Yay, Natasha did survive and still kicking. Bad luck, Alina.

Chapter Six: Revenge is so sweet on a dish best served cold.

The next few days, Natasha was moved to her own room and remained there for the duration of her recovery as Dr. Pemble came to visit her. He was pleased, and somewhat confused on how she survived the storm when it should have killed her. Only beings of supernatural power could withstand that storm.

'Could she be more?"

Natasha was informed during her recovery that Alina had been sent on an errand and would be back for a week or so, which brought her relief that she wouldn't see the vampiress for a week as she couldn't stand the vampire bride and didn't feel safe around her at all.

Other than that, the first bride came to visit her and free her from boredom by giving her books or giving her latest news around Budapest. On one occasion, Erik had sent his regards to the breathing Madison girl and asked that once she was better, if she could visit him. She couldn't help but smile.

What Natasha did notice was she didn't see Dracula at all. 'He is still mad,'

Few days later

Natasha had just finished her dinner and was heading towards the library where she was keen to resume her reading on 'Bram Stoker Dracula'. The book had actually been based on the real Dracula without the author knowing he existed at all.

She stood directly in front of book shelves within the main library and was trying to think of a way of getting the book without knocking the other books off. In the end she decided to climb the shelves to get the book off the top shelf.

'I wonder who placed the book on the top shelf anyway?' the seventeen year-old Madison girl questioned inside her mind before reaching her hands forward and touching the brown wooden shelves with her hands and feet as she started to climb towards the top. Natasha didn't care if it was unlady-like but she pushed her body to climb higher as she got closer and closer to the book and then reached for it with her finger tips, managing to nudge it towards her direction before grabbing hold of it in one hand. Her other hand and feet supporting her as she smiled in happiness at her resourceful nature in getting the one book that she liked.

However, the shelves began to creek, which alerted her and before she could act, her hand and feet lost their grip, and she fell backwards. Natasha didn't scream but gasped as she fell towards the ground. What she didn't see was the Count as he held his arms out and caught her in them, preventing her body from hitting the ground hard. He must have been watching her effort in getting the fiction Dracula book. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he found it interesting and funny.

At first her sapphire eyes were kept shut and then few seconds, she opened them to see Dracula staring at her, and his arms holding her in a bridal style. She used her fingers to adjust her glasses and could feel the book in her hand still. "Um… thank you?" she said and questioned softly as he placed her onto her feet gently, releasing her from his grip. She was abit hesitate in regard towards what the Count might be planning about her, and what she did.

"You're welcome, my dear." He said softly as he turned to face her. Natasha was wearing a white t-shit under a long-sleeve shirt and knitted dark blue long-sleeved jumper, underneath a black leather jacket coat and with semi-skinny blue jeans and her black/white striped sneakers. She had her long dark brown hair kept partly back with a purple headband, which separated her short bangs from the rest of her hair and framing her face. Also, just over her blue jumper was her cross necklace that hung just between her still-growing breasts, and near her beating heart. Her choice of clothes and hairstyle suited her.

For a few minutes, Natasha's heart began to beat fastly though her eyes didn't show it. It was like music to his ears, 'She's afraid of me. It's understandable because of what I am and capable of but she mustn't be and I would never harm her.' He thought inside his mind.

"If you excuse me, Miss Madison, I have some paperwork that requires my attention." He responded, which earned him a nod and with that, Dracula turned and walked towards the library door. He turned his head back briefly towards Natasha, who had just sat down in the velvet chair near the fireplace and opened the book to start reading, and raised his lips into a small smile before leaving the room.

:1:

Awhile after the Count left and the Madison girl still reading, she was joined by the first bride; Chloe. It was one of the polish-accented bride's hobbies that she loves to read and the library was one of these places. It was also one of the few places that Alina wouldn't be seen in, and she had expressed that she hated the library, which also meant reading.

Chloe seated herself near the window, opposite to Natasha sitting near the fireplace. When she had passed the girl, she saw what she was reading and giggled. 'Dracula… who would have thought?' she thought inside her mind as Natasha's eyes were focused on each word and taking in details of the book's plot. She was really enjoying the book.

After a few hours of reading, Chloe gasped her chest with one hand and tried to breath as if she was having a heart attack. Natasha instantly saw this and almost ran to the bride but was stopped as she saw the Count appear instantaneously before his first bride. He rested his hands on her shoulders gently and kept his eyes on her face as her own eyes became grey-misty colour and her mind fell blank.

Natasha saw the signs and knew the bride had entered a trance. Chloe once explained to the Madison girl that because they shared the same blood, it allows them to feel and see the other. It was useful in sensing if either were harmed or killed.

