A New Future

2. Leaving, Broken Princess, and News

The next morning at the crack of dawn, Anna started moaning and talking in her sleep. "Gabriel." She turned to face him and then she felt a cold spot next to her. She shot her eyes open in panic. "Gabriel?!"

Van Helsing came out of the bathroom his bottom half wrapped in a towel and his hair dripping wet. "Hey. You're up." He said walking over then kissing her forehead. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"No. The cold sheets where you layed did. But it's ok. I slept enough." She replied. She finally cocked her head to the side examining his muscular upper torso. She hadn't realized before how handsome and sexy he really was.

"What?" He asked noticing her stare.

She looked at his face coming out of her daze. "Oh nothing. Just never realized how hot and sexy you really were before. You're leaving today and I wanted to take a mental picture of you to keep in mind what I'll be waiting for when you get back. I'm gonna miss you. A lot."

He hugged her. "It'll only be for a couple of days. I'll be back before you know it."

"Are you going by sea again?" She asked out of the blue.

"Yes. It's the fastest way to travel. You're welcome to come with me to say goodbye."

"You mean, come say goodbye down at the sea?" She asked hopeful.

"Yep. You said you never been to the sea before and I thought it only fair you get to see it for the first time while saying goodbye to me and Carl."

She gasped excitedly and jumped out of bed to dress quickly. She peaked at him from behind the closet door to watch him dress. She wanted to see what she was getting herself into. Gabriel glanced over feeling her eyes on him and slightly smirked. Anna looked away quickly embarrassed he had caught her watching. She finished getting dressed and came out. "I want to leave early so we can play." She said.

He finished getting dressed and looked at her arching an eyebrow. "Play?"

"Can't you play in the water?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I guess if you wanted to."

"You never tried?"

He shook his head. "I'm a monster hunter. I don't have time for things like that."

"Then it'll be your first. Just like me." She said grabbing his hand and dragging him down the stairs to the front door where they found Carl putting their bags on the horses they'll be riding down to the docks.

"There you two are. Have a good night's sleep?" He asked them.

Anna and Gabriel looked at each other and blushed a deep red. Anna finally looked back at Carl. "What's with the bags?"

"The mission is over. We return to Vatican City and Van Helsing is assigned a new one. It was nice of you to let us stay in your home while we were here. It's much appreciated. And it was nice to make a new friend. I don't really have any except Van Helsing himself." He stated matter of factly.

"I know the mission's over, Carl. That's not what I meant." She said glumly.

Carl looked at her then at Van Helsing and back again. "Am I missing something?" He asked seeing their sad faces.

Anna looked at Gabriel smiling sadly then looked back at him. "I...we..." She couldn't find what she wanted to say.

Carl cut her off. "Are you two in love with each other?!" He asked realizing why they were acting the way they were.

Gabriel looked at Anna then back to his friend and nodded. "I'm coming back after the report. I'm moving here to Transylvania. To Vaseria with her. She has no family left, Carl. She lost everyone she ever loved and after going through this mission with us, we fell for one another."