"Dark Side of the Sun" - Dracula fan fiction (part 1/2)
Title: Dark Side of the Sun
Fandom: Dracula
Character/Pairing: Everyone. Really. As for pairings, there are quite a few. Jonathan/Mina, Dracula/Mina, Lucy/Arthur, Lucy/Jack, Lucy/Quincey, Dracula/Jonathan, implied Dracula/Lucy
Summary: AU. What would ahve happened if no one had believe Van Helsing? What would have been different? What would have ended up the same?
Rating: R
Warnings: Non-con, dub-con, D/s, lots of blood, humiliation, character death, scary!Lucy.
A/N: For the "Coven" prompt at 50_darkfics. This is novelette/novella length, and possibly one of the most insane things I've written. Part one of two.
“Dr. Van Helsing, are you mad?” There was only anger in Dr. Jack Seward’s tone, not even a hint of shock or confusion. Van Helsing, however, didn’t seem to notice this, and sounded merely sad as he replied. “Would I were! Madness were easy to bear compared with truth like this. Oh, my friend, why, think you, did I go so far round, why take so long to tell you so simple a thing? Was it because I hate you and have hated you all my life? Was it because I wished to give you pain? Was it that I wanted, now so late, revenge for that time when you saved my life, and from a fearful death? Ah no!”
Despite this speech, Jack remained unmoved, not in any way convinced. “I saved your life when you still had all your wits in your head! Now you want to desecrate the body of the woman I love, who died tragically after you failed to save her, and you expect to placate me with some ridiculous notion that goes against all laws of science and reason, and you expect me to stand idly by? I’d put you in my asylum myself if I had the courage!”
Van Helsing did seem worried by this time. “Jack, you are a friend more dear to me than you do know, and know you not that what I do is all for the sake of Miss Lucy and you? It is to save the lady’s immortal soul that we must do this.”
Jack tried to keep his voice steady. “I want you to leave and never let me see your face again. I would prefer if you left England entirely, in fact. I can’t listen to this anymore.”
There was a long moment of silence as Van Helsing and Jack looked at one another, and then finally Van Helsing turned and left the room. Jack sat down, put his head in his hands, and couldn’t help weeping.
~
Mina sat down on the bed where Jonathan slept. Her smile was sad as she watched him sleep, his expression seeming troubled even now, his whitening hair making him look almost like a different person. She reached out and touched his cheek, as if she was trying to see if she could understand what had changed in him by the feel of his skin. She watched him in sleep for several minutes, wishing that there were some key to understanding these delusions that he had written about. But they were gone now, were they not? All that was past and they were married now, and Jonathan was no longer troubled by such things.
As though in response to her thoughts, however, Jonathan muttered, still sleeping, “I have to find a way to get away from the Count...I don’t think I can survive forever like this…”
Mina froze. With the contents of Jonathan’s journal still fresh in her mind the meaning of this barely audible statement was clear. The delusions could not be gone, not if Jonathan still dreamed about them.
She fought back tears, knowing that crying now would just make things more difficult for Jonathan if he happened to wake up. But she wanted him here with her, her husband, not off in memories that might or might not be real.
As she tried to will away those selfish thoughts, Jonathan woke up. Noticing her worried look, he frowned. “Mina, dear, what’s wrong?”
She didn’t look directly at him as she spoke. “I read the journal.”
Those few words said a great deal, and they were both silent for a long moment. Finally Jonathan said, “Mina, I gave you the journal because I was worried about what could happen to you…if these delusions start again.” She took his hand. “What do you mean? Jonathan, you know that I’ll do my best to help and take care of you whatever state you’re in.”
He smiled slightly. “Of course, love, I never doubted that. And you know I would do the same for you.” She smiled as well, but his tone became more grave. “But I’m afraid that’s not quite what I’m worried about…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m worried that, if the delusions come back…I may, not knowing what was happening, hurt you.”
Mina gasped. Part of her mind was saying that no, Jonathan would never hurt her, even if he didn’t know what he was doing. But the other, more practical part of her said that of course he could, he could harm anyone in such a state. “But…Jonathan, what can we do?” Jonathan sighed and he looked more weary than ever. “I don’t know. I feel like, in case the delusions come back, I should be in a place where I cannot hurt anyone. But I can’t think of such a place.”
But she could. Sanitariums existed, and one of Lucy’s suitors - John Seward, wasn’t it? - had run one. But that thought seemed so awful that she was ashamed of thinking it. She stood up abruptly and walked a few steps away from the bed. “Oh, God.”
Jonathan stood as well. “Mina?” She didn’t look back at him as she spoke. “John Seward, a friend of Lucy’s…he owns a sanitarium.” She could clearly hear Jonathan’s gasp of surprise, but she said nothing to it. Finally he said, “Maybe…maybe that would be the best idea. I could go there, and stay for a while…perhaps this friend of Lucy’s could figure out what’s causing the delusions. And then I could come home.”
She turned around then and grabbed his hands, her voice low as she fought back tears. “No, no, Jonathan, please forget I ever said that, please don’t leave, not now…” She was aware of how hysterical she sounded, but she could help it. The idea of him going off to a sanitarium, especially just after they had gotten married, was terrifying.
He put his arms around her, and she did start crying then. After a few moments she could hear him crying as well, and for several minutes they just held one another, both of them wondering if this would be the last chance they would have to do so for a long time.
Finally Jonathan tried to smile at her. “It’ll be all right, Mina.” She smiled back, though it was a faint one. “Of course it will.” She kissed him then, and he kissed her back. For a moment it was as though it really would be all right. When they broke the kiss Jonathan said, whispering. “I love you.”
As she began to pull out of his arms, she said with a smile, “I love you too.”
She would need to write a letter to Dr. John Seward later.
~
Jack sighed, putting down the letter from Mrs. Mina Harker after having read it over several times. It was obvious from the contents of the letter that she didn’t yet know of Lucy’s death, which made the letter rather difficult for him to read. And Mina would have to know eventually of Lucy’s death, and it now seemed that he would have to be the one to tell her, which was certainly not a position he wanted to be in.
But he would accept her husband into his asylum. It was his responsibility, and besides, perhaps a new patient was just what he needed to distract himself from the pain of Lucy’s death. And of course, it was his responsibility to care for those who needed his aid as a doctor. He began to write a reply to Mina Harker, but decided to quietly arrange that Arthur and Quincey would be there when he met with Jonathan and Mina Harker.
~
Mina and Jonathan arrived in Jack’s study at half past five, as had been arranged. They both looked nervous but resolute, holding one another’s hands as though they would never let go, as though everything would be all right as long as they didn’t let go. Jack decided that he didn’t want to see these two separated ever, even though that separation would obviously have to occur if Jonathan was to stay at the asylum. But Jack got up from his desk and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harker.”
Mina managed a faint smile in reply. “You can call me Mina. And may I ask who the young men with you are?” She gestured toward Arthur and Quincey. Jonathan said nothing.
“Oh, excuse my rudeness, Mrs. Hark - Mina, this is Lord Arthur Godalming and this gentleman here is Quincey Morris of Texas.” Both of the other men gave a nod at Jack’s words, though Arthur barely looked up. Mina, however, smiled. “It’s wonderful to meet both of you. Lucy’s told me so much about all three of you.”
There was an awkward silence at this, and all the three men seemed to avoid looking at either each other or Mina. “Is…is there something wrong?” The worry in Mina’s tone was evident as she tried to break the silence.
Looking at his friends, Jack saw that Arthur was obviously in no fit state to tell Mina the tragic news, and Quincey didn’t seem likely to either. Jack would have to say it. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but…Lucy died a few days ago.” Jack felt tears coming to his eyes at the mere repetition of it, but suppressed them, partly because he did not wish to cry, not now, not in front of all these people, even if many of them were friends of his, and partly because Mina seemed on the verge of tears herself. Jonathan too looked quite shocked, as though he hadn’t quite processed the news yet.
Somehow, though, despite her own sadness, Mina went to Arthur’s side when she saw him quietly weeping. Wordlessly, she took his hands in hers and knelt down next to him, seeming to offer him a sort of comfort that none of them had been able to offer Arthur before. She said something to him, so quietly that Jack didn’t hear it, and he nodded. She then let go of his hands and went back to her husband. Jack saw that there were tears in her eyes before Jonathan enfolded her in his arms. Quincey put an arm around Arthur’s shoulders, and Jack was left the only one alone, trying to contain his own tears even when no one else was even attempting to do so anymore.
This must have gone on for a long time before Jonathan untangled himself from Mina and said, his voice shaking a bit, “I suppose, Dr. Seward, that it’s time for me to enter your asylum now.” Jack barely managed to get out the correct documents for Jonathan, the thought of the man before him entering his asylum was so far from his mind. He certainly didn’t seem as though he should be in a mental asylum. But if he and Mina thought that he should be, then Jack would let him stay here, and hopefully it would do him some good. He didn’t know many of the details of Jonathan’s case, but there had to be something significant there.
