Twilight Is Not Good For Maidens
Author's Note: Whoa...another update. And the very next day, to boot! Seriously, writing Vlad/Mina is so addictive! Yes, that was a nudge to all you people out there who could write a story about them...you know who you are... I wanted to update quickly to give you the continuation of the scene; I can't stand to leave things on half. On a technical note, I've slowed down the development of Lucy's illness – in the film, her deterioration is really sped-up, I've just decided to slow it down to a more 'realistic' pace. I'll explain more in later chapters. The next chapter will contain all my original developments, I hope they won't be a let-down! For now, back to the cinematograph...enjoy... As an interesting side-note, this chapter was written under the influence of the (remarkable) soundtrack to the film. God bless Wojciech Kilar.
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TWILIGHT IS NOT GOOD FOR MAIDENS
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Chapter 3: The Wolf
It wasn't like being struck by lightning. There was no profound instant of realization, no sudden burst of sunlight lit up the darkness of her mind. His words touched her soul, just memory after feeling after heart... It was as if the meaning behind them was tangible – it ran through her, chasing through her body, but it was her mind that was most affected.
Gradually, knowledge creeped up on her. It wasn't instantaneous, instead it slowly dawned on her. It was like standing in front of an ancient and dusty door, closed for centuries, slowly begin to creak open, stiffly opening to show, inch by inch, a huge, vast landscape beyond it. The first thing that overwhelmed anyone in front of such a door was not what they saw, but the feeling of the think shaft of light touch them and slowly, tentatively grow as the door revealed more. The sensation wasn't instant and because of that, when the full impact of the experience did finally hit her, its power was all the more overwhelming. Slowly and totally, she was shaken to the core. There could be no mistakes of misunderstandings. Everything was clear. It was completely final.
She knew him.
Mina's eyes widened in disbelieving horror, unable to take in what she was feeling. It was as if she could see farther and deeper than she'd ever seen before. She paled and drew in a slow breath, struggling to comprehend. She no longer tried to hide how much she was quivering. There could be no guessing at it, no vague sense of familiarity, and no abstract recognition. She was far beyond that. She knew him – it was a fact, it was real. It was inescapable and unshakable.
She knew him. He was someone important to her, so important... He was dear to her, vital to her, he was all to her. Looking at him made her shiver, and not with fear.
But it can't be... she thought. It isn't possible...why is this happening?
Beyond her disbelief lay fear. But beyond her fear lay wonder. For now, all she could do was lie back, too stunned to resist. She sensed that her resistance had collapsed and horror built up in her. Who was he?
His face, only moments ago intensely tense and grim, had given way to sad desperation and now it gave way to a wonder not dissimilar to her own.
Her soul trembled. She shook her head slowly, unable to accept. Her face was grave. Her voice was a hushed, layered whisper.
"My God, who are you? I know you..." She whispered, her voice so searching.
He felt her voice reach into him and touch him the way he never believed he would feel again. Vlad looked into her eyes, entranced. The eyes of his lost love looked back. At first they had shined gem-hard with feeling, but now they softened and warmed. The terror began to melt out of her and give way to another feeling, beyond the recognition, beyond the wonder, beyond the inexplicable tenderness. Arrow-shots of sunlight seemed to streak through her soul, lighting up parts so long unused and capable of so much. He felt her returning to him.
She had always been Elisabeta without even knowing it. Everything about the two women was connected; their bodies, minds, hearts and souls. Vlad had noticed upon first seeing her how Mina had favoured a pattern that suggested leaves on her dress, a tiny quality that both women shared. He remembered the gown his beloved wife had worn when last he saw her – green, embroidered with leaves. Exactly like Mina.
His heart burned and twisted with all that it wanted to say, with all it wanted to give. He had feared it to be too withered for such emotion after being so long cold and alone. For the first time, he truly believed that not only could Mina end his suffering but that she would. Of her own free will, she would bring him to the light. It was a feeling so powerful, but so gentle, it left him weak. As he watched her burn with her half-remembered identity, he also saw that in him, she would no longer wander through her life feeling alone and somehow separated from those around her. In him, she could finally find that fulfilling sense of completion. He did not fool himself; he was not a creature who saw only what he wanted to see – when he gazed at her he saw the truths hidden there. They were sacred to one another. She was his soulmate. To feel in the middle of such love again, to feel possessed by it once more, was a feeling so tremendous that he didn't know what to do. It left him helpless.
It was different to his solitary longing. Now he felt alive, aching and burning. Instead of being a lost part of himself, she was now here, with him, remembering him. This was true love. He watched her unravel, and felt himself unravel too.
"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..." he whispered.
