Hey everyone! Welcome to my new story! If anyone loves Count Mickey Dragul, well this story has it right here! However, unlike the original Count Mickey Dragul that everyone knows and loves who read the comic on Deviantart, mine is a retold version of that story. Also, I asked the artist herself If if could have her permission to do this, and immediately...she said yes! But the Count Mickey Dragul universe goes to twisted-wind herself, along with the name Count Mickey Dragul and Mina Murrey herself, and I don't own any of the Disney characters that I will be adding in this story. All credit goes to their creators.
Anyway, this story is going to be broken down into seasons called "Books" and the episodes you see below will act like chapters, and the first book I like to call is..."The Count and The Maiden" which is based on the original comic by twisted-wind but was never finished. But the title will be a retold version and the title is credited to the artist herself. So I hope you her give a round of applause! Anyway, just a heads-up on a few things, there will be a summary on this book since this is called "The Dragul Chronicles" and whenever I work on this, there will be either two or three episodes on this, but right now I'll start with two. Also, I like to imagine this story as an animated show in a mixture of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Castlevania. And no, this story won't be pushed to M rating this is going to be kept at T rating so there's no need to worry about that.
One last thing, I hope you enjoy Book 1, and twisted-wind, if your reading this, thank you for giving me the opportunity to write this retelling, and like I said, all the credit of the creation of the Count Mickey Dragul universe and the title of "The Count and The Maiden" goes to you. And this story your reading is dedicated to you.
Book 1: The Count and The Maiden (Summary):
In the Land of Romancia, there lies a town known as Transylvania Town. Living there is a young mouse maiden who is adopted to the elite social status, but has a hard time fitting in since the life of luxury is not for her. However, her life is completely changed forever when she meets a young but handsome Count, and behind the scenes...a plan has already begun for them.
Unfortunately, when night falls...not everything is at it's seems. A killer is on the loose, bodies turn up dead, but to add-in the strangeness...they disappear. But when they are found...they are not who they are anymore. Now, a terror has begun to plague the town and secrets will be revealed for our characters.
But what about the Count and the maiden. Will the Count fall for the maiden or the maiden fall for the Count?
Episode 1: First Meeting
Music was heard as violins were playing inside the manor. Everyone in the elite-class was dressed in their finest clothes...but were also wearing masks. Today was a masquerade party at McDuck Manor, everyone was either talking or laughing, drinking some fine wine that was taken by a passing dog butler named Duckworth, grabbing a single appetizer from a passing maid named Mrs. Beakley, or were dancing with their partners.
However, from out of the talk, most were speaking about Scrooge McDuck. He was the richest duck that spanned from America, all the way right here in Transylvania Town, many knew about the rich duck, but learned that he was...well, uh, scrooge, when it comes to money. He was always so cheap when it came to buying, but was a tough and good businessman, despite the minimum wages that he gives his workers so that they could work harder for his profits. But this right here was a complete shock, not to mention a huge surprise when he went off the deep end just to make this party.
But on the other hand, others were speaking about a rumor that was going about. They say that Mr. McDuck had invited someone to come join him in this party, most say that he did it for a special girl that was her birthday today…
Well, they were right on the dot about one thing...today was a girl's birthday, but she too was a bit surprised that he would do this for her.
Mina Murray was a beautiful mouse maiden who wore a pretty pink dress with red trimming, long white gloves that went past her elbows, a white mask was hung on her eyes, and her long black hair was tied to a bun. She was the adopted daughter to Scrooge McDuck, after her father who was a merchant who worked with Scrooge died one year ago was taken in by the rich duck after he made a promise to his old friend to watch over her. Even though she could take care of herself, she wouldn't stand a chance against the cruelty of tax collectors and to top it off, she wouldn't be able to land a suitable job since she's a woman. So with good fortune smiling on her and knowing that her father was good friends to the rich duck, she could now live a life of luxury.
