So here's the latest chapter. I think it might be a little short, but I'm not sure anymore. It took me a while to finish it because I had other priorities. Hopefully I'll be updating Red Robin next and then my YGO fic after that. So here's chapter 9 where Van Helsing and Carl arrive in Budapest and a little more plot is revealed. Sort of. I don't know. I'm tired. Playing ping-pong until 2 am when you have class in the morning is not a good idea. Pffffuuu...
Chapter 9: Bargaining for his Past
"Van Helsing, slow down!" Carl yelled from his galloping horse a few feet away. His companion was urging his steed constantly that it was a wonder the poor horse hadn't collapsed from exhaustion yet.
The pair was riding down the Transylvanian hills. Giant mountains covered in dry reedy grass loomed above them, casting shadows over the land, creeping over the field like a pack of rats as the day wore on.
After the confrontation with Dracula in his castle, Van Helsing had thrown the Valerious library in shambles, grabbing any books and scrolls that might be helpful. Unbeknownst to Carl, he had hesitated when reaching for the passage pertaining to the Left Hand of God. But he had grabbed it on impulse and it was now stuffed inside his trench coat.
"Van Helsing!" Carl called again, but his friend was either feigning deafness or was too lost in his thoughts to hear.
He was, in fact, doing both. The bounty hunter deliberately blocked any sounds around him, focusing on his thoughts in turmoil. Dracula was waiting for him in Budapest. He had said that there lied the answer to his past. Knowing full well that it could be a trap, Van Helsing had made sure his weapons were all in working condition in case they had to make a quick getaway.
A week of non-stop traveling was beginning to take its toll on Carl, and Van Helsing knew it. However, he didn't want to stop unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Van Helsing!" Carl cried one more time, "I'm exhausted, my horse is about to collapse and I'm going to stop and make camp RIGHT NOW!"
Van Helsing reined in his horse and turned his head to see the little friar dismounting. He swiveled his own mount and trotted back towards Carl, who was huffily taking down his supplies.
"Took you long enough," he muttered.
"I'm sorry Carl," he said, "I know it's not good for us to keep going without rest."
"What would you do without me, hm?" Carl unloaded the wood they had chopped earlier and thrust it towards Van Helsing, who had dismounted as well.
They set up the tents, rolled out the mats and kindled the fire. Van Helsing went to catch some game while Carl busied himself with skinning the potatoes they had gotten from the gypsies. A few hours later, the two were filling themselves with roast deer and potatoes, and mugs of water. Van Helsing had finished the last of his ale a few days ago and was itching for some more. Alcohol was one of the few reprieves he had had during this quest and many before it.
"When we arrive in Budapest, where exactly are we supposed to go?" Carl asked.
Van Helsing was done with dinner and was busy polishing his daggers, which he kept inside his trench coat. "I have no idea," he replied.
Carl looked up from his deer leg. "Didn't Dracula tell you where to go?"
Van Helsing shook his head, not looking up from his work.
Carl's eye twitched. "Do you mean to tell me that we are entering a city with a population of five hundred thousand without a clue where to go!?" Each word grew louder as he became more agitated.
"Calm down, Carl. Last time we were in Budapest, he sent us a messenger. I have no doubt he'll do it again."
"In case you've forgotten, we've killed all of his brides," Carl pointed out, "And Igor is gone also. Who does he have left to send? The Dwergei? No doubt they'd stand out too much!"
"He could come himself," Van Helsing said.
"Well, it's true that this entire country is cloudy most of the time! It wouldn't be hard for him to walk around during the day," Carl said derisively.
Van Helsing's lips curled in amusement. "You're not much for Transylvanian weather, are you, Carl?"
"The sooner we get back to Rome, the better! The humidity is starting to make fungus grow between my toes!"
"Something I'm sure would be best kept to yourself once we arrive in the city." Van Helsing stood up and sheathed his daggers. "I will go to bed first. You can take your time with your dinner."
"Good night!" Carl called out as the bounty hunter disappeared under the flaps of the tent.
Van Helsing pulled off his boots and coat, and laid his hat next to his mat before curling into his ragged blanket and closing his eyes. Exhaustion was never slow to catch him, and tonight was no exception. He was asleep long before Carl crawled into the tent, undisturbed by any noise the friar might have made.
Unfortunately, the dreams came to him that night. It was another bloodstained nightmare masquerading at first as a sweet dream. The battles, he was used to. However he had little experience at being caressed by warm hands on his face and fingers running through his hair. He could hear someone murmuring his name tenderly, but his eyes were closed and he was unable to open them as much as he tried, so he didn't know whom it was who was holding him so closely.
