1885, the castle of Count Dracula high in the Carpathian Mountains
"I do not love my father." Werner Schneider said simply. "Why should I? I never even knew him?"
"Why is that?" The figure sitting on the ill lit throne said.
"He died when I was young. You know that. Its partly your fault."
"That is your point of view."
A shackled figure tried to emerge from the darkness in which he was hidden in and cried out. "Don't listen to him, brother!"
"I will listen to whoever I want, Michael. All my life I have had people telling me what I should do and what I should be like. Everyone tells me how great my father was, well I would not know. He died before I even had the pleasure! Some great father! I bet if the great Reinhardt Schneider had lived, he would have done the same lousy job everyone else has on me."
Werner clutched the handle of the sheathed sword in his hand. "Even mother seemed to think I should be a vampire hunter. Well no thank you. I am not interested. All of this," Werner gestured with his hands the whole room, "and you" pointing at the figure on the throne, "are none of my business."
"Your brother seems to think otherwise." The figure said as he stood up from the throne. In his hand he held a small glass filled with a red liquid. The man was young and handsome. He wore a pure black suit with a black cape whose interior was as red as the liquid he was drinking.
"He would," Werner said. "You see he actually knew father. He is so into all this vampire hunter nonsense simply to preserve his memory. If he could snap out of his senses then he would get out of it. Henry has him brainwashed. Our sister Carrie doesn't help either. But she has her own thing, magic. It is all crazy if you ask me."
The other man laughed as he circled Werner, "oh I agree absolutely."
Werner stared into the other man's eyes. "What do you want?"
"To be left alone."
"Don't listen to him Werner! He is Dracula. This is the man who has been trying to destroy humanity for hundreds of years! He is trying to deceive you and divide us."
"We already are divided, Michael. I am no part of this insane feud."
"Allow me to speak in my own defense. If I am so evil, why do people keep bringing me back?" Count Dracula stood still and motioned with his arms open. "In fact I can remember certain times over the past hundred years when I would return to this plane of existence, and before I could gather my thoughts or even scratch my head, crack! A man with a whip was bearing down and threatening to kill me." Dracula continued to circle Werner. "Does that sound reasonable?"
"What do you want?" Werner asked again.
"Help me to end this feud."
"How?"
"Ask you brother to tell me where his friends are. That clever little boy that grew up to be a pain, Henry, has hidden himself and all his little students and vampire hunters to be. I want to know where to find them."
"Anything else?"
"Yes," Dracula smiled. He stopped circling Werner once more and walked slowly towards him. His hand reached out and unsheathed the sword in Werner's hands. "This was your father's sword was it not?"
"Yes," Werner replied. "The bloodstains on the blade are his. Someone once used the sword against him and cut him very badly, so Michael tells me."
"Good. I want you, after you have questioned you brother," Dracula came face to face with Werner and stared into his eyes without ever breaking his gaze, "I want you to run this sword through his heart."
Werner remained stoic. "What if he does not answer?"
"Kill.him.anyway."
Werner took the sword from Dracula's hand and walked towards his brother Michael menacingly. "You are not going to tell me, are you, brother?"
Michael was sweating profusely but clearly shook his head left to right. "You are damned if you do this. You betray mother, father, and me. You are about to betray your own blood!"
Werner raised the sword above his head. "In case you had not realized, our blood was damned a long time ago." Werner then brought the sword down in a quick thrust but not on Michael. An inch away from his brother's neck he swung around and thrust the blade forwards and into Dracula. The look of astonishment on the vampire's face was further compounded when the stains of blood on the sword began to emanate a glow. Dracula began to howl monstrously. As he did so, Werner unshackled his brother and helped him run out of the chamber. Together the sped through the halls of the castle, lucky for them an average castle minus the usual death traps. As they ran a bright light chased them all the way through the castle until they were finally free. In the throne chamber Dracula stood up from the ground where he had fallen. He stared at his hands, which were oddly wrinkled and worn as though they had been at some menial work. Dracula struggled under the weight of his suddenly weak legs and walked towards his throne. When he had sat down, the vampire allowed his fingertips to run across his own face. For that moment Dracula was glad that vampires could cast no reflection in a mirror. He knew well what had happened. The cycle of revenge had now struck him. The curse of ancient blood that he had cast upon Reinhardt Schneider had come back to haunt him now. His own vampire blood was now doubly curse. The young and strong willed countenance that he had fought so hard to obtain had now been stolen from him. Now to restore his youthful appearance he would have to drink massive amounts of blood. That would have to suffice until he could counteract the curse. Dracula arose from his throne and wailed into the night.
Michael and Werner had found some horses and begun riding away from the castle when they heard Dracula's cry. They now rode slowly in a direction that would return them home.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" Michael asked Werner.
Werner nodded. "When you disappeared suddenly, Henry suspected that it was Dracula's work. Henry guessed his plan. After all, I have never hidden my disregard for your crusade. It was logical to think that Dracula would try to use that to divide us. Divide and conquer."
"Even after all this, you will not accept the destiny that is ours? Mine and yours."
"Michael, it is true what I said back there. I have heard it all my life. The blood of the vampire hunter is damned to his legacy. I have spent the majority of my life trying not to be a vampire hunter. What today has taught me is that sometimes I will not always be able to escape it."
