't touch Gabrael.
"He's a werewolf! He's gonna kill people!" Gabrael yelled.
"He can't help it!" she yelled back. "It's not his fault!"
"I know, but he'll do it anyway!" he exclaimed.
I saw the sympathy in Gabrael's dark green eyes, but also the firm determination. I knew that look too well; it meant, "no more arguing. We have to do this, so let's just finish it before things get complicated."
But Anna wasn't listening to The Look. Stupid, stupid stupid… how could we be related?
"Do you understand forgiveness?" she asked hotly.
Gabrael paused. "Yes," he said softly. "I ask for it often."
I looked at him sympathetically, my heart hurting as I sensed the pain he kept so well hidden. I knew how cursed he felt, how monstrous. How I wished that I could show him the Gabrael I saw, to show him that he wasn't cursed…
"They say Dracula has a cure," Anna said, instantly earning my full attention. "If there's a chance I can save my brother, I'm going after it."
Gabrael grabbed her. "No. I need to find Dracula."
"And I need to find my brother!" she exclaimed. "He gave his life for me. He's the only family I have left. I despise Dracula more than you could ever imagine. He's taken everything from me, leaving me alone in this world."
I bit my lip, looking away. My father had brought this misery upon Anna… how many other lives had he destroyed? How many had I hurt as the Princess of Transylvania? What atrocities had my father and I brought upon this land?
Gabrael sighed. "To have memories of those you loved and lost is perhaps harder than to have no memories at all." He paused, then turned back to Anna, his mind made up. "All right. We'll look for your brother."
Gabrael looked at me a moment before taking my hand and drawing it through his arm. I shook my head slightly as I leaned against him; I wasn't looking forward to this. I didn't particularly want to go find Velkan; wherever he was, Dracula wouldn't be too far behind. And that was a meeting that I suddenly really wanted to put off a while longer.
: Gabrael's POV :
Mikael shook her head and walked away from me, her eyes glazing over slightly. I looked after her, concerned; she had become so different since we arrived in Romania. Much more withdrawn, more brooding. I knew that she was on a quest to recover her lost memories, but I missed the quirky, confident, sassy Mikael I remembered.
I clamped down on a moment of impatience as I watched her. Since the day she joined the Order, she's always been a bit more reckless than a Knight of the Order probably should be, almost as if this were a game we were playing. As if she didn't understand the risks. For two years, she's been the brash, rush-in-and-kill-it person, and I've been the protector and voice of reason. It was the one jarring note in our partnership, the one thing that seemed off about her. From what I remembered from my dreams, Mikael had always been an efficient and brilliant warrior, but not nearly as reckless as she was now. What had happened to change her?
Since we'd come to Transylvania, however, she'd been worse than usual. Attracting so much attention from townspeople wherever we went, going off for midnight walks alone, bandying with vampyre brides… what was she trying to do? I didn't have the time or the energy to guard Carl, Mikael, and Anna all at once. So while she was on her sub-mission to figure herself out, would it be too much to ask that she remember her training and take care of herself?
That wasn't entirely fair, I corrected myself. If she was reckless, it was because I protected her from danger as best I could while staying alive myself. I had never once let her fall without catching her. In two years, she hadn't yet been in a danger that I couldn't save her from. I'd be overly sure of myself too, if I were as protected as she was.
Anna moved faster, walking beside me as Mikael walked ahead. Anna and I were leading horses we'd "borrowed" from some farmer's field, and were hunched over, following the monster's footprints, but Mikael wasn't. She kept looking straight ahead, not looking around or bending to examine the snow. It seemed that she knew exactly where she was going.
I had trouble keeping my eyes off of her as we walked along, leading our horses. The moonlight highlighted Mikael's dark curls, her slim yet curvy body, her luminous skin. She'd always been the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, but there was something different about her tonight, something that was familiar, something that I knew was connected to my life before I lost my memory, though I didn't know how. I felt close to the edge of a discovery about Mikael, about myself… but what?
I smiled as I watched her, then mentally shook myself. What was wrong with me? Mikael was my partner, my best friend, but nothing more.
So why did I feel so connected to her?
I was shaken out of my musing as Mikael quickened her pace, heading for a decrepit stone castle. Her head was held high, her stride sure. I furrowed my brows; the werewolf tracks led straight to the castle.
"Castle Frankenstein," Anna muttered. "But it should be abandoned. I don't understand. The man who lived here was killed a year ago. Grave robber, among other things," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"A year ago?" I asked, wrenching my attention from Mikael to Anna. "It was just after that that your father went missing."
"Yes," Anna said, nodding. "He was on his way to Rome. He was going to the sea."
