Once again I stand, watching the streets in the moonlight. I wonder where she is, if she is happy. I wonder what
my life would have been like without meeting her. Then I see her in the way Madeline moves. Who was she really? I
know only that she disappeared as mysteriously as she appeared. I wander through my memories, wondering if Anya
was even her real name.
My Elizabetha had died throwing herself off the castle parapet when she heard I had been killed in battle. It had
been a plot by the Turks to throw me off balance. It only caused me to want to cleanse more of my rage in their blood.
Hatred filled me then, but it doesn't any more, thanks to her.
I am not sure what caused my change into how I exist now. I only know that Anya first made her appearance in
my life in 1526. I was living as a creature of the night then. I still had yet to call myself a vampire. I preyed on the
villages in the forest, finding those that I was attracted to. Mostly I drank to fill the hunger, but some I brought into my,
what I thought at that time, cursed existence. Three such women I had done this to. They were my companions in those
bleak nights.
I was once again wandering Budapest, looking for a meal, when I first saw her. She was wearing a long cloak
of black. She carried herself like royalty, beauty made form. I hungered after her immediately, wanting to taste the
sweet blood in her veins. I followed her, thinking she would be easy prey. I would turn a corner, though, and she would
be gone.
Those first few times I thought it was just my Elizabetha's ghost haunting my mind and heart. In those first
nights, I was yet to see her face. I chased her through Budapest all that spring and into summer, catching only fleeting
glimpses. Then, one night as the leaves began to change, I finally caught her in body. She had gone down an alley that
went no place, except a small private courtyard. I had her trapped. I had no realization that it was me who had been
trapped by her.
She stood in the remains of night blooming Jasmine, and then she dropped her hood. Those that had been my
companions were of fair hair and stock. Her midnight curls cascaded of her shoulders. She was the most beautiful
woman I had ever seen. Her eyes were like the sky, pale and alluring.
I made eye contact with her and told her mind, come to me. I had little experience with thought reading then,
so I did not realize she was not in my control. She walked over to me with a fluid grace that was entrancing. The night
was chilly, but not yet cold. I removed her cloak and sank my fangs into her supple neck. The fire I felt was like nothing
under heaven or earth. It consumed me. I felt it burning into my then- cold heart. I never thought I would feel that way
again.
I had not realized that Dawn was so close. I was about to flee when she took my hand and ran inside the
house. I was nearly in a panic, for I had not slept in anything but the burial dirt since I had changed. I thought that to be
caught outside of it would bring my destruction.
We traveled deep within the bowels of the house to a basement. In it, I found respite, and something else- a
huge feather bed awaited me. I was still in a panic when I could not resist the urge to sleep. I remember hearing the
words, "Sleep well, my prince."
I awoke that night in a bed, soft and luxurious, in a nightshirt. There was a pan of hot water sitting on the wash
stand. My clothes were washed and hanging neatly on the chair back. I sat there confused for quite a while, when I
heard a voice. "Good evening. I hope that you have slept well."
It was then that the anger rose in me like a dragon. Who was she and how had she managed this magic? I had
been cursed by the heavens, there was no redemption for me. "My Prince, you are no more cursed by the Heavens
then I am a man. How you came to live as you do, I do not know, nor do I care. You are lonely, are you not?" she said
to me.
"Yes," I thought, "so lonely."
"The loneliness can be overcome, if you are willing to listen." came the woman's voice again. "My name is
Anya, and you have a choice. Leave here tonight and continue on your path to destruction, or stay and find freedom
from the loneliness and pain."
I stood there for a moment, puzzled, then she began to speak again. "Your Elizabetha died because of your
enemies' treachery. You who were once a knight of the church, now cower at the sight of your once beloved cross.
"Live not in the past, my prince, for that only leads to destruction. Regret not the life you lead now, for one day
it can lead to greatness or utter destruction. The choice is yours.
"Live or die, my prince, for I have no more power over you then that mirror in front or you. That mirror only
has power because you let it."
"Show yourself, woman! Face me!" I shouted.
"Face yourself and who you have become. Then you will see me."
I looked once again at the cursed mirror. The room was reflected in perfection, yet my own image was missing.
I was about to smash the infernal device when she spoke.
"NO!" she said. "Face, here and now, what you have become.
