Many thanks to Madam Silver, Scarlet Empress, The Jabberwocky High Priestess, She-Devil Red, alexc1209, BeautifulCataleya, BornRose2, the invisible reader, RegencyPoet, DreamBubbles, ShadowSpade, bloodyrose2014, Cosmopolitan Countess, AnimeFan001, ForeverACharmedOne, Elle, Kiriari, and ForsakenStar22 for reviewing yesterday and helping this story pass the 1k review mark! I am positively floored!
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Well, here's the final chapter, and so marks the end of an era... a proper A/N is posted after the chapter with some final thoughts on this story and the journey of this endeavor overall. But for now, soak in this story's conclusion. And please don't forget to review to let me know what you thought of the story overall!
LXV
Epilogue
The sky was blanketed in thick, gray clouds, a storm brewing in the east and climbing through the mountains, threatening to descend upon the aged and historical Budapest. A young woman with long, chestnut hair fell to her knees before an elaborate tombstone, her fingers smoothing over the cool polished granite before they rested in her lap.
After placing two roses on the ground at the base of the grave marker, she sat back on her knees on the cold, damp earth. A few moments passed before she felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"I can't believe they're gone," she whispered, gazing up at the beautiful sculpture of a man and woman in their prime, holding one another, their eyes staring out towards the east where the mountains were.
"They're not really gone," the owner of the hand replied, a smile appearing on his face as he brushed some of his raven hair from his face. "They're still here, with us, right now."
"I miss them," another young man replied after a few moments in silence. His arms were tucked close to his chest in an effort to keep himself warm. Sitting down on an old stone bench, he stared out at an old ruined palace which was nestled comfortably below the graveyard.
"We all do," the young woman agreed as she moved to her feet only to be wrapped in the embrace of her older brother—the spitting image of his father. Tall, with dark, yet charming features, piercing blue eyes, and the same raven hair, only much shorter and more modernly cut. He rubbed the woman's arms fiercely in an effort to keep her warm as tears started to tumble down her cheeks.
"That elegy the reverend gave this morning was nice," she offered.
"Yes, but it didn't do them justice, Athee. Even you know that," her younger brother answered, still sitting on the bench. "Actually, it kind of sucked. It would have been much better if it wasn't so fucking formal."
"Nicolae, your language," Athena chastised softly. A small curve appeared on Nicolae's lips.
"Yes mother," he teased, earning a chuckle from his older brother who still held Athena.
"Alright then Nicolae, if you didn't like the elegy, how would you have done it?" he asked.
Nicolae's mischievous smile disappeared as his face grew more serious… contemplative.
"I would have talk about how they met," he said.
"Which version? Grandpa Henry's or theirs?"
"I would have done theirs," Athena replied. "It's far more romantic."
"And far more entertaining, although I always got the impression that they weren't telling us everything," Nicolae added. "Don't you think so, Andrei?"
Andrei nodded as he released his younger sister from his hug, letting her wander around a bit.
"I would have talked about how much they loved each other, how having us never really did stop them from going at it all the time," he chuckled.
"Dad really couldn't keep his hands to himself. Even when they got old," Nicolae added, making a face. "Although it was kinda sweet how he was always holding her hand or maintaining some kind of physical contact with her…"
"Or saying 'I love you,' to her, every single day, especially if they got in a fight," Athena replied. "Which was few and far between."
"From what we know at least."
"I always wondered what Mom was referring to when she mentioned 'Vilkova' to him, when their debates got heated."
"Yeah, and how that always seemed to shut Dad up."
"And then an hour later they were totally fine."
"Oh come on, let's be honest. They solved nearly every argument they had with sex."
The three siblings all laughed together, continuing to reminisce a bit more.
"Do you remember the time mom went in for surgery a couple years ago?"
"And dad nearly killed that doctor because he refused to let him stay with her during the procedure? I think that was the one time I saw dad get furious, and I mean really furious."
"No. You remember the time Mom took us to that conference in Paris with her after Grandpa Henry died and that Prichard fellow insulted her and Dad knocked him out?"
Laughter soon ensued.
"Mom was furious with him!" Athena laughed. "Do you remember the look on her face?"
"Do you remember the look on Dad's? And then his talk with us in the car afterwards?" Andrei asked.
"'Now children, remember, it is not proper to physically assault other people. The only time it's acceptable is if they insult your mother,'" Athena mimicked word for word. "Mom was so mad at him."
"Well, the guy had it coming and Dad, even in his old age, could still throw one hell of a punch."
"No one insulted Mom and got away with it."
"Yeah."
Silence.
"They really did love each other."
"I remember how Mom always hated going out to eat because the waitresses would always try to flirt with Dad."
"So she started requesting male waiters instead."
"I remember that too."
"Was it just me, or was the 'birds and the bees' talk with Mom and Dad awkward as hell?"
"Oh my God! At least Dad didn't take you into his office, Athena! You got Mom to explain it to you."
"He's got a point. I remember when Dad 'called me into his office' and was seriously like, 'I don't understand why your mother doesn't do this. She's so much better at explaining it in a non-inappropriate way than I am.'"
"Yeah, well, by the time they got to me, Dad just told me to ask my friends."
"He did?"
"Yep."
"Nicolae, you are so damn lucky."
"I don't know, I think it would have been entertaining watching Dad trying to give the sex talk."
Andrei's palm met his face and Athena chose that moment to change the subject.
"Do you remember the time they took us backpacking in Transylvania that one summer? And Dad showed us where he was born?"
"And then he told us all these stories about the Romanian wars against the Turks…as if he had been there!"
"He was always so good at telling stories. He made them seem so real."
"Like when we visited that tiny little village in the mountains – what was it called?"
"Visceria, I think?"
