New Generation

Chapter XVI

Sing loud for the sunshine.
Pray hard for the rain.
And show your love for lady nature.
And she will come back again
-

"Down By the Seaside"-Led Zeppelin

     "Oh, God, it's too early," yawned Lysander, as he pulled a blanket over his face to protect it from the sunlight.  Last night was truly a night of celebration.  The entire town catered the party with smokes and spirits in the tavern.  Despite free drinks most of the party ceased drinking at a reasonable time, but not Lysander.  He continued to drink until nearly four in the morning, and his body was suffering from the side effects of too much partying.  His body twitched from the affects alcohol, and all he wanted to do was to remain in bed until the poisons left his body.  "Maybe this is why Dad is so much against heavy drinking?"   Lysander tried to sleep it off, but the knock on his door informed him that sleep would not be an option.  "Probably just a maid," he said to himself.   "I'm still sleeping.  Come back in a few hours."

     "Sander, wake up!"

     "Damn it Cander!  Leave me alone, it's too early!" he exclaimed in a quiet, but firm voice

     "Sander, it's Noon, Christian's preparing to leave!"

     "Noon?" he asked with his blood-shot eyes blinking in surprise.

     "Yes, that's what I said."

     "Oh, shit," Lysander murmured under his breath.

     "Damn it Sander, open the door!"

     "All right, Cander!  Quit your bitching!"  Lysander let out a groan as he removed the blankets from his body.  "Damn, it's cold in here," he said to himself, while walking to the door.

     "Damn Sander!" Alcander exclaimed after Lysander opened the door for him.  Lysander's arms twitched slightly, and his eyes were all blood shot.  "How much did you drink last night?"

     "I don't know.  I was up till four in the morning, I know that much."

     "I wonder what Mom and Dad would say?" Alcander remarked with a grin.

     "How 'bout you don't tell them so they won't say anything?"

     Alcander laughed.  "All right then, but I can't promise you that Christian won't say anything."

     "He won't if I ask him not to."

     "So you hope?"

     "Yeah, so I hope," Lysander added with a grin, before his expression changed.

     "Sander, what is it?  What's wrong?"

     Lysander placed a hand over his stomach and winced.  "Cander get out of here!" he yelled, before charging to the washroom.

     Alcander laughed at his older brother, but he would encounter him about ten minutes later.  Lysander appeared much better when Alcander asked him with a broad grin on his face, "I hope everything came out all right."

     "I've never felt better," Lysander replied, returning the grin.

     The two brothers shared a laugh, before Alcander said, "Well, if the washroom is still safe for humans to enter you might consider taking a bath."

     "Why, I don't smell that bad?  Besides, I took one a few days ago."

     "Yeah, but we're about to go to the village that Dana lives in.  Don't you want to look nice and handsome for her?" grinned Alcander.

     "Whatever," Lysander replied, trying to act un-interested by Alcander's words.

     Alcander chuckled.  "Well, I just thought I would tell you that while you were gone I told Christian about your condition.  He laughed, of course, but promised me that he wouldn't tell Mom and Dad because he said that he had been hung over before as well.  He said that he would wait around here for a while so you could recover, but that he wouldn't too long.  He wants to set out to the next village no more than two hours from now."

     Lysander nodded.  "All right, Cander.  Tell Christian, that I'll be ready."

     "All right, I will."

     "Thanks, and Cander?"

     "Yes?"

     "Well, I hate to change the subject on you, but how are you feeling today?"

     "What do you mean?" Alcander asked, almost confused by Lysander's question.

     "Well, you know, after the incident in the Castle with Jessica and all…"

     "Lysander, I took your words to heart.  We searched everywhere and she just wasn't there, and I should be glad that she wasn't there, because she's hopefully safe and sound with her parents.  …To tell you the truth though Sander, part of me wanted her to be there.  I could've played the hero and all, like a knight in shinning armor."

     Lysander turned away, chuckling.  "Cander, that's got to be about the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say.  It makes me think about when we were little and Mom and Dad would play those games with us where one of us got to play the role of the hero."

     Alcander sighed.  "Yeah, I guess you're right.  But there's one thing that is on my mind."

     "What's that?"

     "Well, it's the stuff that Dracula told us, that our Dad is his son.  What does that make us?"