But for Mina, the life of luxury wasn't really that much for her, despite being born in the middle-class, she really wasn't much into such fancy parties such as this. And not to mention since she already knew that her uncle, which she now calls him since she was adopted, was a greedy cheapskate, she could at least thank him for giving her a place to call home and wonderful friends to call family to keep her company. But nevertheless, she was still surprised that he would go this far to make this birthday of hers very special.
However, from what she overheard, she wasn't sure if her uncle did invite someone to come to her birthday, much less a masquerade. How can she tell who will be here and who will be this mystery guest that Scrooge spoke about?
Putting that out of her thoughts, she was about to make her way towards a table where she could get a slice of cake...but bumped into somebody. "Oh!" she gasped. "I'm so sorry! Excuse...me…" Her eyes were looking at somebody. "...mister."
The person she bumped into was a male mouse. He wore a black tricorn hat, long black coat, white shirt, black trousers, and black shoes. On his face he wore a black mask. This male mouse was undoubtedly young and very handsome, but when their eyes met...they were both silent.
As Mina's eyes gazed into his, she could tell that the way he was dressed meant that he wasn't a normal elite-class mouse, but at the same time she felt...entranced by him. She couldn't explain why, but part of her was telling her that maybe he could be the mystery guest that her uncle invited.
As they remained silent while continuing to look at one another. The masked mouse broke that silence by saying, "Are you...Mina Murray?"
Her eyes widened with shock when he knew her name. At least now she got her answer if he was the one that got invited by her uncle. Being polite she was going to say "Yes." but instead it came out jumbled as she says, "Well, um, no. Nonono, I mean yes! Yes, I am!" She clears her throat while taking her dress and politely curtising, "I am Mina Mur-Oh!" She almost tripped with those high-heeled shoes she wore if the masked mouse didn't grab her hand and pulled her up.
The masked mouse giggled slightly while saying, "Scrooge did tell me that you are not good at acting with the elite-class. Am I right?"
As painful as it was to admit it, she sighed and nodded at him. She was never really good at being part of the elite status, even though she was adopted from the middle-class, not everyone would take kindly to someone who was born of lower class, adoption or not. But nevertheless, her uncle did give her a good education with the help of Duckworth and Mrs. Beakley to properly act like a lady of social standards so she wouldn't make a fool of herself. Despite that, they knew that they could never change her, but teach her to be a better lady.
"Well, there's no shame in being who you are." This brought a surprised look after he said that to her. Nobody has ever said anything like that, they either give her a sneer or a simple turn and raise of the head, but this was a first for someone like him to not judge her for her status. "But nevertheless," he brings her gloved hand towards his mouth. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance and to wish you a happy birthday my dear, Mina." He kissed her hand as Mina's cheek turned rosy. "Oh, speaking of birthdays, I need to give you a gift." He offered his black gloved hand to her and asked, "Would you kindly accept this dance as my gift to you?"
"M-Me-a-and you d-d-dancing," Mina stuttered. "Well I...Well, umm…" He didn't seem fazed at her response, but could already tell that she was surprised by his offer as he gave her a smile. Seeing that it would be rude not to accept his kind offer to dance with him as well as it was her birthday gift from him, she took a deep breath through her nose and exhales out of her mouth to calm herself as she took his hand while saying to him, "Yes, I accept your gift to dance with you."
As the masked mouse led her hand to hand, she couldn't help but wonder about him. Who was this kind gentleman who treated her like she was his equal, despite their classes? Her thoughts were interrupted when she nearly tripped again with those high-heels and the masked mouse managed to catch her and help her balance. "Thank you," she says to him. She huffs in annoyance as Mina slightly lifts her dress up to look at her high-heels, glaring at them while saying, "Gosh-darn these shoes, I really hate them!"
Indeed she did, she never really liked fancy shoes and preferred to wear her boots like her friend, Della, and she was dressed like a boy instead of a lady and the elite-class didn't give her problems. "Here, I have an idea," The masked mouse says while leading Mina to a chair.
When he sat her down, he slightly lifted her dress while she asked, "What are you doing?"
He lifts her leg up and pulls off her shoe, then does the same thing to the other as Mina gave a surprised look. "There," he says to her with a smile as he puts the two shoes next to the chair. "Problem solved."
