Chapter #17: A dream is a wish your heart makes

It's was cold... odd. It felt as if an ice hand had taken hold of his heart and it was squeezing, the only source of warmth coming from two twin trails on his face. Odd. He never was cold...Opening his red eyes, dulled to a brownish color, he saw the cause: he was laying in a tomb, blood tears running free from his eyes, mixing with the red of the wounds that seemed to enfold him as if they were the long dark cape he was wearing. He blinked once, twice, and slowly his vision cleared enough to see the broad-shouldered man standing in front of him. This man was talking, for his mouth was moving, but he couldn't make out exactly what was being said, his ears just picking out static. It was when he was lifted by this figure in red that his eyes took on the silhouette of two other men and a smaller, blonde woman. He was in a bubble, conscious but not aware. With a wavering sight, he looked down at his chest: a wooden stake protruded from it. That's when all his senses came crashing back to him at once. His eyesight, the hearing, the memories and the pain.

Vlad was in a graveyard, Van Helsing standing above him, followed by Jonathan and Seward, in their arms... Mina. His Mina.

"You will never have her." The deep voice of the professor echoed in his ears. The vampire coughed up blood, swallowed and closed his tired eyes.

"What?" he barely said above a whisper, still a bit disoriented and clinging to consciousness.

"You will never have her." This time the voice was lighter, a woman's. Confused, the count fought to stay awake and take on his surroundings. He was still in the graveyard and above him was still Van Helsing, only it was another Hellsing.

Instead of the bulk that was Abraham, he found the petite form of a long-haired woman with glasses and a suit. Frowning at her enraged expression, he turned his head to the other people who were present, an old dark-haired man and a younger one with a braid and eyepatch. This last one was holding another woman whose features were hidden in the man's jacket. In spite of this, he could make out her long-brown hair and pale skin. His eyes softened but quickly hardened again. He had been defeated by Hellsing and her friends, he thought with disgust, a single group of humans had bested him. And now he would never have her... He looked over at the woman again.

The fist of his executioner was descending.

He wished he had more time, that he could do it again and correct his mistakes.

The wood was pushed.

He had thought he could come to love her and she him. His princess, his countess, his queen.

The steak reached his heart, blood flowing freely as the count locked eyes with the girl, and sad brown met resigned red.

His Inés.

Alucard awoke with a start, bloody tears on a surprised and confused face. What had that been? Silently and with a grimace, the vampire reached to wipe away the crimson liquid, quietly pondering over his strange dream. He took an unnecessary and shaky breath and pinched his brow. He recalled having that dreadful dream (he refused to admit they were nightmares) about his defeat at the hands of Abraham before. God knew it was an image that would be perpetually engraved on his memory. But that was exactly what irked the vampire: it wasn't his memory this time. The image of loving brown eyes crossed his mind and he was forced to open his own red ones to erase it. It had been 200 years since that incident and he would lie if he said he remembered every detail; the places, the names and even some faces evaded his memory. Alucard frowned at that. Sometimes, even the face of his beloved seemed blurred. Was he forgetting his past? Was he forgetting Her? No. He remembers her; every one of them. The images were just fading from his mind and his memories just adapted with new ones. The Midian nodded to himself and reached for the lid of the box to open it and stop thinking about nonsense.

Then, why had he chosen Inés's face as Mina's?

He lowered his hands, intertwined them on top of his chest as he laid for several more minutes in the dark embrace of his coffin. He felt oddly vulnerable and dare he say, human? It had been a very long time since he had felt like his old human self again, since he had cried, and he felt disgusted with himself; all those feelings were just a weakness and useless. Staring at nothing in particular, Alucard contemplated if it was worth it to even wake up today. The light voice of The Girl, muted by the thick wood of his kingdom, quickly interrupted that way of thinking. He finally got out, setting the lid gingerly at his side and stood up, absentmindly noting his longer hair but thinking nothing of it. It tended to change appearance with his moods.

