11A/N: I have recently been re-absorbed into my obsession with Vampires, so here is a Van Helsing fic. A small part of this fic is inspired by a one-shot fic that I read, called Van Helsing's Bride. It was written by Trawler, but the only part I am taking from it is that Anna is not dead, and continues to live with Gabriel Van Helsing, immortal as he is to destroy monsters with him. I am also adding that, since Carl is such a big help with research, God has allowed him to become immortal as well. This fic takes place in 1920.
Also, when switches are made between locations, imagine that the fitting amount of time has passed between when we leave one character and join the next.
Disclaimer: Ikalyia is the only character that belongs to me. I do not own Van Helsing, Anna, or any of the other familiar characters present in this fic. Although, having Vladislaus would be nice.
Vlad: Dream on.
pouty face
Vlad: you-wish smirk
Free. She was finally free. All her life, she had been trapped in that place, with no one but her mentor for company.
Yes, she could go outside. Her mentor insisted on her riding lessons. But she could never go in town. She had never gone to market. She had never met anyone her age. She had learned all there was to learn about the world from her mentor and from books. She had even taken to reading many fiction books to pass her time. Her mentor had died two days ago. He had tried to teach her all manner of things, but he hadn't given her true friendship. And he was much too old to give her romance, as she had read in many books. Her mentor was not unkind, but she always longed for , she had asked why she was kept there, and her mentor did answer the truth, this she knew.
"Because of your talents. Your parents and others like them were hunted and killed because people thought them to be evil. But the truth is, you are meant to stop the worst evil that will arise someday. You are the first one in centuries to have the ability to stop the evil when it arises. But we must train you and keep you hidden for now. When you are ready, we must go to Romania."
"Why there?" she asked. She had read stories about creatures in Romania. Creatures which fed on the blood of humans.
"Because that is where the creature will surface first."
"Is it Nosferatu?" Ikalyia asked, feeling she was on the right track.
"No. It is much worse than Vampires. But it will try to get Vampires on it's side. There is one Vampire who may help us, but for the most part, they must never know you exist, or they will hunt you down."
"Why?"
"That is best left for when you are ready."
Yes, her mentor had told the truth. One of her talents was the ability to sense truth or deception, happiness or sadness, trust or need to avoid. From anyone. For her mentor would have visitors now and then. They came from Rome. Men dressed in strange clothes, almost like dresses. She was always told to stay in her room during these times, but she could feel their emotions. They always seemed to be talking about her. Some felt urgency, others felt concern.
But now, Ikalyia was on her own. Her mentor had died, and she knew it was time to go. She had saddled up her horse, Necromancer, who was a pure-bred palomino; and had everything she thought she might need in various sacks: clothes in the sack on her back, a sack on the side with food, and all her pockets were filled with coins she had found in her mentor's desk. Her mentor was clearly very wealthy.
Ikalyia was dressed in her riding clothes, and while she had a couple of dresses, she fully intended to get herself some more pants and shirts in the first town. They were so much more comfortable.
Mixed with her clothes were the most important books she had found on Vampires in her mentor's library as well as several maps which were marked with all the areas where Vampires were known to dwell. It seemed that her mentor had looked them up in his youth.
She would look them over once she found an inn. Her mentor had told about inns, and she had read about them in some books. When people travelled to other places, they would habitually stay at an inn.
It's time for you to return.
What?
You have not yet died. Consider what happened to you a small rest. It is time for you to return to the world. There is something you must do. I wouldn't dilly-dally once you wake.
Vladislaus considered the first statement for a moment. The last thing he remembered was a burning, searing pain, travelling all throughout his veins, all throughout his body. The pain had originated from a bite on his shoulder. This was where it hurt most. Then, there was nothing. Nothing, until he heard the familiar, rasping voice of Death.
I was bitten. A werewolf… Gabriel, he was a werewolf. He bit me. And I am not dead?
No. When Death makes a deal, she never goes back on her word. I am returning you to the world. If you should come across the gypsy, however, reassure her that her family has entered the gates of St. Peter.
Gypsy? Anna. He thought this last part to himself.
Farewell, Vladislaus Dragulia.
Vladislaus felt something. He could feel. He was sitting somewhere. On stone? But it was dark. He couldn't see.
Why can't I see?
Then he realised the problem, and kicked himself mentally before opening his eyes.
He was sitting exactly where he had 'died'. The entire lab was in ruins. It was evident that nothing had been dwelling in the place for a long time.