     "Christian already answered that for us, Cander.  Uncle Richter gave Dad a blessing to free his body completely of any trance of vampiric blood, and that we were conceived long after this blessing.  We're not vampires Cander."

     "Yeah, I know, but I still want to talk to Dad about it.  About why he didn't tell us."

     "He was probably afraid that we'd tell a stranger.  You're known for telling people things that you shouldn't probably tell," smiled Lysander.

     "Oh, shut up, Sander!  Go take your bath to impress Dana!  I think I'll join Christian and Brian in the bar."

     The two brothers laughed at each other for a while, before Alcander joined Christian and Brian in the bar and Lysander decided to sneak his way into the washroom, even though he gave no indication to Alcander that he was going to take a bath.  "You never know Sander," he said while scrubbing his arms, "you might just want to look your best when you see Dana again.  I wonder if she'll pay that much attention to the marks on my neck?  Probably not. When I looked in the mirror I could barely see the splotches.  They probably won't even be visible at all when we arrive in Dana's village."      

*

     The sun had already set beneath the clouds by the time that the party arrived in the village.  Unlike their previous visit the citizens were enjoying their nightlife again, since they no longer feared the presence of the Castle, but unlike the last village, no one recognized them.  "I'm surprised that no one's here to buy us drinks like the last village," said Brian.  "After all, we did defeat Vlad the Impaler didn't we?"

     "That we did," replied Christian, "but we don't need to reap the spoils all the time.  Sometimes it's best not to be noticed.  Lets just check into the inn, and have ourselves a few drinks."

     "Sounds good to me," responded Brian.

     "Me too," replied Alcander.

     "Yeah, same here," added Lysander.

     While the four men were galloping on their horses to the village inn Lysander's eyes captured the sight of a young woman putting items into a knapsack.  Her long hair and petite figure revealed her identity.  "Dana!" Lysander exclaimed.

     The young woman gasped at the sound of Lysander's voice.  She immediately turned around to face Lysander with her bright blue eyes.  Indeed, it was Dana, and her face glowed for Lysander under the light of the moon.  "Lysander!  You're back!" she exclaimed with joy, but then she stopped to observe Alcander, Christian, and Brian.  "All of you are back!"

     Lysander smiled.  "Yes, all of us are back, although I said we would be, didn't I?"

     Dana giggled.  "No, not exactly, but you sound so sweet the way that you say it."

     Everybody in the party laughed at Lysander, but Lysander ignored them and continued to smile at Dana.  "So, what's with the knapsack?"

     "I'm leaving."

     "Leaving where?"

     "The village."

     "Where are you going?"

     Dana looked to the ground and said, "I-I'm not sure.  I just want to go someplace different."

     Lysander dismounted his horse and pulled on the reigns as he walked closer to Dana.  "You know, it's not safe for a woman to travel alone."

     "But I'm not traveling alone."

     "Oh, really?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

     "Yes.  Would you like to meet my companion?"

     "…Sure," Lysander replied, although he was hoping that the green-eyed monster of jealousy wouldn't cast its spell on him.  Although Lysander could not exactly call Dana 'his' he did not want to see another man at her side.

     Dana reached into her knapsack and pulled out a small revolver.  "This is my companion," she said, displaying the gun and flashing a flirtatious smile for Lysander; "it'll protect me quite nicely."

     Everyone in the party laughed, except Lysander.  He smiled at Dana, but when he spoke to her again his tone became serious.  "Dana, if you want to travel, would you like to accompany us for a while?  We're not exactly leaving the country, although I've had desires to do so, but we're going farther than your village.  Even with your companion," pointing to the gun, "it will still be a lonely road to travel on by yourself.  Why not accompany us for the rest of our journey?"

     Dana smiled, a bright smile that illuminated her blue eyes for Lysander.  "I'd love to Lysander.  When do we leave?"

     "Tomorrow morning, right Christian?" Lysander asked, turning around to ask his cousin.

     "Yes."

     "All right," replied Dana with eyes only for Lysander.

     Lysander kept his brown eyes on Dana's blue eyes and said, "Until then, we don't you join us in the bar?  This is our celebration time and we'd like to celebrate with you!"

     "Absolutely," Alcander interjected; "just make sure that Lysander doesn't celebrate too much!"

     "What?  What does that mean?" Dana asked confused, turning away from Lysander to look at his younger brother.

     Lysander shot Alcander a look, but Alcander only smirked.