Son of the Devil, Meet the Daughter of Your Enemies

Falling In Love With You

Summary: When Dracula has been revived and starts his reign of terror all over again, people turn to the infamous Van Helsing. But Van Helsing resigns from his old life but passes it to someone else, who maybe the one to vanquish Dracula once in for all or…lose her heart to him completely and change the son of the devil forever.

Another chapter! Yay! Almost to chapter 15!

Dracula: What's so special about ch. 15?

Me: You will see. Heh heh heh heh heh heh….

Dracula: Will anything interesting happen in chapter 15?

Me: That's for me to know and you to find out. Enough chit-chat, time for Reviews' Responses!

Lady Wednesday: Yes, I'm back, back again. Back again...I'll stop now. Glad you liked the nicknames Drac and Gabi, I thought it would funny to use. I needed to add some humor into this story of mine.

Angel of Beauty: Thank you for your constant review! It's good to see the long chapter had positive effects. This next one is quite long as well. Enjoy reading!

Phantom's Bride: Finally, after all those days of school and little time, I finally managed to finish this chapter and update! I'm flattered that you say that, it means a lot to me.

vampslayerwannbe: Thanks for reviewing and here it is, the next chapter! BLOOD, MOON, AND WAR will be next. I am currently working on that one.

Me: And now the moment you've been waiting for….

Dracula: The moment I've been waiting for….

Me: Here is the next chapter!

Dracula: WHAT?! Wait just a minute, Speed! Didn't you say last chapter I do the disclaimer?

Me: Oh yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhh. Total forgot about that, sorry.

Dracula: Liar.

Me: What makes you say that?! …Wait…. Did you read my mind?

Dracula: Er…well, um, you see….

Me: I heard enough! Do your hebetudinous disclaimer so I can torture you!

Dracula: Noooo! Reader and reviewers, save me!

Me: Don't save him! On to Dracula's Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: Dracula: I waited so long to do this…. How many chapters has it been?

Me: Eight.

Dracula: Eight?! That's a lot.

Me: Not really. I would have suspended it longer if Catlover15489 hadn't convinced me it was time to allow you to the disclaimer for once.

Dracula: Really? I'll have to go and thank her after when I'm done.

Me: Thank everyone who reviewed because they put me in an extremely generous mood to allow you to do such a thing.

Dracula: Oh don't worry I will, once the chapter is done.

Me: That's great but hurry up and say the disclaimer!

Dracula: Alright, alright, Miss Demanding! ""clears throat"" SpeedDemon315 does not and never will own Van Helsing or its characters-which includes me-so she shouldn't being getting any suing letters in the mail or in her email. The only thing she does own in this story is her OCs (ex: Gabriele, Meg, Kailn, etc) and the plot and anything she created. So no suing allowed because I don't want to lose my job!

Me: And I don't want to lose this story! ""imitates Dracula's voice"" LET US BEGIN!!

There comes a time when one must come to a decision on what he must do. He-or she- must decide on what path he will take and accept the rewards and consequences that follow. One cannot tarry upon the route they recently walk on or linger about. Sooner or later the clock of fate will chime and they must come to a conclusion.

One must decide on how they will deal with the present and the situation they are currently in. One must make a move and begin their solution to their dilemma. For good or for ill, it does not matter. All that matters is that they make their final decision.

Now.

It had been seven days since Gabriele had been dragged to the bottom of the lake. Seven days since Dracula saw one of her memories and discovered her connection with Van Helsing went in much deeper than he thought. Seven days since Dracula began to ponder on what he should do with Gabriele. Seven days past and he still hadn't decided on what to impulse on.

Help Gabriele regain her memories? Help her remember how much she despises him? Help her remember that they're enemies and she was sent to kill him?

Or fabricate the memories for Gabriele? Fabricate false ones and create a completely different lifestyle for her? Morph her into someone entirely different and turn her against the very man who raised her? The very man who had defeated him many years ago?

Dracula never liked thinking about one thing too long but this was a situation he couldn't handle it lightly. Gabriele's fate was placed in his hands and only he could decide what should be done with her.

