Wanted… Preferably Dead.
By LatanyaDisclaimer: I don't own anything but what I created.
Chapter Five: Pride and ignorance.
Tasya moaned in pain, lifting a hand to her neck before she had even bothered to open her eyes. There was something covering the wound on her neck and she wondered at that fact because if Vladimir had taken her to Castle Dracula, he would have hardly thought to bandage her neck.
Opening her eyes, she met the worried brown eyes of Van Helsing and almost screamed in shock. It was too much for her system. "Van Helsing… what are you doing here? In fact, where is here?"
He grinned, "I believe we're still in that patch of trees that we found you in moments after you were attacked by this Vladimir. How do you feel Miss Valerious?"
"I feel faint and my shoulder causes me great pain. When you dealt with my neck, did you also treat the slash on the back of my shoulder for I had meant to do that but had not gotten around to it." She muttered, wondering who else was with the man.
Hearing her voice, Torgny looked over. "Why Tasya, you appear to be awake and aware of the world again. How on earth did you manage to get yourself into such a situation?"
Smiling faintly, Tasya tried to sit up, "Why Torgny! What are you doing in the terrible company you find yourself in? I should have thought better of you than to keep such friends."
"Indeed so would I have thought! But your dear Van Helsing did not think that he would be able to find you with out my help seeing how I know your habits and he does not though I must admit, they are very much similar to his own I have discovered." The priest chuckled.
Raising an eyebrow, Carl shook his head at her, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Tasya Van Lura… or would you like to be called Hanne Valerious?"
"Please, do call me Tasya Van Lura for I have discarded the name I was given at birth for it has no fond memories for me. Only heartache. No, my name is Tasya now, not Hanne; Van Lura, not Valerious." She murmured softly, wondering if Torgny had given her letter to Van Helsing.
Lying back against the tree, Tasya observed the people around her. She was surprised that Torgny had allowed Van Helsing to drag him along after her but who this monk was, she didn't know. Thinking back over what she had heard about Van Helsing's defeat of Dracula, Tasya could only assume that the monk was the genius Carl.
"You're doing some serious thinking there Tasya. What's on your mind?" Her one time companion grinned.
She returned the grin with a dark glare, "What am I thinking? I'm thinking something along the lines of if you have done what I asked you to do already, I'll kill you."
Torgny paled considerably, "Uh Tasya, please don't tell me that you are serious about that threat? I did do as you asked because you charged me with the duty and you did say that it had to reach that persons hands as soon as it could."
"I'm going to kill you Torgny! As soon as I can stand up, I'm going to tear you limb from limb! Don't you realize that you have just ruined everything?" Tasya howled in anger, struggling to stand up.
Van Helsing wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down against him, his other arm circling around to pin her arms to her side. "Now Miss, that is not a good idea if I do say so myself. You wouldn't want to hurt yourself any more than you are already hurt?"
The priest's eyes went wide and he rose quickly, "Carl, I think we should run now because she's going to kill Van Helsing. No one handles Tasya like that and lives to tell the tale."
The woman's eyes were narrowed in fury and Gabriel was sure that if she had been a horse, her nostrils would have been flaring. "Don't you ever think about doing that again Van Helsing! Touch me again and I swear I will kill you. You haven't been around for so long and I cam quite capable of taking care of myself. I do not need your help or your worry."
"Really? Tell me Hanne, if we had not turned up when we did, would you still be alive? Your dear Vladimir would have left you there in the snow to die and that would have totally defeated your purpose." He kept his arms wrapped firmly around her, knowing that if he let go, she would strike out at him.
"Don't call me Hanne you insufferable bastard!"
"What would you have me call you then beloved? Tasya? I'm sorry if you are upset, or angry but there is nothing I can do about it. If I could tell you why I was apparently taken away from you, I would but I have no memories save a few. One of which is the memory of giving you an amber pendant." Gabriel hissed at her.
Tasya stilled, her eyes going wide in shock. A tear formed in the corner of her eye and she blinked it back. "You remember that?"
"I do."
She railed again, struggling to get out of his grip, "You promised never to forget me Gabriel! You promised! I'll never believe another word you say because you can't keep your promises!"
Placing a hand on Carl's arm, Torgny nodded in the direction of the horses, "Perhaps we'd best go and see if they're alright?"
"You can if you want." The friar muttered.
"Come on Carl." He pulled the man along after him. "You're daft enough not to realize that they need to be alone to sort out their problems."
He relaxed his grip on her and let her strike his chest with her fists. Tears were running down her cheeks and Tasya couldn't contain her anger and sorrow. When she was finished – simply because she had very little strength in her and channeling her emotions had drained what little she had – she collapsed against him, burying her face in his shirt to sob. Van Helsing wrapped his arms around her again and wondered at his own folly.
"I don't know how I could have forgotten you Tasya but there had to be a reason why I did. The priests of the Holy Order are always telling me that God took my memories so that I could not remember my past evils." He murmured softly, hoping that she heard him.
Between sobs, Tasya replied, "You were never an evil man Gabriel but you had a task that could be considered evil. Out of the two of us, I am the one with more evil on my soul for I am the one who became a bounty hunter in order to survive. I am the one who should have forgotten everything about her past."
