Undisclosed location, Present Day (over 550 years later)
"Ah, she awakens!"
It was the first voice she had heard when she came to. A curious accent, almost shrill. She struggled to open her eyes and move her limbs.
She noticed two things; her body was hard and stiff, and she was incredibly hungry. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking. The room was blurry but after a moment her vampire eyes focused.
"Awakening in another strange place," she thought.
She remembered the last thing she had seen before she fell asleep. The Carpathians. The strange leader. The magic. The closure of her tomb. This was not the place they had left her. This room was... strange.
The walls were white and bare. A bright light came from a hole in the ceiling in a way she had never seen before. It was then that she realised she was lying in some sort of coffin.
She caught the strong scent of soil and realised as she moved her fingers that the box was filled with it. She sensed somehow that she was deep underground.
Curiously, she sat up slowly and she saw two men. They stood behind a transparent wall which looked like glass. One was short and round, with blonde hair and light, almost yellow eyes that were behind a set of round clear glasses. He wore a strange white outfit. The other was much taller, also blonde, with a long sharp face. He wore white also, but his outfit seemed different, with a strange white overcoat. His eyes were hard to see behind the curious glasses he wore that seemed to have at least six lenses.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, no-life Queen," the shorter one spoke to her suddenly, bowing. She heard his accent again and realised it was German.
"Let me introduce myself, I am the Major. And this is Herr Doctor. We are of the Millennium, the finest of The Third Reich."
She stared at both them in confusion.
"No-life Queen?" she finally spoke, her voice seeming strange to her ears after much silence.
The major let out a loud, high-pitched laugh at her response. The doctor seemed amused also, for she saw the corners of his mouth turn upwards in a grin.
There was something about them that seemed sinister and untrustworthy. She stood from the bed and looked the Major hard in the eye. There was no mistaking that he was in charge. His laughter died down immediately.
"Where am I? Why have you brought me to this place?" She demanded answers.
The Major grinned at the sound of her sudden stern tone. He looked almost proud.
"It seems you have a lot to catch up on, my dear, after so many centuries under that awful magic the Gypsies used on you. We were about to give up our search, thinking maybe you were just a tale after all." He pressed his fingertips together in anticipation.
"Centuries?" her voice shook.
"Why, yes, dear Princess. It is an honour to welcome you to the 21st century," he grinned again as he noticed her shocked expression. "We found your tomb, you see, that little curse was no match for us."
"Why did you awaken me and bring me here?" she repeated.
"How odd, I thought you would be happy that someone finally set you free. No matter, in time you will understand."
Ilona looked down at the plain white shift she was wearing and the bare room which felt like a prison and didn't see how she was any free than she had been, but waited silently for the man to continue.
"We are at a war, and we need your help. Your blood is powerful! And it holds the key to defeat our true enemy. I hope you don't mind but we took a little, nothing you would miss," he admitted sheepishly.
"When Alucard mixed your blood with his essence became a part of you, turning you into a creature of the night"
"Who is this Alucard you speak of?" She asked in confusion.
"Oh how silly of me! I apologise, my dear. You know him better as Dracula."
A million thoughts raced through her head at the sound of his name.
"Yes, that's right, your beloved Prince. The stories tell us you jumped from the castle to avoid capture from the Turks. Dracula, on the other hand, having forsaken God, chose to become more than a man right before the Turks chopped off his head! But we suspected otherwise and it seems we were right. Dracula gave you his essence, correct?"
She thought of that night, now so long ago and felt a sharp pain in her heart. She remembered the feeling of his fangs piercing her skin, draining her. And then how he had then kissed her.
She had tasted so much blood. She realised now he must have bitten his tongue on purpose with the sharp canine teeth he possessed so that he could spill his essence into her mouth and down her throat in the bloody, passionate kiss.
He had forced her to drink.
"It's fascinating because you were obviously already deflowered, but I suppose each rule has its exceptions, especially for the Queen of the undead. Your Dracula must not have realised the process was already taking place when you jumped from the castle. How tragic. There was one wild theory that your body washed down the river and then the Gypsies found you and you hid you away for all eternity."
She clenched her fists in anger. How jaw tightening. How could he let this happen to me?
"How delightful it is to find out that these old peasant tales were actually true!" The Major's horrible laughter filled her ears again and she flinched.
"Where is he?" she commanded, stepping closer to the glass.
"I thought you might ask that," The Major smiled at her pleasantly.
"You'll find a book over there on that shelf that explains a few things you've missed. I'm sure you'll know which one it is. I do apologise, but we have some urgent matters to attend to. Someone will bring you some blood shortly, you must be starving after nearly 600 years."
The Major spoke but Illona wasn't listening. She saw the two men salute her but she was already at the large bookshelf, her eyes scanning its contents quickly.
She touched the spines of the books as she browsed, the titles odd and unfamiliar to her. History, languages, fictional, non-fiction. And then she saw it and her heart stopped. She pulled the book quickly from the shelf to examine it. The hardcover was faded colour of yellow, its edges worn and faded. But the title was still legible, in large red letters she read the familiar name:
'Dracula.'
By Bram Stoker.
She looked down at the book that she held in utter disarray. What had he become?
YOU ARE READING
The Lost Princess
Vampire*currently being re-vamped* Alucard has held many titles in his lifetime, from 'impaler' to the feared 'Dracula'. Throughout his dark history, there was a woman, one that he loved like no other. This is their story. Progresses from 15th century Roma...