FIN
"I do not love my father." Werner Schneider said simply. "Why should I? I never even knew him?"
"Why is that?" The figure sitting on the ill lit throne said.
"He died when I was young. You know that. Its partly your fault."
"That is your point of view."
A shackled figure tried to emerge from the darkness in which he was hidden in and cried out. "Don't listen to him, brother!"
"I will listen to whoever I want, Michael. All my life I have had people telling me what I should do and what I should be like. Everyone tells me how great my father was, well I would not know. He died before I even had the pleasure! Some great father! I bet if the great Reinhardt Schneider had lived, he would have done the same lousy job everyone else has on me."
Werner clutched the handle of the sheathed sword in his hand. "Even mother seemed to think I should be a vampire hunter. Well no thank you. I am not interested. All of this," Werner gestured with his hands the whole room, "and you" pointing at the figure on the throne, "are none of my business."
"Your brother seems to think otherwise." The figure said as he stood up from the throne. In his hand he held a small glass filled with a red liquid. The man was young and handsome. He wore a pure black suit with a black cape whose interior was as red as the liquid he was drinking.
"He would," Werner said. "You see he actually knew father. He is so into all this vampire hunter nonsense simply to preserve his memory. If he could snap out of his senses then he would get out of it. Henry has him brainwashed. Our sister Carrie doesn't help either. But she has her own thing, magic. It is all crazy if you ask me."
The other man laughed as he circled Werner, "oh I agree absolutely."
Werner stared into the other man's eyes. "What do you want?"
"To be left alone."
"Don't listen to him Werner! He is Dracula. This is the man who has been trying to destroy humanity for hundreds of years! He is trying to deceive you and divide us."
"We already are divided, Michael. I am no part of this insane feud."
"Allow me to speak in my own defense. If I am so evil, why do people keep bringing me back?" Count Dracula stood still and motioned with his arms open. "In fact I can remember certain times over the past hundred years when I would return to this plane of existence, and before I could gather my thoughts or even scratch my head, crack! A man with a whip was bearing down and threatening to kill me." Dracula continued to circle Werner. "Does that sound reasonable?"
"What do you want?" Werner asked again.
"Help me to end this feud."
"How?"
"Ask you brother to tell me where his friends are. That clever little boy that grew up to be a pain, Henry, has hidden himself and all his little students and vampire hunters to be. I want to know where to find them."
"Anything else?"
"Yes," Dracula smiled. He stopped circling Werner once more and walked slowly towards him. His hand reached out and unsheathed the sword in Werner's hands. "This was your father's sword was it not?"
"Yes," Werner replied. "The bloodstains on the blade are his. Someone once used the sword against him and cut him very badly, so Michael tells me."
"Good. I want you, after you have questioned you brother," Dracula came face to face with Werner and stared into his eyes without ever breaking his gaze, "I want you to run this sword through his heart."
Werner remained stoic. "What if he does not answer?"
"Kill.him.anyway."
Werner took the sword from Dracula's hand and walked towards his brother Michael menacingly. "You are not going to tell me, are you, brother?"
Michael was sweating profusely but clearly shook his head left to right. "You are damned if you do this. You betray mother, father, and me. You are about to betray your own blood!"
Werner raised the sword above his head. "In case you had not realized, our blood was damned a long time ago." Werner then brought the sword down in a quick thrust but not on Michael. An inch away from his brother's neck he swung around and thrust the blade forwards and into Dracula. The look of astonishment on the vampire's face was further compounded when the stains of blood on the sword began to emanate a glow. Dracula began to howl monstrously. As he did so, Werner unshackled his brother and helped him run out of the chamber. Together the sped through the halls of the castle, lucky for them an average castle minus the usual death traps. As they ran a bright light chased them all the way through the castle until they were finally free. In the throne chamber Dracula stood up from the ground where he had fallen. He stared at his hands, which were oddly wrinkled and worn as though they had been at some menial work. Dracula struggled under the weight of his suddenly weak legs and walked towards his throne. When he had sat down, the vampire allowed his fingertips to run across his own face. For that moment Dracula was glad that vampires could cast no reflection in a mirror. He knew well what had happened. The cycle of revenge had now struck him. The curse of ancient blood that he had cast upon Reinhardt Schneider had come back to haunt him now. His own vampire blood was now doubly curse. The young and strong willed countenance that he had fought so hard to obtain had now been stolen from him. Now to restore his youthful appearance he would have to drink massive amounts of blood. That would have to suffice until he could counteract the curse. Dracula arose from his throne and wailed into the night.
Michael and Werner had found some horses and begun riding away from the castle when they heard Dracula's cry. They now rode slowly in a direction that would return them home.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" Michael asked Werner.
Werner nodded. "When you disappeared suddenly, Henry suspected that it was Dracula's work. Henry guessed his plan. After all, I have never hidden my disregard for your crusade. It was logical to think that Dracula would try to use that to divide us. Divide and conquer."
"Even after all this, you will not accept the destiny that is ours? Mine and yours."
"Michael, it is true what I said back there. I have heard it all my life. The blood of the vampire hunter is damned to his legacy. I have spent the majority of my life trying not to be a vampire hunter. What today has taught me is that sometimes I will not always be able to escape it."
FIN
