Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Ah well. :) I have dreams.
Author's Note: Iiiii'm baaaaack! Did you miss me? Course you did. ;) Anyways, thank you to everyone who reviewed. This chapter is for all of you! Want a list? Of course you do. Here are those wonderful people who made my day: Liber Creperum-Liber Diabolus (Alysha, of course :-p), Disgusted (not too sure if this is a fan or not, but, thanks for the review anyways!), Kakashi-Hatake, Christiane, Dracula's Babe, Solaria, Treesap02, Caryn de Lioncourt (still have that vamp, Daniel, for me? :-p), Verona Dracula, Helena Apache, Mad Tom of Bedlam, Blue Mouse Pirate, and Mouseisi. And, also, a big thank you for everyone who was waiting patiently for this chapter, and to all those concerned about my writer's block. Love you all!
Chapter Six:
Van Helsing walked around the castle. Where was Carl? He hadn't been in all night. What if something had happened to him? Great. He put on his hat. Now he'd have to go around the village and ask if anyone's seen a red- haired friar about this height, wearing this clothes ... 'Urgh ... Fun. Not.' So, with a very reluctant sigh, the monster hunter started towards the door.
Now, you're probably wondering why Van Helsing is so keen on finding Carl? Well, word is, in order to kill Dracula you need to get his heart. But a werewolf has to do it. When Van Helsing was a werewolf, he got Drac's neck. Not quite the heart. This time they wouldn't mess up. He had to find Carl to tell him.
He stopped. Something had reached Van Helsing's ears. He turned around and walked slowly towards it. He opened a door and ... Carl was getting out of bed. A puzzled look came from Van Helsing's face.
"Carl?" He asked, obviously bewildered, "Where did you come from? You haven't been here all night." He frowned as he took in the friar's appearance. His hair was messy – a lot, I might add – his clothes were put on carelessly and looked as if he hadn't had another change all night, and there was a red mark on his neck. Well, it looked as if there was, but Van Helsing couldn't see for certain. With a suspicious look, he let slide at the moment.
"Never mind," the slayer continued, "I know how to kill Dracula." He didn't wait for a response. "We had everything right last time, except we didn't go for the heart. That's what messed us up." He realized he had been pacing and stopped. "There's this man I met in the village, he has a werewolf that will do whatever it's told, as long as his master tells it to him. After paying him sufficiently, he's letting us use it. By this time tomorrow Dracula will be no more."
If there was ever a contest for the most shocked/relieved/worried look in the world, our Carl would win first prize. He didn't know what to think. Dracula would be dead ... Well ... Truly dead at last. That was a good thing, wasn't it? But how did this resolution come by so fast? They hadn't even been in Transylvania for a week. 'Perhaps that's what Van Helsing has been doing all this time ... Finding a way to kill Dracula.' And then, of course, the reason Carl knew he'd be labeled a pure sinner for, he was falling in love with Dracula. 'Is that possible? Falling in love with someone ... Something with no heart?' His mind puzzled over that. There was something about the vampire that Carl was attracted to on a spiritual level ... On a mental level. And now he was to die? 'What's a friar to do??'
"Carl!" The friar was snapped out of his thoughts by Van Helsing's harsh tone. "Did you just hear a word I said??" Again, he waited for no response, "I want you to go scope out Castle Dracula – find something that can work to our advantage. I'm going to get this werewolf. I'll set the wolf loose at the front entrance, and then I'll come find you." Without another word, he left Carl alone in his room.
Then, at last (after what had seemed like eternity but in reality was only five minutes) Carl came to his senses. He ran, almost tripping every second step of the way, to Dracula's lair. His head turned from left to right. Where would the vampire be? 'Relax Carl ... He always seems to find you ... Just walk slowly ... Calm down.'
So, walking slowly and calming down, Carl roamed the castle. At last he saw what he was searching for, and he couldn't help but smile. For once he had found Dracula instead of it being the other way around.
"Don't look so smug, my dear Carl," Dracula's voice made Carl jump. The vampire turned around to look at the friar. "You didn't find me by yourself. I simply stood here to give you a better chance at it." A smile appeared on his face and he walked towards Carl. That smile soon turned into a frown.
"My dear, dear Carl," Dracula asked, running a hand down the side of Carl's face, "whatever is troubling you?" His eyes searched the friar's face.
"It's ... It's ..." Carl searched hard to find his voice. "It's Van Helsing," he said finally. "He's found a way to kill you." He swallowed. "He's setting a werewolf loose in the castle to find you ..." He looked up, tears in his eyes. "You have to leave ... You have to."
Dracula pulled Carl close to him and kissed his head.
"Only a coward runs from his enemies, my love," he replied. "What I set out to do ... To make you believe that we were just friends – only friends ... Turned into something much more than I would've imagined. Now I must finish what I've started."
"What ... What do you mean?" Carl sniffed.
"Do not ask questions that you already know the answer to, my dear Friar," The Count said to him. "Do not worry about what is to come. Worry about what is now."
"But this is now ... Don't you see?!"
"Shhh ..." Dracula kissed Carl gently, and Carl returned it.
And, some yards behind them, engulfed in the shadows, a figure put on it's hat and turned around, walking away slowly.