Disclaimer: The characters and concepts in this story pertaining to the movie Van Helsing are the property of Stephen Sommers. This is an amateur effort. No infringement on copyright laws was intended.
Chapter 19: The Four Queens
He had run from the room. He was weakened and wanted to collapse again, his mind begging his body for sleep. But how could allow such a thing right now? The only thought in his mind was his need to be freed from his new prison. He needed to break out of the tiny room and out of the Vatican completely, out into the free streets of Rome and the wide world again.
Ever since he had started to awaken from the chemical sleep he was placed under he was trying to remember. He would drift back slowly in his mind, replaying the events in chronological order starting with the most recent. The only problem was the long moments of looking back at his memory caused him to become tired again, and nothing could keep him conscious any longer. He would surrender himself to the drugs in his body and the pain from his wounds and slip in the oblivion that was always waiting to catch him.
But it was only oblivion for a short amount of time. Not much later it would yield to dreams of blood. It was the past, he knew it, but all he could remember is the loss he felt when he would awake once again.
And then he would try to remember. It was the cruelest circle he had ever been trapped in.
He pushed his back against the cold stone wall as he rounded the corner, the injuries on his back stinging from the sweat that traveled down from under his thick black curls and seeped under the tight cotton tourniquet. He let out a soft hiss, breathing slowly to get his thoughts in order.
Alright Gabriel, you're trapped in an underground labyrinth. You have to get to the surface. There has to be some way out of here.
He heard voices next to him, far off from the corridor he had just darted down. They were speaking in rushed Italian, their mouths moving so quickly that their conversation was hard to make out, especially with Gabriel in the state he was in. He hugged his arms around his bare waist, leaning over for a moment before straightening up again. Two friars rushed by, still talking in rushed and garbled Italian. Gabriel could just make out their descriptions of a 'crazed stranger who nearly took off Friar Carl's head'.
That's a lie, he thought to himself, looking to his right and down the long hall in front of him. He had a choice. He could take his luck with this hall or backtrack until he found somewhere else to escape from. Gabriel decided that if people were coming from that direction, it was a good chance there were more where those two came from. He looked over his shoulder once more before heading off in the opposite direction, straight to the right, staggering a little with his growing exhaustion. He reached out and gripped the wall with strong fingertips, feeling his mind finally stop reeling and exert itself further than Gabriel thought it could at this point. He was a hunter again, his senses sharp and his mind focused on one goal: escape.
He ran down the hall, his feet making very little noise on the stone floor. He heard the voices coming back to the entrance and Gabriel's instincts took over. He grabbed hold of a door handle and slid inside the nearest room.
It was empty luckily. It looked like the one he had just run from, stone walls, small cot, a chair in the corner, a crucifix on the wall…Gabriel felt sick to his stomach from returning to a place like this. Claustrophobia was beginning to set in.
He heard the voices vanish. Quickly he left the room, taking off down the hall again, just turning in enough time to hear them shout for help, and that they had spotted their prey down the hall.
Gabriel was filled with renewed strength. He was running towards a cast iron gate that blocked off the whole hall from passage. He grabbed hold of the door and pushed it open with everything he had left in his body. He swung it shut with a strength that he gathered from somewhere else, and he knew that it had alerted his pursuers.
But the footsteps had stopped further back in the hallway. Gabriel turned, only to see the door he had just passed through and not the answering silhouettes of his religious pursuers. The thought made him think about his current location. It could mean that he had reached the end of the line and that they were not worried about him escaping because there was nowhere to escape from.
Or it could mean that they don't care if I escape anymore, he suggested, but the voice in the back of his head was telling him otherwise. It was telling him that the friars knew something he didn't about the path he had chosen.
What could possibly be dangerous about the Vatican? He thought with a small smirk before turning back around and looking at his options.
He was in a large, domed room made of solid gray brick. The round walls had large open arched doorways to pass through- And hide behind, he thought to him self –and the roof was hard to see from the bad lighting on the walls. The torches did not penetrate the shadow at the top of the room.
Gabriel's eyelids lowered slightly, his senses sharpening still. He slowly backed away from the middle of the room as the shadow started writhing and stretching. The torches started to flicker and the flames started to lower, giving more room for the shadow to move.
Well at least I know why they turned and ran, he thought to himself, reaching his arm out for the wall as he hit the side of the arch. He eased back to the wall, mouth frozen in a straight line, his composure controlled but free to move as he needed to.
"Find a weapon," his mind told him. He looked around as the torches dimmed further, turning around and looking at the circular passage between him self and the wall. A small cart was set up there with pistols and two silver disks with a Chinese design engraved on them. He looked over his shoulder once more before making a move to the cart, grabbing a pistol and loading it with whatever bullets he could find on the table. They were some of the strangest bullets he had ever seen, some made of thick glass and filled with different coloured liquids. He inspected the disks, taking hold of the handle of one and lifting it up.
