Nicola
woke and yawned as she stretched her arms out. She blinked and looked
round. She was in "her" room. The room Dracula had given
her but unlike before the curtains were wide open and rays of
sunlight streamed in. Nicola stood and walked over, enjoying the feel
of the sun on her skin once more. The enjoyment was tinged with
sorrow though. Her lord was dead. She had loved him and he had
claimed to love her as he died.
She heard the door open behind
her and turned to see Van Helsing there. She realised that tears had
sprung up in her eyes and she tried to wipe them away, thinking that
Gabriel would be disgusted with her.
"So you really did
love him?" asked Gabriel with some surprise as he moved towards
her and hugged her close. "There, there," he continued as
she sobbed against him. "I am sorry Nicola but it had to be done
- to save Arene"
Nicola looked up suddenly. Where was
Arene? Gabriel seemed to read her thoughts and smiled down at
her.
"Arene is fine - she is resting though. She lost a
lot of blood and she needs to regain her strength."
"Can
I see her?"
"Soon," the Knight replied. "I
will wake her in about an hour. The other girls are at breakfast.
Once they have finished we will all leave here together," he
paused for a moment and frowned. "They have not said much about
what happened - I don't know how much they remember."
"Oh
they remember it all!" said Nicola confidently. She could
remember every detail and knew it would be the same with them. "I
guess they just aren't ready to talk about it yet."
"Maybe,"
said the Hunter thoughtfully. "What about you. Any side effects?
Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine I think," replied
Nicola, "but no I'm not hungry." She tried to smile so he
knew she was OK but it became more of a grimace.
Van Helsing
looked at her carefully before speaking.
"Why not come
down to the hall anyway. Perhaps the girls will open up more to you.
I will return to Arene and will bring her down shortly."
"As
you wish," said Nicola.
Together they headed out of the
room. Nicola moved to the staircase and headed downstairs while Van
Helsing returned along the corridor to Arene's room.
Nicola
walked down the stairs to the breakfast hall. She could see and hear
most of the girls talking in a soft tone. They knew what had been
done and they knew it was for the best, even though it hurt them.
Nicola entered the room and all the girls turned to her. Kate, the
first girl to be changed, ran to her.
"Mothe..." she
started to say, but something held her back. "Nicola, are you
okay?"
Nicola nodded, trying not to cry.
"I'm
alright, what about all of you?"
"We're alright,
some girls remember more than others, but we all remember," she
said sadly. "Did he have to do it?"
"Yes,"
she said softly, but started to cry because she knew it was true. She
hugged the other girl and the two cried slightly, but were able to
dry their tears. Suddenly, the other girl seemed to remember
something,
"Arene! How is she?"
All the
girls looked up at this and Nicola smiled and addressed them all as
if they were still her daughters,
"Arene is alright, but
she is resting. Van Helsing will bring her down in about an
hour."
The girls smiled; glad to know that she was okay.
One girl stood up,
"Nicola? Is it true? Is she
really....?"
Nicola smiled again.
"Yes,
she is the great-grand...." She thought about this and spoke
again, "She is the daughter of Van Helsing."
There
was a murmur of amazement through the crowd before Nicola joined them
and they continued to eat. Most girls were talking about their homes
and how they would fly out this afternoon. Others were taking cruise
liners and some would just get a bus. One girl just couldn't help but
ask,
"How could they both still be alive till 2004?"
No one had that answer.
After breakfast, most of the
girls met outside the steps of Dracula's palace, saying their
good-byes and giving out their LJ and E-Mail addresses. Suddenly, one
girl spoke up, a smile on her face.
"Look!"
