The Cat and the Vampire Hunter
Dec. 14th, 2004 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dimity_blueby Arnie (aka Sarah)
Van Helsing smiled sneakily to himself as he forced open the catch on the window. If he hadn't been intending to kill him, he would have offered Count Dracula some advice on house safety and where to acquire the latest in Gothic Window Locks. As it was, Count Dracula would soon be dead and his heirs would have to worry about locking the window.
The window creaked open and Van Helsing slipped through the gap, his smile still firmly on his face. It was really too easy to sneak up on the dastardly Dracula.
~~~
The dastardly Dracula was, meanwhile, adjusting the collar of his cape. Even though he terrified the villagers, he wouldn't like them to criticise his clothing. And, who knew, perhaps tonight was the night he would find his bride.
He smiled as he swept his arm up to cover the lower half of his face, his dark eyes gleaming as their hypnotic gaze swept the room.
Igor grinned wickedly. "Oh, Master, you look superb!" he told him, fussily adjusting the hem.
Vladimir looked at his loyal servant. "It vould be so much easier if I could look in ze mirror and see for myself." He attempted to squint down at his collar, even though he knew it was useless. "Immortal life is such a challenge when you can't see how you look. Is my collar straight?"
"Oh yes, Master," Igor assured him. Then he added with a snigger, "Ze ladies vill be fainting in your arms!"
"Zey always do." Vladimir's gaze met The Cat's and he smiled. "Except for you, my precious. My gaze does not affect you at all."
The Cat stared back. She had her own hypnotic gaze and she knew how to use it.
Igor stopped hovering around the Count and moved towards The Cat. "Master, it disturbs me. Count Dracula should not have a cat!"
The Count's hand slapped the back of his head impatiently. "Do not be rude to Ze Cat or she vill visit you in ze night."
Igor gulped as he looked at The Cat. Although he served his master with no fear, The Cat induced a mouse-like shiver along his spine. Hastily, he bowed his reverence to her and was rewarded with a flick of her tail.
"Ah, she forgives you, Igor!" Vladimir smiled, his fangs glinting in the candlelight. "Ve are alike, Ze Cat and I. Ve understand one another."
The Cat's eyes gleamed in response.
"Goodnight, my precious," Vladimir crooned gently to The Cat. "Igor, ze vindow!"
Igor threw the window wide as the vampire changed into a bat. "Good hunting, Master," Igor sniggered, then there was a flutter of wings and the bat was gone. Igor sighed as he turned away from the window. He and his family had served the Count faithfully for years, but sometimes Igor yearned to fly through the night like a dark shadow too.
He saw The Cat still sitting, watching, on the dresser and smiled ingratiatingly. "Vould Ze Cat like me to catch her a mouse?" he asked.
The Cat stood and stretched. Like Dracula, she too was a hunter and she needed no one to hunt for her.
~~~
Van Helsing watched as the bat flew away from the castle. Before morning, the bat would returned having drunk its fill of blood, and he would be waiting. He moved quietly towards the door and opened it a crack. The corridor was empty. Shutting the door carefully behind him, Van Helsing smiled again. Now to find the monster's lair!
Three hours later, Van Helsing was still searching for the monster's lair, or rather, for Dracula's coffin. His plan was to catch the count off-guard by waiting until Dracula was snug in his coffin and then surprising him with an unexpected visitor, but the success of that plan depended on him finding the coffin.
As he made his way down yet another dark corridor hung with portraits of the vampire's ancestors, he shuddered. He felt as though someone was watching him. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he swung around. He was right, someone was watching him!
His breath caught in his throat as he saw The Cat, then he relaxed. A cat posed no threat to him. "So, Cat, I suppose you know every inch of zis castle?"
The Cat stared at him, obviously assessing his worth and finding him wanting.
He flushed. He disliked cats with their supercilious gaze and their manner of knowing far more than they were willing to admit. However, perhaps this would work to his advantage.
"Tell me vere ze vampire's coffin is and I vill spare your life!" he told her, his tone heavy with threatened violence.
The Cat raised an eyebrow then proceeded to demonstrate her entire lack of interest in the vampire hunter by washing one ear.