"Things aren't going my way," he murmured to himself, rubbing his sore temples, "and everything seems complicated. Too complicated, to be exact. When will all of this be resolved?"

You're just hesitating because you have feelings for her.

Dracula shook his head vigorously, denying his mind's accusation. It was impossible for him feel anything, he was hollow and would live till the end of time. Feelings? Pah, what were those?

Don't deny it. You and I both know what your true feelings are for Gabriele.

"But she's related… to him!" he spat out. If his mind could smirk, it would have.

You really don't seem to care. You are attracted her whether she's the enemy or not, you cannot help it but to make sure she's happy.

"No…you're wrong…." whispered the count. His mind laughed. Its chortle mockingly rang through out his head, tormenting him and his struggling denial.

Am I? Is it just me or don't you always notice some 'strange' feeling inside of you every time she appears or you start a conversation with her?

"Shut. Up."

Not until you confess that you love her.

"I do not!"

Great Satan, you're almost as stubborn as she is! Or maybe you're just in denial. Yes, you most certainly are in denial.

Dracula was really beginning to loathe himself; his mind was thinking too much about him and Gabriele. It had already deciphered his emotions and pointed out at what Dracula had tried so hard to ignore. It even was the master of annoying him close to the brink of insanity. Dracula wondered if he was already deranged for having a private chit-chat with his own mind.

I would say that's possible if you keep on contradicting your true feelings for Gabriele. It's not every day you meet a woman like her, she's unique from head to toe.

"Yes, but she acts so much like him and that gypsy princess!"

Of course she would, she was raised by him for the Devil's sake!

"Great Satan, shoot me now," he muttered low enough for only his ear to hear it. He definitely had to figure out a way to block out his mind while he was really trying to think, it was extremely irritating. Even God himself would have to admit it was pretty exasperating.

Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin.

"I cannot comprehend you're my mind."

Let's just say I'm the other side of your conscience, the side that's actually intelligent.

"I can't wait for the day when you disappear from my head."

"Dracula?"

Count Dracula whirled around at the sound of his name and faced a very perplexed Gabriele. It was obvious that she overheard him talking to himself, which was something she never seen him do on a daily basis. Since when did Count Dracula ever talk to himself lately anyways?

"Oh, hello, Gabriele," he replied, quickly returning to his usual count demeanor, "Is there anything amiss?" Gabriele shook her head but Dracula detected something was troubling her. He didn't need to read her mind to know that, he could see it shinning in her eyes.

"Gabriele, obviously something is wrong. Please tell me, I'll be happy to assist." Once again, she shook her head.

"…It is nothing, count. Please pay no attention to me…I'm just trying to unravel all these memories and mysterious that surround me." She paused for a moment, hesitating on whether to say something or not and decide against it.

"Gabriele…?" asked the vampire count, confused by her behavior. Gabriele waved her hand away, dismissing all that she said earlier.

"Forget it, Dracula. It is of no importance." Before he could get another word out of her, she had already bolted out of the room and disappeared into the castle shadows. Leaving Dracula alone with his nagging mind.

That was odd. He thought, frowning. From the previous days he spent with her she never acted nervous or skittish around him. It wasn't in her personality at all. So why….

"…It is nothing, count."

Count. She had called him count. Beforehand, she either called him 'Drac' or Dracula. But never count. That was when she still had her memories, back when she despised him to the bone.

"Oh Lucifer, no, she couldn't have…." Dracula breathed, dreading what was coming next.

Her strange, out of character behavior. Her different name for him. Her hesitation to talk with him and her dismissal. All this could only mean one, single thing. Dracula cursed with despair.

"Devil's teeth!" he hissed, "She has her memories back!"

She knew eventually he would find out. Gabriele knew that the count wasn't stupid and would connect the dots to her anxiousness and her vague statements during their brief conversation.

It hadn't been too long ago when all her memories came flashing back inside her head. In fact, it was only a few hours ago when she remember who she was, who her father was, and what her duty was. She was Gabriele Van Helsing, proud daughter of the legendary Gabriel Van Helsing, and his successor to the Van Helsing legacy. She was a monster hunter given the assignment to kill whoever was plaguing Transylvania. That someone was Dracula.

