I've just realised that I have made several mistakes with some of my character's ages, backstories and surnames such as Clare and Sophanne's surname which was initially spelt as "Madeson" in the beginning but I later wrote as "Maddison" in later chapters. So to justify that mistake, the girl's family have gone through many generations with different variations of their surnames.

I am so sorry for this mistake and the only reason why this is happening is because of the varied-length breaks between each chapter over the last ten years.

I've also noticed that I may have made some slight errors with the recent chapter in comparison with the previous chapters. So to clarify, Van Helsing did not know that it was Dracula as the vampire suspected of taking Natasha and he also did not know that Dracula was alive until the previous one-or-two chapters. I've had to go over previous chapters to try to correct any mistakes in this chapter. Again, I am sorry.

Chapter 12: Not Really Captured Again, Only Taken

. . .

. . .

Romania.

After arriving back in Romania by train that had travelled through day and night, sunny and cold weather which spanned a couple of days. The occupants had mostly slept through the way and fewly stayed awake, often eating and changing into their civilian clothes. Gabriel Van Helsing had paid for all three girls to arrive back at their still new home with him in a second vehicle. All that time being alive without having to physically age, gave him some benefits. Was it hard to believe that this hunter of monsters could drive? He could and would not hesitate to use it.

If only Carl was alive to see it, it would be hysterical!

Once arriving into the deadly silent and somewhat cold home of the Madison/Madeson sisters, would be changed as Clare worked to get the fireplace starting up for heat to be unleashed whilst Sophannne headed into the backyard of their home to gather wood whilst Natasha headed towards her bedroom which did not have all of her clothes which had been taken by the Brides of Dracula, her father. Luckily, there were still some of her clothes still tucked away in the wardrobe such as some underwear garments, tank tops, a couple of long-sleeved shirts and blouses as well as two pairs of jeans and one pair of pink coloured sneakers.

Tasha stood there for some time as a feeling of sadness overcame her again and she literally had to fight the urge to cry. She hated this whole situation and worse of all herself. If her parents had not conceived and carried her to full term to be brought into this world, this would never have happened.

"Oh mom," she whispered as she still fought against the tears in her sapphire eyes. "I wish you were here, I really do. I am not strong enough, I am not like you." It was only natural that Tasha still missed her mother, a bond between parent and child was something that seemed to transcend among things like life and death. To see her mother again would only be in her dreams or be possible if she ever died in her lifetime and reached the shores of heaven, though it was unlikely for that to happen to Natasha as her ancestry provided some limitation in what would happen to her should she ever die, naturally or unnaturally.

Natasha shook herself quickly to get back to reality and pulled her blue birthday dress, and shoes from a black duffle bag that Clare had brought with her to Hungary and then gave to Tasha on their way back to Romania. She placed the shoes on the floor and the straps of her dress onto a black hanger before slipping it onto the higher bars within her wardrobe and then closing the door to turn around and face her room for the first time in countless weeks.

Her bed was still unmade with her pillow and covers rumbled in a mess, her books on the side table next to her bed were still open to varying pages and some of her other personal items were still in boxes which were scattered around her bedroom.

As she stood with one hand on her lower back, taking air into her lungs whilst fumbling with her silver cross necklace around her neck with her other hand. She still had her brown hair in the partly pinned back hairstyle from her birthday celebration in Budapest, Hungary.

"Best get these unboxed." she told herself as she moved away from the wardrobe to the boxes scattered around her room before kneeling down and using both hands to open the lids whilst using a pair of carved knives to undo the brown cello-tape that keeps the lids sealed shut.

Meanwhile downstairs, Clare had managed to get the fireplace started up with some help from Sophanne. Van Helsing was in the kitchen, with his hat and duster coat on the back of a chair whilst he made some tea for everyone including himself. He could not believe the plan had worked; he had saved Natasha but failed to confront Dracula.

After all these years, for over a century; he had been back from the dead and is still doing what he does best - kidnapping young girls and holding them against their will whilst planning to make them his new bride!

How could we have not known about this?! How did we miss this?!