Getting off the chair she stuttered, "B-But w-what about the-"
"Ah, don't worry about'em," he interrupted while waving off the elite-class as he could already tell she was worried and was thinking about what they might say to this. "There too stuck-up and snobbish to even pay attention to people like us." This surprised Mina even further when he said that about the elite-class, but nevertheless, he truly was different among the rest. "Now then," he offered his arm to her. "Shall we?"
With a smile, she gladly took his arm as he led her to the dance floor.
This didn't go unnoticed as an elderly duck took off his mask while smiling. Scrooge McDuck wore a fine black suit for the party while having a tophat with a white band, spectacles over his eyes, and was carrying his cane. He made his way over to a female duck and got her attention by tapping his cane on her shoulder.
Della was an unusual, but special female duck in the elite-class. Unlike the woman in the elite status who dressed in fancy clothes, Della wore a dark-brown coat, tan shirt, and had goggles dangling on her neck. Most of the elite-class who look at her would probably mistake her as a boy, others think that she dresses like that because she might go on an adventure or something. That part was true, because Della was more of the adventurous type who loves going with her uncle to many places while taking her children with them. Unlike her twin brother, Donald, who was an apprentice to two genius inventors and barely goes on an adventure with her and the rest of the family, waits for an opportunity for her to drag his tail feathers away from them when the chance struck. He needed to have some quality time to take his mind off of machines and have a bit of fun once in a while. Luckily for her, Donald was already invited so at least he could spend some time with Mina and the rest of the family.
"Della, it's time." Scrooge says to her.
"Already," she says as her uncle motioned his hand towards the two mice who were making their way from the crowd and towards the dance floor. Knowing what she has to do, she nods at her uncle while saying, "Alright, go get Ludwig, I'll take it from here."
With a nod, Scrooge left to go get Ludwig while Della started jogging while saying "Excuse me." while making her way from the crowd. She slid to a stop when she found Duckworth and asked him, "Duckworth, glass please."
"Is it time already?" He asked while giving her a glass.
"Yep," she answered as she quickly downed her drink, then resumed jogging while carrying the empty glass. She came across an elite-class lady about to eat her slice of cake with a fork, but Della snatched it by jumping while saying, "Excuse me, need to borrow this!" The lady squeaked with surprise as she felt her fork get snatched.
Della pulls out a chair while climbing on it, trying to find both Donald and the kids. Luck was on her side when she saw the kids were with Donald as they were chatting with him. Donald had goggles the same as Della, but he had it on his head, and he wore a dark-brown wool coat, brown vest, and a tan undershirt. Her three triplet sons, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, wore the same thing, suit coats with white undershirts and black vests, but each of them had different colors. Dewey's was blue, Louie's was green, and Huey's was red while he was the only triplet to wear a red cap on his head. The fourth child named Webbigail, or Webby for short, was the grand-child to Mrs. Beakley and she wore a beautiful pink dress. For this occasion since this was Mina's birthday, she wore a pink mask of her own.
"Hey, Donald! Kids!" Della yelled while sharply whistling. They turn their attention towards her as she says to them while pointing at the two mice who were at the dance floor, "It's time!"
Donald looks to where Della was pointing…"Wak! Already!" he quaked with surprise. Looking at the kids he told them, "Kids-"
"Yeah, we know, Uncle Donald, we got it." Dewey says as he and his two brothers jogged to the crowd with Webby behind them and their uncle came last, knowing what they had to do next.
Della began tapping her glass with a fork, making a ching noise for all the elite-class to hear as she says to them all, "Alright everybody! Make way for the birthday girl and her dance partner! Anyone who wants to watch can come and see!"
The dance crowd began to disperse with Donald saying to some of the dancers, "Come on guys, break it up, let Mina and her partner have some space!" Then Louie, "Move it or lose it guys, let those two be alone!" Then Webby became the last as she said to the crowd, "Make some room everyone! Anyone who wants to watch is free to come to the front row of the crowd."
