"MOVIE KNIGHT: ACT 3"
The scene faded into what looked like an operating theatre where an audience of medical students were observing an operation. The doctors on the floor spoke, one of them being Doctor Seward, declaring Lucy's death.
"No!" several princesses cried out.
"Poor Lucy!" Holly trembled.
The doctors talked about the cause of death, revealing it to be a great loss of blood through puncture wounds in the neck. They even mentioned about Lucy having received blood transfusions.
"Wait, when did that happen?" asked Raven.
"This movie is based on a book," Arthur answered. "In the original story, Dracula periodically fed off Lucy, leaving her lethargic and weak. The doctors deduced she was losing blood and gave her transfusions to try and save her. Sadly, they couldn't deduce the reason quickly enough and Dracula finally killed her."
The scene changed again, showing the grounds of the Seward Sanitarium. The grounds were occupied by white-clad orderlies with the patients who did not look quite well. It seemed somewhat peaceful before a scream broke the peace and quiet. Several patients began cackling, saying someone wanted their flies. The camera then shifted to a room in the building where Renfield was struggling with an orderly.
Renfield was begging the orderly not to take something away. Finally, the orderly wrenched something away from Renfield, revealing it to be a spider which he tossed out the window.
"Is he eating spiders now?!" Ginger gagged.
"Working his way up from flies, all to earn his vampirism that Dracula promised," Max answered.
"Poor spiders," Nina mumbled sympathetically.
"Why do we need to know how the looney is doing?" asked Ramona, gagging at the thought of eating spiders.
The scene changed once more, showing a German gentleman pouring fluid from one beaker into another, turning it clear. He took off his glasses and spoke to one of four men in the room, one being Dr. Seward. A man with a book spoke in a language no one understood. After he was finished, the older man looked to the group, declaring that they were dealing with an undead, a vampire.
"Wait, he knows about vampires?" asked Briar.
"He's the one who will lead the charge against Dracula," Harry nodded, already guessing the man's identity.
Dr. Seward was unconvinced, believing firmly in science and not in the supernatural. He also revealed the older man's name; Van Helsing. Despite the scepticism, Van Helsing was undeterred, having recognized all of the signs in Lucy's body. He even explained Renfield's mania to devour smaller creatures to sustain his life, revealing his obsession with vampirism. He went so far as to declare he would prove the myths of yesterday to be the facts of today.
Deciding to speak to Renfield himself, Seward and Van Helsing relocated to the latter's office to discuss Renfield's case. Seward maintained that Renfield, while mentally disturbed, was harmless with his insistence on eating insects and spiders. Van Helsing on the other hand revealed that Renfield had periodically escaped from his room, and had gone missing for hours at a time. What he was doing during that time was anyone's guess.
"Probably trying to meet with Dracula again," Darling pursed her lips.
"Likely," Gwen agreed.
The doctors stopped their conversation when Renfield was escorted into the office. To the surprise of many, his manic appearance was gone and he even spoke like he was of sound mind again. Van Helsing greeted him and they even shook hands, but Van Helsing looked at his hand as if looking for something and Renfield got some of his manic appearance back as he drew his hand back from the doctor.
"Why did he lash out like that? It ruined his chance to look like he was recovering," Poppy frowned.
"Because Van Helsing knows about vampires and likely Renfield had signs of being near one or something," Tristan suggested. "Renfield noticed this and panicked."
Renfield seemed to abandon his attempts at rationality and begged Seward to release him from the sanitarium. When asked why he wished to leave so badly, Renfield professed that his cries at night would give Mina bad dreams. The thought of him being responsible for that seemed to distress Renfield. Worse, as he said so, a dog howled as the sun sank below the horizon.
"Why would he care about Mina?" asked Ramona.
"That's something from the book too," Max answered. "Mina talks with some of the patients and Renfield quickly takes a liking to her. It's symbolic of him retaining some of his humanity and rationality by trying to be mindful to her."
For a brief moment, the scene shifted to Carfax Abbey. There, a coffin opened and Dracula emerged from it, ready to stalk the night again.
Back in Seward's office, the men took note of the howl and Van Helsing mentioned how it sounded like a wolf. Seward played it off, not thinking wolves could be in London. The orderly, Martin, commented on how Renfield thought the howls were talking to him, howling back whenever he heard them.
Van Helsing seemed to understand the reason for that. He slowly approached Renfield before he produced a small sprig of some kind of plant. Renfield cried out in fear of the plant. Martin had to restrain Renfield as the madman declared that Van Helsing knew too much to live. After Renfield was taken away, Van Helsing revealed that the plant he showed Renfield was wolfsbane, a plant people used in central Europe to ward off vampires.
"Looks like Van Helsing is going on the hunt for Dracula," Dexter remarked.
"Great..." Cupid remembered Van Hellscream. She just hoped that this Van Helsing was an actual hero and not a pompous blowhard.