As Jack was thinking this, Jonathan took out a small red book, somewhat battered, from his coat. His voice was quiet as he handed it to Jack. “This is my journal from the time when…I began to have delusions. I think that you should read it.”
This was an interesting development, and quite helpful. He wished that all his patients kept such journals. But he merely thanked Jonathan, and then, feeling rather inadequate, said something like, “So, if you’d like to say goodbye to Mina now…”
It didn’t take much urging. Jonathan went immediately to Mina’s side and they took each other’s hands, leaning in close to one another. “I promise, Mina, I’ll see you again soon.” Jonathan said quietly to his wife. “And when we’re together again, everything will be all right and we can begin our life as husband and wife as we should be able to, without such fears hanging over our heads.”
Mina whispered something too quietly for Jack to hear, and then she leaned in and kissed Jonathan. They broke the kiss after only a few seconds, however, and then Jonathan picked up his bag and went to follow Jack out of the room. Before they left, however, Mina said, her voice surprisingly steady considering the circumstances, “It’s been…wonderful to meet all of you. If anyone here wishes to talk to me, for any reason, then you may come to visit me at any time.” She then gave them her address, and, without looking behind her, fled from the room.
Jonathan didn’t speak another word as Jack led him to the room where he would be staying.
~
Mina hurried home as quickly as she possibly could, the words spoken in that conversation at Carfax Asylum ringing in ears. Lucy dead…Lucy dead…Lucy dead and Jonathan shut away in a mental asylum by his wish and hers, and her left alone. Poor dear Lucy, with her laughing blue eyes and cheerful smile, dead and buried in the cold earth, never to smile again. Jonathan, who had gone through so much, locked up with screaming maniacs. She unlocked the door to the small house where she and Jonathan now lived, and ran inside, not bothering to lock or indeed to fully close the door. She pulled off her shawl and let it fall to the ground carelessly, something she would never have done otherwise, then collapsed into the nearest chair in the room next to the hallway. She curled up in the chair like a child, wishing that there was someone who could put their arms around her and tell her that it would be all right, that she didn’t have to be alone. But she wasn’t a child anymore, and Jonathan had gone through more than she had and needed her to be strong. And so no one came as she wept, her head in her hands, for what could have been an hour easily.
And, then she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder.
She panicked slightly as she looked up, her eyes meeting vivid green ones that made her feel as though they were looking through her into her mind, examining every thought, every memory.
The man standing before her was tall, and thin, wearing all black, which contrasted oddly with his skin, which was pale in an almost unearthly manner. His features were sharp, angular. Looking at him in confusion, Mina finally realized why he seemed so familiar to her. He was the man she had seen with Jonathan, the man who had so startled him. She had thought that was the fault of the delusions, but now…
He spoke then. “You left the door open. I took it as an invitation to come in.”
She finally found her voice. “Who are you?”
The man laughed, and it was not a pleasant sound. “Ah, Mina, but didn’t your husband tell you about me? I’m Count Vlad Dracula.”
She gasped, a thousand realizations hitting her at once as she tried to scramble off of the chair. Oh, God, it was true, everything that had happened to Jonathan, this Count really was such a monster as all that, and she had sent Jonathan to the asylum for it, and oh, God, now this Count was coming after her…
But before she could get away, the Count had grabbed her wrists and pulled her back into the chair, holding her down there as she struggled. He leaned in close to her, whispering in her ear, “Now, my dear, I intend to make both you and your beloved husband mine soon enough, and that is an experience that I can make very unpleasant for you if you continue fighting me. But, whatever you do, you will end up as mine, and so all this is really quite pointless.”
She didn’t know completely what his words meant, but they angered her. With a strength that she didn’t know she had, she wrenched her wrists away from his grip. “I’ll never allow you to do anything to me or Jonathan.” She whispered before clambering over the arm of the chair and away from him. But before an instant had passed, she felt both of his hands firm on her shoulders, holding her where she stood. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice about that, Mina.”
He began moving her hair to one side, his knuckles brushing her neck slightly as he did so in a way that somehow made want more of his touch. Then, before she knew what was happening, his mouth was on her neck and he was planting a kiss there that made her gasp as she really, really, should not have, and then she felt his teeth sinking into her neck and a horrible, piercing pain filling her. She found herself getting dizzier and beginning to fall, as much as she tried to stop it. But he caught her and picked her up, beginning to carry her to the window as a few drops of her blood fell from his mouth onto the carpet. As he began to fly off into the night, her to weak to protest, she thought, halfway between terror and contentment. Jonathan was right.
~
The room in the asylum was barely furnished at all, but it was all right, Jonathan supposed. In all honesty, he didn’t like it here. He didn’t like the fact that Jack Seward had been obliged to lock the door before leaving him in the room. He didn’t like the moans and weeping that he could hear from the other rooms. He didn’t like being separated from Mina so soon, didn’t like picturing her alone in the house that was meant to be for the two of them, not her alone. But he would stay here, for Mina’s sake, if for no other reason.
He spent some time just sitting there, wishing he had thought to bring a book with him, when he heard a knocking sound from the wall on his right side, as though someone was rapping their knuckles against it. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do - after all, there were madmen all around him, and despite the fact that he was probably one of them, it wasn’t necessarily a good idea to talk to such a people - but then he heard a rasping voice coming from the other side of the wall. “Harker? Jonathan Harker?”
This was so unexpected that it took Jonathan several seconds before he replied. “Yes…yes, that is my name.”
He could hear faint, nervous laughter from the other side of the wall. “Good.” There was a pause, as if this unknown man - for the voice was most certainly a man’s voice - was gathering his thoughts together. When he next spoke, there was an odd urgency in his tone. “The Master has taken her.”
Those words were nearly incomprehensible to Jonathan, but somehow he felt a weight of dread settle in his stomach at them. “What do you mean?” He could hear the urgency in the other man’s voice mimicked in his, which terrified him somewhat, but he couldn’t do anything else.
“Your beloved, he’s gone and stolen her away to make her one of his beloveds, just like he did with the Doctor’s beloved.” He could hear the faint laughter again, though it sounded more insane than amused to Jonathan. “You know who he is. He’ll be coming soon enough to do the same with you -“
Here the voice from the other side of the wall stopped suddenly, just as Jonathan was becoming desperate to here more. He practically beat against the wall, not knowing or caring how utterly insane he seemed. “Tell me, damn you! What’s happening to Mina? What’s the Count, damn him, doing? Tell me he won’t be coming back to bring back to that awful place! Tell me!”
He could hear the other man’s voice again, but this time he was muttering, clearly not talking to Jonathan. “Oh…the Master will be angry that I gave away His purposes…Oh…no more spiders for some time, that’s for certain…”
There was clearly no point in talking to him any longer, but Jonathan almost did so, he was so desperate to do something. The Count was hurting Mina, and would come for him soon! All thoughts of what that happened in Transylvania being a mere delusion was instantly gone from his mind. He began to panic, and yell about something, he didn’t even know what, only that it involved the Count, and Mina and those awful women who fawned over the Count in that nauseating way, with, oh, God, those fangs…
~
Jack closed the journal, which he had been reading for quite some time now and only just managed to finish. He knew that he should consider most of what had been written there a part of the delusions that Mina and Jonathan had both mentioned, but there were little details, hardly mentioned things, that reminded him undeniably of everything that had happened with Lucy. It was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of the things that Van Helsing had done in a vain attempt to save her - no, Van Helsing had gone mad by the end as well, and if he wasn’t careful, he would go mad himself. These similarities were merely coincidences, and he was trying to look for connections where there were none.
He had to stop thinking about Lucy so obsessively. As it was, the only time he wasn’t immersed in thoughts of both her rejection of him and her death was when morphine filled his veins, and he was attempting - and failing, if he was honest with himself - to break that addiction.
The details from Jonathan’s journal though…what if Van Helsing had known something after all? Jack felt Jonathan’s chilling descriptions of the events that he had witnessed - or thought witnessed creep back into his mind. Those demon women who had attacked Jonathan…the one with the yellow hair and blue eyes, like Lucy’s…Van Helsing had said that Lucy had been made into such a demon woman…
The thoughts repeated themselves endlessly in Jack’s mind, for there was no end to them till he had answers for them. Adding to that litany, he could hear, somewhere in the distance, a crazed voice screaming, “Oh, God, no! Mina! Mina! Tell me what’s happening!”
~
The sensation of having someone fly while carrying you, especially when you were extremely dizzy from blood loss, was not entirely pleasant, Mina reflected as the Count carried her through many stone hallways. She had no idea where they were, only that it was very far from London, far enough that it was unlikely anyone would ever be able to find her here. Quite possibly it was the castle where Jonathan had stayed, where he had gone mad, though she wasn’t sure why he would take her here after having made such an effort to relocate to England.
