Chapter 14
I dance with the Devil on Halloween night...

Ana couldn't help but be in awe as she found herself surrounded by harlequins, acrobats, fire eaters, contortionists, and a whole other cast of characters she couldn't name. 'Gotta love a costume ball with a little Cirque du Soleil mixed into it,' she thought as she looked up to see a violinist walking on a giant ball in the center of the ballroom. "Gotta give Dracula for being creative," she softly whispered before one of the gentlemen that was dressed up as what Ana recognized as the Red Death costume.

"May I have this dance?" he asked her with a bow. Ana smiled at him and accepted his offer and danced with him. She didn't notice that she wasn't missing a step as she waltzed with her partner. She had a small conversation with a few women that looked similar to her age, and even stood to the side she listened to the orchestra. All the while looking out for Alucard, Dracula or Van Helsing.

'So far the dark prince hasn't shown up,' she thought to herself as she watched the couples dancing. Ana then overheard a group of women gossiping. "The Count is going to be looking for a new bride I hear," one of them said as she joined them. "Oh?" she asked them curious but was hoping this would give her and the others a heads up if they had another enemy to destroy, at least that is what her head thought. The woman nodded her head in reply. "Yes, since his other two brides were killed," the woman explained to her before she started another topic of conversation about fashion. Ana took the chance to leave the group, wanting to be by herself. "The lot of good it'll do him," she said to herself, feeling relieved and for some strange reason the image of Dracula asking if she was all right after he made a whirlwind in Castle Frankenstein flashed in her mind.

"Aleera is becoming too...Old for him," she added as she passed by Aleera, who was dressed up like Venus in a dark blood red dress and dancing with another man. Ana Shrugged her shoulders as she watched them waltz by where she was standing. "A whore brings pleasure for a time, but someone like him will need timeless pleasure," she said as she smirked, looking at a man that was balancing a sword on his chin. "You're not the first to say so," a male voice with a Romanian accent near her ear. Ana turned around with a surprised yelp but she found her mouth covered. "Don't be afraid, my little phoenix, it's only me," the voice said to her. Ana then saw him, even though he was wearing a simple suit under a decorated black cloak with silver decorated buckles only in detail with golden stitched feathers, wearing a similar mask to hers only with black feathers instead of red. She knew by him calling her Phoenix that he must be Alucard the man that was going to help her escape, but why was her heart pounding as she looked into his green?

Ana knew she must be blushing as she saw him smirk. He then took her hand, gently kissing her white gloved hand like a charming gentleman. "Care to dance Phoenix? It may help keep attention off of us and Van Helsing can spot us more easily," he asked her with a smirk. Ana smiled sweetly up at him feeling actually like a princess for real. "I would be delighted to," she answered him before he escorted to her on the dance floor as a new Waltz started. They gracefully danced together, as if they were the sun and the moon orbiting the Earth. Touching, twisting, and flowing like water with fluid movements.

Ana closed her eyes for a moment as she felt safe and strangely belonging here. 'Am I falling in love like in those romantic novels of couples do during their waltzing?' she asked herself as a new waltz started and they danced again. She never had so much fun before in her life!

Having her eyes still closed, Ana felt him pulling her against his body as they stopped. then she felt him slip her mask off after hearing him take his mask off. 'What is he doing?' she asked herself as she kept her eyes closed. Suddenly she felt his breath upon her lips and she took a shaky breath as she fought the urge to open her eyes. Then she felt his lips upon hers and felt a spark go through her that she felt as if strings were wrapping around her arms, like she was becoming a puppet.

She opened her eyes and squealed, which was muffled in his lips, as she saw who was kissing her! 'Dracula!' she thought as she squealed. 'How? Unless...Ugh! Of course! Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards, how can I be so stupid!' she thought as he broke away from the kiss and suddenly dipped her. "How does it feel to be a puppet on my string Princess?" he asked as he lifted her up. 'Good, he doesn't know who I really am,' she thought before she glared at him, feeling her own body move like she was a puppet.