"What drove you to become a bounty hunter?"
"The danger. After looking unsuccessfully for you for years, I slowly started to give up on life. Bounty hunting offered the danger of being caught and killed if I slipped up and made a mistake."
He nodded, "But why did you also become a monster hunter? A slayer of evil?"
"I was a Valerious at heart still and we have always had to hunt and kill monsters. Besides, I hoped that you were still alive and that by hunting monsters, I would meet you again somewhere." Her sobs had stopped and she was trying to regain her composure.
Turning her head, she rested the side of her face against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She would enjoy these few moments but as soon as she could, she would escape from him and return to her original purpose. Vladimir would die by her hand and nothing would stand in her way. Not even Gabriel Van Helsing would stop her. Closing her eyes to block out the glare of sunlight reflecting off the snow, Tasya wasn't even aware when sleep overtook her.
Van Helsing glanced down at Tasya; aware that her breathing had slowed to the point that he could tell she was asleep. Smiling, he rested his head back against the tree and waited for Torgny and Carl to return from seeing to the horses. Torgny had dragged Carl off with him because he knew that Van Helsing and Tasya needed to be alone to argue. When they came back, peering around the trees cautiously, he held a finger to his lips, warning them to stay quiet.
Carl stared at her in shock, "She didn't kill you?" He whispered.
He shook his head, "No but I wouldn't be surprised if I have some nice bruises tomorrow. She can hit hard."
"She does indeed though her slap is just as evil." Torgny grinned.
"Any sign of danger about? No werewolves or anything like that waiting for the right moment to attack us?"
"Doesn't appear to be any but I'm not a skilled hunter like you and Tasya are…. How is she? No signs of any change going on?"
The friar was searching though his notes when Torgny said that. Looking over at Van Helsing, he arched an eyebrow, "He's right, are there any signs of change in her?"
Helsing lifted a hand to her cheek and shook his head, "She's pretty warm but I've never seen someone change into a Vampire… is that normal?"
"Normal for them to be warm? Not as far as I know. Tasya could probably tell us but it appears as if she's truly exhausted and drained from loss of blood. I can't be sure of how long we'll have to stay here until she's strong enough to travel." The priest shrugged and pulled out the jar of ointment again. "As soon as she wakes up, we'd best put more of this on. Now, she also said she had a wound on her back?"
Shifting his weight under her, Van Helsing hoped his movement wouldn't disturb her. He was wrong and Tasya's eyes flew open and she tensed as if she was ready to attack someone. Groaning, he glared at Torgny; blaming the other man for making him talk.
"What happened?" She muttered, trying to sit up. "Torgny, why are you holding that horrid ointment I created in your hand? You weren't planning to use it on me were you?"
He grinned sheepishly, "One can never be to safe Tasya. A Vampire bit you after all and none of us are sure of what happened to you then. Now, where is this other wound of yours? The one you got during your fight with a werewolf?"
"You know I fought with a werewolf? How did you know that?" Her eyes went wide with surprise.
"We found its remains where you left them. Torgny recognized the crossbow bolt that was still embedded in its' chest. Do you normally leave the evidence lying around like that or were you just getting slack because you were so intent to ride to your death?" Van Helsing asked curiously.
Tasya growled, signaling to Torgny to help her stand up. "Are you always this annoying Van Helsing?"
"Would have thought you could tell me the answer to that question rather than the other way around."
Helping her stand, Torgny steadied her before he went to check if the water he had put on to heat was ready. "Children, can we please leave the fighting for when Tasya is recovered. Carl, would you help me clean up her shoulder?"
Unlacing the corset she wore in a similar fashion to how Anna Valerious had, Tasya smiled, remembering when she had started to dress like that. She had been a close friend of Anna's and had told the woman about her past. Anna had known that she was Hanne Valerious though she had never been told about Gabriel Van Helsing beyond the fact that Tasya knew him. Before she'd met Anna, Tasya had tended towards dressing like a man and keeping her hair cut short but her very distant relative had shown her that a woman could flaunt her gender and get away with it. That was when Tasya had taken to wearing long sleeved silk shirts with a leather corset laced over the top as well as long pants like gypsy men wore. She wore knee-high leather boots though she could never understand why Anna had liked hers to have heels. At most, Tasya's boots had heels like riding boots did.
When Carl realized what she was doing, he blushed and averted his eyes, making sure that he turned his back to her. "Does she always do things like that?"
"Like what?" Torgny queried, turning back to Tasya to take the corset she held out to him. "I don't know what you're talking about Carl."
Peeling back the shirt, Tasya bit back a moan when she realized that the slash had started to bleed again, sticking the silk to her skin. "Torgny, bring some of that water here and help me get this shirt away from the wound. It started bleeding again."
Van Helsing watched at Torgny dripped water onto the back of the shirt, slowing pulling the silk away from the wound. When it was fully away, Tasya pulled it up and allowed the man to clean the wound, washing it out with the warm water. Standing, he walked over to see how serious it was, ignoring the fact that Carl was standing with his back to the woman, saying prayers.
