Chapter 6: To Love a Werewolf
Anna felt herself sinking, struggling, clawing towards the top of the freezing waters. Fighting panic, she gripped Gabriel's hand tighter and gasped in a huge gulp of air when she finally broke the surface.
Sputtering and looking a bit dazed, Van Helsing surfaced next to her and Carl was already treading water a few feet away, looking up at the broken window and watching the castle fill up with blinding light.
Gabriel was the first to figure it out. "Carl," he marveled, "you are a genius!"
"What?" said Anna intelligently, confused. She was trying hard to focus, but her mind was screaming in joy to be free of Dracula's clutches and she was having trouble thinking straight.
"Well," Carl said happily, "it appears those unstable chemicals I brought along for safety actually came in handy. They destroyed all those vampires!" He looked up again in amazement at the light, which was fading now. The night was still and calm, and it was hard to believe what had happened just moments before.
"Not Dracula though, I'm sure.." muttered Van Helsing.
"No," admitted Carl. "It'll take more than some unstable chemicals for him."
During their conversation Anna had released her death grip on Gabriel's hand and had floated off a little ways away, recovering. Her right arm was throbbing. She removed the long white gloves and saw that it had been cut, probably from the shattering window. Remembering her ankle, she frowned. None of Dracula's powers to heal her now, which was just as well. She hoped she never saw him again.
She shivered, partly from the cold water and partly from the ordeal behind her. She remembered all too well Dracula's penetrating stare, his strong hold on her, his thrall, his fangs...
"Anna!" came Gabriel's voice. He swam over to her and gripped her shoulders, stopping her trance. "Are you sure you're all right?"
She managed to nod. "I—I think so."
He tilted his head to the side, frowning slightly before giving a reassuring squeeze to her shoulders, his slightly awkward attempt at sensitivity and compassion, she supposed.. "It's over, Anna, but we're not safe yet. We've got to get out of here."
"Besides," broke in Carl, "he still has the monster...speaking of which..."
He pointed a wet, shaking hand and Anna and Gabriel turned.
Frankenstein's monster was being led out of the castle gates on a raft, propelled by Dwergi and led by Dracula's despicable servant, Igor. Anna, Gabriel, and Carl were too far away to hear what, but he said something and waved mockingly at them as the raft sailed off and the huge iron gate began to close, locking them off from the monster and the castle...which, Anna thought fleetingly, perhaps wasn't such a bad thing.
But Gabriel Van Helsing, of course, had to try to stop from losing the creature. "We can't let them get away!" he yelled at Anna and Carl before swimming quickly off after the swiftly moving raft.
Anna, shivering and exhausted, said, "It is no use! He's won this battle, don't you understand? We're lucky to escape with our lives! Live today, fight tomorrow." (A/N: Yes, I took that from The Mummy! Love the quote though, and it seems to fit, so why not?) Her plea was lost on deaf ears, however, as Van Helsing continued to swim. She sighed heavily and began to follow, but the heavy gown slowed her down.
By the time she and Carl reached Gabriel, he was clenching the closed gate so hard his knuckles were white, staring fixedly in frustration at the raft as it got farther and farther away, finally disappearing behind a corner.
"Van Helsing?" Anna said softly, lightly touching his shoulder.
He did not look at her, merely growling, "They're gone. Dracula has him."
Anna looked away, staring at the cold and murky water. Carl said something about Van Helsing having to kill the monster, but Anna wasn't listening. She was lost, struggling not to drift away again into the world of the masquerade ball, fighting Dracula's hold on her still. Gabriel was right, a part of her mind thought dully. If the count could indeed bring all those vampires to life, the world was doomed, and she and he would die right along with it.
Her melancholy thoughts were interrupted by an angry shout from Van Helsing. She stared in shock and apprehension as he lifted Carl half way out of the water with inhuman strength, yelling at him and shaking his throat roughly.
"No!" she cried. She grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him away, but he shrugged her off and she went underwater for a moment. When she surfaced, he was holding on to the gate again, panting and looking pained. Anna started to cry, silent tears rolling down her already wet face and mingling with the sky's tears as it began to rain. Carl stared at his friend, rubbing his neck, and Van Helsing said quietly, "I'm sorry, Carl. I'm sorry, Anna. It's—the curse—" he broke off, head in his hands. Anna put a faltering hand on top of his, and he looked up at her, making eye contact and shaking his head slightly. "I—I don't know what happened—just so damn frustrating..."
"We understand," Carl quickly assured him, and Anna nodded. "He hasn't won yet, you know. We still have time to get him back."
Van Helsing attempted a smile that looked a bit more like a grimace, but Anna returned one as best she could.
As the rain beat down harder upon Castle Frankenstein, the small group swam away from the entrance gate and to the shore in silence.
As he climbed out of the freezing water, Gabriel didn't feel cold. In fact, he was very hot—seething and panting, thinking of the creature's fate...and of course, his own. The werewolf venom had already begun to take it's toll on hi. The scene at the gate had felt almost uncontrollable. It was as if it wasn't really him at all—someone else was holding his best friend up by the neck, someone else was screaming and shoving the woman he was beginning to care deeply for—and he was standing aside, watching in horror.
