Dracula And Anna: Finding The truth

Ch 23: A Change for the Better

'Who I am, is of no concern to you, vampire!' said the stranger before him.

'I have a name,' muttered the vampire, clearly not pleased with being tied up.

'I don't care that you have a name.' The vampire stared at him, this man couldn't be a commoner; his very mannerisms betrayed him, the way he stood, the way he spoke, there was something about this man that the vampire couldn't place, he seemed familiar somehow. He looked him up and down, he didn't look familiar; maybe it was because of the hair that was throwing him off, if he had a decent haircut, or shaved his beard away, he just might be recognisable.

'Well, whether it matters or not, my name is Corey Neumic, and you can just untie me now.' Surprisingly his fear did not show in his voice, he managed to keep it level. The stranger stared at him as if he was figuring out what to do with him, it gave Neumic the creeps, it was the kind of look that says, "Should I throw him to the wolves?" Neumic looked away from him, he couldn't look at him anymore, and he didn't want to know what this man was thinking.

'I wonder if you were worth my time and effort,' after such a long silence, the man's words made Neumic jump, and he turned to observe the man.

'What are you talking about?' Another dead silence followed, Neumic began to wonder if this man had spent too much time in the wilderness if he needed a nice visit to the psych ward or a social grouping. The man walked past him, not bothering to give him a wide birth.

A few moments later, he came back with a chair which he placed down backwards in front of the vampire. He sat down on it, facing the vampire, his arms folded across the back of the chair; this was the only time that he seemed un-noble.

Neumic's mind started to race, what was he doing here? Was this man in league with some sort of monster? Or was he the monster? Without these answers, he couldn't figure out what had happened, and after his stint in Dracula's dungeons, he wasn't looking forward to more trouble. Perhaps he had finally learnt his lesson...

'I'm going to ask you several questions,' said the man, starting at Neumic thoughtfully, 'and you're going to answer them truthfully.'

'Who are you anyway? And why would you want me?' Neumic ignored the question asked of him as if he hadn't heard. The man stared at him.

'I told you, my name is of no importance-' but Neumic interrupted him before he could finish.

'I don't care if you think it's important or not, I want a name, something I can call you,' Neumic said sternly, 'so long as we're here.'

'You are a reporter, and you tend to give a lot of information about Dracula to the world, that's why vampires hate you.' Neumic cursed in his mind; he had not expected that those words would haunt him. He'd been fighting what he was for years but had eventually accepted it. However the man was right, and when he'd think about it, he found that he hated the fact of what he'd done, and although there was no excuse, he still wished to change it, perhaps now was his chance.

'Now will you give me my answers?' Neumic thought for a moment.

'No.' The man stared at the vampire, perhaps he was more trouble than he was worth.

'You'd better, or you'll regret it. I'll get answers out of you one way or another.' Neumic didn't know what to say, was this man mad? His new warning from Dracula was far worse than his first warning, and he knew that there wouldn't be a third; Dracula never gave a third warning, and ever since Dracula had severely tortured a vampire for several years, and then killed them in place of a third warning, no one had ever gone that far again. Neumic may have done a lot of stupid things in his life, but he wasn't an idiot, and he didn't have a death wish.

There was no way Neumic was going to give this man any information. Neumic had always been good at getting information out of people; he had many ways of doing it, sometimes without the person even aware that he was there, like a spy. Perhaps he should get some information from this guy, yes perhaps a career change wasn't such a bad idea after all, it would be better than a reporter. At least that way, he could truly help his people, like he'd always wanted to.

'Fine, you can just call me Trivan.' Neumic raised an eyebrow.

'Triv-van? That's not even a name!'

'Well too bad, that's what you'll call me.' Neumic knew that this couldn't be his real name, since when did someone – anyone – name their kid, Trivan? However, at least he had something to call him by.

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Dracula, giving a big yawn, covered his mouth automatically without thought. Sitting behind his desk in his office, which had his study through the door to his left, he hated paperwork. His desk was neat, except for the pile of envelopes on one side of the desk, which were threatening to topple.

Dracula had decided to try and get some paperwork done so that Anna could search for answers, and not have to worry about coming across him in her travels throughout the palace. Although Dracula suspected that she had been deliberately avoiding him, it didn't bother him. The paperwork, however, was another matter. Dracula had tried all the different places that he could go to do said paperwork, but it never seemed to work. In fact, once in the sitting room, upon seeing the fire, he'd felt very tempted to burn it. He'd imagined himself laughing evilly as it burned.

So he'd decided to keep his paperwork in his office, not that he'd get it done, he was always behind. Why did he even have to do paperwork? As he began to contemplate this, a knock came upon the door. Dracula lifted his head, averting his eyes from the paper on the desk, in front of him, which he'd been staring at, deep in thought.

'Enter,' Dracula said, only loud enough for them to hear, he tried not to sound enthusiastic about the interruption, but he couldn't help feeling happy about it.

The door opened to reveal – to his surprise – Anna. For a few moments, the world stood still, and Dracula was speechless. With a raised eyebrow and his expression calm, only his eyes betrayed his surprise, which he quickly hid. As Anna walked into the room, Dracula noticed that it was rather cautious, and uncertain, as if she wasn't sure of how she should approach him, or act around him.

'Anna, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?' Anna lifted her head, not realising that she'd averted her eyes downward, as soon as she started to walk into the room. She'd only come here because she'd used him as an excuse to get away from a curious guest, who kept asking her questions. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she suddenly interrupted them saying, "I'm sorry, but I really have to go, Dracula will be wondering where I am, he's expecting me." The look on the woman's face was more than she could bear, she'd made haste without looking hasty, in no particular direction, but after a short while, she'd realised that she'd have to go and see Dracula, otherwise the woman would end up being offended when she found out that Anna hadn't even paid a visit to the vampire king.

'Well, I... I just... I...' Anna's voice trailed away, and she continued muttering, more to herself than Dracula, trying to figure out what to tell him; she didn't wish to offend him – that thought surprised her. Dracula tilted his head, watching her intriguingly.

'Anna,' she met Dracula's gaze, 'I know why you're here,' he gave her a warm smile, 'it's ok to use me as an excuse to escape things, and I don't mind the visits.' He smiled wider at this last comment. Anna just stared at him, how had he known? Could he read minds, or had she been here with him so long that Dracula knew her so well?

Anna knew that she was a vampire, she had finally come to believe that, no longer denying that truth, however, was she really Dracula's bride, as Van Helsing had told her? The way that Dracula behaved around her, so caring, yet cautious of her amnesia, not wishing to upset her, was definitely something to think about.

'Thank you,' she said, not sure of what to say, 'I didn't know how to tell you, I didn't want to be...' she cut off, what was she thinking, this was nuts! Anna shook her head mentally, what was it about Dracula that threw her logic out the window? Why couldn't she think straight when he was around? She looked at Dracula, she saw his smile, was he smirking? No, Anna realised, but it wasn't the kind of smile she expected, especially from Dracula. Was that a look of intrigue, or an adoring look?

'Is something wrong, Anna?' Dracula asked softly, still watching her, his brow furrowed in worry.