A New Future

6. Finding Out Our Past

The next morning it was now 8:00 and Anna had just woken up. Gabriel was already awake and watching her sleep. "Good morning, Anna." He said with a smile.

Anna turned around to face him smiling back. "Good morning, Gabriel."

Gabriel pecked her on the lips. "Hungry?"

"Very." She said getting up and getting dressed. Gabriel followed suit then went to take her hand. Anna pulled it away and started running. "Gotta catch me first!" She called over her shoulder.

Gabriel shook his head. *Crazy woman.* He thought and chased her. "I'm gonna get you, Anna!" He called playfully catching up to her.

Anna ran towards the kitchen as Gabriel was gaining on her. She looked over her shoulder and ran faster. "No you won't! I'm too fast for you!" She called just as playfully. Gabriel ran faster and somehow managed to catch up a minute later grabbing her from behind and picking her up. "AHH!" She said as he picked her up.

"I got you, Princess."

Anna giggled wrapping her arms around his neck. "I guess you did." She said giggling once more.

"You're going to be a handful, Woman." He said mockingly.

"But that's why you love..."

"GOOD MORNING!" Carl said excitedly walking in.

The couple turned to look at him. "You seem really happy this morning, Carl. What got you all excited?" Gabriel asked.

Carl looked at him not realizing he interrupted their little moment. "Something I discovered in the library earlier this morning. I was reading about your pasts."

"Our pasts?" Anna asked making sure she heard right.

"Yes."

"And pray tell what that discovery was." Anna said.

"Nope." He said happily and sat down.

"Tell us!" She demanded. "Does it have to do with our love life?"

"Yes it does and no. I'm not telling you."

"CARL!" She shouted at him.

"Oh fine." He sighed. "In the past, the two of you were best friends. Anna was 5 and Gabriel was 7. That's how old you guys were when you met."

Gabriel sat down interested and Anna sat in his lap. "Go on." Anna stated.

"Well, Gabriel had just moved here from Rome with his mother. His father left when he was just a baby."

"Continue. But skip that." Gabriel said.

"Anyway, Anna was outside playing with Velkan and she noticed you taking a box into your new house. She stopped and ran up to greet you."

Anna looked at Gabriel and smiled then turned back to Carl. "Keep going."

"You said hi as you ran up to him and he turned around. Gabriel said hi back then quickly took the box in and told his mom he was going to talk to you. So he came back out and said hi again then apologized for having to do that. You greeted each other then Anna asked you if you wanted to be her best friend because she didn't have any."

"And I said yes."

"Yep! That's when the whole thing started. The two of you became so close as you got older. Anna told you about all her boyfriends and the guys her parents tried to set her up with for marriage. You told each other everything. From the most stupid little things to your deepest darkest secrets."

"We spent everyday together." Anna caught on.

"Yes. You two would sneak out at night just to see each other. It's like some force of nature glued you to each other. Anyway, as you became young adults, you fell in love. On Anna's twentieth birthday, Gabriel asked you to be his girlfriend. You said yes of course and then you went to tell your parents. Anna's parents weren't very happy at first, but they eventually accepted it. They decided not to make anymore arranged marriage relationships. Anna never went anywhere near having sex until the two of you got together."

Anna smiled at Gabriel again. "Glad to know it was only you I ever slept with." She said then looked at Carl. "Continue."

"Well, about six months later, you became pregnant. Gabriel had already made his decision before you told him about it. But when you did, he asked you to marry him. But like I said, he was already planning to. Anyhow, you said yes then you went to tell your parents. By then, everyone was happy. But when Anna said she had some other news, the parents got worried. When you told them you were pregnant, they got angry and forbid you two to be together again. Of course, that didn't stop you. You grabbed a bag and went to Gabriel's house. He packed a bag and the two of you went off on your own."

By this time, Anna was crying into Gabriel's chest and Gabriel was holding her close trying to comfort her. He looked at Carl. "Go on."

"When your parents found out you ran off, they searched for you. They never found you. You two eloped and settled in the United States. Eight months later, you had a daughter named Allegra. Allegra grew up in the United States learning of your past and how you ended up in the U.S. When she turned ten, you decided to go back to Transylvania and surprise your parents. When you got there, someone had announced that Gabriel's mother was killed by a vampire. That upset you greatly because you never contacted her. That was your regret. When you went to see Anna's parents, Velkan had told you of their father's disappearance and their mother's sickness that had killed her two years before."

Anna was bawling at this point. "Keep going."

"So Velkan was happy to see you and he was happy to meet his niece. You told him of your lives in the last ten and a half years and what had been going on. Anna explained why she didn't contact him and he understood. Velkan seemed to be the only person who truly felt happy for you two. So you moved back here and lived with him and his wife Kara. She liked the three of you and was glad to become friends with you. On Allegra's fifteenth birthday, you two were out hunting some warewolves and trolls. You were supposed to be back that day. You were gone for a week, but you never showed. About a year before, you had a son named Carlisle. He was only nine months old at the time of your disappearance. A few days after you didn't come home, Velkan went searching for you leaving Kara to take care of the children. Allegra wanted to go with him because she felt she needed to. Velkan wouldn't let her because it was too dangerous. She accepted it and he promised to find you and bring you guys home. He found you in London three days later dead. Together, but dead. Allegra was really upset when he told her and she practically raised Carlisle on her own. She taught him everything she knew and she told them all about you guys as he got older. When Allegra got married, she moved to a smaller village with her husband and left Carlisle to take over the throne. Carlisle stayed until he had a son of his own and was old enough to take over. Once he did, he moved to Rome and became one of the knights of the Holy Order. He died on his 40th birthday and became the great arch angel of heaven. That's how your families got separated. Then that's where the legacy of the Van Helsings started. Allegra's Great Great Great Great Granddaughter's godson was Valerious The Elder. That's where Anna's family history started." He finished.

Anna had finally stopped crying and wiped her eyes. "But why didn't my parents tell me of this? Why would they keep a secret like that from me?"

"Because they felt guilty about their past selves and what they caused you and Gabriel. All that pain and hatred. They didn't want you to think they would still do something like that. They didn't want history repeating itself."

"But why wouldn't they at least tell me that I fell in love?"

"I don't know. That's not an answer I can give you. I'm sorry."

She nodded. "What about Gabriel's memories? How'd he lose them?"

"I haven't gotten that far. All I know is it had something to do with Dracula."

"Then we look at it later."

Carl nodded. "Yes. After we eat."