AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, Ithilwenn, HughJackmanFan, Dragon, and Aradia-Hornbeam. Wanted to say to everyone who read the last chapter that I am sorry if it was really bad. I tried, but it's only fair to say I myself was disappointed with that chapter. I'm gonna try to make the next ones to come better, though. : )
Ithilwenn: Okay, perhaps I should explain that Dommy/Anna part. See, as I'm sure you know Anna is played by Kate Beckinsale, who also plays Selene in Underworld. So one day I was talking with Dommy, and I was showing him some pictures from the Van Helsing movie, and he thought Anna was Selene, so that's where that came from. Also, you'll find out why Dracula didn't have reinforcements in the next chapter. Thanks for the review!
Aradia-Hornbeam: Don't you call me woman, lol. Glad you like the lines, thanks for the review!
Through the Veil
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Anna pushed open the door. "It seems as if you've dislocated your shoulder," She said, helping Van Helsing limp inside the manor. Dommy still held tight to the hunter's hand as Amanda closed the door behind her, just noticing that Darey wasn't there. Frowning, she turned back to the group to tell them when Anna set Van Helsing down in a bench.
"You'll need to put it back in," Van Helsing told Anna, wincing as he studied the limp arm.
The princess nodded, bending down and taking his arm into her fingers. "This will hurt," She warned him.
"I'm used to it," He replied.
Dommy scooted away, studying the way Anna and Van Helsing had looked at each other. He jumped up and walked over to his sister, frowning only when he heard Van Helsing's angry cry as the shoulder was popped back into place.
"That's just gross," Dommy said with a grimace. Darey pushed through the door and looked at the group before her.
"Okay, who's Kael Vahn?" Darey demanded, hands on her hips.
"Who?" Anna asked, glancing up to look at her. "And who are you?"
"Oh, that's Darey. That's my sister Amanda, and I'm Dommy. You're Anna, he's Van Helsing, and Kael Vahn is … hmm, I don't know her," Dommy said, looking somewhat confused as he rubbed his chin.
Van Helsing frowned and then looked up at Darey. "I've never heard of her," he replied. He glanced down at his injured arm before standing.
"Van Helsing?" He heard someone snap angrily. Seconds later Ian turned down the hall, stopping dead when he caught sight of Anna. His frustrated look faded away, his shoulders dropping with ease as his mouth fell open. It was a rather comical sight. All words seemed to have vanished from his mind as he gawked.
"This is almost funny," Dommy said.
"Almost," Darey agreed.
"Eh … what?" Ian finally asked, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes widened. "Anna?"
"Ian?" Anna said, studying the young man with slight confusion.
"You two know each other," Van Helsing stated.
"Ian is my cousin," Anna said, still seemingly confused.
"Whoa, I didn't see that coming," Amanda finally said.
"Her father married my aunt, Anna's mother," Ian explained.
"Okay, you hoo? I think we've established Anna is back. Now who can tell me about Kael Vahn?" Darey demanded.
Ian looked at her, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "What are you talking about?"
"Kael Vahn," Darey repeated. "She's this woman who pops out of nowhere and chased Dracula off."
"Dracula's returned?" Ian exclaimed, the color draining from his face.
"He's a little slow on the uptake, isn't he?" Dommy commented.
Van Helsing stood, unable to help the small gasp of pain as he did so. "We just fought Dracula. He has returned, and I suspect whoever brought him back was also responsible for bringing Anna back." Then he turned to look at Anna fro confirmation. She, however, simply frowned.
"How did you come back?" Amanda finally asked.
Anna looked around at the group that was surrounding her. "I don't remember," She said.
Darey blinked. "She doesn't remember. Well that's just great. This person might end up bringing back any other monstrosity, and then what? We're doomed." She flopped down on the bench which Dommy had occupied moments before.
"We can't just give up," Amanda said.
Van Helsing looked to Anna. "What do you remember?" He asked her.
She smiled faintly. "I was with my family. We were riding along an old trail we used to go to when I was younger."
"… You do realize you were dead, don't you?" Dommy asked bluntly.
Anna looked at him with a smile. "Death is very much like life," She answered.
"Hmm. Maybe I should die," Dommy said.
"That isn't even funny!" Amanda snapped as she smacked him on the arm.
"So what happened?" Ian demanded.
"Then I was in the forest alone. After walking for a bit I heard the commotion and found Van Helsing and the children fighting Dracula," Anna replied.
"I'm not a child," Dommy muttered under his breath.
"So you didn't see anyone?" Van Helsing asked.
"No. There was no one," Anna replied. "I'm not entirely certain I understand how I am here. Or Dracula."
"Well duh. Someone brought you two back to life," Dommy said.
"Why would someone bring Anna and Dracula back to life?" Van Helsing asked her.