"You are not a beast, nor are you less than the man you once were. You are only changed. The same man that
one woman loved. She loved you enough that at the mere thought of your death she hurled herself into a chasm. She
could not bear the thought of life without you, nor of raising your child alone.
"What the Turks did was unspeakable, but what you do to yourself is even worse. You destroy yourself with
guilt. You see not you own reflection, because to see that is to see the man she loved. LOOK NOW AND SEE ALL
THAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN!"
The sound of her voice was bewitching to me- it spoke to my very soul. For the first time in a half a century I
saw my reflection staring back at me. I had not been able to see my own face since I had heard of my beloved's death.
Then I saw another thing that surprised me- she was standing behind me. Over my shoulder I saw her holding two
objects. In one hand she held a sword, in the other she held a goblet.
"Choose, my prince. Life...", as she held the sword, "Or do you prefer death?", to which she offered the blood.
My mind and heart warred for what seemed like forever. "I choose life." I said, turning to be sure that she was
not just a figment of my mind.
"Good." she said. "Life is something that is a fight. The blood is only how you survive. Never let it become who
you are, and in that you will find redemption."
I have learned much since then, including what she did. A stiff application of psychology and a little magic of her
own. Anya was wiser then I would ever give her credit for then. Women were to serve their husbands and fathers then.
She showed me a different way, but she did it so subtly that I was blind to seeing it. I would not have what I have today
had it not been for her.
"How is it that you do this, woman?" I asked her. "Are you a witch?"
"No, my prince. I am no more a witch than you are. I am simply like you." She then moved with a speed that
even I had problem matching. She took and drank the cup. Then she had the sword in her hand. "You see, my prince, I
am like you."
She then took the sword and ran it through her abdomen. I knew that a gut wound like that was almost always
fatal and very painful. Yet she stood there, casually removing the sword. I could only look in amazement, for the wound
closed in front of my eyes.
"You see, my prince, I am not cursed, but like you I am a vampire." she said.
I could only look at her in confusion. She seemed upset. "Well, maybe you will understand this." she said. She
then planted her fangs into my throat. What I felt then dwarfed the feeling I had from tasting her blood. I had shared my
blood many times with my companions. Never had this feeling been there, though. This was truly heaven. She withdrew
after only moments.
"My lord, we must hurry if we are to make the passes before the first snow." she said. I looked at her, and then
it dawned on me she was correct. "Come, get dressed, my prince. We must hurry."
I dressed, and we left the manor house to an waiting carriage. It was driven by a man in brightly colored
clothing. He was of the Romany gypsies, a people that all persecuted. We traveled that evening in the carriage. There
was two wagons loaded with goods under a tarp. She said something to the men driving them, and we departed.
Sitting in the carriage was a large black cat. I was about to throw the beast out when she stopped me. "No, my
lord. He is my pet, and is worth his weight in gold for the stores he keeps the mice out of." she told me. The cat then
gave me a look that was strangely human. I would not know how human till much later, when he would save my life.
We traveled nearly continuously until we reached my home and castle.
We entered the castle shortly after sunset. My three came to see what presents I had brought for them. I
presented Anya. "This is Anya. She is the new mistress of the house." I told them.
Margaretta and Livia took the news rather well, but Lilith was furious. Lilith had been the undisputed leader
since I had brought her to the castle. She went to attack Anya immediately. I was about to stop her when I heard
Anya's voice in my mind. 'Let her get it out of her system, my prince.'
Lilith rushed Anya immediately, and was going to rip her apart with her bare hands. Anya stood her ground to
the last minute, then, in one blurring move, kicked Lilith squarely in the chest with enough force to send her flying into an
adjacent wall. Then, with speed even more than my own, she lifted Lilith off the floor. She then did something that was
truly amazing. She flew upward, holding Lilith by the throat.
What passed between them I will never know. After that moment, my companions were now her hand
maidens. Until that moment, they had done what they needed to curry my favor- their antics amused me. Now, though,
they knew she was their mistress without any squabbles.
In those first few years, there would be more fights, but she would always win. We would spend a century
learning from one another, all of us learning the most from her.