"What the…?" He pulled the levers together. The disk popped open and a spinning blade protruded from the sides, nearly taking Gabriel's hand off. He watched his reflection in the blade, frightened at how animal like he had become. He was shave – badly, explaining the small beard that was beginning to grow – his hair was a mess, his body was covered in bruises and there was a large lump on the side of his head. He ignored his face and turned back to the growing shadows, now heavily armed.
The creature swooped down from the ceiling, the shadows masking it temporarily. It took only seconds for his brain to register what it really was. Gargoyle, the voice told him. Just shoot it, and make sure that when you're finished it's nothing but dust.
Gabriel took off to the left as three more gargoyles swooped in for the kill. He swung his body around, his back begging for him not to as his stitches stretched and ripped through the flesh. He winced but used the pain as fuel. It kept him awake. It kept him focused. It let him know he was still alive.
The first exploded in a cloud of dust just as the gun clicked. The barrel was empty. He swore to himself and ducked before the second could grab him with the heavy stone claws and fly him upwards to feast on his body or to drop him to the stone floor below. The second missed him, but the third would not.
Gabriel tightened his fist on the levers of the small revolving blade and swung upwards, cutting the beast straight through the solid skull, down the back of the scalp before digging it deep into the spine and ripping the gargoyle from the nape of the neck, between the wings and straight to the tail. The creature let out a scream that would forever ring inside Gabriel's head. It shrieked with such a fury it made Gabriel's wound pound, his head spin, and his ears bleed. He swung the blade again across the throat and kicked the body to the wall.
WHO THE HELL FILLS A HOUSE OF GOD WITH GARGOYLES?! He wanted to scream, but he had little time before an onslaught of the creatures flew down from the ledge on the ceiling. The flapping of their wings caused the torches to be extinguished, surrounding him in darkness.
Gabriel was surprised when his mind started to take control again and ever instinct he thought had been lost to him forever came back into play. He ducked and rolled, his feet hitting the cart with the weapons in very little time. He grabbed another handful of bullets, but dropped them a second later and picked up the other spinning blade instead.
You won't have time to load the gun, his mind told him. Just take the blade instead.
He lost track of himself after that. He lost track of the rage and the animal inside him, giving into the violent tendencies that he had been unable to use. Now Gabriel found that he was moving easily, and the pain was forgotten as the thrill of the hunt came back to him. The screeching of the gargoyles gave him a good idea of where they were. He only had to follow the sounds of wings and the agonizing screams as his prey disappeared in small clouds of dust, stone, and dirt
The final scream came from behind. He felt around on the handles of the blades, and spun quickly, flicking something or triggering the two blades to spin off and fly towards the final gargoyle.
He wiped his forehead. He was about to collect the weapons when the sound of clapping came from behind him, along with the orange glow of torches and the heat that came from them. Gabriel looked over his shoulder, blood seeping through the bandages over his wounds. He saw Jinette, the Cardinal who had introduced himself so long ago, smiling and clapping at the performance. He was doing something Gabriel had never seen him do: He was smiling.
"I can finally see the reason that God left you on our doorstep." He said. "Come, let us get you cleaned up."
"Mr. Van Helsing?" Mina shook him lightly, not wanting to wake him from his somewhat peaceful slumber. Just after he had dozed off he had started to dream and say things that she couldn't understand as he did so. She hated to wake him after only an hour, but she knew better than to let them linger too long, especially with some of Morgan's enemies. Morgan already had enough reasons to kill them. She didn't need another one like 'conspiring with the enemy' or something equally as silly.
And she had promised Gabriel she would wake him not long after that so they could ride after Carl once more. Leaving in the cover of night fall would be convenient. They could gain some land between them and their prey, and Mina would not have to be completely covered in the presence of the moon. It was the sun that she had to worry about.
"Gabriel…" She shook him softly once again, finding that he was beginning to stir. He gave a small groan and then his eyes opened. He sat up quickly, his black clothed body a blur. Mina could tell by his colour that he yearned for rest, but his whole mind was focused towards his mission. His whole life was dedicated towards one long mission.
Mina patted him on the back as Gabriel rubbed his eyes. With a quiet voice that was almost as whisper, he asked, "How long…?"
"Only an hour, not much more than that." She said, running her hand along his back as she would do to comfort a child. Gabriel's eyes closed again and he ran his fingers along the darkened eyelids, breathing deeply. His mind moved from his thoughts on the mission, drifting through their 'position' in Morgan's game with them, and stopped for a moment, his brow furrowing at the notion of Mina's hand on his back and her body in such close proximity to his own. It was strange to feel a woman so close to him. Certainly there was Anna Valerious, the gypsy princess who he still dreamed of and imagined often, wondering what he could have done differently. He thought about it hard, imagining the future they could have had together. They could have been married perhaps. They could have been parents. They could have grown old together in the old Castle of his enemy. He could have left the Order and lived out a normal, everyday life, the type of life that one would expect a man to have.
But now all those dreams were gone. They were as cold and dead as Anna, burned up by the fires that consumed Anna's body on the funeral pyre.
He looked up at Mina, whose hand had stopped moving over his back. She had a lost look in her eyes, staring at his dark curls before moving to his eyes.
