Chapter 29
"How could you!?" I yelled in a hushed whisper. "How could you even dare to presume you could ensnare Charlotte?" Dracula laughed at my outburst, leaning quietly back into his seat. Quite suddenly, the carriage was turning. I looked at him in surprise.
"I did not have to ensnare the Baroness." He replied simply. "She came of her own volition." My mind screamed profanities as he spoke. "My apologies," he said suddenly. "But we must be turning back." I glared at him angrily.
"You will not take me back now!" I screamed at him. "You haven't even explained yourself fully to me yet!" I heard his quiet chuckle as a reply. He slowly leaned forward, reaching his hand out to touch my bleeding shoulder.
"It is sunrise." He said simply, gesturing to look out the window. "You must be returning to your prince, and I must be heading to my rest. I must go, though I am flattered that you are so willing to remain and continue this conversation." Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his collar, almost in desperation.
"No!" I said in defiance. "How could you come and give me a taste of all I wish to know, only to pull the plate away from me when I want the rest? You will tell me now!" I demanded of him angrily. Dracula could only smirk handsomely, his gaze traveling down to my hands.
"It does not become a lady to demand so vehemently. It is rather rude." He replied. I glared at him in pure rage. He reached up gently and took my hands, pulling them from his collar. He set me gently back on my seat.
"I will tell you what we will do." He said simply. I furrowed my eyebrows as he spoke. "I will tell you the rest of what you wish to know. But you must promise me a simple little favor." He continued. I felt my heart begin to beat quicker. I most certainly did not want to know what this favor of his could be.
"Name it." I said effortlessly. The words were out of my mouth before I had even thought. I felt as though I was making a deal with the devil. Dracula laughed.
"The only thing I ask of you is that you give yourself to me." He said. My eyes widened in shock as the words slowly formed their meaning in my mind. How could I sacrifice myself to know the truth of what happened? I shook my head in defiance.
"Why do you wish to have me so desperately?!" I said to him. "It is not me you wish to be with. I know that. It is Charlotte. I can never be Charlotte!" her name I called loudly, almost as if I wished to drive the point home. My gaze traveled to his impassive face, realizing that it had not changed expression at all. He remained silent for some minutes before responding.
"All the same." He continued quietly. "My offer stands. You must give yourself to me. Body and soul. You wish to know the secrets of your existence and my own?" he asked. I remained silent.
Would I ever be willing to make that kind of sacrifice? How could I promise myself to a demon that did not care a wit about me? All he wanted was another conquest. All he wanted was another death on his hands. My thoughts had wandered slowly to Velkan, who most likely still remained peacefully asleep on the church floor. How could I promise myself to another when I had already given myself to Velkan?
"No." I said simply, shaking my head in denial. "I cannot do that. I will not!" Though it hurt me to say it, knowledge of what had occurred between my ancestor and the Count who sat opposite me did not matter as much as the man who I had left asleep. Dracula slowly began to laugh.
"Of course you couldn't do that." He said simply. His eyes slowly took on a look of pure disdain. "You have already promised yourself to that young prince." He finished. I refused to dignify his comment with an answer.
"Your family has been nothing but a curse to me. I offer the world to you, to Charlotte, but I get nothing in return!" he said angrily. My gaze had traveled to the window, slowly recognizing the scenery around us. "I was going to return your cousin to you. But now, I think I will kill him. It would be a fitting punishment!" he spat at me. I winced at every word he spoke. I felt as though a dagger were being ripped through my heart. We were quickly approaching the village. Abruptly the carriage stopped.
"Go! Go and confess your love to the Prince!" he said angrily. "Go before I kill you where you sit." He growled. My eyes widened in fear. I hurriedly reached for the door. He stopped me suddenly.
"If you ever dare to show your face to me again, Christine," he said, sneering angrily at me. "I will kill you where you stand. Take what little time you have left with him, because your stay on this earth is limited. Confess all you have to confess. Let your conscience be free when you meet your maker!" He finished. My heart beating like a drum, I pulled away from him and ran from the carriage, into the confines of the village. I looked back at the Count, disbelieving every word he had uttered to me. Truly he did not mean to kill me.