He touched her face, caressing her with his gloved hand. His dark touch glided gently across the line of her jaw and up her cheek, softly feeling her skin with no more weight than that. Mina made no move to stop him and when his fingers touched her, she couldn't contain a sigh, rich with yearning and loss. His touch...it felt right. His hand...it belonged against her skin. She shivered inwardly. To feel his hand against her face, feeling the smoothness of her skin made a tingling wave rise in her. Her sweet lips parted. She felt breathless. No more did Mina feel weak and pliant with him, but fluidic and full of bright substance. She closed her eyes languidly, overcome by longing. She felt as though she had long lost something and had now found it last and could now see the world in new colours.
Finally... was her only thought. She was vaguely aware that it made no sense but then surrendered herself again to it. Somehow, it felt true. Mina had never felt anything like it before, and now she didn't want the feeling to end. She didn't ever want his hand to leave her face. She could be like this forever.
Her prince's thoughts echoed her own. He loved her. He hadn't allowed himself to feel it for so long – because the feeling could drive him insane while he was without her. But now it came over him in a flood that he couldn't have resisted if he'd tried. The sight of her lying there, so lost and languid and filled with longing and craving, separated from him by only air...
Now was the time. She was unresisting and they were alone together. None would notice. He would make her immortal, as he was. And they would have a love that lived forever. Keeping his hand caressing her cheek, ready to soothe the pain that was to come, he turned his face away from her and he changed. Firstly, his eyes clouded and became a thick blood-red, boiling with bloodthirsty crimson darkness. Next, his teeth, the front canines began to sharpen and lengthen until they were ghastly, brutal gleaming points. They were a dangerous and deadly weapon. As she lay they, still lost in a sea of feeling, without any idea of what was about to take place, Mina moved her head to her right, unconsciously leaning into his touch, exposing her soft throat. Readying to bite her, Vlad could her pulse beating steadily in her neck. Now... He lunged downwards.
But, spare inches separating his mouth from her throat, his gaze had flickered to her face. The sight of her, her eyes closed and lost to yearning, and the sound of one breathless sigh from her held him in place. He remembered how she looked that final day, when he had returned to his castle only to find her dead – how still she had been, her lips gently parted, her eyes only lightly closed. She had been hauntingly lovely, but she had seemed smaller all at once without her spirit. The memory still twisted an old, unhealing wound. Seeing Mina, so innocent and vulnerable, completely in his hands, he couldn't do it. He gave a soundless gasp and pulled away. He couldn't hurt her. He had the chance to make her his, but he could not do it. He would not tear at her throat as though she was just another victim, he would not bring her into his world of loneliness and secrets against her will – he would not force her. She looked unguarded; every expression, every sigh was open and genuine. He could not hurt her. Even when he needed to, he couldn't escape how much he loved her. Again, he felt an old disgust at himself stir inside him. Only a monster would hurt her.
An instant later, chaos was abound. A shrill scream of terror rang through the cinematograph, followed by a sharp chorus of screams. Vlad instantly sensed the presence of a wolf. Mina snapped her eyes open and saw a flash of white fur pass across the mirrors in front of her. Vlad moved his hand away from her, sensing her sharp awareness reawakened. He hid his face with it, as his features fell back from that of the hunter and killer into the face of a man once more. He could not have her see him, no matter what. He could not have her look upon what he was, what he had become – not yet!
The cries of fear and the loud noises of people running, practically spilling out of the rooms completely jerked Mina out of her languid state of mind. She tried to get up, disoriented and frantic with confusion. There were noises, colours, movement – she couldn't keep up with them.
She pushed away from Vlad and found herself on her feet, her first instinct being to run; an instinct she devoutly followed that very instant. Before she knew it she was being pushed at by rushing hordes of terrified, irrational people and couldn't fight the tide of them that swept past her, as fast as they could. As she ran, she saw Prince Vlad standing in her path, perfectly composed, as though waiting for her. Stumbling, she backed away, turned and ran in the opposite direction, following the inertia and flow of the panicked crowd. She was one of the last people to exit, left behind. And she had no idea what exactly she was running from.
Her awareness was fragmented and understanding came to her in pieces because she simply couldn't take in the whole situation at once. It was too strange.
At first, she simply thought of a fire. Perhaps a fire had been lit and that was why the cinematograph patrons were scattering and rushing out in unorderly fear. But her mind disproved it. If there is a fire so severe, she thought, then where is the smoke? Then she realised that something was inside the building with them, something living that had frightened the crowd into leaving. And – she realised with dawning dread – it was with her now.
As she reached the exit, she saw it blocking her path. She stopped in her tracks, frozen. Even then, she couldn't identify it. It was too incongruous; her mind refused to recognize the shape immediately. Something fairly large – something white. That was all the information it offered. A body like a dog's but set higher, with longer legs. Stronger, wilder. Wintering blue eyes.
And then, as if the right lens had suddenly clicked in front of her eyes, she saw it clearly.
