Author's note: (Again, I used tarot cards in my story. But, I do not know
anything about tarot cards even if I did go to a website for one to see how
badly I portrayed them.)
Madeline and Monty arrived at Rome soon enough, and Madeline could not have been more thrilled. She did not like traveling by boat, and she had not fed in days. So as night covered up everything, Madeline took a victim, but she did not drain her prey. To fill her hunger, she took blood from several people. Once the thirst was quenched, Madeline and Monty made their way to where the Vatican was. Madeline admired the large church as she felt to make sure her fangs were under Mae's spell again.
"Monty, I fear that I cannot take you with me inside there," she said.
Monty turned to the vampire. "Why not?"
Madeline's eyes were filled with sorrow for her friend who worked so hard to get her to Rome. "Because, I must sneak inside. I'm sure a woman isn't allowed inside to where Van Helsing would be."
Monty glanced down at the ground. "I suppose you are right. When will you go?"
"Tomorrow." Madeline replied. "Tonight, I will rest. An hour or two before dawn, I will find a way into the Vatican."
Madeline and Monty laid down on the seats of the carriage and slept soundly. Madeline was unsure how she could sleep seeing that she was so close to spoiling Victoria's plans. Her brain told her that she should get up and finish her job, but her body told her she was too tired. So, Madeline fell asleep.
Carl had not slept well for nights after Van Helsing was safe in the underground medical portion of the Vatican. He felt he was responsible for the terrible illness, especially since he was on the deck when Van Helsing was bitten. Carl's mind would not let him past that he could have done something different that could have saved Van Helsing. Carl was even considering Van Helsing lost because he had not responded to any treatment the monks provided. They also couldn't hire a physician because they couldn't let anyone know that the Knights of the Holy Order existed. So, Van Helsing laid on a cot, unresponsive day in and day out.
Carl was suffering insomnia for a third night in a row, and all he could do was stare up at the ceiling. He had not ate in days, he wasn't hungry. He was too worried and too guilty to feel anything else. Carl didn't even think about Madeline any more because his body was too deprived of everything to function enough. 'What could I have done differently,' he wondered.
Katalena tapped at Carl's window, and he looked over. Instantly, he jumped up and swung the window open. Katalena crawled inside and dropped down to the floor. "Good evening, Carl," she said. Carl just shrugged and stared at the stone floor. Katalena took the hint. "Van Helsing is still the same, isn't he?" Carl nodded in response.
Katalena pulled out her tarot cards and said, "How about I get your mind off of things?"
Carl shrugged, and Katalena took that as a "yes" because it was as close to a "yes" as she was going to get from Carl. She held her cards out to Carl, and he took them glumly. He shuffled the cards half-heartedly for a moment. Then, he handed the stack of cards back to Katalena. She sat down on the floor, and motioned Carl to do the same. He sat down as she put the cards in two vertical rows connected by a horizontal row, like she did with Van Helsing's reading. She drew cards, but Carl only half listened until he heard "Madeline."
He stared down at the cards and saw a Lovers card. "You have to choose between this woman and your normal way of life." Katalena told him. She drew another card with a picture of a traveler. "Your decision will have to be made soon because Madeline is here in this very city."
Carl's eyes widened. "Madeline's here," he asked.
Katalena nodded. "That's where the cards stop," she told him.
Carl was lost in thought. 'Where could she be,' he wondered. 'Why did she come, and how? How did she know Van Helsing and I are in Rome?'
Katalena noticed a happier expression on Carl's face. "Are your spirits at ease enough to rest and gain your strength back?"
Carl, stirring from his thoughts, nodded. "I will look for Madeline tomorrow."
Katalena stood up and walked over to the window. "You just be careful. Van Helsing won't be around to protect you."
Carl's expression darkened a little, but he didn't let guilt consume him again. "I will be careful. I am always careful."
Katalena just laughed. "Your reading suggests otherwise," she said as she climbed out of the window. "Goodnight, Carl."
