/Alexsei/

"B-But C-Carmen..." I whimpered. "I...I t-told the v-v-voodoo m-man...that h-he could...c-could t-take y-you...it w-was the o-only w-way...h-he'd s-spare y-your l-life..."

/Carmen/

I dropped my jaw to the floor. "YOU WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" I scremed in surprise.

/Alexsei/

"I-I'm s-sorry, C-Carmen," I choked. "B-B-But h-he w-was k-k-killing y-you...h-he w-w-would a-accept n-no s-s-substitutes...A-Alexandra o-offered h-herself, b-but h-he s-s-said n-no...I t-tried to m-make s-sure h-he w-wouldn't b-but...C-C-Carmen, I'm s-s-so s-sorry..."

/Carmen/

i started to cry, no, heavily sob. "A-ALEXSEI-I, HOW-W C-C-COULD-D YOU-U!? I-I D-DON'T-T EVEN K-KNOW-W HOW-W H-HE-E I-ISSSSSSSSSSS!" I cried. "EXCEPT-T FOR-R THE-E F-FACT-T H-HE KILLS-S ANYONE-EW-WHO-O GOES-S T-TO HIM-M FR ANY REASON-N! H-HE'S GOING T-TO K-KILL-L ME-E AFTER-R HE'S-S DONE-E WITH-H ME-E..."

/Alexsei/

I felt horrible. I didn't know what to say, so I simply held Carmen and let her have her tears. I few dripped from my eyes, into her hair.

"I-I'm s-sorry, C-C-Carmen..." I told her. "I s-s-shouldn't h-h-have d-done it...b-but I w-wasn't g-going to s-sigh y-your d-death s-sentence..." I sighed bitterly. "I g-g-guess I j-just did..."

"Like Hell!" Catherine said, coming and sitting on Carmen's other side. "We're going to find a way to kick his arse. I promise you that...swear on my immortal soul, he's not going to touch you, Carmen."

/Carmen/

I shook my head. "B-but y-you-u don't-t understand-d! Who-o has-s seen-n h-his face-e have-e-e NEVER-ER lived-ed to-o describe-e h-him-m! He's-s secretive-e-e!" I sobbed. "H-he-e tricked-ed A-Alexsei! E-Either-er w-way-y, I am going-g t-to b-be-e KILLED-ED!"

/Egil/

“Count me in this one as well,” I added, and noting Sigrid’s defiant look, added, “I suppose you can help, Sigrid, but stay out of trouble in this fight. I don’t want to lose you again.” She bobbed her little head in understanding, a small spark of victory dancing in her azure eyes.

Sometimes I really had a hard time saying no to Sigrid. She was fighter, just her mother and Catherine.

/Morfran/

I was about to respond to her little outburst when I noticed a distance expression overtake her irate one. Clearly, her mind was elsewhere so there would be no point in talking. Fenrir cawed stridently, glancing back and forth from Chandara and me.

Patience, Fenrir. I’m waiting for the little princess to come back to her senses.

/Erik/

At Gene’s words, I nodded my head in agreement. “Yes…that would be prudent. I personally wouldn’t know how to help him.” I stared intently at Quinn, turmoil erupting across his pupils. It was painfully obvious that he was furiously fighting off his bloodlust.

“Will he be okay, Gene?” I asked softly so I wouldn’t disturb Cynara. Much to my relief, she hadn’t woken up by Quinn’s frenzy.

/Dracula/

"Someone like you? What ever does that mean. . ?" I asked noting how her heart had a bit of palpatation just a moment ago. . I smiled again moving to her side, my expression saying sincerely confused with a hint of concern as I stared down at her.

/Catherine/

I embraced Carmen in a loving, friendly manner. "Well, this time...this time, we'll live to tell the tale. We won't let him kill you, Carmen..."

/Alexandra/

I severed the mental connection with Uncle Alexsei, and turned my attention back to Morfran. "As I was saying...I'm not letting you get away with so light a return payment. You owe me...something else..." I saw a sword strapped to his back, and I grinned. "How about a swordfight?"

/gene/

"He'll be fine as soon as.." i bit my wrist and gave Quinn my bleeding arm. "he gets some blood..."