"Maybe for show? The princess and the count fighting once again. I'd pay big money to see it," Darey suggested.
"So then Dracula has truly returned?" Ian asked, looking nervous. "This is not good. Do you know what could happen if he was united with the Sreain?"
Everyone's mind began to wander at the thought, when suddenly Darey's head shot up and she looked at Ian.
"You know about the Sreain?" She asked.
He stiffened. "I know what you know."
"The Sreain?" Anna asked, looking at them curiously.
Darey continued to study Ian with renewed suspicion as Van Helsing started to fill Anna in on what they had been working on. Seeing the way Darey was watching him, Ian chose the moment to take his leave as Van Helsing continued in his explanation. He was almost to the end of the tale when Stefie and Francis came running into the room.
"Thank god we found you!" Stefie exclaimed. "You won't believe who we ran into!"
Darey raised her eyebrows, and subtly gestured to Anna. Francis noticed this, and stared in surprise before poking Stefie.
"Stop it!" The short girl exclaimed, moving away. "VH, we found Carl! Or, actually, he found us, but you won't believe -."
"Stef!" Francis snapped.
"What?" Stefie asked with irritation. Francis grabbed onto Stef's shoulders and turned her to face the princess.
"Stefie, we have a guest," He said softly.
Stefie stared at the supposedly dead princess for a long moment, and then let out an excited squeal. "You're here!" She cried, running to the princess and throwing her arms around her. Then she quickly pulled back and stared at the woman with wide eyes. "How is this possible?"
Amanda rolled her eyes. "She gets transported to another world and yet she wants to know how it is possible that an imaginary character in a movie is here," She grumbled.
"Are you still on that?" Dommy asked.
"We're trying to figure it out," Darey told Stefie.
The girl looked at her. "I'm confuzzled," She said.
"Wait, did you say you found Carl?" Van Helsing interrupted.
"Oh yea, Carl," Stefie said. "Well, he's back. That's the good news. The bad news is that he doesn't remember anything."
"What?" Everyone exclaimed.
"Define anything," Darey said cautiously.
"Well he remembers leaving us at breakfast, and then … sayonara friar," Stefie informed, gesturing to her mind as if she considered Carl to be crazy.
"He said the next thing he knew he was in the library, and Kaelin and Justine started screaming," Francis filled in.
"Could things get any more complicated?" Dommy wondered out loud.
"Indeed," Van helsing muttered.
"Oh, you're bleeding," Stefie said simply. She stepped forward and tugged at Van Helsing's coat. Anna noticed this, and helped her take the coat off of the monster hunter. He looked down at his arm and saw that his arm had gotten pretty scraped up.
"We should clean this out," Anna said.
"What about you?" Van Helsing asked, finally taking a good look at Anna. "Did you get hurt?"
"I'm fine. Not a scratch," The princess told him.
Frowning, Stefie put her hands on her hips and looked around the group. "Will somebody tell me what's going on?" She demanded.
Dommy sighed. "It's sort of a long and getting further complicated by the moment story," He told her.
LATER
Kaelin shook her head as she stared across at Amanda and Dommy. "My head hurts," She finally said.
"So let me get this straight," Justine said. "Dracula's back, Anna's back, and Carl's back. Carl had no clue he was gone, Drac wants revenge against VH, Anna's back from the dead, but you're not sure how, Drac still seems to have a thing for Anna – who is, according to Stefie, his too many times great niece – some strange lady named Kael Vahn is either working with Dracula, the Sreain, or us, while Dracula may be working with the Sreain, Ian's acting suspicious again, and we're still stuck in this imaginary world based after a movie. Do I have everything covered?"
"Yea, that's pretty much all of it," Dommy said with a grin.
"Okay, now my head hurts more than when she explained it," Kaelin grumbled, pointing across to Darey.
"So where is this Anna, anyways?" Justine asked.
"With Van Helsing," Stefie said with a soft sigh. "I think they're so cute together."
Kaelin allowed a small grin to spread across her face. "I don't know. I think two blondes in here are a pretty cute couple," She said. The others began to snicker.
"You mean Justine and Francis?" Dommy asked with disgust.
"God, no!" Justine exclaimed. "She means Stefie and Francis!"
At this, the two mentioned became an even darker shade of red than they already were.
"Yes, well …" Francis said, as he attempted to think of a reply, before he cleared his throat and looked away.
Stefie turned around and looked up at him, only beginning to realize how it must look with her sitting on his lap like that. She quickly moved away, and then grinned at the others. "Anyways, I think it's a good thing Anna's back."
"How come?" Amanda asked.
"One more ally," Stefie replied easily, her humiliation from moments before quickly forgotten.
Francis frowned, turning a little in his seat as he eyed Dommy. "I don't get it," he said.
"You don't get what?" Darey inquired.