"Goodnight, Katalena, and thank you." Carl replied.
"You're welcome." Katalena said as she dropped down from the window and out of sight.
Madeline woke up while the world was still dark, but her vampire eyes helped her see in the darkness. She got up and left Monty asleep in the carriage as she headed towards the Vatican. She tried to focus on Van Helsing's presence, but she couldn't detect it. 'What if he isn't here, like I feared,' she thought. 'What if I'm too late, and he's gone back to Transylvania?' Madeline ran for the Vatican hoping that she wasn't too late to tell Van Helsing about Victoria's plan. As she ran, she could feel Carl's presence. She felt full of hope and followed Carl's presence as it grew stronger with every step Madeline took.
'Maybe I'm not too late, maybe Van Helsing is here where my senses cannot reach.' Madeline thought hopefully.
Madeline found that the Vatican was harder to get to than she thought. The walls were much higher than she had expected, so she had to find another way in. She walked around and around until she found a window opened. She climbed up to the window and noticed that no one was around. 'Why would they be,' she asked herself, 'It's still too early for anyone to be awake.' Madeline slipped into the Vatican and wandered around for a while. She saw the beauties of the building and enjoyed all of them. She made it to an ornate confession and stepped inside. She felt along the walls of the confession and felt a strong power within them. She saw a lever and planned to pull it but saw sunlight starting to peek into the room. 'Oh no,' she thought.
Madeline reached through the panel into the other side of the confessional, and pulled the lever. She saw that the walls of the confession slid away to reveal a staircase. Without thinking, Madeline raced down the staircase just to escape the rays of sunlight. Finally realizing that someone could catch her when she reached the bottom of the staircase, she began to worry. "Well, it's too late now," she thought. "I'll just have to hope for the best." Madeline was relieved to find an empty armory at the bottom of the staircase. 'Well, at least I know where Van Helsing gets all his weapons,' she thought. 'If he's here, perhaps I will find him here.'
Madeline heard several footsteps approaching, and she searched for a hiding spot. She found one up in the rafters of the armory, and she climbed up a pile of crates to reach the rafters. 'I can hide up here until the sun sets and everyone leaves.' Madeline thought as she sat down in the shadows where she would be hidden from sight.
Carl woke right at daybreak and wanted to go find Madeline, but he decided to eat something. He realized how long he'd really been sulking in his room, and he was glad that Katalena helped him when she did. 'I could very well have died soon if she didn't help me because I do not know how long I would have stayed in my room without leaving.'
Carl noticed that not many were up and running about as usual, but he he knew why. Without Van Helsing in action, they had little to do. They made weapons for Van Helsing's missions; no Van Helsing, no weapons needed. 'First, I will go see how Van Helsing is.' Carl thought. 'Although I have a feeling I know already.'
Carl went through the armory to get to the medical portion of the Vatican, but he didn't see Madeline sitting up in the rafters. But, she saw him and wanted to call out to him. She would have had there not been other men in the room. Madeline wanted to stay hidden from everyone but Van Helsing and Carl. So, she knew that shouting out to Carl was not a rational action. So, she followed Carl by walking along the rafters, which Madeline was glad were all connected to each other. She stared down at Carl's blonde hair as she followed him; it was in rough shape from sleep, and it almost made Madeline laugh out loud.
Carl finally reached the room where Van Helsing was, and the monks greeting him at the door with weary faces. Carl sighed and knew what was coming. "Still the same, Carl. We try and try, but Van Helsing just is not getting over the serpent venom."
Madeline nearly gasped when she heard what had happened to Van Helsing. 'A serpent bite? And now, he's lying in there half-dead? This can't be,' her mind protested. 'He has to save Anna! There has got to be something I can do. Perhaps if I cable Mae, she can cast a spell that will travel here to Van Helsing. Yes, that is what I must do later when I can speak with Carl. I'll have him send Mae a cable.'
