CHAPTER 3- ON THE WINGS OF THE NIGHT

The candlelight had long flickered out in Annora's bedroom and the Count swung himself elegantly onto the balcony to resume his position on the balcony. It was a beautiful night, the moon was shining brightly and the stars shimmered in the heat of a hazy summer night. Annora was restless, flinging back the sheets and tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable enough to sleep. Eventually she lay still and her heartbeat steadied. Dracula watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed. He was filled with calm and his mind was tranquil. Then her brow creased in a faint frown as she murmured Joshua's name. Hot rage coursed through his veins for the first time in years.

He suddenly brushed aside the curtains, stalked into Annora's room and stood looking down at her. She didn't wake but she turned onto her back and lay there, so vulnerable. He flinched at the rosary around her neck before composing himself. She gave a deep sigh and suddenly he lunged forwards, teeth bared and ready to pierce the skin. Then he reeled backwards burnt by a sudden burning flash from the rosary around her neck. He turned sharply and left the room. Breathing heavily he leaned on the balcony massaging his temples. He stepped onto the wall surrounding the balcony and held out a foot to step into the air.

"Good evening."

The Count masterfully hid his surprise, turned slowly and gave bow.

"Good evening, Miss Osmond," he said, completely unabashed. Annora looked at him with weary severity. She looked tired and somewhat annoyed at being awoken when she had finally fallen asleep.

"Listen, if you insist on watching me sleep, then at least do it from outside, it isn't appropriate for gentlemen to creep into a lady's room whilst she sleeps. It could do severe damage to both our reputations."

"You have been aware of my presence?"

"Yes."

"You put a lot of faith into that I wouldn't harm you..."

"If your intention was to harm me I'm sure you would have done so before."

"You are very reckless," he said thinking of how near he had come to biting her.

"I think I trust you," she said and then wished she hadn't. Dracula sensed her discomfort and didn't pursue the matter. Annora suddenly gave him an odd look and walked towards him. She was standing very close. Dracula wondered what she was about to do. Annora looked up at him and said, "I ask for your forgiveness for what I am about to do... but I need to set my mind at rest." And she placed a hand over his chest where his heart was. Her touch caused interesting sensations to tingle through his body. Annora frowned and he moved her hand to his neck to feel his pulse.

"Nothing," he murmured looking down at her confused face.

"Nothing..." she echoed wonderingly. And then she closed her eyes and, concentrating on her mind, he could see her wonder and puzzlement. Circles of light that were her thoughts swirled before his eyes. She was searching for something. He knew she would never find it. The light dwindled and died, swallowed by overwhelming darkness. The shadow smothered everything and he felt the empty ache he had felt all those centuries ago. Annora's breath caught sharply in her throat and pulled away.

"You have no soul!" she looked horrified. He sighed and his eyes were dark.

"I sold it long ago." He looked at her, expecting her to run from him, brandish a crucifix or scream or show some kind of fear. He did not expect her to look at him with pity.

"You poor thing," she said softly, "What for? What could be better then heaven?"

"For immortality. It is my curse and my joy. I was abandoned at the moment of my death by God and I would rather face the burden of living forever than the fiery chasms of hell. "

"He never abandons us. Ask for God's forgiveness, he will grant you back your soul."

"It is not his to grant. The Devil holds me too tightly in his grasp."

"Nothing is impossible to God," Annora said, "Do you want to get your soul back?"

"Even if I should die again, I have sinned far too many times to enter God's kingdom. He abandoned me and I will not lower myself to suffer his scorn by asking for forgiveness."

Annora looked shocked.

"You don't repent?"

"Oh yes," he said quietly, "I repent. I repent for the sins I have committed and for those I will commit... but God will never allow me into heaven."

"We shall have to see," Annora said with a mysterious smile.

"You are going to try to redeem me?"

She didn't answer but looked at him with gentle pity.

"Good night," she said and with that she turned and went indoors.

The Count chuckled in amusement.

"You have no idea just how impossible your task is." He said very quietly. "Ask God to have mercy on my soul? You may as well ask for the sun to rise at midnight." Then he dropped off the edge of the balcony onto the ground and went for a walk in the moonlight, thinking about what he had just said and that Annora was the first person who had shown no fear at what he was. Then he realised she still didn't know everything. She knew he had sold his soul to the Devil but she didn't know he was a vampire, she didn't know what he did to stay alive. And once she did, she would reject him, spurn his affection and shudder at the sight of him. He stormed off into the night and, suddenly turning, glared up at he heavens then looked back at the horizon where Annora's house was just visible.

"From now on, every little thing I do, it will be done for you!" But he knew she couldn't hear. Then he pulled himself together, flicked his hair out of his eyes and walked on.