"That's a nasty wound you have there Tasya. How did you get it exactly?" He asked gently, not wanting to offend her.
"I suppose you are thinking that it's lucky that the werewolf only caught me with his claws rather then with his teeth? There was only one antidote to treat the werewolf venom and my dear friend Anna used it on you." Tasya snapped, trying to divert the pain she felt into anger or any other kind of emotion.
Gabriel knew what she was trying to do and nodded to Torgny, "You were obviously not paying enough attention to your job if you allowed a werewolf to hurt you."
"And I suppose you wouldn't have let that happen? Eh? You who managed to get bitten by Velkan?"
"He caught me unawares. I wasn't expecting him to bite me nor was I familiar with the area or the way that things like him behaved." Van Helsing growled.
She grit her teeth as Torgny smeared some antiseptic ointment on her shoulder, "At least I fought with honor and no thought to my life. I try not to get other people involved because I have respect for the lives of innocents."
"And I don't have such respect? How can you of all people say that Tasya? You who claims to know me so well would accuse me of having no respect for the lives of innocent people?"
Bandaging her shoulder carefully, Torgny grinned. "The two of you would make a good couple. You're both as ignorant and proud as the other."
"I would rather be proud and ignorant than like Van Helsing. I have honor and can be trusted. He does not know how to keep his word." Tasya held her head high, relaxing a little now that her friend had finished cleaning the slash on her shoulder.
Her words caught a sensitive spot in Van Helsing's heart and he hissed at her. "How can a bounty hunter have pride? You killed people for a living; you killed them because someone else wanted them dead. It did not matter if they were evildoers or not, you killed them. I at least hunt down and destroy evil things and have always tried to protect the innocent."
By the sad look in her eyes when she turned her head to look at him, both Torgny and Gabriel knew that his words had been harsher than he had intended. There were tears in the corners of her eyes and Tasya shook her head at them. "I have always done what I have thought necessary to survive. Never have I thought to stop and settle down because I wanted only to find you Gabriel. Now that I have found you, I want nothing more than to be away from you because you have always brought pain with you… more pain than I ever did."
She pulled the shirt down again and bent over to pick up her corset. Carl glanced around, wondering if they had finished and Tasya was decent again. When he saw that she was still lacing the corset back up, he crossed himself and muttered that Van Helsing should have more respect for women.
"What pain does my presence bring you Tasya Van Lura?" He asked quietly.
"Why did you follow me into the mountains? Surely you have something else you should be doing Van Helsing? Like saving the world from some new evil threat." She snapped angrily, spinning around to face him.
"I was going to the Valerious family home to find out what I could about you. Torgny met us riding here as he was returning to Rome. Carl and I did not follow you into the Carpathians; rather, you were going in the same direction as us. Lucky that you were because you would be dead by now if we had not been." Gabriel didn't blink as his eyes met hers.
Bowing her head, Tasya resolved herself to be parted from him quickly. "Well you have my thanks but I must be going now. I have stayed here for too long and Vladimir could be doing what I fear most by now."
Torgny cringed, "Tasya, you aren't well enough to go riding off on your own. Stay with us and let Van Helsing help you kill Vladimir."
"I would rather he didn't because I know what happened when he killed Dracula. Anna was my friend and my family."
Carl realized what she meant, "You mean that Anna was not the last Valerious?"
"No, she was not."
"Then who is?"
"It is my job to make sure that the evil of Dracula and Vladimir never spreads… never takes over the world. The man I loved showed me that fact when he told me that there would always be a curse on my family to prevent evil. That is my mission, my life. That and preserving the Valerious blood and honor for our family has always had a reason for being. When Vladimir is dead once and for all, I can rest in peace knowing that my job is done." She turned away and started to pack her things, ignoring how weak she felt.
"I'm not going to let you ride off to your self proclaimed doom Tasya." Van Helsing growled, grabbing her wrist.
Her hand came into contact with his cheek and both Carl and Torgny cringed. "You do not have any power over me Van Helsing. You cannot stop me from doing what I believe to be right. Stay out of my fight and stay out of my life!"
He stepped back and watched her prepare her horse. Glancing between the two, Torgny wondered if he should perhaps go with Tasya to make sure that she would be all right. Shrugging, he followed her example and packed his gear.
"What are you doing Torgny?"
"Coming with you Tasya."
"No you're not." She snapped at him. "You're staying right here where you will be safe from harm."
Torgny shook his head. "Now that Carl and Van Helsing know, they can carry your message back to the Knights of the Holy Order. I'm not going to let you face Vladimir alone."
She swung herself into the saddle and shrugged, "Hurry up then Torgny." Her eyes flickered towards Carl and Van Helsing. "My thanks again for helping me but I hope that you will be wise enough not to follow me any further. This is my fight Van Helsing and only I can kill Vladimir."
"Walk with God then Tasya Van Lura." Carl nodded, accepting quite happily, her orders not to follow.
However, Van Helsing made up his mind that they would follow at a distance that would assure him that she would not notice his doing so. Watching the pair kick their horses into a gallop, he picked up his hat and placed it on his head.
"We'd better hurry Carl. Wouldn't want her to get to far ahead of us."