That night, Carl had given up looking for Madeline. He'd traveled around the Vatican looking for her, but he had found no sign of her. He was standing by his lab studies when he heard a small thump. He turned around to see a figure standing in the shadows. Carl jumped back and knocked over a glass tube that crashed to the floor and caught on fire. "Ahh!" Carl shouted as he stamped the fire out. He looked back up to see the figure was gone.
"Wow," a voice said startling Carl even more.
"Who--" Carl started to say as he turned around. But, he stopped short when he saw Madeline standing there. "Madeline," he asked not believing his eyes.
Madeline nodded. "Yes, it's me."
"How'd you get in here?" Carl questioned.
"I climbed in a window this morning and hid until it was safe." Madeline replied looking over Carl's experiments. "You really are amazing, Carl."
Carl blushed and replied, "Oh, I just experiment."
"And create miraculous items." Madeline added.
Carl's expression turned to a frown. "I just wished I could have helped save Van Helsing. I fear that the sea serpent bite he got on a trip of ours has left him in a comatose state."
"I think I can help him. Well, indirectly, but it will help." Madeline told Carl.
Carl perked up again. "Really? How?"
Madeline got close and whispered to Carl, "I need to cable Mae. She can cast a spell that can save Van Helsing."
Carl wrinkled his brows. "I don't know. She didn't seem to be a full bushel of apples when I met her."
Madeline told him, "No, I've seen her spells. She's good, and Van Helsing needs anything to get him through this."
Carl nodded. "All right, but we have to be quiet. We don't want to get caught."
Carl led Madeline to the place where Madeline could send a cable out to Mae. It took only a minute, but Carl was anxious the whole time because he didn't want to get caught. "Please hurry," he told her. Madeline chuckled, "Don't worry I'm finished." Carl sighed, "Good, let us get out of here before someone sees."
Carl led Madeline back to his room and shut the door. "Why have you come here, Madeline?" Carl asked curiously.
Madeline sighed. "I have to speak with Van Helsing. It's about Anna, and it is important."
Carl asked, "So, she is alive?" Madeline nodded in response.
"But, Victoria's keeping her locked up. My father drove Victoria away, but she kept a witch of hers there to make sure that Anna does not go anywhere. I came here to get Van Helsing to come back and save Anna."
"He would leave tonight if he were awake." Carl told her.
"I hope that cable does not run into any interference." Madeline replied. "That would be dreadful to keep Van Helsing ill like that much longer."
Carl couldn't stop staring at Madeline, and he thought about the tarot card. 'I have to chose between love or my life here as a friar.' The more he stared at Madeline, Carl realized that he couldn't stop himself from choosing Madeline. She turned and caught his gaze, but he didn't glance away. Instead, he got caught up in her sparkling green eyes. Carl didn't know that Madeline was fighting her infatuation for him as he held her stare.
Without thinking, Carl leaned over and kissed Madeline's mouth in a passionate kiss. Madeline wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed Carl back with equal passion. The more he kissed her, the more she wanted to be kissed. Her brain was giving her mixed signals on whether what she was doing was irrational or not. But, she ignored her conscience and let go of her worries because she wanted to keep kissing Carl.
Carl wanted to see how far Madeline was willing to go, and he leaned down against her, forcing her down against his bed. He found that Madeline didn't resist him at all, and he pulled away from their kiss. Both were panting from their long kiss, and Madeline caressed Carl's cheek as she stared alluringly into his eyes. Before Carl knew what happened, Madeline rolled him down onto the bed. She leaned on his chest and kissed him softly.
Madeline then sat up and reached behind her back to unbutton her dress. There were a lot of buttons on the back of her dress, and she was becoming impatient with wasting time on them. But, she finally got the dress unbuttoned and slipped it off over her head. She tossed it onto the floor as she sat left only in her cotton chemise. Carl swallowed hard when he noticed that he could see through Madeline's chemise. She leaned down and kissed him again, and Carl rolled Madeline back down onto the bed. Carl's robes flowed down over both of them, and they were locked in a kiss as Carl and Madeline slipped her chemise off.