When everyone left the dance floor, leaving only Mina and the masked mouse alone, Della, Donald, and the rest of the kids were at the front with Della smiling and giving Mina a thumbs-up with her nodding at her friends while giving her own smile.
Back with Scrooge, he points his cane to Maestro Fife, signaling him to be ready. Maestro Fife nods and taps his baton, signaling the violin players to be ready, he then looks to another elderly duck who was at the piano and nods at him who in turn the elderly duck gives him a circle with two fingers raised. This elderly duck was none other than Ludwig Von Drake. He was a famous inventor and one of Donald's teachers, along with his colleague Gyro Gearloose which unfortunately he wasn't coming to the party due to already writing a note to him saying that he wouldn't make it because he had something...important to handle, but he did wish Mina a happy birthday. Ludwig knew what he meant by "something important", but he knew he'd see him again.
Ludwig was bald while having grey hair on the sides of his head and had grey eyebrows, spectacles were over his eyes, and he wore a green overcoat with a white dress shirt with cuffs, light-brown vest, and a black necktie. As he stretched his fingers, making them crack in the process, he had his fingers over the keyboard while wiggling his fingers. Then...he began to play the piano, thus Maestro Fife began waving his baton and the violin players began playing.
While the music was playing, the masked mouse and Mina curtsied one another by bowing, then the masked mouse offered his blacked gloved hand once again to her as Mina took it. He then wrapped his arm around her waist as they began dancing.
As the spectators watched the two dance, Mina couldn't help but be...enchanted by this masked mouse who was dancing with her. She could already tell that he too studied dancing the same as her, but the way he was doing it felt like he had years of experience. Maybe he must've been doing it since he was a child, or maybe this wasn't the first time he danced with somebody like her. Either way, it was a good thing she took dancing lessons with Mrs. Beakley, with Della also lending a hand since she and her were at the same size.
Mina giggled slightly when the masked mouse dipped her, then she squeaked with delight as he lifted her up and spun her. When he brought her back down and resumed dancing, he smiled at her and said, "Enjoying your gift, my dear?"
"Oh yes," she answered. "I am enjoying it wonderfully. Although, I'm not really big on fancy gifts…" She giggles as the masked mouse twirls her. When they were looking at each other again, she continued, "But this I will definitely treasure. So thank you…" Her eyes squinted as she never got his name. "Umm, mister…"
"Michelu," he introduced his name. "Count Michelu, but my friends call me Mickey."
Mina gave a surprised look when she found out he was a Count. "Oh Count! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"Please, there's no need to apologize. After all, this is a masquerade party, we all wear masks underneath until we reveal ourselves for what we truly are."
"Well, thank you again, Count Michelu."
"There's no need to be formal," the Count giggled. "Just call me Mickey."
"Mickey...that's a cute name." Mina gasped at what she just said, making Mickey's eyes widen with surprise. "W-What I-I mean is, i-it's a nice name! It's a really nice...name."
As they continued to dance, their eyes never left one another. But then...something strange happened. There was an unusual feeling for the both of them that would change their lives on this fateful day. Their thoughts were about one another as Mina thought, What's wrong with me? Why am I acting this way? What's this...what's this feeling that I have for Mickey?
Then Mickey thought, What's happening to me? What's this weird feeling that I have with her? What's so special about Mina that I can't take my eyes off her?
While they continued to stare at one another without letting each other go...Mina couldn't help herself but sigh and lean her face on his chest, making Mickey's face turn a slight shade of red.
The spectators went "Aww!" at them with Della, Donald, and the kids doing the same thing with Della and Webby clasping their hands adoringly at them. Scrooge muttered "Yes!" while shaking his fists with excitement, almost like he knew this was going to happen.
However, when Mina opened her eyes...they widened when she saw something...
From out of the oblivious crowd of the elite-class, a mirror was there as she saw her reflection dancing...but by herself. She didn't see Mickey's reflection at all...almost like he wasn't there and she was dancing with an invisible mouse! But that's impossible, he was right here and tangible right there in front of her! Her head up jolted while gasping as Mickey asked with a concerned look, "Mina, are you alright?"