He was slowly succumbing to the sweetness this dream was offering him, until the gentle fingers suddenly grew cold and nails raked across his face, making him scream as his eyes finally snapped open. He was lying in grass, painful groans echoing around him. The stench of decay and blood became too strong to ignore, and yet Van Helsing couldn't move away. It was as if his limbs were made of lead, too heavy to lift off the wet grass.
Towering above him was a man armed to the teeth, a large scar marring his face from one cheek to another. He snarled wildly and swung a mace towards Van Helsing, yelling obscenities in a foreign tongue, his dirty black hair flying with the force of his aim. Van Helsing still couldn't move and watched the large weapon fly closer and closer…
He sat bolt upright with a loud gasp. Swiveling his head, Van Helsing's panic died down as he realized he was in the tent in the dead of night, Carl softly snoring beside him. It had been another nightmare on another horrible battlefield.
Pressing a shaky hand to his face, Van Helsing willed himself to calm down, though his heart was still pounding as loudly as a stampede in his chest. His forehead was filmed over in cold sweat and he quickly wiped it on his sleeve. Slowly, he lay back down on his mat, though his eyes remained wide open.
He had almost been killed in the dream, he realized. This was no frightening news to him, he had had many dreams of nearly being slaughtered as well as many near-death experiences in real life. And yet here he was still, alive but weary, his mind being wrung tighter and tighter until it was almost painful to think.
The man in his dream had been a Turkish soldier, a servant of the Ottoman Empire. The familiar hills filled with the dead were the same hills he and Carl had been traveling through for the past few weeks.
It felt more like a memory than a dream, as all of his other nightmares did. Van Helsing shuddered; he had no recollection of ever coming to Transylvania before. This was his first time here, as far as he could remember. Had he been here in the past? Perhaps he had met Dracula then for the first time…
The thought of the vampire made his stomach knot and he quickly turned around on his side, determined to keep his mind blank for the rest of the night. He sent a quick prayer to God that he dream no more tonight. He deserved at least that respite.
~*~
Budapest loomed ahead beyond the last tumbling hills. As the weak sun's rays filtered through the cracks in the thick clouds, they shone a filmed light over the roofs of the taller buildings in the city. Van Helsing and Carl rode down, finally seeing people again after weeks in the wilderness.
Carl breathed a sigh of relief at finally being able to walk along cobblestone streets and to see bakeries and restaurants offering higher quality food than what they had been living off of. He also hoped that this was the last time they had to cross the border from Romania to Hungary.
"If only we were legally travelling, we could be riding the train," he muttered under his breath, knowing better than to let Van Helsing hear him.
They walked down the busy streets, stopping by Matthias Church for Carl to bless them both after their weary journey. Not knowing where to go, they decided to find rooms for the night and hopefully clean themselves a bit.
Finding the first inn they could afford, Van Helsing threw his bags on top of his rented bed and proceeded to take out each weapon, looking them over meticulously for signs of damage possibly caused by their long and bumpy traveling.
Carl walked into the room, having cleaned himself from the dirt and grime caused by their long ride. He seemed to be in much higher spirits as well.
"Ah! There's nothing like feeling fresh after a good bath," he said warmly.
Van Helsing couldn't help but smile as his friend's happiness was infectious. "Perhaps I will go bathe as well," he said.
"You really should, Van Helsing. Being clean is a great pleasure after so much time spent in the wild. I can't understand how you do this all the time!"
Van Helsing shrugged. "You just get used to it."
"Well, I don't think I ever will! Mark my words; this is the first and last mission I'm ever going on with you! I told you I'm not a field man!" Carl folded his towel and placed it underneath his bed. "I'm feeling quite hungry. Shall we go downstairs and get some real food to eat?"
Van Helsing was silent as he stewed in his own thoughts. He suddenly got off the bed and said, "You go eat something, Carl. I think I'm going to take a walk around the city."
"What?" Carl squeaked, "But we just got here! Surely you need some rest! Van Helsing!" he called desperately as the bounty hunter strode towards the door, "You're not going to try and find Dracula on your own, are you?"
Van Helsing spared him a brief glance before leaving, giving Carl the answer he was afraid of. Moaning, the friar fell backwards onto his bed and threw the pillow over his face in frustration. This proved to be a mistake as the pillow was old, flea-bitten and slightly damp from an unknown source, though it smelled suspiciously of urine.