Madeline and Monty arrived at Rome soon enough, and Madeline could not have been more thrilled. She did not like traveling by boat, and she had not fed in days. So as night covered up everything, Madeline took a victim, but she did not drain her prey. To fill her hunger, she took blood from several people. Once the thirst was quenched, Madeline and Monty made their way to where the Vatican was. Madeline admired the large church as she felt to make sure her fangs were under Mae's spell again.
"Monty, I fear that I cannot take you with me inside there," she said.
Monty turned to the vampire. "Why not?"
Madeline's eyes were filled with sorrow for her friend who worked so hard to get her to Rome. "Because, I must sneak inside. I'm sure a woman isn't allowed inside to where Van Helsing would be."
Monty glanced down at the ground. "I suppose you are right. When will you go?"
"Tomorrow." Madeline replied. "Tonight, I will rest. An hour or two before dawn, I will find a way into the Vatican."
Madeline and Monty laid down on the seats of the carriage and slept soundly. Madeline was unsure how she could sleep seeing that she was so close to spoiling Victoria's plans. Her brain told her that she should get up and finish her job, but her body told her she was too tired. So, Madeline fell asleep.
Carl had not slept well for nights after Van Helsing was safe in the underground medical portion of the Vatican. He felt he was responsible for the terrible illness, especially since he was on the deck when Van Helsing was bitten. Carl's mind would not let him past that he could have done something different that could have saved Van Helsing. Carl was even considering Van Helsing lost because he had not responded to any treatment the monks provided. They also couldn't hire a physician because they couldn't let anyone know that the Knights of the Holy Order existed. So, Van Helsing laid on a cot, unresponsive day in and day out.
Carl was suffering insomnia for a third night in a row, and all he could do was stare up at the ceiling. He had not ate in days, he wasn't hungry. He was too worried and too guilty to feel anything else. Carl didn't even think about Madeline any more because his body was too deprived of everything to function enough. 'What could I have done differently,' he wondered.
Katalena tapped at Carl's window, and he looked over. Instantly, he jumped up and swung the window open. Katalena crawled inside and dropped down to the floor. "Good evening, Carl," she said. Carl just shrugged and stared at the stone floor. Katalena took the hint. "Van Helsing is still the same, isn't he?" Carl nodded in response.
Katalena pulled out her tarot cards and said, "How about I get your mind off of things?"
Carl shrugged, and Katalena took that as a "yes" because it was as close to a "yes" as she was going to get from Carl. She held her cards out to Carl, and he took them glumly. He shuffled the cards half-heartedly for a moment. Then, he handed the stack of cards back to Katalena. She sat down on the floor, and motioned Carl to do the same. He sat down as she put the cards in two vertical rows connected by a horizontal row, like she did with Van Helsing's reading. She drew cards, but Carl only half listened until he heard "Madeline."
He stared down at the cards and saw a Lovers card. "You have to choose between this woman and your normal way of life." Katalena told him. She drew another card with a picture of a traveler. "Your decision will have to be made soon because Madeline is here in this very city."
Carl's eyes widened. "Madeline's here," he asked.
Katalena nodded. "That's where the cards stop," she told him.
Carl was lost in thought. 'Where could she be,' he wondered. 'Why did she come, and how? How did she know Van Helsing and I are in Rome?'
Katalena noticed a happier expression on Carl's face. "Are your spirits at ease enough to rest and gain your strength back?"
Carl, stirring from his thoughts, nodded. "I will look for Madeline tomorrow."
Katalena stood up and walked over to the window. "You just be careful. Van Helsing won't be around to protect you."
Carl's expression darkened a little, but he didn't let guilt consume him again. "I will be careful. I am always careful."
Katalena just laughed. "Your reading suggests otherwise," she said as she climbed out of the window. "Goodnight, Carl."
"Goodnight, Katalena, and thank you." Carl replied.
