A/N: Well, this chapter came a bit more slowly than I had hoped, but here it is! Thanks for waiting around for it. I'm trying to figure out how I want to end this, and I hope that whatever it is it's good and you guys like it. By the way, for all you Van Helsing lovers, he shall return. It'll probably be a bit at the end though, just to let you know.
And for Kay-sama, an answer to your question: Dracula does feel a connection to Katrina, but it's sadly not really love anymore. Like Richard Roxburgh explained it, Dracula sort of got a raw deal; he lives forever but he doesn't feel anything anymore, not even love that he felt before. I did find it tempting to make him still be madly in love with her, but I decided that that would go against his character from the movie too much. I hope that this answered your question, and thanks for asking!
I watched the colors of the western sky just after the sun had set, enjoying the feeling of a different city. Rome really was beautiful at sunset, and I could only imagine what it must be like during the day. Night slowly crept over the many ancient buildings of the city, casting the old streets in shadow. The time was now perfect for me to explore the city, but I knew that I had to be on my guard.
I knew that escaping from Dracula could never be this easy, and I had expected to be confronted by him before now. But as the sights and smells of Rome surrounded me I became less fearful, and began to explore its many streets.
There were still people out and about, but not as many as I had expected. I peered into the windows of the many shops that lined the streets, wishing that I could visit them during the day. As I rounded the corner of the street, I noticed a towering building ahead of me at the street's end. I could easily tell what it was: a great cathedral, several centuries old at least.
For a moment I simply stood there in fear and awe of it, not knowing whether or not I should go any closer. Then I made up my mind of what I must do, and made my way down the old street toward it.
When I reached it I pushed open one of the great wooden doors and stepped over the threshold, a strange feeling taking me.
Candles were lit everywhere, and statues of saints adorned its interior. The flickering light cast shadows on the stone walls, and on the high ceiling above was an enormous painting of angels in flight. It was an amazing sight, and for a moment I was reminded of the cathedral where Vladislaus and I were married half a century ago.
I shut the door quietly and made my way down the isle, using my senses to tell me if there were any humans near. There were none, and after a moment I found myself standing at the altar before a statue of Jesus on the cross. I looked up at his face, and felt myself fall to my knees before him.
I had done many terrible things, and my very existence was the work of the devil, but was I unfit to pray in a church?
I decided to ask for forgiveness, even if I could receive none, and silently I began to pray. I asked for many things, but above all for forgiveness for what I was and for this nightmare to end. I no longer wanted to be what I was, and I prayed that God would release me from my curse.
I have no memory of how long I prayed, it may have even been hours. My face was stained with tears as I looked up at the cross before me. The cathedral was still silent and empty, and the candles around me cast a golden light on the walls. Just as I had finished my prayer, my dark heart feeling lighter, I suddenly sensed what I had been dreading. He was here with me now, very close.
I stood and turned around quickly to find him standing about ten feet away from me. He wore a smirk on his face, but I could tell that for some reason he was slightly amused.
"Hello, my dear Katrina. I knew that you would try to hide from me, but I didn't think that you would be foolish enough to hide in a church."
I stared back at him intently. "I was not hiding from you, Vladislaus. You are able to find me no matter where I am."
Smiling, he nodded his head and took a step forward. "True. You are mine, my dear, and always shall be. I will find you no matter where you are." He began making a slow circle around me, as an animal does to its prey. Watching me closely, his smile gone, he continued.
"However I must say that I am disappointed in you. First you disobey me and leave me to entertain my guests alone, then you leave me without a word."
"Would you have preferred for me to have left you a note?" I replied quietly. He pretended to not have heard me, but I knew that he had.
"And now I find you here of all places: in a church. Praying," he added as if disgusted by it.
He continued to make a circle around me, and I turned my head to watch him. "Of course I was praying. What else does one do in a church?" I knew that I was beginning to push my luck by speaking this way to him, but for some reason I drew strength from my surroundings. Perhaps somewhere in the back of my mind I believed that he would not harm me here.
Dracula made a disgusted sound and stopped moving. He looked me up and down in a dangerous manner.
"You are greatly testing my patience, my love. You should be thankful that I have managed to control my anger at you for the moment. And do not for a second think that it is because God is protecting you here."