"Alright Gabriele, since we cannot have a pleasant conversation with each other, I leave you to do whatever you want to do because it appears that can be the only thing I can do to be nice. I guess letting you eat wasn't very thoughtful of me after all."

Despite her being his prisoner/guest Dracula's hospitality was (to her) near legend. She remembered all the times Meg made sure her bed was fluffy and soft enough to sleep, that the room was relaxing a clean, and the wonderful and scrumptious banquets he had for her morning, noon, and night. Sure he did a few a things Gabriele didn't appreciate, like forcing her dance and all those times he tried to kiss and control her but…. This was different.

"I'll do everything in my power, Gabriele, to make sure you obtain your memories,"

And he actually meant what he said. No trick plays or word games. He spoke from the heart and made an effort to help her recover her memories. Gabriele could never believe that was possible.

"No, Gabriele…. It's not you I'm scared of…it's how you would react of me being a vampire."

She remembered the way he looked at her, eyes filled with sorrow and pain, loneliness lurking behind them. Dracula hid his suffering with his humor and devilish personality so that she wouldn't see what was really going on inside of him. It was from all those years of people detesting him for what he was. A vampire and the son of the devil.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. Honestly, I wasn't planning on having something getting a hold of my boot. Thank you for saving me."

"Don't worry about it. All's well that ends well, my dear. Unfortunately, by the looks of the weather, I say we should head back to Castle Dracula."

Not only he saved her life but he never, not once, took advantage of her when she was vulnerable and at his mercy. He didn't even try to steal a kiss from her-which was so unlike him.

"What the hell is going on?" she muttered to herself, rubbing her hands together in an old habit for confusion, "This is not the Count Dracula I know."

Yes, but you have to admit his hospitality for you has been quite pleasant.

"So?"

So…you can't hide the truth from me, Gabi. I know that you love him.

"No, I don't!" she hissed venomously. No, it simply was true, she was not in love with Count Dracula, the son of the devil and her father's arch-nemesis. And she was the daughter of who Dracula referred as his greatest foe. Gabriele knew how much the count loathed her father; she could sense his contempt radiating off of him.

Every heard of the quote "love conquers all"? I believe that term applies to this situation right now.

"Leave me alone. I don't need you bugging me; I have enough on my plate right now."

That's why I'm here! You know it, I know it that you are deeply in love with Dracula. It's not a horrid thing really, if you look past the whole vampire and father's enemy scenarios. You have to admit, he is incredibly handsome and witty!

Gabriele could not believe that this was part of her mind.

"Well, well, well, 'ookie wha' I ha'e here. Th' grea' Van Helsing an' his humb'e sidekick, th' bumb'ing monk."(1) jeered the towering creature before them. Van Helsing rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I'm still a friar," corrected Carl and the monster frowned at this.

The creature they faced was gigantic and lanky. It was the size of three elephants stacked on top of each other and possessed six gangling arms. Its skin was the color of worn, gray pavement and it was course as sandpaper. It stood on two legs and both legs were each attached to one humongous foot that resembled a giant boulder. The creature had two black, dim eyes and a rather flat nose with a tiny slit for a mouth. Its head was bare like a newborn and its ears had the appearance of two great, big cauliflowers.

"Tell me again, Carl, what creature is this? It seems that I can't recall this thing's importance." Van Helsing said to Carl and the friar smiled softly. The monster bristled violently, instantly realizing he had just been insulted.

"Think you 'wo are so clev'r and migh'y, eh? I'll sho' you insolen' humans to fear th' dead'y Spiderig!"(2) With that, the creature known as Spiderig, lunged at the former monster hunter and the friar.

"Van Helsing!" yelled Carl shrilly, "Kill it now before it strikes!" Nodding, Van Helsing conjured up a medium-sized grenade made of iron and wrapped in linen cloth dipped in water blessed by St. Peter.

"Here goes nothing," he murmured, hurling the grenade at the Spiderig, "Iron and cloth soaked with blessed water better work against this monstrosity."

