"He said that he knew me, Velkan," Victoria whispered as they sat together in her empty chamber. She had curled against the metal headboard, her arms wrapped around her legs as she rested her chin on her knees, her eyes looking at Velkan with worry as she did so. The Gypsy Prince did his best not to look so confused at what she was saying.
Her eyes were cast to the floor, her hands still shaking as Velkan moved to take hold of one, holding it tightly in his and snapping her from the daze she had moved into. He kept quiet for a few seconds, staring her in the eye as she stared back, her brows knitting together halfway up her pale forehead.
"He does not know you," Velkan said. "How could he know you, Victoria?"
"I don't know, Velkan," Victoria snapped back. She knew it had been unnecessary, but she couldn't help it when she was in such a state. She shook her head back and forth as Velkan ran his thumb along her knuckles, trying to soothe her and stop her from hyperventilating.
"He was trying to scare you," Velkan promised her, shifting closer so that he could rest his other hand on her kneecap, his fingers massaging the skin there as she leaned forwards and her free hand pushed through his hair.
"But why would he say something like that?" Victoria whispered; her voice softer than before. "He knew my name too...when he touched me..."
Velkan felt his blood boil at that piece of information but he kept quiet, inhaling a sharp breath and looking back to Victoria as she stared at him with doe eyes, looking at him as though he knew the answer to her worries. He didn't, of course he didn't. He had no idea what was running through her mind or what Dracula intended to do to her.
"He will not take you," Velkan promised her. "You have my word, Victoria. I shall do everything I can to protect you."
Victoria looked him in the eye, seeing that he was deadly serious. Of course he was; Velkan would hardly joke on a matter such as this. He took a second to lean closer to her, pressing his lips against her pale cheek. She closed her eyes, the feeling on Dracula's cold lips on her neck causing her to shudder against Velkan.
"Is he the reason why I came here?" Victoria suddenly wondered. "Is there something I really do not know about-"
"-No," Velkan refused to believe that. "You need to stop thinking about him, Victoria. He does not have answers. He was trying to scare you. I am certain of it."
Victoria kept quiet, sensing that Velkan was annoyed but also scared. He was as frightened as she was, but he hid it through curt sentences and lead heavy words. Victoria kept silent for a few moments before she heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase.
"Vic, why is the well such a mess outside? There is wood scattered everywhere?" Maria questioned her friend, looking down at her dress which was covered in grass stains as she moved down the corridor and to their chamber. It was only when she looked up did she realise why her friend had yet to reply.
"Oh, you have a visitor," Maria observed.
"This is Maria, Velkan," Victoria gestured to her friend and the Gypsy Prince let a loose nod escape him, no trace of a smile on his face as he did so. "Velkan, this is Maria."
"Pleasure," Maria nodded slowly. "Do you want me to go, Vic? I can give you two a few moments alone if you want?"
"Lovely, thank you," Velkan answered for Victoria.
Victoria kept silent, nodding to confirm Velkan's statement whilst Maria turned on her heel and walked away from the pair of them.
"I have no intention of saying anything about tonight to Maria," Victoria quickly informed Velkan. "I do not want anybody to know what happened-"
"-You have to be jesting with me," Velkan said, a smile of disbelief on his face. "The Count has made a threat to make you his, Victoria. Do you think I intend to forget that? Do you think I intend to let this matter go? No, I shall not. I shall do all in my power to keep him from you and destroy him before he can scare you again."
Victoria shook her head and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear as she kept hold of Velkan's hand, squeezing it tightly and then running her other hand down his cheek as his teeth continued to grind together.
"No," she shook her head at him. "What do you suggest I do, Velkan? I cannot spend the rest of my days hiding from him."
"Come with me to the castle," Velkan urged her. "Come and stay where it is safe."
Victoria shook her head. "You cannot bring me back with you. I am a commoner, Velkan. I am not someone who should be living with you."
"My father wanted to meet you anyway," Velkan drawled out. "Please, Victoria. It will help to put my mind at rest."
He moved forwards to kiss her on the forehead and she breathed in his scent as her nose rubbed against the collar of his shirt. It was only then when she agreed with him and she saw the relief wash through his face and he kissed her on the cheek quickly.
...
"My father left this evening," Velkan informed Victoria once he returned into the library to find her when he had asked her to wait. She was wandering around, looking at the books which lined the walls, her fingers tickling against their spines as she went.
Velkan poured himself a goblet of water from the table by the chair, downing the fluid in one swift motion whilst Victoria looked around in awe. She smiled over to him and moved closer to him again.
"Where has he gone?" she asked politely.
Velkan took another deep breath and Victoria wished she hadn't asked him. He was determined to kill Dracula before anyone else could be hurt by him. She rested a hand on Velkan's shoulder, squeezing it tightly whilst he smiled and patted her hand, kissing the back of her knuckles as he did so.
"He will be safe," Victoria did her best to assure him.
"I do hope so," Velkan said and moved the conversation along. "How do you like our home?"
Victoria laughed lightly and turned to look around the library, almost as if she were inspecting it. "I have not seen a home like this since I left England. My parents had a library, but it was never this grand. How long has the home been in your family for?"
"A long time now," Velkan said, his eyes intent on Victoria as she pulled a book out from the shelf and looked down at it, wiping the dust from its cover as she did so. "It used to be the Count's home, but he abandoned it."
Victoria felt a chill run down her spine before she slammed the book shut and placed it back as thought it had burned her. Velkan noted the motion and couldn't help but think how skittish she seemed. He said nothing before offering her his arm.
