Hey everyone! Well, this is it, the final chapter. It has been such a great journey with you guys. Just so I dont' forget to thank anyone who had a part in this, I am going to thank you all as a whole: readers, reviewers, etc. I hope you all have enjoyed this as much as I have! So now enjoy the final chapter!
As screams and snarling started to fill the air, Dracula turned towards his brides with a smirk on his face.
"Either his information will be useful, or he will have been good company for the werewolves."
They all started laughing, knowing that Aldini could still hear them over the noise. They then returned up the stairs in silence, Dracula leading the way.
"Master, why are we keeping him?" Aleera asked after a few minutes of silence.
Dracula turned back towards her, "Incase some…complications come up."
They then each returned to their chambers as the rising sun stretched its rays across the castle, and all was quite.
With the next setting of the sun, each of Dracula's brides arose and met their master in the library. As Dracula paced through the room, the first one to reach him was Verona. This was no surprise since her room was the closest, but she had found that it was generally best if she showed up before the other two, so that there was no unnecessary carnal distractions before their master had spoken.
Aleera was next to appear, with Marishka closely behind. They all gathered around their master, anxious to hear what had happened to their guest from the night before.
"Shall we go see how our guest's sleep was?" He sneered as each of his brides snickered. They all quietly marched down towards the dungeons. When they reached the door, the growling that was usually accompanied with the opening of the door subsided. The wolves backed towards the walls, knowing that the slightest move towards their master and his brides would bring a round of near fatal punishment. As they did so, the quivering form of Aldini was revealed in the center of the room.
"It appears that the wolves saved you after all…pity. I guess you will still be of service to us after all."
Aldini turned towards them, his face ravaged by claw marks, dried blood caking his arms and chest. His eyes were filled with fear and his lips quivered, unable to form a single word.
"Your work will begin after the next full moon, which lucky for you is within the next week, so you will be able to start working again." With an evil smile, he turned and he and his brides left their new pet in the dark. The only sound that Aldini could hear was Aleera's shrill laughter, engulfing the entire room.
Dracula kept a close eye on the progress of the student that Aldini had told him about that could be able to perform the experiment that he and his brides had so longingly looked forward to. Fortunate for Dracula, no one else seemed to be interested in his ideas, which left him available and desperate for any inkling of a job that came his way.
Dracula was patient and waited for six long years for this Frankenstein to finish with his studies. He then waited another year before approaching the doctor with his interest in the matter of reanimating the dead.
His brides on the other hand, were not quite as gracious towards the time they had to wait. So instead of thinking about how much longer they had to wait, the three (particularly Aleera) occupied themselves with the matters of the royal family. Boris had taken the throne after the death of his parents and had been married shortly after to a young girl named Serena, who was from a village off near Budapest (many jokes were made by Marishka towards Aleera about how Transylvanian men were attracted to Hungarian women, which were returned by glares and hissing). They seemed happy together, from what the brides had seen of them, when they weren't being attacked by the palace guards.
During those seven years, the royal couple had produced two children. The eldest, a son named Velkan, and two years later, a daughter named Anna. Anna had particularly been of interest to the brides, because, even though she was young, she had some of the same features as her grandmother before her had: the dark brown eyes that had a certain mysterious quality to them and that smile that looked innocent, but behind it was a scheming girl trying to find a way to bring someone to their knees.
None of the brides liked these new children, even though Marishka teased about how easy it would be to make Velkan bow to her will in a few years, which Verona didn't find any interest at all. She mainly watched to see how the children were being taught about her and her family. Sometimes, she would sneak off to the Valerious' castle to hear the stories that Boris would tell his children of her master and his concubines (she shuddered every time that they were referred to as that, and it took all of her self control to not rip out his throat then and there).
There was one particular one that was of interest to her. It was about Boris' sister, the one that she had killed all those years ago. She relished every agonizing detail about how much he and his parents had suffered, which made it all the more worth it to have killed the girl. A cruel thought really, but she had suffered just as much, if not more than them for all that their family had done to her.
