I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my readers, reviewers and beta reader wallaceb.
Forget the previous chapter, I wrote it while I was in the mood to joke!
Not good... I'm getting too predictable, I had written the previous chapter because you had figured out the truth about what had happened to Mavis, but almost all of you guessed that it could just be a joke... :-(
I'm sorry for the excessive waiting, unfortunately I would have to published the real chapter one or at most two days after the fake one, but unfortunately I had some unexpected work commitments, so I'll have to work even on Christmas Eve :-(
By the way, Merry Christmas to all my readers!
Another thing, I told you that there were only three chapters at the end, but I had forgotten about some ideas, so I cannot finish the story before the end of the year.
Enjoy the chapter!
CHAPTER 39 – The true truth
"Dad, are you all right? It looks like you're hiding something from me..." I ask almost menacingly. I don't want to hurt him, but I'm tired of all his lies.
My father immediately retracts back pretending nothing happened, but doing so makes me even more curious.
"Dad?!" I try to grumble at him, but he still does not respond.
"What happened in the last few days? I remember almost nothing! And why are all the guests happy to "see me in good health"? What happened to me?"
Silence.
I'm anxious and the fact of not knowing the reason makes me nervous and with my father continuing to hide the truth makes me lose my patience.
"Damn dad, do you want to answer me?!" I yell at him standing up and clapping my hands on the table, rattling dishes and glasses.
"What's all this noise?" A sweet female motherly voice comes from behind me.
"Mom?" I call in a loud voice, I want to shout all my happiness, but the emotion is too strong and paralyzes me. Only a large and uncontrolled open-mouth smile expands on my face.
I feel my heart beating in my throat as she slowly approaches and strokes my head vigorously messing my bangs. I return the affectionate gesture with a hug. I close my eyes and let my head be lulled on her lap.
"My little Mavy Wavy..." My mother sighs as she squeezes me on herself stroking my head gently adjusting my hair.
I remain there, motionless, cuddled in that warm embrace... I mean... her skin is cold as mine... we say a hug that warms the heart!
A love-full hug...
But why did I expect it... warm to the touch?
My heart beats fast, but this time it's due to concern.
I should be happy, why am I not?
Why does my mother, who until a moment ago I loved, now seem to be a stranger?
And what happened to that motherly hug? I seem to be strangled...
And all the love that I felt? I seem to be threatened...
I let my arms slip and she does the same.
I look up to her.
There's a sweet smile on her face.
But it scares me...
Why?
I don't know...
She's beautiful, just like the painting with my father... But why is that painting the only image I remember about her?
My fear increases, and both she and my father seem to notice it, their happy expressions change.
They stare at me confused.
The fear increases, my heart beats louder and louder.
Dracula gets up and walks over to me together with Martha.
The fear increases, my breathing becomes more labored.
The two hold out their hand to me, kindly.
The fear increases, I step back to avoid them.
Those two stop. They stare at me.
The fear increases, I feel a drop of cold sweat run down my cheek.
Their eyes are sad, probably afraid of doing something wrong. Until a moment ago knowing I was the cause of my parent's sadness would have destroyed me, but now I don't care anything about them... Indeed, I wish they would disappear.
But why am I acting this way?
I feel oppressed, so I move towards the table and rest my hands on it.
I took deep breaths to calm myself, but it's useless.
Then suddenly I feel soothing warmth on my back that gives me shivers of pleasure; it reaches the shoulders, chest, and finally I can feel it on my cheek, like being hugged and kissed by someone who loves me as I have never been loved before.
I look back, but no one is hugging me. My attention is attracted by a mirror hanging on the wall next to me. Obviously none of those present appears in the mirror, but there is however someone and he would seem to be standing next to where I am.
He has a hand slightly raised, as if he is resting it on something invisible. I touch my shoulder with a hand, I don't feel anything strange to the touch, but the warmth... like touching a ghost, but the ghosts are cold...
I walk over to the mirror and the messy red head does the same.
My head starts to hurt and I hear distant murmurs, but I don't understand where they come from.
I can understand only a few words:
"...At least think of Jonathan"
Jonathan... this name...
I turn to my father, but he's different, he's got tears in his eyes and looks at me in a desperate silence.
His face is dirty and his clothes are torn.
I've never seen him so badly hurt before, but he seems more "himself"...
Behind him I see the trees and the grass beneath his feet.
Where am I?
He approaches a hand to me, as if to reach me.
"Dad... I'm afraid..." I beg him, disquieted.
But a moment later I'm back in that castle, the cold hand of Martha that touches my shoulder made me return back to this reality ... But now what is real? Here everything is perfect, why would I not stay here?
"What's wrong with my baby?" My mother asks me.
"I-I ..." I start to speak while I turn to look at the mirror and I break myself.
"You?" I mutter.
The mirror boy moves his lips; I hear nothing but his lips movements seems to have said "You?" as to imitate my own tone.