/Carmen/

I shook my head, pushing cathy away. "YOU DON'T-T U-0UNDERSTAND-D! He's probably the most-t p-powerful-l creature-e o-on earth! Ev-Even more-e than-n God!" I sighed. "And nealy as old as-s the-e Earth!"

/Catherine/

I tumbled off the mattress with a squeak of surprise when Carmen pushed me away. "Seriously? More powerful than God? How can that be, though? How in God's name did he get so powerful?"

/carmen/

"P-Practice-e..." I sobbed. "H-He's the oldest Prince of Hell.."

/Catherine/

"Oh...well, crap..." I muttered, standing back up. How were we supposed to go up against a being like that? Oldest Prince of Hell? As if we didn't have enough trouble with Dracula...

/Carmen/

"I'm g-good as-s dead-d.." I sighed, pulling the covers over me to hide. "I'm screwed-d.."

/Gabriel/

"I don't care how powerful he is, we're going to stop him," I said loudly to Carmen (who was buried under the blankets), Alexsei (who was whimpering and trying to comfort Carmen), and Catherine (who was pacing nervously). "You know what they say...where there's a will, there's a way. And no can deny that we have the will."

/Carmen/

"Y-You'll r-regret-t h-having-g w-will-l..." My voice was muffled.

/Gabriel/

"I think not..." I said to her.

/Carmen/

"Y-YES-S, Y-YOU WILL-L!" I retorted, bursting into tears.

/Alexsei/

Gabriel moved to say something again, but I gave him a glare as I embraced Carmen. "Shut up, Gabriel!"

/Carmen/

When Alexsei hugged me, I jerked away because I felt a immersive sharp pain in my arm. I touched it, and it was swollen and bruised. "O-Ow-w.."

/Alexsei/

I reached for my bag when Carmen whimpered in pain from her arm. "Right...I need to set that..."

/Carmen/

"H-How d-did i-it-t break-k?" I whimpered.

/Alexsei/

"The voodoo man thought it would be funny to break your arm while I was trying to negotiate something with him..." I growled, digging out everything I needed to bandage Carmen's arm.

/Carmen/

I looked down, sniffling. "That's not-t his name.."

/Gabriele/

“I mean, you’re a count and usually noblemen don’t go around offering warm beds and meals to strangers they simply just find bleeding and injured. For all I know, I could be a wharf of some sort,” I explained wryly, a dry chortled bubbling out of my throat.

/Sigrid/

Deciding to give Herr Alexsei some space, I hopped off the bed and scampered back to my uncle and aunt. “Aunt Cathy, Uncle Egil, what’s going to happen to Savne Carmen? Is there some way we can trick the voodoo man the same way you, uncle, duped Dracula?” I asked worriedly, wondering who on earth Savne Carmen’s foe was.

/Morfran/

At the sight of her sword, my eyebrow arched upwards by a fraction of an inch. “Why not… I have nothing else better to do. My last fight was cut short, unfortunately.”

/Erik/

“Ah, I understand,” I muttered, watching closely as Gene feed Quinn some of his blood. “Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask you about your retrieval with that Gabriele woman and the shapeshifter Egil. Did you manage to get them back from Count Dracula?”

/Alexsei/

"Then what is it?" I asked her softly as I started to splint her arm.

/Catherine/

"There might be some way..." I said to Sigrid, sighing and stroking her soft blonde hair. "It's just...I'm not sure. He sounds like he's going to he a challenge, that's for certain..."

/Alexandra/

"Well, then, you're in luck...I was looking for someone to spar with, seeing as everyone else is busy..." I said, holding up my rapier. "Let's go. There's a courtyard we can use..."

/Carmen/

"His name is...Hades...." I whispered.

/Gene/

I sighed. "F-From my understanding, we rescued Egil, but not Gabriele...." My voice lowered.

/Alexsei/

I froze, looking at Carmen in shock. "H-Hades? A-As in...L-Lord of the U-Underworld? G-Greek for the D-Devil himself?"

/Carmen/

I nodded painfully. "Y-Yes-s....that-t's h-him-m..."

/Dracula/

"If I didn't help anyone, I'd severly narrow my chances of meeting a fine, dazzlingly beautiful young woman such as yourself in such a position." I said with an easy smile upon my face, my dark eyes observing her coolly from where I sat.

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