Eventually, it seemed, they had reached the room where the Count intended to bring her. Quickly he carried her through the open door and then helped her to stand wordlessly. In fact, he had not said a word to her since biting her, and as it was, she was not certain whether or not she was glad of that. For a long moment his hands remained on her body, helping her stand, but she detested the feeling of his touch against her body at all. His hands were cold, and it was almost as though she could feel that coldness through her clothing. And even to allow his hands to remain on her waist, or the small of her back, felt like a betrayal of Jonathan.
She pulled away, gripping the nearby wall instead, determined to not let herself fear him, even though he had just bitten her (oh God, the horror of even thinking of the fact that he had sunk his teeth into her neck, that he had drunk her blood), even though he had taken her away from everything she loved.
But even though he didn’t immediately pull her back towards him, the Count spoke to her almost immediately after she had pulled away from his touch, his voice holding a terrible amusement. “You’ll have to get used to my touch now, Mina. That shouldn’t be so difficult for you. I saw your reaction to it earlier.”
She blushed, hating herself for those reactions. They had been instinctive and brief, mattering not at all. She wasn’t some foolish and easily swayed girl. And such reactions certainly did not mean she would betray Jonathan.
The Count took a step towards her then, and she was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that the man - or demon, from what she and Jonathan had seen - before her had her completely in his power. If he truly intended to do…such things to her and she fought him, he could kill her, he could torture her, and of course it would be a simple matter for him to completely ignore her wishes in such matters. And from what she knew of him, she doubted that he would have any scruples with that. Involuntarily, she shivered, and he, as though he was reading her thoughts, smiled in an awful way that bared his fangs and said “I’m glad you can see why it would be a good idea to obey me.”
Obey…oh, God. How long did he intend to keep her here, forcing her to obey his every whim? Would he eventually kill her at the end of it, or…no, she couldn’t even think about what ‘making her his’ meant. And he had mentioned something about Jonathan - no, she wouldn’t think about that either. She would try and focus on the present, as awful as even that was, and not think about any of those worries.
Even if she had been trying to think about such things, it would have been made difficult when, in the next instant, she felt the Count’s fingers against her cheek. She lowered her eyes, though whether that from shame or horror was not clear, but then her said, his voice firm and commanding “Look at me.”
Obey him…she had to, for then at least, and so she hesitantly met his eyes. Bizarrely, they were red rather than green now, and the sight of them made her shudder. They reminded her of hellfire, of blood, of rage, of sinful passion. She also felt that she had seen those eyes before, in Whitby Bay, when Lucy had been sleepwalking…they had terrified her at then, and they terrified in that place, so far from everything she knew.
His blazing red eyes still fixed upon hers, the Count ran a finger over her lips in a gesture oddly more intimate than a kiss. Despite herself, she gasped, and the Count smiled, beginning to run his hand down her neck, over the marks from his recent bite, which were still covered with dried blood, some of which flaked off onto his fingers, and began tracing her collarbone. The sensation could have been almost pleasant was it not for the fact that she was still looking straight into his eyes, and she refused to enjoy anything that involved betraying Jonathan, which this was most certainly doing.
As the Count moved the path of his caresses lower, his fingers came in contact with the fabric of her dress. As if annoyed at that fact, he dug his nails into the skin in the hollow of her collarbone, and when Mina gasped in then it was out of pain. The Count stepped back for an instant and then said, his voice was cold as his touch was, “Take off your clothing.”
She probably should have expected something like that, what with the comments he had been making, but nevertheless she was shocked. She had not spoken since before he bit her, and when she spoke at that moment her voice was barely audible. “You…surely you can’t expect…”
The Count sighed, seeming tired with her modesty. “I can and I do. For as long as you remain here - which I assure you will be quite a long time - you will wear the clothing that I provide for you.” He gestured towards a neatly folded pile of black clothing on top of a dresser on the other side of the room. She nodded and lowered her eyes, detesting this with every fiber of her being, but seeing no way to get out of it she merely waited and hoped that he would leave the room of at least turn his back.
He did neither. Instead, he addressed her impatiently. “My dear, please, continue. While I may have an eternity to live you, at the moment, do not.” Desperate, Mina looked up and met his eyes, but she couldn’t find any pity there, nor anything else that she could appeal to. Begging him to not make her do this ridiculous and humiliating thing would do no good, she was certain.
No, no, she wouldn’t do this. She didn’t care what the consequences might be, nor what the Count could do to her. She wouldn’t debase herself this way, especially not while Jonathan, her beloved husband was rotting in a cell in a lunatic asylum. But as she began to shake her head frantically, hysteria working its way into her thoughts and emotions, the Count’s fingers closed around her arm, holding her as tightly as though they were made out of bone, or steel. “Learn to obey me.” He whispered, his voice an angry hiss in her ear before he flung her halfway across the room as easily as though she was a rag doll. Mina got up after several moments remaining where he had left her, certain that there were bruises on many parts of her body. Though she still detested this, Mina felt less inclined to resist now, and began to remove her clothing as he commanded, beginning with her shoes and stockings.
Then she took off her dress, letting it fall on the floor, but then, her instincts getting the better of her, folding it and putting it down neatly. As she did so, she could feel the Count’s eyes on her, and she knew that they must be red (however it was that his eyes changed colors; he was a demon, after all, Jonathan had told her), for only those blazing red eyes could burn through her so. But, with a courage that surprised herself, Mina looked up, directly into those eyes, and gazed at the Count with a look of purest hatred.
It was several seconds before she finally looked away and turned her attention to unlacing her corset - slightly difficult for her to do by herself, but something she was quite used to by now.
After Mina had finished undressing, she quickly put on the clothing the Count had left for her, which may have been a bit immodest, but she expected that by now. What did surprise her, however, was when the Count said to her, “You look beautiful,” his tone obviously appreciative. But then he grabbed her wrist, saying curtly, “Come,” as though she had any choice in the matter, and began leading her through what felt like endlessly hallways, seeming all eerily all empty, though she did think she heard ghostly laughter from one, which made her shiver, reminded of the demon women Jonathan had described in his journal.
Then they came to a closed door, which the Count opened without knocking. Mina followed him silently until she heard a familiar voice.
“Vlad, I really am so glad you decided that we should come back to your castle, it really is wonderful here, if a bit dusty, and there’s so much more room, which I do think we’ll be needing…”
Mina couldn’t help gasping at Lucy’s voice, a sound that she thought she would never hear again. At that moment, it was the most wonderful sound in the world. The Count cut off Lucy’s stream of speech - the dazed Mina thought vaguely that that was a good thing, as if someone didn’t do that, she could quite possibly go on forever - with firm, but not unkind words. “Lucy, my dear, I believe I have someone with me who you would like to see.”
He brought Mina forward and she could see Lucy clearly. Lucy gasped delightedly, and neither of them really noticed as the Count left, closing the door behind him. Neither of them quite knew who ran into the other’s arms first, but the end result was that they were both holding each other, and Mina was cry, her tears getting Lucy’s light - nearly sheer - white dress wet. “I thought you were dead.” Mina whispered, tears choking her and making her unable to speak louder. Lucy laughed, that wonderful tinkling laughter like the sound of water-glasses. “Well, I’m very sorry to worry you, Mina, dear, but, as you can see, I certainly am not dead.”
She smiled and, in horror, Mina saw that Lucy had fangs, just as the Count had. But Lucy only laughed again at Mina’s reaction. “Oh, don’t be afraid, you’ll have them too soon enough, I think. And really, it’s such fun!”
Mina shuddered and pulled away from Lucy’s arm instinctively, though she didn’t really want to, especially after thinking that she was dead. Lucy looked rather cross, and Mina was vividly reminded of the fact that being around Mina, who she had known most of her life, caused Lucy to become far more childish. Even after she had been changed into a demon by the Count, apparently. But when Lucy spoke again, her voice was serious, and rather annoyed. “Mina, I know that Vlad can be a bit…harsh, sometimes, but it’s really not all that bad. I’ll be getting Arthur, Jack and Quincey soon, I’m sure he would let you have Jonathan with you! And what fun we’ll have now that we’re both here. Why, we could even hunt together!”
Whether in terror or disgust or a combination of both, Mina turned and fled without another word. She stopped running when she reached the Count, who stood slightly outside the door of the room that was apparently Lucy’s. She followed him, still silent back to the room where he had first brought her. He told her quite calmly that the sun would be rising soon, and he would be going to sleep. He advised her to do the same, as she would apparently have to get used to such sleeping patterns. He also told her that he felt obliged to tie her to the bed while they both slept, and though she didn’t quite understand why this was necessary - was the lock to the door broken? Where there items she could use to kill herself in the room? - she didn’t protest. And so Mina Harker drifted off to an uneasy sleep with her ankle tied to a bedpost a little after the sun rose, and she dreamed of absolutely nothing.
