FINALLY, I HAVE WATCHED "VAN HELSING"! I LOVED IT! (They had BETTER bring
Anna back in the sequel! The ending shocked me.)
There is now hope that my story will improve. For those that think there's
too little on Iilana's past, rest assured. There is more to be written. And
if you think Iilana seems too cool about her parents' deaths, read on:
9 YEARS AGO:
Iilana (also known as Ichiro –ever head of a ninja with a Romanian name? -) was restless. The pain of losing one's parents-and the happy times she used to know-rubbed like a grater on her heartstrings, until they were raw and bleeding.
Mother's blue-green eyes once so loving...now soulless and dead, the light gone from her eyes. Her mouth wide open in pure horror, her face bloodless...her neck torn out, her corpse worm food, her fine dress in bloody tatters. Father's handsome face, torn into ribbons, his head broken apart, exposing the gray matter within...they were mere puppets now...
As if that wasn't bad enough, the happy times came at full throttle, like cruel sprites determined to drive her into madness....
Boris, a handsome, bearded man as big as a bear, put down his sword and wiped the sweat from his brow. Only 5 and his little daughter could sword fight as well as her male cousins. She was quite the tomboy really-wearing pants, riding horses, the afore-mentioned sword fighting-and the hand-to- hand combat with the boys twice her size-and winning. Bianca, his auburn- haired angel of a wife, dressed in a maroon gown that revealed much of her well-endowed cleavage, shook her head and smiled. She could see Iilana becoming a warrior-and destroying Dracula so that their souls could enter Heaven. Little Iilana pointed her sword at her father.
"Rise, Father. I shall spare your life-until the next match."
From afar, a few other relatives watched the scene in the training arena with amusement. Especially Anna Valerious and her brother Velkan. Iliana truly had potential, they knew. Velkan, in typical cheeky cousin fashion, mocked little Iilana that all it needed to kill Dracula was to see "your face...and he'd die on the spot!" Big mistake. As Shakespeare said,
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,"
Iilana sped towards him like an arrow released from a bow-and THROTTLED him!
"Take it back!"
"NO!"
Velkan stubbornly replied. It went on for about a few more minutes before the adults tried to separate them. Both grudgingly apologized-and secretly swore vengeance.
Velkan called out to Iilana after supper later if she wished to see a deer outside. Puzzled but pleasantly surprised, she complied-only to run back inside screaming. Velkan had placed a fake deer head on his own and leapt out of the darkness, scaring ten years of growth out of her. Needless to say, the others-especially Anna- was upset at such a display of vicious immaturity. Then, Iilana spoke out, shaking as she did so,
"I wasn't afraid."
"Yes, you were, little sword-wielding chicken."
Velkan shot back playfully.
Iilana's need for vengeance died. She laughed, along with Velkan. The others then realized that that was Velkan's and Iilnan's way of being friends and joined in the laughter. Anna rolled her eyes. She never knew her brother was that mischievous...
Iilana sat up in bed, sobbing hard. (A/N: () indicate Jap. speech)
("What ails you, Ichiro?")
It was Sensei. She hurriedly wiped her tears away-but Sensei had already seen them.
("It is not a sin to cry, Ichiro. Tell me why you cry.")
Iilana had always spoken little of the memories she left back in Romania. Biting her lips hard, she poured out her tale. She ended up sobbing in Sensei's arms. Strangely, she felt much better after telling her story.
#("You go on with Life because no one beyond the grave would want you to give up YOUR life because they lost THEIRS.")
Sensei had told her, in a rare, gentle tone. He was usually gruff and stern. He encouraged her to cry it all out while she had the chance. And she did.
Any future pain she had in her heart, she took it out in training, channeling all the pain and rage into something constructive. She would never forget her family of course, but she would now think of them as living and loving people, not the corpses, which would defile her memory of them. And to cement this, she looked into the sky one night, after training, closed her eyes, held herself and whispered,
"Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye Father."
And let them go. For the first time in years, peace seeped into her battered heart like a badly needed balm...
PRESENT-TIME
Iilana took in the fresh sea breeze that blew at her face and tugged at her hair like children seeking attention. Aahh...how refreshing... The dinner bell rang. Time for dinner then...
As the passengers of the TROY sat down to eat, some were uneasy as Shirra and Raven snarled at anyone who tried to sit where they sat.
"Where are the others?"
asked Anna. (Meaning where was the 'back-up'.)
"They're not famous-or infamous- for no reason..."
replied Iilana enigmatically. As the food looked and smelled fantastic and she was starving, she attacked her food like an animal. Then, she stopped, as the room grew too silent. All, including Gabriel, Anna and Carl. Giggling sheepishly, she daintily cut some meat before placing it in her mouth, like a lady. Mama ALWAYS had to remind her to do so. All went back to their food, except Anna. She felt happy. At last, Iilana had moved on....
