Chapter 4: Truths
The Netherlands around 1895
Silence!
Nothing moved in the secluded wing of the seaside hotel where Frankenstein and I ended up after our hasty departure from England.
From somewhere outside the sound of the waves reached my ears, which, following a certain regularity, crashed onto the at this hour deserted beach.
These were the quiet hours just before dawn when nothing and no one would stir, and when nothing and no one would ask for the two guests who had been abandoned to their fate in a secluded tower room. If anyone should think about going to look for us later that day, however, it would already be too late for at least one of us.
Throughout my whole life and beyond, I have never been inclined to allow anything or anyone to send me into headless panic, but what was intended for me in this case gave rise to a growing concern deep inside my innermost.
The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor of the small chamber wherein Frankenstein and I got held captive were covered with mirrors, crucifixes, and other symbols of which the world believed could banish vampires. They weren't exactly designed to make me feel comfortable, but they weren't something that worried me unduly either.
What truly worried me was the small opening our enemies had left behind within the wall before they abandoned us, as through said small opening the first rays of the rising sun would soon penetrate into our prison. Sure, they wouldn't be enough to turn me into dust, as my two jailers most likely assumed, but I still preferred to forego the pain their touch would cause me.
Unfortunately, there was no one there to spare me such a fate, for both Frankenstein and I lay in chains, helpless, immobile and at the mercy of the elements, and I had to admit to that I had underestimated the evilness of one Elisabeth Bathory.
It was she who went to see unfortunate Dr. Ryan to undergo treatment for her 'bloodthirst', and it was also she in whom I had placed my hopes to receive an answer to whether or not the curse of the Draculas was a disease poisoning the blood of their descendants.
Certainly, the experiment Frankenstein was supposed to carry out on the infamously known 'Blood Countess' would inevitably have ended in her death, but I can't think of anyone except for her hideous servant who would have actually shed a tear for her.
Rumour also had it, that Elisabeth Bathory was in possession of the Bloodstone, a jewel which would have enabled me to walk in daylight and lead an almost normal life, if I was willing to disregard the need to continue feeding on the blood of others, but now both the answer to my question and the stone were out of reach for me and the only thing I could do was stare at the hole in the wall and wait for the sun to rise, unless...
The voice now soaking into the chamber from beyond the door gave me hope again.
It was...Mina...!
She was not alone, the man who accompanied her was neither Harker nor van Helsing, and yet his face seemed strangely familiar as it appeared in the frame of the splintering door.
"Let's bring this to an end," he turned to Mina: "Then my brother will finally receive justice after all these years..."
He was a Renfield, no doubt...but I...I only had eyes for Mina.
Attack sparkled in her eyes, a blush of anger coloured her cheeks, and a bitter set around her mouth spoke of the pain and heartache she had endured.
It was true, the years had left their mark on her face, but they had not been able to diminish her beauty.
When she became aware of me, she hesitated to enter, her hand gripping the oak stake she had brought with her so tightly that her delicate fingers turned white with the strain.
"There's no need for that," I remarked, pointing at the piece of wood with my head: "I mean no harm to you, Mina Harker! All I ask of you is to free us from these chains before it's too late..."
"Why would I do that," she snapped: "After everything you did to us!"
There was bitterness in her words, but she held my gaze easily. She would probably have even given in to young Renfield's urging to finally use the stake, but I succeeded to convince her to listen to me once again, perhaps for the last time.
"I can see to the very depths of your soul, Mina. I know what's grieving you..."
"What do you know about grief, Dracula?"
"More than you could ever imagine, my beautiful! It's the death of your son that torments you and refrains you from finding peace, isn't it? Quentin! Quentin Harker was his name, am I right?"
"How do you know...?"
"Believe me, I know even more! He was born seven years after we last met, and everyone had to assume that only Jonathan Harker could be the father to your son..."
"But..."
"But you knew better, didn't you! You always knew better..."
"What do you mean?"
"Quentin Harker, your son, he is the fruit of my blood, Mina! For seven years, the seed of my blood grew inside you, and you knew! Quentin...he is my son as much he is as yours, and you can no longer deny that I am telling the truth."
The look she now presented me with told me I had spoken the truth. She remembered the night wherein we shared more than just blood, but the anguish in her eyes let no doubt that she was trying to erase this memory...
"It's true! Everything you just told me is true," she finally replied in a toneless voice: "But it doesn't change the fact that my...that our son is dead..."
"Is he? I do not think so! You are his mother, Mina! Shouldn't you be able to feel that it's not over yet? Of course, you had to assume your son drowned! His footprints leading to the pond! His coat left on the shore! His screams, which reached out to you from the lake! But the truth is a different one!"
"Shut up, Dracula," she snapped, and the fire I loved so much about her slowly rekindled deep inside her: "Don't even think about trying to manipulate me! This time you won't succeed! Quentin is dead!"
"Quentin is alive! In a place where I too once got dragged to!"
"What did you say?"
"Quentin is alive! He was abducted by the same evil that tore me from my mother! He's destined to suffer the same fate, I had to endure! It is the curse of the Draculas that is now to be fulfilled on him, just as it was once fulfilled on me. Due to a bargain struck hundreds of years ago. I know where Quentin is, Mina! I can find him...!"
"You?"
"I can find him! We can find him! But to do so, you must free me from these chains first..."