The Count began to spoke, with softness. "What has happened, Chloe? Is Alina safe? …or has she been slain?" he asked. A few days ago, Natasha had been informed that Alina was sent on an errand for their master and wouldn't be back for a week or so, which brought relief for the girl as she came to fear the second bride and kept wondering on what Alina had planned next, after nearly dying from the storm.

Chloe, after a second or two, spoke with her gentle voice emotionless, like a robot. "Alina… was killed, my lord. She attacked against your orders and told them what she knew."

Dracula became enraged but didn't show it on his face or in his body language, and instead stood to his full height. He released his bride's shoulders as he stood and approached the fireplace, passing the girl as he did so and took a few minutes in breathing, though he didn't need to, and thinking before leaving. Chloe recovered from her trance as her eyes returned to their natural colour and her mind as hers again.

Despite being in a coma and her mind not as hers, she still knew what was happening and sighed briefly at the loss of a sister. Both brides grew apart over the years, and only saw each other as sisters when addressing their lord. Natasha spoke after what she just witnessed, "I am so sorry about your sister… Alina."

The polished bride spoke as she stood and faced the human girl. Her face was of confusion, "Don't be… she was horribly to you, a simple human that didn't do any harm to her. It was her actions that caused her death."

"I know… but I know what it like to lose family." she said softly. For just a second, she thought about her mother, who she hadn't thought about in years, and yet can still remember what it felt like when she saw her mother pass away as if it was yesterday. The bride saw this and felt sadness for the girl. To lose the only you would ever have family and be on your own, it is heart breaking. Her voice caught her attention, "Alina… ….She died…. Attacking your sisters."

This caused her to gasp in worry and place her hand over her mouth, "Claire and Sophy? Are they alright?" she questioned worriedly.

The bride just nodded her head as a yes.

:1:

An hour ago

Claire and Sophanne were discussing about the portraits and were looking through records of their sister's late mother and close friends. What they found was that Natasha's mother, Caitlyn died in the year of 1998 and the cause of death was an un-named uncurable illness that was said to affiliate only women who had children in recent years. The Maddison sisters also came across of Natasha's copied birth certificate that held personal details such as who her mother was, and yet the father was unknown, which puzzled the youngest. It wasn't unusual for father's names to not be known. It is the modern century, of course.

Just then, Gabriel Van Helsing entered the dining area and stood directly behind the eldest as she gazed at the records of each brother that was friends with the deceased barmaid. All of them died from natural causes like heart attacks, infections, tumours, body-like symptoms such as cancer and even aging. It was kind of sad to know they are already dead. The sisters could have tracked them down and asked them questions of what happened years ago, and the reasons behind it.

"How's it going?" he asked as he peered over. She didn't turn her head nor move her eyes, only spoke.

"Well…. We found our sister's birth certificate and similar certificates of her late mother's friends. We still have to find records of what happened all those years ago if someone had bothered to record the incident." She responded.

Just then, the room became cold and each of their breaths became frosty smoke in front of their faces. Though it was obvious, the monster hunter spoke. "Something is here, in this room."

His crossbow laid near the doorway that lead into the massive hallway and the hunter didn't waste time in grabbing it. The blessed arrows were loaded and ready to use. He held the weapon in his hands, with his index finger on the trigger.

His hazel eyes darted around the room, trying to locate the creature even if it is invisible. The temperature dropped further, becoming increasingly low. Sophy started to shake in fear. 'Please, pleasure… don't let it be what I think it is.' The youngest of the sisters thought as she had read what creature had the power of lowering the room's temperature to freezing levels. It was in a book that Natasha had borrowed, and later brought in London, from her university at the time.

A laughter broke out and echoed throughout the house, which sent chills down the spines of the Maddison sisters and only caused Van Helsing to tighten his index finger's grip on the trigger. His hazel eyes darted around the room, almost desperately. The laughter continued as did the temperature.

"Come on out, Nosferatu." He taunted her, but she didn't responded with words. Instead, she did the opposite.

The second bride known as Alina, appeared behind the monster hunter and placed her hand on his shoulder before flinging him to and through the window, demonstrating her great strength. He landed on his back with a thud and groaned at the force that she threw him at. He must have forgotten of what vampires were capable of, in terms of strength.

All she did was throw her head back and laugh, revealing her elongated fangs, whilst Clare grabbed a vase and held it with both hands, to try and defend herself and her sister from the deranged bride. Sophanne hid herself behind her sister and stared at the bride, who then stopped laughing and turned her gaze to the two mortal girls.