With this he began to walk towards me, and I backed up the steps away from him. I felt myself bump into something, and looking up I realized that it was the large cross. I watched Dracula, who had stopped at the steps and looked from me up to the cross. He grinned as he looked back down at me.
"Oh you are the very image of an angel, my dear," he said walking up the steps slowly. "But for all your beauty God allowed you to be born imperfect. I, Katrina, made you perfect," he added with a whisper, stopping close in front of me.
He trailed his hand along the edge of my face, and I found it difficult not to get lost in his touch. He was so good at controlling others, and for so long he had controlled me in the same way. But I would no longer allow that.
I reached up to take his hand, and gently but firmly I moved it away from my face. "I never asked to be perfect, Vladislaus."
Something in his eyes changed, and his face grew cold and hard. "I should have known that you could not appreciate the gift that I gave you. I have found others that deserve it more than you."
"And you have made them like us, haven't you? I've known for years that you have damned others like you did me."
Dracula's eyes bore into me like ice, and for a moment I thought I saw something like pain deep within them. "They are what they are because of you! You preferred your books to my company," he answered, his voice rising. "I should have left you to die with your father, alone and uncared for, the widow of a murdered man!"
"Then why didn't you!?!" I shouted at him.
His eyes now an unholy blue, he grabbed me by the neck with one hand and tossed me backwards into several large candle stands, knocking them over. They hit the stone floor with a loud clang, burning candles and hot wax scattering everywhere. One of the stands fell over onto a table with offerings, which immediately went up in flames due to several vases that were filled with oils.
I did not wait for another attack from Dracula, and as quickly as I could I pushed the candle stands off of me. Though I had been burned by the candles and hot wax, I ignored the pain, and after a few seconds my skin had completely healed.
Dracula came towards me in one quick movement, still infuriated. I dodged him and went behind one of the many large, stone pillars in the cathedral. The fire had already grown quite large, consuming whatever was in its way. With my back against the pillar, I heard a loud crash, and turned my head to see the large, burning cross fall to the ground.
I realized too late that Dracula was on me, pinning me to the pillar. His grip on my throat was tight and painful, and I struggled against him.
"Haven't you realized by now Katrina that you are mine forever? You became mine the day that we married, with God as our witness," he spat.
I had stopped struggling and stared at his face, tears forming in my eyes from the pain and from my sadness. "Haven't you realized that forcing me to stay with you is not the answer?" I whispered with difficulty.
The count looked into my eyes and his expression softened some, and I knew that he was reading my thoughts. After a few seconds he released me, and for the first time in many years his face showed true pain and sadness. Perhaps he was not so hollow after all; he could feel sorrow and pain, and certainly fury.
"If this is what you truly want, to be free of me, then I grant your wish." He stepped back and away from me, his expression and movements cold. However I could not believe that he would let me go this easily; he must have another plan.
"Have I not always given you anything and everything that you desired?" He asked, reading the doubt in my mind. "And now I give you your freedom….do what you want with it."
A large part of the church was now on fire, and as he spoke I heard warning bells in the distance. I continued to stare at him, ignoring everything else around us. I could sense that there were humans nearby, just outside the cathedral doors. But I made no movement.
Dracula looked at me with an icy intensity. "You have what you want, now go." For some reason I felt unable to move, or perhaps I wished that the fire would consume us both and end the nightmare of our lives.
"GO!!" he bellowed, his fangs bared.
At that moment two things happened: a flaming wooden statue fell between the count and I, and the doors of the church were thrown open as a large group of men entered the burning cathedral.
I glanced at the door and then back at the count, and through the flames I could see that he was no longer there. Quickly I dodged the flames and found a side door leading out of the church. After I was out I sat atop a nearby building, watching the humans put out the fires. Strangely I felt a bit guilty, and I knew that Dracula would have laughed at my weakness. But I was no longer controlled by him.
Sensing that the sun was soon to rise, I took flight to find a safe place to spend the day. I was no longer fearful of being found. I knew that Dracula had been truthful, and that he would no longer bother me. And with that knowledge, for the first time in years, I felt safe and free.
