Disclaimer: I STILL do not own Dracula or Van Helsing or Transylvania, but I do own the story, and April. -Linwe
When April awoke, she couldn't open her eyes, she felt too dizzy. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying on soft sand and could hear the crashing of waves against the shore.
"So, I'm not dead," she thought. "That's certainly good, but… what happened, who saved me?" She forced herself to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was the dazzling brightness of the stars in the cold, Romanian night sky. The clouds and mist seemed to have cleared, but it was still terribly cold and windy. Using her arms for support, she sat up and looked around. Her head pounded painfully, but she took deep breaths and forced herself to stay upright. She was on the shore of the river she almost fell into when she jumped off the cliff.
April spotted who she assumed to be her rescuer. Or, at least she desperately hoped he was her rescuer and not some angry villager who wanted her dead. He was squatting on a large rock near the water, gazing out over it. He was not facing her and from what she could tell, he had not noticed that she was awake. He had long, black hair tied into a loose ponytail, and he wore all black. His cape billowed gently in the sea breeze as he finally turned to face her.
"I see you are awake." He said in a deep voice with a more noticeable Transylvanian accent than she had ever heard. She was also greatly taken aback because he was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was rather pale, but he had pointed masculine features and broad shoulders. Even in the moonlight you could tell she was blushing furiously.
"Who… who are you, sir?" She asked. He climbed off the rock and strode over to where she was seated on the ground. He extended his hand and she took it, though he had not yet spoken, and he lifted her to her feet. She needed to lean on him for a moment or two though because she was still very shaky and disoriented.
"I," he said, still close to her and looking into her green eyes," am Count Vladislaus Dracula."
"A count!" she thought, " but why had he saved me?" Thought she as she stared and blinked for a moment in surprise.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked in his deep voice.
"N-no… just why on earth did you save me?" She asked, completely confused. She knew she had heard the name Dracula somewhere… in a book, she was pretty sure. Why would this famous count bother to save her? "And why did you save me? Were you in the mob chasing me? No, I suppose you weren't, they wanted to kill me." She laughed nervously and noticed he was now behind her, but still close.
"I don't exactly know, my dear," he said almost seductively. She could feel his breath on her neck, and she felt entranced by his voice, but then she got a sudden idea.
Whirling around, she flung her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you so much for saving me! I don't know how I can ever repay you." He took a step back, looking both surprised and a little disgruntled.
"There is no need." He said returning to his dignified demeanor. "I do not think there is anything you can give that I really need."
"But, my lord, such a heroic act cannot go without thanks." She insisted.
"Well, perhaps there is something…" He said facing her suddenly.
"Yes?" She asked hesitantly.
With one motion he swept her into his arms and kissed her. It lasted for several minutes and it had such a heated intensity that she had never felt before. At first she resisted his embrace, but then she gave in as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They finally had to pull back when she was gasping for breath. He then took her hand and kissed it tenderly, looking into her eyes all the while.
"I must go now." He said softly, letting go of a stunned April. To her extreme amazement he morphed into a terrifying bat-like creature. He jumped into the air and flew off, mighty bat wings flapping, into the night. Surprisingly, April hadn't moved at all during his change.
"Thank you!" she called after him. "I shall never forget you!" After many minutes, she finally came to, so to speak, and walked toward the direction of her home. "So he was a vampire." She thought. April had suspected he was a vampire because no mortal man could save her from falling off a cliff in mid-air, nor would any mortal try to bite her neck which, she thought he had attempted to do right before she kissed him on the cheek. The only real reason she kissed him on the cheek was to avoid the impending bite. Why he had not simply attacked her, she did not know for certain, but she assumed he had already fed.
She'd read many books on vampires and could recognize them almost immediately, although she'd never seen one before this night. "I guess I got lucky." She thought, walking quicker, hoping the mob had dissipated for the night, thinking her dead. Although the reason he had saved her in the first place still puzzled her and she couldn't figure it out, no matter how much she thought about it. "Just shut up, and be glad you're not sleeping with the fishes tonight, April, you fool!" She said to herself as she climbed into her own bed.
To Be Continued……..
To my most gracious reviewers:
I apologize for accidentally erasing all your previous reviews for this story, I messed something up and I had to reload the whole thing! Thanks again for reading and reviewing, I love you guys!!