"Yes, that's it! Do you remember how they went on and on about that Valerious family?"
"As if they knew them personally."
"I personally loved Christmas time most. That's what I'll miss…"
"Mom's hot cocoa…"
"Dad letting us make s'mores in his office during conference calls…"
"Christmas parties."
"The huge tree that Dad always insisted we get and Mom always insisted we not get."
"And then after putting up an amazing fight, a couple hours later after being alone with Dad, Mom would cave in."
…
"You know what I'll miss the most?"
"What?"
"Just having them there. Waking up and coming downstairs to see them in the morning at breakfast time… listening to Dad's lectures…"
"Which were legendary."
"Listening to Mom play the piano in the middle of the night."
"I don't know how we'll sleep now."
"Well, there was that CD she had made before she married Dad that the two of them used to listen to all the time."
"Yeah… it was like a tradition of theirs. Every wedding anniversary and then the anniversary of the day they met, they would listen to that CD."
"Yeah, I remember that. It was as if they were remembering something."
"Remembering what?"
"I suppose we'll never know."
"I guess not."
Thunder rumbled in the sky up ahead as it started to rain suddenly. The trio grew silent as they listened to the deluge, the thunder in the clouds, the water hitting the grass, dried leaves, and stone grave markers. Athena studied the statue of her mother and father holding one another and smiled as the rain placed a nice, glossy sheet of moisture on the already polished granite.
"They're happy," she said softly.
Andrei and Nicolae turned around and glanced back at the statue as well.
"Yes. They are," Andrei whispered. "They're together and that's all that matters."
"Do you suppose we'll see them again?" she asked her older brother.
"Yes, Athee. I think we will."
"We better get going before we get drenched. I keep hearing this area is infamous for its rain," Nicolae replied, taking out his large umbrella and shielding his older siblings.
After whispering their soft goodbyes, the grown children turned to make their way down the hill toward the parked town car in the empty lot, where they climbed in and drove away.
The torrential downpour continued as thunder rumbled in the sky. The sky grew darker and darker still, but for a single moment, the clouds broke and a small opening appeared as a pillar of sunshine bathed its path in a warm glow before disappearing once more.
The last place it touched was the fresh grave where Athena's two roses laid, soaked and beaten by the heavy drops of rain. But unlike the weather, they did not change; the two flowers remained intact, never separating in the blowing wind. When the rain turned to snow, the flowers froze, a thin veil of frost covering the crimson petals at the base of the marker, leading the eye to the carved lettering etched into the tombstone's face at the feet of the statue:
Hera Kali Drăculești née Garret – Born 1989, Died 2082.
Vladislaus Drăculești – Born 1422, Died 2082.
Here lies Hera and Vladislaus Drăculești: Spouses, Lovers, Companions, and the proud parents of Andrei, Athena, and Nicolae.
They died in each other's arms on November 13th, 2082.
...
Know this, that death cannot stop true love, nor can time. It may delay, but it will never cease. A heart will always find its missing piece. A soul will always find its other half, just as you found me, just as I found you. We have conquered death. We have conquered time. Our love does not die with us, but it lives on in our children, in our memory, and in the eyes of the all-merciful God.
...
Time had not claimed them, nor would death. Their love would continue on, no matter what the storybooks said. Their love, their story, would become history, but even that wouldn't matter.
For history, as it is written, isn't always accurate.
Things are never quite as they seem.
After all, in the end, what is history, what are stories, but ink on a page?
...
The End
My dearest readers,
What a tumultuous journey this has been!
When I first began to revamp Ink on a Page, I remember telling my beta how fearful I was that no one would remember or care about this story getting resurrected, that the vast majority of its original fans were long gone, save a few, and there just weren't enough readers in the Van Helsing category anymore for it to make a difference. But she assured me (and continued to reassure me) that my fears were unfounded. I never dreamed I'd have the opportunity to revisit this story and though this revamp project has admittedly taken a lot out of me, I am so grateful I did this. Not only am I extremely pleased with how this story turned out and completely humbled by your response to it, but this has been (and continues to be) a huge learning experience for me.
I wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who offered praise as well as constructive criticism. I am learning and still continuing to learn as I write more and more and I know that the advice offered by those who took the time will only help in improving my writing as I pursue future projects (like Eternal Night). Having one's work critiqued or picked apart is never an easy thing - if I'm honest, my personality type is such that I often take any kind of criticism very personally - but I will be forever indebted to those of you who offered your advice and criticisms with kindness and tact (which is a rarity on this site, unfortunately). I owe you so much for your generosity and faith in my abilities and I will never be able to thank you enough.
Ink on a Page has a magic to it that, as its writer, not even I fully understand. I'm not quite sure why this story speaks to people in the way that it does, why so many have continued to gravitate towards it over the years – but whatever the reason, I hope you know how totally flattered and humbled I feel by your collective response. Your support has been absolutely mind-blowing, and forgive me if this sounds trite, but I feel so blessed to have received the approval of so many of you. It warms my heart to know that several of you in particular have come to possess such an emotional connection to this story, and I can't thank you enough for proving that time and time again in your reviews. You know who you are.
There is no better gift that you could have given me outside of your honest feedback, and when I requested yours, a lot of you really came through. You guys have gotten me through some very difficult moments this year with your consistent positivity and kindness and I seriously cannot thank you enough. Your reviews were always, and will undoubtedly forever remain, the highlight of my day.
Thank you again to all of those read, favorited, followed, reviewed, and recommended this story. And an even bigger thank you to my marvelous beta, Sleepy Bibliophile. This story would not have happened without you, my dearest friend, and I can't thank you enough for all of your help. Here's to whatever comes nextand all the growth and learning that I'm certain will take place.
Until next time, my friends,
T