The Spiderig took notice of the grenade and ducked out of its way. It watched it sail safely over its head. Wearing a smirk on its pale grey face, it turned its head back to the monster hunter and friar. The smirk immediately turned upside down into a scowl. Its enemies were gone.

"'here did th'y go?"(3) The Spiderig growled, its eyes darting left and right to find where its prey had disappeared off to. If the Spiderig wasn't concentrating so much on finding Van Helsing and Carl, it would have heard the faint ticking leading to the cloth-wrapped grenade. It might have actually survived what fate had in store for it.

"Do you think it will fall for it?" Carl nodded affirmatively.

"Certainly. The Spiderig is a fairly dim creature, it won't know about the cloth and iron till it's too late."

"What if—"

A sudden roar of aguish pain erupted through out the country side and an enormous explosion followed it. Carl gave Van Helsing a wicked grin before saying:

"Now, what were you about to say?"

Gabriele stared hard at mirror showing a young women staring back. Her golden blonde hair had been neatly stacked into a bun and sequence was woven around it. A gorgeous red dress made of silk adorned her body, revealing good portion of her chest and the right amount of cleavage. White silk gloves covered her arms to her elbows and on her feet she wore scarlet dancing slippers with blood-red beads sewn into it. Gabriele longed to have worn her army boots but Meg proclaimed they were not proper for a ball and insisted that these shoes would be perfect for her to wear.

"Elegant but not too fancy, simple but not too plain." she had said.

Gabriele sighed and rubbed her head, hardly believing what she was plotting to do at the All Hollow's Eve Ball. In the past, she would have thought she was insane. Now…she believed something was entirely wrong with her.

She was, truly and surely, in love with Count Dracula, her and her father's enemy. And she was going to try and win his heart at the All Hollow's Eve Ball. That was barely at the point in which the demented plans would soon begin.

"I cannot imagine that I am doing this," she whispered to the woman in the mirror, self-doubt creeping up on her that this exquisite creature before her eyes was really her.

"You are a rare beauty, Lady Gabriele. Despite what you may think, you are beautiful in every way. It's no wonder Master fell for you." Gabriele turned her body slightly around to see Meg returning from her hunt for a mask for the ball. A little bundle in her hands told her that her search was successful. A smile was across her lips.

"Do you really think he loves me?" Gabriele asked quizzically, uncertain how to talk about this kind of topic. "After all, he chose to dance with that woman."

An impish grin formed itself on Meg's lips and a mischievous glint twinkled in her bright gray eyes.

"That's because she nearly threw herself on him when she arrived and he had no choice. Remember?" The female monster hunter nodded dejectedly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Flashback

She actually was going to do it. She was going to go up to Dracula, express her true feelings for him and see what happens next. She just had to find out that if he was capable of containing emotions then did he truly love her? Gabriele sighed, counted to five, and swung open the doors to the room where she'd meet Dracula…

…And another woman in his arms.

Technically, he was in her arms and she was practically suffocating him with that near-death hug of hers. Just seeing that woman or whoever she was touching Dracula in a more romantic way sent shocks of fury through Gabriele. Her blood boiled and churned to the max. If Van Helsing hadn't taught her how to keep her cool, she probably would have gone berserk, snatched up a stake, and ram it clean through that woman's back. …Perhaps not, but Gabriele wanted to know who the hell she was and what were she and Dracula doing.

At her sudden approach and the noise the doors made, Dracula and the woman looked up and stared at her. Both wore different expressions on their faces. Dracula's was stoic, blank, with no set of thoughts that Gabriele could read. He appeared almost…cool towards her entrance. The woman's, however, was something else.