Anya always knew how to keep the other three out of trouble. She was aware of what was happening in the
world, and because of that, we learned new things. When the Renaissance was in full swing, we learned of the heavens
and of man. She brought things such as telescopes and silk from Asia. Wondrous items along with the best fighting
techniques, which she taught the others. At first, without my knowledge, then later with my permission. She taught all to
hunt in ways that left no traces. She taught us to manipulate the minds of mortals so that we would pass unnoticed.
By the beginning of the 1700's, we were ready, as she put it. Ready for what, we had no idea. We had shared
blood many times, but one night we shared passions that shook the heavens themselves.
I had thought nothing of this until one evening when Anya ran from the dining room. She had taught myself and
the three girls, as she would call them, to eat once again. She had also taught us to have no fear of the dawn. To sleep
in beds, and to once again have no fear of the church. The three women had to keep a small amount of earth with them
to sleep. Anya had made three beautiful bracelets which were hollow, they contained within them earth. The bracelets
were seamless, and could not be removed from the wrist without cutting off a hand. I followed her, wondering what
could make one of our kind ill. She was vacating even the tea that she favored of late.
"I am fine." she said. "It is only something that comes naturally to women with my problem."
"What problem is that?" I asked her.
"Simple, my prince. You are to be a father."
My world began to spin, and for the first time in my life, I felt doubt. This doubt was not of an action I had
taken, but if I would be a good father.
In the weeks that followed, her belly would grow round. There would be another change. One night, someone
came to the door. Three men, all dressed for the winter's cold in furs and wool. Anya greeted them with all the love of
long-missed family. The first to enter was Henry Benious Chevalier, a fair haired Frenchman, with an infectious grin and
light manner. Next came Antonio Castillo De La Rosa, a Spaniard who moved like a natural born predator. Finally, to
finish out the trio, was Thomas Ketsapolis, a young man of Greek heritage, who was shy and clearly a scholar.
Anya greeted them, then said something. I have no idea what it was. The three only nodded and smiled. Livia
was the first to enter the room. She introduced herself, and was asked rather politely by Thomas where he could go to
freshen up. Margaretta was the next to appear, as if she had been conjured. To her surprise and mine, Antonio
produced a fresh red rose from nowhere.
Livia was absolutely not going to cooperate when it came to Anya's little scheme. She hated Henry in the
beginning. It was only after I had read some of Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew' did I understand.
I asked Anya one spring evening why these men were brought into my household. She looked at me and gave
me one of her bewitching smiles. "Because, my prince, your heart has been warmed by love. Should they not have that
chance? Love's flower grew in your heart, and because of that, the need produced a child. That is all you needed even
in this altered state to once again be whole. In time, my prince, they too will find that flower and be whole once again."
It was then that I recognized the men. They had been the cart drivers that initially traveled to the castle with us.
That had been more then a century ago. "Yes, my lord, they are like us. As you changed the girls, I changed my boys,
so to speak." she told me. I would not notice the irony of it until much later, with the advent of television and a show
called the Brady Bunch. We, in that summer, became truly a blended family.
It was Midsummer Eve when Anya went into labor. She had been distressed for the previous few weeks,
taking to her bed in one of the other rooms. "They are coming, my lord. It is too soon. We can only hope." She was in
labor for more then a day when she called for me. The village midwife was afraid for not only the child, but for her life.
She called for me, then sent away the midwife.
"One of the babies is breech, my prince, and both are entangled. You must cut me to free them, or we will lose
both. I am afraid that I have already lost one." she told me.
I looked at her in horror. "I can not do this, Anya."
"My prince, your daughter is dying in my womb now. I have already lost your son." There were tears in her
eyes, I could see the pain she felt.
"Take the knife." she told me, then, with very concise directions, told me how to remove the infants from her
womb.
It was true. There were two- one girl and one boy. The boy was even smaller then the girl, and was clearly still
born. The girl child was weak and limp in my arms. "Give her to me." she said. She cleaned the child, then said a little
prayer. Magda came to life, it seemed, in her hands. Anya was pale and shaking as the child took her first breath.
"My lord, you must build a fire in this room. There can be no drafts. The child's lungs are not strong, and she is
too small." Once again, I did as I was told.
The cat then came into the room, carrying a bundle of plants in his mouth. I had learned to speak to the wolves
that lived in the area, then to dogs, so that animals now listened to my commands. But this black cat was one I could
not control. Anya took the bundle from the cat and handed it to me.
