Alrighty guys, are you ready for some more suspense/drama? Thanks everyone who commented and please continue to do so. I love to see that people are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying to write it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Van Helsing
Claimer: I do own Anastasia, Anya, and Constantine
Once they reached the village, they noticed that very few were out that night. Aleera was not thrilled to see that there were no children out. Her face started to boil with rage. Her sisters on the other hand, were fine with who they found. Verona swooped down and grabbed a man who was about in his thirties. His yelp of pain awoke the whole village, but by the time they looked to see who the unfortunate victim was, Verona had already dropped his lifeless corpse to the ground.
Marishka snagged an elderly woman. She wasn't fond of the older blood, but it was quenched her thirst all the same. Just as she finished, she noticed that the peasants were watching her. If a crowd has gathered, she thought to herself, then I should probably give them a show. She then dived down at a small group of people who watched in horror as she came close to them. Right before she was within arm's length away from them, they scattered. Marishka couldn't help but laugh at how slow they were. She then saw a younger man who had somehow gotten away from the rest of the crowd. Marishka's eyes glowed with excitement. She then swooped down at him. She kept following him, until he had reached a dead end and she had cornered him. She then landed gracefully in front of the man.
"If you are going to kill me, then why don't you just do it?" he asked her in a tentative voice.
"But where is the fun in that?" she asked back playfully. She then stepped up next to him. He quivered in fear at her presence. "Don't worry, your death won't be slow," she said in a seductive tone. She then lifted him up by the neck and threw him against the wall of the building that he was next to. Right as he got up, Marishka noticed blood dripping from the top of his head. The smell of it was overwhelming. She then lifted him by his shirt and extended her fangs. The man's eyes grew wide with horror as he saw it. Marishka then sank her teeth into his neck. He was dead within minutes.
Aleera's luck, however, was not so good. She kept looking for a mother and child in the streets. She was scanning the scene for a few minutes when, finally, she found what she was looking for. She flew down and landed behind a building where she saw a woman holding a small bundle in her arms. As Aleera walked closer towards her, the woman held her child closer and closer to her.
"I know what you want," the woman said in an almost inaudible voice.
"Oh, do you now?" Aleera asked back, in a playful manor.
"Yes, but take my life instead. Spare the child's."
"But contraire, why should your child live while mine wait to be given life?"
Aleera then lunged at the woman and ripped the child from her arms. The infant's cries pierced the night sky. As Aleera pulled the cloth back to expose the infant's neck, she noticed the innocence in its face. She stopped right before her teeth hit its delicate skin. Aleera's dead heart ached as she saw what this woman had, and what she couldn't. Her jealousy soon over powered her as she was filled with anger. She then sunk her teeth into the child's neck. Once she had tasted the last drop of its blood, she licked her lips from the sweet taste. She then looked down at the woman who was gazing up at her with tears streaming down her face. She then dropped the child's dead body at the woman's feet.
"Too bad, it was such a lovely child too," and with that, she flew off to find her sisters.
Meanwhile, Dracula watched and was impressed with his brides' handy work. He loved their deadly yet graceful way of killing their prey. He killed his own share of villagers and once he satisfied his hunger he flew up into the air, and waited for his brides to finish. As he flew in the air, he saw Aleera on the ground, with the infant in her arms. He noticed her hesitation to kill it. He knew that he would have to find a way to bring his children to life soon; otherwise he knew that his brides would become distraught fast.
Verona was the first to fly to his side. She was closely followed by Marishka. They then followed their master's gaze and watched Aleera. Marishka watched intently to see what her sister's reaction would be. A small smile came across her face as she saw Aleera finish off the child. This will help her cope, she thought to herself.
Aleera soon flew up to the rest of her family. When she got next to them, she noticed the look of concern on Dracula's face, even though it was distorted by his demonic features. They then flew back to the castle, leaving the village in utter turmoil.
When they got back, Aleera decided to walk around the castle. As she was walking, she tried not to think of her children, but the memory was still so fresh in her mind, that she could not help but tear up. She then went to the Great Hall and sat next to the thousands of children that were her master's and wept.
Marishka had been following her as soon as she started walking, but kept quite a distance so that Aleera wouldn't notice her. When she saw her on the ceiling, Marishka remembered what it was like for her the first time. She quietly walked up next to Aleera and sat next to her. She then laid her head on Aleera's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her to comfort her.
"Oh Marishka, why are we cursed this way?"
Marishka never expected this remark to ever come from Aleera's mouth. The statement had taken her aback. She then regained her composure and replied back to her question.
"Because we are what we are. We are the walking dead, so there for, our children are born dead. It is not your fault; there was nothing you could do."
