The ending of this chapter may seem a little iffy, but he's trying to prove to her that he doesn't blame her and it has brought them closer together. That makes no sense now, but you will see...

Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I made up. Fair enough.

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Snow drifted from the ink black sky in small silver flakes. Lucia could see clearly out of the window from the bed, where she was lying silently. Bright moonlight illuminated the room. Lucia thought of the next full moon, and wondered if she'd still be around to see it.

She trailed an idle hand along the black bedding and sighed, wondering if she should sleep. She didn't feel tired; on the contrary, she felt very awake. She sat up and wandered over to the mirror again, looking at her partially see-through reflection once more. Was this the way she was meant to spend the rest of her days- not quite dead, but not alive?

The dress still looked beautiful on her, but it seemed to represent an innocence that was no longer present in Lucia's world. The door opened, and Lucia looked up to see Vladislaus enter. Anger bubbled up inside of her, but it faded at the apologetic expression on his face.

"If you're here to taunt me some more, go ahead," she said dully. "More pain can't do me any harm, right?"

"Lucia, my darling, don't be like that," Vladislaus sighed, walking over to her, cradling her bruised cheek in his hand. "I don't mean to hurt you, I only want to make you see the truth." He kissed her forehead gently, then held out a heavy, black, hooded cloak. "I suggest you put this on. We're going out, and it is rather cold."

She did not question why they were going out. She decided it was definately not going to be for a good reason. She pulled the cloak on and fastened it, putting the hood up. Vladislaus said nothing, and lifted her into his arms. He looked at the window, which swung open suddenly. He walked towards it, then jumped out.

Lucia held him tightly, heart racing, as they fell downwards. He turned into the bat just before they hit the floor, and pulled up into the air in a smooth swoop, heading down into Vaseria. The chilly, damp air blew against Lucia's cheeks as they flew.

They landed at the edge of a small wood, and Vladislaus changed back, holding her hand tightly. They walked forward, and the trees became less dense. Lucia heard a man screaming, and she felt a wave of panic. They came out of the woods, and stood at the edge of a small square. Lucia gasped.

Carl and Gabriel were in the square, fighting three vampires. Gabriel was shooting one as it flew teasingly around one of the buildings. One had landed in front of Carl, and they were squaring up, Carl clutching a silver stake. The third one was sitting on top of another building.

"Call them off," Lucia begged, looking imploringly at Vladislaus, who smirked.

"Why? Don't you want to see your loved one, the great Gabriel Van Helsing, fall?" he asked smoothly, trailing his lips along her earlobe.

"He will not fall," she whispered. "Not whilst I'm here to watch over him."

The vampire dived suddenly at Gabriel. He didn't have a chance to move or attack it. It grabbed his shoulder's with its feet and tugged him up into the air. Lucia hardly thought about what she did. She ran forward suddenly, cloak and skirts blowing around her, and jumped, catching Gabriel's ankles with her hands.

"Lucia?" he gasped, as her weight pulled them free of the vampire's grasp. They fell to the ground, and Lucia landed on her back. Gabriel landed above her, one of his knees on each side of her face as he looked down at her. "If only this was a better time..." he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow as he stood up, and pulled her up too. They both looked at Carl, who lunged at his vampire with the stake. He missed, and the vampire tackled him to the floor, pinning him down.

"Carl!" Lucia and Gabriel shouted at the same time, both running towards him. The third vampire flew at them suddenly, and Lucia left Gabriel to deal with it, running on.

"Get off him, you whore!" she shouted, realising that she had no weapons, and making up for this fact by punching the vampire square on the nose, causing it to stagger back from Carl.

The vampire hissed at Lucia, looking at her carefully. Lucia hissed back mockingly. The vampire leapt at her suddenly, and she prepared herself to be knocked over. It didn't happen. The vampire flew over her, grabbing her shoulders with its feet. Lucia screamed without thinking as it pulled her into the sky, her shoulders starting to bleed as its sharp feet dug into the flesh.

"You are a Hunter no more, Lucia!" Dracula's voice pierced the air.

He would not let her die, she knew this, but he would not save her until she needed it most, to prove his point. Anger rippled through her, and she decided that there was only one way for her to get out of this. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, a grim smile on her face as she felt her jaw extend, her fangs slide down. She gave a screech and turned her head, digging her teeth into the vampire's ankle.

It let her go suddenly, and she fell down silently, landing hard on her back on the very solid ground. Her ribs felt as though they had smashed into a million pieces, and she winced in pain as her fangs retreated. She lay still, waiting for the vampire to grab her again. It didn't.

Carl's scream filled the air suddenly, and Lucia leapt to her feet, hair blowing freely around her aghast face. The vampire was bent over Carl, biting his neck.

"No!" she uttered.

"Lucia!" Gabriel shouted, and she turned to see Gabriel, who was wrestling with the other vampire, toss her the double-ended stake.

She caught it lightly and pressed the button, running forward and swinging the stake under the vampire attacking Carl and impaling it through the heart. It died instantly, and Carl fell still to the floor, oddly pale, eyes closed, blood pouring from his neck.

"Please, no, Carl," she whispered, tears in her eyes as she dropped the stake and grabbed his face, shaking it. "No! Carl, wake up Carl, wake up!"

He gave a small choking noise. "I'm not... a field man," he rasped, then fell silent.

Lucia stared at his lifeless form, tears tolling down her cheeks. Carl had been so pure, so innocent. Evil had taken his life, the same evil which ran in Lucia's veins, the same evil she had used to free herself from the vampire before. She glanced up at Vladislaus, who was standing watching with an impassive expression.

"Get away from here, you monster," came Gabriel's voice from behind her, and he tossed a small device at Vladislaus. It exploded into a brilliant flash of light, from which Lucia flinched. When it faded, Vladislaus was gone.

Lucia looked up at Gabriel. He was looking over Carl with tears in his own eyes, looking truly devastated. Lucia felt so guilty at the look in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered, but he shook his head softly, taking her hand and pulling her up. For a long time they just stood looking at each other, Lucia completely awed by the vunerable look in his face. Then he leaned forward and caught her lips in a gentle, warm kiss, pulling her close as their lips worked in a long, tender, lingering kiss.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he sighed. "Now let's get out of here."

TBC.