~
R. M. Renfield had felt his Master’s anger since he had told Jonathan Harker about His plans. All that night and even the next day while the Master slept he could feel that anger like a knife twisting within him, driven further and further in as the day went on. Many times that day, perhaps knowing internally what his fate would be, Renfield begged, even prayed for the Master to forgive him.
But of course, it did not work. When he saw the mist that always announced his Master’s arrival (as though he was the God of the Old Testament himself, arriving in a pillar of fire and smoke) he knew that his life was over. Even at the end he begged, clinging to the hem of the cloak his Master wore, but He didn’t care. The last words Renfield heard were from his Master’s lips, cold and emotionless, “No one betrays me and lives to recall it,” before he felt his Master’s fangs piercing his neck and the world was darkness for him forever.
~
The night before that, Jonathan had screamed till his throat was raw and he could scream no more. At that time Dr. Seward had come, with a few of the other attendants at the Asylum and talked to him, about something that Jonathan couldn’t remember. At the time he hadn’t cared a bit, he was so consumed in his fear for himself and Mina. If he had been a bit more rational about it, he reflected the next day, and then perhaps he could have at least attempted to convince Dr. Seward that it was all true, that he wasn’t insane. But at the time he simply couldn’t manage such a thing.
And, actually, given his behavior directly before that, he might not have been able to manage it, whatever the circumstances.
Soon after the sun rose he had fallen to sleep, exhausted by everything that had gone on that night. Something within his mind tried to remind him that this was how the Count had slept, during the day, as though he was afraid of the light of the sun. Jonathan didn’t want to become like that, never. But his body gave in to sleep, almost against his own will.
Jonathan woke up some time before the sun set that day. As he obsessively went over every possible clue he had of the Count’s purposes, he could hear constant murmuring from the room next to his. It sounded like praying of some sort. It was an extremely eerie sound, especially as he couldn’t hear the words clearly. It seemed to work its way into Jonathan’s consciousness, driving him slowly mad. Soon after the sunset, the murmuring grew louder, more frantic. Almost more like begging than praying. Then it stopped, suddenly, and the room next to him was completely quiet.
Then, Jonathan heard footsteps behind him, and a terribly familiar voice. “Ah, Jonathan Harker. How pleasant to see you again. I trust you have enjoyed the time since you left my castle. I heard that you have gotten married, to the charming Mina Murray - Mina Harker now, I imagine.”
It was as though, with those seemingly pleasant words, everything that was holding Jonathan together snapped and all the fears and worries and nightmares overcame him. He turned around immediately at the sound of the Count’s voice, and then stumbled backwards, his face ashen, his eyes filled with shock. It was several seconds before Jonathan got over his shock enough to turn and run to the door of the room, banging on it frantically and calling for someone to let him out, to let him get away from this monster. But the Count grabbed his arm, his grip as inhumanly powerful as Jonathan remembered it, and pulled him away from the door. “There’s no need to make a fuss over this.” The Count sounded slightly annoyed, but mostly his voice still held that politeness that had at first caused Jonathan to believe that he was simply an old eccentric nobleman. The politeness was grating after Jonathan had found out that wasn’t all the Count was, that the respectable man who had sat for hours discussing his heritage with Jonathan was actually a demonic monster.
And so Jonathan reacted with anger to that calm tone. “Of course there’s reason to make a fuss! I’m not going to let you drink my blood again, and I’m certainly not going to let you turn me into such a monster as you are!” He took a breath to scream, and the Count put a hand over his mouth. When he spoke, his voice no longer held any façade of politeness, though it remained calm. “I believe you would be more inclined to cooperate with my purposes if it was the only way you could see your wife. Am I not right?”
With the Count’s hand still over his mouth Jonathan couldn’t answer, but the horror in his eyes must have been enough of an answer, for the Count threw back his head and laughed, a cold, unpleasant laugh that bared his fangs. At the sound of that awful laughter, Jonathan began fighting wildly, though it did little good, for the Count’s inhuman strength made it impossible to win against him. But somehow, in the course of the fight, the Count pulled away the hand covering his mouth. Jonathan took that opportunity to shout, “No, I won’t let you hurt Mina!”
The Count managed to pin Jonathan against the wall of the cell. “I’m afraid that you don’t have much power over that, Jonathan. It can be quite difficult to protect your loved ones from inside a lunatic asylum.” The Count’s body was pressed close to Jonathan, their faces nearly touching. It made Jonathan want to flinch and close his eyes and not look at the Count at all, but he didn’t want to show weakness in front of him. He still had some pride left, despite all that had happened. “I’ll get out somehow…or I’ll get the Doctor, and get him to call Mina here, have her wear a crucifix…the instant you’re gone I’ll do everything I can to protect her, I won’t let you get away with this…” Jonathan knew his frightened rambling was not doing him any good, but he didn’t know what else to say, and he was trying to convince himself that he was not completely powerless, though a part of him knew that he was.
And, of course, the Count was well aware of that fact. “It’s a bit too late for that.” He said with a smile, and Jonathan began screaming hysterically again but this time it was more out of terror than anything else. “Oh, God, what have you done to Mina, you damned monster?”
The Count ran the back of his hand over Jonathan’s cheek in what might have been a caress. “Nothing that I don’t intend to do to you eventually. Would you like to come with me and see?” The Count let go of Jonathan then, but he was too shocked and scared for Mina to try and attack him again. For some reason Jonathan had the feeling that the Count had brought Mina to that awful castle, filled with endless passageways that led nowhere and terrible secrets behind locked doors. The thought of Mina there, scared, confused, was almost too much for him to bear. He never wanted to go there again as long as he lived, but now…he swallowed and said words that he knew he would come to regret. “I’ll go.”
~
Arthur Holmwood was not used to loneliness. He had several younger siblings, and had always spent much time with his father. When he had gone to school, he acquired many friends, or at least people he enjoyed spending time with. It was true that, except for Lucy, he wasn’t much used to being very close to other people, but he wasn’t used to be as alone as he was after Lucy’s death, either.
His father was dead. His siblings were all either married and busy with their own families or moved quite far away from London. His unmarried younger brother stayed at the Ring, caring for the estates there. And Arthur didn’t feel comfortable with any of his friends except Jack and Quincey, and he certainly couldn’t talk to them.
And so Lucy’s death had left him completely alone, spending hours sitting in the parlor with an untouched glass of brandy in front of him and a book in his lap that he wasn’t paying much attention to. When he had met Lucy, he felt like an entire new dimension had been added to his life. He had known that he wouldn’t be able to live without her, and he had hoped that she had felt at least something like that for him, even if he was terribly flustered around her and repeat things that he had said already. The day when she had accepted his proposal had been the happiest of his life. Now he felt her absence every day afresh, whenever he wondered what they would be doing if she had lived and they were married then, whenever he saw a flower stall or a pretty blue scarf and thought of buying them for her. Sometimes he bought the flowers anyway and put them by her tomb.
He needed someone to talk to, who would somehow relieve the loneliness. And, oddly, the first person he thought of was Mina Harker.
It was true that he had only met her recently, but her kindness had made an impression on him. And she was Lucy’s friend, and from the way Lucy had spoken about her, Mina knew Lucy as well, if not better than Arthur did. So, even though it was rather sudden, and he had not told anyone of this intention, Arthur went to visit Mina, taking her up on her offer to let any of them visit anytime.
By the time Arthur got to Mina’s home - a modest house that looked rather welcoming - it was dark. When he got to the front door, he noticed that it was open. Slightly worried, he knocked on it hesitantly and then walked inside, knowing that this was rude and terribly improper, but getting the odd feeling that there was some wrong here.
Inside, the house was silent and dark. He stepped over a shawl - the one Mina had worn to bring Jonathan to the asylum the day before - as he walked into the room off of the front hallway. That too was empty, though he could see in the dim light an ugly reddish-brown stain on the carpet. It looked like - blood.
Arthur hurried out of the house, called a cab, and went to Jack’s asylum as quickly as he possibly could.
When he reached Carfax Asylum he hurried to Jack’s office, where Arthur found his friend doing some sort of paperwork. He put it down as soon as Arthur entered, looking worried at the expression on Arthur’s face. Before Jack could say anything, however, Arthur spoke, the words coming out of him in a rush. “Mina Harker is gone. The door to her house is open and - there are bloodstains on her carpet.”
Jack looked about as shocked as Arthur was. “Oh, God.” After a pause, he continued, “I should probably talk to her husband - though that could be difficult, considering that he spent most of the day yelling unintelligible statements.” Arthur nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
Together they went to the room where Jonathan was staying. Cautiously, Jack opened the door.