"Are you feeling any better?"
"God no." He said, pushing back his shoulders and cracking the knot in his lower back with a sigh. "But there's no point in wasting anymore time. We've lost enough already."
Mina nodded, grabbing the coat off the ground. Gabriel watched her pull the black coat over her shoulder, the fitted sides forming to her body as if it was made for her. He saw her loose white dress shirt that was a gift from Fallon, the embroidered corset, the black pants and boots and the coat and was immediately reminded of her again, very painfully.
Unlike Anna though, she was moving her hands and her hair over her neck uncomfortably, unsure of the best way to hide her bite scars. Gabriel looked over to his saddle bag and dug through the extra trousers and coat and found the scarf in the bottom ("Packed by Carl no doubt," he mused). He pulled it out and stood up.
"Here…" He said, draping it around her throat. The scarf was much too big for her but she was smiling as he swung on end around her neck loosely. Mina tightened it a little smiling at him with her lips closed. "There. Much better."
Well that just sounded shallow, didn't it Gabriel?
Mina didn't seem to mind. She smiled again, pulling her hair from under the scarf.
"Thank you." She said politely, setting her brown hair about her shoulders.
"You're welcome." He said, looking her over once again, lost for a moment in his thoughts. He turned back and picked the saddle up and off the ground.
Fallon rolled out the map over the surface of the table, just outside his caravan. The firelight danced across his scarred face, over his toned arms and the tattoos that covered them. Lines that curled and were sharpened like barbed wire moved over his forearms and biceps. Gabriel looked from the side, looking at the perfectly drawn map of the woods they had entered and the lands beyond.
Fallon had outdone himself. He had added colours and a legend to the map to indicate where the trees grew the thickest and where the iron mines existed. There was blue for the rivers and ponds that existed throughout and there were deepening reds for changes in elevation.
Beyond the forest were the plains of England and then there was a large red X that indicated what Gabriel thought may have been some kind of historical landmark. Fallon's fingers moved over the page and pointed the way to the X.
"That is where her castle lies. The Palace of Fey, where many men have dared to travel and so few have chosen to return." He gave a weak laugh, his lips tightening into a thin line as he lifted his hand from the page. "You'll need to enter a different kind of forest to find where she lives. You'll have to enter the faerie woods. It's much more dangerous than the ring that you decided to travel into last night."
Gabriel rolled his eyes.
"Don't remind me." He said. Fallon laughed.
"I wouldn't feel so terrible. You looked bloody good together anyways."
Mina shifted the chair from Gabriel uncomfortably. Gabriel never noticed that he took a bit of a step back for that as well, blushing slightly.
"You should let 'Aingeal' read your Tarot before you leave." He said with a smile. "Anyways, the faerie forest leads you underground to a set of winding caverns that will have you trapped down there for days unless you remember one thing: That whatever happens in them is an illusion."
"How do you know all this?" Mina asked. Fallon smiled wildly for a moment, not at all set back by the question even though Gabriel could sense everything but happiness in his actions.
"Let's just say I know what happens if you start believing in that sort of thing." He replied. Mina seemed to pick up on the same things that Gabriel did. Fallon wasn't telling them something. He swallowed hard and rolled up the map. "If you continue to believe that it's an illusion than you'll find your way without trouble at all. In fact you'll make it to the castle without much trouble."
"What do we do when we get there?"
"You stop her. But you're going to need something other than a sword to take her down." Fallon grinned again. "You're going to need some iron weapons. And you're lucky, because that's all I own."
'Aingeal' walked up to the table, carrying several weapons with her. Each and every one of them was primitive. To Gabriel's dismay there were no bullets and he was stuck with a useless gun. The swords however were making him smile a little. At least there was something he knew how to use.
"This is all that I could manage. The rest is still in storage." She said, grabbing hold of a regular looking broadsword. It weighed at least fifty points and was five feet from tip to hilt. The hilt was decorated with the same time of sweeping designs that covered Fallon's caravan. The blade was also engraved with old runes and more Gaelic characters. She handed it over to Gabriel. Mina watched the transaction with a wounded stare. 'Aingeal' shrugged.
"Don't worry about yourself. There's no way a creature like you could manage something like that without training. Which is why I brought you one of these." 'Aingeal' produced something that made Mina's eyes widen. She handed her a bow and string, along with a quiver full of arrows. Mina swallowed hard. Every ounce of hurt was gone from her eyes. Now she was just wondering how on earth she was going to use such a thing.
"Well don't just keep staring at it, take it." 'Aingeal' urged.
"I don't know how to use it." Mina replied.
"Well of course you do. You drank my husband's blood did you not?"
Mina was silent. She bit her lips nervously.
"It never works like that."
'Aingeal' groaned at Mina's statement.
"Have you ever tried to use your gift?" She asked. "Honestly, any vampire will tell you that it's the best way to learn things. Just drink the blood of someone who can do them. I'd cut my bloody wrist and let you drink from me if I could but there isn't the time for that. Take the bow and fire at a tree. You'll hit it at least. I'm not saying you'll be a bloody genius but you have the strength to use it."
