Moonlit Shadows
Disclaimer: Van Helsing, Dracula, Carl, and any other character from the movie Van Helsing that might pop up in this story are not mine, (sadly), they are the property of Universal Studios and all those other individuals who helped with the movie Van Helsing, etc...you get the point.
A/N: Since I am only human, if you find any grammatical mistakes, etc. please let me know so I can change them. Ummm...let's see...I think that's it so please R & R, and enjoy!
Summary: Everyone thought that Dracula was murdered, for a final time, by the famous Van Helsing. But was he really? And what does a young girl have to do with Dracula's sordid past and how does she fit into his future or even Van Helsing's for that matter? (Ack! I'm terrible at summaries!!!)
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Chapter 1
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
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The warm wind swiftly picked up the few remaining swirling tendrils of smoke left from dismal ceremony held a few minutes before.
The whole world seemed to cry at the loss as the green waves pounded against the stony faces of the cliffs overlooking the Adriatic Sea and as the bright sunlight that was streaming out of the heavens a few moments before, now took refuge behind the shelter of the desolate clouds once again.
The only thing peculiar about this scene, was the presence of two men, who were different in many ways, and yet, vaguely the same, though you could tell there was a strong feeling of camaraderie amongst them.
The taller one was called Van Helsing. A murderer to some, and contrastingly, a holy man to others. Though which one he was, even he was not certain.
He slowly raised his eyes heavenward as if he were asking for help, only to shift his gaze blankly to the sea again with a hint of a smile on his face.
He was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being watched closely by his companion, for after the death of Anna Valerious, Van Helsing had not quite been himself and he was afraid that he might be slipping into a depression. He, however, did catch that trace of a smile and found it a little strange, though, maybe Van Helsing had received some kind of comfort while looking at the sky with its many shades of reds and oranges.
His companion was a man by the name of Carl, a friar and a scholar of sorts since he knew all kinds of facts, many of them having to deal with supernatural creatures and how to kill them.
This was the main reason why he was accompanying Van Helsing, to help him in his latest mission, which was to kill Count Vladislaus Dracula in order to save the Valerious family from being eternally trapped in purgatory.
Though, it got a little bit more involved than that, or rather, Van Helsing got a little bit more involved than he should have, and the outcome was devastating.
Carl slowly turned towards Van Helsing, a little unsure of what to say. He sat there for a minute thinking of what he could say or do to comfort Van Helsing in his time of grief when Van Helsing came out of his trance-like state and discreetly wiped a stray tear that was gently rolling down his cheek. "Well, I guess we'd better head back then..."
Carl looked up in surprise trying to once again come up with something to say. "Well, um, are you sure that you, uhhh, want to go back...I mean after everything that..." but he was cut off abruptly as Van Helsing gave him a stern glare and then mounted his black horse. "I'm fine! After all, we did what we came here to do, which was to get rid of Dracula. Our mission here is done!" With that he turned his horse around toward the direction of Rome and harshly whispered to his horse to go into a fast trot.
Carl sadly looked at his friend riding off and knew that he was in great pain over the loss of Anna.
"He needs to realize that it isn't his fault that Anna is dead," Carl whispered to his horse, which was grazing nearby and completely ignoring the whole world outside his little patch of green grass.
"Well, gee, thanks for listening to me and giving me your thoughts on things, Deputy," he sighed exasperated, mounted his horse, and then went after Van Helsing and to Rome.
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"Honestly Carl, what took you so long?" Van Helsing looked under his large brim hat towards Carl, who was riding right beside him.
"Well, Deputy just didn't feel like coming since he was too BUSY eating some strange looking flora, I think it was a wildflower of some sort."
Van Helsing then looked at Carl with a quizzical look on his face and with one eyebrow slightly raised higher than the other "You named your horse Deputy?"
"Of course I did. I wanted him to sound ferocious and vicious, though loyal at the same time. Like the policemen in the west who are called deputies and go after all sorts of criminals that have done all sorts of horrendous things like impaling people with swords or putting stakes through people's hearts or..." Carl quickly noticed his mistake and lowered his gaze towards the road ahead.
"Well you've got to admit," said Carl looking up at Van Helsing, "it does strike fear into people's hearts."
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They arrived at their destination, the Vatican City, on the morning of their third day of traveling. By the looks of the white fluffy clouds and the sun slowly peeking from its hiding place behind the horizon, the day was promising to be a beautiful one. Though, of course, not everything is what it seems.
The two midnight black horses slowly trotted up to the gates and gently pushed through to an enormous courtyard with the eyes of all of the elegant and ancient statues of great men of old staring warmly and knowingly at them.