This motel room was… definitely smaller, darker and more empty-looking, with just one small bed and a little table which barely reached her hip. The springs of the bed screeched when Inés fell on it like a rag doll, exhausted and done with everything. She closed her eyes and tuned out the well-known conversation the two other occupants were having. They had decided to rent a different room on the other side of the city after the fight with Alhambra to seem 'less shady' as Pip had said. So they ended up in a semi run-down motel with a two bedroom, one small living-room arrangement. All three rooms were connected in case there was an emergency. Pip and Seras had decided to stay a bit in the same room as her to keep her company. It seemed they thought the Spaniard was traumatized from the experience when she was only angry and frustrated at the bloody vampire. Speaking of The Jerk, he had gone directly to sleep after his monologue about coffins.

As if he could be tired after draining that vampire dry. The cheeky bitch, Inés thought while taking on her surroundings and the next course of action to happen. 'Why did you bring that, this is my coffin, blah, blah, Pip gets nervous, Seras squeaks and the door is broken by Anderson who will give us a jet to take us back to London. Yes, yes, it happened, pam and…' She violently sat up, snapping her eyes open and focusing on the door; the very intact door. "Where is the priest?" She stood up, vaguely noticing a black head of curls coming out of the newly opened box.

Both vampire and mercenary gave her weird looks but it was only a certain pair of red orbs that narrowed suspiciously. She slowly approached the exit, but before her fingers touched the knob, a larger hand gripped her wrist. Cold breath tickled her nape and a curtain of hair fell on her from above. She got to hear a quick gasp from the other inhabitants of the room before a chill run down her spine. Inés licked her lips and craned her neck to meet the questioning face of Alucard. Only it wasn't Alucard…Well, he was, but he wasn't. He had longer hair, a feat that was not so strange in the vampire, if it wasn't for the fact that said hair came with a slightly more filled face…and a beard. Holy shit, she was staring at Fucking Dracula.

At his expecting stare, she swallowed the lump in her throat and made a shy motion for him to get close. He hesitated but conceded and leaned forward until he reached her eye level. This was the second time the Midian had gotten this far into her personal space and once again she could see every detail on his pale skin as well as his very sharp teeth. She shivered, feeling uncomfortable as well as nervous.

"Em… so… Anderson was supposed to make his big appearance now, breaking the door. You two would have fought for a bit but, ultimately, he would have given you a paper stating that there was a private jet sent by the Vatican." The Spanish girl whispered so only the man in front of her could hear while she was busy twiddling her thumbs and awkwardly smiling when she finally lifted her head. Alucard carefully regarded the little human with an unblinking emotionless expression.

"So we steal a plane." He straightened himself and moved her aside as he opened the door and marched outside, leaving three dumbfounded people behind. The youngest was the first to recover and didn't wait for the others to follow him.

"We cannot just steal a plane, Alucard! I don't know if you have noticed, but your faces are posted on every street and TV channel." Well, not that face. "Are you listening to me?" Her rant was cut short when her nose was flattened against the quite hard back of the now unmoving vampire. Gunpowder, earth and blood. Yep, that was the specific smell that told her it was Alucard and she still felt little butterflies in her stomach every time she smelled it, despite hating his guts. Because she hated him, right? She stepped back and, with a look at the quickly darkening sky with a silent "God give me patience", was about to give him a piece of her mind when she heard the commotion that had made the jerk stop in the first place.

"¿Pero qué…?" A large group of people dressed in what looked like medieval clothing were checking out of the motel. Alucard stood there, unmoving and contemplating whether he was seeing things or humans had really gone mad over the years. At least that was what Inés believed he was thinking. The teen had to admit it was quite the sight as there were around twenty to thirty people all clad in several styles and costumes. There were noble-looking people, peasants, merchants and even one or two bards!

"Un grupo de teatro o de recreación histórica tal vez. ¿Alguna compañía?" She had said it more to herself that anything, but Alucard turned in her direction with a question on the tip of his tongue. "Err… They are probably some reenactment group, you know, people who dress up and act a certain way to recreate a time period." He still looked questioning, but she was done with him for the moment so she walked up to the loud group, leaving the jerk behind. Meanwhile, Seras and Pip had finally caught up with them.