Mina caved and took the bow, still doubting herself by the look in her face. 'Aingeal' smiled and looked at the other weapons she had brought over, ignoring the way Mina looked at the bow with a sad look in her eyes.
Gabriel looked over his blade again. He pulled it from the sheath again, finding his reflection first before the designs. He hated the way he looked in the moonlight. He looked like a corpse, his cheeks sunken and his eyes looking black. His pupils had vanished completely and the whites of his eyes were stained with the blue moonlight that cascaded down from the heavens. His black curls were tinted with the light as well, and his weakened condition did nothing to convince him that he was anything but an aging corpse that was rotting and festering under the earth. He tilted the blade upward, catching only his eyes and his dark hairline and then the moon above, gazing down at him from her place in the darkness of the sky.
It would be nice, for once, to look in a mirror and know the man who's staring back.
He shoved the sword back into the sheath.
Gabriel had the horse saddled and ready to go in minutes, but 'Aingeal' didn't seem to want him to go so soon. She called him over from the other side of the fire, gesturing with her finger for him to walk over. He would have worried, but then he saw the deck of cards on the table in front of her. He groaned again.
On one of his first missions, if he remembered correctly, he was sent to the Mediterranean and the deserts in the surrounding area. The heat nearly drove him into madness as he pursued a werewolf through the northern part of Africa. He spent four days in the harsh desert, an hour in battle and another four in the overheated caravans of a traveling troupe of gypsies, mystics, and other heathens. The Mistress was a woman who had named herself Shadow, and for good reason. She was darker than coal, her skin as black as shadows under the cold and frosted moonlight.
She would read his cards for him every day that he traveled with them, speaking in her thick African language, the voice of her ancestors. She told him that his past was uncertain, but he had been a soldier. She had given him an addiction to the pictures on the cards and gave him his first affiliation with the Knight of Swords that he could remember. She also associated him with the four Queens, something he never would have expected.
"There will be four women that I can see. The first is the Cups, the gentle woman with secrets that she will never tell." She laughed a little and continued, her black finger moving over the next card. "The second is the Queen of Pentacles." She laughed again. "This one is me. The love of money and riches and success." She laughed again.
She smiled and took up the next card.
"The third is the Queen of Wands. She is headstrong, dark, beautiful, but stubborn in her actions. Her persistence will lead her downfall."
Shadow took up the last card, the Queen of Swords.
"And the last, the Queen of Swords, is the widow. She too has a downfall resting in her sadness and her distance. It is a shame that all these women have such sadness associated with them, such pain. You attract the broken, Knight of Swords. You attract the women who cannot be fixed, no matter how much you love them."
'Aingeal' seemed to have a different method of reading them. She placed the Knight of Swords in the middle of the table to represent Gabriel, and after he had shuffled and cut the deck she placed the first card on top of his.
The Tower…
"Not such a good card to start with. In your present there is destruction and calamity. Something is missing from your existence."
The second card was horizontal over the first. It was the Queen of Swords.
"An immediate influence in your life is a widow. One who seems to carry great sadness with her…"
She placed the third card atop the other three. Her fingers hovered over it for a moment, and then revealed it to Gabriel. It was the Death card.
"Rebirth." She said. "Something's coming that will completely change you from what you are now to what you are supposed to be."
Another card was placed on the table, this time to the right of the Knight of Swords. She removed her hand and showed him the Ten of Swords.
"A battle in your past. You were a soldier or a mercenary. You were of great strength though."
Gabriel was still silent, listening carefully to her speak of something he had only ever seen in his dreams. She spoke of bloodshed. She spoke of scars and wounds. She spoke of everything that he had wanted to remember but could never have.
The fifth card was placed beneath the Knight. It was the Five of Swords.
"Dishonour…" She said with a smile, amused by his reading. "You shamed someone or something. There was a loss in more ways than one."
Gabriel held his breath. He felt his mind open up and he found that inside was a memory. It showed him a battle inside a great orb of light, one that conflicted with the moon and the stars that shimmered above the two combatants. Inside the light were feathers and two men, their eyes blazing with fury.
'Aingeal' reached for the next card, but Gabriel wouldn't allow her to continue. She watched him walk away before she looked at the card.
In the spread that she was doing, the sixth card always stood for future influence. She shivered as she looked at the card, finding herself staring with the eyes of the Devil card.
"Violence…" She said. "And Temptation."
'Aingeal' looked back at Gabriel as he mounted his horse.
"I hope God still loves you Van Helsing for it doesn't look like there are many who do."
Gabriel rode through the camp to the tree line, watching Mina with an amused look on his face as she attempted - and failed – to fire a bow. He supposed he could be thankful that she wasn't firing towards any humans. She clumsily pulled back on the bowstring, her arms shaking from the exertion of her muscles and released. The arrow would fly through the air flimsily and then fall to the ground, striking nothing with the sharp, iron tip. She would march into the forest and retrieve it again after a moment of searching.
