Author's Note: Please excuse the lack of updates, I have been grieving and mourning the death of Sir Tristan from the movie King Arthur. I will try to update as consistently as possible. Thank you in advance for your support and patience.
Chapter 13 – Dust Thou Art
"I don't understand," I said, throwing my hands up in frustration.
"What don't you understand? You can play the piece perfectly," Vladislaus replied smoothly, his thick eastern European accent making the words flow like honey.
I got up from the piano bench and went out on to the balcony. The afternoon sun was hot in my face, but I welcomed the unwavering warmth. It made me feel content inside, for I was plagued by the fact that my father killed my mother. But I was determined not to think about it. I would confront Gabriel at the ball. Surely he had learned something from his horrible mistake and I still loved him, even if it was against my will. I just felt so betrayed...
"Don't understand what, my dear?" Vladislaus said, appearing right in front of me, cutting off my access to the sun.
"Why can't I play Fϋr Elise the way you can?" I said sheepishly, looking up at him. "You make it sound… so alive. I am starting to believe that piano only works for you."
The count chuckled. "Experience," he said simply. "It is costly wisdom that is bought by experience." He moved towards the balcony rail, granting the sun's warmth back to me. I watched him curiously.
"Angels and demons have a different perspective on life, Isabelle. We are immortal."
"What does that have to do with anything?" I inquired stupidly.
"For once in your life, ignore the Gabriel that is inside of you. Think about what I just said."
I furrowed my brow, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "You're immortal. I'm mortal. Mortals value their time on Earth, but immortals don't, because they will live forever. So…" I paused, and then continued, "…our view on life affects how we play music?" I concluded, praying that my response would satisfy him.
"To an ordinary person, your piano playing would sound above normal standards. If you had never heard me play, you would think the same of yourself. To tell you the truth, I am quite pleased with your progress." He placed his hands on the balcony rail and looked out over the treetops. "However, a mortal will never be able to achieve a state of perfection. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man."
"Don't flatter yourself," I replied, fingering the lacy shirt that I was wearing. I had opted for a change out of the gowns I usually wore and felt free in this loose garment that consisted of a shirt, pants, and lace-up boots.
He ignored my comment and instead straightened up and turned to face me. "How would you like to move on to other things?"
"Such as…" Did he mean what I thought he meant?
"Have you ever heard of the play Macbeth?" He asked, folding his hands.
"Of course. I love William Shakespeare," I answered. Taking a dramatic bow, I said, "Be bloody, bold, and resolute: laugh to scorn the power of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth."
"So I presume you've read the play?" He said, with a tiny bit of humor in his voice.
"Well, yes. Six times, in fact." Where was he going with this?
"Very scholarly of you. And what languages do you know?" Vladislaus fired at me while he paced. It felt like he was interrogating me.
"Well, Latin, that one is obvious. I know French to some extent and I've always liked Italian." Feeling foolish, I looked down at my feet.
"I see. La bocca cosí charmful, O dice il mio perché la tua dolcezza me adesca cos."
My head snapped up and I stared at him in surprise. He knew Italian?
"Well? What did I say?" He said, a knowing smile on his face. It was the first smile I had seen that contained some joy in it.
"Mouth so charmful…" I began, struggling with the translation. "Mouth so charmful, O tell me why thy sweetness lures me so?" I looked at him, genuinely confused. "Is that what you said?"
He didn't answer my question and instead swept by me, his long black cloak billowing behind him like an obedient servant.
"I must leave for a little while, my dear. Valdemar will be arriving tonight around 9, so I trust you will greet him. I plan to be back here at 10 o'clock. Behave yourself." And like the snuffing out of a candle, he was gone.
I sat waiting in the library alone, with a dozen music volumes lying at my feet. Where in the hell was Valdemar? It was 9:25 already! Groaning, I dumped a book about the composer Joplin on the ground. I couldn't find any decent music fitting for a masquerade ball.
Bored, I glanced over at the mantle and saw that Vladislaus had left his sword. Typical man, but definitely not typical vampire. Hopefully he wouldn't need it.
"Havard? Jovan?" I called, desperate for some company. No one answered. I was about to get up and go to the dining hall when a huge grey wolf entered, his mouth bared. I froze, memories of that fateful night coming back to me in full swing. My beloved Tynan…
"Have you met my pet, Fenrir?" Valdemar said, waltzing in like some Roman hero who had just won a battle. "He is quite fond of females…"
The wolf growled and went over to a corner, curling up in a ball before plopping down on the floor like an overworked packhorse.