She is safe for now, but what will happen when he discovers that she is gone, which should be now. We will be in danger - WRONG! We are in danger and we are all going to die!

He tried not to think negatively but knowing Dracula to some degree himself is not hard to think that way. If it was up to the vampire; he would storm this house, kill Van Helsing, attack the Madeson sisters and then take Tasha before turning her into what he is.

I can't stand by and allow Dracula to continue living who may come after the Madison family again. Just like he did with the Valerious family, his own flesh and blood!

. . .

. . .

Castle Dracula, Transylvania.

That same day, Dracula and his Polish-accented Bride had arrived back at Castle Dracula whilst the sun was still covered by dark clouds and then quickly took refuge by taking the chance to sleep in their coffins to preserve their strength before they decided or planned to do anything.

. . .

. . .

Natasha was just near finished with unpacking her boxes when Sophanne appeared at the bedroom door, with a cup of hot well-sugared tea in her hands. She looked warmer, in her natural skin tone. Being back in the heat did her and all of them a world of good. She had her hair placed into a ponytail and wore normal clothes that were very similar to her big non-blood-related-sister.

"I've brought you a cup of tea, though it was made by Mr. Van Helsing," she said softly with a smile and Natasha smiled back as she saw her sister. "Come on in." she commanded. "I am just sorting out boxes that I did not get to before I was…" she began to say but stopped herself at the very end."

"It's fine, Tasha… I am just so happy that you are home! It's not been the same without you!" exclaimed the youngest as she came into the room and sat on the end of the bed. She held out the white hot cup and the brunette-haired, now-eighteen-year-old woman grabbed it with both hands; one hand on the handle and the other hand grasping as she blew at the hot steam which was rising from the hot liquid before attempting to drink it.

Being raised in England from a young age has allowed Nastasha to develop a cup of tea preference, like her foster sisters who are completely British and have stayed by their preference of a hot drink which is not always tea, but occasionally coffee.

Milk with three teaspoons of sugar.

"Found anything that you were meaning to hang up?"

"Looking for a sentimental book that Sister Catalina had been looking after for me, on behalf of my mom but depending on which box it is in, I have no idea." she said in a joking-type tone.

"And what is that?" Sophanne asked, being interested in what her sister was up to.

"A family photo album… It belonged to my mom and had been passed to her by her parents, my maternal grandparents. She had obviously kept it as a means of remembering close friends and family, and even told me that she would leave it to me when she passed… which she did."

Natasha finally found what she had been looking for and pulled it from the very bottom of the box. She had to be careful though due to how old it was in age, being over 100 years old. It was a deep brown colour with obvious wears and tears but in still very good condition. It had a golden curve that was meant to resemble a golden-plated "M" on its front. She scanned slowly through the family photo album that her mother had left to her, through her untimely passing, in her hands and there were plenty of photos that brought back brief memories for the young human girl as well as new memories.

In one photo was of her maternal grandparents, it had been taken on their wedding day and they looked so happy and in love for sure. Another photo was of Caitlyn with her parents during their lifetime; she was quite young being around ten or eleven years old when it had been taken and it was one of the very few photos she had taken with them before her parents died whilst she was in her late teens, her father and then her mother within a space of six months. Another photo was of Caitlyn during her pregnancy with her unborn daughter at the time, she must have been five or six months pregnant and she looked absolutely stunning. Another photo was taken after she had given birth to her daughter and the image showed her holding her daughter in her arms with her eyes closed and smiling happily as if nothing in the world could spoil it. The final family photo was when Natasha was a toddler and the moment she began to walk on her own without help was caught on photo, with her mother being somewhat partly photographed in the side corner with her arms outstretched and with a smiling facial expression seen.

"Is that your mother, Tasha?"

"Yeah." replied the older sister.

"You look so much like her, the resemblance is almost uncanny; she looks so beautiful."

"I know." she replied again as she continued through the album carefully and slowly. "I guess it's strong genetics since the only thing I've ever inherited from my father was his striking blue eyes apparently."

And part of his vampirism nature, making me a Dhampire.