He said nothing but she knew he was there. Without looking at him she started speaking, drawing back on the bow again.
"I hate to waste any more time…" She said, clenching her teeth as she pulled back and held it. Gabriel rolled his eyes at the way he was holding it, her arms barely stretched out. "But I hardly see the use of having a weapon that I can't control."
Gabriel dismounted, leaving the horse unattended for a few moments. He walked up behind her and held the bowstring for her.
"It's not as hard as you're making it." He said. Mina released the bow and Gabriel eased the bowstring back down until it was relaxed in his fingertips. He took the in his fingers, his tendons popping out of his knuckles as he held it tightly. "You have to open up your chest more when you fire. Like this…"
With Mina pressed against his chest and his arms awkwardly stretched out to accommodate her, Gabriel pulled the bow out and fired with such precision anyone would have mistaken him for a professional with years of training to back up his technique. Gabriel knew that his proficiency with weapons had nothing to do with the conscious mind. Everything was an unconscious impulse, something that he just did without really knowing why. The arrow struck one of the trees and embedded itself in the bark. Mina sighed deeply.
"You try it…" He said.
Mina complied silently, angrily, frustrated with her uselessness. The only weapon she was trained with properly was a pistol or a rifle. She was not a swordswoman or an archer, she was just Mina Harker.
Only now that fact was starting to make her angry.
She took another arrow from the quiver, loaded the bow and held it in her fingers as Gabriel had. It struck a nerve in her brain, bringing back the thoughts of Fallon's blood moving down her throat. It was the sense of freedom once more, the feeling of the arrow in her fingers and her arms pulling it out and taught. The leather bow string and bow creaking with the tension being applied.
Gabriel took a step back, watching her cautiously. It was as if a dark sheet had been placed over her, covering her body from head to foot and hiding her in the shadows. When she released the arrow that time it hit its mark, not perfectly, but there were definite signs of improvement.
"There. Now all I have to do is hope I don't have to depend on your marksmanship." He was joking. Mina glared at him, sighing deeply and picking the quiver off the ground. Gabriel watched her facial expressions, her stiff movements. "I was only joking Mina."
"It's not that." She replied, slinging the quiver over her shoulder. "All my life I've just been useless because I'm a woman. And even as a vampire I'm useless."
"I wouldn't say that." Gabriel replied. "In my experience everyone has their uses. They all have some kind of purpose."
"What about you?" She asked him. "What's your purpose?"
Gabriel didn't think he had to think about something like that. It was such an easy question. His purpose was to destroy evil. He was to rid the world of creatures who would seek to upset the balance of darkness and light. He was a servant of God.
But Mina's question made him rethink everything he knew he should say. Was he really doing God's work? He was killing for the sake of a God who never once condoned killing or bloodshed. He had dreams of fighting in a Holy War, one of the biggest oxy morons he had heard to date. How was a war holy?
In many ways, for Gabriel, the Holy War never ended in the days of old. They continued, even now, the way he was chasing Morgan across England. He was a soldier in another Holy War, leading a one man army to Hell and back in the name of God.
"Right now, I'm here to kill a sorceress." He said. "But tomorrow could bring many other things."
Mina smiled again. She pulled the bow string off the wooden bow.
"Well then my purpose is to keep you from making me use my archery skills." Gabriel smiled again.
"Let's ride then." He said. Mina nodded, balling up the string and tucking it into the pocket on the jacket. Gabriel took her by the hand and helped her up and onto the back of the horse. He shook his head.
"You really ought to learn how to ride on your own."
"Well perhaps there are other purposes you may serve yet." She said.
"But for now there is little extra time to waste." He said, hopping up and onto the horse in one swift movement. Taking up the reigns in his hands, the horse moved into a slow walk.
Mina wrapped her arms around his upper chest again, burying her head against his back. Gabriel kicked the horse hard, riding off into the misty darkness of the forest, watching Fallon wave goodbye to them from the edge of the forest. He stared off at the dark silhouette disappearing into the fog, and smiled to himself. 'Aingeal' came up to stand next to him.
"What do you think their chances are?" She asked, hands on her hips. Fallon smiled and laughed to himself.
"A hunter and a vampire against the Queen of the Faeries?" He laughed again. "I'd say that they're chances are better than anyone else's, that's for sure."
Who is this man? She asked herself again, staring out the window of her dark tower and over her kingdom. Small, coloured lights the size of dimes floated around her windows and out in the plains of the lands of Fey. Morgan walked back around her four poster bed, running her pale fingers over the velvet curtains of the bed, licking her lips slowly as she moved back to the mirror and the bureau, lost in her reflection for a moment.
There was a knock on the door. She turned as the willowy sentry stepped inside, his white hair tumbling over his shoulders. He bowed as was custom to his queen and Morgan simply stood there, waiting for his report.
"My lady…" He said in his whispery voice. "My soldiers on Merlin's Land claim that Van Helsing just rode from the encampment of Fallon and his men."
The mirror on the bureau cracked. Morgan's eyes became fierce. She clenched her teeth again, watching her sentry.