Jonathan was nowhere to be found.
Part Two
Fandom: Dracula
Character/Pairing: Everyone. Really. As for pairings, there are quite a few. Jonathan/Mina, Dracula/Mina, Lucy/Arthur, Lucy/Jack, Lucy/Quincey, Dracula/Jonathan, implied Dracula/Lucy
Summary: AU. What would ahve happened if no one had believe Van Helsing? What would have been different? What would have ended up the same?
Rating: R
Warnings: Non-con, dub-con, D/s, lots of blood, humiliation, character death, scary!Lucy.
A/N: For the "Coven" prompt at 50_darkfics. This is novelette/novella length, and possibly one of the most insane things I've written. Part one of two.
“Dr. Van Helsing, are you mad?” There was only anger in Dr. Jack Seward’s tone, not even a hint of shock or confusion. Van Helsing, however, didn’t seem to notice this, and sounded merely sad as he replied. “Would I were! Madness were easy to bear compared with truth like this. Oh, my friend, why, think you, did I go so far round, why take so long to tell you so simple a thing? Was it because I hate you and have hated you all my life? Was it because I wished to give you pain? Was it that I wanted, now so late, revenge for that time when you saved my life, and from a fearful death? Ah no!”
Despite this speech, Jack remained unmoved, not in any way convinced. “I saved your life when you still had all your wits in your head! Now you want to desecrate the body of the woman I love, who died tragically after you failed to save her, and you expect to placate me with some ridiculous notion that goes against all laws of science and reason, and you expect me to stand idly by? I’d put you in my asylum myself if I had the courage!”
Van Helsing did seem worried by this time. “Jack, you are a friend more dear to me than you do know, and know you not that what I do is all for the sake of Miss Lucy and you? It is to save the lady’s immortal soul that we must do this.”
Jack tried to keep his voice steady. “I want you to leave and never let me see your face again. I would prefer if you left England entirely, in fact. I can’t listen to this anymore.”
There was a long moment of silence as Van Helsing and Jack looked at one another, and then finally Van Helsing turned and left the room. Jack sat down, put his head in his hands, and couldn’t help weeping.
~
Mina sat down on the bed where Jonathan slept. Her smile was sad as she watched him sleep, his expression seeming troubled even now, his whitening hair making him look almost like a different person. She reached out and touched his cheek, as if she was trying to see if she could understand what had changed in him by the feel of his skin. She watched him in sleep for several minutes, wishing that there were some key to understanding these delusions that he had written about. But they were gone now, were they not? All that was past and they were married now, and Jonathan was no longer troubled by such things.
As though in response to her thoughts, however, Jonathan muttered, still sleeping, “I have to find a way to get away from the Count...I don’t think I can survive forever like this…”
Mina froze. With the contents of Jonathan’s journal still fresh in her mind the meaning of this barely audible statement was clear. The delusions could not be gone, not if Jonathan still dreamed about them.
She fought back tears, knowing that crying now would just make things more difficult for Jonathan if he happened to wake up. But she wanted him here with her, her husband, not off in memories that might or might not be real.
As she tried to will away those selfish thoughts, Jonathan woke up. Noticing her worried look, he frowned. “Mina, dear, what’s wrong?”
She didn’t look directly at him as she spoke. “I read the journal.”
Those few words said a great deal, and they were both silent for a long moment. Finally Jonathan said, “Mina, I gave you the journal because I was worried about what could happen to you…if these delusions start again.” She took his hand. “What do you mean? Jonathan, you know that I’ll do my best to help and take care of you whatever state you’re in.”
He smiled slightly. “Of course, love, I never doubted that. And you know I would do the same for you.” She smiled as well, but his tone became more grave. “But I’m afraid that’s not quite what I’m worried about…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m worried that, if the delusions come back…I may, not knowing what was happening, hurt you.”
Mina gasped. Part of her mind was saying that no, Jonathan would never hurt her, even if he didn’t know what he was doing. But the other, more practical part of her said that of course he could, he could harm anyone in such a state. “But…Jonathan, what can we do?” Jonathan sighed and he looked more weary than ever. “I don’t know. I feel like, in case the delusions come back, I should be in a place where I cannot hurt anyone. But I can’t think of such a place.”
But she could. Sanitariums existed, and one of Lucy’s suitors - John Seward, wasn’t it? - had run one. But that thought seemed so awful that she was ashamed of thinking it. She stood up abruptly and walked a few steps away from the bed. “Oh, God.”
Jonathan stood as well. “Mina?” She didn’t look back at him as she spoke. “John Seward, a friend of Lucy’s…he owns a sanitarium.” She could clearly hear Jonathan’s gasp of surprise, but she said nothing to it. Finally he said, “Maybe…maybe that would be the best idea. I could go there, and stay for a while…perhaps this friend of Lucy’s could figure out what’s causing the delusions. And then I could come home.”
She turned around then and grabbed his hands, her voice low as she fought back tears. “No, no, Jonathan, please forget I ever said that, please don’t leave, not now…” She was aware of how hysterical she sounded, but she could help it. The idea of him going off to a sanitarium, especially just after they had gotten married, was terrifying.
He put his arms around her, and she did start crying then. After a few moments she could hear him crying as well, and for several minutes they just held one another, both of them wondering if this would be the last chance they would have to do so for a long time.
Finally Jonathan tried to smile at her. “It’ll be all right, Mina.” She smiled back, though it was a faint one. “Of course it will.” She kissed him then, and he kissed her back. For a moment it was as though it really would be all right. When they broke the kiss Jonathan said, whispering. “I love you.”
As she began to pull out of his arms, she said with a smile, “I love you too.”
She would need to write a letter to Dr. John Seward later.
~
Jack sighed, putting down the letter from Mrs. Mina Harker after having read it over several times. It was obvious from the contents of the letter that she didn’t yet know of Lucy’s death, which made the letter rather difficult for him to read. And Mina would have to know eventually of Lucy’s death, and it now seemed that he would have to be the one to tell her, which was certainly not a position he wanted to be in.
But he would accept her husband into his asylum. It was his responsibility, and besides, perhaps a new patient was just what he needed to distract himself from the pain of Lucy’s death. And of course, it was his responsibility to care for those who needed his aid as a doctor. He began to write a reply to Mina Harker, but decided to quietly arrange that Arthur and Quincey would be there when he met with Jonathan and Mina Harker.
~
Mina and Jonathan arrived in Jack’s study at half past five, as had been arranged. They both looked nervous but resolute, holding one another’s hands as though they would never let go, as though everything would be all right as long as they didn’t let go. Jack decided that he didn’t want to see these two separated ever, even though that separation would obviously have to occur if Jonathan was to stay at the asylum. But Jack got up from his desk and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harker.”
Mina managed a faint smile in reply. “You can call me Mina. And may I ask who the young men with you are?” She gestured toward Arthur and Quincey. Jonathan said nothing.
“Oh, excuse my rudeness, Mrs. Hark - Mina, this is Lord Arthur Godalming and this gentleman here is Quincey Morris of Texas.” Both of the other men gave a nod at Jack’s words, though Arthur barely looked up. Mina, however, smiled. “It’s wonderful to meet both of you. Lucy’s told me so much about all three of you.”
There was an awkward silence at this, and all the three men seemed to avoid looking at either each other or Mina. “Is…is there something wrong?” The worry in Mina’s tone was evident as she tried to break the silence.
Looking at his friends, Jack saw that Arthur was obviously in no fit state to tell Mina the tragic news, and Quincey didn’t seem likely to either. Jack would have to say it. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but…Lucy died a few days ago.” Jack felt tears coming to his eyes at the mere repetition of it, but suppressed them, partly because he did not wish to cry, not now, not in front of all these people, even if many of them were friends of his, and partly because Mina seemed on the verge of tears herself. Jonathan too looked quite shocked, as though he hadn’t quite processed the news yet.
Somehow, though, despite her own sadness, Mina went to Arthur’s side when she saw him quietly weeping. Wordlessly, she took his hands in hers and knelt down next to him, seeming to offer him a sort of comfort that none of them had been able to offer Arthur before. She said something to him, so quietly that Jack didn’t hear it, and he nodded. She then let go of his hands and went back to her husband. Jack saw that there were tears in her eyes before Jonathan enfolded her in his arms. Quincey put an arm around Arthur’s shoulders, and Jack was left the only one alone, trying to contain his own tears even when no one else was even attempting to do so anymore.
This must have gone on for a long time before Jonathan untangled himself from Mina and said, his voice shaking a bit, “I suppose, Dr. Seward, that it’s time for me to enter your asylum now.” Jack barely managed to get out the correct documents for Jonathan, the thought of the man before him entering his asylum was so far from his mind. He certainly didn’t seem as though he should be in a mental asylum. But if he and Mina thought that he should be, then Jack would let him stay here, and hopefully it would do him some good. He didn’t know many of the details of Jonathan’s case, but there had to be something significant there.