Aleera had a strong hatred already towards the princess. She looked, acted, and sounded so much like her grandmother had in the days that Aleera was still human. The memories that she thought she had buried deep within her mind were starting to resurface, causing many nightmares that would cause her to wake up screaming and with the faces of her sisters and master staring at her. Even though it was a long time ago and there was no physical scar left, she could still feel the burning pain that the crucifix had left on her back that first night of her new life every time she thought on Anya. Aleera thought that taking out her anger on this new princess would in a way, be taking out her anger on Anya.
There was no denying that as Anna grew older and more mature, she started to look like an exact replica of Anya. Aleera knew, that even though she was seven, soon enough her looks and beauty would attract Dracula's eye like it had so many years ago.
At the end of their years of waiting, Dracula wrote a letter to Victor Frankenstein, who replied back quickly, showing his excitement and enthusiasm for the project, even though Dracula kept his true purpose hidden from the doctor. He had stated that it was, "for the advancement of science" which was the hook that Frankenstein all too gladly jumped on.
Dracula's letter stated for Frankenstein to meet him on the outskirts of town, where he would be picked up by Dracula's carriage. The doctor did as he was told and arrived near the outskirts of Vaseria, and not a moment too soon. As he waited patiently with his medical bag in hand, he started twirling his fingers around one another. His anticipation and excitement were overflowing. It wasn't until a little after sunset that the carriage arrived, being pulled by a team of all black stallions.
When the carriage had stopped right in front of him, the door swung open. Victor cautiously took a step forward towards the carriage.
A hand motioned for him to enter as a voice said, "Please, Doctor, enter. We have much work to be done."
The doctor did as he was told and stepped up into the carriage. As soon as he had sat down, the door quickly swung close and the carriage sped off into the night.
The doctor looked across from him and saw the owner of the hand and voice that had beckoned him in.
"Count Dracula?"
Dracula responded with a pleasant smile and a slight bow of his head. "Yes, that is I. I must say Dr. Frankenstein, I was expecting you to be…a little older from the way you wrote in your letters."
"I am sorry to disappoint you Count," but Dracula raised his hand to stop him.
"There is no need for apologies, it was a compliment." This seemed to help the doctor relax a little, as he settled into his seat.
"I must thank you sir for giving me this wonderful opportunity to continue my research. The professors at the university always spoke highly of you."
"Anyone will say anything to make sure that their pockets are lined to their content. Now, let us get down to business."
"Yes sir."
"Explain to me again how you plan to perform this experiment, and don't leave out a single detail. I like to know exactly I am funding."
"Yes. I have been working on the ideas for an experiment for years. All during school, they had told us how they were able to restore life to simple creatures such as frogs and mice by sending electrical shocks through their bodies, so I started to tinker with the idea of if this could be done for humans. If properly executed, this would solve the problem to death and unlock the key to immortality! The only problem, is finding the perfect specimen. Also finding the funds for such a task is rather difficult, considering everyone's views on how unethical it is, except for you Count. You understand that this is purely for the advancement of science and for the betterment of humanity!"
As Frankenstein was explaining, Dracula had been nodding along, paying very close attention to even the tiniest of details. It wasn't until the doctor's final statement that he let his mouth slip into the slightest smirk, which Frankenstein thought of as a sign of approval of his ideas.
Dracula continued to ask questions all throughout the long carriage ride. Things dealing with what types of machinery were needed and what the specimen would look like in comparison to a normal person.
They rode on for what seemed to be an hour to the doctor, which made him glad that the Count had sent a carriage for him. When the carriage had come to a stop, Dracula opened the door.
"This is your stop. I took the liberty of hiring you an assistant. His name is Igor, and he is waiting for you inside. I shall check on your progress periodically."
"Are you not coming in Count?"
"No, I have other engagements I must head to. Until we meet again, Victor."
Frankenstein bowed his head to the Count and alighted from the carriage. Once he had stepped down, the carriage had sped away. Victor looked around him to see that he was in front of a large stone castle that looked like it hadn't had life in it for many years. He was transfixed upon the place that he was to work in until a raspy voice startled him.
"You must be the doctor?" it said. Victor looked down to see that there was some sort of man, a man wasn't really the word to describe this deformed thing, but a creature, looking up at him.
"Y-yes…are you Igor?"
He nodded his head and took the arm of the doctor.
"Come, we have much work to do."
And thus, began the wonderful movie Van Helsing! I hope you all liked it!
~aleera-mistressofallevil