"Bring the Friar to the tower. We've got to move quickly if my plans are to be carried out tonight."
"Do you think they suspect what your plans are, ma'am?" He asked.
Her electrifying stare was back on him.
"Are you implying that mere mortals could have discovered what my plans are?"
The sentry was silent. He shook his head.
"Of course not, my lady."
"Good." She said coldly, walking forward. Her slippers tapped across the black stone that the room was built of. Her blue dress stood out against the shimmering marble floor. "Do as I say. Bring the Friar to the tower and hang him from the window. And if Van Helsing gets anywhere near the Palace walls I want you to use him for target practice."
"Yes my lady."
"As for Van Helsing and his new 'friend', I want you to keep an eye on them. My Magick may not hold her sway with his charm of iron but it won't be long till he finds his way to the Palace. No doubt that idiot Fallon showed him the way here and told him the secrets only a slave of the Fey could have told." Morgan's fists tightened. The sentry nodded again, bowing once more. She was about to dismiss him when she finished.
"And by the way, Sentry, not a breath of my plans is to leave this Palace. I can't have another mistake like earlier today." He nodded again. "You're dismissed. I will summon you back when I have completed."
"Yes my lady." The sentry left, walking out the door and closing it again. Morgan walked over to her balcony, throwing open the stained glass doors and standing out in her dark kingdom. The lights flocked to her presence, flying through her long curls, running over her soft and smooth face and dancing around her right hand. Their voices whispered sweet things to her, but she was in no position to accept such things.
"It's almost time, lovelies. Fly off now and watch on the oncoming company. Hide in the caves and wait. But beware the guardians. And remember to avoid biting our dear friend Mina. I can't afford any more accidents." The nodded and flew off, still singing the song of their Queen and the Lord Accolon. They still hummed of the enchantments bestowed upon Arthur.
Morgan smiled.
It's funny, a voice in her mind spoke to her. Men fall to my charms, but this Van Helsing seems immune.
She walked out of the bedchamber, hearing the sounds of her enchanted sentries carrying the bloody Friar up and into the tower.
Morgan smiled coolly.
Then I will have to stop him in a different way.
She used the wind to travel down through her Palace quickly, straight into her mighty ballroom where her Faerie kingdom was still dancing and singing in her Faerie Ring. She walked through the swirling mass of dancers easily, heading up the second staircase to the vast mirror atop the stairs.
With her right hand she pressed against the glass, her reflection smiling coyly back at her. The appearance began to change the second her fingers touched it. The jet black curls became distinctly brown. Her blue eyes softened, becoming a dark chestnut colour. The pale skin tanned (Like a commoner, her mind mocked) and her features changed. The nose became rounder, her lips fuller, and her chin pointier.
She smiled at her new appearance and stepped back. The woman in the mirror was distinctly different, one who would catch the eye of her new enemy, and most certainly become quite a distraction in the caves that lead to her kingdom.
"Anna Valerious, the princess of the gypsies…" She smiled coyly again, proud of her work. The woman in the mirror smiled as well, just as she did. Morgan looked around her, snapping her fingers. A female faerie came up from the ball and curtseyed to her Queen.
"Hop in." She said. "And delay him at least. Hopefully my spell will be finished long before he arrives."
"Yes, you're highness."
"Oh, and one more thing…" She mentioned before the faerie assumed the form of the woman. "It is imperative that you don't harm the Harker woman…yet. Make sure to toy with her a little as well."
There was another curtsey, and then the faerie stepped into the form of Anna Valerious, straight through the mirror, before walking off into the reflection of the ballroom. The glowing image of Morgan's palace faded and became the long winding tunnels of the caverns leading to the outside world.
Morgan stalked back through the ballroom, this time walking in her heavy, beautiful blue gown. She smiled to herself once again and went to the left tower.
Her heart was beating in anticipation. Try and stop me, Van Helsing.
Author's Notes: I am sorry. I was expecting for this chapter to have lead me to the caves to Morgan's Palace, but the chapter seemed to write itself with things that I was not expecting to write into it. I would have hoped to have a little more action in it, but there is some suspense with Morgan's little spell with the mirror and Gabriel's fortune (as told by 'Aingeal').
As I mentioned before in one of my responses I do read Tarot but I am not an expert at it. If anyone has read this and noticed some major inaccuracies with the reading I gave Gabriel, please tell me.
The reading that 'Aingeal' was doing is called the Celtic cross spread. It is a longer spread than the nine cards reading that I was talking about in previous chapters, but it gives the same elements.
The four Queens was one of my favourite bits of symbolism. I hope everyone caught onto who the Queens were. Shadow was the Queen of Pentacles, but that's not really important. The Queen of Cups is Alice Daniels. Cups are closely associated with the element of Water and the symbol of the Chalice. The Chalice is always used as a symbol of femininity and womanhood. I use this to describe Alice because unlike Anna and Mina she was much more closer to what females were to be: gentle, caring, beautiful (not that Anna wasn't beautiful. Kate Beckinsale is gorgeous). She also had the most feminine qualities I could think of for the time.