A wolf. There was a big white wolf in the room with her.
Mina felt overpowered by real physical fear. She breathed. Her heart was thundering and her body trembling. She didn't know what to do. She felt a cold sweat begin to gather. She knew that she ought to remain still – she didn't want to risk agitating it any further, but something deep inside her was telling her to move. Where to? Should she run back or attempt to run past it and escape? When she tried to break into a run, she failed. She was pinned to the spot by fear, by indecision. Even in the midst of her terror, she felt a strange appalled fascination. She had never seen a wild animal this close before.
It was a beautiful and fine animal, rangy and muscular, with snow-locked fur. It was looking at her fixedly. It was looking at her. Every hair on her body bristled. She knew she could not move because it had noticed her and was keeping its wild gaze on her intently with an almost human expression. Its eyes were more intense and more savage than any animal-eyes she had ever seen. They shined with single-minded menace.
Escaped from London Zoo... Mina thought dazedly, recalling the words she had heard a passing paperboy shout out. Be calm, she told herself, wolves don't attack people. They never attack people. A single wolf would never attack a full-grown woman.
However, the wildness in its eyes, the look of roaring, triumphant, brutal freedom, told her different. Those eyes told her the tale of how it would lunge at her small body, use its weight to push her down, crushing her beneath it, knocking the air clean out of her. Then, the wolf would sink its teeth into her throat and shake her, tearing skin and ripping muscles away. Her blood would spray like a fountain. It would fill her windpipe and her lungs and her mouth. She would die gasping and choking, maybe drowning before she bled out. Drowning...
Oh God, please make it stop...
The wolf snarled. The large mouth opened, panting, showing teeth and the blue eyes blazed with hot bestial triumph. Mina's eyes were helplessly fixed on the sharp white teeth, even as she tried to back away, slowly and carefully, her mind racing ahead. The wolf's lips pulled back further and further. Mina could see its short front teeth and its long, curving canines. She could see its forehead wrinkling. And she could feel its body vibrate in a wild, vicious growl – the sound of absolute savagery. It was coming for her. Mina cried out.
Suddenly a voice cut across the terrifying moment. Vlad's voice. Again in that language that seemed to speak to Mina's blood. Mina snapped her eyes to his and fixed on him, her body shaking slightly, incredibly tense and taut, her breath coming short and shallow. Her heart was pounding so hard that it shook her body and her ears were ringing. A cool relief washed over her, in his presence. He hadn't left her. She wasn't alone...
Protecting me, Mina thought, stunned.
His presence affected the wolf also, as did his words. It was a direct and utterly inflexible order given from its liege lord, Dracula. It was a command, an imperious order by a being used to obedience from its creatures. There was no lenience, no mercy and no room for defiance; not in this matter. His word was law.
Not her, he commanded, entering the beast's mind. Do not harm her.
He felt the creature's mind, its tempestuous need for freedom. So long it had been behind bars and now it was mad with freedom, mad with its wildness, with being a true wolf. It had been driven to such behaviour by the supernatural presence weaving its web around London. Vlad calmed it, soothed its insanity and bloodlust, eased it away from Mina. The balm of its master's presence calmed the creature.
Mina looked at him, her gaze hot with fear and relief. She couldn't believe it. Somehow, he had drawn the creature away from her and tamed it. She looked from wolf to man, from man to wolf. Her eyes settled on Vlad, who was looking at her reassuringly and comfortingly.
A powerful thought struck her. I owe him my life. Somehow, he rescued me...
With a steady gaze, he reassured Mina of her safety. No harm would come to her. She was his love, his princess, and now all the night creatures could not touch her. Keeping his eyes on Mina, Vlad slowly, with shrouding precision, knelt down on one knee and allowed the snowy wolf approach him. It did, now calm and docile as any pet, its ferocity quite vanished. Its own blackness had been extinguished. Mina stood awkwardly. Any other might have been dumbstruck by the sight of it but somehow, it made sense to her. The otherness she had noticed about him earlier...it fit in with that, that he should be so finely attuned to such a creature. At the same time, she was bewildered, her logic defeated. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. She could hardly believe anything that had taken place that day. It was as if she had stepped out of ordinary life. Her knees felt as though they might buckle, but she stood on her feet with determination. She felt belated adrenaline rush through her.
The wolf neared Vlad and the dark prince touched its fur with affection and respect. He looked at Mina, the earnest affection warming his blue eyes.
"Come here, Mina." He said beckoningly.
A part of her ardently believed that she should run, that she should not near this wolf, but as she looked at Vlad, and saw the light in his eyes, all she wanted was to be closer to such light. Looking at the wolf, now nuzzling gently against Vlad, she realised that she wanted to go to them. She wanted to approach the wolf that could have killed her. Seeing it tamed and gentle, she wanted to be as close to it as the strange prince was. As she looked again at Vlad, she felt safe. He had saved her from the wolf and she trusted him. Slowly and awkwardly, she neared him, her steps both hesitant and brave.