The scene changed to show Renfield in his room, curled up on his bed in the dark and clearly distressed. He trembled there until a wolf howled in the night, bringing him out of his tremors and returning his slavish devotion. He walked to the window, peering out to the grounds where he saw Dracula staring up at him from the darkness.
At first, Renfield was happy to see his master's return, but the unending stare soon began to cause him distress. He sobbed and begged Dracula to not give him such an order, even if Dracula never spoke. It was as if the bond they had allowed Dracula to speak directly into his mind. Renfield sobbed and begged him not to do anything to 'her', but Renfield couldn't sway Dracula nor could he resist.
"Her?" Asked Cerise. "Who's he talking about?"
"He's going after Mina!" Raven gasped.
Proving Raven right, the scene changed to show Mina's room where she was asleep...and a large bat fluttered into the room. Dracula reappeared and his gaze landed on the sleeping Mina. This time, his gaze was not predatory, but softer. He approached her form, clearly intending to bite her, but his face grew more distressed as if he was repulsed by what he was about to do. Not that it stopped him as the screen faded to black.
"Something was different that time," Faybelle frowned. "Did you guys see his face?"
"Mina's special to him," Cupid spoke up. "Perhaps he's in love with her?"
The scene changed to show Mina, wearing a scarf, in a sitting room with Johnathan, discussing a dream she had. It involved a bright moon, howling wolves, and a figure with red eyes leaning ever so closer to it. As she described her dream, she grew more fearful but felt drained of life afterwards. Johnathan was quick to reassure her that she was safe and tried to take her focus off the frightening dreams.
Dr. Seward and Van Helsing entered the room during the description. Van Helsing seemed especially interested in the dream. He examined Mina while Johnathan shared his concerns with her father, clearly worried. During the examination, Van Helsing managed to have Mina remove her scarf despite her reluctance, revealing a pair of bite marks on her neck, much to the distress of her father and fiancé.
As the men discussed what might be the cause, a maid suddenly spoke up from outside, announcing the arrival of Count Dracula. Immediately, the mood of several people seemed to change. Van Helsing seemed to become more guarded while Mina actually grew more animated upon hearing of his arrival.
"Van Helsing knows something's not right," Briar commented.
Dracula was introduced to Van Helsing, and the Count seemed to know about the man. Even in the far off country of Transylvania, the name Van Helsing was very well-known it seemed.
Dracula acted much like a polite and cheerful guest. He seemed especially attentive towards Mina who seemed to eat up his attention, a distinct reversal from her last conversation with Lucy before her untimely death. He doted on her and when her dreams came up, Dracula wove the tale of how he told Mina some grim tales from Transylvania which may have been the cause. Johnathan was certainly not happy, clearly seeing the improper interest in his fiancée as he stepped to a cigar box to have a smoke.
Van Helsing kept his silence as he and Johnathan were near the cigar box, but something caught their attention. It was the mirror on the underside of the lid of the cigar box. It was angled so it was easy to see Dr. Seward, Mina, and Dracula together. However, in the reflection, only Mina and Dr. Seward were visible.
"What the hex?" Poppy blinked. "Why doesn't Dracula have a reflection?"
"Vampires don't cast a reflection," Tristan answered. "One of the ways to tell if someone is a vampire or not."
"How come?"
"Because vampires don't have souls."
"Not true!" Cupid protested.
Johnathan and Van Helsing were both clearly perturbed by the discovery, although neither said anything. Johnathan was clearly shocked while Van Helsing only seemed to become even grimmer.
Mina was finally convinced to try and get some more rest and left the room. Dracula played the apologetic guest. Van Helsing lifted the cigar case and asked if he could show Dracula something. As polite as any gentleman could be, Dracula obliged and approached Van Helsing. The doctor then opened the cigar case, revealing the mirror. Dracula recoiled as if he was wild, slapping it out of Van Helsing's hands. It shocked the others in the room. Dracula managed to recover and excused himself, leaving out a garden door. Before he left, he made a parting comment.'
"For one who has not lived a single lifetime, you are a very wise man, Van Helsing," Dracula complimented before he stepped out into the night.
Dr. Seward and Johnathan were shocked by Dracula's reaction and the younger man followed him outside. He didn't see Dracula himself but did report seeing a large dog run across the grounds. It was a form which Van Helsing insisted was a wolf. Johnathan and Dr. Seward were sceptical, to say the least, but that was just one of the greatest strengths of a vampire as Van Helsing explained.
"It looks like Van Helsing is onto Dracula," Ramona observed. "And now he's on the hunt."
Outside of the house, it was revealed that Mina did not go to her room and had instead walked out into the night to get some fresh air. Dracula was outside waiting for her. Without hesitation, perhaps charmed, she walked into Dracula's waiting arms where she was wrapped in the darkness.