The Queen of Wands is Anna. Most people probably wonder why I made Mina the Queen of Swords, but it was not my intention. At first I felt that Anna should be the Queen of Swords, but Wands suited her much better. Wands are ruled by the element of fire. The Queen of Wands is persistent to her duties no matter what odds but her headstrong nature is her downfall. She will often be too persistent with things. This described Anna much better than the Queen of Swords did.
Finally, the Queen of Swords is Mina. When I first started to read cards I was confused when I found that the Queen of Swords is not ruled over by the element of fire but rather then element of air. She is often associated with the widow and women who are somewhat cruel and dark. Although this could also be Anna, I felt it was much more Mina. Plus the association with air seemed to fit her ability to change into bats.
I wanted to delve deeper into Fallon's character. I think I will have him reappear later with his crazy wife. What does everyone else have to say?
Reviews:
J: I wish I had a meteorite right about now! At least they got some line of defense against Morgan and they're not just shooting blindly and uselessly (although I'm sure Gabriel was looking forward to having a gun back in his fists). You are filled with a lot of interesting information. I had no idea there was a specific type of iron that worked best. I did know about Oberon and Titania though, but I didn't know they were in Gargoyles. I suddenly have the urge to watch that show again.
Verona Dracula: I was planning on reading The Mists of Avalon, but my book list is really long right now. I'm reading through Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and am enthralled by it. He is my idol for books. If you love mystery read through both Angels and Demons and the sequel The Da Vinci Code.
It's really weird to read different versions of Morgan le Fey. In one book she's an enchantress, in another she's just a jealous half sibling, and in the movie I don't think she even exists (I haven't seen the movie yet).
Summer Knight: Yeah, the whole Raindrops are Falling on my Head thing caught me entirely off guard. One minute I was just crying at the thought of there being NO SPIDER-MAN and then this crazy little music video comes on and I'm cocking a brow and thinking, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
And as for taking off his mask every chance he gets…
Well, the more of Tobey's face, the better.
Fanfiction Fanatic: I am very happy to hear that you're still enjoying the story! I hope the rest of your recovery goes smoothly and without complications. Thank you very much for the comment about work. I hope so too. At least I can't cause any permanent damage. Oh, who am I kidding, this is me we're talking about. With my luck I'll make something explode (and even thought it's unlikely, I WOULD LAUGH).
Grissom: The sequel is still in the works. I'm planning another trip to Transylvania, but don't worry because the villain is NOT Dracula. I am one of those people who thinks a confrontation between Mina and Gabriel and Dracula would be pretty cool but highly unlikely (unless Morgan were to bring him back with her spell…no, just kidding). The villain I hope to use has always fascinated me and I think is almost equally as original as Morgan le Fey.
The mysterious man and woman will appear in the sequel and their names will be revealed! That's not very much of a comfort (I mean, you have to wait for this to be over and then you have to wait for me to start on the next story), but at least it's a little bit of closure.
I would have liked to have Fallon's wife in a little more. She'll come back later.
Good thing I'm not the only one on a Harry Potter stint (I don't think I ever really got over my first Harry Potter stint, but we're not getting into that). I love the third one! It's my favourite. The movie kind of pissed me off though. SINCE WHEN COULD THE DEMENTORS FLY?! As for John Grisham, I can't help it. I loved The Runaway Jury too much.
I am too sadistic. I have been thinking about Morgan's death too: Decapitation, locked in an iron prison, and dancing in ret hot iron shoes (I was watching The Tenth Kingdom and reading classic fairy tales. I couldn't help it). Plus I've been watching Kill Bill, so whatever it is it will hopefully be original.
Maybe I'll just add the hat crisis into the end of the story. I could have Gabriel drop it and find it in the hands of her faerie guards. Lol. That would be fun.
HyperCaz: I have been to Movie Mistakes and yes, they are very amusing. In the movie Return of the King there are ten Nazgul, Frodo's underwear is showing, and Pippin is WAY taller than he is supposed to be. I laughed, I cried, but mostly I laughed.
I hate plot holes too. It's just my luck that my stories are often riddled with them.
Sirhcevoli: Well, the next chapter is up. I hopw you enjoyed it as much as you said you enjoyed the rest.
Doodily Doo: Sorry about that. Yes, 'Aingeal' meant that Gabriel was the eleventh person to be given the confusion curse. Sorry if I made it sound otherwise! I'm glad you're reviewing again. You're name amuses me in a good way!
Alright, so there will be MORE EXCITEMENT in the next chapter. I'm sorry about the false promises last week. TALK TO YOU ALL LATER AND PLEASE REVIEW!
Oh, and as a bonus…
Everyone seemed to be writing potential trailers for their sequels. Not to be outdone, I wrote one for Shards.
(Camera pans out on Universal Logo, the world spinning. Screen fades to black once more with choral voices as the music.)
(Cut to: Van Helsing sits on a train, his hat tilted down and over his face. The sunlight streams in through the windows, his face illuminated for mere moments)
(Fade out to: Black Screen)
Cardinal Jinette Voice Over (VO): Seven people...