"Make the leaves into a strong tea, my lord. Dry the roots and burn a small amount in the fire each day. I must
sleep, my lord. Even if I do not wake, you must give me blood to drink with a little of the tea in it." she whispered, then
she lost consciousness.
I took the dead infant and wrapped him in a blanket. I then took the living child and placed her in the bassinet.
The cat gingerly climbed into the bassinet. I was about to remove it when its eyes flashed a light all their own. He lay in
there so still with the child, keeping her on her side against his body. I realized that the cat was keeping her warm with
his own body.
Anya would sleep for nearly eight days. I had not realized she had lost so much blood until Thomas had
returned two days after the birth. He had been trained as a doctor. "Had she not been as we are, my prince, she would
have bled to death." he told me. When Anya awoke, it was to the child feeding at her breast. She first asked how long
she had slept. She then took her finger and placed a few drops of her blood into the child's mouth.
Anya would spend nearly five months in the room alone with just the child. She would be brought rabbits which
she had tamed. She would drain them, then have one of the gentlemen skin them and tan the hides. We were permitted
to come in as we wished, but the room was hot and humid. Anya had placed many blankets over the windows and at
the door. This was so the heat and humidity did not escape. We would come and go as we pleased into the room, but
Anya would not abandon Magda or Madeline as she called. The boy I had buried in the mausoleum the night of his
birth.
It was twelve months later when Madeline made her first appearance in the castle proper. She was small for her
age in those first years of her life.
When Mister Renfield had his nervous breakdown, we sent him back to England. His replacement was
Jonathan Harker, a young man of wit and promise. He was engaged to a young woman named Mina. Mina resembled
my Elizabetha in many ways. We would take that time to visit England, taking the whole family, as Anya would call it.
From there, the others would separate, each going to a major continent. Anya had spent many hours on the ship
instructing the others in a language I did not understand.
With their departure, that left only the three of us: Anya, Magda and myself. While we were there, we witness
Jonathan marrying his beloved Mina, and their having several children. He would become as good of a friend as Anya's
three had been to me.
We lived in the renovated Carfax Abbey for many years until he showed up. Madeline, as she now preferred to
be called, was a young woman. She looked more like her mother's sister then her daughter. Enter a very bitter man
named Abraham Van Helsing. He was a doctor who had been defrocked from the medical community. This had
happened from his trying to prove that vampires did exist. He had been watching us over time, and noticed that we
didn't age or change. As a young man, he had come across a small group of vampires. They had nearly killed him.
Since then, he had become a man obsessed.
He was, at first, quite polite and amiable, but as time progressed, he descended into near madness. His final act
was to try and burn the Abbey while we were trapped in it. He had, during the day, walled up all the exits from the
Abbey. I only realized, many days after the fire, that he had poisoned us so that we all slept deeply. He had left one
escape route, then he lit the bonfire he had built in the Abbey.
Anya had been the first to wake. She had roused me, then gone to Madeline, taking her still sleeping form in her
arms. The heat from the fire was almost more then I could bear. We became separated when part of the upper floor
collapsed, trapping me. I was ready to die when my love's cat entered the flames. The fire was not touching him. He
jumped into my arms- by now I had accepted that he was no ordinary cat. I was not ready for what happened next,
though.
I heard a voice in my head, like I did when Anya spoke her way to me. 'My prince, listen to the cat. He will
guide you to safety.' came Anya's voice. It was followed by another, a deeper voice that was male.
'Hold me, my lord, and the flames will not touch you.' I held the cat. As I did, the flames retreated, his
voice guiding me to the safety of the outside.
When we reached the outside, I found another unpleasant sight. There was a mob present, and they were
angry. Van Helsing had managed to incite a riot, and the mob was ready to destroy us.
Anya began to speak in a way that the whole crowd gave her their undivided attention. "What have we done to
you? Yes, we are different, but is not each person unique? We have done nothing but help the community, and you
would punish us for this? We can not help what we are."
"You are abominations!" came Van Helsing's voice as he thrust out a crucifix. Anya walked over to him and
gently took the cross from his hand.
"What is this supposed to do?" she asked.
"It should burn you, for you have no soul!" he said.
She held out her hands. "Do you see any burns?" she asked. "Since we came here, we have attended church
many times."
