A/N: In memory of Grammy, who got me to eat my vegetables by promising me that they would make me "big and strong and beautiful."
Van Helsing had put off telling Bella about his assignments for as long as possible. Each evening he would return to his flat at sunset, berating himself for having delayed so long; but by the time she awoke and wrapped her little arms and thin wings around him, the matter seemed much less urgent. Now, two weeks after his retun, he was left with no choice. The Cardinal informed him that he would be leaving for his next assignment in only two days.
At least Stella had agreed to look after her. The arrangement was more than he could have hoped for. There was a secret room where Bella could be hidden during the day when she returned to her stone form. At night, the young gargoyle would have the run of Stella's flat above the library. She had assured him that her work for the Order kept her up for most of the night already, so it would be a no trouble at all to watch the child.
While her research had yielded little about the care of an adolescent Gargoyle, Stella seemed to know quite a bit about looking after children.
"I have a big family," she had explained, "and more cousins, nieces and nephews than you can count. They are the best teachers, I've found."
It had been years since Stella had need for nonsense rhymes and lullabies, but she could recall them with as much precision as she could facts and reports. When Van Helsing brought Bella to visit, she would put away her work with swift efficiency before nonsense free nature dissolved as soon as the child entered the room. When Bella was around, there seemed to be more time for games and tomfoolery.
Van Helsing observed the two carefully during this time, not only to make sure that Stella was fit to look after his little one, but also to learn from her. He began to make mental notes of what foods a child needed to become "big and strong and beautiful" (something Stella would say when coaxing Bella to eat her greens). He learned that soft blankets had mysterious comforting powers, and that plush dollies made excellent companions. Once, he noticed Carl staring at him and realized that without knowing it, he had been humming one of Bella's favorite lullabies.
And to his delight, Bella was slowly coming out of her shell. She spoke more often, and her voice gained confidence with each passing night. According to Stella's research, Gargoyles were a sentient race, and held the same capacity for speech as humans. Bella's quietness, she believed—and he agreed with her—was the result of the trauma she had endured, witnessing the violent massacre of her clan. But the child seemed to possess a miraculous resilience. Her smiles grew stronger, and sometimes, he could even coax a sweet but rare giggle from her. He only hoped that she was strong enough to cope when he left.
He put a lot of thought into how he would explain his having to leave. That evening, under the cover of darkness, the two had climbed onto Van Helsing's horse, the steadfast Transylvanian stallion, and rode into the Roman countryside. There was a secluded meadow, an old field lying fallow, which was hidden by trees only a few miles outside of the city limits. They had visited it several times already. It was a place where Bella could stretch her legs, breath fresh air and see the sky.
"That's the Mentor, right?" he asked. They were lying on their backs in the tall grass, and Bella had been teaching him the Gargoyle names of constellations.
"Right." Her voice held a confidence he would not have believed possible weeks before. "And that one is…"
"The Fat One!" they said in unison, their laughter filling the warm night air.
"And there's the cave he got stuck in!" she pointed to another cluster of stars.
"I think you're making these up."
"Uh-uh. He snuck into the cave and ate all the food his clan had stored for winter. And by the time he was done, he was so big that he got stuck! Don't you know the story?"
Van Helsing shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't know too many stories."
Bella rolled over and stared at him in disbelief.
"Everyone knows stories."
"Not me. I can't think of a single one."
"Try." she urged, as if he had just told her that he couldn't tie his shoes. "You just…think of something and tell about it. It's easy."
Van Helsing racked his brain. He knew a fairy tale or two, but only because he had found himself faced to face with the monsters in them. The legends he knew were far too frightening, and almost all true. Every story he knew was too full of darkness and fear. He tried to think of a moment in his life before Bella had entered it that was not tainted with evil. Only one thing came to mind, a person really, and he knew what story he wanted to tell.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. The princess had no castle, no throne, no royal clothes or fine jewels. All that she held dear had been taken from her by an evil man long ago."
"What was her name?" Bella asked.
"Anna," he said fondly. "Her name was Anna. She was beautiful, with long, raven hair and eyes…" he struggled to remember their color but found that he could not recall, "Well, they were the most striking eyes in the kingdom, and if you looked into them, you could see exactly what she was thinking, especially," he smiled, "especially when she was angry with you."
And Van Helsing found himself telling their story; not how it had happened, but how it should have been. A humble Knight, and his companion, on a quest to rid the world of evil, journeyed to her kingdom and saved the princess.
"She didn't want their help at first. Anna was brave and proud, not some silly thing who spent her days trying on frilly gowns or jewelry. Not when her kingdom was in danger. She was…" he searched for the right word.
"A warrior." Bella put in. The word fit, and Van Helsing ruffled her hair.
"Yes, a warrior. It was her job, as princess, to rid the land of evil, and she could do it herself, thank you very much." He punctuated each syllable of the last phrase by tapping Bella's nose.
"Did the knight get to help her?"
