In the middle of the night, Van Helsing shakes you awake. You open your eyes drowsily to look at him. He is dressed in traveling attire, and heavily armed with weapons.
"Time to go," he says. You roll over tiredly, closing your eyes with a mild grumble.
"Not yet…" You murmur.
"Come on," Van Helsing says, gently pulling you out of the cot. He stands you on your feet and helps you into your coat. You are moving half-asleep and are not awake until you sneak out the door into the courtyard. The snow has slowed up, but there is a thick blanket of about seven inches covering the ground. A few flakes fall sparsely around you, dusting your hair and lashes. Van Helsing brings you your horse. It is of course, only your nature that you would be grumpy now.
"Should we really be doing this?" You ask tiredly, stifling a yawn as he hands you the reins.
"You are the best warrior of the company," he answers, mounting his horse. You yawn.
"Yes, of course. It has absolutely nothing to do with leaving me in the care of Vladimir," you say sarcastically. Van Helsing sighs.
"No time for this raillery, Mira," he states. You mount your horse.
"If you gave me the real reason, I might believe you," you mutter. He does not answer or acknowledge your comment. He is clearly annoyed, however. You slowly start through the arches, entering the unsafe and cursed premises. It takes a while for you to realize that this has to be one of the worst situations you have been in yet. Van Helsing seems so comfortable with it that you question where his allegiance truly lies.
When you enter the deep snow-covered valley, you feel a thousand eyes upon you. You look at Van Helsing nervously when you sense this, and then look around. But nothing moves in the shadows, or anywhere else. Van Helsing is riding slowly, taking a glance around the entire area before he dares to go any faster. Other than that, he seems very relaxed, and almost cheerful about your little night expedition. His crossbow is at hand, and he now looks intently upon the sloping pathway to the forest.
"Is that where we're going?" You find yourself asking. He just nods and picks up the pace slightly. The horses are struggling with the deep snow, and they make loud crunching noises as they go along.
As you ascend the mountain pathway, you become keenly aware of the presence of Dracula. He is not very near yet, but you have a dreadful feeling he is coming. "Gabriel, send me back," you whisper quietly. He whirls and faces you.
"What?" He asks.
"I can sense him. He's coming," you explain.
"Are you certain, Mira?" He asks gently, "I thought you could not know where he was…"
"I don't know exactly where he is, but I know when he's coming!" You say, your voice getting a bit louder.
"Sh…" Van Helsing says, holding a finger to his lips. "Okay, okay! We will get you back…" Suddenly, there is a deep growl from the shadows, and a creature shifts on its legs, preparing to pounce. Your eyes grow wide with fear as you see an enormous werewolf crouched just 25 yards ahead. Even Van Helsing looks a bit surprised. He recovers quickly however and pulls out his crossbow very slowly, so as not to cause the beast to attack. "Back me up, Mira," Van Helsing says, taking aim. You nod, taking out your pistol rather shakily. The horses do not react as much as they have in the past. They seem to be accustomed to these situations now.
The pause seems to linger on forever.
Finally, Van Helsing shoots several silver bullets. They fail to impede the creature however and it leaps high overhead, taking Van Helsing off of the horse and rolling off to the side with him. Desperately, you take a few shots at the thing, but your efforts are useless. Van Helsing must win this battle himself. To your horror, you hear another growl and whirl around to face yet another werewolf. Shocked, you cannot even react to it. You just sit there in amazement, staring at the menacing teeth and the murderous eyes.
Suddenly, it lets out a pitiful cry and when you look down, a silver stake is protruding from its stomach. It groans and flips over, taking a helpless swipe at its attacker. Then you hear the silver stake thrust through the beast's heart, and it collapses, turning into a human once more. You look up, half expecting Vladimir or Carl to be there, but, to your double horror, there stands Vladislaus Dracula. He is looking down solemnly at the dead man by his feet. Then he slowly lifts his gaze to you, and smiles.
You think it is quite possible you are going to either faint, or have a heart attack. You hear the triumphant sound of a stake impaling Van Helsing's werewolf, and he stands up with a gasp. You do not look at him however. You are just staring, shocked, at Dracula.
Van Helsing finally seems to notice this and runs over instantly. He puts up his sword in front of you, blocking Dracula's easy access. "Mira, snap out of it," he scolds, hitting you lightly on the shoulder. You finally come to, but you feel as if you are going to go into an all-out panic. "What do you want, Vladislaus?" Van Helsing asks, narrowing his eyes at him, still breathless. Dracula smiles at him, and folds his hands, flinging the silver stake away.
"Gabriel, you do recall the last time we were in this situation together, do you not?" Asks Dracula, good-naturedly.
"Stop dwelling on the past!" Exclaims Van Helsing, "Is it supposed to be our civil duty to ruin each other's lives, over and over, again and again?"
"You had her in the last life. Now, it is my turn," says Dracula darkly, his eyes beginning to burn.
"Not forever, Vladislaus! Why don't you just go back to hell already?" Demands Van Helsing.
"She is my bride, Gabriel!" Says Dracula, a bit of an angry edge to his tone. "You know what is written in the book! It was signed in blood!"
"No!" Says Van Helsing, walking towards Dracula. Dracula is not looking at Van Helsing's face, however. He is looking at his shoulder.