Van Helsing looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to be home..."
Carl looked around at his surroundings as well, equally relishing them and the way that the light orange rays of the sun were playing with the shadows. They entered the enormous and awe-inspiring St. Peters Basilica with complex designs and colors swirling and intertwining on the marble floors and the towering columns that were holding up the magnificent ceiling.
"Van Helsing!" called an all too familiar and annoying voice from behind Carl and Van Helsing.
"Oh damn it." Whispered Van Helsing under his breath as he stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around.
"Oh for Pete's sake, Van Helsing," Carl stammered, "do try to be polite this time and try to smile for once," Carl also whispered under his breath as he too turned around to meet the cold gaze of Cardinal Jinette.
"I take it that your mission was completed?" he said, slightly raising an eyebrow.
Van Helsing looked down for a second and then looked into the Cardinal's eyes, trying to disguise the hurt in his own eyes. "Yes, we destroyed the Count."
The Cardinal studied him for a while, trying to figure out if what he said was true. After a few moments of internal debate, he seemed satisfied with Van Helsing's response and walked off towards the location of a secret door that lead to a room under the Basilica.
Carl and Van Helsing just stood there; Van Helsing not knowing if he was being dismissed and could go to his own quarters to sift through the now recent memories and try to get some hard earned sleep, and Carl not knowing if he should go to his lab and inventions or get something to eat.
"Well?" the Cardinal looked at the pair with a questioning look. "Are you coming or not?" Though of course, there was no choice in the matter since with Cardinal Jinette, everything was more of a command than a question.
Van Helsing then walked towards the door where the Cardinal was waiting and they both went down the winding steps with Carl trailing closely behind.
"I expect that everything went as planned? No mishaps whatsoever?" Jinette said while looking at Van Helsing out of the corner of his eye and looking for some sort of reaction.
"The Princess Anna Valerious and the Prince Velkan both died." Carl quickly mumbled before Van Helsing could have answered.
"Perhaps it was just their time," Jinette whispered with a hint of sorrow in his voice, "God rest their souls."
With that they finally reached the mammoth underground armory that was situated under the basilica. The Cardinal then turned sharply around and faced Carl and Van Helsing.
"Carl, you are now dismissed. I will talk to you later about the current affairs going on in the world but I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment," he said harshly.
"Oh, yes...yes, I understand. Don't worry about me I'll be right over here. No worries, no worries. I have to work with the glycerin forty-eight a little bit more so I can make it just perfect, anyways," and with that Carl hurriedly and happily scurried off towards his little makeshift lab.
A small smile formed on Van Helsing's face as he watched Carl crouched happily over all his various instruments and vials containing liquids of various colors. A small cough broke him out of his quiet reverie. He rolled his eyes as he slowly spun around to face the Cardinal.
"I have something of great importance to speak to you about," Cardinal Jinette said gravely. Van Helsing stared at him with interest. "First of all, I am sorry about what happened to Anna, Carl mentioned how much you two seemed to be getting along."
Van Helsing quickly shot a look that could kill at Carl who, of course, was completely oblivious and still playing with his many inventions, one being the glycerin forty-eight which he put on his finger and then flicked towards a wall on the opposite wall of the armory. The result was a huge explosion of fire and stone with a few angry shouts and curses directed towards Carl.
"Speak of the devil," Van Helsing whispered while shaking his head.
Cardinal Jinette, however, ignored the little spectacle taking place and continued. "Secondly, you did say that you killed Dracula right?"
"Yes," Van Helsing answered uneasily, "I did. Why?"
Cardinal Jinette started looking uneasy as well and he seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Van Helsing. "May I ask, again, as to where you killed him?" After he finished asking the question, however, he reestablished eye contact and it soon looked as if the two were engaged in a staring contest.
"As I said before, in the laboratory in Dracula's castle. Why is there a problem?"
A few seconds of awkward silence followed. The Cardinal then cleared his throat as if to break the silence. "When we sent some of the knights over there to bring back the ashes..." Jinette stopped abruptly, Van Helsing looked up again in interest, his curiosity piqued.
"They didn't find any."
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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chap! Sorry for the chapter being kinda slow and uneventful. I needed to set the story up though so, um, yeah. Oh and sorry that Dracula wasn't in this chapter!!! I am just as disappointed as most of you. I really was planning on having him in the first chapter but alas, that did not work out as planned. TT I do promise, however, that he will most definitely be in the next chapter and hopefully I'll get some romance in as well. - Anyways, please, Please, PLEASE, review!!!!! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up pretty soon!