"Fenrir? Isn't that Norse Mythology? I would believe that topic to be too broad for your mind, if I am not mistaken, Valdemar," I sneered. Oh please, Vladislaus, hurry back, I thought.
"Fenrir succeeded in ripping off the hand of Tyr, the legendary son of Odin. I wouldn't want the same to happen to you, my Lady." He moved over to a bookcase and crossed his arms, staring at me with pure venom. But there was something else in that stare…
"It would be a pity. Truly." I picked up the Joplin book and pretended to read it, all the while watching Valdemar out of the corner of my eye.
"Aren't we supposed to be selecting music for the ball? And speaking of we, where is Hades?" He grinned satanically while twirling a blond strand of hair around his finger.
"I'd watch yourself, Valdemar," I warned. "Vladislaus is gone for the evening. He is coming back around 10." As soon as I said it, I would have given anything to take it back, for Valdemar's expression had drastically changed. And not for the good.
"Really?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows. I stopped myself from grabbing Vladislaus's sword and staking him through the heart. Dracula would not be pleased…
"That leaves us to decide then," he said suggestively. I rolled my eyes and glared at him.
"Thank you for pointing that one out. I never would have figured it out on my own."
Valdemar smirked and sat down, across from me. "What have you found so far?"
"Nothing," I said bluntly, tossing the Joplin book aside, yet again. "Nothing fit for a ball, anyway."
"Did he specify what he wanted?"
"He didn't say anything. Just told me to be polite to you," I said. "But then again, I don't always listen to him."
"Why he puts up with you I will never fathom," Valdemar growled as he picked a random book off of the floor. I could tell there was no truth in what he was saying.
"I would say the same to you," I snarled. "But my manners prohibit me from doing so."
He snorted. "What manners?"
I scowled but did not respond. He wasn't worth it. We read in silence for about ten minutes, but when I looked up from my book, I found Valdemar staring at me.
"What?" I said, glowering at him.
Without one single word, he grabbed my neck and pinned me against a wall, his eyes glazed over with lust.
"You are such a jewel, a rare beauty, Aphrodite. It is the beautiful bird that gets caged." He ran his tongue up the side of my face, making me shiver with disgust. It took everything that I had not to scream.
"Just one little kiss…" He leaned in, but I spat on him.
"I would fuck Dracula three times over before even considering touching you," I said viciously, struggling in vain under his strong grip. Vladislaus, please, come back…
He smiled at my provocative use of language. "Who can prove you haven't already?"
"ME." Before Valdemar could turn around, Vladislaus had sunk his fangs into the vampire's neck, making him scream in pain. Vladislaus ripped out his mouth, spraying blood everywhere;
his eyes were red. With one arm, he threw Valdemar clear across the room. It was evident that Vladislaus had underestimated his strength, for Valdemar hit the ground so hard I heard several bones crack.
Vladislaus crossed the floor, picked him up, and sent him crashing into the wooden staircase. He swept by me, but I grabbed his arm firmly and jerked him to a standstill.
"Stop this," I pleaded. "You are going to ruin the library. And you are going to kill him."
Vladislaus didn't even look at me. "LET ME GO." He commanded, his eyes glittering with outrage. I tried not to cower under his gaze.
"No. I will not. Truly to moderate your mind and speech when you are angry, or else hold your peace, betokens no ordinary nature," I said, quoting Cicero.
The count wrenched himself from my grasp and went over to the staircase. Valdemar was moaning like a condemned soul in excruciating pain. Fenrir trembled in a corner, whimpering at the sight of his master. I could not do anything. I felt so helpless.
Vladislaus bent down and forced Valdemar into a sitting position by yanking at his hair. The vampire moaned in agony, clawing at nothing. His blond hair was stained red.
"If you EVER lay a hand on her again, you will not survive our next encounter. Do you understand?" Vladislaus whispered softly, his voice boiling over with anger. "There are worse things than death, I can assure you."
The count dropped Valdemar's hair and stood, his shadow shrouding the library in temporary darkness. I thought I heard the distant sound of thunder, but I was not sure. "She belongs to me. I will NEVER let another person have her."
