Frida removed the coat Alucard made her wear, and began folding it when she heard the door close, shifting her focus to him once more. "Has Bernadotte left?" she asked with mild surprise while handing the coat to him.
"Yeah." he replied while returning to the chair he had occupied earlier.
"I see." she said with a small smile. "He does need a good rest before we can proceed our mission." Right when she said that, she let out a yawn, showing her lover that she was tired as well.
"And that includes you, my Queen." he said before getting up again to lead her to the bedroom while carrying a bag containing her clothes and weapons. After placing her bag on the vanity table, he left the room and closed the door behind, leaving her to change into more comfortable clothes. As much as he wanted stay in the room, or at least peep at what his lover looked like without a single piece of clothing, he knew better than that. It was hard to not fall for such lustful temptation, especially when she had worn that red dress for the whole day, but he believed that she would prefer to have some privacy to herself, and he was going to respect it as her lifelong partner.
"You may come in." came her voice through the door, giving him the signal to enter the bedroom where she was laying on the King size bed with her hair down and wearing a white nightgown. Although it was a simple nightgown that he got for her back in the 1930's, she still looked beautiful.
"I see that you're still wearing it." he pointed out while taking off his blazer, followed by his necktie to unfasten the top buttons so that he was more comfortable.
"Of course." responded Frida with a giggle when he laid beside her after taking off his shoes and glasses. "It is gift on our anniversary, one that I intend to wear for as long as I could."
"What about the leather book I had given as a welcome back gift?" he tested playfully while bringing her to lay on his chest.
"Every page is filled with memories of you and I, and it is kept in my shelf in a pristine condition." she replied after making herself comfortable.
"The red dress you'd first worn when we shared our first kiss under the full moon?"
"Kept in a temperature-controlled room with the rest of the dresses you had given to me, so that I can wear it for as much as I can."
"The amulet made purely from my blood?"
"Stored in my jewelry box that is in my drawer, so that I can wear it on a special occasion."
Alucard let out an amused chuckle. "I see that you have preserved my gifts properly." he commented.
His lover let out a soft sigh before laying her head on his non-beating heart and closed her eyes. "I would never take the things you've given me for granted." she slurred, as sleepiness started to kick in.
He chuckled once more when he felt her body relax, telling him that she had already drifted off to dreamland. He leaned down and pecked her head. "Sweet dreams, my Queen." he whispered lovingly before it was his turn to close his eyes, only to have another nightmare plaque his mind.
Dracula didn't how, but there he was, on the battlefield tainted by death, with a sword coated with blood of the people he had slain. Hundreds, thousands, millions; he didn't know how many have perished, but it was certainly enough to leave such a foul stench in the air. It was dark, as night fell without a star, and the crimson moon came to play, as if it was a mirror showing a reflection of the bloody land. It reminded him of when he was known as the notorious Vlad Țepeș, where his land was often painted with the blood of his prisoners whom he had impaled. This was what he often saw, in a dream or not. Him as a knight clad in an armour leading a war that resulted in countless of death and blood spill. It was not surprise when he received such dreams from God, the only One whom he had devoted his whole life.
But this dream was one that he never expected to have, for he was greeted by another sight, or rather, another person. There stood a fair maiden, dressed in a beautiful unstained white gown, wielding a pair of swords that no man had ever held with blades coated in blood too. Her amethyst eyes stayed on the corpses littering the ground, as her hair danced in the cold wind. Who was this beautiful lady? Why hadn't he seen this fair maiden before? No, he knew who was she! This fair maiden was Frida, the love of his life. As if she hear him, she tilted her head to look at him, and she smiled. Ah, there she was! His Love, his beautiful Queen. It had to be her, for he could feel the love and adoration for this beautiful woman. He found it ironic. His heart was stone cold, and yet, she was able to make him so human.
The fair maiden then began walking towards him with joy in her eyes, as if she was rejoicing now that they had won the battle. Dracula wanted to touch her, to wrap his arms around her and feel her soft lips on his, but he looked down and stared at his opened hands, letting his sword drop the the ground, and saw they were covered with blood. With his lover within arms' reach, there was no way he could touch her, for he was afraid that his filthy hands would taint her. But the urge to touch her, to feel her in my arms just for one moment, was strong. So strong that by the time he came to his sense, his Queen was already in his arms, cradling his face with her soft hands. With one arm wrapped around her waist and the other caressing her cheek, he began to lean forward to kiss her lips. The fair maiden giggled at his impatience and mirrored his actions.