"Yes. He proved that he could be just as stubborn as she and refused to leave until she let him help."
He went on, telling her about how the princess had lost her family, even her brother. Bella grew sad at this part and he hurried ahead.
"How big was he?" she asked, when he reached Frankenstein's part in their story.
"The biggest man that has ever lived. He was so big, that people were afraid of him so he lived all by himself."
"All alone? That's so sad."
"Yes. He just wanted a friend."
"Were Anna and the knight scared of him?"
"At first. You see, there was a big mix up. The giant thought that they were attacking him, and Anna and the knight thought that he was attacking them."
"That's silly. "
"Very silly. But soon, they realized that they were all on the same side."
"What about the knight's friend?" she interrupted again. "Was he scared?"
"Oh yes, he was very scared. He screamed and whined and complained for days when he found out that the giant would join them." Bella giggled at the slightly exaggerated—though not by much—description of Carl's first encounter with Frankenstein.
"The giant explained that he had been hiding from the Evil Count." Here, he paused, struggling for a way to explain of Dracula's plans for Frankenstein. The truth was too horrific for a small child to understand. "The Count thought that…that because the giant looked mean and scary, he ought to be mean and scary. He wanted the giant to join him and help him destroy the kingdom."
"And did he?"
"No, the giant refused. No matter what the Count did to him, no matter how much he begged and pleaded and threatened, he refused to become evil. Instead, he joined the princess and helped her and the knight."
"And the knight's friend." She reminded him. Carl could not be forgotten.
"And the knight's friend." Van Helsing went on to describe Anna's capture, the ball, Frankenstein's imprisonment and rescue, and at last, the defeat of the "Evil Count."
"And then, the knight swept the princess up onto his horse, and the four of them rode off to the sea. The princess once told the night that if ever her kingdom had been rid of evil, if ever her job was done and she could rest; then she would like to visit the sea. And that is what they did. And," Unfamiliar though he was with children's stories, Van Helsing did at least know how the good ones ended. "They lived happily ever after."
"The end!" Bella chimed in. "See, I told you that you knew how to tell stories. That was even better than the ones Stella tells me."
But Van Helsing was lost in thought. The story had reminded him of why they had ridden out to the field in the first place.
"Bella," he began. "Do you remember the knight's quest?"
"He wanted to 'get rid' the world of evil." she answered, trying hard to remember his exact words.
"Yes. Well…I'm also on a quest to get rid of evil. I work for the Holy Order. They send me places so that I can fight the monsters and evil things there."
"Like the knight in the story?"
"Yes, very much like the knight. And sometimes, the places they send me are very far. Sometimes, I am gone for months at a time."
"Oh." she said, clearly puzzled by what this meant for her. "Do Carl and Stella go with you?"
"Carl does sometimes, but Stella stays here. They work for the Order too, but they have different jobs."
"That's too bad. I'll miss Stella when we go."
Van Helsing winced and sat up slowly. He had faced vampires, demons, monsters, the agents of Hell itself; but all of that seemed simple when compared with having to tell Bella that she could not come with him.
"You like Stella a lot, don't you?" Bella nodded and Van Helsing pulled her into his lap. She looked up at him with adoration and he felt his heart break. "How would you like to stay with her for a little while?"
"Would you stay too?"
He shook his head sadly.
"No Bella, I'm afraid I can't."
"Then I don't think I want to." Her voice wavered and grew soft. He lifted her and stood her up, but remained kneeling so that he was at eye level with her. Taking her hands in his, he braced himself.
"You are such a brave girl, Bella. Every day, I look at you and I say 'Look how strong my little one is. Look how she faces each new night with a smile.'" He chucked her under the chin gently, but the smile he spoke of would not come. "I need you to be brave for me, Bella. I cannot take you with me when I go on assignment."
"But you promised that you'd never leave me alone. You promised." She whispered. A tear fell from her eye, the leader of a silent parade.
"You won't be alone, little one. Stella and Carl will be here to take care of you."
"I want you. I want you to take care of me, Gabriel."
"I know, little one, I know." He let go of her hand and held out his arms. She accepted his embrace and Van Helsing felt her wet tears on his chest. "It will only be for a little while. I'm going to Spain. Spain isn't so far. Look, Stella has a map in her library. I can show you right where it is. It isn't far at all."
She held on to him tighter, her frail body shaking with little sobs.
"You're so brave, little one. A bundle of courage, that's what you are. You're like…like the princess in the story, Princess Anna. She was brave for her kingdom, wasn't she?" he felt Bella nod. "Can you be brave for me like she was?"
"I don't know." she sobbed. "Not when you're gone."
"I won't be gone for long, I promise." It was a lie, he knew. He had no control over how long an assignment would last. It could be months before he could return. He could be killed in battle and never come home. But he could not think of that. He had survived all these years on his own; he certainly could not die now that he had found someone to live for. He sent up a silent prayer—the first he had prayed in a long time, that he would return to Bella safe, and soon.