Valdemar stopped moving and his eyes closed. For a second I thought he was dead, but then I remembered that he was a vampire. Chiding myself for such foolishness, I sat down on the couch and stared at absolutely nothing. How was I beginning to miss Gabriel…
Fenrir came out of the corner and approached Vladislaus tentatively, his tail between his legs. The count stroked the wolf's glossy fur and murmured something in his ear that I did not understand. Fenrir barked and went over to Valdemar's dormant body. Taking the bloody fabric in his jaws, he drug the defeated vampire out of the library to God knows where.
"I got tickets to the Italian opera Aida," Vladislaus said, like nothing had happened. I forced a small smile as tears formed at the back of my throat.
"That's wonderful," was all I could manage, my gaze never leaving the unlit fireplace. "When is it?"
"Two days from now. It is at a local opera house, right here in Bucharest." He strode over to the fireplace and lit the wood with a short flick of his wrist. It burst into flames, casting even more shadows on the massive walls.
"Thank you," I said, my voice flat and emotionless. "I've heard tickets to that opera are hard to come by."
"I've got connections." He turned around, obviously pleased with himself, but when he saw my facial expression, the count scowled. "What ails you? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"No. I've seen something much more frightening than a ghost," was my harsh and tired reply.
"He would have raped and possibly killed you, Isabelle, if I had not been here in time… and remember, just because my heart beats doesn't mean I've lost my sinister nature." He was serious. No doubting that. And he knew what he was talking about.
"There are worse things in life than being threatened and molested by a sadistic pig such as Valdemar. Much worse." Such as the father you love and adore being the cause of your mother's death. I let one tear free from my lashes, but I kept the other ones bottled up for a time when I was not in Vladislaus's presence.
The count licked his fangs and faced the fire. I am glad he did, for two seconds later he unleashed his wrath on the fireplace mantle. His long nails ran along the wood, carving four deep grooves into the soft oak. The sound made me feel lightheaded. Outside, the clouds grew dark.
"NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN," he roared, growing at least a foot taller in his anger. I wrapped my arms around myself and didn't answer.
"I FEED YOU, CLOTHE YOU, HONOR YOU AS MY GUEST AND STUDENT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? BY DEFENDING HIM?" Vladislaus snarled. The fire from the fireplace grew brighter and almost seemed to encompass him. He was LIVID.
"I wasn't…"
"SILENCE!" He howled, banging his hands down on a spare desk. It split in two. The rain was beginning to fall harder on the castle rooftop. Several flashes of lightning followed, backed by extremely loud thunder. I snuggled deeper into the couch, contemplating how I was going to survive this.
"HERE," He said, throwing a necklace to me. It was a beautiful chain, and at the end, there was a cross. The charm was made out of white silver, so intricately designed I could decipher every feature of Christ's body. He had emerald eyes. I looked at Vladislaus, speechless.
"Maybe that will keep the damned away from you, Aphrodite," he said mockingly, kicking over a chair in his fury. "Including me." He grabbed the Joplin book off the floor and threw it into the fire, followed by several other literary volumes.
"Oh my God, what are you doing?" I cried, forgetting about the necklace.
"Personally, I'd rather call you Artemis or Athena, it seems more fitting," he continued, ignoring my frenzied protests as he kept on feeding the fire.
I rushed forward to try and save the books, but he was behind me immediately and threw me back. I stumbled and fell over the couch, landing on the floor with a deafening bang.
I was in his arms instantly, being rocked back and forth like I was a small child in a crib. The firelight played with his features, illuminating his dark eyes and making his black hair shine like gossamer. The golden earring twinkled. He waved his hand over my chest, eliminating the excruciating pain in my ribcage.
"Isabelle?" He was looking at me, concern etched in every line of his face.
I took a deep breath and stared him straight in the eyes, straight into his alluring and hypnotic gaze.
"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
My eyes then closed and I let the nightmares take me.
Author's Note: I did the best I could translating from Italian to English, but if there are mistakes, please forgive me! I am far from perfect.
Yes, yes, I agree, Isabelle is a bitch, but what can I say? She likes him, and then she doesn't like him. And SHE complains about his volatile temper? Well, don't worry, my lovely reviewers, for soon, he will eventually win her over smiles It just might take time… LOTS of time, which is something that both Dracula and Isabelle are running out of. But never worry; I know what I am doing. Stay tuned for the next chapter! And don't forget to review! :)