Dracula didn't visit Annora the next night, he didn't want to face her, afraid of the consequences of telling her who he was, what he was. But she waited for him. She stood on her balcony and waited until the early hours of the morning. Dawn came about five o clock and Annora had fallen asleep long ago, leaning against the wall of the house, bible in hand, open on Zephaniah 2:1-4. Annora had prayed fervently to Gabriel and the angels to pray for Dracula. Now as she slept, fate laughed at the irony of the son of the Devil wooing a woman who asked the very angel who murdered him to pray for his soul to God.

Eventually Dracula couldn't keep himself from her presence any longer and on the third night since she had promised to redeem him he stepped onto her balcony where she had been waiting for him hopefully.

"My father has been wondering why I have been sleeping so late into the morning," she greeted him. "I told him I wasn't sleeping well." She paused, "he's a little stressed at the moment."

"Because you are getting married."

"I won't even ask how you know that," she sighed, "but yes, you are right. To Joshua Burrad."

"You don't seem too happy about that." The Count watched her reaction carefully.

"I don't have a choice." Annora shrugged inelegantly to hid the misery welling up inside.

"You always have a choice," Dracula told her, "You just have to make the right one."

Annora gave a sigh and said, "The right choice for who?"

The vampire shrugged and replied, "Trust your heart."

Annora didn't say anything. She gazed past him, for a few minutes and turning to him suddenly said, "I don't want to marry Joshua."

"Why not?" Dracula asked, as if he hadn't the faintest idea.

"Because I don't love him and it's wrong to marry someone you don't love."

"Where does it say that in the bible?" Dracula asked, amused.

"It doesn't, it's how I feel," Annora said sharply. There was a short silence during which Dracula gave her a shrewd look and decided that if he didn't tell her the truth this very moment then he would never be able to.

"How much do you trust me?" he asked suddenly. Annora started in surprise.

"That's a strange thing to ask..."

"I can help you decide what you should do but I need to know you'll trust me, no matter what."

Annora looked at him. "Why would I not trust you?"

Dracula sighed and showed her, morphing into the beast she would come to loathe above all else.

"Oh," she said weakly, "I see." And fainted.

Dracula hastily transformed back, darted forwards and caught her before she hit the floor. Then he looked down at her and looked at the sky. He had to keep her from running away; he needed a chance to explain that not all of him was evil. He still could care, he still could love.

"I don't think there's another way, of proving it to you," he murmured to Annora's unconscious form.

The stars burned ahead and below the wind whispered softly with the grass. Count Vladislaus Dracula transformed before he landed and hit the ground with Annora in his arms. She was still unconscious although Dracula suspected that she had simply passed into sleep, after all she hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of nights.

He laid her gently on the grass and looked around at the scenery. He had selected somewhere beautiful but Dracula had to admit that the place looked slightly surreal. Daisies where dotted amongst the grass and they were surrounded by bushes and flowering shrubs. In front of them was a pool of water shimmering with moonlight and hundreds of stars danced on the ripples as the gentle breeze skimmed across it. Fireflies hovered by the bushes and a nightingale began to sing nearby. The overall effect was something out of a fairytale.

Dracula gazed thoughtfully at the water. He remembered his death and as he thought of the blade slicing through his flesh he winced, the twisting agony still sharp and clear in his mind. Annora stirred and he was grateful for the distraction.

"Where am I?" she murmured hazily.

"Somewhere in Kent I believe." Dracula dropped his knees and propped himself up with his hands instead.

Annora woke up properly and stared at him. "That... thing..."

"I told you I sold my soul to the devil. It was a hard bargain."

Annora closed her eyes. She doesn't want to look at me, he realised. I've ruined everything.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Yes," she said, "and no."

He frowned at her and she sighed before explaining, "There is something within you that I know is evil; the devil gave you wings and a terrible form... but... God gave you a soul and, although that may belong to the devil, you still have a trace of humanity about you. God's gift is life and since you still act like a human then I think you must be alive somewhere inside and therefore not wholly evil." She paused, "I think."

Another silence fell between them.

"What does your name mean?" he asked her mostly to make conversation. She smiled at him and said, "you tell me yours first."

"If you insist. Vladislaus means 'famous or powerful man of the land' and Dracula is just the family name. I think it means 'dragon of the sea.' And you?"

"Annora means 'honour' and Osmond means 'divine protection from the Lord.' My father always liked that name, it had a healthy religious ring to it. Why did you want to know?"

"I was interested."

"Oh. Listen, how is this helping me to decide whether to marry Joshua or not?"

Dracula gave a dismissive wave of his hand indicating their surroundings.

"Don't you find the scenery beautiful? Whenever I need to think I go somewhere with an astounding view, then I feel calm and my mind is open to thought."

Annora nodded and then slowly pulled her rosary over her head and fiddled with it absent-mindedly, lost in thought. Then she gave a sigh and looked at him with a strange look in her eyes.

"I know what I want and what would be best for me but, my father... it would destroy him."

"Your conclusion?" although the Count knew what was coming.

"I will do what makes my father happy."

"But will that destroy you?"

"It doesn't matter," she said but she couldn't lie with her eyes.