She had silky, flowing charcoal hair that was way longer than Gabriele's and it reached her thighs. Her eyes were the color of bitter chocolate that possessed no ounce of warmth or sweetness whatsoever. Her skin was as pale as any vampire and thus, Gabriele concluded Dracula's female visitor was indeed a vampire. The vampiress wore a stunning royal purple dress that flashed her wealth off to the whole wide world. The gown hugged every curve, shape, and anything pleasing to those of the opposite gender and displayed a set of large breasts. The bodice was cut down so low that Gabriele could see a broad show of the vampiress's cleavage and parts of her chest. The skirt's sides were cut almost all the way to her mid-thigh, revealing an enormous amount of leg. Her entire legs were practically exposed. If Gabriele ever wore something like that her father, Van Helsing, would first throttle the life out of her and then kill any men who sent lusty smirks her way.

The vampire's expression on her face wasn't as pretty as her outfit. Her eyes sent daggers at Gabriele, angered that she had disturbed them and her mouth was twisted into an unpleasant scowl.

"Drac, why do you have a human here, tainting the castle and the breathing air? Is she a slave of some sort?" demanded the woman sharply, her hard, cold eyes locking on Gabriele. Not to be outdone, the monster huntress glowered back. Nobody but she calls Dracula Drac! She was the one who gave him that nickname in the first place!

"No, she isn't, Harrille. Don't worry yourself with her; she is of no concern of yours." Dracula stated simply, no emotion evident in his voice. Gabriele frowned at his abrupt emotionless attitude in front of her. What was eating at him?

"I hope she won't be All Hollow's Eve Ball, she'll ruin everything!" the lady called Harrille wailed. Inside, Gabriele rolled her eyes. How in the blazes could Dracula stand this woman?

"I don't believe she will attend the ball, Lady Harrille," came Dracula's blunt reply. Gabriele stared at him curiously, wondering if she was imagining it or not but did he sounded like he acting polite towards under duress?

I would like to think that but….

"Thank the Devil for that. I am not sure I could stand breathing in the same air with that thing," she sneered at Gabriele. Gabriele could have sworn she saw a muscle in Dracula's cheek twitch and his eyes sparkled blue with anger for a second then died quickly as the rage came.

If he's acting like that then…does that mean—

"You! Human slave! Leave us, you're polluting the clean air!" barked Harrille.

That was the last straw for Gabriele. All her life she was insulted for her appearance, her family, her character, and she was used to it. But there was no chance in Hell this wench of a vampire was going to getting away not just insulting her, but insulting her race

"And you're not?" she snapped, "From my standpoint, I'd say from you, the air reeks of rotten flesh!" Harrille bristled and much to Gabriele's surprise, so do Dracula. Did he think she meant him as well? He and that woman were vampires, yes, but she could see they were completely different, no matter how many times Dracula hid his anguish from her. He had a heart and she was going to show it to him.

"—think you're so clever, you little tramp?!"

"With a dress like that, you have the nerve to call me that?" she fired back, determined to have the last say in this petty argument with this Harrille lady. She needed to see Dracula alone and explain everything to him, not just about her feelings but also about her…who she really was: Van Helsing's daughter. And this blasted, troublesome Harrille was preventing her from doing so.

"Ladies, ladies, enough of this, please." Despite maintaining his perfect, stone-cold mask, she saw a flicker of amusement in his dark eyes. Gabriele hid a smile; so there was something more to this than what meets the eye. She just hoped she could find on what. "Harrille, I have arranged personal chambers for you and your brother. I hope you'll find them to your liking."

The vampire Harrille flashed him a dazzling, foxy smile before answering, "I'll find anything to my liking that's given by you, my Drac." With that, she sent a murderous scowl directed at Gabriele's way and added, "Oh Dracula, you have to do something with that wretched slave, she's hardly suitable to be here—"

"Hel-lo, I'm right here. I can hear everything, bitch," Gabriele mused out loud, wanting to shut up Harrille and get her to depart the room so she could get Dracula alone. Why now, of all times, was it so hard to talk to him alone? Usually it was the other way around, she didn't want to talk to him alone or at all.

But that was all in the past. Now I must speak to him and tell him everything. It's now or never.

"Gabriele?" She broke from her train of thoughts at the sound her name, the sound of his voice saying it.

"What?" She mentally winched at the surliness of it. Apparently her spat with Harrille left her terse. She waited intently at what Dracula would say next.