Carl groaned. "I'm going to take another bath."
~*~
Van Helsing walked through the streets of Budapest, ignoring the usual stares from passers-by. He had no idea where he was going, but he decided that roaming the city made him feel better than staying at the inn, waiting for Dracula like a puppy. If there was one thing the hunter couldn't stand, it was being led around. His repressed memories already made him feel more vulnerable than he cared to admit sometimes, he wasn't about to let the Vampire control any aspect of his present self.
He was not prowling the darker alleys of the city this time. The lesser demons he usually hunted often mingled with the lowlifes and men of the underworld. He knew that Dracula was different; the Vampire was a born aristocrat and even though he was damned, he still retained his dignity and love of lavishness. It would explain the luxurious ball he had thrown in this same city.
After a long time striding, Van Helsing decided he needed to figure out where he should look instead of wandering aimlessly. The sun had already set and the way back to the inn was unrecognizable to him under lamplight. He stopped and looked at his surroundings, noticing he had walked all the way to the Budapest Opera House. It still looked very new, having been built merely five years ago.
Van Helsing suddenly thought of the building as a possibility. Knowing he would be thrown out the instant he set foot inside, he scurried to the side walls, shifting his eyes from side to side to make sure he wasn't being watched. Then, he looked up and was relieved to find the higher floors possessed open-air arched windows. He took out his grappling hook and threw it up. It caught onto the stone sill of the window directly above him and Van Helsing began the slow and steady climb upwards.
He heaved himself over the window and landed in a long hallway, thankfully devoid of anyone. Van Helsing quietly slipped inside a side door where the faint trilling of Bizet's Habanera from Carmen began to reach his ears. He peeked in between curtains, showing rows upon rows of occupied balcony seats. Finally, he found one that was empty. Strange perhaps, seeing how the rest of the theatre was packed. But Van Helsing had learned on his missions to take whatever little miracles God had the grace to bestow upon him. He slipped onto the balcony and seated himself, taking off his hat in an effort to look less conspicuous.
As he scanned the crowded theatre, he began to realize how foolish this idea was. How could he guess where Dracula was going to be? It wasn't his instinct that had led him here, neither had the Vampire given him any indication; he had just made an impulsive guess and here he was, watching opera in an empty balcony, unable to find the count's face amidst the throng of spectators. It would have taken a hawk to be able to find him.
"A good guess, Gabriel," said a silky voice behind him. Van Helsing didn't jump at the sudden intrusion. Rather, he had been half-expecting it or perhaps half-hoping, though he would not admit it. He turned around and was face-to-face with a smiling Dracula sitting next to him.
"I thought this would be the kind of place you'd frequent," he said quietly, "Unlike the other demons I hunt, you come from the nobility and have more expensive tastes to cater to." Van Helsing remembered how he had chased Mr. Hyde all over the Paris slums, the gargoyle that had had to be forcibly dragged out of a London brothel, and the Golem of Prague hiding away in the Jewish ghetto. This was certainly different scenery for him.
Dracula smiled, his eyes turning onto the stage where the men flocked around Carmen. "You may have lost your memories Gabriel, but you pick up fast."
"You knew I would come here?" he said.
"We know each other so well, my love." Van Helsing's body tightened at the endearment and his fingers curled over his armrest. Dracula's hand slowly came to rest atop his, but he dared not move. The abnormally long nails caressed his skin, making it tingle.
"I've come to Budapest like you asked, now it's time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain." Van Helsing's voice never wavered, even as the Vampire's face loomed closer to his.
"And what is it that you want me to do?" Dracula whispered against his neck, his breath inhumanly cold.
Van Helsing's head snapped around and he glared darkly at his enemy. "Damn you, don't you dare go back on your promise now! If you don't help me regain my memory I will cut your head off!"
Dracula seemed undeterred by his threat and gently rested his head upon the bounty hunter's shoulder. Van Helsing stood up, violently shaking him off. He was growing angrier by the minute and was in no mood to play the Vampire's games.
"If you truly wish to know more," Dracula said softly, "Then follow me."
Van Helsing disappeared behind the curtains after him. On stage, Carmen fled the scene, Don José staring at her as she left. They walked down the empty hallway Van Helsing had first landed upon, until Dracula leaned against one of the large stone columns separating the open-air windows.
"I do not think that we will be disturbed here," he said.
Van Helsing repressed a frustrated sigh, and instead asked, "Why did you have me travel all the way to Budapest for answers?"