I wonder what year it is now?
Vladislaus morphed into his hell-beast form and left though a window. He quickly came to the 'door' through which he could leave to frozen wasteland which surrounded his castle. Normally, he would go another way, but time was of the essence, according to Death.
From what Death said, there is reason for my presence in this time.
He regained his 'human' form, and walked through.
After he emerged from the 'door', Vladislaus took a good look at the castle which used to be his four centuries prior to the battle with Van Helsing. It, too, seemed to have been abandoned. However, the books were all gone.
Most likely, I'll have a lot to catch up on.
He took the route down from the tower and onto the main floor. There was dust and cobwebs all over, and Vladislaus felt a small jolt similar to surprise when a group of bats flew by him.
Walking out of the castle, he found that there was not a soul about. It would seem that the entire village had been abandoned.
Vladislaus felt slightly frustrated. He wanted to be up-to-date, and he was hungry, and no one was there. He morphed into his hell-beast form again, and made his way for Budapest. Surely there would still be people there. He could have tried looking for a place in Transylvania, but he preferred trying to find if his summer palace was intact.
Gabriel Van Helsing woke, and realised that his wife was still beside him. He smiled. They hadn't made love for a while, having been too busy with missions for the Vatican. Fortunately, they had managed to finally get some privacy as Carl had been called to Rome.
The aforementioned friar was due to arrive that day.
Gabriel smirked at the thought that Carl was still a friar. He had confessed to Gabriel that one of the inhabitants of Anna's village had been very accommodating during their stay, thus his preference not to move up in rank.
Gabriel got out of bed carefully, so as not to wake Anna, and began searching for his clothes. They had been thrown just about everywhere in the room, and he had to detangle his and Anna's shirts, as well.
"Is it morning already?"
Gabriel had just finished pulling on his clothes, minus jacket, boots and hat, when Anna woke up.
"I'm afraid so." He walked over to her and gave her a closed-mouth kiss.
"Has Carl arrived?" she asked.
"Not yet."
Anna got out of bed, holding the sheet around her as the window had no curtains.
"I wonder what mission the Vatican has for us now." she said, not sounding particularly interested, as she searched for her clothes.
"Who knows?" answered Gabriel, sounding just as unenthusiastic. It was getting a little boring.
"Van Helsing! Van Helsing!" Carl came bursting in the door, and then several things happened very fast.
Carl gave a yell and put his hands over his eyes, and Anna, who was still half-naked, pulled up the sheet again and started yelling incoherently in Romanian, while Gabriel advanced on Carl and shoved him out the door, yelling:
"Don't you know how to knock, Carl?"
"How was I supposed to know?" he said, hands still in front of his eyes.
"The door is shut and we're in the hall, Carl, you can look."
Carl obeyed.
"Now, as for not knowing, let's just call it common courtesy. We might have been asleep."
"Or right in the middle of something." Anna added as she emerged from the room, fully dressed in white shirt, small red jacket, tiny black corset, black pants, and tall, black boots.
"I… I-I… I'm sorry..."
"Skip it." Gabriel interrupted. "What's the news?"
"News? Oh! Um, inside, please?"
The three walked back inside, Anna and Gabriel sitting on the edge of the bed, and Carl pulled up a chair from the small desk in the corner.
"Well, the Vatican has discovered a prophecy. Well, they had discovered it about twenty years ago, but, anyway. A prophecy which is supposed to come about very soon. Um…"
Carl started going through his bag until he pulled out a book, and he flipped to a marked page.
"It says, 'the hunted angels shall leave one behind, and she shall be the one to stop the ultimate evil. The believed son of the devil shall be her protector, though he is hated by all. At first touch, the angel and her protector shall be covered by Thor's light, yet both shall be unharmed.'"
"And in plain english, this means?" Anna pressed.
"Well, there is a… species, if you will, of people who were believed to be terrible sorcerers because of their powers. They could do strange things with their minds, and were feared by all. The Vatican discovered only just in time that these were the people spoken of in the text. At first, it seemed that it was too late, but there was a monk who had found a child of this people and took care of her away from all those who would want to kill her. They are referred to as angels, because one of the things they can do is fly. They… they have…" Carl pulled out a piece of paper from his bag. "'have angel-like wings, in different colours, usually depending on their powers. Those of immense strength usually have black wings.' Now, this" he said, brandishing the paper "was something written by the monk, who had stayed with them and grown to know them before they were all killed. He was especially close to a royal family, of sorts, and the child he found was their only daughter. She'd be about seventeen, now. However, the monk, her guardian, died recently. This was discovered when the Vatican sent someone to check on them, and found his body on his bed. The girl seems to have left, as her horse is missing. Our mission is to find her and protect her."
