Hi-ya! Sorry about the format could somebody please tel me how to turn off the stupid double space on this thing?!?!?!? Alrighty, down to buisness, no I do not own Van Halsing. (Only in my dreams which is a scary place to be in the first place.) ENJOY!

CH4:
Vanessa smoothed Celeste's sleeping brow with a cool washcloth. Anna sat darkly in an armchair in the corner of the room. There was a hard knock and Velken entered the room looking murderous.

"They got away." He grumbled, taking a seat in the chair next to Anna's.

"Where is your father?" Vanessa asked, her voice was low and cracked from stress and worry.
"He's trying to figure out where they went." Velken responded.
"Oh." Was all Vanessa said in reply, but her green eyes flashed in annoyance, anger, and something Anna chose to ignore. The Queen rose and left the room, ordering, "Anna, keep that washcloth on Celeste's forehead. Velken, do not let anyone in this unless it is I or your father, or they bear a note from us." Anna took her mother's place by Celeste's side, gazing guiltily into her little sister's face. Vanessa threw her children one last protective glance before exiting slammign the door behind her.
"I couldn't protect you." Anna's voice sounded foreign and harsh as she spoke.
"You were up against Aleera. She's the nastiest of Dracula's whores." Velken comforted her. It wasn't usual she and Velken could get along so well, but they now shared a common worry. Celeste. "They're going to have a huge fight now." Velken continued referring to their parents.

"Don't you think Dad deserves it a bit?" Anna asked tentatively.
"No!" Velken was taken aback and slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "He was only doing our family duty! Mom had no right to be angry"
"But Celeste could be dead right now, and he wouldn't even know it." Anna pointed out. "He didn't bother to come and see if she was O.K"
"Anna, he was chasing the vampires. He does that to keep all of us safe! We would be dead if it weren't for what he does." Velken shot at her, his temper rising. Velken had always had a fierce family pride, he would defend his father's honor with his life. Anna ignored her brother's harshness and looked into Celeste's face. It was usually so full of life, but now the smile was gone, the bright hazel eyes were closed, and the light that had radiated from her was gone. In the moonlight Celeste looked more like a waxen doll than a human child. There was a knock on the door and Velken stood,
"Who is it?"
"Your mother and father." Vanessa's voice sounded from the other side of the door. Velken let them in, Anna noticed the red glow to her mother's face. She had been shouting, and from her father's blotchy skin and frown he had been too.

"Does she have a fever?" Boris asked, looking concerned at Celeste.
"A small one. I'm just worried about the deep gash at the back of her head. Anna check the bandages, head wound's bleed a lot." Vanessa got straight to business again, rolling up her sleeves. Anna nodded and slipped a hand gently under her sister's head, pulling it back she saw her pale skin was stained with blood.

"It needs changing." She informed her mother.

"That's the third one." Vanessa's face clouded over and she ran over to the cabinet where she was keeping her medical supplies. Pulling out new linen strips to serve as bandages she ordered, "Flip her gently and hold her there Velken." The prince obeyed his mother, Anna stood back and allowed Vanessa to take her place. As Vanessa unwound the tight bloodstained bandages Anna saw the true extent of the wound, it was deep and ran the length of Celeste's head. Bloody and raw skin outlined the gash and a dark cracked scab was forming on the corners. Anan turned away in disgust and horror.

"I'll get those monsters for this!" Boris turned in anger to leave the room, but Vanessa's voice cut through the air like a knife,
"Stop right there. For once in your life care more about the live people in your life than the undead ones."

A week had passed, and Celeste had finally opened her eyes, she seemed fine, but she could not remember how she had gotten hurt, or when it had happened. When she had asked her mother why Vanessa had said,
"It is a blessing from God." Anna hadn't understood at first why it would be a blessing Celeste had lost a part of her memory, but after thinking for a while she had come to understand. Celeste would be one member of her family not to remember that horrible night. She would never have to sleep at night only to wake up screaming in a cold sweat, or feel chills running down her spine as she passed the armory as Anna did. That night replayed itself over and over in the darkest corridors of Anna's mind and she couldn't shake the feeling of weakness that crept over her body in idle moments. Now in the training room Anna had other things to focus on, such as destroying the dummy her father had set out for her. It was made of a metal pole sticking out of the ground with layer upon layer of thick burlap wound around it. Anna had spent hours upon end hacking at this thing, improving her endurance. All it was now was a scarred pole with a few scraps of material sticking to it, but Anna kept going. Every hit rang through her body and her hands were beginning to bleed. Anna couldn't feel it, her body was past the point of pain now, all that remained was sweet, sweet numbness.

"Anna, stop." She could barely hear her father's voice, it sounded far away, or under water. "Your working yourself to exhaustion"
"So?" She stubbornly persisted in hacking at the metal pole.
"Anna, this can't be good for that sword and it isn't good for your body. Take a break." Boris insister walking closer to her, Anna's vision swam with fatigue. "Anna Marie…" He didn't get a chance to finish, Anna collapsed and he caught her with a grunt.

Anna awoke in something soft and black, my bed…she thought weakly. She tried to wipe some of her hair out of her eyes, but she realized her hands were wrapped thick with bandages.

"What did you think you were doing?" A sharp voice rang out from Anna's left side and she rolled over in her bed to see her mother glaring out the window.

"Uhhh..."
"Honestly Anna, what do you hope to accomplish from driving yourself to the point of collapsing?" Vanessa persisted, but she would not look at her daughter. "You should know better."

"I thought..."
"Well that's a surprise. You actually thought for once. You never think things through before you do them!" Vanessa wasn't letting up.
"I just wanted to get stronger." Anna said, her own temper rising.
"Oh, and just how do you suppose your going to get stronger by running yourself ragged? Do you think your of any use lying unconscious on the ground?" Vanessa turned to face Anna, though her voice was mad, her eyes were frightened and there were dark circles under her eyes. "Don't ever do that again Anna. Please." Vanessa's eyes went teary and she wiped them. Anna realized how worried her mother must have been, Celeste was wounded and lying in bed, and here Anna was suddenly collapsing.

"So she awakens?" Velken entered the room without bothering to knock. "Hi squirt"
"Velken manners." Vanessa's strict tone hid the worried note only Anna could hear.

"I just came to tell Anna there was going to be a hunt in a month and if she got better she could go too." Velken rolled his eyes.
"REALLY!" Anna sat up straight in bed, suddenly all her exhaustion was gone.

"But you must rest and not go jumping about like a frog if you want to get better." Vanessa reminded sternly.

"I will." Anna promised immediately settling back in her bed.

"Great twerp. I'll tell Dad to count on you coming." Velken said as he shut the door. Anna was tempted to use some of her 'sailor speech' on her brother, but Vanessa would have killed her.