"So you are the two sisters of the whorish girl that my master is so protective of. No bother, as of this moment… you are both dead." She growled as she lunged herself forward, transforming into her bat form and aiming for the girls. Claire, with quick thinking, pushed herself and her sister from the direction to their right and landed on the ground as Alina hit the wall. Her impact left a dent, another example of her strength, and her anger increased further.

She sorted herself, transforming back to her human form and approached the eldest mortal with her unnatural speed, catching her off guard and keeping a vice grip on her neck. She was so angry that she could easily break the girl's throat. Clare barely had time to react and could only stare at the pissed off vampiress with her green eyes, that held fear in them. She was scared of what could happen to her in the next seconds.

'They do exist. I should have believed Tasha and you, Sophy.' She thought in her mind. The French bride raised her hand and stroked the girl's cheek as if to calm an animal. "I promise you, what will happen next will be joyous… for me anyway."

Alina opened her mouth wide and every single tooth extended into sharp incisors in seconds. Her tongue changed into that of a snake and moved her mouth closer, and closer until her breath could be felt on the mortal's skin. The coldness caused the jugular to pulse rapidly and accelerate the heart additional.

Her fangs were about to pierce the skin when she stopped and threw her head backwards, screaming like a hellhound and releasing Clare, who dropped to the ground and used her elbows to scrawl away.

Alina fell to her knees that were bleeding profusely and had two blessed bolts jammed into her bone. She felt her strength leave her and her body collapsed against the ground. Her slitted gown-like dress surrounded her in a heap. She managed to stop screaming and began to hush her breath as if she was pushing new life into the world. Sophanne, who had watched of what had been going on from behind the sofa, saw Van Helsing push himself through the window and aim his crossbow before launching two bolts into the vampire's kneecaps.

Once she was down, he felt he could breathe slightly easier and approached the elder Maddison girl, leaning down with his hand to her and helping her to her feet. As their hands touched, a shock was felt between and their eyes met for a second before they ignored it. He laid his crossbow on the ground, near his foot as he did this whilst the bride managed to pushed herself to lean against the dining room's wall, near the fireplace. Her breath was harsh and her blood was staining the floor.

After helping Clare and asking Sophanne if she was alright, to which she responded with a yes. The sisters hugged each other and Van Helsing turned his attention towards the weaken bride, aiming his crossbow, with his eye on where her heart should lay. 'Cold and heartless'

All she did was smile. The bottom of her gown was now drenched in freezing dark blood but she ignored that and the pain, which was faint now. Her hair was casted over one shoulder with the edges bushing against her clothed breast.

"Now, vampire… you are going to tell us why your master ordered you to kidnap the girl? …. for what purpose? And where she is at this exact moment?"

"I'll never tell you," she said as she burst into a giggle and then a thought came to her. 'If I tell them, maybe I can get my revenge on that bitch. She is the reason on why I am here. Revenge is so sweet on a dish best served cold.'

As Van Helsing was inching closer and preparing to kill her, she spoke. "Fine, I'll tell you. Yes, we were ordered to kidnap her and for what purpose I don't know… I swear it on my undead life. However, she is in Budapest with my lord and my sister. She was originally kept at Castle Dracula… but tried to escape and nearly died in the process… but she survived and ended up in Budapest."

"Thank you," responded Clare, though she didn't want to. Her hand touched her neck instinct, from where she was almost bitten. Sophanne hid behind her elder blood-sister, who began to chat with the legendary hunter, "What do we do now?"

"We take supplies and head to Budapest. Let's still hope, your sister hadn't become a vampire." As the trio talked, Alina summoned all her drained strength and lunged forward. Murder in her eyes, mind and heart. 'Die!' she screamed in her mind.

As time seemed to slow down around him, Van Helsing raised his weapon and pulled the trigger which launched the bolt-covered-in-holy water forwards and into the flesh of the second French-accented bride known as Alina. It dug into her upper skin and through towards her dead heart that stopped beating the moment she was turned by Dracula. Her old life removed and her new life beginning.

The bride stopped in her tracks as unbearable pain spreaded throughout her body, mind and soul, and caused her to collapse to the ground. The bolt remained lodged as she stood to her feet, hissing like the rest of her kind and turned into grey ash, in seconds, with her gown and expensive jewels as they laid on the ground embedded with her remains. The last thing she would see before she was claimed by death, would be her murderer and would-be victims and her last thought would be… 'It's not fair.'

Clare and Sophanne who had just witnessed the death of Alina at the hands of their fellow friend and slayer, just stood there and stared at her ashes. Sympathy and sorrow filled them, despite the bride trying to kill all three of them.

XXXX

Until the next chapter.

So depending on how you feel about Alina, she is dead and depending whether she would get her revenge is determined in the next chapter(s).

See ya.