She didn't answer him as she continued to stare at that mirror. Then...the music started to fade away...and everything was starting to turn black with the mirror remaining as she continued to stare at it. Her face became pale as she heard Mickey's voice say her name, "Mina…"
Then the second time as it echoed, "Mina…"
Then the voice changed to Duckworth as she was shaken. "Mina!"
She jolted awake with a gasp as she was back inside the carriage. "Forgive me for waking you up, but we're almost there to Count Mickey's land."
"Huh?" She covered her mouth while yawning. "We are?" She moves the curtains back a little to get a glimpse outside, noticing that they were in a forest and were getting closer to the Count's land. "Oh, it seems we are."
It has been a few days since Mina's birthday came and went. She hadn't forgotten the most wonderful event that happened to her, in fact she couldn't stop thinking about Mickey for those last few days, but now she'll be able to see him again.
However, during those last few days...terrible and strange events were happening in Transylvania Town. After Mina's birthday, mysterious attacks were happening to the people of the town and bodies laid dead. But the weird part about it was...the bodies were gone, almost like they disappeared. Rumors were going about saying that the victims were somehow walking about in the shadows, like they lost their free will. As odd as it sounded, the bottom line was that something terrifying was happening to their beloved town.
As for Mina, her uncle began to worry for her safety, so instead he already planned ahead by sending her off to see Count Mickey himself where she will be safe and protected. He had already got a carriage and driver to take Mina to the Count's land with Duckworth accompanying her, much to her surprise that he didn't let Mrs. Beakley joined them for whatever reason it is, and he didn't hire any bodyguards for protection which was so like her uncle since he was so cheap.
Anyway, it was already twilight while Mina was wondering what the Count's land was like. However, her uncle told her that the Count's land was part of the Dark Forest which is where she will travel to. From what she learned, the Dark Forest was said to have a scary legend around that place. It was said that the place was home to monsters that lived in the shadows or ghosts who continue to walk amongst the forest to this very day.
She didn't believe in such nonsense, but she couldn't help but admire the story which was supernaturally surrounding it. Mina was into such tales about fantasy, however when it came to different tales...supernatural was always her taste. She always liked reading stories about ghosts, werewolves, vampires, or anything at all. Sometimes it'll detail the battles between good and evil, other times it'll detail about romance in supernatural style. She was always fascinated about the supernatural when it came to such stories, but when it came to real-life, that was a different perspective for her. Still, it's not like she believed in such things since they were only stories.
To put the matter aside, despite the tale about the Dark Forest, she still wondered about the rest of the Count's land and what it would look like. Speaking of the Count, Mina had once again dreamed about him...and the end of that dream. She still couldn't remember the rest of it, in fact the last thing she remembered...was fainting. Ever since it happened, she wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not, but she could've swore that she didn't see Mickey's reflection in the mirror when they were dancing. However, a seed of doubt was telling her that it wasn't real and maybe it was all in her head and she wasn't feeling well. Either way, she couldn't get it out of her head or out of her dreams of what happened that day. All she could do now was sit inside the carriage and wait until they arrived.
However, what Mina didn't realize were several things. One, her uncle had already written an emergency letter to someone to come to Transylvania Town immediately. Two, Scrooge didn't realize that Ludwig had received a letter from his colleague Gyro that he was coming to town...and he was bringing an old friend with him. Three, Mrs. Beakley didn't like Mina going alone with only Duckworth accompanying her, she had a feeling that she had to be with them in case things went south, but Scrooge assured her she'll be fine as long as she got to the Count's land, much to Mrs. Beakley's dismay and not to mention he needed her here to watch not only Della, but his nephew's as well. And there was one last thing that no one could ever anticipate…
As the carriage continued on it's way through the Dark Forest where the trees carried no leaves and gave it more of a spooky setting which gave the driver the shivers from this spooky place...a posse was following them.