"Perhaps a tour of the rest of the house would be nice?" he suggested and Victoria hastily took his arm, allowing him to guide her from the room. She tossed her head over her shoulder as she went, taking another moment to look back into the room, wondering why it felt so familiar to her all of a sudden.
...
Dracula didn't know what came over him, but he knew that staying away from Victoria was seeming like less and less of an option now that he had seen her again. The sight of her pale skin against her dull brown hair and her wide orbs was enough to drive him to breaking point.
Why had Verona gone against him? Why had she been the one to ruin everything? He did not know, but he knew that he had scared her more than he ever had done. She was currently sleeping; Aleera and Marishka were speaking in hushed tones as he flew away from them.
He would find Victoria again. This time he would have no interruptions.
...
Victoria sat by the fireplace, a book in her hands as she curled into a ball in the small chair. She had been reading for hours, sleep practically evading her as everyone else slept. Velkan had showed her to her chamber, promising her that she could meet his sister and father the following day. He had held her tenderly for a few moments, urging her to rest well and sleep.
The guest chamber was larger than any Victoria had seen in a long time. The four poster bed dominated the room whilst a chair sat by the fireplace and a wardrobe and dresser were situated either side of the window.
It was she felt her eyelids shutter did the noise enter her ears at the same time. Whirling around in her seat, she startled as she felt a hand clamp over her mouth, muffling the screams which wanted to escape her. The hand pressed her head back against the chair as he moved around, finally looking her in the eye.
He could see the fear pale her skin. He could smell her blood underneath her veins. But more than anything, he could hear her heartbeat under her chest. He took a deep breath at that, bending down to crouch in front of her.
"My dear Victoria," he crooned. "I know that you have questions for me. I know that my words trouble you. I would be shocked if they didn't."
Victoria attempted to push his hand from her mouth, only for him to move closer to her, standing in between her legs and pressing his chest against hers, his index finger running over the top of her nightgown, tantalizingly close to her breast.
"Sh," he urged her as she tried to fight him. "Keep quiet. I would hate to kill the Prince Velkan in front of you if he were to come running in."
And with those words he had stopped her from making any further movement. He could feel his blood boil as she tamed so easily. She really did care for him and it almost made him want to take her then and there. Slowly, he released her mouth from his hands, watching as her lips parted and she sucked in breath. He took a step back, his hands resting on her thighs as he steadied himself in between her parted legs.
"How do you know me?" Victoria finally dared to ask, only to look down and find him staring at her stomach with awe. She looked down too, wondering what possessed him to act this way around her. But he was too busy recalling the words Van Helsing had spoken all those years ago.
"There had been a child...a bastard..."
"I know you more than you know yourself," he promised her.
"That doesn't answer my question," Victoria snapped and made to stand up, pushing him from her as she moved by the fire, folding her arms over her chest and he stood tall too, watching her as she looked anywhere but at him.
"Only you can truly know who I am," he promised her. "We met years ago, my dear. Back when I was alive...four hundred years ago..."
Her brows furrowed and she shook her head back and forth, refusing to believe a single word he said. How could she? None of it truly made any sense to her.
"That is impossible. I was born less than thirty years ago," she responded.
"Do you ever wonder why you are here?" he asked from her. "Do you ever wonder what pulled you here before you came? Why is it that you feel as though you know this house?"
Shaking her head back and forth, Victoria took a few moments to close her eyes and gulp loudly. He moved closer to her and she snapped her eyes open. She pushed by him and stood by the four poster bed, her body still shaking as she did so.
"So you are trying to tell me that I am...well...someone from your past? That I look like someone you knew?"
"You are her," he promised, turning on his heel to look back at her. "You are the reason I am who I am. You are the one who made me this, Victoria. All those years ago when you were snatched from me; and now you are back."
"This is ridiculous!" Victoria snapped at him. "I have never met you before in my life. I am nothing to do with you!"
"Yes, you are," he promised, urging her to keep her voice down as he stepped closer to her, his hands finally brushing her shoulders and she felt her body freeze. A look of triumph came over his face as he moved a hand to brush along her collarbone. "See? You do not fear me, Victoria. My touch is familiar to you."
"No," she shook her head. "It is not."
He hooked his arm around her waist, pushing her back against the post on the bed and she gulped as his fingers curled around her hip and his other hand teasingly moved through her hair, parting her thick limp curls under his touch.
"I cannot force you to remember," he whispered, his mouth gaping as he moved down to her neck and she noted the sharp teeth which sat there. She whimpered as his lips pressed against her flesh and she tried to fight his hold, only finding it near impossible.
"But you will...one day you will remember who you and who you belong to," he promised her. "Being here should speed the process up. You remember the library, don't you?"
It was then when Victoria took hold of his chin and forced him to look her in the eye as she looked confused and scared. He smirked, knowing that she must have been in there. It had been the same room he had made love to her years ago.
"It was the night when you agreed to marry me," he whispered, looking at her as she searched his face, wondering what he was speaking of. "The night I claimed you for my own in front of the fireplace."
Victoria said nothing. What was racing through her mind? What was she thinking? She knew that his words rang true occasionally. She was well aware of that and that was the part which frightened her. Why was she not running from him? Why was she so calm and so willing to listen to him?
"No," Victoria finally said. "I cannot believe anything you say. I can-"
"-You do and you will," Dracula promised her, moving away from her as she spoke to him. He had to leave before he did something he might regret. He would woo her back to him in time. He would make sure of that. Only then would he claim her as his again. "I shall return to you, Victoria."
"But..." Victoria failed to finish her sentence as he disappeared suddenly and left her resting against the bedpost, her hands behind her and clutching to it as though it was the only thing to hold her up.