Author's Note: I would like to thank all of you for your reviews. You are too kind. Enjoy the chapter. I hope it sheds some light on the story, then again, it might make you have even more questions :)

Chapter 4 – Limitations

I went to bed that night with butterflies in my stomach. My head was throbbing and I had no idea what was going on. Drawing from my conversations with the count, I concluded that my father must have been the legendary Van Helsing and that he had murdered the count over 16 years ago. Somehow, the count had been re-resurrected to seek his unquenchable revenge on my father. But what was I supposed to do? My father never left the house; even if I had been gone for five days, like the count had said, Gabriel would send others to look for me. In my opinion, the count was wasting his time and had no reason to keep me alive. Did he know this? And if he did, why hadn't he let the wolves kill me? Why, if he hated my father so, did he not just finish me off and then proceed to my house to deal with my father? Or did he have something else planned that no one, except himself, was aware of? And was he really telling me the truth? Had my father been Van Helsing? Or was he just using it as an excuse to keep me here?

A Thousand more questions entered my brain, but I had no answers. I determined that the only way to figure anything out was to visit the library in the morning while the count was sleeping. I gripped the corners of the bed sheets tightly and fell asleep, bathed in the warmth from the fire. When I woke the next morning, I could hear the wind howling outside of the castle. Curious, I threw open the curtains and saw that a ferocious snowstorm had struck Bucharest. The snow was at least two feet deep and it showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. My heart dropped to my toes as I realized there was no way my father's search party, if he had even sent one, would reach me in the next week. I was trapped in a castle with a demon.

Well, I could look on the bright side of things, I thought grimly. I wasn't dead, my room was decent, and the count seemed willing to feed me. It could be a lot worse. Plus, there was a library downstairs, and my hands were just aching to get a hold on some of his books. Feeling a tiny bit more cheerful, I dressed quickly and left my room. The corridor was still as long as ever, but I found myself at the end of the hallway quicker than the last time.

When I reached the library, I was overwhelmed by the amount of books the count actually had in his possession. I did a quick overview and estimated over 1,000 books were contained JUST in the bookshelves. That wasn't counting the other books that were lying on tables or stuffed underneath chairs. The count had all of the titles categorized alphabetically by genre and author, so it was easy to locate a book on the subject I was interested in today: my father. The count had an entire series of books dedicated to famed monster slayers, listed by last names. I picked out the V-Z section and opened it to the beginning, where I quickly found my father's "real" name.

Van Helsing, Gabriel

A dedicated but elusive member of the Knights of the Holy Order, Van Helsing is most famous for his defeat of Count Dracula in 1888. Upon his return from Transylvania, a secluded village that resides in the Transylvanian Alps, Van Helsing said: "I swear by The Left Hand of God that I will never succumb to evil again, nor destroy innocent lives that get in the way of my attempts to terminate evil." Van Helsing is rumored to have settled down in Budapest, Hungary, to care for his daughter, Isabelle. As of today, he has not been spotted by anyone outside of Budapest.

There are people, most of them conservative bishops, who want Van Helsing brought to trial. Though Van Helsing was an effective tool in exterminating evil, his methods sometimes caused harm upon others, and resulted in the death of one young woman known to date (Anna Valerious). The bishops believe that Van Helsing should be held accountable for her murder and tried guilty. As of today, no further action to bring this alleged "murderer" to justice has been attempted.

"Interesting, isn't it?" whispered a low, seductive voice behind my ear. The count's presence startled me so much I shrieked and dropped the book to the floor. He didn't laugh, as I thought he would. He only looked at me with a melancholy expression. A shiver ran down my spine as he rested his eyes on me.

"I never knew..." I began, but I just couldn't find the right words to describe what I wanted to say. My lips trembled.

"Yes... Anna was a lovely creature... pity her life ended so tragically. Then again, Gabriel always overestimated or underestimated his own strength... with Anna, unfortunately, he underestimated. But he cherished that girl... ah, yes I can quite remember..." the count said bitterly.

"Was she my mother?" I said, turning my entire body around to face him. He studied my sincere expression and replied flatly, "No."

"Did you know my mother?" I asked, hungry for more information. The count's gaze flickered, and for a moment, I thought I saw remorse in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly I wasn't sure. "Yes. I did."

He went over to the grand fireplace and rested his left arm on the mantle. I was consciously aware of the awkward silence that followed, but the count seemed to be pondering something else. I got up to leave, presuming he would not acknowledge my exodus. My sluggish body was about halfway across the room when he stopped me.

"Where are you going?" He asked as he turned away from the mantle and looked at me. I met his gaze hesitantly; afraid that he might try to hypnotize me again. But he made no such effort.

"Uh... back to my room. I thought you wanted to be alone."

"You aren't hungry? Mortals tend to be at least three times a day, if not more, from what I can remember," he said knowingly, an emotionless smile on his face.

"Well... yes, we do, in fact. I'm one who could eat all of the time..." I trailed off, realizing I was rambling like a foolish child. To cover my embarrassment, I asked, "Why aren't you...um... well... sleeping? That's what I thought vampires did during the day, so they could be active at night."

He chuckled and shook his head, his golden earring twinkling in the weak light. "I told you I wasn't just any old vampire, didn't I? I am not hindered with the limitations that most vampires face," he said, spitting the word "most" out like it was venom on his tongue.

"Unfortunately, it sometimes gets the better of me..." he grinned mischievously and motioned towards a curtained window with his eyebrows. "Did you see the huge storm that blew in? It appears that all trade routes via the roads have been halted. You're father will be much delayed."

"My father will NOT think to look here," I replied stiffly. "He believes that he killed you."

The count shrugged and opened a curtain to glance outside. "Perhaps," he mused. "Then again, Gabriel's past has always haunted him. He might be second-guessing his actions soon enough." He let the curtain fall back into place and then offered me his arm. I blinked my eyes and took a step backward.

"Don't fret, Isabelle, I am not going to bite you. It's a common courtesy in Romania that the man offers the woman his arm to escort her to the dining hall. Does Hungary not enforce the same custom?" "Yes," I replied bitterly, and took his arm, which was unnaturally cold, but comforting in an odd sort of way.