Five beagles were riding on horseback and each of them wore brown cloaks with their hoods up and masks. These people were known as The Beagles, their families and their family families were infamous as they were known as a family of criminals around the world. Ranging that to a gang of thieves and cutthroats, ruthless pirates, and so much more. But for these beagles, they were just a gang of thieves who were out looking for some unfortunate sap so they could steal and take it back to their hideout where the other beagles were. Luck was on their side when they caught sight of a carriage bearing the dollar symbol on it, meaning that this was Scrooge's. They had already made a bad reputation by stealing Scrooge's valuables for years, but around here, that became slightly difficult since Scrooge never took this route...until now.
After quietly following them from out of the hill and into the Dark Forest...they made their move. Kicking the reigns of their horses, they galloped to the carriage where the driver began to hear the sound of hoofbeats coming their way. This didn't go unnoticed as Mina and Duckworth heard the same thing as Mina asked, "What's that?"
"I'm not sure," Duckworth answered as he moved the curtains back to see where those hoofbeats were coming from...His eyes widened and gasped when he saw who they were and immediately he shouted to the driver, "Quickly driver, speed the carriage!"
That came too late when a beagle got close to the driver of the carriage and jumped off his horse, taking out his pistol he ordered, "Stop the carriage!" He even cocked the hammer to ensure he comply which he already did by quickly nodding his head and pulled the reins to stop the horses.
When the rest of the beagles got off their horses, one was carrying a rifle as he opened the door of the carriage and pointed it at them, making Mina and Duckworth gasp as the beagle said, "Alright you two, out of the carriage!"
They got out and were forcibly put on their knees with the driver joining them. The two beagles were searching the carriage with one at the back and was tossing Mina's luggage that was filled with clothes here and there while trying to find anything valuable, and the other was inside, looking for anything that was hiding right under his nose. The three other beagles, one who was at the driver seat while watching the captives and sharpening a knife with a stone, and the other two beagles were side by side watching the captives as well to make sure they didn't try anything clever.
"How dare you!" Duckworth said with anger. "Do you have any idea who you're stealing from?"
"Of course we know, bub," The beagle with a rifle said. "It's Scrooge McDuck's."
"And the dollar sign of his," The other beagle pointed at the symbol. "Is a dead giveaway."
"Nothing!" The beagle who was rummaging tossed an empty suitcase in frustration. "Not a single coin or a blasted jewel, just a bunch of clothes!"
"Nothing here either," The beagle who was searching inside the carriage said as he came out. "No secret compartments or anything. It's just a traveling carriage with no valuables." He then smiles as he looks at the captives. "But on the other hand since we caught ourselves some travelers, will make them empty out their pockets…" He giggled a little as his eyes were looking at the mouse girl. "Or better yet, strip themselves until they cough up something valuable there hiding."
Mina gasped while covering her mouth at such a scandalous act.
"Hold it for a second, boys!" The beagle with a knife said as he got off the carriage.
"What is it?" One of the beagles asked.
The knife wielding beagle walks over to the mouse girl while bending down, brings his knife at her chin to make her look at him. He squinted his eyes while humming...then his eyes widened as he stood back up and pointed while saying, "Hey, that's her!"
"Who?"
"The adoptive daughter of Scrooge McDuck!"
Mina and Duckworth had surprised looks as they looked at one another. Somehow this beagle knows who she is.
However, they never realized that The Beagles heard about Scrooge adopting a young lady. Word spread like wildfire at the hideout and they knew if they ever knew who she was, she would've been their top priority to catch her. But one of them grew confused and pointed at her while saying, "Wait, are you saying that's her?"
"Yeah, I have a torn piece of paper that has a picture of her before I joined your gang." To show his proof, he digs through his pocket and pulls out a torn piece of paper that came from a newspaper, showing a photograph of Mina who was standing next to Scrooge. "See, that's her right next to Scrooge."