Adelynne
Disclaimer: Van Helsing, Dracula, Carl, and any other character from the movie Van Helsing that might pop up in this story are not mine, (sadly), they are the property of Universal Studios and all those other individuals who helped with the movie Van Helsing, etc...you get the point.
A/N: Since I am only human, if you find any grammatical mistakes, etc. please let me know so I can change them. Ummm...let's see...I think that's it so please R & R, and enjoy!
Summary: Everyone thought that Dracula was murdered, for a final time, by the famous Van Helsing. But was he really? And what does a young girl have to do with Dracula's sordid past and how does she fit into his future or even Van Helsing's for that matter? (Ack! I'm terrible at summaries!!!)
----------------------------------------------
Chapter 1
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
----------------------------------------------
The warm wind swiftly picked up the few remaining swirling tendrils of smoke left from dismal ceremony held a few minutes before.
The whole world seemed to cry at the loss as the green waves pounded against the stony faces of the cliffs overlooking the Adriatic Sea and as the bright sunlight that was streaming out of the heavens a few moments before, now took refuge behind the shelter of the desolate clouds once again.
The only thing peculiar about this scene, was the presence of two men, who were different in many ways, and yet, vaguely the same, though you could tell there was a strong feeling of camaraderie amongst them.
The taller one was called Van Helsing. A murderer to some, and contrastingly, a holy man to others. Though which one he was, even he was not certain.
He slowly raised his eyes heavenward as if he were asking for help, only to shift his gaze blankly to the sea again with a hint of a smile on his face.
He was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being watched closely by his companion, for after the death of Anna Valerious, Van Helsing had not quite been himself and he was afraid that he might be slipping into a depression. He, however, did catch that trace of a smile and found it a little strange, though, maybe Van Helsing had received some kind of comfort while looking at the sky with its many shades of reds and oranges.
His companion was a man by the name of Carl, a friar and a scholar of sorts since he knew all kinds of facts, many of them having to deal with supernatural creatures and how to kill them.
This was the main reason why he was accompanying Van Helsing, to help him in his latest mission, which was to kill Count Vladislaus Dracula in order to save the Valerious family from being eternally trapped in purgatory.
Though, it got a little bit more involved than that, or rather, Van Helsing got a little bit more involved than he should have, and the outcome was devastating.
Carl slowly turned towards Van Helsing, a little unsure of what to say. He sat there for a minute thinking of what he could say or do to comfort Van Helsing in his time of grief when Van Helsing came out of his trance-like state and discreetly wiped a stray tear that was gently rolling down his cheek. "Well, I guess we'd better head back then..."
Carl looked up in surprise trying to once again come up with something to say. "Well, um, are you sure that you, uhhh, want to go back...I mean after everything that..." but he was cut off abruptly as Van Helsing gave him a stern glare and then mounted his black horse. "I'm fine! After all, we did what we came here to do, which was to get rid of Dracula. Our mission here is done!" With that he turned his horse around toward the direction of Rome and harshly whispered to his horse to go into a fast trot.
Carl sadly looked at his friend riding off and knew that he was in great pain over the loss of Anna.
"He needs to realize that it isn't his fault that Anna is dead," Carl whispered to his horse, which was grazing nearby and completely ignoring the whole world outside his little patch of green grass.
"Well, gee, thanks for listening to me and giving me your thoughts on things, Deputy," he sighed exasperated, mounted his horse, and then went after Van Helsing and to Rome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
"Honestly Carl, what took you so long?" Van Helsing looked under his large brim hat towards Carl, who was riding right beside him.
"Well, Deputy just didn't feel like coming since he was too BUSY eating some strange looking flora, I think it was a wildflower of some sort."
Van Helsing then looked at Carl with a quizzical look on his face and with one eyebrow slightly raised higher than the other "You named your horse Deputy?"
"Of course I did. I wanted him to sound ferocious and vicious, though loyal at the same time. Like the policemen in the west who are called deputies and go after all sorts of criminals that have done all sorts of horrendous things like impaling people with swords or putting stakes through people's hearts or..." Carl quickly noticed his mistake and lowered his gaze towards the road ahead.
"Well you've got to admit," said Carl looking up at Van Helsing, "it does strike fear into people's hearts."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
They arrived at their destination, the Vatican City, on the morning of their third day of traveling. By the looks of the white fluffy clouds and the sun slowly peeking from its hiding place behind the horizon, the day was promising to be a beautiful one. Though, of course, not everything is what it seems.
The two midnight black horses slowly trotted up to the gates and gently pushed through to an enormous courtyard with the eyes of all of the elegant and ancient statues of great men of old staring warmly and knowingly at them.