"What about…" Gabriel reached forward and took the book. "'The believed son of the devil'?"
"Well, obviously, someone whom we believed was evil is actually on our side."
"I assume that Dracula is out of the question." said Anna, looking at Gabriel.
He nodded in agreement. The Vampire had been killed for the final time, and would not be of any trouble to them. Even if he were still alive… or, existent, all present seriously doubted he would be the friend.
"And…" Anna looked at the book, and at first was confused, as it was written in Latin, but then saw that the bookmark was a piece of paper with the translation. "Um, Thor's light?"
"Thor is the Norse God of thunder." Gabriel explained. "That means that the angel and her protector would be engulfed by lightning."
Anna gave a wide-eyed look.
"Does the Vatican have any leads, Carl?" continued Anna, bringing them back to the subject of their mission.
"Well, according to the ones who went through the monk's things, there was supposed to be a map, leading to the country and place in the country where the evil is supposed to emerge from. The map is missing."
"So what you're saying," Gabriel concluded "is that she took the map and intends to do what she's supposed to?"
"Well, according to the monk's last report, about a week before his death, he hadn't yet told her what she was supposed to do. She may just hope that she will find answers there, by following the map."
"Where should we look for her?" Anna asked.
"Well, we'd have to be going back to your home, Anna. Romania. Budapest, to be exact."
Anna and Gabriel looked at each other. Anna had always wanted to revisit her homeland, but they hadn't had time lately.
"Well, we better start moving." she said, and she and Gabriel started gathering their things.
"Moving?" said Carl, worriedly. "I just got here. Surely we can wait-"
"If what you said is true, then we have to try to get there before she does." Gabriel said, adding the final things to his bag. "By the way, by your extra cargo, I assume you have new things for us?"
"Oh! Yes." Carl pulled out the two full bags he had with him, and handed them to the Van Helsings.
"Some of these things you'll be used to," he said, as Gabriel pulled out a silver stake "as the Vatican believes that Vampires worldwide may begin to mass on her location. Of course, one of them is supposed to be a friend, but we won't know which one right away."
"Worldwide?" said Anna, as she started going through the bag. "I thought they were supposed to be dead with Dracula?"
"Well, it would seem that there are different species of Vampire, and not all of them originated from Dracula. There's chiang-shih, the Chinese Vampire; Vrykolakas, they're from Greece-"
"Alright, we get the picture." Gabriel interrupted. "So, this evil that is supposed to appear. Only she can kill it?"
"Yes, but you could at least weaken it or something. She may also need help with her powers. I've been given the monk's notes to research, so that I can help her practice."
"I'm ready." said Anna, pulling on her long,black jacket, and then swinging her two bags over one shoulder.
"Me too." said Gabriel, doing the same.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to get the horses." said Carl, sounding a little disappointed "But couldn't we have breakfast, first?" he followed the Van Helsings out the door.
"We'll grab some things as we go, but you'll be eating en route." Anna had given the command.
Carl whimpered, but followed.
Vladislaus licked his lips in satisfaction. The flight to Budapest from Transylvania had been tiring, but worth it.
30 years old. Perfectly aged.
The man he picked had been drunk, which made Vladislaus feel slightly tipsy, but he'd be fine. He walked for about a half-hour to a graveyard, and managed to open the door to the mausoleum without much trouble. His palace had been made into a museum. Inside the mausoleum, he found the stone crypt which would usually contain caskets during the winter. However, it was late spring, and therefore the crypt was quite empty.
Vladislaus lifted the lid all the way and inspected it.
I'll have to get some pillows.
Either way, it was nearly dawn, so he climbed in and closed the lid over him. Sleep took him almost immediately.
A/N: alright! Finally finished this chapter. Normally, I manage to write the first chapter within two days. This chapter took me four days to write.
Vlad: Maybe if you would stop fangirling me and write more often…
pouty face and lays head on Vlad's lap
Vlad: looks up and rolls eyes
Oh, and sorry about the part where I made Vladislaus do something stupid.
Vlad : An apology is not sufficient. bares fangs
Hey! I need to finish the story!
Vlad : Damn. Get off my lap, then.