A beagle takes the picture from the knife wielding one, looking at it closely while looking at the girl before them. Seeing that it was a match gave the other beagles surprised looks. What none of the other beagles realized that long before the knife wielding beagle joined there gang a few weeks ago, a year prior he had already gotten a newspaper detailing about a young mouse lady of the middle-class now becoming an elite-class mouse maiden, was now adopted to Scrooge McDuck. To top it, he saw a picture of her and Scrooge on the front page and decided if anyone who hadn't known who she was, he would have his proof. So with that, he tore off that picture to keep in case he needed it...until now.
With smiles on their faces and knowing that they found the right woman they were looking for. One of them chuckled slightly while saying, "Well I'll be, isn't this our lucky day." Then one of them muttered to the other, "Go get the rope."
A beagle bends down and says to Mina, "Consider yourself lucky that we need you in one piece. 'Cause ol' Scrooge is going to pay us a fortune to see you safe." He gives her a toothy grin. "And if he doesn't, well…"
The knife wielding beagle used his knife and made a sliding gesture with his throat while gagging to simplify, making Mina cringe with fright. He then walks over to her and forcibly picks her up, making her yelp in fright while he said to her, "Alright lady, get up! Your comin' with us!"
What none of them didn't notice was that Duckworth had a hidden pocket knife inside his shoe. He never left home without it in case he had to deal with ruffians like The Beagles. Bringing out the blade and knowing that the only beagle close to him was the one who had the rifle...he lunges forward and stabs him in the leg. The beagle with the rifle howled with pain, then Duckworth got up and wrestled with the gun, making him pull the trigger with a loud BAM! The bullet hits the knife wielding beagle's arm as he lets go of her while screaming in pain and clutching his arm.
"Run Mina!" Duckworth shouted. "Get to the Count's land!"
She didn't have to be told twice as she pushed past the already hurting beagle, knocking him down to the ground, and made a run for it away from the path and into the Dark Forest.
"Get'er, boys!" The beagle said who was wrestling with Duckworth.
They too didn't have to be told twice as two beagles went after her with a third following after already getting the rope from off of his horse and now dropping it.
The beagle with the rifle managed to push Duckworth off him as he landed on the ground at his back. "You should've just stayed where you were, pops." The beagle uses the butt of his rifle and knocks out Duckworth, making the driver flinch from seeing him get knocked out. The beagle grunts while grabbing the handle of the pocket knife and yanking it out, then he roughly tosses the pocket knife at the ground. He looked at the other beagle who had his back at the wheel while clutching his arm asked, "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah," The other beagle answered while nodding. "I think so." He takes his hand away from his arm and looks at the blood that now stained his brown glove.
Back with Mina, she was running as fast as her legs could carry her. Luckily for her, she wasn't wearing those high-heels and was wearing her boots instead, or else this would've proven difficult for her. Anyway, she had no idea where she was going, or had any clue where the Count's land was, she was just going at this blindly. But she didn't care at the moment, she just wanted to get as far away from those beagles as she possibly can. Chancing a look, she sees that the beagles weren't following her, believing that she may have lost them she looks ahead. However, when she looked ahead...a branch smacked her face, sending her to the ground while her nose bled slightly from the hit.
A beagle comes out from behind while holding onto that same branch. With a smile and chuckle, he tosses the branch away while yelling, "Hey, I got her guys!" As the other two beagles caught with him after he broke away from them to go around and catch Mina off guard, he added, "Sleeping beauty won't be waking anytime soon."
He spoke too soon as they heard Mina groaning. "I don't think she's out yet. Wanna hit her again just to be sure?"
"Nah, we need her one piece. So we'll just take her already while she starts to go out."
The two beagles giggled while having their hands out, ready to grab Mina…
"Wait!" A beagle stops them.
"What is it?" One of them asked.
"Shh!" The beagle shushed them by bringing a finger to his mouth. "Do you hear that?"
They remained quiet while looking around when they started to hear what appeared to be...hoofbeats? It got closer and closer, then...they turned around and saw a black stallion, but someone was on it...then the rider jumped. Looking up, their faces turned into shock as the figure looked like a bat from the shadows that formed him, but when he got down...it was a male mouse that had a flowing coat while bringing his foot down towards a beagle.