"I see you have been bitten again," comments the Count, "Third time's a charm; is that your philosophy?"
"I did not mean to get bitten this time! I had other plans in mind," states Van Helsing dryly.
"But the book, you know, Gabriel…" Starts Dracula.
"To hell with the book!" Yells Van Helsing. He rips the book out of his bag and throws it across the snow, "That's what I think about that God-damned book!" Dracula watches the book for a moment and then slowly turns, his face completely dark now.
"She signed that book," he says, beginning to tremble as he raises an accusing finger, "She signed that book, with her own blood!" His voice echoes fiercely throughout the woods as he drops his finger and trembles. His eyes burn fiercely like sacrilegious torches before he recomposes.
"But it is not her anymore! She is not Adriana anymore!" Cries Van Helsing. You are completely overwhelmed by this discussion. Furious, Dracula goes and picks up the book. He brushes past Van Helsing and shoves it into your hands. Van Helsing moves in to pull it away, but Dracula pushes him back into the snow with ease.
"Go on and read it, my love. Go on and find the forgotten text. I am so glad that it has been found," says Dracula smoothly.
"You wretch!" Van Helsing screams, "Mira, throw it out! Cast it away! Let it rot, let it burn!" He pleads.
"Silence, you fool!" Dracula hisses. He turns back to you gently and nods, indicating you should read. Slowly, and untrustingly, you open the book and glance over the words. You nearly pass out when your mind suddenly starts taking in swells of memories. Every page turns in your head like a nightmarish gale. You recall every word; every pact you made with Vladislaus Dracula. But that was Adriana, not you. The book falls from your hands, crunching into the snow below. Your heart rate has increased, as well as your breathing. Dracula stares at you unchangingly, smirking. "You remember, don't you?" He asks, almost in a mocking tone.
You take deep breaths and finally look at him. He picks up the book and opens to the page where Adriana Valerious signed her name. As he traces his finger along the curves of her signature menacingly, you can feel his nails cutting into your arm again. You scream, grabbing your arm. But there is no cut there. The flashback hits you full force like a storm, but it continues to hit you again and again, as if it is trying to weaken you.
"Leave her alone, Vladislaus!" Yells Van Helsing. He grabs Dracula forcefully but Dracula just throws him back calmly.
"Even if I left her alone, Gabriel… she would be haunted by me still. She would remember me for all eternity. You would never have peace," says Dracula deeply, "So end the pain now, my darling." The prospect is so tempting to you, yet again, but with Van Helsing there, it is somewhat easier to resist.
"I would rather live with the memory of you," you state blankly, looking at him with intensely burning eyes.
"My dear… what fun would that be?" He says, a smile alighting on his lips. You narrow your eyes at him. But you slowly begin to realize that somehow, you must keep these vows that you made over four hundred years ago. You realize also, that you must do something to save Van Helsing.
"I will make a deal with you, Vladislaus," you begin.
"No! No deals!" Cries Van Helsing, stumbling up from the snow and trying to force Dracula away again. He fails.
"I'm listening," Dracula says.
"Bring me more of the antidote, and I will go with you," you say. Van Helsing freaks. His words are incoherent and inaudible however. Dracula silences him.
"Is that all, Mira?" Asks Dracula, a daring expression crossing his face. You look at his cunning eyes and feel your soul collapse again.
"That can't be all," you say. At this, you dismount your horse so you are eye level with him. "Look Vladislaus…" You extend your hand slightly and sigh, dropping it. You look down for a moment and then you look at him. You talk low. "You know what I'm afraid of…" He nods, his eyes gleaming. He leans in towards you, rather curiously. "I don't want to feel it leaving me…" You whisper. You shiver slightly. He instinctively touches your shoulder, but then draws away realizing he will only make you colder.
"My dear…" he whispers back, "You will feel nothing…" You can almost hear compassion in his voice.
"Mira! Don't do it! Can't you see he's the devil?" Cries Van Helsing desperately. You look at Van Helsing, tears in your eyes.
"Gabriel…I made a deal. I cannot back out," you say.
"Kill me, Dracula!" Demands Van Helsing, "Kill me and let her go." Dracula turns to face him slowly, grinning widely.
"Why Gabriel, I thought you would never offer such a glorious task!" He says, delighted.
"Vladislaus…" You say, calling his attention back to you. You throw yourself into his arms forcefully, looking into his eyes. "Your quarrels lie in me, not in Van Helsing…" The Count's gaze flits between the two of you, and finally rests on you.
"I cannot refuse the invitation…" He whispers, mouthing your neck. You pull away.
"But first! The antidote!" You say. He seems flustered and then nods respectfully.
"I will bring it to you tomorrow night…" He states.
"Why so much later?" You ask, looking at him still.
"My troops have just come in from Budapest," he says, a menacing gleam lighting in his eyes. You take a step back, frightened. "Till tomorrow evening, my love," he says. With a sweep of his cape, he vanishes. Van Helsing glares at you and then breaks down in tears.
"How could you, Mira!?" He cries, "How could you…!"
"I made a pact," you say simply. You pause, looking down at the two dead bodies, "You have the vials, Gabriel?" He nods tearfully and then sets to work, filling the containers with werewolf venom. You do not watch, for it is rather…disturbing. You sigh looking out over the woods. What compelled you to make that deal with Dracula? Perhaps you may never know…