"Ah, you defy me!" Van Helsing frowned. While he was used to not scaring Count Dracula or Igor much, he had expected to scare The Cat. He reached for his stake. "You kill a vampire by putting a stake through his heart...so I vill kill his cat in the same way!" He sniggered, sounding far more like Igor than he would have liked.
The Cat stopped washing her ear and gave Van Helsing the two eyed glare. The impudence of the man! Personally, she considered Van Helsing to be nothing more than a jumped up housebreaker and here he was threatening her with violence.
Van Helsing took another step forward. While The Cat's glare was far more off-putting than he'd thought it would be, he was a vampire hunter and was not to be dismayed when facing creatures of the night.
Instead of being frightened The Cat opened her eyes wide and allowed Van Helsing to see deeply into her soul. His forward movement stopped as his feet refused to obey his brain. His own eyes widened as he stared down into The Cat's eyes and his breathing slowed. Her eyes held the promise of enchantment and hints of dark mysteries swirling in their depths. All the knowledge The Cat possessed was there in her eyes, flickering just beyond his comprehension.
For a second or an hour, he really couldn't tell which, he was held transfixed by the beauty and savagery he could see.
Finally she blinked and released him from her spell. She yawned and turned away, bored with the vampire hunter and the obsession that ruled his life, before giving him one backwards glance and strolling away.
Van Helsing sank back against the wall, shudders running through his frame. Swallowing hard to repress the instinct to run squeaking from the horror he had seen, he gradually regained his self control and straightened. It took him a few short minutes to find his way back to the window, and even less time to leave the castle, but each minute was an eternity with panic gnawing at the edges of his mind.
Finally he reached the edge of the forest and looked up to see a bat lazily making its way back towards the castle. The vampire hunter shuddered once more. Bats and vampires he could face with equanimity, but cats were another thing altogether.
THE END
Disclaimer: Dracula, Igor and Van Helsing aren't mine, neither is Dracula's castle, cape or portraits of his ancestors. The Cat is mine (although I lay no claim to her knowledge or hypnotic gaze).
Van Helsing smiled sneakily to himself as he forced open the catch on the window. If he hadn't been intending to kill him, he would have offered Count Dracula some advice on house safety and where to acquire the latest in Gothic Window Locks. As it was, Count Dracula would soon be dead and his heirs would have to worry about locking the window.
The window creaked open and Van Helsing slipped through the gap, his smile still firmly on his face. It was really too easy to sneak up on the dastardly Dracula.
~~~
The dastardly Dracula was, meanwhile, adjusting the collar of his cape. Even though he terrified the villagers, he wouldn't like them to criticise his clothing. And, who knew, perhaps tonight was the night he would find his bride.
He smiled as he swept his arm up to cover the lower half of his face, his dark eyes gleaming as their hypnotic gaze swept the room.
Igor grinned wickedly. "Oh, Master, you look superb!" he told him, fussily adjusting the hem.
Vladimir looked at his loyal servant. "It vould be so much easier if I could look in ze mirror and see for myself." He attempted to squint down at his collar, even though he knew it was useless. "Immortal life is such a challenge when you can't see how you look. Is my collar straight?"
"Oh yes, Master," Igor assured him. Then he added with a snigger, "Ze ladies vill be fainting in your arms!"
"Zey always do." Vladimir's gaze met The Cat's and he smiled. "Except for you, my precious. My gaze does not affect you at all."
The Cat stared back. She had her own hypnotic gaze and she knew how to use it.
Igor stopped hovering around the Count and moved towards The Cat. "Master, it disturbs me. Count Dracula should not have a cat!"
The Count's hand slapped the back of his head impatiently. "Do not be rude to Ze Cat or she vill visit you in ze night."
Igor gulped as he looked at The Cat. Although he served his master with no fear, The Cat induced a mouse-like shiver along his spine. Hastily, he bowed his reverence to her and was rewarded with a flick of her tail.
"Ah, she forgives you, Igor!" Vladimir smiled, his fangs glinting in the candlelight. "Ve are alike, Ze Cat and I. Ve understand one another."