Other photographs that were also seen by Natasha and Sophanne's eyes were of people who Caitlyn had met and even befriended over the years. She had met them when they came through her village and some had originated from Romania, Hungary or other European countries. They were there for her when she was dying and then went their very separate ways in response which included not seeing Natasha due to her being taken to England by Sister Catalina.

There was one photo that had Father Stefan Carlyle in it, which Sophy felt to tell her sister.

"I know where he is by-the-way."

"Who?" asked Natasha as she moved her eyes from the book to her sister, who was still sitting on the bed and still able to see the photos from where she sat. "Father Carlyle?"

She still remembered that name, vaguely. He had been friends with her mom and apparently she went to his funeral when she was four though her memory was stuck in trying to remember it due to how young she was at the time.

"Yeah, the day before your birthday; we tracked his whereabouts to a part of Hungary in the hope of getting his help to find you and I am sorry to say, Tasha but he's been dead since 1996… He died before your mother in a space of two years." replied the youngest with sadness. She did not want to give bad news but had to for Tasha. She needed to know the truth.

So much information in a space of weeks, I don't know how much more I can handle.

"There's more. I'll be back." Sophy got up from the bed and literally ran from the room as if she was on fire, leaving Natasha confused as she stood still. Family album in her hands whilst her cup of tea has cooled down by now but still hot to drink.

Between five to ten minutes later, Sophy then returned in quick human speed, out of breath and held a journal in both hands. She had run to get it from Clare who had placed it in her bag which had been kept near the doorways of one of the empty rooms. Her costume outfit was also in the bag.

"Whose journal does that belong to?" Tasha questioned as she took the journal into her hands, after closing her family album before approaching and placing it onto her bed. "It belongs to Father Carlyle and no disrespect, we took it from his coffin in a Crypt but we only took it for information… and we found stuff that you should read in privacy. We've already read it but there is some stuff that you need to know… It's about your mother and Father Carlyle. I will just take my leave and see you downstairs."

Natasha opened the journal and read through the pages in a quick reading method until she came to some pages that she slowed down to read whilst Sophy decided to leave to give her privacy. She hated giving bad news but it seemed only right in giving closure to those who seemed to have been important to those who were already dead and resting in the ground.

She took her time in reading the last pages and even the folded letter that her mother had written which included asking for forgiveness for herself and Tasha's father as well as apologising for any heartbreak that she would possibly experience. Natasha never hated her mother, she would never do that. She wanted her to be here to explain all the secrecy that had been kept from her for the last eighteen years of her mortal life or it now seemed that this was the only thing she could get from her mother at this moment in time.

She could not ask her father as he was mostly in the shadows and could only do little to help.

. . .

. . .

Hours later.

The daylight hours had gone from light to almost night. Taking away any protection that could have been and Natasha was still upstairs in her room, she had not been downstairs since reading the journal and it became obvious that sometimes, people just wanted to be on their own with everything that had happened, whilst others choose to be with loved ones for comfort.

Clare and Sophy had decided to not disturb her and just give her privacy as well as allow her to rest from the vast experience of being kidnapped by Dracula's Brides and almost turned by him, which they obviously believed in their own perception unlike what Tasha's experienced. The monster hunter stood in the doorway with his sight on the sisters and decided to give them space which he felt that they all needed so he grabbed his duster coat and headed towards the front door to go to the local tavern to grab a drink which he felt that he needed strongly despite the possibility of Dracula attacking them.

She could not believe it, he knew the secret her mother had kept to herself in regards to her child for years and instead took it to his grave as a way of showing respect to the small-numbered Madison family.

"It seemed that Father Carlyle, or rather Uncle Stefan as I once knew him as, knew about mom's dark secret and actually kept it to himself. I don't know what to say about that, though he must have been a good man to not judge her for what actions she undertook in relation to my existence." she thought to herself. She smiled to herself in a small way, at least there are some people who don't judge those who fall in love with those that are considered "evil" who are completely evil in nature.

Natasha laid on her side, on her bed with her head on her pillow as she stayed silent. She did not feel like going downstairs. She wanted to be alone, or rather think about what could happen next in-regards to her small vampire secret and her father. "Oh, dad, what am I to do now?"