"I won't let you trade me, Count," she said in Anna's accent glad that she put on the accent and voice all this time. He smirked at her reply. "I have no intention of trading you," he said as he lead her into the Waltz, slowly turning her around. "And if I know Van Helsing, which I do, he's not planning on making a trade either," he said as they dipped their leading arms, raising them before he spun her around again. "Neither of us has ever settled for half!" he said as he dipped her down before he lifted her up and then slowly moved her around, wrapping his arms around her with her back against his chest. "You make my skin crawl," she said as he moved her, feeling her heart pounding as she felt his face in the croon of her neck. "This is not all I could do with your skin," he softly whispered against her neck, which indeed made her skin crawl and not in a bad way. 'Oh, Lord yes he would,' she thought as she tried to fight against her body's reactions to him.

'Why do I always fall for these intellectual bad boys?' she asked herself in her mind. "That sure of yourself?" she asked him making him unwrap her and pulled her close to him. "If you think Van Helsing wouldn't trade you for anything you're wrong," he said to her as he waltzed with her. "What makes you think I care if he would or not?" she asked him, trying not to be effected by his words. Dracula smirked at her words. "Since it was suppose to be that new friend of yours, Anastasia, not you dancing with me here," he said to her. "Shows how he may claim to work for God but his ends serve no one but him," he added as they spun around. Ana was shocked by his words of her being the real captive and not Anna, but she then spotted Van Helsing, Carl and Anna being up on a balcony area.

Up at the balcony area Carl, Van Helsing and Anna searched the crowd of dancers to see where Ana and Dracula were. "Ah!" Carl said tapping Van Helsing's arm. "There she is," Anna said with relief. "And so is Dracula," Van Helsing said as he saw Dracula hold Ana with his arms wrapped around her. "What was it you said about Dracula wasting his breath on her?" Anna asked sarcastically.

"We don't know if Dracula knows if she isn't you, Anna," Van Helsing said as he looked around to see what he could do to help Ana. He then saw a fire eater in one part of the room and he looked up seeing the traipse. "Carl, I need you to do something," he said with a smile starting to form on his face.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Carl asked looking at Van Helsing with fear on his face. "Probably," Van Helsing replied before he painted across to the other balcony. "Anna, head over to the other side there," he said to her. "Why?" she asked looking at the balcony. "Because I am going to be swinging across with Ana and I don't want to accidentally hurt her while I do that," he said before he leaned to whisper into Carl's ear. Carl then nodded his head. "Right," he said before he left. Van Helsing slipped his hat, mask and cape off as Anna decided to head to the other balcony.

Ana had glared as she saw Van Helsing smiling down at her and she felt pissed off at him as she danced with Dracula. 'Bastard,' she thought as she saw Carl and Anna run off. 'Here I am taking one for the team and here he is being all laughs and giggles!' she added before Dracula twirled her more faster, making her gasp in surprise. He then suddenly dipped her down to a stop. "Don't we make a lovely couple?" he asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

Ana turned to see that they were in front of a giant mirror and saw the reflection in it. "Oh, my God!" she whispered with wide eyes as she slowly looked up at him. 'Everyone in here is a vampire!' she thought before Dracula lifted her up making her gasp.

"I'm looking for a new bride, Anna," Dracula said to her as she looked at him directly into his eyes. "Someone strong and beautiful," he added as he slowly started to waltz with her again. "You think I'm beautiful?" she softly whispered in surprise taken aback by his words, forgetting for a second to stay in character. "Think you are?" he asked her with a raised brow as if she told him a joke. "I know you are," he said as his face got closer to hers, which made her lightly blush. He smiled at her, looking devilishly handsome when he did that. Ana stayed quiet as they danced some more, not seeing Carl in the crowd looking at a fire eater that was nearby, nor Van Helsing swinging above them. Ana felt herself being swooned by this man's dancing.

" 'I kiss your lips and taste your bloodied soul, feel the blood engorge us and make our love whole, you come to me silently on wings of the blackest night, consuming my heart with your dark lover's bite,' " he said to her his face still close to hers and looking directly into her eyes. "What is that, Count?" Ana asked finding herself enchanted by his words. 'That sounded like a love poem for vampire or something Edger Allen Poe had never published,' she thought to herself.

He smirked at her, which made her heart pound. "You could say it is part of my red string of fate," he replied before he gently dipped her this time unlike the other ones that made her gasp. "The invisible thread thread that binds one to one's soul mate?" Ana guessed. He smiled at her, again making her heart pound. "Yes, my dear," he answered.