"I wish there were something that I could do, I can't help but think that this is my fault."
"Trust me, the master is trying to find a way to bring them to life."
"I hope that he finds it soon. I am not sure how long I will be able to take this pain."
Marishka knew what she was feeling, and knew that time was the best medicine for a wound like this.
"You should get some sleep. It is one of the best things that you can do right now." She then jumped off the ceiling and landed gracefully on the floor. Aleera did the same and the two of them quietly walked to their rooms. Not a single word was said by either of them the rest of the night.
Aleera would not speak to anyone for the next month. The only one that she would allow to spend time with her was Dracula, and even then, she spoke very little. She never left her room except to feed, which was only when she was on the brink of starvation. Even after months of being cooped up in her room, she still remained silent.
At times when the others would go to check on her, she would not be in her room at all. They would hear her shrieks in the far off distance when she was causing chaos in the village.
It took months for Aleera to come out of her depression. She slowly started to be seen more frequently outside of her room. Her conversations started to grow longer and longer as time went on. She first started to talk to her master, then slowly to her sisters. When she started to talk to them, it was always when they started the conversation themselves.
Verona, surprisingly, was the one who was most worried about Aleera. She had seen the younger members of her family as her children, so therefore her priority, and it was her job to make them as happy as possible. She had grown to see Aleera as a daughter, just like she did with Marishka. She would sit next to her sister for days, waiting for her to show some sign of progress.
One of the first times that Aleera made any progression with Verona was after months of solitude. Verona was sitting next to Aleera and was brushing her hair. Aleera was staring outside her window.
"What are you looking for out there?"
There was a long pause, but then, in a quiet voice, Aleera replied back.
"Oh, nothing. I was just looking at the stars."
Her response made Verona pause, but she soon returned to her previous engagements.
"I never knew my mother,"
Verona was not sure of what to say so she remained silent.
"But I imagine that she would have been something like you."
"Why do you say that?"
"You watch out for us. You take care of us in our time of need. I am sure that once our children are given life, you will be the perfect mother."
"I have had years to prepare for it. Before you were a part of our family, I acted the same way towards Marishka and at times I still do. I guess it is just my way to cope with the pain."
Verona then sat the brush down on the vanity. When she turned back around, Aleera was on her feet.
"Let's go find the master," she said in a child like voice.
She took Verona by the hand and pulled her out the door with her. The sudden mood change was shocking, but Verona didn't mind, for Aleera was acting like herself again. When they reached Dracula's study, Aleera burst through the door. She let go of Verona's hand, and lunged herself at Dracula. He looked up just in time to catch her so that he wouldn't fall backwards. She then kissed him as hard as she could.
"My lord, I am sorry that I have caused you such pain for so long." She continued kissing his face.
He put her down and continued to let her kiss him. He looked over at Verona who had a small smile on her face. He smiled back at her. She then slightly nodded her head and left the room. As soon as she closed the door, Marishka was right behind her.
"I heard giggling coming from this side of the castle. Was it you?"
"Considering that I am right here and those 'sounds' are still being made, who do you think made them?"
"I had hoped that Aleera would come out of it soon," she said with a smile on her face. "I don't know what you did, but whatever it was worked."
"I did nothing but make simple conversation. She was the one who pulled herself from her despair." She then started to walk towards her room.
"Besides, it was as you had told me before; time was the best medicine for her."
As Verona walked away silently, Marishka smiled to herself. Her family was back to the way that it was before.
The following days passed by much faster than the last ones had. Days turned into weeks, which in turn, turned into months. The months soon turned into years. The brides' desire to have living children started to slowly grow into desperation.
"Master, when will our have children have life?" Marishka asked one evening. His brides had taken a sort of habit of asking him constantly when he would find the answer he had been looking for all these years.
His patience on the brink of being lost, Dracula replied back through gritted teeth, "Not yet my dear. Don't you think that if I had found it, I would have told you?"
"Yes my lord, but we grow tired of waiting and…"
Dracula then slapped her across the face. His blow was so hard that it caused Marishka to not only have a bruise start to immediately form but also to start bleeding.
"Do you think I am incompetent about this? Do you think I have just been sitting on my ass doing absolutely nothing all these years? I have given you the gift of immortality and yet you use it to heckle me about if I have found the key to life."
Rage surging through him, he took another step towards her. His eyes turned their electric blue. He raised his hand to hit her again, but saw the fear in her eyes. Even though they were their golden yellow, he could still see not only the physical hurt that she had, but also the emotional pain that she was in.
The door burst open and in came Verona and Aleera. Verona seeing Marishka on the ground went over to her. Aleera was too stunned to do anything. She hadn't seen him this angry in quite some time. Marishka's wounds had already started to heal, but when Dracula turned back around to look at her, she backed away. Verona then put herself in between the two of them. Aleera then came over and put her hands on Dracula's shoulders to try to calm him down.