As Jack was thinking this, Jonathan took out a small red book, somewhat battered, from his coat. His voice was quiet as he handed it to Jack. “This is my journal from the time when…I began to have delusions. I think that you should read it.”
This was an interesting development, and quite helpful. He wished that all his patients kept such journals. But he merely thanked Jonathan, and then, feeling rather inadequate, said something like, “So, if you’d like to say goodbye to Mina now…”
It didn’t take much urging. Jonathan went immediately to Mina’s side and they took each other’s hands, leaning in close to one another. “I promise, Mina, I’ll see you again soon.” Jonathan said quietly to his wife. “And when we’re together again, everything will be all right and we can begin our life as husband and wife as we should be able to, without such fears hanging over our heads.”
Mina whispered something too quietly for Jack to hear, and then she leaned in and kissed Jonathan. They broke the kiss after only a few seconds, however, and then Jonathan picked up his bag and went to follow Jack out of the room. Before they left, however, Mina said, her voice surprisingly steady considering the circumstances, “It’s been…wonderful to meet all of you. If anyone here wishes to talk to me, for any reason, then you may come to visit me at any time.” She then gave them her address, and, without looking behind her, fled from the room.
Jonathan didn’t speak another word as Jack led him to the room where he would be staying.
~
Mina hurried home as quickly as she possibly could, the words spoken in that conversation at Carfax Asylum ringing in ears. Lucy dead…Lucy dead…Lucy dead and Jonathan shut away in a mental asylum by his wish and hers, and her left alone. Poor dear Lucy, with her laughing blue eyes and cheerful smile, dead and buried in the cold earth, never to smile again. Jonathan, who had gone through so much, locked up with screaming maniacs. She unlocked the door to the small house where she and Jonathan now lived, and ran inside, not bothering to lock or indeed to fully close the door. She pulled off her shawl and let it fall to the ground carelessly, something she would never have done otherwise, then collapsed into the nearest chair in the room next to the hallway. She curled up in the chair like a child, wishing that there was someone who could put their arms around her and tell her that it would be all right, that she didn’t have to be alone. But she wasn’t a child anymore, and Jonathan had gone through more than she had and needed her to be strong. And so no one came as she wept, her head in her hands, for what could have been an hour easily.
And, then she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder.
She panicked slightly as she looked up, her eyes meeting vivid green ones that made her feel as though they were looking through her into her mind, examining every thought, every memory.
The man standing before her was tall, and thin, wearing all black, which contrasted oddly with his skin, which was pale in an almost unearthly manner. His features were sharp, angular. Looking at him in confusion, Mina finally realized why he seemed so familiar to her. He was the man she had seen with Jonathan, the man who had so startled him. She had thought that was the fault of the delusions, but now…
He spoke then. “You left the door open. I took it as an invitation to come in.”
She finally found her voice. “Who are you?”
The man laughed, and it was not a pleasant sound. “Ah, Mina, but didn’t your husband tell you about me? I’m Count Vlad Dracula.”
She gasped, a thousand realizations hitting her at once as she tried to scramble off of the chair. Oh, God, it was true, everything that had happened to Jonathan, this Count really was such a monster as all that, and she had sent Jonathan to the asylum for it, and oh, God, now this Count was coming after her…
But before she could get away, the Count had grabbed her wrists and pulled her back into the chair, holding her down there as she struggled. He leaned in close to her, whispering in her ear, “Now, my dear, I intend to make both you and your beloved husband mine soon enough, and that is an experience that I can make very unpleasant for you if you continue fighting me. But, whatever you do, you will end up as mine, and so all this is really quite pointless.”
She didn’t know completely what his words meant, but they angered her. With a strength that she didn’t know she had, she wrenched her wrists away from his grip. “I’ll never allow you to do anything to me or Jonathan.” She whispered before clambering over the arm of the chair and away from him. But before an instant had passed, she felt both of his hands firm on her shoulders, holding her where she stood. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice about that, Mina.”
He began moving her hair to one side, his knuckles brushing her neck slightly as he did so in a way that somehow made want more of his touch. Then, before she knew what was happening, his mouth was on her neck and he was planting a kiss there that made her gasp as she really, really, should not have, and then she felt his teeth sinking into her neck and a horrible, piercing pain filling her. She found herself getting dizzier and beginning to fall, as much as she tried to stop it. But he caught her and picked her up, beginning to carry her to the window as a few drops of her blood fell from his mouth onto the carpet. As he began to fly off into the night, her to weak to protest, she thought, halfway between terror and contentment. Jonathan was right.
~
The room in the asylum was barely furnished at all, but it was all right, Jonathan supposed. In all honesty, he didn’t like it here. He didn’t like the fact that Jack Seward had been obliged to lock the door before leaving him in the room. He didn’t like the moans and weeping that he could hear from the other rooms. He didn’t like being separated from Mina so soon, didn’t like picturing her alone in the house that was meant to be for the two of them, not her alone. But he would stay here, for Mina’s sake, if for no other reason.
He spent some time just sitting there, wishing he had thought to bring a book with him, when he heard a knocking sound from the wall on his right side, as though someone was rapping their knuckles against it. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do - after all, there were madmen all around him, and despite the fact that he was probably one of them, it wasn’t necessarily a good idea to talk to such a people - but then he heard a rasping voice coming from the other side of the wall. “Harker? Jonathan Harker?”
This was so unexpected that it took Jonathan several seconds before he replied. “Yes…yes, that is my name.”
He could hear faint, nervous laughter from the other side of the wall. “Good.” There was a pause, as if this unknown man - for the voice was most certainly a man’s voice - was gathering his thoughts together. When he next spoke, there was an odd urgency in his tone. “The Master has taken her.”
Those words were nearly incomprehensible to Jonathan, but somehow he felt a weight of dread settle in his stomach at them. “What do you mean?” He could hear the urgency in the other man’s voice mimicked in his, which terrified him somewhat, but he couldn’t do anything else.
“Your beloved, he’s gone and stolen her away to make her one of his beloveds, just like he did with the Doctor’s beloved.” He could hear the faint laughter again, though it sounded more insane than amused to Jonathan. “You know who he is. He’ll be coming soon enough to do the same with you -“
Here the voice from the other side of the wall stopped suddenly, just as Jonathan was becoming desperate to here more. He practically beat against the wall, not knowing or caring how utterly insane he seemed. “Tell me, damn you! What’s happening to Mina? What’s the Count, damn him, doing? Tell me he won’t be coming back to bring back to that awful place! Tell me!”
He could hear the other man’s voice again, but this time he was muttering, clearly not talking to Jonathan. “Oh…the Master will be angry that I gave away His purposes…Oh…no more spiders for some time, that’s for certain…”
There was clearly no point in talking to him any longer, but Jonathan almost did so, he was so desperate to do something. The Count was hurting Mina, and would come for him soon! All thoughts of what that happened in Transylvania being a mere delusion was instantly gone from his mind. He began to panic, and yell about something, he didn’t even know what, only that it involved the Count, and Mina and those awful women who fawned over the Count in that nauseating way, with, oh, God, those fangs…
~
Jack closed the journal, which he had been reading for quite some time now and only just managed to finish. He knew that he should consider most of what had been written there a part of the delusions that Mina and Jonathan had both mentioned, but there were little details, hardly mentioned things, that reminded him undeniably of everything that had happened with Lucy. It was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of the things that Van Helsing had done in a vain attempt to save her - no, Van Helsing had gone mad by the end as well, and if he wasn’t careful, he would go mad himself. These similarities were merely coincidences, and he was trying to look for connections where there were none.
He had to stop thinking about Lucy so obsessively. As it was, the only time he wasn’t immersed in thoughts of both her rejection of him and her death was when morphine filled his veins, and he was attempting - and failing, if he was honest with himself - to break that addiction.
The details from Jonathan’s journal though…what if Van Helsing had known something after all? Jack felt Jonathan’s chilling descriptions of the events that he had witnessed - or thought witnessed creep back into his mind. Those demon women who had attacked Jonathan…the one with the yellow hair and blue eyes, like Lucy’s…Van Helsing had said that Lucy had been made into such a demon woman…
The thoughts repeated themselves endlessly in Jack’s mind, for there was no end to them till he had answers for them. Adding to that litany, he could hear, somewhere in the distance, a crazed voice screaming, “Oh, God, no! Mina! Mina! Tell me what’s happening!”
~
The sensation of having someone fly while carrying you, especially when you were extremely dizzy from blood loss, was not entirely pleasant, Mina reflected as the Count carried her through many stone hallways. She had no idea where they were, only that it was very far from London, far enough that it was unlikely anyone would ever be able to find her here. Quite possibly it was the castle where Jonathan had stayed, where he had gone mad, though she wasn’t sure why he would take her here after having made such an effort to relocate to England.