A beagle's face got hit by that foot, sending him flying while the male mouse twirls through the air and the other beagles watched as he landed on the ground behind them. The two other beagles charged at him, but the male mouse sweeped the leg and knocks a beagle on his front, then he dodges some jabs from the other beagle and grabs his arm while tossing him to a tree as he crashes by his back and lands on his front unconscious. The beagle who was kicked quickly gets back up while pulling out a knife and charges while shouting, the other beagle does the same thing but he doesn't have a knife as he brings out his fist and tries to hit him, but the male mouse dodges each swipe from a knife and punches. He sweeps around the ground while running sideways behind a beagle, then he catches his arm after he tries to hit him again, but the male mouse uses his backfist and sends him flying while he loses a tooth and lands on the ground while rolling. He once again dodges a few swipes from the knife, then he grabs the blade.
Then the beagle grew a horrified look at what happened next…
The male mouse's eyes went from normal to red, his teeth extended to that of sharp fangs, then he slowly hisses at him.
This didn't go unnoticed by Mina as she turned her head and noticed that same male mouse, but as her vision went from blurry to normal, she caught a glimpse of who this male mouse was…
It was Mickey!
Mickey slams a palm towards the beagle's chest as he sends him flying towards a tree and crashes by his back as he slid down and landed on the ground unconscious.
Mickey's eyes went back to normal and his sharp fangs retracted back into his mouth while straightening his coat. When he looked at her, his eyes widened as he muttered, "Mina."
Mina wasn't sure if she was hallucinating when she got hit or if she was dreaming again. Either way, when Mickey went towards her, she looked at the half-moon where the sky was slowly going dark and stars started to dot the sky…
Then her vision turned black.
(Skillet-Whispers in the Dark)
(Music starts with a piano while showing a full moon.)
From Bookwriter94 Productions
Despite the lies that you're making
(A castle slowly pulls back.)
Your love is mine for the taking
My love is just waiting
(The castle is behind the moon.)
To turn your tears to roses
(Rock music is played as a shadow appears in front of the castle, then materializes as it reveals the title.)
The Dragul Chronicles
(The title is written in silver and in cursive.)
(Mickey is standing on a ledge where the bottom of his coat is flowing with the wind.)
Despite the lies that you're making
Your love is mine for the taking
My love is just waiting
To turn your tears to roses
(Mina is also seen standing where her back is turned while clutching her heart and her hair and skirt is also flowing with the wind.)
I will be the one that's gonna find you
I will be the one that's gonna guide you
My love is a burning
Consuming fire
(Mickey and Mina look ahead as they see a mysterious person wearing a black cloak while the head was obscured in shadow by its hood. The figure smiled evilly and the eyes opened and glowed red as the scene changed to random characters.)
No, you'll never be alone
(A tall mouse is talking to an overweight mouse behind him.)
When darkness comes
I'll light the night with stars
(Scrooge slams his fists on his desk, Della and Donald remove their goggles, a dog with a doctor's mask twirls a scalpel, and a rabbit pulls out a gun while cocking the hammer.)
Hear the whispers in the dark
(The rabbit pulls the trigger as the scene changes with Mickey fighting some beagles.)
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes
You know I'm never far
(Mickey twirls through the air and lands on the ground while pulling out a black sword and cuts the scene sideways.)
Hear the whispers in the dark
Whispers in the dark
(Mina is surrounded by figures who have glowing yellow eyes. She turns around, only to see the figure raise the cloak while showing the fangs and glowing red eyes. She stumbles back in fright and collapses, but Mickey catches her while bringing his sword in a protective manner and giving a serious look to the mystery figure while his own eyes glowed red as the scene freezes and the music ends.)
(Scrooge)
Several characters enter the fray with motivations. One who was given a task to solve the mystery with assistance from his friend to find out what is happening to the town. The other is searching for someone who was taken and has arrived in town.
But when these two meet, they will confront a terror which has now begun to plague the town. But one will find it hard to believe and begins questioning what he got himself into. The other knows exactly what he must do and what he was made to do.
Next time on The Dragul Chronicles: The Hunter and The Detective