"Mavy, did you say something?" The woman asks me.
I'm shaking, my head hurts more and more, and... and... I calm down.
I clench my hands into white-knuckled fists, then unsheathe my claws and dig them in Martha's chest with anger, pushing her strongly up to knock her against the wall.
"Mavis! What did you do?!" Dracula screams, running towards his wife.
I step back; pull out my fingers from that body and the blood drips from my hands on the floor.
Marta falls on her knees, supported by Dracula.
"My mother died a long time ago..." I replied to him, uninterested.
With the corner of my eye I notice that his expression changes drastically.
I ignore him and I put a hand on the mirror, the boy smiles at me and I do the same.
"Who are you?" I whisper.
"Impossible!" Dracula shouts, angry and incredulous.
I turn toward him.
"I've destroyed all memories she had about you!" He yells at the mirror, ignoring me, then smiles, "It doesn't matter, you are just a weak reflection... and soon nothing will remain..."
"You're not my dad!" I growl at the man, drawing his attention, "Tell me who you are!"
He smiles at me.
"Why does everyone want to know who I am?" He asks me, but I don't understand what he's referring to.
The mirror shatters.
"You are alone now." He says, then on his face a crack forms, like a cracked clay doll,"Are you afraid of me?" He asks me, while his movements open up new cracks in his face and his clothes which crumble, showing what's underneath.
"Lilith..." I growl in reply.
She makes an evil grin.
"I have shown you how your friends are evil, I showed you how your father is evil, how humans are evil, and I've even created a perfect world for you, why don't you accept my offer? Why do you want to stop me?"
"Monsters and humans are not all evil!"
"It's useless to lie to themselves, inside all of you, humans and monsters, there is evil, you hide it, but there is, let me turn this world into a better world!"
"NO!" I yell in rage, "YOU are evil, not everybody. Only YOU have no chance to change yourself. You bastard!"
"I, bastard?" She chuckles, "You shouldn't tell me these things, after all, you owe me one..."
"I owe you nothing!"
"If it were not for me you would never have met the redheaded boy, as you call him..."
I look at her, puzzled.
"My beloved incarnations have guided him to you. A rigged contest with whom he won the European tour arriving in Transylvania on the day of your birthday, the people who told him of the cursed forest and who have kept away because of the ghosts and zombies in the woods..."
"I don't believe you..." I interrupt her, stunned.
"To draw the attention of that human my lamias made your father's zombies catch fire during the staging of the human village..."
"No... You're lying!"
"Why should I lie? Your father was a tough cookie, I admit it, he always tried to separate the boy from you and kick him away, luckily you are much more malleable and every time it was easy to bring you to him to prevent him from leaving."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Why were you at the window of an empty room? Why were you at the cemetery? Both times you prevented the human from leaving. Right place at the right time, twice? Unlikely to be just a coincidence."
"I... I..." I close my eyes, lower my head and I put a hand on my forehead. The pain is unbearable.
"Do you have difficulty remembering, right? Don't worry, your soul is getting weaker, Camazotz is slowly eating you and soon nothing of you will remain."
"Damn you..." I whine, kneeling, the head pain almost prevents me from speaking.
"Ohw, poor girl... But I haven't yet told you the hardest part and the funniest one! The hard part was to convince you to flee from the hotel; the only way was to you see your father as a threat, but he has extraordinary self-control. But luckily you're not like him; it was enough to blow a bit on the fire of your passion and what your father saw was enough to weaken him."
Some flashes of what she tells come back to my mind.
"Then it's your fault?"
She replies with a grin.
"But you want to know what was the funniest part?"
"Shut up!" I growl, but the effort increase the pain in my head, so much that I fall on my knees.
"Van Helsing..."
This name... just hearing it makes me mad...
"Do not try to remember my child, soon you yourself will fall into oblivion and you will be nothing... We could do great things together..."
She approaches me, while everything around me crumbles, and in a moment only Lilith and me remain, a dark void around us.
"Are you scared?" She repeats.
"Why should I be scared? You are weak..." I smile with a look of defiance.
She looks at me, confused.
"You are afraid of me and of the redheaded boy."
She frowns her forehead, angry.
"I feel your fear"… I said with a feeble voice, imitating her tone when she was just a little voice in my head, to jeer her.
"You'll not even remember his name, indeed; perhaps you will not even remember yours!"
"I... I..."
I grit my teeth in anger. That woman was dead right.
Immediately after I have a strong and sudden feeling of dizziness, I fall to the ground, but there is no ground beneath me. I'm falling down, while she, staring at me amused with a haughty look, becomes more and more distant.
Darkness.
…
I wake up.
I have the whole body numb.
I try to get up, but again I fall to the ground.
I'm so tired.
It's cold, very cold.
Let me just stay here and rest.
In peace.
No worries,
No problems,
No fight,
No more.
…