Eventually, it seemed, they had reached the room where the Count intended to bring her. Quickly he carried her through the open door and then helped her to stand wordlessly. In fact, he had not said a word to her since biting her, and as it was, she was not certain whether or not she was glad of that. For a long moment his hands remained on her body, helping her stand, but she detested the feeling of his touch against her body at all. His hands were cold, and it was almost as though she could feel that coldness through her clothing. And even to allow his hands to remain on her waist, or the small of her back, felt like a betrayal of Jonathan.
She pulled away, gripping the nearby wall instead, determined to not let herself fear him, even though he had just bitten her (oh God, the horror of even thinking of the fact that he had sunk his teeth into her neck, that he had drunk her blood), even though he had taken her away from everything she loved.
But even though he didn’t immediately pull her back towards him, the Count spoke to her almost immediately after she had pulled away from his touch, his voice holding a terrible amusement. “You’ll have to get used to my touch now, Mina. That shouldn’t be so difficult for you. I saw your reaction to it earlier.”
She blushed, hating herself for those reactions. They had been instinctive and brief, mattering not at all. She wasn’t some foolish and easily swayed girl. And such reactions certainly did not mean she would betray Jonathan.
The Count took a step towards her then, and she was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that the man - or demon, from what she and Jonathan had seen - before her had her completely in his power. If he truly intended to do…such things to her and she fought him, he could kill her, he could torture her, and of course it would be a simple matter for him to completely ignore her wishes in such matters. And from what she knew of him, she doubted that he would have any scruples with that. Involuntarily, she shivered, and he, as though he was reading her thoughts, smiled in an awful way that bared his fangs and said “I’m glad you can see why it would be a good idea to obey me.”
Obey…oh, God. How long did he intend to keep her here, forcing her to obey his every whim? Would he eventually kill her at the end of it, or…no, she couldn’t even think about what ‘making her his’ meant. And he had mentioned something about Jonathan - no, she wouldn’t think about that either. She would try and focus on the present, as awful as even that was, and not think about any of those worries.
Even if she had been trying to think about such things, it would have been made difficult when, in the next instant, she felt the Count’s fingers against her cheek. She lowered her eyes, though whether that from shame or horror was not clear, but then her said, his voice firm and commanding “Look at me.”
Obey him…she had to, for then at least, and so she hesitantly met his eyes. Bizarrely, they were red rather than green now, and the sight of them made her shudder. They reminded her of hellfire, of blood, of rage, of sinful passion. She also felt that she had seen those eyes before, in Whitby Bay, when Lucy had been sleepwalking…they had terrified her at then, and they terrified in that place, so far from everything she knew.
His blazing red eyes still fixed upon hers, the Count ran a finger over her lips in a gesture oddly more intimate than a kiss. Despite herself, she gasped, and the Count smiled, beginning to run his hand down her neck, over the marks from his recent bite, which were still covered with dried blood, some of which flaked off onto his fingers, and began tracing her collarbone. The sensation could have been almost pleasant was it not for the fact that she was still looking straight into his eyes, and she refused to enjoy anything that involved betraying Jonathan, which this was most certainly doing.
As the Count moved the path of his caresses lower, his fingers came in contact with the fabric of her dress. As if annoyed at that fact, he dug his nails into the skin in the hollow of her collarbone, and when Mina gasped in then it was out of pain. The Count stepped back for an instant and then said, his voice was cold as his touch was, “Take off your clothing.”
She probably should have expected something like that, what with the comments he had been making, but nevertheless she was shocked. She had not spoken since before he bit her, and when she spoke at that moment her voice was barely audible. “You…surely you can’t expect…”
The Count sighed, seeming tired with her modesty. “I can and I do. For as long as you remain here - which I assure you will be quite a long time - you will wear the clothing that I provide for you.” He gestured towards a neatly folded pile of black clothing on top of a dresser on the other side of the room. She nodded and lowered her eyes, detesting this with every fiber of her being, but seeing no way to get out of it she merely waited and hoped that he would leave the room of at least turn his back.
He did neither. Instead, he addressed her impatiently. “My dear, please, continue. While I may have an eternity to live you, at the moment, do not.” Desperate, Mina looked up and met his eyes, but she couldn’t find any pity there, nor anything else that she could appeal to. Begging him to not make her do this ridiculous and humiliating thing would do no good, she was certain.
No, no, she wouldn’t do this. She didn’t care what the consequences might be, nor what the Count could do to her. She wouldn’t debase herself this way, especially not while Jonathan, her beloved husband was rotting in a cell in a lunatic asylum. But as she began to shake her head frantically, hysteria working its way into her thoughts and emotions, the Count’s fingers closed around her arm, holding her as tightly as though they were made out of bone, or steel. “Learn to obey me.” He whispered, his voice an angry hiss in her ear before he flung her halfway across the room as easily as though she was a rag doll. Mina got up after several moments remaining where he had left her, certain that there were bruises on many parts of her body. Though she still detested this, Mina felt less inclined to resist now, and began to remove her clothing as he commanded, beginning with her shoes and stockings.
Then she took off her dress, letting it fall on the floor, but then, her instincts getting the better of her, folding it and putting it down neatly. As she did so, she could feel the Count’s eyes on her, and she knew that they must be red (however it was that his eyes changed colors; he was a demon, after all, Jonathan had told her), for only those blazing red eyes could burn through her so. But, with a courage that surprised herself, Mina looked up, directly into those eyes, and gazed at the Count with a look of purest hatred.
It was several seconds before she finally looked away and turned her attention to unlacing her corset - slightly difficult for her to do by herself, but something she was quite used to by now.
After Mina had finished undressing, she quickly put on the clothing the Count had left for her, which may have been a bit immodest, but she expected that by now. What did surprise her, however, was when the Count said to her, “You look beautiful,” his tone obviously appreciative. But then he grabbed her wrist, saying curtly, “Come,” as though she had any choice in the matter, and began leading her through what felt like endlessly hallways, seeming all eerily all empty, though she did think she heard ghostly laughter from one, which made her shiver, reminded of the demon women Jonathan had described in his journal.
Then they came to a closed door, which the Count opened without knocking. Mina followed him silently until she heard a familiar voice.
“Vlad, I really am so glad you decided that we should come back to your castle, it really is wonderful here, if a bit dusty, and there’s so much more room, which I do think we’ll be needing…”
Mina couldn’t help gasping at Lucy’s voice, a sound that she thought she would never hear again. At that moment, it was the most wonderful sound in the world. The Count cut off Lucy’s stream of speech - the dazed Mina thought vaguely that that was a good thing, as if someone didn’t do that, she could quite possibly go on forever - with firm, but not unkind words. “Lucy, my dear, I believe I have someone with me who you would like to see.”
He brought Mina forward and she could see Lucy clearly. Lucy gasped delightedly, and neither of them really noticed as the Count left, closing the door behind him. Neither of them quite knew who ran into the other’s arms first, but the end result was that they were both holding each other, and Mina was cry, her tears getting Lucy’s light - nearly sheer - white dress wet. “I thought you were dead.” Mina whispered, tears choking her and making her unable to speak louder. Lucy laughed, that wonderful tinkling laughter like the sound of water-glasses. “Well, I’m very sorry to worry you, Mina, dear, but, as you can see, I certainly am not dead.”
She smiled and, in horror, Mina saw that Lucy had fangs, just as the Count had. But Lucy only laughed again at Mina’s reaction. “Oh, don’t be afraid, you’ll have them too soon enough, I think. And really, it’s such fun!”
Mina shuddered and pulled away from Lucy’s arm instinctively, though she didn’t really want to, especially after thinking that she was dead. Lucy looked rather cross, and Mina was vividly reminded of the fact that being around Mina, who she had known most of her life, caused Lucy to become far more childish. Even after she had been changed into a demon by the Count, apparently. But when Lucy spoke again, her voice was serious, and rather annoyed. “Mina, I know that Vlad can be a bit…harsh, sometimes, but it’s really not all that bad. I’ll be getting Arthur, Jack and Quincey soon, I’m sure he would let you have Jonathan with you! And what fun we’ll have now that we’re both here. Why, we could even hunt together!”
Whether in terror or disgust or a combination of both, Mina turned and fled without another word. She stopped running when she reached the Count, who stood slightly outside the door of the room that was apparently Lucy’s. She followed him, still silent back to the room where he had first brought her. He told her quite calmly that the sun would be rising soon, and he would be going to sleep. He advised her to do the same, as she would apparently have to get used to such sleeping patterns. He also told her that he felt obliged to tie her to the bed while they both slept, and though she didn’t quite understand why this was necessary - was the lock to the door broken? Where there items she could use to kill herself in the room? - she didn’t protest. And so Mina Harker drifted off to an uneasy sleep with her ankle tied to a bedpost a little after the sun rose, and she dreamed of absolutely nothing.