I nodded, looking around. Anna continued speaking, her voice dreamy and revealing that mentally she was far away from here.
"I've never been to the sea. I bet it's beautiful."
I looked down at her thoughtfully. Maybe, when Mikael, Carl and I returned to Rome, we could take Anna with us…
I shook my head. I had no time for daydreams of Anna right now.
Mikael walked towards a flight of stairs, which I assumed was a back entrance. "This way," she called softly.
"Wait!" Anna said. "Shouldn't Van Helsing go first? And through the front door?"
Mikael turned, grinning devilishly. "There are those who go through the front door. Those that want to live a little longer go through the back door. And if I go in first, we'll find out exactly where your brother is, and what Dracula's up to. If we send him in first…" she shrugged. "Well, all we'll know for certain is that Dracula knows we're here. He's never been one for subtlety."
I forgave her her moment of vain cockiness, since:
(a) She can be pretty cocky- bordering on reckless arrogance- when she wants to be. It's just how she is.
(b) What she'd said was completely true.
I shrugged, grinning. "We don't have time for subtle."
: Mikael's POV :
We all three walked through the back door quietly, finding ourselves in a long hall. I looked around at the pods that lined the wall, my eyes widening in horror as I realized what they were. Sacs. And inside were undead babies.
I shuddered; Dracula couldn't be planning to bring more of these to life… right? The last time he'd tried… well… it hadn't ended well. In fact, it had ended very very badly.
Wait… I remembered? Was my memory coming back?
I hoped so. This not knowing anything about myself was irritating. Plus, it probably wasn't a good thing to be dependant on my father for memories… especially when I'd come here for the express purpose of killing said father.
I laid a hand on Gabrael's arm, squeezing it gently to let him know that I'd be back. I left him and Anna behind, walking in the shadows of the hall as quietly as I could. Every once in a while, I saw ugly little trolls running around, chattering in their gutteral language. I rolled my eyes in disgust; the Dwerger had been helping Dracula since he first became a vampyre, over 400 years ago.
I stopped for a moment as my mental arithmetic caught up with me. If Dracula had been made into a vampyre in 1462… if I had been born in 1442…
That meant that I had to be 446 years old.
Honestly, was there anything about my life and past that was even remotely normal?
Eventually, I walked into a laboratory. More Dwerger were running around, under the instruction of a deathly pale, misshapen man whose name was apparently Igor. There were mini-explosions of electricity everywhere, and one or two Dwerger were always on fire. I shook my head and crept around carefully, concealing myself as well as I could.
I stared at the werewolf that writhed in agony on the floor, watching in horrified fascination as it changed back into an incredibly attractive man that had to have been Prince Velkan (meaning I couldn't flirt with him… pity). A man dressed all in black walked towards Velkan.
Count Dracula.
I stared at him, breathless; I really did look just like him.
"Werewolves are such a nuisance before their first full moon," Dracula complained. "So hard to control." He paused to consider the exhausted Velkan, who lay on the floor, panting. "I send you on a simple errand to find out who our new visitor is, and you had to stop for a little chat with your sister," he said, shaking his head in disappointment.
I looked around, seeking a way out.
Time to find Anna and Gabrael…
I froze as Dracula stiffened and turned, his eyes searching for me. As quickly and silently as I could, I left the laboratory, heading down a dark hallway.
Van Helsing? Here?
Um… no… he and I are at the Manor. He's downstairs somewhere with Anna.
You always were a horrible liar, my Mikael. Just as well; it's about time he and I had a little chat.
That… does not sound good.
Oh, I won't be too mean.
Coming from you, that's hardly encouraging.
Thank you for the vote of confidence, Princess.
No problem.
I heard someone walking towards where I hid in a marbled hall. I pressed against a column, listening. It was a man walking, and it wasn't Gabrael. His boots echoed in the hall, but not as loudly as Gabrael's would have. He stopped walking just in front of the column I hid behind. I held my breath, closing my eyes.
"Come out, Mikael," he said softly. "You cannot hide from me."
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, then stepped out to face him, raising my chin in an attempt to appear more confident than I felt.
His black hair was gathered in a ponytail with a silver clip in the shape of a dragon. His gray eyes glowed when he saw me. Like me, he was dressed in all black. He smiled.
"You have returned to me," he said, his velvet voice caressing me. "Welcome home, my Princess."
In the first few glorious moments after he spoke, I felt safe, and utterly protected. Almost exactly as I felt when I was with Gabrael. Here was a man who had taken care of me, protected me from harm.
A great bolt of electricity ran through the hall via cables that connected to all the little pods, snapping me out of the trance of my father's voice. I heard screams of pain echoing through the castle, and knew them to be Velkan's. Dracula smiled delightedly and took my hand in his.
