Dracula's Groom

CHAPTER SIXTY: Honor the Dead

Dracula

The fire died out as quickly as it began. One charred remain that turned into ash once I stepped on it. The other, badly burnt but still almost recognizable. Pulling a drape from one of the windows, I laid it over Nathan and gently kissed his forehead. My heart was breaking in two. All was lost to me now, or so I thought. A cry reached my ears as I looked up and took off towards the front of the palace.

It was Nicholas. His body looked like it had just been put through the ringer. He stumbled into the vestibule, carefully stepping over bodies as he carried something in his arms. My chest sank as I ran to greet them both, taking my baby girl from his care and cradling her against my chest. She cried, struggling against the confines of her safety blanket as her tiny arms got free and reached for me.

I held her close to my heart as I looked at Nicholas. "She's alive. But how?"

"Nathan found me wandering around outside. He that no matter what happens, your daughter was to be protected at all costs. And then he kissed her goodbye and then he was gone. And that's when I heard the explosion. I feared the worst. Is he...dead?"

I nodded grimly. "He saved my life."

"I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, too. And what of Stranger?"

Nicholas shook his head. "He put up a valiant fight. But the overwhelming mass of foes became too great. I tried to help in anyway that I could, but that Dr. Jekyll made such short work of him. I'm afraid though, that there's not much left of him to speak of, sir."

"It's quite alright, Nicholas. I'll make sure he has an honorary funeral pyre."

* * *

In the days and weeks that followed, construction had begun on rebuilding my family's home to its rightful glory. Like a phoenix, it rose from the ashes standing tall, mighty and proud. Some five hundred workers contributed to see through its completion. And as the sun sank beneath the trees on the last day, I strolled across the front lawn carrying my beloved, draped in the finest funerary shroud I could find.

The doors opened upon my command as I enter through the vestibule and headed up stairs to the second floor landing where a massive portrait hanged on the wall, depicting a scene from Lake Como in Italy. As I walked to the side and carefully pulled the portrait from the wall, exposing the entrance to the catacomb, a muffled cry brought my head around. Astrid had grown immensely in the last eight months as her stubby little legs padded around Nicholas in a circle as he tried to keep her still.

But one look from me and she went back to being good. I continued, heading deeper into the bowels of the castle as an endless array of candles illuminated the chamber. And there nestled in the center was my old stone coffin. The coffin that had survived through centuries of time and war. It was with this coffin in mind that Castle Dracula was built around as sort of a memorial.

I pushed the stone lid aside and carefully laid Nathan down inside as I lifted Astrid up and told her to say goodbye. Her bouncy auburn brown hair brushed against her delicate cheeks and porcelain doll-like features as she looked down into the coffin and waved, her voice saying "bye-bye."

Then I handed her back to Nicholas as I told him to leave so I could be alone for a while. But the hardest part came when it was time to close the lid. Even more so, I sat on the floor with my back resting up against the side of the coffin as more clear tears fell. The candles burned endlessly, as the warm light surrounded us both against the impending darkness that clung to the deepest corners of the room.

With my knees up to my chest and my head tucked underneath my arms, a cold chill came into the room, but it didn't bother me. Maybe it was because I was still too numb over the pain of losing Nathan, that I didn't even realize it. But what I did realize was the scent that it left behind. A scent that mattered to me. A scent that I craved more than life itself. A scent that was unique in its own right.

I looked up for a moment as I glanced around the room, taking in the lonely emptiness and bittersweet memories. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, something touched my shoulder. I gasped as I stood up, waiting a beat to see if it would happen again. When it didn't, I touched the exact spot on my shoulder and was met with the same scent again. I welcomed the scent as I breathed it in, trying to savior every last bit of it I could.

I didn't need a reminder to know exactly who the scent belonged it. For I knew it already.

"Nathan." I said, his name barely a whisper. "I promise you that I will do right by our daughter. She will be loved and cherished until time no longer has any meaning to me. Rest in peace, my love."

And as the last of the candles slowly died out, I took one last look at the coffin containing the body of my dearly departed beloved. The first step was always going to be the hardest. As for the pain of his loss, I don't think I would ever truly heal from it. At least not for a long, long time.

Author's Note: Woohoo!!! Chapter Sixty is finally here! I never thought I would make it this far. :D What I hope you guys take from this chapter is that even though it's short, it's short with a sweet remembrance about how certain smells or even a touch can let those who are grieving know that they're not alone. That they're loved ones are always beside them, they just can't see them. Oh, and what do you think of little Astrid?! And wait until you see her as a grownup in the Epilogue.