Van Helsing then splashed Holy Water into my face. I took a hanky and dried my face. Granted, none were
ready for the next thing he did, pulling an American revolver from his jacket. He aimed it at Magda. Anya leapt in front
of the gun, taking the shot so that our daughter would be unharmed. The shot hit her in the heart, and she fell. After a
few moments, though, she stood up once again. Anya had a look in her eyes that I had never seen before- anger.
"Van Helsing, you fool! You would destroy us just because we are long lived? We live, we love and we bleed-
does that make us so different from you?" she said, the venom in her voice such that it made me glad she had not
directed those tones at me. The crowd looked as though it was going to murder us. Once again, the Dragon was ready
to kill.
It was then that redemption came, in the form of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. Anya, some months before, had
left early one evening with Magda and the cat. When they had returned, she was covered in blood, and when I asked,
she had responded that she had been running an errand and not to ask.
Her Majesty then took my beloved's hand and spoke so that all could hear. "This woman has the complete
protection of the Crown. For she and her daughter have saved Our life. For as long as there is a Britain, she and her
family will be welcomed. Without her, there would have been a funeral instead of a celebration."
She then looked at Van Helsing. "You are to report to the constables immediately. If you do not, We will take
you to the Tower of London personally."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."Anya said. Then, Victoria looked at me.
"So this is your Prince." she stated.
"Yes, Your Majesty. He is the one that taught me how to fight as I do." I looked dumb founded at Anya. She
only winked at me.
'It is all part of the plan, my prince, all part of the plan.' I heard in my head.
We would stay with Her Majesty for a fortnight, until our residence was once again habitable. Anya would
come to explain that we were not sure how we had come to exist as we were, only that we did. The stay at the palace
would be the start of something grand. Once the queen made known our existence, then many more of the crowned
heads of Europe wanted to meet us- to see a real vampire. We would travel the world for many years.
When the wars of the twentieth century started, we would have to defend my homeland once again from
invaders. We would do this by using Guerilla warfare tactics and stealth. Eventually, we would be forced to flee to
America. It was in the latter half of the century that we would, for once and for all, become equal.
When one government created a plague that was so pervasive that whole villages were being wiped out in
Africa, Anya said only one thing. "It is time for you to ascend to greatness, my prince."
She purchased several labs and began talking to our other children, who by then had produced both biological
children and those that had been changed. She sent them only one small sentence. "Blood calls to Blood. It is time for
us to take our rightful place." She began collecting our blood and making a serum. This serum could cure the plague in
all but those that were within six hours of death. Within a few months, the whole world had been inoculated from this
terrible plague. For the first time in a long time, I was once again a hero in battle.
One day Anya said that she again had to run an errand. When she said that, I tended to become apprehensive.
Mostly it was because I did not know what she was going to do. Madeline came home with tears in her eyes. "She is
gone, daddy. She is gone." she wept.
I could only ask her what she meant by gone. She handed me a letter.
My dear prince,
I write this because I could not tell you in person. I have come to the end of my time on this
world. That is to say I am going to leave this world of yours. I go, not into the arms of death, but to the place
that I came from.
My prince, I was not born to your world, but to one much like it. I had been sent to rescue you
from yourself, and to be sure that you would never again be lonely. If you are wondering, was what we had a
lie, the answer is no. My love for you is real, so real that it is hard for me to leave you and our daughter. I love
both of you very much and you have more to do for this world then ever. Be good to one another, and know
that I will never forget you.
Madeline know what this means. Blood calls to Blood. She will teach it to you. If one comes to you and
says that, know that they can be trusted and, in some way, they are family.
The universe is wide, my prince, and time does strange things. For some, it is a line, long and straight,
but for others it spirals in strange formations. I will miss you, my love. Know that I will watch over you in my
own way. May we meet again some day.
Till then, my love.
Anya
I would learn from my daughter that the language she had spoken so many times, the one that I did not
understand, was Sumerian. That she was a time traveler, and had lived for well over fifty thousand years. She had
spoken the truth- she really did love us, staying to the last possible moment in time.
Madeleine would go on to take the recognition from the serum and turn it into legal rights for vampires. We are
now our own race, and as I stand on the balcony watching the fireworks celebrating two hundred years as a people, I
wonder where she is, and if she is watching. Anya, I love you and miss you. I also thank you for giving me the family I
love so dearly.
Vlad Tepes Drakul.