"Well you said Dommy knew Dracula was coming. Like Van Helsing did. Doesn't anyone else find something wrong with this?" He inquired.
"It was creepy," Amanda admitted, glancing at her dark haired brother.
He turned to meet her gaze. "What are you talking about?" He asked her.
"About you," Darey said with a hint of frustration. "About how you did that totally psychic thing. You do remember it, don't you?"
Dommy shrugged. "Vaguely. Everything happened so quickly, I doubt I could tell you how it started."
"So to top things off we have to be somewhat concerned that Dommy might be becoming psychic," Francis said.
Amanda snorted. "Dommy? Psychic? No way. It's entirely improbable."
"But not impossible," Dommy teased. She frowned at him while Kaelin sat up.
"So what do we do?" She asked.
"Well, there's nothing we can do," Justine told her.
"What about Ian?" Francis asked.
"He has to know something about the Sreain. Whatever it is he's not telling, but I can guarantee he knows something," Darey said.
"So we're still on the 'Ian's a bad guy' thing?" Justine asked.
"Sorry Justine. You're lover boy is evil," Stefie said simply with a shrug of her shoulders.
"He isn't my lover boy," Justine said, looking angrily at the short girl.
"You just wish he was," Kaelin finished with a grin.
Justine narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing.
"Can we focus?" Darey asked.
"What's there to focus on?" Stefie inquired.
"Well, I don't know. I have a theory," Darey said.
"Oh boy," Amanda said, throwing her hands into the air mockingly.
"It is evident that we cannot return home until we help solve all the tribulations in Vaseria," Darey replied.
"Thank you Mrs. Obvious," Dommy joked while rolling his eyes.
Darey shot him a dark look, causing the boy to cringe. "The only thing is," She continued. "How can we help them? What do we have to do with any of this?"
"That's your epiphany?" Amanda asked dubiously. "Asking yourself the same question all of us have asked ourselves since we got here! If that's the best you've got, you need to catch up with the rest of us."
Darey frowned. "There has to be a connection somewhere," She said slowly.
"There aren't any," Kaelin finally said. "I've gone through all of it in my head - god, must be seventy times now - and every time there's nothing. Not a single connection."
"There has to be," Darey insisted.
"Let's start with what we know," Justine said, pushing her blond hair away from her face as she leaned in closer. "Dracula can only come out at night, right?"
"Right," Francis said.
"So obviously that hasn't changed, because he came last night and during the storm, where there was no sun or hint at light," Justine said.
"Whoever brought Dracula back brought Anna back afterwards, which means that …" Amanda bit her lip thoughtfully.
"Which means they didn't want someone to know they'd brought Anna back," Dommy finished.
"So there's more than one person involved," Darey continued.
"I'll take notes," Stefie said, jumping up and rummaging through the old cabinets to find any sort of script. She returned with several sheets of paper and took a seat with the others at the large table. Within seconds she had written everything down. "What else?" She asked.
Darey bit her thumb nervously. "Dracula and Van Helsing knew each other," She said slowly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kaelin asked.
"It could be nothing, or it could be something," Darey replied. "The point is to take note of anything. Even the things that seem the most obsolete."
"Okay," Stefie said as she scribbled on the paper.
"What about the Sreain?" Francis asked.
"I think it's been established that they're after us. Perhaps they know the connection with us and coming here," Justine said.
"What if whoever brought Anna and Dracula back were the same person who brought us here?" Dommy asked.
"Don't be stupid," Francis said.
"No, it can't be overlooked. Stefie, write it down," Darey commanded.
"I'm already on it, Captain," Stefie said with a salute.
"Don't forget that Shale Bahn," Kaelin said.
"Kael Vahn," Darey corrected. "Where does she tie in?"
"Maybe she's an old friend returning a favor," Dommy suggested.
"Maybe," Darey said.
Stefie slowly raised her head to look at Darey. "What about Castle Dracula?" She asked softly.
"What about it?"
"What if there were some answers there? He's been around for a while. Isn't there a chance he'd have some knowledge of the Sreain at least?"
"But he might have gone back there," Francis said.
"He wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to the castle," Dommy said.
"Yea, just like he wasn't stupid enough to come to the manor last night?" Justine said sarcastically, looking pointedly at Stefie.
The other girl frowned. "A small miscalculation. Besides, he didn't actually come inside. Besides, don't you think his lair would have info?"
Francis frowned. "How are you taking this, Stefie?" He asked, sitting up. "You said you wanted to meet him."
Stefie tossed a grin over her shoulders. "We'll meet eventually," She said. "Just when we do, we'll fight."
"That's a bit of a twisted fantasy, don't you think?" Amanda asked.
Stefie shrugged. "Either way's good," She replied.
AN: So what did you guys think? Bad chapter? Good chapter? Please REVIEW and let me know, okay?