"The Lady Harrille and I have some things to discuss. We won't get anything done with you around." Gabriele's heart sank lower than the time she was dragged to the bottom of the pond. Dracula's voice was near monotonous, cold…. Bitter.

He was telling her to leave them alone. He was telling her to go away. He didn't want to see her or talk to her; he wanted nothing to do with her. He wanted Harrille. Not her. Harrille.

Did he develop a strong sense of dislike for her in such a short period of time? Or was this all just game, a joke to him? Was everything a hoax for the all time she spent with him and all the sincere kindness he showered upon her? Was it all a lie?

She gazed back at Dracula, searching, hoping for a sign to appear on his face to tell everything was alright and to just play along. She found nothing save for two deep, obdurate ebony eyes staring back at her. They offered no comfort, no warmth, and no explanation for him mistreating her. Nothing shinned in the vampire count's eyes and Gabriele began to feel perhaps she was wrong about the count from the very start.

There was a slight perchance that he was a monster after all and disguised his true colors until it was too late for her. Until he didn't need her around anymore.

"Do you think I take orders from you, count?" she shot back, her feisty self kicking back, "If you have forgotten who I am, allow me to refresh your memory: I, Gabriele, take orders from no one as the likes of you!" Soon as the last word echoed through the room, she spun around and waltzed out of the room like Dracula's actions meant nothing to her.

It was all just an act of deception, they meant everything to her. Inside she felt the bitter, betrayed, hurt, and seething emotions whirling around and around her, clouding her mind and senses. Tears stung her eyes and threaten to break free. She rubbed them away with her hand and forced them back down with sheer willpower. All of this was driving her crazy; everything was spinning out of control. It made her want to tear something to shreds. Made her need to scream.

"Isn't that women awful?" Gabriele glanced over her shoulder to see Meg, one of the very few servants of Dracula she was able to get along with. It was clear to her that Meg disliked Harrille as well.

"She certainly is. Why is she with Drac—Count Dracula?" she asked. Meg sighed sorrowfully and answered:

"It's a woeful tale and one I wished never had happened. You see, before you came along, Master Dracula had been looking for someone to become his bride. Obviously, rumors and news like that spread like wildfire amongst us vampires and of course, Harrille, decided it was her that would become his next bride. So she began finding ways to win the Master's heart or maybe his interest. They eventually made visits to each other's homes but I believe he only visited her manor mainly to speak with Harrille's older brother, Ruthvard. From what I heard, those two can get along quite well." Gabriele nodded, absorbing all this information in.

"It looks like he has chosen her after all," she stated calmly, swallowing the lump in her throat. If what Meg said was accurate, then was no way for her to get to Dracula and confess her love for him. The answer was clear and simple. It simply wouldn't be possible.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Gabriele." Gabriele arched an eyebrow and looked at her quizzically. Did Meg imply what she thought she implied?

"What do you mean?" Gabriele tighten her grip against the table behind her. Was Meg saying there still was hope? There still was fighting chance? "I'm not sure I quite understand what you just said." The vampire servant flashed a knowledgeable grin at her.

"What I mean is that Dracula definitely has fallen for you and that woman means nothing to him."

That couldn't be possible. She was there, there to witness their behaviors towards each other and his cold demeanor over her. This had to be one sick, cruel joke Dracula was pulling on her and Meg was executing it perfectly.

She shut her eyes, shaking that idea away. No, that wasn't like Meg. Even if she was a devoted, loyal servant for Dracula she would never allow herself to participate in a schism like that. It wasn't in her nature.

"Then why is he acting like she does mean something to him?" She just had to ask that, just had to hear the response to the question. She had know what was going in the count's mind; she wanted to know what he was up to. She was that desperate.

"Well, she did come unannounced and unexpected at Castle Dracula so there really wasn't anything he could do expect to be courteous and polite."

"…I see."

Pregnant silence engulfed the room. Gabriele was in the midst trying to sort out her feelings and thoughts, connecting them on what Meg had told her. If it was true that the Count Dracula loves her and not Harrille, and if it was true that he wouldn't use her for his own ambitious goals then she had to devise a plan quick to answer all these riddles and unsolved questions surrounding Dracula and herself. And it would start with this All Hollow's Eve Ball.