"It led me to Marishka and Verona, two brides who I was very sad to lose, and to Aleera, a bride whom I still cherish though our passion has grown cold," he said spotting the said vampire dancing with a woman this time. Ana noticed that and felt a bit mad at the woman for not trying to be faithful to her lord and master, she then spotted Carl who nodded his head to her as Dracula twirled her around again. Ana ignored Carl as she looked back at Dracula completely forgetting to pretending to be Anna. "What would it take to rekindle that fire, my lord?" she asked in her real voice. "One brief moment of pain," he answered as he stopped their dance and pulled her close and against his body, making her grunt. "And we can be together forever," he softly whispered to her in a romantic tone of voice that made Ana swoon as he rested her hand on his shoulder, his hand sliding down to gently caress her elbow which made her shiver in pleasure. Ana's heart pounded at his words and felt the spell he had over her body that made her like a puppet was gone. "You have no heartbeat," she softly whispered as she noticed as she moved her hand down to his chest where his heartbeat would be.

Dracula then slowly dipped her down never taking his eyes off of hers. "Perhaps it just needs..." he said as he dipped her down. He then moved his right hand up the valley of her breasts to her neck. "...to be rekindled," he said as he moved his hand. Ana gave a shaky moan in pleasure to his cold touch, hearing her own blood pound into her ears as he closed his eyes making a soft growl as he opened his mouth and Ana saw his fangs grow out, his eyes then opened and were glowing an icy blue color.

Ana should have been afraid but she wasn't. She only felt pleasure and anticipation as she knew what was going to happen. Dracula slowly started to move his mouth slowly to her neck. "Anastasia!" Anna called out as Van Helsing sung up on the acrobatic swing and slowly fell downward cutting the wire that he was going to swing on. Carl seeing Van Helsing coming used this timing to push a fire eater that was just about to blow fire, causing him to blow fire onto Dracula's cape. Dracula shrieked in pain as he then dropped Ana to the floor. Ana slowly got up and she saw Van Helsing come swinging directly at her. Before Ana could see if Dracula was all right or back away she was suddenly swept off her feet and on the other balcony where Anna was waiting for them.

Ana tried to go back to the edge to see Dracula but Van Helsing and Anna stopped her. "Ana, Ana!" Van Helsing said as he got a hold of her shoulders. "Wake up!" Anna shouted to her as she pulled the costume jewelry off of her. "Let me go!" Ana shouted at them as she tried to see if Dracula was all right. "Gabriel?" they heard Dracula call out.

They all them moved to the edge of the balcony seeing Dracula not only safe from his cape that was burning on the floor but was looking at them with a devil's smile on his face after calling Van Helsing's name two more times.

Author's note:

Here is my fourteenth chapter of my fan fiction inspired by the Van Helsing movie and also a little written piece by a friend on Seduction of time!

Here is my valentine's day present to all of my fans! The romantic dance with the vampire king himself!

I combined the movie's and :AnaxErik4ever: 's version of the tale but I wrote it out to be sure that our Ana falls in love with our sexy Vampire king.

And also those of you that are wondering where Aleera is during this scene in the movie, when you see the close up of the opera singer before she sings, or when Dracula says the line 'If I know Van Helsing, which I do,' just look for the obvious orange headed woman. (Very easy to spot considering that there is supposedly a deleted moment there... and that her costume is similar to the one she usually wears.)

And I also got a little easter egg there if you guys can't find it. Something that both me and :AnaxErik4ever: would know. ^_^

Hope you all like this chapter!

Here is the sound track for this chapter to help you with some of the bits in here:

32.) Devil's waltz from the Primal video game soundtrack (waltz music that plays when Ana arrives at the party and dances with the red death character.) [link]

33.) The Dance from Legend movie soundtrack (The music that plays when 'Alucard' first dances with Ana.) [link]

34.) Ball fan fare from Van Helsing movie soundtrack. (music that starts off the next waltz.) [link]

35.) All Hallows' eve ball music from the van Helsing movie soundtrack (the waltz music that plays when Dracula is dancing with Ana and Van Helsing saves her.) [link]