Chapter 22
He had left me alone, if only for a moments. As I walked away, I felt my step falter. It was then that I noticed my heart beating widely within my chest. I had been afraid the whole time, not for William, but for myself. It simply amazed me how I had been able to keep my wits about me as long as I had.
The crowds of people gathered did not make an attempt at stopping me as I walked to a door I found. It lay almost hidden behind a large potted plant, the paint on it almost obscuring completely any evidence that it even was there. I stepped blindly through it. Subdued lighting greeted me, along with a simple bookshelf and a few seats where I could find some rest. I found a chair, and sat quietly, my hands reaching up habitually to touch my temples in thought. How would this night continue? How would we be able to defeat a being that no one had been able to destroy for hundreds of years? Would we even survive the night? I felt my face go pale as that last thought crossed my mind. It had never occurred to me what might happen should we fail.
"Christine." I heard the hushed whisper of my cousin as the door was quietly shut behind him. I hadn't even noticed the door open. "What are we to do now?" he asked quietly to himself. "It seems he knows we are already here." I looked up at him and smiled.
"We should have expected as much, William." I responded. I slowly rose from my seat and began to pace the room back and forth, fighting with my mind to try and find some sort of solution to the predicament we were now in. It was minutes before I suddenly found the answer. "Our uncle." I said simply, stopping dead in my tracks. I turned to face William suddenly.
"What about him, Christine?" William asked. He had ventured further into the room, and had headed directly towards a small desk, where he lay fiddling with the knobs of the small drawers. I smiled in response.
"Perhaps all is not over yet." I answered. "The Count does not know that Christopher has come. He is our winning hand." I saw William's face light up with amusement.
"Yes." He responded simply. "Perhaps your right. Is there anything he can do?" William added in, almost as an afterthought. I looked at him and smiled.
"Yes there is." I answered simply. I approached William and smiled conspiratorially. He smirked in answer. Noticing his wandering hands, I reached down and clasped them in happiness. "Go and find Christopher. Tell him what he must do." I said simply.
"What exactly do you want me to tell him?" he asked. I gathered my thoughts before I answered.
"Tell him to have his weapon at the ready. I am going to draw out the brides. The Count seems to value them for some odd reason. Perhaps if we were to threaten their lives, the Count would be willing to negotiate." I said simply. Suddenly, I saw William's face blanche completely white, and I saw his hands reach up to touch his head in pain. I reached for him, and felt the sudden coldness of his cheek. In moments, he had warmed again to my touch, and I slowly heard him reply. I reached to clasp his hands once again, noticing he had returned to normal.
"Negotiation is not an option." William responded simply. I felt his hands pull away from my own suddenly. He turned away for a moment, contemplating. After a few minutes, he turned back to me, his eyes shining with seriousness. "We didn't come here to kill the brides."
"That isn't what I want him to do." I answered. William narrowed his eyes in thought. I noticed his suspicious gaze as he slowly ran looked me up and down. I glanced guiltily away, though I had done nothing wrong.
"Let me form the plan, Christine." He said simply. He walked towards me, stopping momentarily by my side and turning his gaze to my own. I felt the air grow heavy around us, as if someone had just entered the room, and remained there, watching. "I'll go talk to Christopher." He continued. His voice seemed dead, almost as if it were not he that spoke. His eyes shined in thought.
"What's wrong with you Christopher?" I asked, noticing his sudden shift in attitude. Reaching my hand out, I tried to touch his face, but he swatted my hand away angrily. I glared at him furiously despite myself. It seemed as if something had possessed us both as we lingered in the room.
"Nothing is wrong!" he answered furiously. I glowered at him as he turned his eyes away and began to walk to the door. "Nothing is wrong at all. Let me go and make the arrangements…" He muttered to himself. The door seemed to open of its own volition, surprising me. I did not attempt to make a move towards William, as he quickly steps through the threshold.
He left the room as quietly as he entered it, closing the door softly behind him and leaving me alone. I glared after him in confusion, wondering at his sudden shift in moods, wondering why he had suddenly grown so suspicious of me. A small ball of dread slowly began to grow inside of me as I slowly began to realize something new.
"Well, Christine." I said to myself. "This is not good, not good at all."
I left the room quietly as well, trying my hardest not to attract attention to myself. Shutting the door silently behind me, I once again entered the bustle and happiness of the ball. It took moments before I found the retreating form of my cousin directly ahead of me, heading towards the small hallway that lead towards a stairwell. My cousin walked with a bit of determination in his step, as if it were not he that walked but another. I followed behind him, far enough away that he would not notice me.