"Uh Meg, what exactly occurs in this 'All Hollow's Eve Ball'?"

"It's a masquerade ball hosted at Master Dracula's summer palace, the Vilkova Palace, in Budapest. Basically, everyone just dances, chats, and have fun like any other balls. It is only a few days from it now." Meg explained, "Oh and all the invites are vampires." she added and Gabriele allowed her head to lean backward and softly hit the wall in an act of despair.

"Lovely, just lovely. I can't talk to Dracula before the ball because Harrille will be clinging on to him and he'll brush me aside. If I go the ball filled with vampires I'll stick out like a sore thumb and possibly get drained dry!"

She turned to Meg, who surprising had an excited grin plastered on her. "I believe there's a solution to that. Come, follow me, we got to get you prepared for the ball!" Grabbing Gabriele's hand, the vampire servant whisked Gabriele off her feet and practically began dragging her all around the castle in her 'Operation Ball Preparation'.

End of Flashback

"Here it is!" Meg chimed in, breaking Gabriele free from the past. Gabriele shook her mind clear from the painful images and focused her attention back onto Meg. The curly, red-headed vampire triumphantly displayed a long, wispy chain with a silver pendant hanging in the middle. The pendant bore the shape of a half sun and a half moon placed together to form a perfect, 180 degrees circle. It was about the size of an infant's fist and it caught every light ray, reflecting it back into the unknown.

Meg handed the necklace to Gabriele and she tried it on. After adjusting it, she gave another look in the mirror: it fitted around her neck superbly. A warm smile was already on Meg's face.

"See," she whispered, "You are a rare beauty. With this pendant the vampires won't know you're human." At this Gabriele frowned and looked skeptically at her.

"How do we know that it'll work?" Meg's smile widen further.

"Because," she began, "it belongs to me."

It was close to sundown when two strangers came to the town known as Vaseria. Both rode on horses and carried a huge quantity of bindles on their backs.

One was smaller and much shorter than his companion and was adorned with tan and forest green garbs. A hood hovered over his head, nearly masking his whole face. He appeared enigmatic but harmless enough. His traveling partner was another story.

He wore nothing but black and only had a hat to shield his identity from others. Weapons littering all over his body and inside his pack and his quiet, forbidding stance showed he was a man to be feared, respected, and not trifled with.

"Here at last," breathed the smaller man with the hood, "Here at last after all those grueling weeks." His companion nodded soberly, but a half-smile drifted across his features.

"Yes. We finally have arrived at Vaseria. Home of Castle Frankenstein."

Dun, dun, dun, dun! Now Gabriele ultimately has admitted that she loves Dracula and is planning to confess her feelings, Harrille came just in time to butt in and heat up the tension. Frankly I wasn't planning on having Harrille and Ruthvard but I needed someone to get Gabi jealous and make her realize she really does love Dracula and have plans to win him from Harrille's slimy grasp. You'll learn more about Meg's background and how Gabriele really has changed Dracula from the man he once was (hint, hint, Kailn is affected by this). Harrille and Ruthvard have a role to play in the next chapter and maybe, just maybe, there will be hints on who is Gabriele's mother.

Dracula: And the strangers at the end…?

Me: Van Helsing and Carl, no duh. Now that they're in Vaseria, they won't be happy to hear that Gabriele currently is in Budapest but she won't be staying there for long…. I'm not sure how close this story is at the end but I have a feeling it won't go to chapter 30, it defiantly will be over before then. I have a fairly good outline out what'll happen in the future chapters so I got a rough analysis on what occurs in the next chapter. Till then, adieu!

Dracula: Adieu and review! And thank you reviewers for reviewing and brightening up SpeedDemon's day so that I could, at long last, do the disclaimer!

The Spiderig's Sayings

"Well, well, well, lookie what I have here. The great Van Helsing and his humble sidekick, the bumbling monk."

"Think you two are so clever and mighty, eh? I'll show you insolent humans to fear the deadly Spiderig!"

"Where did they go?"