The Cat's eyes gleamed in response.
"Goodnight, my precious," Vladimir crooned gently to The Cat. "Igor, ze vindow!"
Igor threw the window wide as the vampire changed into a bat. "Good hunting, Master," Igor sniggered, then there was a flutter of wings and the bat was gone. Igor sighed as he turned away from the window. He and his family had served the Count faithfully for years, but sometimes Igor yearned to fly through the night like a dark shadow too.
He saw The Cat still sitting, watching, on the dresser and smiled ingratiatingly. "Vould Ze Cat like me to catch her a mouse?" he asked.
The Cat stood and stretched. Like Dracula, she too was a hunter and she needed no one to hunt for her.
~~~
Van Helsing watched as the bat flew away from the castle. Before morning, the bat would returned having drunk its fill of blood, and he would be waiting. He moved quietly towards the door and opened it a crack. The corridor was empty. Shutting the door carefully behind him, Van Helsing smiled again. Now to find the monster's lair!
Three hours later, Van Helsing was still searching for the monster's lair, or rather, for Dracula's coffin. His plan was to catch the count off-guard by waiting until Dracula was snug in his coffin and then surprising him with an unexpected visitor, but the success of that plan depended on him finding the coffin.
As he made his way down yet another dark corridor hung with portraits of the vampire's ancestors, he shuddered. He felt as though someone was watching him. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he swung around. He was right, someone was watching him!
His breath caught in his throat as he saw The Cat, then he relaxed. A cat posed no threat to him. "So, Cat, I suppose you know every inch of zis castle?"
The Cat stared at him, obviously assessing his worth and finding him wanting.
He flushed. He disliked cats with their supercilious gaze and their manner of knowing far more than they were willing to admit. However, perhaps this would work to his advantage.
"Tell me vere ze vampire's coffin is and I vill spare your life!" he told her, his tone heavy with threatened violence.
The Cat raised an eyebrow then proceeded to demonstrate her entire lack of interest in the vampire hunter by washing one ear.
"Ah, you defy me!" Van Helsing frowned. While he was used to not scaring Count Dracula or Igor much, he had expected to scare The Cat. He reached for his stake. "You kill a vampire by putting a stake through his heart...so I vill kill his cat in the same way!" He sniggered, sounding far more like Igor than he would have liked.
The Cat stopped washing her ear and gave Van Helsing the two eyed glare. The impudence of the man! Personally, she considered Van Helsing to be nothing more than a jumped up housebreaker and here he was threatening her with violence.
Van Helsing took another step forward. While The Cat's glare was far more off-putting than he'd thought it would be, he was a vampire hunter and was not to be dismayed when facing creatures of the night.
Instead of being frightened The Cat opened her eyes wide and allowed Van Helsing to see deeply into her soul. His forward movement stopped as his feet refused to obey his brain. His own eyes widened as he stared down into The Cat's eyes and his breathing slowed. Her eyes held the promise of enchantment and hints of dark mysteries swirling in their depths. All the knowledge The Cat possessed was there in her eyes, flickering just beyond his comprehension.
For a second or an hour, he really couldn't tell which, he was held transfixed by the beauty and savagery he could see.
Finally she blinked and released him from her spell. She yawned and turned away, bored with the vampire hunter and the obsession that ruled his life, before giving him one backwards glance and strolling away.
Van Helsing sank back against the wall, shudders running through his frame. Swallowing hard to repress the instinct to run squeaking from the horror he had seen, he gradually regained his self control and straightened. It took him a few short minutes to find his way back to the window, and even less time to leave the castle, but each minute was an eternity with panic gnawing at the edges of his mind.
Finally he reached the edge of the forest and looked up to see a bat lazily making its way back towards the castle. The vampire hunter shuddered once more. Bats and vampires he could face with equanimity, but cats were another thing altogether.
THE END
Disclaimer: Dracula, Igor and Van Helsing aren't mine, neither is Dracula's castle, cape or portraits of his ancestors. The Cat is mine (although I lay no claim to her knowledge or hypnotic gaze).