~
R. M. Renfield had felt his Master’s anger since he had told Jonathan Harker about His plans. All that night and even the next day while the Master slept he could feel that anger like a knife twisting within him, driven further and further in as the day went on. Many times that day, perhaps knowing internally what his fate would be, Renfield begged, even prayed for the Master to forgive him.
But of course, it did not work. When he saw the mist that always announced his Master’s arrival (as though he was the God of the Old Testament himself, arriving in a pillar of fire and smoke) he knew that his life was over. Even at the end he begged, clinging to the hem of the cloak his Master wore, but He didn’t care. The last words Renfield heard were from his Master’s lips, cold and emotionless, “No one betrays me and lives to recall it,” before he felt his Master’s fangs piercing his neck and the world was darkness for him forever.
~
The night before that, Jonathan had screamed till his throat was raw and he could scream no more. At that time Dr. Seward had come, with a few of the other attendants at the Asylum and talked to him, about something that Jonathan couldn’t remember. At the time he hadn’t cared a bit, he was so consumed in his fear for himself and Mina. If he had been a bit more rational about it, he reflected the next day, and then perhaps he could have at least attempted to convince Dr. Seward that it was all true, that he wasn’t insane. But at the time he simply couldn’t manage such a thing.
And, actually, given his behavior directly before that, he might not have been able to manage it, whatever the circumstances.
Soon after the sun rose he had fallen to sleep, exhausted by everything that had gone on that night. Something within his mind tried to remind him that this was how the Count had slept, during the day, as though he was afraid of the light of the sun. Jonathan didn’t want to become like that, never. But his body gave in to sleep, almost against his own will.
Jonathan woke up some time before the sun set that day. As he obsessively went over every possible clue he had of the Count’s purposes, he could hear constant murmuring from the room next to his. It sounded like praying of some sort. It was an extremely eerie sound, especially as he couldn’t hear the words clearly. It seemed to work its way into Jonathan’s consciousness, driving him slowly mad. Soon after the sunset, the murmuring grew louder, more frantic. Almost more like begging than praying. Then it stopped, suddenly, and the room next to him was completely quiet.
Then, Jonathan heard footsteps behind him, and a terribly familiar voice. “Ah, Jonathan Harker. How pleasant to see you again. I trust you have enjoyed the time since you left my castle. I heard that you have gotten married, to the charming Mina Murray - Mina Harker now, I imagine.”
It was as though, with those seemingly pleasant words, everything that was holding Jonathan together snapped and all the fears and worries and nightmares overcame him. He turned around immediately at the sound of the Count’s voice, and then stumbled backwards, his face ashen, his eyes filled with shock. It was several seconds before Jonathan got over his shock enough to turn and run to the door of the room, banging on it frantically and calling for someone to let him out, to let him get away from this monster. But the Count grabbed his arm, his grip as inhumanly powerful as Jonathan remembered it, and pulled him away from the door. “There’s no need to make a fuss over this.” The Count sounded slightly annoyed, but mostly his voice still held that politeness that had at first caused Jonathan to believe that he was simply an old eccentric nobleman. The politeness was grating after Jonathan had found out that wasn’t all the Count was, that the respectable man who had sat for hours discussing his heritage with Jonathan was actually a demonic monster.
And so Jonathan reacted with anger to that calm tone. “Of course there’s reason to make a fuss! I’m not going to let you drink my blood again, and I’m certainly not going to let you turn me into such a monster as you are!” He took a breath to scream, and the Count put a hand over his mouth. When he spoke, his voice no longer held any façade of politeness, though it remained calm. “I believe you would be more inclined to cooperate with my purposes if it was the only way you could see your wife. Am I not right?”
With the Count’s hand still over his mouth Jonathan couldn’t answer, but the horror in his eyes must have been enough of an answer, for the Count threw back his head and laughed, a cold, unpleasant laugh that bared his fangs. At the sound of that awful laughter, Jonathan began fighting wildly, though it did little good, for the Count’s inhuman strength made it impossible to win against him. But somehow, in the course of the fight, the Count pulled away the hand covering his mouth. Jonathan took that opportunity to shout, “No, I won’t let you hurt Mina!”
The Count managed to pin Jonathan against the wall of the cell. “I’m afraid that you don’t have much power over that, Jonathan. It can be quite difficult to protect your loved ones from inside a lunatic asylum.” The Count’s body was pressed close to Jonathan, their faces nearly touching. It made Jonathan want to flinch and close his eyes and not look at the Count at all, but he didn’t want to show weakness in front of him. He still had some pride left, despite all that had happened. “I’ll get out somehow…or I’ll get the Doctor, and get him to call Mina here, have her wear a crucifix…the instant you’re gone I’ll do everything I can to protect her, I won’t let you get away with this…” Jonathan knew his frightened rambling was not doing him any good, but he didn’t know what else to say, and he was trying to convince himself that he was not completely powerless, though a part of him knew that he was.
And, of course, the Count was well aware of that fact. “It’s a bit too late for that.” He said with a smile, and Jonathan began screaming hysterically again but this time it was more out of terror than anything else. “Oh, God, what have you done to Mina, you damned monster?”
The Count ran the back of his hand over Jonathan’s cheek in what might have been a caress. “Nothing that I don’t intend to do to you eventually. Would you like to come with me and see?” The Count let go of Jonathan then, but he was too shocked and scared for Mina to try and attack him again. For some reason Jonathan had the feeling that the Count had brought Mina to that awful castle, filled with endless passageways that led nowhere and terrible secrets behind locked doors. The thought of Mina there, scared, confused, was almost too much for him to bear. He never wanted to go there again as long as he lived, but now…he swallowed and said words that he knew he would come to regret. “I’ll go.”
~
Arthur Holmwood was not used to loneliness. He had several younger siblings, and had always spent much time with his father. When he had gone to school, he acquired many friends, or at least people he enjoyed spending time with. It was true that, except for Lucy, he wasn’t much used to being very close to other people, but he wasn’t used to be as alone as he was after Lucy’s death, either.
His father was dead. His siblings were all either married and busy with their own families or moved quite far away from London. His unmarried younger brother stayed at the Ring, caring for the estates there. And Arthur didn’t feel comfortable with any of his friends except Jack and Quincey, and he certainly couldn’t talk to them.
And so Lucy’s death had left him completely alone, spending hours sitting in the parlor with an untouched glass of brandy in front of him and a book in his lap that he wasn’t paying much attention to. When he had met Lucy, he felt like an entire new dimension had been added to his life. He had known that he wouldn’t be able to live without her, and he had hoped that she had felt at least something like that for him, even if he was terribly flustered around her and repeat things that he had said already. The day when she had accepted his proposal had been the happiest of his life. Now he felt her absence every day afresh, whenever he wondered what they would be doing if she had lived and they were married then, whenever he saw a flower stall or a pretty blue scarf and thought of buying them for her. Sometimes he bought the flowers anyway and put them by her tomb.
He needed someone to talk to, who would somehow relieve the loneliness. And, oddly, the first person he thought of was Mina Harker.
It was true that he had only met her recently, but her kindness had made an impression on him. And she was Lucy’s friend, and from the way Lucy had spoken about her, Mina knew Lucy as well, if not better than Arthur did. So, even though it was rather sudden, and he had not told anyone of this intention, Arthur went to visit Mina, taking her up on her offer to let any of them visit anytime.
By the time Arthur got to Mina’s home - a modest house that looked rather welcoming - it was dark. When he got to the front door, he noticed that it was open. Slightly worried, he knocked on it hesitantly and then walked inside, knowing that this was rude and terribly improper, but getting the odd feeling that there was some wrong here.
Inside, the house was silent and dark. He stepped over a shawl - the one Mina had worn to bring Jonathan to the asylum the day before - as he walked into the room off of the front hallway. That too was empty, though he could see in the dim light an ugly reddish-brown stain on the carpet. It looked like - blood.
Arthur hurried out of the house, called a cab, and went to Jack’s asylum as quickly as he possibly could.
When he reached Carfax Asylum he hurried to Jack’s office, where Arthur found his friend doing some sort of paperwork. He put it down as soon as Arthur entered, looking worried at the expression on Arthur’s face. Before Jack could say anything, however, Arthur spoke, the words coming out of him in a rush. “Mina Harker is gone. The door to her house is open and - there are bloodstains on her carpet.”
Jack looked about as shocked as Arthur was. “Oh, God.” After a pause, he continued, “I should probably talk to her husband - though that could be difficult, considering that he spent most of the day yelling unintelligible statements.” Arthur nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
Together they went to the room where Jonathan was staying. Cautiously, Jack opened the door.
Jonathan was nowhere to be found.
Part Two