A/N: okay...no reviews...um i guess that's okay...i have been added as a favorite author and favorite story, but that's good too...wellll...here's chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dracula or any Van Helsing character for that matter....but I'm working on it....hehe.......I DO own Ekaterina though....she's my own creation, therefore I shall do what I want with her. hehe...

Chapter 2

Sound of Madness

"I don't know what to do!" Dracula raged.

"You need to talk to her," a look of mischief crossed Dracula's face as he pondered this, "Without intimidating her. She's scarcely an adult." Stela scolded.

"She's so stunning. She'd never accept a beast with a curse such as the one I possess," the pale man with the raven hair held his head in his hands.

"Master, I will talk to her. You should instruct her to dance to start out. She has the ideal form."

He nodded, "Alright, at nine, tell her to come to the ball room in one of her dresses."

"Alright," Stela smiled kindly at him, and rested a hand on Dracula's shoulder, "And you'll do fine," Stela materialized out of the room.

Dracula was absolutely touched at how Stela appeared to worry about him. He rapidly materialized to his guest's chambers and saw she was lying on the floor with her eyes closed. Dracula thought the worst of the condition.

"Ekaterina!" he fell to the ground alongside her and began to shake her.

Ekaterina's eyes flew open, "What's your problem?" she shrieked looking perplexed.

"Nothing. I want you out of this room! You said it yourself. You're sick of being cooped up," Dracula said, quirking his eyebrow.

Ekaterina was pissed. "Yeah I get it. You're an outcast. Always under attack. Always coming in last. Bringing up the past. No one owes you anything. I think you need a shot gun blast, or maybe even a kick in the ass, so paranoid. Watch your back!" she shouted at Dracula getting ready to assassinate him.

Dracula was greatly amused by Ekaterina's rant. "Oh my. Here we go. Another loose cannon gone bi-polar. Slipped down and couldn't get much lower. Even quicksand has got no sense of humor, but I'm still laughing like hell, Miss Tatarescu. Nothing you say will change that."

Ekaterina had a look of sheer outrage printed athwart her elegant features. She instantaneously stormed out of the room. She was still wandering the castle one long hour later when she found the most brilliant library she had ever seen.

She stepped into the splendorous library in admiration. Book shelves lined the walls from top to bottom. Most books were particularly aged; being from Dracula's time and even before.

One of the shelves was crammed with scrolls instead of books. One of the scrolls caught Ekaterina's eyes, "Romeo and Juliet," and it was an original copy. The original copy.

Vigilantly, Ekaterina heaved the old, intricately designed scroll off the shelf.

One hour later

Ekaterina was entirely engrossed in her story of illicit love when she felt a presence enter the library. Right away she knew who it was.

"I'm sorry for the episode before," said Dracula almost pleadingly.

Ekaterina being the rebellious person that she is did not buy it.

"You think that by crying to me, feeling so sorry, thinking that I'm going to believe you've been affected by a social disease. Well then, take your medicine because I don't."

Dracula lost what little control he had and struck the girl across her face leaving a hand shaped wound.

"Listen to me, Ekaterina!" he spat her given name, "I created the sound of madness. I wrote the book of pain," he faltered momentarily and persisted in a gentler tone, "Somehow I'm still here to explain that the darkest hour never comes in the night. You can sleep with a gun, but when are you going to get up and fight for yourself?" he wiped a tear from Ekaterina's cheek and observed with a grimace the welt he left there. He kept his hand on her cheek and the pain vanished.

"Thanks…Count," she said delicately not looking at him, "for talking some sagacity into me. I'm just so sick of this tombstone mentality. If there's an afterlife, then it'll set you free. But there's no reason someone without an afterlife, like you, shouldn't be free. But I'm not going to part the seas. You're a self-fulfilling prophecy." She took a cavernous breath and finally looked up at him.

Dracula had a amiable smile on his face, "Has anyone ever told you that you are an outstandingly intellectual girl, or merely that you talk too much?" He asked, chuckling.

Ekaterina on the other hand just gave Dracula the first of many room-brightening smiles, and blushed.

"That's much better, and I am very apologetic for losing control before. I am not used to being close to a human without…consuming them," he said penitently.

"And you're not planning on eating me." Said Ekaterina contemptuously.

"Well maybe in other ways," the vampire wiggled his eyebrows.

Ekaterina just defiantly stared at him, which only made him laugh harder. She rolled her eyes and strode out of the library in search of something to do.

She walked into her intricately furnished chambers, when Stela the juvenile and lethal, dazzling maid emerged in front of Ekaterina.

"I've been searching for you for the greatest time! The count has demanded your presence at the ballroom at exactly 9 o' clock."

"Why?" asked Ekaterina.

"He would like to edify you to dance. Every year on Hallow's Eve, the Count holds a ball."

"With thousands of vampires? No. I don't think I can do this."

"The Count wouldn't have it any other way, dear. Besides, he's a astonishing dancer." She grinned, and moved towards Ekaterina's closet.

"You have a plethora of dresses in here appropriate for dancing, so I'll let you select one for tonight."

"Well, I don't know." Ekaterina said indecisively.

"I'm sure you'll look lovely, even stunning perhaps!" Stela exclaimed, "May I help you get ready in four hours when the time comes?"

Ekaterina didn't know it was already 5 o' clock, "Sure. I think I'll need all the help I can get."

Stela vanished.

Dracula had been amused when Ekaterina fled the room but now he was just plain lonely.

"She won't love me. I have no heart. I am void." Said Dracula dejectedly to himself.

"Master," said his maid Stela soothingly, "Don't say this about yourself. You may not have a heart beat but you have a heart and you most certainly are not void."

"You apparently didn't see me slap…Ekaterina today. I am void and you can't contradict me."

"Master, the way you talk about Kat—er, I mean Ekaterina, I can sense the compassion that you feel for her. Don't for one minute think you are void."

"She probably thinks I'm void and have no heart." Dracula disagreed softly.

"Vlad, stop this imprudence!" Stela yelled, "You know better."

Ekaterina picked out a striking dress an astoundingly incredible shade of green and laid it on her bed.

I don't even deserve to dance with this man. No matter how much he terrifies me, he was a fucking prince in another life. A prince!

Ekaterina was frightened out of her thoughts by a knocking at her door.

"I don't comprehend why you're knocking at my door when you can indiscriminately appear in someone's room, Stela!" called Ekaterina.

So Stela appeared into the room chuckling, her eyes glowing with exhilaration, and then virtually pranced to Ekaterina who backed up to the wall, "Easy, killer. Someone needs to simmer down."

"Oh…Kat!" she paused struggling to get used to Ekaterina's nick name, "I've been anticipating this all day. I'm going to make you take Vlad—I mean Dracula's breath away!"

Dracula's words ricocheted in Ekaterina's mind. When are you going to wake up and fight for yourself?

"Stela, please don't go overboard!"

A/N: Please boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen don't be shy! We authors really DO love reviews...It makes our day brighter even when it's raining, or snowing in my case (In April! Come on!)lol. anyways i'm almost done writing chapter 3, and it's a bit shocking and deals with suicide sooooo if you don't like that sorta thing then, I dont' think that chapter is for you...well it's mention of suicide actually...i had fun writing it, so yeah. i could possibly get it up by tomorrow but i have track practice so i dunno it all depends on whether i have home work or not...thanks anyone who atleast read my story! :D