As she ended her journey of a few tiny steps and a great leap in trust and faith, Vlad gave a small smile. Mina returned it warmly, puzzled by how enchanted he looked. Slowly, she knelt down, feeling the thick skirts of her dress bunch around her. She looked at the wolf again, and saw no trace of ferocity and murder it its muted blue eyes. Instead, when it glanced at her, it gave her the look of an equal...almost the look of a friend. Mina was fascinated.
Tentatively, she reached forward a gloved hand. She touched the snow-white fur, feeling its soft richness curls around her hand, between her fingers. It was like plunging her hand into a sea of fine velvet. It was exquisite. Vlad was also stroking the creature affectionately around the ears, the both of them running their hands over the beautiful creature. Somehow, touching the wolf connected them. Despite the distance between their hands, it was almost as if they were touching one another.
Mina looked up at Vlad, surprised at how glorious the wolf's coat felt and smiled. There was no uneasiness now. She was happy to smile at him. It was as though they shared something. It felt to Mina as though she had finally seen beneath the strange surface and had found a most fine and beautiful treasure. She felt an entirely new appreciation for him, as though a veil had been lifted and she could at last see the heart beneath such a strange exterior.
"He likes you." He said.
With more confidence, she stroked the wolf again, delight alighting her features. She ran her hands through its coat. Vlad chorused the motion and as they both stroked the fur of the wolf, their hands ran other one another, briefly touching and entwining. Mina looked up again, her eyes dancing. It was like the shining of sunlight on water, the look in her eyes, taking light in and reflecting it, giving it out to others. The moment was enchanting to her. It seemed as if magic had truly touched her heart for the first time. She gazed at Vlad, wanting to thank him. There was a beautiful smile on her face. It had taken a little time to blossom, but now it had and it lit up her face. Vlad looked on, drinking in her beauty.
"There is much to be learned from beasts." He said and Mina understood. She understood finally the wisdom of others. Vlad's wisdom. Her prince.
He had escorted her back to the Hillingham estate and as they spoke, she gave the impression of a canny and compassionate woman whilst to her he seemed unfathomable and yet so many mysterious qualities flickered briefly across the surface. She longed to discern them and understand them.
As they stepped out of the carriage, they gazed at one another. He had removed his spectacles – no longer in need of them – and she could plainly see the beauty of his eyes. And Vlad could see her all the more acutely in the darkness, his sight so much sharper. Seeing her in the clarity of night, her features painted by the moonlight, was a wonder. They looked at one another, feeling the drift of memories flowing towards them. They felt a thread connect them, pull them closer. Vlad was as still as the reflection of the moon in water, ageless, lonely and waiting, looking at Mina with reverence. Mina looked at him, her body still but her eyes quivering. She felt uncertain, overcome by a strange compulsion she could not comprehend, translate or obey but only feel.
Vlad took her small hand in his own, took it towards his mouth and then pressed his lips to it ardently but respectfully. His eyes never left hers. She felt herself wandering around in those eyes. She paused, but then an owl's cry disturbed her thoughts and, with a look of quiet regret and longing on her face, she steeped through the iron gates of Hillingham. But still she gazed at him, the two of them separated by bars, until he broke away first, bowing his head and then disappearing into his carriage, the carriage disappearing in turn into the embrace of the night.
Mina lingered for a moment and then entered Lucy's great home. But her thoughts were not with her dear friend. Her senses were full of her strange prince. With him in her mind, his presence so deeply burned there, there was room for nothing and no-one else.
Of course, she inquired about Lucy's health from a maid and learned that Lucy was sound asleep and had been so all day, as weak as a kitten, though her rest had been disturbed by many nightmares. The maid reported that Lucy's sleep now was fitful. Mina considered waking her friend to give her the tonic and inquire properly, but she decided against it. Lucy needed her rest.
Mina then took her own rest, retreating to her room and, clad in a pristine white nightdress, slip into the warmth of her bed. She thought of her most strange day. She lay there, mesmerised. She felt herself being absorbed into memories, new and old. It did not seem real, none of it. She surrendered to it, replaying the day's events in her mind, unsure what to make of them. She thought of her prince Vlad, and felt even more unsure. As she remembered whatever magic it was that touched her spirit when he spoke to her in that distant language and when they had touched the white wolf, she clutched at the crucifix laying abandoned on her bedside-table.
She later discovered that the compulsion she had felt so strongly was the compulsion to run to him.
She felt helpless and desperate, consumed by incomprehensible passion, her thoughts struggling as confoundedly as blind-folded armies. Mina lay, like one struck down by lightning, with agonies far more complicated and deep-reaching.