"Go!" his voice bellowed angrily. I turned and fled faster than before, reaching the doors of the church. I opened them hurriedly, stepping into the relative safety of the structure. Closing the doors behind me, I hurried to where Velkan laid, tears streaming down my face in rage and sadness.
"Velkan!" I screamed, running to his side. He rose from where he slept, a groggy and confused look on his dazed features. His eyes searched blindly about, straining to find the source of my voice. In moments he found me, perking up almost immediately.
"What is it?" he asked me. I ran to him, falling beside him on the floor and wrapping my arms about his neck. In moments I had begun to kiss his cheek, his lips, his eyes. My gown took on the look of a halo, surrounding us as we sat. I was crying fully now. "What is wrong?" he asked me again.
"Velkan," I said for a second time, in a fit of pure emotion. "Do you love me?" I asked him. He pulled away from me suddenly, his eyes glowing in confusion.
"Why do you ask me? Why do you have to ask? Of course I love you…" he said so simply. He smiled weakly as he reached up with his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. "What has gotten into you?" he asked. I shook my head in defiance, wanting to hear his answer.
"Do you?" I asked him. "Because I have just sacrificed everything that is dear to me for you." I said simply. He did not say anything, wrapping his arms slowly around me, kissing me gently on my forehead.
"What have you done?" he asked me, so innocently. I looked up at him, my face tear streaked and red from emotion.
"I refused him." I said simply, burying my face in his chest. I felt Velkan's hands travel up to my head, caressing it gently. "I refused him!" I said.
"Refused who?" he asked me. Almost maddeningly, I looked up to meet his gaze once again. "What are you talking about Christine?" he asked me.
"The Count." I sputtered out. "I refused him, and I have sacrificed my cousin…all for you…" I murmured quietly, burying my face in his chest again. I felt it heave in apprehension as I said this final revelation.
"You refused him?" he asked me. I nodded yes. "And you think he will kill your cousin now?" he ventured further. I continued my nod.
"He is jealous of us." I said simply. My arms slowly left his neck, my hands slowly traveling down his arms. I felt him shutter. "He believes he has lost me to you." I said. I heard Velkan's quiet laugh.
"He never had you." He said simply. "Why does it matter to him?" he asked.
"Because he believes he has been hurt again, like Charlotte hurt him so many years before." I murmured quietly. Velkan remained silent.
"This must have been some sort of dream." He said finally. "This cannot have possibly happened while I slept." I looked up at him, pulling away.
"It most certainly was not!" I screamed. "Because of you, he will kill me!" I said. I noticed him taken aback. He could not reply. I began to cry once again, in total and complete desolation. Noticing my great change of emotion, he finally began to realize this was no dream. "I have lost everything for you…" I said again.
As I cried, I felt as though he were fighting with himself to say something more. To ask a question, to venture a comment, but he did not. I opened my mouth to speak, but he immediately interrupted my train of thought. His hands were comfortingly at my back rubbing it gently. I collapsed from my kneeling position onto the floor. My knees could no longer support my weight. I felt as if I had been running for miles, searching out this one small building.
Forcing myself to pull away from his chest, I reached up and began to wipe away my tears, trying not to make any more a spectacle of myself than I already was. I saw him pull a handkerchief from his pocket, holding it out to me. I took it gratefully and began to dry my tear-streaked face. "I cannot apologize enough, Velkan…" I said between chokes of breath. "I have offended you with my childish outburst, can you---" he immediately interposed before I could finish my sentence.
"Marry me." He said simply, so suddenly. My heart leaped into my chest. Where had this come from? He had only just confessed his love and now he was proposing. My gaze shot up to meet his.
"What did you ask?" I said, between sobs. I noticed his smile widen as his hands reached out to cup my cheeks.
"You heard me." He said simply. "I've been thinking about asking you for years, writing you a letter, coming to your home, something. I promise you it is not as sudden as it sounds. It has been three long years since I saw you last. Three years of separation I could not endure. Please say that you will marry me." He said again. "I will give you back everything you have lost, I will provide more for you than you can ever imagine." he ventured further. I could not respond to his simple request.