(Cut to: Jinette standing next to the slide projector, Van Helsing at his side)
Jinette: Murdered in London over the past four days.
(Rapid Succession Scenes: Dark haired woman with a sword kills off men in pictures. The final scene is a frightening shot of her two large blue eyes facing the screen)
(Cut back to: Jinette and Gabriel. Camera focuses on the picture of Morgan projected on the wall. She is darkly beautiful with cruel, unforgiving eyes)
Jinette (Off screen): They are related to the arrival of the sorceress Morgan le Faye in London.
(Cut to: Van Helsing stares at face)
Van Helsing: Here we go again...
(Cut to: Gabriel on train, still asleep. He jerks awake suddenly and reaches for his gun)
(Cut to: Black Screen)
Narrator: He is a man without a past.
(Cut to: Carl hands Gabriel a sack and begins tossing in several items. He picks up a glass bullet)
Carl: These explode on contact and will consume any magick wielding creature.
(Carl throws the bullet to the ground. Gabriel cocks a brow when the bullet does nothing.)
(Cut to: Priest steps on the bullet. It explodes and fire moves up his leg)
Gabriel: And they call me a menace to society.
(Cut to: Gabriel removes a sword from its sheath. The single blade separates into three blades. His eyes widen)
Narrator: Chasing the most powerful sorceress in the world.
(Cut to: Morgan runs out the door of her home and stands on the balcony. It is night. She looks up in the sky as the wind blows stronger with her presence. Camera zooms in slowly and comes up to face. She smile coyly)
(Cut to: Van Helsing stands up straight in small hotel room. Morgan crosses the room towards him)
Morgan: I wonder what a man such as you could be haunted by.
(Cut to: Morgan standing close to Van Helsing, almost kissing him. His body goes rigid)
Morgan VO: I am quite sure I am beyond compare to any beast you have faced before.
(Cut to: Morgan stretches out her right hand and blue lightning shoot from her open palm)
(Cut to: Inside John Hamilton's house. Van Helsing aims gun at her. Morgan smirks.)
Morgan: I see you didn't heed my warning.
Van Helsing: I hardly ever do.
(Rapid succession scenes: They fight with swords)
Narrator: Joined by one with a link to his forgotten life.
(Cut to: The door opens on Morgan preparing to kill Van Helsing. A woman with brown hair fires twice with a pistol, eyes fierce)
Woman VO: My name is Mina Harker.
(Cut to: Bats fly around the entrance to a dark alley. They land on the ground in a nearly perfect circle. The camera focuses on the wall where the shadow grows and becomes that of a woman)
(Cut back to: Mina standing in doorway with pistol)
Mina: And your name is Van Helsing.
(Cut to: Carl opens scroll. Mina and Van Helsing peer down at it.)
Carl: Morgan killed off Merlin to assume his power.
(Camera pans over scroll. Latin writing.)
(Cut to: Scenes of men signing the scroll and pieces of metal handed between them)
Carl VO: The sheath of Excalibur was broken down into twenty pieces and and re-forged into swords.
(Cut to: Morgan pulls a sword from its sheath. It glows blue. She smiles)
(Cut back to: Gabriel looks up from group)
Gabriel: So she's trying to outdo Merlin.
(Cut to: Gabriel picks up his coat and his hat. He puts them on.)
Gabriel: Let's get going then.
(Music: 'Eternal' by Evanescence)
(Cut to: Gabriel and Morgan are fighting in her house. She has both a dagger and a sword)
Tagline: Evil...
(Cut to: Mina stands outside Morgan's house. Gabriel gallops down the street)
Gabriel: Give me your arm!
Mina: WHAT?!
(He pulls her up to the back of the horse)
Tagline: Never...
(Cut to: Mina and Morgan fighting. Morgan's face is scratched. She turns her head and the cut heals immediately)
(Cut to: Shot of Mina. Her teeth elongate and her eyes become electric blue)
Tagline: Dies.
(Cut to: Gabriel and Morgan fight in her house again. Morgan throws the dagger. It lands in Gabriel's thigh)
(Cut to: Carl watching Gabriel walk out of the house)
Carl: I don't see how this is an improvement.
Gabriel: I'll be fine. Besides, if they don't kill you in the first twelve hours they don't kill you at all.
(Cut to: Mina and Gabriel fighting in Hamilton's house. She stabs him through the shoulder)
(Cut back to: Carl and Gabriel in the house)
Carl: You made that up.
(Music: Pirates of the Caribbean Trailer theme song)
(Cut to: Gabriel draws his tojo blades)
Narrator: Hugh Jackman
(Cut to: Mina lands on the ground after jumping from a tree)
Narrator: Mina Harker
(Cut to: Morgan stands on her porch. The wind blows in her hair)
Narrator: Morgan le Fey
(Cut to: Van Helsing silhouette with hair blowing in the wind. He carries a sword this time instead of the cross bow)
Tagline & Narrator: Van Helsing 2: Shards of Avalon