Van Helsing looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to be home..."
Carl looked around at his surroundings as well, equally relishing them and the way that the light orange rays of the sun were playing with the shadows. They entered the enormous and awe-inspiring St. Peters Basilica with complex designs and colors swirling and intertwining on the marble floors and the towering columns that were holding up the magnificent ceiling.
"Van Helsing!" called an all too familiar and annoying voice from behind Carl and Van Helsing.
"Oh damn it." Whispered Van Helsing under his breath as he stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around.
"Oh for Pete's sake, Van Helsing," Carl stammered, "do try to be polite this time and try to smile for once," Carl also whispered under his breath as he too turned around to meet the cold gaze of Cardinal Jinette.
"I take it that your mission was completed?" he said, slightly raising an eyebrow.
Van Helsing looked down for a second and then looked into the Cardinal's eyes, trying to disguise the hurt in his own eyes. "Yes, we destroyed the Count."
The Cardinal studied him for a while, trying to figure out if what he said was true. After a few moments of internal debate, he seemed satisfied with Van Helsing's response and walked off towards the location of a secret door that lead to a room under the Basilica.
Carl and Van Helsing just stood there; Van Helsing not knowing if he was being dismissed and could go to his own quarters to sift through the now recent memories and try to get some hard earned sleep, and Carl not knowing if he should go to his lab and inventions or get something to eat.
"Well?" the Cardinal looked at the pair with a questioning look. "Are you coming or not?" Though of course, there was no choice in the matter since with Cardinal Jinette, everything was more of a command than a question.
Van Helsing then walked towards the door where the Cardinal was waiting and they both went down the winding steps with Carl trailing closely behind.
"I expect that everything went as planned? No mishaps whatsoever?" Jinette said while looking at Van Helsing out of the corner of his eye and looking for some sort of reaction.
"The Princess Anna Valerious and the Prince Velkan both died." Carl quickly mumbled before Van Helsing could have answered.
"Perhaps it was just their time," Jinette whispered with a hint of sorrow in his voice, "God rest their souls."
With that they finally reached the mammoth underground armory that was situated under the basilica. The Cardinal then turned sharply around and faced Carl and Van Helsing.
"Carl, you are now dismissed. I will talk to you later about the current affairs going on in the world but I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment," he said harshly.
"Oh, yes...yes, I understand. Don't worry about me I'll be right over here. No worries, no worries. I have to work with the glycerin forty-eight a little bit more so I can make it just perfect, anyways," and with that Carl hurriedly and happily scurried off towards his little makeshift lab.
A small smile formed on Van Helsing's face as he watched Carl crouched happily over all his various instruments and vials containing liquids of various colors. A small cough broke him out of his quiet reverie. He rolled his eyes as he slowly spun around to face the Cardinal.
"I have something of great importance to speak to you about," Cardinal Jinette said gravely. Van Helsing stared at him with interest. "First of all, I am sorry about what happened to Anna, Carl mentioned how much you two seemed to be getting along."
Van Helsing quickly shot a look that could kill at Carl who, of course, was completely oblivious and still playing with his many inventions, one being the glycerin forty-eight which he put on his finger and then flicked towards a wall on the opposite wall of the armory. The result was a huge explosion of fire and stone with a few angry shouts and curses directed towards Carl.
"Speak of the devil," Van Helsing whispered while shaking his head.
Cardinal Jinette, however, ignored the little spectacle taking place and continued. "Secondly, you did say that you killed Dracula right?"
"Yes," Van Helsing answered uneasily, "I did. Why?"
Cardinal Jinette started looking uneasy as well and he seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Van Helsing. "May I ask, again, as to where you killed him?" After he finished asking the question, however, he reestablished eye contact and it soon looked as if the two were engaged in a staring contest.
"As I said before, in the laboratory in Dracula's castle. Why is there a problem?"
A few seconds of awkward silence followed. The Cardinal then cleared his throat as if to break the silence. "When we sent some of the knights over there to bring back the ashes..." Jinette stopped abruptly, Van Helsing looked up again in interest, his curiosity piqued.
"They didn't find any."
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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chap! Sorry for the chapter being kinda slow and uneventful. I needed to set the story up though so, um, yeah. Oh and sorry that Dracula wasn't in this chapter!!! I am just as disappointed as most of you. I really was planning on having him in the first chapter but alas, that did not work out as planned. TT I do promise, however, that he will most definitely be in the next chapter and hopefully I'll get some romance in as well. - Anyways, please, Please, PLEASE, review!!!!! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up pretty soon!
Adelynne