"I just wanted to see if you would do it because I asked you to."
Dracula laughed as fire practically spit out of Van Helsing's eyes and he grabbed his arm before it could reach for any of his weapons. "Calm yourself! I was saying it in jest." He stepped forward and ran his fingers down Van Helsing's back, knowing from memory that it was a good way to relax him. Immediately, Van Helsing's body loosened, although his face was still stony.
"In Budapest, I have come to find objects, artifacts that once belonged to you. I know that they are here, left in the care of monks and members of the Order stationed in the city. It will be easier to regain your memories if you have objects to channel them through."
"What kind of objects?" Van Helsing asked, "How old are they?"
"Oh, things like swords and books that once belonged to you. I recognize most of them, for you brought them along with you when you first came to my castle. I remember them even after four hundred years, although they may be much, much older than that." Dracula grinned, showing his pointed fangs. The sight made Van Helsing want to shoot him between the eyes. "You know Gabriel, even I don't know your full story. Most of what I do know comes from my memories of you, and what you told me about yourself."
"And what did I tell you?" Van Helsing spit out from gritted teeth.
"Things even I thought were unbelievable," the Vampire replied softly, "I gave you back your memory of my touches while you were traveling. That was the most I could do, using my own body as a channel for your memories. I am still under the process of acquiring a dagger of yours from an old Order member who is staying at Saint Stephen's Basilica."
"You just walked into a holy place and demand that he hand it to you?" Van Helsing asked incredulously.
Dracula laughed, letting his cold voice bounce off the stone walls. Van Helsing was afraid he would alert someone, but they were left alone upon the balcony.
"My Gabriel, what makes you think I don't have any minions to do my work anymore?" the Vampire said, clearly still amused.
"The Dwergei hardly blend in," Van Helsing said derisively.
"Dwergei?" Dracula smirked, "My love, I have human servants who do my bidding. They have bargained for your objects and soon I will have at least three in my possession."
"How will this work exactly?" Van Helsing asked suspiciously.
Dracula drummed his fingers slowly on the armrest, refraining from answering. Of course, Van Helsing had very little patience concerning the Vampire and was about to demand a reply when he interrupted whatever outburst was to come with, "As I said earlier, these objects will be used to channel your memories back into your mind. My powers are great, Gabriel. I will be able to unlock your past by simply having you hold one of your ancient possessions."
"I'm still not sure I understand completely," Van Helsing said.
"It will become clear once we being the process. Now," Dracula began walking again and Van Helsing was quick to follow. "I do not have your dagger yet as that damned monk is driving a hard bargain, but in less than a week, it should be in my possession, and soon after that, back in yours."
"You will actually be giving me back my things?" Van Helsing said, surprised.
Dracula looked at him as if he had suddenly reverted to the mind of a child. "Of course, Gabriel. They belong to you, and it would be rude of me to keep them now that we are once again reunited."
He stopped at the corner where the balcony turned to face the eastern wall of the opera house and looked out at the illuminated city, its lanterns barely able to rival the stars in the sky.
"I will come and fetch you once I am ready," he said softly, "Until then, wait for me, Gabriel."
His hand came to rest upon Van Helsing's face ever so gently, but the bounty hunter moved back as if he had been slapped. The memory of Dracula's ghostly touches in the forest still frightened him and he was not prepared to feel the actual flesh of the Vampire. Dracula said nothing at his distance, but his eyes still betrayed his melancholy. Whether this was difficult for him, Van Helsing did not care in the least right now. He was working with Dracula only to regain his memories. Afterwards, he would find a way to kill him. If the Vampire was leading him into a trap, he would find a way to kill him sooner.
"You cannot kill me, Gabriel," Dracula said, startling Van Helsing, "Not for eternity."
"Stay out of my head!" Van Helsing hissed and reached for his crossbow. Dracula reacted instantly and twirled on his heel, his body shrinking until he was a black bat, flapping away from the opera house.
Van Helsing shot at the departing creature, but missed as the tiny thing moved too quickly and the darkness made it difficult to aim.
Soon you will understand, my love, Dracula's faint echoing voice tinted into his mind. Van Helsing uttered a curse and shot at the dark to vent his anger. After he had calmed down, he exited the opera house and attempted to make his way back to the inn where Carl was most assuredly asleep already.
Well, there you go. I don't know whether I'd rather be watching Carmen or eating dinner with Carl. Both seem pretty fun things to do. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!