"Master, your anger frightens us. Please, try to relax yourself."
As he started to calm down, and his eyes changed back to their dark brown, he looked back at Marishka, who was still against the wall, cringing in fear of him hitting her again. He stepped towards her, but she flinched at this.
"Marishka…I…I don't know what to say."
"Your actions have done enough Vladislaus." Verona then helped Marishka up. Once she was on her feet, Dracula saw a single tear slowly trail down her cheek. "Come Aleera; let us leave the master with his thoughts."
Verona led Marishka towards the door. Aleera was hesitant to leave her master's side. Verona turned and gave Aleera a stern look. Aleera then planted a kiss on Dracula's cheek and followed her sisters out of the room, leaving Dracula alone in his study with his regret.
As soon as the door closed, Dracula started pacing the floor. He knew that his brides' desperation was growing and that he had to find the key to life soon or at least find a way to distract them till his research paid off.
He flew out the window and headed towards the village. Causing some chaos may help to clear my mind. When he was half way to the village, he decided to walk the rest of the way. As he slowly walked towards the village, images of Marishka's frightened face flashed across his mind. He then remembered the night all those years ago when he made Marishka and had done harm to Verona, how she had the same look upon her face. I can not hurt my brides; they are all that I have.
As he got to the village, he noticed that there was some movement in a nearby cottage. When he came close enough to the dwelling to see what was going on, but not close enough so that they could see him, he noticed that there was a small family. It consisted of a mother and father and a small girl. He watched as the parents tucked their daughter into bed and kissed her good night. He then knew that this is what his brides wanted, more than anything in the world.
He quietly watched the scene unfold before him. Once the girl was asleep, he quietly walked up to the window and watched her sleep. Her peaceful breathing was calming to him. As he was watching her, a plan started to hatch in his mind. He left the village and headed back towards the castle.
Once they reached Verona's room, Marishka fell apart and started to sob. Verona went to her side and started to comfort her. Aleera simply watched from the door way. For the first time in her life, Verona did not know what to do.
"Why does he hate me so?"
"Marishka, he doesn't hate you."
"Then why did he just hit me?"
"He is just frustrated. He is as anxious as we are to have our children living. Now, dry those tears. You don't want to be seen crying by the master."
"Otherwise he may think you are weaker than he thought," Aleera added in snidely. Verona simply glared at her and Aleera knew she had stepped out of line.
Verona looked out the window and saw the figure of Dracula in the distance, headed towards the castle.
"Our master has returned."
They all filed out of the room, Marishka slowly trailing behind. When they had gotten to Dracula's chambers, Aleera slowly opened the door and poked her head through. Once she saw him, she threw open the doors and ran to his side and started to kiss his face. Verona was the next to enter. She quietly walked over to Vlad's side, but did not engage in the same activity as Aleera.
Marishka was last to enter, but she did so very slowly. She quietly sat on one of the arm chairs that were in the room. She lowered her eyes to the floor and did not make a sound.
Dracula saw this and tried to step towards her, but Aleera's constant need for attention would not permit him to move towards her.
"My dears, will you leave me and Marishka to talk?" He then kissed Verona, who softly kissed him back. When he turned to kiss Aleera, she threw herself at him and kissed him intensely. Once she released her grip of him, she gave him a small smile. As she passed Marishka she quietly glared at her. Why should she get to spend time with the master? She hadn't done anything to deserve it.
As soon as the door closed, Dracula turned towards his bride. He took a seat in the chair across from Marishka. He snapped his fingers and a servant came in the room carrying a tray with two small wine glasses and a crystal bottle of blood. Once the servant left the room, Dracula poured two glasses and handed one to Marishka. She took the glass, but did not take a sip from it.
Dracula took a small sip from his glass and then looked over at Marishka, who was tracing her index finger around the rim of her glass. Never once did she lift her gaze from the floor.
"Marishka, I would like to apologize for earlier." She did not move. "I know that this is very hard on you and your sisters, but it is hard for me as well. I lost my temper and should not have. I hope that you will be able to forgive me."
Dracula looked over at his bride, but she had not moved at all. "The least you could do is listen to me when…"
"I am listening," she said in a harsh tone, "I have always listened to every word you have said to me."
"Then why would you not respond?"
"I was not asked for a response."
"Then I will ask for a response from you now. What will cause your pain to fade away?"
"The lives of my children." With that, she stood up and left the room.
I hope that you liked it! Leave a comment or private message me. Can't wait till next time!
~aleera-mistressofallevil~