I shook my head in confusion, not wanting to offend, yet not understanding his offer. Did he not realize what had happened only hours before? Did he not realize the danger he would be in if he married me? I concluded that he did not understand. I heard Velkan venture another comment once again.
"Think of it this way," he said pushing my mind towards a positive answer. "You have sacrificed so much for me, it is only right I return the favor. Please…" he said, trailing off.
"You are still asleep." I said, straining to find a suitable answer to his sudden request. "You do not know what you are asking." He looked at me as though I were a madwoman.
"I think I know perfectly well what I am asking." He said. "I am proposing that you become my wife." My tear streaked face reddened. I smiled when I thought of what I must have looked like to the man beside me. A tomato.
"I…" my voice struggled to find an answer, to utter a silly comment, to say anything. But I could not. "How can you just wake up and ask me this so suddenly?" I asked.
"How can you wake me up so suddenly, wanting to know if I love you?" he asked. "The answer should have been clear as day. Find your response there, and you will need none from me." He quietly answered.
I did not reply, I backed away from him, totally sobered from my burst of emotion. "You planned this." I said simply.
"If you mean I planned to ask you, then yes. I was going to ask you earlier, but I got tired and fell asleep. After that, it slipped my mind." He said simply. "You only reminded me just now." His voiced trailed off, realizing the humor of the situation. He slowly began to chuckle. I smiled despite my rapidly beating heart. It almost sounded as if he played with me. I looked into his eyes, fighting hard to find a hint of sincerity in his plea. I found it.
"Yes." I said simply. It was now Velkan's turn to become surprised. I saw his eyes light up with a happiness I had never before seen grace them.
"You mean this?" he asked me. I saw him rise from his position on the floor, approaching me quietly. "You consent to become my wife?" he said again.
"Yes." I answered, more sure of myself. "I have seen the happiness that marriage brings, and I believe that we deserve it as much, if not more, than any other being on this earth." I said. He laughed.
Velkan had taken me up in his arms, flooding my face with kisses. In moments he had kissed my forehead, traveling down my nose, finally reaching my lips. As I felt his lips brush mine, I saw him pull away suddenly, almost playfully.
How could one human being experience such highs and lows in quick succession? My mind thought to itself. How could I feel pain and happiness at the same time? How could I celebrate while knowing I had sacrificed the cousin I loved and lost the Uncle I barely knew? It was not possible.
"You have made me the most happy man on earth." He said simply. "My father will be most pleased!" he said hurriedly. My eyes widened in surprise as he said this. I could not tell my family, they would not approve.
"Let us run away." I said. "We must be married as soon as possible, by a priest, any priest." I continued hurriedly. "My family must not know." His eyes widened in surprise.
"Why?" he asked me. It took a moment for me to respond. A secret I had dared not utter, not even to myself. Images of my past flashed through my mind as I struggled to voice my answer.
"Because I am not to be married to you." I said simply. His eyes furrowed in confusion. "They will not allow it. My father would not allow such a union to occur. The Valerious is a cursed family, a family in which you most certainly will die an unclean death if you marry into it." I said simply, disdainfully. Velkan was taken aback, shock invading his happy demeanor. It took a moment for him to gather his senses.
"Then let us run away." He said simply. "I have spent to much of my life fighting for others. Let me fight for myself for once. Let me enjoy happiness." He said, almost selfishly.
"And Anna?" I asked. He smiled.
"Anna will know. We will find her in the morning and we will tell her nothing until we have made our plans." He said. I felt my heart lighten at his comment. We were truly to be married…but at what price?
I wish I could write you page upon page explaining the admiration that I feel for you. But I cannot, I do not have the words to describe it. I cannot describe your eyes, your skin…your hair. I am not a poet, and never will be. All I can ever hope to be is a man, a man who may have found a woman he truly admires. Christine, my dear Christine, how can I feel like this when I have only known you for a day? How can my heart beat so quickly at merely brushing against you as I walk by? I do not know. I have never felt this before, and perhaps never will again.
------------------------------------------------------Velkan---------------------------------