I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my followers, reviewers and beta reader wallaceb.
CAPITOLO 13 - The man who sleeps
Blink...
Blink, Blink...
Drops of water were falling from the ceiling onto the girl's face.
Mavis opened her eyes, she felt exhausted and in pain, but at least she was lying on a soft and warm bed.
She had a headache, so she raised her hand and placed it on her forehead realizing her face was completely bandaged.
The vampiress sat up on the bed, but she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She untied the ribbon on her white dressing gown and opened it, even her body was bandaged.
"I was hoping it was only a bad dream..." The vampiress thought sadly, and then looked around, the view was still too blurry to see, but she seemed to be alone.
She got out of bed and rubbed her eyes, the room was small and cold, with no windows and the air was damp and smelled musty, it was the same smell as the operating room.
On the wall there was only a torch, but it was extinguished, the only faint light came from the massive old wooden door with a grate. She seemed to be in a cave.
Mavis walked unsteadily placing a hand on the wall to keep her balance.
The stone she felt under her bare feet and under her hands was cold and clammy. She staggered to the door of the room and held herself to the bars of the window trying to look out. She saw a corridor with the succession of rooms of the subterranean infirmary, but there was no one there.
The vampiress began to open the door slowly to not make any noise, but she closed it again after seeing a dwarf get out of another room. She saw him better, he was Mr. Hyde, the architect of the castle, who held the cylinder hat resting on his chest and walked with his head down, he seemed sad. Mavis felt a stabbing pain in her heart, so much so that she fell to her knees.
"Jonny's there... in that room... I know..." She whispered to herself.
The vampiress stood up even though she had not yet recovered from the pain. She opened the door and continued her painful march rubbing a hand on the wall to the funeral chamber, where she entered with her eyes closed.
"Jonny?" Mavis sighed, hoping for an answer that would never come.
She opened her eyes; the room was brightly lit by candles left by guests of the Hotel to commemorate the boy. In the middle of the room was the bulky backpack leaning against the bed covered with a black cloth that came down to the ground. It looked like an altar above where Jonathan was lying. He was wearing dark elegant clothes and his hair was combed. He did not look like himself, so well looked after, even his face was serene. He seemed to be only sleeping.
Mavis made her way among the flowers piled around the bed, and she sat down next to the boy and began to stroke his hair.
"I miss you... I miss you so much... you have become a part of my life, you have turned it upside down, and in so little time you go away? Why would you open my heart and then leave it alone? Why didn't I die with you? At least I didn't suffer so much... You know... the sound of breaking dreams is the worst noise that exists and now it crumbled completely... The trips I wanted to do with you, the freedom I had desired that finally arrived, get married and have a family to care for, to love and to protect... But who can I protect? If I haven't been able to defend either you or myself from that hunter, indeed, at last I have been your Executioner."
The girl moved her bare feet on the bed keeping her knees high on which she rested her head, and hugged her legs. She loved to be in that position when she was feeling sad and lonely because she seemed to be hugged and comforted by her mother who she had never known.
"On my head hangs the same curse as my father, the people we love are stolen from us! It's my fault, all my fault and I'm sorry that all of this happened to you, your only crime was to believe in this love too impossible and unnatural. But how can I blame you, even I was like you, but now... What am I? I can't even recognize myself.
Dad said if you came back to life as a zombie you'd only be a shadow of my Jonny, but also I who am alive am nothing more than a shadow of myself.
What is the meaning of love? What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of feelings? Why do we have to depend on other people? It would be so much easier not to have a soul, no emotions, no suffering, no pain, no worries..."
Mavis wanted to cry, but she could not, her eyes were dry, she had no more tears to shed. She lowered her head and rested her face on her hands.
Buzzzzzzzz... buzzzzzzzz... buzzzzzzzz...
The girl raised her head sharply and looked around, the noise came from a pocket of the backpack, and she then stood up to see what it was.
She bent down to open it, the wound of the arrow began to give her severe pain, but she did not pay much attention and pulled out Jonathan's mobile phone that was vibrating.
On the screen was the word "incoming call - mom" and below an arrow that says "slide to answer", Mavis touched the screen and slid her finger as recommended by the arrow, on the screen appeared Jonathan's mother with some noisy dudes behind her:
"Boys shut up, he answered! Mavis, are you? You are a fancy dress party? You look dressed like a mummy! Where is my beautiful little mouse?"
Beside the woman appeared six young figures, there were five boys and a red haired girl with white hair, but the quality of video call was not very good due to the low signal coming into the dungeons of the castle. So many details were not visible but they looked like Jonny therefore Mavis imagined they were his brothers.
The girl had the courage to speak. For a moment she said nothing, and thought about how to break the news that would forever demolished the happiness of this family.
"Hello Mavis!" The voice of the youngest child came forward, and then came all the others:
"Hi!"
"Hey!"
"So, it's true!"
"I can't wait to meet you"
Being the cause of Jonathan's death was already a big burden for Mavis' consciousness to carry and adding being the cause of the collapse of his family would have been too much to bear, but she had to do it, hiding the dust under the carpet does not solve problems and if there was one thing she learned from her father was that lies and omissions never lead to anything good. She braced herself and began to speak:
"This is not a mummy disguise, there is no costume party, and the truth is that I'm wounded... an armed man attacked us..."
"Oh my God! And how is Jonathan?" The woman said, worried.
Mavis saw all those eyes closer to the screen, she hesitated a moment, but she could not stop forever, so she spoke again:
"No, I'm sorry... Jonny... died defending me."
On the other end of the phone there was a moment of general paralysis, which then burst into laughter:
"Ahahahahahah! We almost got fooled, but we don't fall for jokes like that!"
"I never joke about these things." Mavis said in a serious tone, while her heart was beating faster and faster. The pain was taking her breath and a red spot began to expand on bandages on her face. Jonathan's relatives stopped laughing and began to worry, the vampiress turned the phone's camera to the boy's body.
"If it is a joke it is not funny! Tell me that's a joke like those Jonathan loves to do!" The mother of the boy began to increase her voice.
"I wish I could say it..." Then a voice interrupted Mavis:
"My honey! You are hurt, and you should not go around! What are you doing here?" It was Dracula that approached her and wrapped the girl in his mantle embracing her gently.
"I know what has happened has shocked you, it has troubled all of us..."
"Answer me, Mavis! What has happened to my son?!" The voice from the phone interrupted Dracula, who worriedly turned to his daughter:
"Why did you call Jonathan's parents?"
"They had a right to know. I know you prefer living in lies and not face reality, but it is better to know that a loved one will never come back home that live under the illusion every day that you may open the door and embrace him."
Then Mavis felt a strong tingling in her arms and an overwhelming pain in her chest. She began to fall down, but was picked up by her father, She picked up the phone and saw Jonathan's desperate brothers; their mother had fainted in the chair where she sat and a great clamor of questions and tears increased, the vampiress felt too bad for them to understand, so with a faint voice she merely said:
"I'm so sorry..." Then the phone slipped from her hands and fell to the ground cracking the monitor. The line went dead.
The pain in Mavis' chest increased. She tried to steady herself by the mantle of her father, but her hand fell down.
Dracula picked up his daughter, now unconscious and took her back to bed.
Big surprises come in the next chapter, will be positive or negative? Continue to follow me and comment if you want! It's always a pleasure to chat with you!
See you!