"Police girl, Frenchman, get ready, we are leaving for the airport. Pick everything up." They were still reluctant to follow that plan. However, they agreed on the fact that there was no other way unless they wanted to travel by boat (which was a no in Seras's book due to her condition) and they didn't have enough money to buy a plane ticket the legal way. The blonde and the Mercenary looked at each other and sighed desperately.

"Hey, guys!" The trio turned to see their companion coming towards them with a couple of young-looking people. One of them was tall—taller than her and close to Alucard's height although he didn't quite reach. He was tanned, with dark brown hair that was shoulder length and curled at the ends; the look was completed with a short and well-kept beard the same color as the chocolate strands. He looked to be around his mid-twenties. Alucard immediately took a dislike to him. The other person was a young woman the same age as Inés only taller and with short, bob-cut ginger hair. Her freckles, which covered her whole pale face and neck and her green eyes stood out under the weak lights of the motel's lobby. They were dressed as some kind of noble and a bard respectively.

"So I have been talking to these nice people and they agreed to take us to London in exchange for some help." Inés had a beaming smile and was practically glowing with excitement. Red eyes fixed on the three humans' joined arms.

"What kind of…help?" asked Pip as he lit a cigarette. Seras was curious, while Alucard aimed a sour face at the girl.

"We are a traveling reenactment company and we are currently headed to a small, semi-abandoned village for one of our shows. After that, our next client will provide a flight to London so we could travel to the new destination," the young man explained in a slight accent.

"We, unfortunately, lost a few members without previous warning and we find ourselves with some vacancies for minor roles. We will be delighted to offer you seats in that plane if you help us replacing them," the other girl finished for him with a small smile directed at Inés.

"It will be just for a couple of days, three tops, and we won't be doing much, just standing around to fill the scene and maybe a couple of lines to act our part. Besides, they will provide shelter and free food for us." Inés knew she had already won Seras over, if going by the look of wonder in her big blue eyes, and Pip was convinced by the 'free food' part. Alucard, on the other side, was looking more and more somber with each word spoken. He was burning holes into her and if looks could kill… His answer was clear: No.

Inés didn't back down and glared back: Yes.

"NO."

So they were going.

After all, what other option did they have? The mission in Rio had been finished way before the day they were supposed to, so it would be at least a week before Integra needed them to go to the meeting. Furthermore, there had not been any news reporting a terrorist attack, so Anderson had never seen it on TV. There wouldn't be a Vatican plane anytime soon, either. Inés sighed and pulled the blankets closer, it was cold. The rain had started shortly after they had retired for the night and the temperature was dropping quickly. Their story was simple: they told the company their luggage had been lost in the airport and they had no money or clothes and couldn't go home. Jolene had been kind enough to lend her some nightclothes, although they weren't much her style. Looking down at the white nightgown with a grimace, it was part of the reenactment costumes and thus looked ancient. She figured she couldn't be picky in these situations. She got comfortable on the squeaky bed and closed her eyes.

Still better than steeling a plane. How did he ever think we'd accomplish such a thing? An image of Alucard with a ski mask on and hijacking some random plane the Hollywood way brought a fit of giggles. As soon as it had come though, the smile went away, replaced by a face of concentration.

She couldn't sleep; too many things had happened and were happening to be able to sleep now. Besides she was thirsty and her mouth had gone dry a long time ago. Resigned, Inés opened her eyes to the darkness of the small bedroom, stood up and made her sleepy way to the living-room, feet dragging on the floor. There was no light and she could barely make out the shape of the fridge. When her hands finally grazed the cold contraption, she smiled in relief. A water bottle was her objective. She found a small one lying on the first shelf and quickly took it, uncapped it and started drinking. The teen turned around, the yellow bulb of the fridge illuminating the room in an eerie light.