As I made my way around the floor, keeping to the wall, I glanced about, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of the Count. I found him nowhere nearby. He had gone away, for the rest of the night? I didn't know. I turned my gaze once again to William. He was approaching the stairs leading to our Uncle. He seemed almost angry as he walked. I had merely just reached the entrance to the small hall as I saw him climb the stairs. The amused smiles of the dancers once again met my gaze, as I stopped and looked back at them. I hurried away, and noticed their silent giggles behind me. They knew something I did not.
William kept his walk towards the stairs, never once looking back to see if anyone followed. He had just reached the first step leading up to the balcony, when I reached midway down the hall, keeping as silent as I could as I watched him. I had just begun to take a step towards the stairwell when, quite suddenly, I felt an angry hand grab at my arm, and I turned, surprised to see no one I recognized.
"What do you think your doing!" I said in an angry whisper, wishing to not attract attention to myself. The man did not respond, but only gripped my arm tighter. I winced in pain.
He led me angrily down the hall, towards a door. I said nothing, so astonished I was. The man pulled me towards it, opening the door and thrusting me inside. I heard his quick steps following behind me and shutting it after us. I glared at him in confusion and worry.
"Who are you?" I asked calmly, keeping my feet rooted to their spot. He wore a gold mask, his costume black. He did not reply to my question. He merely paced back and forth, running his gloved hands through his hair. I saw him stop suddenly and face me once again. His hands came to slowly rest at his side. They slowly clenched into a fist.
"That was terribly rude of you!" I said angrily, when I noticed that he had not replied to my inquiry. I could sense the anger within him as I said this. It was my time to die…Dracula had ordered him to kill me…my mind screamed this thought a million times over as I looked at him. The man took a quick step towards me, and I backed away, reaching for a candelabra.
"What do you think you are doing here?!" he yelled in a hushed whisper suddenly. I immediately knew his voice. I saw his hand reach up angrily to his mask, pulling it off. Velkan. It was Velkan. Relief and anger flooded through my body as I met his familiar gaze. I slowly felt my heart start in its ancient but yet familiar rhythm as I recognized him. My face flushed a deep scarlet despite my anger.
"I could ask you the same question!" I said in response, approaching him. I fought hard to keep my elation hidden. I was a giddy schoolgirl once again. He merely glared at me in a pure fury, as if I had done something incredibly wrong.
"You've ruined it all!" he said in a hushed whisper. He huffed in anger and turned away from me, reaching up to run his hands through his hair again. I glared at him in confusion.
"Ruined what?" I asked simply. "How was I to know you were going to be here as well?" he turned back to me, and I noticed his gaze soften a bit as he met my eyes.
"Your family must be terribly foolish to allow you to come here, of all places." He continued quietly. "Do you have any idea what this ball is for?" I felt my heart drop at his sudden revelation. I didn't want to know. I just wanted to leave.
"I honestly don't care what plans I have ruined." I said simply. "I was up until this point following my cousin. He doesn't look well, and I think it is about time I gather him up and leave here. If you'll excuse me," I said simply. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, but I really must be going." I pushed my way around him, hurrying quickly to the door. Suddenly, I felt him take my arm in anger.
"Don't speak to me in that light manner!" he said, his accent crisp with anger. I looked back at him, a shocked expression on my face.
"You will let go of my arm!" I said in reply, pulling away from him. He did not move an inch in retaliation. "My cousin is not himself, I must go to him." I said simply. I hurried to the door and reached for it, wanting so much to find William and save him. But I heard Velkan stop me once again. This time, his voice was soft and pleading.
"You don't know what you are doing, Christine." He said in answer. My gaze softened somewhat at his insistent reply. How I wanted to take him in my arms, so happy I was to see him again…but now was not the time. "Please, don't go. Listen to what I must tell you." He beseeched. By that time my hand had already reached the door. I fought with myself to open it for a few moments before I finally decided to stay.
"Alright." I said simply, my hand releasing the firm hold I kept on the doorknob. "I will listen to you." I saw Velkan's satisfied grin as I walked away from the door. Outside, the music could still be heard, as well as the laughs of the women and men. I smiled despite myself, forgetting my cousin for a moment.
"This ball is not what it appears to be," he began slowly. I widened my eyes in confusion. "It seems Dracula---"
"Has Dracula left here?" I asked suddenly. I smiled weakly as I noticed his irritation at my sudden interruption. "I was only wondering. I did not see him here." I added in quickly. A smirk slowly formed on his lips in amusement.
"It seems he has. I don't know if he will be back. What did you tell him?" Velkan asked, forgetting what he had wanted to tell me. I heard the discomfort in his voice as he spoke to me.
"Nothing at all." I said simply. "I have no idea why he would have left as early as he has." I continued quietly. "Is Anna here?" Velkan nodded simply.