"You're welcome." Katalena said as she dropped down from the window and out of sight.
Madeline woke up while the world was still dark, but her vampire eyes helped her see in the darkness. She got up and left Monty asleep in the carriage as she headed towards the Vatican. She tried to focus on Van Helsing's presence, but she couldn't detect it. 'What if he isn't here, like I feared,' she thought. 'What if I'm too late, and he's gone back to Transylvania?' Madeline ran for the Vatican hoping that she wasn't too late to tell Van Helsing about Victoria's plan. As she ran, she could feel Carl's presence. She felt full of hope and followed Carl's presence as it grew stronger with every step Madeline took.
'Maybe I'm not too late, maybe Van Helsing is here where my senses cannot reach.' Madeline thought hopefully.
Madeline found that the Vatican was harder to get to than she thought. The walls were much higher than she had expected, so she had to find another way in. She walked around and around until she found a window opened. She climbed up to the window and noticed that no one was around. 'Why would they be,' she asked herself, 'It's still too early for anyone to be awake.' Madeline slipped into the Vatican and wandered around for a while. She saw the beauties of the building and enjoyed all of them. She made it to an ornate confession and stepped inside. She felt along the walls of the confession and felt a strong power within them. She saw a lever and planned to pull it but saw sunlight starting to peek into the room. 'Oh no,' she thought.
Madeline reached through the panel into the other side of the confessional, and pulled the lever. She saw that the walls of the confession slid away to reveal a staircase. Without thinking, Madeline raced down the staircase just to escape the rays of sunlight. Finally realizing that someone could catch her when she reached the bottom of the staircase, she began to worry. "Well, it's too late now," she thought. "I'll just have to hope for the best." Madeline was relieved to find an empty armory at the bottom of the staircase. 'Well, at least I know where Van Helsing gets all his weapons,' she thought. 'If he's here, perhaps I will find him here.'
Madeline heard several footsteps approaching, and she searched for a hiding spot. She found one up in the rafters of the armory, and she climbed up a pile of crates to reach the rafters. 'I can hide up here until the sun sets and everyone leaves.' Madeline thought as she sat down in the shadows where she would be hidden from sight.
Carl woke right at daybreak and wanted to go find Madeline, but he decided to eat something. He realized how long he'd really been sulking in his room, and he was glad that Katalena helped him when she did. 'I could very well have died soon if she didn't help me because I do not know how long I would have stayed in my room without leaving.'
Carl noticed that not many were up and running about as usual, but he he knew why. Without Van Helsing in action, they had little to do. They made weapons for Van Helsing's missions; no Van Helsing, no weapons needed. 'First, I will go see how Van Helsing is.' Carl thought. 'Although I have a feeling I know already.'
Carl went through the armory to get to the medical portion of the Vatican, but he didn't see Madeline sitting up in the rafters. But, she saw him and wanted to call out to him. She would have had there not been other men in the room. Madeline wanted to stay hidden from everyone but Van Helsing and Carl. So, she knew that shouting out to Carl was not a rational action. So, she followed Carl by walking along the rafters, which Madeline was glad were all connected to each other. She stared down at Carl's blonde hair as she followed him; it was in rough shape from sleep, and it almost made Madeline laugh out loud.
Carl finally reached the room where Van Helsing was, and the monks greeting him at the door with weary faces. Carl sighed and knew what was coming. "Still the same, Carl. We try and try, but Van Helsing just is not getting over the serpent venom."
Madeline nearly gasped when she heard what had happened to Van Helsing. 'A serpent bite? And now, he's lying in there half-dead? This can't be,' her mind protested. 'He has to save Anna! There has got to be something I can do. Perhaps if I cable Mae, she can cast a spell that will travel here to Van Helsing. Yes, that is what I must do later when I can speak with Carl. I'll have him send Mae a cable.'
