Ok, I'm sorry, I know I've been taking forever in my previous chapters to update, so here is the next as a sort of apology. It's not as long as I would have liked, but it should tide you over until I get the next chapter typed up.
Disclaimer-don't own, suing in this case, is illegal. Besides, you'd only get 37 half finished stories. Not too much to look at, I promise.
Chapter 7: the ball
"Come Princess. The ball awaits." Anna stepped forward, eyes closed, and took Dracula's hand. "Larissa," he said. Larissa nodded and left with the two. The corridors got more and more decorated as the got closer to the ballroom. They passed through the entrance, a room of white marble, black velvet and gold, a grand staircase that was extremely wide at the bottom and tapered off at the top slightly. They only stopped for Dracula and Anna to put on masks before entering the ballroom, which was opened by two butlers.
The ball was amazing; people had already arrived and there was a full floor. The dancers moved in perfect synchronization, and looked like they came out of a portrait. While Dracula lead Anna to a spot on the dance floor, Larissa moved around the edge of the room in search of Aleera, dodging the acrobats, and even someone who had taken it upon themselves to balance a sword on their tongue.
She finally spotted her up on the second floor and sighed in frustration. Leaving the room to glide up the grand staircase outside the ballroom entrance, Larissa was kind of surprised to see that no one was going up or coming down from the second floor. As she turned at the top, she saw two dark figures behind her going up the stairs. She stood in the shadows and watched them scurry up the stairs as though they didn't want to be seen-which they probably didn't, Larissa decided as she saw who it was: Van Helsing and the monk. They turned in the opposite direction, obviously having seen Larissa turn the way she did.
Larissa hurried to the upper level entrance to the ballroom (the level that really only overlooked the room) and tapped Aleera's shoulder. Aleera smiled at her from where she was sitting on the railing-one leg up on the stone while the other rested against the side of the balcony-and handed her a mask; Larissa looked at it momentarily, only catching black and silver before putting it on; it matched her smoky gray dress with pitch black embroidery. Larissa observed the second level. There where two platforms opposite each other, but were not connected by anything you could walk on; ropes and wires for the acrobats to do tricks on, and some streamers were all.
As a new song started up, Larissa turned and searched out Dracula and Anna-which was fairly easy, considering Anna had the brightest colored dress in the room. They moved together like they had danced this dance many times before, like they knew exactly what the other was going to do.
"Okay, no offense or anything, but they really do look good togeth-ew! Okay, never mind!"
Aleera laughed at Larissa's reaction to when Dracula kissed Anna, who vehemently broke the kiss, even though she couldn't get too violent over it; Dracula looked like he had her underneath a spell or something and she couldn't control her own body. Had she been able, she probably would have thrown a punch or something; instead, she spoke. Larissa stared at Aleera incredulously. "How can you laugh? Verona just died, and Dracula's kissing someone who's not you!"
"One, as a vampire, you tend to get used to death and get over it fairly quickly. Two, I'm not all that surprised; he's been interested in her since she was fourteen, from what I understand."
"And she's…?"
"Thirty-five. But you are right. They do look alarmingly good together."
A sudden movement caught Larissa's eye. "Hey Aleera. Look up and strait ahead." Aleera did so.
"Not too surprised about that either. I was the one who told them to come. Well, on my masters orders; if I'd had my way, I'd have just thrown them over a cliff and be done with it. But he wants to 'play with them' a bit."
Larissa raised an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't say anything and returned her gaze to Van Helsing on the opposite platform. The monk was nowhere to be seen.
"Look."
Larissa returned her gaze to Dracula. He was holding Anna parallel to the floor, but she was too far away to see shat he was doing. Next thing she knew, Anna was on the ground and getting off her feet dazedly, Dracula's robes were on fire, and the monk was hurrying away out of the room, bending over so that Dracula couldn't see him over the people standing around in shock as Dracula shed the cloak he wore over his regular clothing. Then Van Helsing swung down on a wire and swept Anna off the floor onto the same landing as they were on.
Larissa groaned. "This is why I never watch the main scene; the side scenes are infinitely more interesting. We missed Van Helsing potentially falling to his doom!" Aleera rolled her eyes at Larissa's drama. Van Helsing hadn't seen them; he was too busy listening to what Dracula was saying. Anna, after she was completely out of the trance did notice them. However, Larissa was trying to avoid being caught in another hug by staying behind Aleera as the Frankenstein monster was brought in. When Igor and his group of dwergi left the room, Dracula returned to talking to Van Helsing, which didn't last very long, because he set the guests on him. Each and every one of the guests and acrobats hissed and their jaws lengthened, showing very long, sharp vampire teeth. "Is everyone in here a vampire?" Larissa exclaimed in surprise.
Moments later, the rush of vampires in the room below began pouring out of the room. "Come on!" Larissa looked over to see Van Helsing starting to run, and Anna picking up a weapon in preparation to fight. "Come on!" Van Helsing yelled, pulling Anna along. It didn't take her much pulling though, and she was going faster than Van Helsing was. She somehow managed to catch Larissa's arm and started pulling/pushing her along with them.
Before Aleera had time to react to Larissa's screamed protest, they were gone and running from a pack of rabid vampires. Considering she was in danger also and considering she was still a human, Larissa upped the speed at which she was running. She didn't even hear Aleera's commanding voice order the vampires away from her. Apparently neither did half the vampires, because several were hot on Larissa's tail, grabbing at her trailing dress and hair. She ran through a pair of doors, which were quickly slammed shut and locked.
Larissa was panting. Stupid dress. The monk came in through a side door holding something in the air. "Now I know what it's for, now I know what it's for!…Where are we going?"
"Through that window!" yelled Van Helsing and Anna at the same time. Larissa pulled out of their grip and stopped running, glaring at them in a huff. "We are? Why?" Van Helsing just took one of her arms and one of the monks and through the stained glass window along with Anna and his cargo.
They landed in the moat around the palace. Suddenly, a flash of white hot light spread through and shone through every window and door in the palace. "No!" Larissa looked devastated and didn't care why the other three were looking at her in confusion; Dracula had been telling her about vampires and what they could do, what could kill them, and that, and sunlight was one of those things. Anna, at least, had some experience with the teen and grabbed her to keep her afloat when she stopped treading water.
"Come on Larissa, you can go into shock when it's less dangerous-dang it girl, swim! That's it, over to Van Helsing." Larissa sighed, but swam over to the gate Van Helsing was pounding against. "You just had to pull us into a dang moat while we were in dresses, didn't you?"
"What?"
"Nothing." Larissa held onto the wrought iron gate while Van Helsing had little episode concerning the monk and some pouting, along with possessed growls and the like. After the first minute or so it got old and Larissa stared at the ink-black sky; it had started to rain.
Larissa nearly slipped under the water in surprise when she heard that unique, inhumane screech, followed by an evil, sorrowful laugh. "Anna! They're alive, they're alive!" Larissa's happy, maniacal laughter had the three staring at her, but she didn't care. Eventually she calmed down, but the elation remained. She didn't even care that Van Helsing was cursing that they weren't dead, and the monk was hitting his head lightly on the metal bars. Anna didn't say anything, but she looked frustrated.
"So what's your plan? To get the monster back, I mean. Obviously you need to keep it away from Dracula (not that I really care)." The three looked between each other for a moment.
"First things first. Into dry clothes, then we're off to Frankenstein Castle." Anna said.