He shook his wet hair and gave a deep sigh. It really was over now, and there was truly nothing else he could do. At least Anna was safe...
He looked around at her. Carl had already climbed out, and was standing aside trying to wring out his clothes, but she was just starting to climb up, but having a difficult time in that awful gown. He offered her his hand and she looked up at him in mild surprise before placing her small gloved hand in his again. It felt right to him, their hands gripped together like that.
He pulled her out of the water, and she stood in front of him, shivering uncontrollably. He grinned and placed his heavy jacket around her bare shoulders, saying dryly, "Sorry, no hat this tie...lost it in the castle, I'm afraid."
She smirked and wrapped the coat around her. "Why, thank you, Mr. Van Helsing. I see you're still a gentleman."
His smile wavered but he made light of it, saying, "No, Anna, even the curse of the werewolf won't stop e from being kind to you."
She laughed and glanced down, saying—shyly???—"And of course I am very thankful for the timely rescue, Mr. Van Helsing."
"Call me Gabriel," he said, and she gave a small smile. "And it was nothing, truly. I'm just glad you're all right."
Their eyes met and he felt himself leaning in towards her...
"Come on you two..." came Carl's rather annoyed voice. "We better get back to the village before Dracula comes after us himself to finish the job."
A little embarrassed, Gabriel and Anna looked away and dropped their hands before agreeing hurriedly that this would be a wise course of action.
Without further ado, the trio began the trek away from Castle Frankenstein just as heavy rain began to fall and it no longer mattered that they were soaking wet.
Fortunately for Anna, everyone in the village was fast asleep and they could enter her house unnoticed and unquestioned. It was ironic, she mused, that none of the people she led knew, really knew, her everyday struggle; it seemed her every waking moment revolved around merely surviving. Nor would they ever know what went on this night, her near escape from death and an even worse fate.
Now that she truly was the last Valerious, the burdens of her responsibilities would be even harder to bear. She grimaced, thinking of how she would soon have to break the news of Velcan's death to the villagers.
No, she thought, the only person who seemed to really understand her and her inner longings was Gabriel Van Helsing. How strange that such a remarkable stranger was turning out to have such an effect on her life...
Anna took her leave of Gabriel and Carl after showing them to their rooms and went to her own. She was dripping with water, her hair was a complete disaster, and she couldn't wait to tear off this hideous dress, to leave behind all that was left of Dracula's influence on her.
Sighing, she walked to her dressing mirror and took down the last of her hair, covering her neck and trying not to think of the count at all. As she removed the long gloves, wincing at the cut in her arm, a movement at the corner of the mirror caught her trained eye, and she spun around just in time to see the door to her chamber slowly open.
In walked Van Helsing.
Flustered, she said, "Van—Gabriel! You at least could have knocked!"
He shrugged. "I did! You must not have heard me..."
She raised one eyebrow. "What are you doing here, in my private chambers?" He had not changed yet either, she saw.
"Well," he said, coming closer, "I just wanted to be sure you were all right, once and for all."
She sighed. "I'm fine now, thank you." He was right in front of her now, and she looked up at him in mild irritation. It was sweet of him, for sure, but she desperately wanted to get into warm clothes and go to sleep.
He tilted his head to the side a little, saying, "And, I thought you might need some help getting out of that gown. Corsets are terribly hard to remove, I'm sure..."
She gaped, astonished at his boldness, then blushed fiercely, much to her dismay. She laughed as if it were a joke, but leaned in closer, saying softly, "Why thank you, Gabriel. Your help would be much appreciated." Going to sleep could wait a little longer... Rather shocked at her own boldness, she leaned up then, and kissed him on the mouth.
He was also surprised at first, but recovered quickly. He brought her closer to him and kissed her back. She savored the feel of his lips against hers for a long moment...it was so simple, so pure, she thought, so unlike Dracula's poison on her body...
When they broke away at last, Gabriel smiled at her, and it was a real smile. It was as if the events of the past hours were long forgotten and they were the only two beings in the universe, locked in each other's gazes.
He reached then for the strings of her dress, and she unbuttoned his shirt. And as they fell back onto the bed, Anna felt for the first tie in years that she didn't have a care in the world.
A/N: First of all, so sorry that took so long, I rewrote this chapter like five times and then I got sidetracked by Thanksgiving break, lol. I did change some things from the movie in this chapter, but I guess that's why it's fiction...I originally planned to focus more on Van Helsing's 'werewolf affliction' but it turned out a little different—I think it's okay this way though. But I hope, as always, that you liked it, it was fun writing a little fluff—Anna needed a break after all that! Sorry if you were expecting their 'big love scene' (lol) to be a little more graphic, but I think it's more effective to keep it implied, and tasteful, you know? Anyway, I'm starting to babble...thanks again for reading and reviewing! On to the final chapter...