#:This lovely quote was written by Marylou Hermes.
9 YEARS AGO:
Iilana (also known as Ichiro –ever head of a ninja with a Romanian name? -) was restless. The pain of losing one's parents-and the happy times she used to know-rubbed like a grater on her heartstrings, until they were raw and bleeding.
Mother's blue-green eyes once so loving...now soulless and dead, the light gone from her eyes. Her mouth wide open in pure horror, her face bloodless...her neck torn out, her corpse worm food, her fine dress in bloody tatters. Father's handsome face, torn into ribbons, his head broken apart, exposing the gray matter within...they were mere puppets now...
As if that wasn't bad enough, the happy times came at full throttle, like cruel sprites determined to drive her into madness....
Boris, a handsome, bearded man as big as a bear, put down his sword and wiped the sweat from his brow. Only 5 and his little daughter could sword fight as well as her male cousins. She was quite the tomboy really-wearing pants, riding horses, the afore-mentioned sword fighting-and the hand-to- hand combat with the boys twice her size-and winning. Bianca, his auburn- haired angel of a wife, dressed in a maroon gown that revealed much of her well-endowed cleavage, shook her head and smiled. She could see Iilana becoming a warrior-and destroying Dracula so that their souls could enter Heaven. Little Iilana pointed her sword at her father.
"Rise, Father. I shall spare your life-until the next match."
From afar, a few other relatives watched the scene in the training arena with amusement. Especially Anna Valerious and her brother Velkan. Iliana truly had potential, they knew. Velkan, in typical cheeky cousin fashion, mocked little Iilana that all it needed to kill Dracula was to see "your face...and he'd die on the spot!" Big mistake. As Shakespeare said,
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,"
Iilana sped towards him like an arrow released from a bow-and THROTTLED him!
"Take it back!"
"NO!"
Velkan stubbornly replied. It went on for about a few more minutes before the adults tried to separate them. Both grudgingly apologized-and secretly swore vengeance.
Velkan called out to Iilana after supper later if she wished to see a deer outside. Puzzled but pleasantly surprised, she complied-only to run back inside screaming. Velkan had placed a fake deer head on his own and leapt out of the darkness, scaring ten years of growth out of her. Needless to say, the others-especially Anna- was upset at such a display of vicious immaturity. Then, Iilana spoke out, shaking as she did so,
"I wasn't afraid."
"Yes, you were, little sword-wielding chicken."
Velkan shot back playfully.
Iilana's need for vengeance died. She laughed, along with Velkan. The others then realized that that was Velkan's and Iilnan's way of being friends and joined in the laughter. Anna rolled her eyes. She never knew her brother was that mischievous...
Iilana sat up in bed, sobbing hard. (A/N: () indicate Jap. speech)
("What ails you, Ichiro?")
It was Sensei. She hurriedly wiped her tears away-but Sensei had already seen them.
("It is not a sin to cry, Ichiro. Tell me why you cry.")
Iilana had always spoken little of the memories she left back in Romania. Biting her lips hard, she poured out her tale. She ended up sobbing in Sensei's arms. Strangely, she felt much better after telling her story.
#("You go on with Life because no one beyond the grave would want you to give up YOUR life because they lost THEIRS.")
Sensei had told her, in a rare, gentle tone. He was usually gruff and stern. He encouraged her to cry it all out while she had the chance. And she did.
Any future pain she had in her heart, she took it out in training, channeling all the pain and rage into something constructive. She would never forget her family of course, but she would now think of them as living and loving people, not the corpses, which would defile her memory of them. And to cement this, she looked into the sky one night, after training, closed her eyes, held herself and whispered,
"Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye Father."
And let them go. For the first time in years, peace seeped into her battered heart like a badly needed balm...
PRESENT-TIME
Iilana took in the fresh sea breeze that blew at her face and tugged at her hair like children seeking attention. Aahh...how refreshing... The dinner bell rang. Time for dinner then...
As the passengers of the TROY sat down to eat, some were uneasy as Shirra and Raven snarled at anyone who tried to sit where they sat.
"Where are the others?"
asked Anna. (Meaning where was the 'back-up'.)
"They're not famous-or infamous- for no reason..."
replied Iilana enigmatically. As the food looked and smelled fantastic and she was starving, she attacked her food like an animal. Then, she stopped, as the room grew too silent. All, including Gabriel, Anna and Carl. Giggling sheepishly, she daintily cut some meat before placing it in her mouth, like a lady. Mama ALWAYS had to remind her to do so. All went back to their food, except Anna. She felt happy. At last, Iilana had moved on....
#:This lovely quote was written by Marylou Hermes.