"Come, my dear. You must be here to witness the birth of your siblings," he said, leading me to a balcony.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
Dracula smiled. "Well, you see, when I discovered that you could not be made a true vampyre, I knew that I needed to create children that would continue my line."
I bent my head, closing my eyes as my mind was flooded with feelings I didn't understand- centuries-old guilt, confusion, pain.
"You had me," I said softly, the words spilling out of me before I knew I'd thought them. "Was I not enough?"
Dracula slid his ice-cold fingers under my chin, seeking my eyes.
"You were always my pride and joy, Mikael, my dearest child," he said gently. "I was ecstatic when you were rendered immortal. But you were stolen from me," he continued, his voice hardening. "Van Helsing stole you away, took you away from Transylvania. So I have tried to bring more children to life. And this time, I have hopefully succeeded."
I looked away, feeling the effects of the trance he was putting me into. I knew he was trying to persuade me, and I couldn't afford to let myself give in to his reasoning. But… after knowing nothing but hatred from mankind for as long as I could remember, it was nice to know that there was one person in the world who wanted me.
Aleera and Verona appeared out of nowhere as the undead children started hatching. They pushed me out of Dracula's arms and started fawning over him. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and sighing in disgust.
But I'd worry about my hatred of the sluts later. Right now I had more important things to think about. Like the birth of 10,000 demonic siblings.
"They need to feed," Dracula said to his brides. "Teach them how. And beg the Devil that this time they live!"
The brides changed into the Hellbeast form and flew out, the children following them. I smiled smugly and moved closer to Dracula. Now it was just me and my father. Everything was as it should be.
No, wait, scratch that thought. I'm here to kill Dracula, not get close to him.
Focus, Mikael.
I started at the sound of gunshots. I moved to the edge of the balcony and looked down, into Gabrael's eyes. He'd been occupied with shooting some of my siblings. Oh well.
He lowered his gun. If he was surprised at finding me standing beside Dracula, he gave no sign of it. "Now that I have your attention…"
Dracula roared in rage, changing into his Hellbeast form. Gabrael turned and hauled ass out of there. Dracula grabbed me as he flung himself off the balcony to chase Gabrael. I gasped; how many dreams I'd had about flying like this… I would love to fly as he did…
Wait. I didn't mean that. To fly like Dracula, I'd have to become a vampyre. It was bad enough to be their princess; I didn't need to become one of them.
We landed in a small courtyard, which though indoors was open to the sky above. Father set me down and changed back to normal.
"I can tell the character of a man by the sound of his heartbeat," Dracula said, clapping out a rhythm. "Usually, when I approach, I can almost dance to the beat. Strange that yours is so steady."
I stared at Dracula's hands. The duplicated sound of Gabrael's heartbeat, oddly enough, calmed me, made me feel that everything would be alright. It was a trance all its own, and this one I surrendered to, losing myself in a feeling of safety more profound than that I'd felt when Dracula and I came face to face.
I looked over my father's shoulder as something shiny caught my eye. Just as I dove out of the way, Gabrael jumped down from a balcony above and shoved a stake through Dracula's heart. Gabrael grabbed me, wrapping me in his arms as he backed away. I stared in horror as Dracula screamed in pain, wincing though I knew this had to be done.
Dracula looked up, smiling maliciously. "Hello, Gabrael."
Gabrael stared at him. Dracula smiled again, pulling out the stake.
"Is this your silver stake?" he asked, tossing it aside carelessly before advancing towards us.
I sighed in relief to see that he was alright.
Wait, hold it.
If he was okay, that meant that he was going to be difficult, just like all the other evil bastards.
Great.
You're not happy to see that I'm unharmed, Princess?
Have I not made it clear that I'm here to kill you?
Sorry to disappoint you.
"What has it been, three, four hundred years?" he asked Gabrael.
Gabrael stared at Dracula in shock, tightening his grip on me. I couldn't help but wrap my own arms around him and melt into him, my eyes closing of their own volition; he always made me feel so safe and protected.
"You don't remember, do you?" Dracula asked, sounding amused.
"Exactly what is it that I'm supposed to be remembering?" Gabrael asked.
Dracula smiled. "You are the great Van Helsing! Trained by monks and mullahs from Tibet to Istanbul, protected by Rome herself. But, like me, hunted by all others."
"The Knights of the Holy Order know all about you," Gabrael said, holding me tightly. "It's no surprise you would know about me."
"Yes, but it's so much more than this," Dracula smirked.
I held my breath, fear creeping into me. Why did I have the feeling that Dracula was about to start revealing information that would make for a very unhappy Gabrael? Or, for that matter, a very unhappy me?