That night, Carl had given up looking for Madeline. He'd traveled around the Vatican looking for her, but he had found no sign of her. He was standing by his lab studies when he heard a small thump. He turned around to see a figure standing in the shadows. Carl jumped back and knocked over a glass tube that crashed to the floor and caught on fire. "Ahh!" Carl shouted as he stamped the fire out. He looked back up to see the figure was gone.
"Wow," a voice said startling Carl even more.
"Who--" Carl started to say as he turned around. But, he stopped short when he saw Madeline standing there. "Madeline," he asked not believing his eyes.
Madeline nodded. "Yes, it's me."
"How'd you get in here?" Carl questioned.
"I climbed in a window this morning and hid until it was safe." Madeline replied looking over Carl's experiments. "You really are amazing, Carl."
Carl blushed and replied, "Oh, I just experiment."
"And create miraculous items." Madeline added.
Carl's expression turned to a frown. "I just wished I could have helped save Van Helsing. I fear that the sea serpent bite he got on a trip of ours has left him in a comatose state."
"I think I can help him. Well, indirectly, but it will help." Madeline told Carl.
Carl perked up again. "Really? How?"
Madeline got close and whispered to Carl, "I need to cable Mae. She can cast a spell that can save Van Helsing."
Carl wrinkled his brows. "I don't know. She didn't seem to be a full bushel of apples when I met her."
Madeline told him, "No, I've seen her spells. She's good, and Van Helsing needs anything to get him through this."
Carl nodded. "All right, but we have to be quiet. We don't want to get caught."
Carl led Madeline to the place where Madeline could send a cable out to Mae. It took only a minute, but Carl was anxious the whole time because he didn't want to get caught. "Please hurry," he told her. Madeline chuckled, "Don't worry I'm finished." Carl sighed, "Good, let us get out of here before someone sees."
Carl led Madeline back to his room and shut the door. "Why have you come here, Madeline?" Carl asked curiously.
Madeline sighed. "I have to speak with Van Helsing. It's about Anna, and it is important."
Carl asked, "So, she is alive?" Madeline nodded in response.
"But, Victoria's keeping her locked up. My father drove Victoria away, but she kept a witch of hers there to make sure that Anna does not go anywhere. I came here to get Van Helsing to come back and save Anna."
"He would leave tonight if he were awake." Carl told her.
"I hope that cable does not run into any interference." Madeline replied. "That would be dreadful to keep Van Helsing ill like that much longer."
Carl couldn't stop staring at Madeline, and he thought about the tarot card. 'I have to chose between love or my life here as a friar.' The more he stared at Madeline, Carl realized that he couldn't stop himself from choosing Madeline. She turned and caught his gaze, but he didn't glance away. Instead, he got caught up in her sparkling green eyes. Carl didn't know that Madeline was fighting her infatuation for him as he held her stare.
Without thinking, Carl leaned over and kissed Madeline's mouth in a passionate kiss. Madeline wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed Carl back with equal passion. The more he kissed her, the more she wanted to be kissed. Her brain was giving her mixed signals on whether what she was doing was irrational or not. But, she ignored her conscience and let go of her worries because she wanted to keep kissing Carl.
Carl wanted to see how far Madeline was willing to go, and he leaned down against her, forcing her down against his bed. He found that Madeline didn't resist him at all, and he pulled away from their kiss. Both were panting from their long kiss, and Madeline caressed Carl's cheek as she stared alluringly into his eyes. Before Carl knew what happened, Madeline rolled him down onto the bed. She leaned on his chest and kissed him softly.
Madeline then sat up and reached behind her back to unbutton her dress. There were a lot of buttons on the back of her dress, and she was becoming impatient with wasting time on them. But, she finally got the dress unbuttoned and slipped it off over her head. She tossed it onto the floor as she sat left only in her cotton chemise. Carl swallowed hard when he noticed that he could see through Madeline's chemise. She leaned down and kissed him again, and Carl rolled Madeline back down onto the bed. Carl's robes flowed down over both of them, and they were locked in a kiss as Carl and Madeline slipped her chemise off.