The two lovers' lips were merely inches away from each other when he heard her take a sharp intake of breath, and her eyes had snapped open widely. His confusion quickly vanished when he saw who was the culprit - a dagger stabbed through her abdomen. Her once cleaned and untouched white gown was now painted with her own crimson blood, and she was losing blood very quickly. Dracula could only watch with horror, still in shock, and soon returned to reality when his lover's knees buckled. He immediately caught her before she fell, and knelt on the ground while being very careful not to hurt her even further, with one hand supporting the back of her neck and the other caressed her cheek.
"My King." she wheezed before blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. "I-I'm sorry."
"Speak no more, Frida." said Dracula in a brittle voice. He was in denial, but the more he tried to deceive himself, the more pain he felt in his cold heart. He had spent many years killing people in cold blood, and in the end, he was able to find his Queen, who was dying in his arms.
"I'm so sorry, my King." she whimpered.
"It is okay." he assured, but he knew that it wasn't. "You'll be all right."
"Cold." she said weakly as her fingers began to tremble from the lack of warmth as her blood continued to leave her body through the wound. "I-I'm cold... Please... hold me..."
Dracula didn't have to think twice, as he immediately obliged to her request while avoiding her wound. "You're okay." he said, but his heart ached even more as he continued, "I will take you to the healers, and you will be back to normal. Then, I shall ask for your hand in marriage, and we'll live together in my castle."
His lover gave him a weak smile. "That... sounds nice..." she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "To be by your side... for all eternity... But you must go on, my King."
"No!" protested the sniffling Dracula, who had tears rolling down his cheeks. "I cannot go on in this cold, accursed world without you."
Frida smiled sadly before raising her trembling hands to his cheek to brush away some tears. "You must... for I wish you find happiness... in this world. Seeing your joy will bring peace to me, because I will be there for you, no matter what."
Dracula could see the light in her eyes fade, and her wheeze ceased to nothing but silence, as he felt her frail body went limp in his arms. Her hand began to fall to her side when he caught it with his free hand, as he stared at her lifeless eyes with so much of pain eating his heart, waiting for her to smile at him like she did just moments ago. But she was quiet. Gone was she. With tears streaming down his face, he roared his grief to the crimson sky as loud as he could, like a lone wolf howling to the moon, for he was once more alone in this cold, damned world.
Alucard's eyes suddenly opened, and he sat up on the bed drenched in cold sweat. Bloody tears rolled down his cheeks as the nightmare played through his mind over and over again like a scratched record. It was a dream, yet, it was so real. Too real, in fact. Smelling her blood and feeling her lifeless body in his arms; he couldn't help but think it was an ominous sign that was going to happen to his beloved Queen.
But where was his Queen? Sleeping peacefully next to where he laid. Alucard took a moment to catch his breath, and once he had calmed down, he got out of bed to wash up, especially to get rid of the tears on his cheeks, and changed into his normal clothes. After tugging his glove, he went over to his lover's side and sat on the edge, watching her take calm breaths. An image of his lover's death flashed in his mind again, causing him to growl before closing his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm himself again before he accidentally scared his Queen when she woke up.
"My love, it's time to wake up." he cooed, earning a groan from her before her eyes fluttered open.
When she tilted her head to look at him, she smiled shyly. "Good evening, my King." she greeted groggily, still a bit tired after taking that long nap.
"Good evening to you, too, my Queen." he greeted back with a smirk. Frida sat up and noticed how dark the room was, realising that she had slept longer than she expected. Alucard got off the bed and held a hand towards her to help her get up. "Come, we have a mission to complete."
Once Alucard left her room to wake Seras up, Frida went to her bag and changed into an outfit that would prepare her for combat. Her dark grey dress had a wing collar and angel sleeves, and the bottom, with a slit at the front, reached her ankle, showing her heeled-boots. Her swords each were strapped to the side of her waist, giving her easy access to them when needed.
Exiting the room, she was greeted by a blinding light. When her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she saw a helicopter flying in front of the window with its spotlight shone into the window, where Seras stared with shock and confusion at the number of police cars parked outside of the hotel, as well as a huge crowd who were either policemen or news reporters. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, clearly overwhelmed by the whole situation.
"It seems that we are accused of being terrorists, all of a sudden." replied Frida, who immediately understood what was going on after watching news on television, where they often broadcasted how the authorities tackled terrorism.
Alucard looked out the window with a wide grin before chuckling with amusement, which elevated to a menacing laugh. "It's time for the war!"