"Yes, but she doesn't know you have come." He responded after a moment. We were quickly running out of things to say. I slowly heard the music die, and the voice of the Count in the crowds, speaking to them. "I saw you the moment you came in. Anna has been in the opposite hall, watching for the Count." He continued. I noticed his voice slowly trail off as he recognized a voice drifting down the hallway.
"Speak of the devil and he will come." Velkan said quietly to himself, hearing the small speech that was being given. It was the Count, and the elated laughed of the crowd could be heard as he said something amusing.
"What is it you wanted to tell me?" I asked after a moment of silence. But Velkan did not hear me. He had begun to listen intently to what the Count was saying just outside the door. I ventured another question after a moment. "Does he know we are here?" I asked.
"No. It doesn't seem so. I think he believes you have left already, from the sound of it." Velkan replied, his ear to the door. I heard the marching steps of the men, and the loud laugh of the women. "I think now would be a good time to leave." He continued. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. He slowly began to back away from the door.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Velkan appeared to not have heard my question, so intent he had become on trying to find a way out of there. "What are you talking about?" I asked.
"We can't be here, we have to leave. I think this is an enormous mistake we have made in coming here." He answered. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. What was this mistake he kept speaking of.
A loud laugh rang through the hallway. It was my cousin. He was laughing. He was calling my name. The growling cries of the people could be heard as well, responding happily to my cousin's call. I now knew what they were. Velkan's eyes widened in shock, and my heart plummeted in fear. I freed myself of my hesitation and ran to the door as I heard Velkan's heavy step in pursuit.
He stopped me at the door as we heard the snarls. I was wrong in my suspicions. They were not vampires. They were wolves. I fell back into Velkan's arms.
"What are we going to do?" I asked in a panic. "My uncle and William are out there!" I said. He shook his head in disbelief.
"As is my sister." He muttered to himself. I pulled away and hurried to the door, but Velkan caught me firmly around the waist, pulling me further into the room. I fought hard to resist him.
"My cousin is calling me!" I said, trying to pull free of his grasp. He shook his head in denial as he looked at me.
"That isn't your cousin!" he said angrily, sending me silent. "It is merely some ploy to get you out of here and into the open." I shook my head in denial. I heard William's voice again calling me.
"Christine….Christine…." I heard his voice call through the door. William. His quiet steps wandered up and down the floor of the ballroom, slowly approaching the hallway leading to the room. "Come here! There is someone that would like to speak to you!" I heard Dracula's laugh before he ventured a call.
"Christine!" his voice boomed. I flinched slightly. "Your cousin is calling you, won't you please come out and see him?" his laugh that followed seemed to infest every core of my being. I felt Velkan release me as I turned to face him.
"He is calling me." I said simply. "It has to be him. I know his voice." Velkan shook his head in denial.
"Do not go out there." He said simply. I refused his answer. Before he had even a chance to say a word, I had hurried out the door directly into the arms of William. I had not even known that he was there. Velkan hurried behind me, but stopped in surprise when he noticed William.
"Ah yes, you are Velkan, aren't you?" William asked sardonically, looking Velkan up and down in disdain. "It is rather nice to see you again, I didn't expect to see you so soon. Come, come and join us." He said. William was no longer my cousin that I knew and loved. I flinched in pain as he held my wrists. He turned his gaze quickly down to me.
"You should have listened to the Prince of the Gypsies." He said, chuckling quietly. "Every once in a while, there is a bit of wisdom that does escape those lips." Velkan glared angrily at him as he quickly turned me around to face him. "Come, there is much we all need to talk about." He said, leading me roughly down the hallway. I looked back momentarily, noticing that Velkan's arms had been taken roughly and he was being pulled as well, towards the ballroom floor.
A/N: Another long and huge chapter....not so sure about it, does it seem kinda rushed??? Let me know! I hope it doesn't, lol. I'm so tired, I've been working on this chapter all day to make it seem like it makes some sense, and I hope I've succeeded! William has all of a sudden become a bad guy, don't know where that came from at all, though I really liked writing him as a badboy, lol.
Countess Alana: Sorry I haven't been able to come online today, I was helping my brother write his college essay, and I've been resting a lot lately, I don't know why. I've only just now been able to come online and check up on your story and update mine! Please let me know how this latest installment sound and please be brutally honest! Can't wait for your review!
Luthien Anwamane: I'm glad you love my story so much!!! I've been trying so hard to make it seem as interesting to read as possible!!! (I've also been attempting to give it the feeling that this was an actual prequel to the story, lol. I don't know if I'm succeeding so far, so please let me know!) What do you think of the new and improved William? I'd like to know!
Anthem82: Thanks for your review, and I am so glad you like my writing style! I hope you read more!