"What you have always done, my child, which is stay strong." The voice of someone who she had not seen since the masquerade ball caught her attention immediately as she shot up into a sitting position on her bed and literally saw her father standing against the wall of her room. Her eyes were widened and her mouth was at first wide open before settling into a smile as she got up and ran towards him, with his arms open to her. She quickly wrapped her arms around him in the form of a longing hug. She had missed him, despite it only being a few days at most. She did not care. She was happy to see him.

"Dad! I am so sorry for leaving! I had to! Clare and Sophy were there! Along with a hunter named Mr. Gabriel Van Helsing." she told him. She felt so bad for leaving during her birthday celebration. All that effort went to nought, some but not all.

Curse that man! Why can't Gabriel just leave me alone? He takes my life on two occasions, kills my Brides and my children, turns my own family against me, breaks into my home twice and now tries to keep my own daughter from me! The day he dies will be the day that I truly succeed in being on this Earth for good.

Dracula pulled away from their hug after having to curse in his mind and looked at Natasha, being eye-levelled with her as he did so to speak. He spoke softly to her, "It's not your fault, my child. I do understand completely, you had to leave because you were reunited with your sisters after months of being away from them. I am sorry that this had to happen."

"But, what am I to do? I'm not strong enough like you or mom. How am I to deal with what may come about?" she questioned him, feeling so torn at the moment. She may have been her mother's daughter but does she have good-hearted strength to see this through? To be able to tell her sisters the truth about her parents, about herself?

"Listen to me, Natasha. You have the best of your mother and myself inside you. You may come from a dark bloodline and have suffered family loss in life, but you have always remained strong. Always. You have the same strength and good-heart that your mother possessed, up until she left this world and even now, still have it in you. It never left." He placed his open palmed hand on her chest, over the area of where her heart laid beneath, beating away. "It is here," he told her.

Dracula's eyes moved from his daughter's eyes to the window behind her and could hear direct though distant voices below. He did not want to be around if that monster hunter was here. He did not want to risk his daughter's life if he ended up having to fight the man to death, again. He needed to leave. But not without her.

"I need to leave, Natasha, but come with me."

"But my sisters, I can't go again, dad."

"Then I will stay here, with you." he told her. He would have to risk his own life then, if it meant staying near her as he feared that he would never see her again. He had to wait years in the shadows away from her whilst she grew up in England. He already had to pay the price of never seeing her once, he does not want to go through that again. The heartbreak of never seeing his child again is not something any parent should go through. It's like death.

"No, dad, if you do that, they will not stop until you are truly dead and I can't lose another parent!" she exclaimed. "I can't let anyone die!"

"Then, there is only one thing to do." he told her before he placed his hand over her eyes, closing them against her will and placing her to sleep. She slumped against him as she became limp and he picked her up bridal style in his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder with one arm resting on her stomach whilst the other was hanging by her side.

As Dracula took flight from Natasha's bedroom through her window that opened by his will. He instantly disappeared into the night with his beloved daughter. Meanwhile, Clare stood near the door, having kept herself out of sight but she had heard it! Everything! She could not believe it but she had to. Dracula's voice, Natasha's voice, what they were talking about and that it had finally dawned on her! The secret that Father Carlyle mentioned in his journal and what Caitlyn was talking about in her letter, asking for forgiveness! Clare now realised the truth; Dracula is not only the vampire that ordered his Brides to take Natasha but he is also her biological father who has not been in her life for years since she was a little girl and that her sister only went with him because she does not want to lose any more family!

Clare understood it, that is why she has been so down after being "rescued" in Hungary. She was torn between family and what is right or wrong.

"Oh, Tasha. I am sorry that you are going through this, thinking that you are on your own. Why did you not just tell me and Sophy?" questioned the elder Madeson sister as she left her hidden spot and quickly headed downstairs to tell her other sister on what she had just exactly heard and to find Van Helsing in his help in getting her sister back.

. . .

. . .

What do you think about this chapter?

I am trying to resolve loose ends and now the truth is out! Natasha's vampire secret is out.

What will happen next?

PLEASE READ & REVIEW!