They sat in silence for a long time. The only sounds were the rustle of the wind through the grass and crickets chirruping. An owl swooped silently across the stars and for a second Dracula wondered if simply turning Annora would be easier than trying to win her affection. But when he turned to look at her he knew that if he did she would never forgive him and he would never forgive himself.

"Have you ever-" Annora began and stopped.

"Ever what?"

"Never mind."

And she fell silent again, gazing up at the stars. Dracula was going to press her as to what she was going to ask but she had turned a delicate shade of pink and he let the matter drop. The silences that had fallen between them didn't seem awkward and neither Dracula nor Annora really had the desire to break them but now Annora stood up and said, "I think I had better go back."

Dracula nodded and now the silence was uncomfortable.

"Do you really have to...?" she couldn't finish the sentence.

"Yes."

"There is no other way?"

"No."

"Oh." He walked towards her and she flinched involuntarily and shut her eyes tightly. He could hear her heat pounding with fear and bitter resentment coursed through his veins. Then he touched her and quite suddenly, he suddenly stopped. He didn't transform but simply stood there. He felt her tremble at his touch and when he still didn't move she opened her eyes and looked at him nervously. Then he sighed inwardly and picked her up. She gave a funny little squeak and closed her eyes again as he began to transform. Soon she was in his talons as he swept through the sky. He slowed as he reached the town wanting to avoid being seen.

He alighted on Annora's balcony, transformed back in to human form and gently set her down. Annora opened her eyes, she was paler than usual and she was shaking. He looked at her sadly and then kissed her hand and bid her good night before dropping off the balcony and slipping away into the night to think over the night's events.

Dracula came to Annora again the next night and then again the next. He told her everything about his life and she told him all about hers. Dracula had long stopped resisting the emotions that overwhelmed him and now through his whole self into courting her. Annora was either pretending or really didn't realise just how much he cared about her. Sometimes it was hard to tell. She still looked up bible verses for him and Dracula would patiently listen while she explained what they meant. The Count knew he was condemned to hell, that God had forsaken him and that the sins he had committed since selling his soul were too great to ever earn forgiveness. He often tried to persuade Annora to give up but she resolutely believed otherwise and that if only she could prove that God had not forsaken him then the Count may come to realise that all was not lost.

As June drifted away and July wafted in Annora spent most of the day asleep so that she could enjoy the Count's visits without falling asleep in his company. One night he didn't come and she spent the whole night waiting for him, eyes hopefully scouring the countryside until the sun burned fiercely in the sky and she knew that he would not come. Annora tried to sleep but she was awoken after an hour by her maid reminding her that today she was to get her wedding dress fitted. So she dragged herself out of bed and somehow stumbled through the day.

"I've arranged the wedding for Friday," her father told her, "that gives us four days to make all the necessary preparations."

Annora murmured quiet approval and then quickly left his presence. Mentally, physically and emotionally drained she collapsed onto her chaise and tried to sleep. Fate has a funny way of making it that sometimes when we are most tired that we find we cannot sleep. So it was with Annora. Her head was buzzing with thought and she couldn't drop off. Eventually she stormed onto her balcony around midnight, pure adrenaline keeping her awake. She slumped against the balcony wall and waited for Dracula.

The Count appeared in his usual polite manner and after inquiring after her health asked if she had a particular wish of where she would like to visit. Annora thought for a minute and then answered, "Somewhere by water."

"Your wish is my command," he said and taking her in his arms transformed and glided to the south coast. Annora's temper was much improved by his company and once they had landed she told him all about her day and then asked why he hadn't been to see her the night before. Dracula shifted uneasily.

"I had business to attend to," he answered vaguely. Annora looked at him, her dark eyes serious and full of foreboding.

"You killed someone, didn't you." It wasn't a question. He took her hand and looked her straight on.

"Annora," he said gently, "this is what I am. There is no hope for me."

"There is always hope," she insisted although she was trembling uncontrollably and the night had turned colder. Annora closed her eyes and didn't look at him.

"Annora..."

She opened her eyes again and he moved closer. She looked at him, heart beat increasing rapidly. That sweetly tender mouth begged him to capture it with his own and he placed a hand gently on her cheek. He nearly kissed her, so very, very nearly but she pushed him away and said, "I'm getting married in three days." She sat rigidly and stared determinedly at the sky. Then she gave a shuddering sigh and her head dropped onto his shoulder. Dracula tentatively put an arm around her but when he looked down at her he saw she had fallen asleep again. He wished she wouldn't do that quite so often. Then he picked her up and took her home. She didn't wake up when they arrived on her balcony so taking great care not to be seen he gently laid her upon her bed and left her to sleep. Then he made up his mind not to see Annora again. It would only end in pain, he told himself and made his way back to the house where he intended think about leaving for home.

Please review! I'm working on chapter 4 but I'm suffering from... (cue dramatic music) writers block! Arrrgh!