What are you about to do? Please don't tell me you're about to reveal some shocking, life-altering information… please?
All right, I won't tell you.
No! The idea is not to do it at all!
Where's the fun in that?
"We have such history, the three of us, Gabrael. Our story is so complicated, so fascinating."
Gabrael stared at me, but I looked down, avoiding his gaze.
Oh here we go… now you've done it…
I haven't even gotten started, Princess.
"Mikael, what is he talking about?" Gabrael asked me, pulling me in even closer to him.
"Have you never wondered why you have such terrible nightmares of horrific scenes of battles from ages past?" Dracula asked Gabrael. "Have you never wondered why you dream of Mikael so often? Never wondered why she wears that ruby on her left hand?"
"Father…" I said without thinking.
Gabrael stared at me disbelievingly. "Father?!"
Gabrael let me go and stepped away from me. I looked up at him then, feeling very vulnerable and unsafe. Dracula stepped forward, wrapping an arm around me protectively.
"Yes, Gabrael," he said. "Meet my only daughter. So, would you like me to refresh your memory a little? Hmm?" he asked. "A few details from your sordid past?"
Gabrael shoved a cross at Dracula, who screamed as he grasped the holy object. I flinched as he yelled. Dracula pushed me away; Gabrael caught me and wrapped his arms around me almost painfully tightly. Dracula nodded as he dropped the twisted piece of molten metal that used to be a crucifix.
"Perhaps that is a conversation for another time," he said. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Count Vladislaus Draculia," he said, bowing. "Born, 1422. Murdered, 1462. And let me reintroduce you to my daughter, Princess Ana Mikael Ruxandra Valerious-Draculia. Born, October 31, 1442. Bitten, October 31, 1463."
From a distance, I heard the brides screaming in agony. Gabrael and I ran into an elevator. He held me down, keeping me covered as we rode up to the roof.
"I think we've overstayed our welcome," he shouted to Anna.
Gabrael and I pulled out guns and shot them across the deep cavern that separated the castle from the protecting, sheltering forest. Guide cables flew out of the guns and buried themselves into trees on the opposite side of the ravine. We clipped attatchments onto the wires, then flung ourselves out, flying along the wires until we reached the other side. Then we hauled ass out of there.
As we walked towards a destroyed windmill, I sighed to myself. Gabrael was giving me the cold shoulder. Which, I had to admit, I understood. I probably should have told him that I was Dracula's daughter, and that he would seek me out.
But honestly, can you blame me for keeping that to myself?
I tuned back into reality as Anna shoved Van Helsing into the wall.
"Don't you understand?" she asked forcefully. "No one knows how to kill Dracula."
"Well, I could've used that information a little earlier," he said, grinning a little at how close he and Anna were.
I watched the unfolding situation, feeling like I'd been kicked in the gut. I knew that Gabrael didn't know that we were married, but… he was my husband! And he was flirting with Anna! It hurt to watch him. Because I knew that he was attracted to Anna. I also knew that he wasn't attracted to me like that. And that knowledge just hurt.
"Don't give me that look," Anna said to Gabrael.
I turned my head to look at them, folding my arms and completely ignoring the rain that drenched me and got in my eyes.
Anna closed her eyes and sighed. "You were right. I'm sorry. He's not my brother anymore."
Gabrael looked at her, then set his hat on her head. I stared at him; he never let anyone wear his hat. Not even me. Why did she get to wear it?
God, I didn't like where this was going.
"Do you have any family, Mr. Van Helsing?" Anna asked.
Gabrael draped an arm around my shoulders. I looked down, cursing the butterflies that insisted on fluttering in my stomach, despite how hurt I was about the Gabrael/Anna situation.
"Other than Mikael? I'm not sure. I hope to find out some day, it's what keeps me going," he said.
I tried to conceal a flinch as the name Alena flashed through my head. Alena… our daughter… and Gabrael had no idea. He had no idea that all that was left of his family was in his arms right now.
"What about you, Mikael?" Anna asked.
I hid a bitter smile at the question. I quite obviously couldn't tell Anna the truth about myself, Alena, and Gabrael… or about my father. I knew that if Anna discovered that I was indeed the daughter of Dracula, she'd shove a stake through my heart faster than you could say 'vampyre princess'.
"He's about all the family that I can take," I finally said, avoiding Gabrael's piercing glance.
Damn Gabrael's piercing glance that cues the damn butterflies.
Anna grabbed a bottle of alcohol. "Here's to what keeps you going," she toasted Gabrael.
"Absinthe? Strong stuff," he said, sounding impressed.
She took a swig and handed him the bottle. "Don't let it touch your tongue. It'll knock you on your a-"
"AAHHH!!" we all screamed as the wooden floor caved in.