Ch 9- Let the Cards Fall Where They May

Caralina raced down the hall. Her bare feet barely making a noise as she flew across the carpet.

She knew she had to hurry.

She knew there was hardely a chance for her, but she would not give up. she truely was a fighter to the end.

She stopped at the top of the steps for but a second to catch her breath.

She had to be careful going down the stairs. If she fell, she would either break her neck or something to the point were she could not run anymore. She did not want to leave herself volenerable to him.

Not too fast. Not too slow. That was how she descended the stairs.

As her feet touched the last step, she heard something that chilled her to the bone.

"Tick, tock. The clock struck one. The little mouse went wee!" Alucard shouted. She could hear his voice as if he were standing right next to her and all around her.

She knew that he meant she only had one moment before he started hunting her.

She did not let this slow her down. It only made her run faster.

Caralina had always been fast. None of the other children who had actually wanted to play with her only ever raced her once before they dismissed the game when she was around. The only person to ever have beaten her in a race was Dracula.

She pushed herself forward.

That is when she heard the footsteps behind her. They were loud in her ear and she did not have to look over her shoulder to know who it was.

She could fell her heart racing a mile a minute now. Not from fear. No, it was far from it. It was just being overworked by the shot of adrenaline that kicked itself into her system.

The only problem was, every time she tried to speed up, the footsteps behind her only came faster.

She knew he would try to draw this out until she could not run any longer. This was a game of cat and mouse to him. What he did not realize, though, was that this mouse was after her cheese, and she would go to hell and back to get it.

She knew this was a long shot, but it was worth a try to use an old trick.

During her time here, she had learned just about every inch of the castle, and she knew how to lose someone easily in the many halls. However, none of those people had been vampires.

She speed up until she could not any more and heard the footsteps speed up as well.

He was right behind her now. If he wanted to, all he had to do was reach out and grab her. She would be helpless after that considering she had made a deal with him, she never went back on anything. But he did not want to end their game so quickly. He was having too much fun.

She knew where she was. Now was the perfect time to lose him.

She carefully rounded the corner and shot off down the next hall. She knew this was not the way to the door, but she could backtrack.

She heard the familiar crash as Alucard slammed into the wall, not able to stop in time.

"You are going to regrete that!" he shouted after her.

She chuckled to herself. She may be the mouse, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

She rounded anouther corner as he restarted his chase, more determined now than ever.

What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. It was like a repeat of what happened two years ago.

The bodies of the servants that had replace the previous ones lay scattered on the ball room floor. Blood caked the walls, floor, and skin of the victims. Some had their throats ripped out. Others their entestants. Some were completly missing body parts.

She nearly threw up. She felt her head spin and the room became unfocussed.

'No!' she shouted at herself. 'You fell for this trick once. Do not fall for it again! He knew you would come this way. This is his mousetrap. Well, steal your cheese and let the cards fall where they may! Show him that a mouse can take on a cat!'

Thinking quickly, she did something she wished she had never had to do.

She slid into the middle of the room and rolled around in the blood. She rolled until her whole body was covered in blood.

She heard his heavy footsteps coming towards the room. In the flickering candle light of the hall, she could see his shadow walking slowly.

Then, she realized, this truely was her trap. There was only one way out of the ball room, and he was blocking it.

As quietly as possible, she crawled under a table. Before conceiling herself, she picked up a knife and hid it behind her back in the fold of her dress. The cloth covering the table hid her perfectly.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Alucard called out to her. "Ready or not, here I come."

He walked into the room, knowing she was hiding somewhere. When he did not see her out in the open, he sniffed the air. Shock crossed his face when her scent suddenly disappeared. A smile came to his lips now. She was making it interesting for him.

"You clever girl. You hid your scent," he called out, his voice echoing in the room. He started walking around the room. "How long before your special perfume runs out of its scent, hm? You can not hide forever. You will need to eat or drink eventually. I, on the other hand, have an ample suply of food right here. Do not worry, though. There is always room for dessert."

She knew he had a point. How long could she stay under here?

She heard his footsteps right next to her table. She covered her mouth with her hand to drown out her breathing. It took everything she had not to be disgusted  by the heavy smell of blood on her hand.

She saw his feet from under the cloth and sat perfectly still. She nearly jumped when his fingers started drumming on the table top.

She shut her eyes. Could he still smell her? Was it over for her now?

Then, his feet suddenly disappeared and she heard his footsteps walking away. After a moment, she heard nothing.

She waited another few moments. Was he gone.

She peeked out from under the cloth and could not see him in the room.

She cautiously stepped out from under the table and started walking toward the exit.

Had she looked up, she would have seen Alucard hanging on the wall.

He jumped down and landed in front of her. She shriecked.

"That really was a clever thing to do. Masking that pretty scent of yours. There is one thing you could not mask, though," he said, stalking toward her.

"What is that?" she asked, backing away. Her feet were sticky on the bloody floor.

"Your heartbeat," he said as her back hit the wall. "You really are such a pretty kitty."

"I thought I was the mouse," she interjected.

"Oh, you are too smart to be a mouse. You are definitly a kitty. However, one way or another," he put his hands on either side of her head, locking her in place, "the dog always catches the cat."

He started leaning down, bearing his fangs, ready to peirce her neck.

'Now,' she thought.

She quickly took the knife out from behind her back and thrust it into his chest. He let out a surprised gasp and took a few steps back, clutching at the knife.

"This kitty has not had her claws removed yet," she said as she ran past him. Normally, this kind of behavior would have repulsed her, but he was a vampire. Her conscious was clean.

He watched her run out the room and chuckled to himself.

"That is my girl," he said aloud.

He pulled the knife out of his chest and felt it heal. He dropped the knife and ran from the room, starting the next chase.

Caralina ran down the hall at her top speed. She was so close. Just a few more corners.

Then, she passed a mirror in the hall. She stopped and was horrified at what she saw.

Her hair was matted and in knots. Her skin was covered in blood and very sticky from it. Her dress had so many tares in it. Her silver cross and ring poked out from their hiding place in her dress. Even they had blood on them.

How she looked meant nothing to her, but she had never wanted to see herself like this.

She pulled on the black band and held the cross in her hand. It reflected the light to perfection.

Then, she realized something. Enemies like to show off their kill, especially if it was the king.

Why had they not brought back Dracula's body?

They claimed they had burned it, but she knew different. She had seen the mistruth behind their words.

They had not brought back a body because the had not one to bring.

She picked up a silver tray that had long since been abandonded.

She rubbed her fingers on her cheek to get some of the still wet blood off.

Then, she wrote out 'a-l-u-c-a-r-D' on the tray.

What she saw made her shake.

Reflected in the mirror was the name of the man she loved.

'D-r-a-c-u-l-a.'

She turned slowly towards the footsteps coming toward her.

Alucard had a strange look on his face. He was confused as to why she had stopped. Then, just before she let the tray drop to the floor, he saw his name reflected in the mirror, or his former name, he should say.

He looked back into her beautiful blue eyes and did not know what to make of it.

He expected her to be angry with him. For not returning after what happened and for putting her through all this.

She started walking up to him. Slow at first then picking up speed. She stopped right in front of him.

He expected her to slap him, hit him, or yell at him. Something along those lines.

Instead, she jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him all in one quick motion.

(Authors Note)

Huh? So what do ya think?

What will happen next? Will Caralina ever stop exceading Alucard's expectations?

Find out next chapter!

Until next time! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I want to thank all of my readers out there. I may not know who all of you are, but I appreciate you. This story would not have come this far if it weren't for all of you. Thank you for your votes, comments, and just plain out reading. Your all are the best!