"Pffffff... ¡Hostia puta! Ah! Ah..." Inés spat the water and clutched her chest while she panted. "Joder... Algún día de estos..." The scare had been big and as she leaned against the counter to support herself, her eyes travelled back to the trigger of it all.

Alucard was sitting alone and quietly on a chair in the middle of the room, hair wild and covering his face and… a sword rested on his lap? All and all, he looked like something out of a horror movie. She hesitated before closing the fridge door and tuning on a small lamp. It didn't do much and the creepy ambiance only seemed to increase with the little light it gave.

"God, it got worse." Inés approached him and, as fast as she could, retracted when his head snapped in her direction.

If a word were to describe his face right now, it would be 'intense'. His glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness and stared right into her own brown ones. His mouth was set in a firm line. He was still in his Dracula form. Was he even aware of that? She had to admit he did look good and his features were not unpleasant, although all of that was stained red from his tears. His hands, which were the only part of him aside from his face and legs that was visible, were clad in armor. She realized that at the short distance she was standing from him, said hands could easily grab her, but despite her sudden nervousness, she was stuck to the floor, like a deer in headlights.

He put his sword aside and stood, dragging the now-visible cape along. This was what made Inés snap out of the trance she had been and frantically look for the exit door back to her bedroom. She felt small, she felt vulnerable, and she felt scared. Goddammit, she was sure her knees were shaking. He was HUGE and the armor and cape only made him look even bigger and more menacing.

If she thought normal pimp Alucard could be scary, this was a whole new level. Holy shit, she was staring at Dracula and she was still alive.

This dude killed people, Inés, she thought. And for the first time since she had met him, she felt real fear. It was easy to ignore that when he was all crazy psycho and looking like something out of a cartoon, but with this appearance and attitude she couldn't deny it. Her breath hitched and her heart was three beats away from bursting out of her ribcage. What have I gotten myself into this time?

He closed the space between them until her nose bumped into his armor-clad chest. Slowly, a hand made its way to her face, pieces of metal brushing against skin when it suddenly stopped just shy of touching her. The ring of a phone broke the silence and Inés's shock. Alucard carefully took out the device from somewhere in his clothes that the girl couldn't pinpoint exactly. The name on screen of the little device: Integra.

"Excuse me." With that, the teen slipped away from the imposing figure and ran to her room, red following her quick steps.

How many times was he going to be tormented with the same dream? He was back again in the graveyard, Helsing above him ready to strike as those brown eyes silently watched the scene play out.

"¡Hostia puta!"

He woke up and lifted his head quickly when he felt he was not alone in the room.

There she was, long hair down and dressed in a white night gown which reached the floor, the picture of his dream. He didn't know what came over him, the fact that he was still half asleep, the turmoil of his altered memories or the fact that brown had replaced blonde in his thoughts. He stood up and slowly, as if trying not to scare her or maybe because he himself was scared that she would disappear like a mirage. He reached for her; his fingers were almost upon her skin when the annoying ringtone of his phone broke the silence, signaling that it was, in fact, not a dream. He took it out, the moment lost, and watched as she retreated back to her room. He sighed frustrated, what was going on with him?

Translations:

"¿Pero qué…?" - What the...?

"Un grupo de teatro o de recreación histórica tal vez. ¿Alguna compañía?" - A theater group or a historical reenactment one maybe. A company?

"Pffffff... ¡Hostia puta!" - Pffffff... Holy shit!

"Joder... Algún día de estos..." - Fuck... One of theese days...

Väl Apple here!

So this is the next arc of this fanfic ;) It's more of a present from me to me because I'm such a nerd for medieval stuff, but I hope you like it as well, my lovely readers.

Check out my instagram tpr_apple or my Deviantart Thepoisonedredapple for a fanart of Jolene and don't be shy to ask for more fanart you would like to see.

I don't know the situation you all are in right now. As you may know, my country is currently undergoing a quarantine due to the coronavirus and there is nothing much to do about it but wait and hope for the best. That's why I hope theese little things here cheer you up as much as they cheer me. Stay safe and happy, my lovely readers.