Screenplay by Jess Frey, based on the Television series, "Dracula: The Series."

No copyright infringement intended, however, Arkady, William�Collins, Tara, and this version of Radu/Robert are copyrighted by me as of 1999.� See-->Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.

�

Teaser

(As the Credits Flash in the bottom left of the screen, we come out of black and slowly come to focus on a shimmering candle flame, behind which the vague outline of a blond man is seen loosening his tie. In focus, taking up the whole left side of the screen, the flame continues to burn, casting shadows and highlights on the out-of-focus man in the background. He passes in front of the screen a few times, moving left to right. Every once in a while, he is seen carrying something. After a few minutes, the man is changed, no longer in a business suit of the late 1990s, but an opera cape and tails of the 1880s. He snatches up a top hat, gloves, and a walking stick, pauses a moment reverently places an antique locket in his pants pockets, then gestures to the candle. The light goes out.)

VOICE OF PRIEST: I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, your majesty.

(Candles are lit, many in the foreground, and we see the same blond man kissing a bride, then leading her, smiling. Both are dressed in the wedding clothes of the 1400s. The blackout it dissipated by the light of the candles, and wedding celebrations continue. Out of focus, but not completely blurred, the bride and groom are seen dancing happily. Someone, in a drunken sprawl, accidentally douses the flame with wine, pause, then there is a high pitched scream in the black out, and candles are lit, carried by frantic maids as they rush downstairs and out to the rocky lip of a moat, where the bride we saw earlier is laying in a bloody heap, twisted among the rocks, dressed in the fashion of the great ladies of the 1400s. The groom, fully in focus for the first time, and also dressed in the same way, comes thundering down a circular stairway and bursting out of castle gates, sweat pouring down his face and fear plastered thereon. He lets out a wail, and drops to the corpse's side, sobbing in grief. The maids shake their heads slowly, sadly, and put out their lights. In the blackout, more voices become audible.)

VOICE OF KING: ( trying vainly to get a point across) I know you don't care for her, Vlad, but we have no choice. You are my eldest son, and the heir to the throne, and we cannot afford to go to war with these people. You will marry her, and have a son by her, or we will be forced into a confrontation we do not want, do you understand?

VOICE OF LUCARD: (angrily, with deep-rooted bitterness and venom) Oh, yes FATHER! I understand completely. I'm pawn to you, aren't I? Nothing more! All those years as a hostage to the Turks, and now this, again! Very well then, I shall marry her, I shall marry a third time, but I would have you know, father, I do it only to secure my position on the throne!

(A candle is lit on another wedding, same groom, different bride. It is evident from the first seconds that it is a loveless marriage, as he is stiff and formal, and she silently weeping. He sneers as they kiss, and are followed down the aisle by two young boys who are evidently the groom's sons, Merciea and Alexandru, respectively. Candles are blown out, there is a baby's wail in the darkness and are re-lit on a birth. The father- the groom- studies the bloody infant for a few seconds, sneers, nods and the nurse takes it away.)

LUCARD: ( half-heartedly, flippant) I bestow upon you the name of Petru Dracul, and pronounce you fit to be my son. (He turns briskly and marches out as the candles are blown out, then relit on Lucard and his wife, Anna, to whom Petru, now 3 or 4 clings.) I need some time to myself, I require privacy and solitude for a short while.

ANNA: But, Vlad... the kingdom--

LUCARD: --can do very well without me for a few weeks! Mircea is well old enough to take the throne for a few days. His Uncle Radu will help him if he requires it. (sweeps up packed saddle bags and slams heavy door in Anna's face. Black out)

(Sparks fill the screen, and catch on some piled kindling. Lucard is seen, rough faced, a little tussled and sore from days of riding and life in the wilderness, crouching by a camp fire. He takes a swig from a wineskin flask, then turns sharply to the right, his eyes searching the darkness for an unseen intruder. Yellow eyes flash in teh darkness cast by foliage to the left, and he stands and spins in that direction. There is the sound of a twig snapping, and Lucard looks straight up at the camera, horrified. He is knocked to the forest floor by a black form and his neck is pierced by sharp fangs. He screams as the fire is knocked out by their struggles. Black out.

Dawn's glow fills the screen, and the wide-eyed, slack-jawed bloody corpse of Lucard jerks and whines painfully as the light catches him, and crawls to his horse, who fidgets nervously as he sloppily mounts and spurs it in with the command "Home". Just before he covers his face with the blanket he has wrapped around him, we focus in on his eyes, which jerk around in fear, glowing a demonic yellow. Black out. In the darkness we hear:)

VOICE OF MAID: Sire! You've returned! You look injured, shall I call for a physician?

VOICE OF LUCARD: No! (Growls and hisses, then gasps at the pain of the changing) Just take me to Anna!

VOICE OF MAID: Sire?

VOICE OF LUCARD: To Anna! Take me to her... now!

VOICE OF MAID: (confused) Yes, sire...

(title of movie flashes, and music swells, then is overtaken by the sounds of another birth)

(Caption)*September 30, 1460. Nine months later*

(The birth is underway in another room, while Lucard skulks in the shadows of a candle-lit library in the next room. His eyes flash yellow as he scans the titles of some old tomes and then selects one from the shelf. He sets it down on a table beside an unlit candle and opens the pages, reading by moonlight. There is a startled shriek from the next room and someone shouts for "More cloths! And hot water, quickly!". Lucard lifts his head and sniffs the air... he mouths the question: blood. He turns to the door at the same moment a flustered, blood-spattered maid bursts in.)

MAID: Forgive me sire, but... but, the Queen...! She's....she said that... that you should-- (Lucard waves her into silence, while keeping to the shadows where his face - and yellow eyes- cannot be seen by her)

LUCARD: Anna is dying, no?

MAID: (eyes downcast) Yes, your majesty.

LUCARD: (turns away to stare out the window into the starry sky, one arm resting against the thick frame. He sighs, looks to the floor, then to the maid. His face his serine.) Name it Arkady.

MAID: Sire?

LUCARD: The child, if he lives, shall be called Arkady.

MAID: Yes, sire. (exits)

(there is a pained shriek off camera, and Lucard lowers his head respectfully. He did not love Anna, but she did bare his sons, and he respects that. There is a knock on the door, and Lucard jerks up his head, the yellow draining from his eyes. Another knock, and then the door opens as more screams fill the air. The same maid enters, opens her mouth as if to say something, then pauses, startled. Lucard is gone. The camera seems to fall out of the window, following his jump, then watches as he wanders the banks of the moat under a clear star-lit sky. Some time later, when the candles are gutted and the birth is over, Lucard enters the quiet room. He looks around, his posture a little weary. He notices the blood-stained bed, and the body covered with a sheet thereon. His nose wrinkles at the scent of sour blood and death. A nurse, by a cradle, stands, curtsies, and departs at his wave, then pauses and turns to him.)

NURSE: Sire?

LUCARD: (weary) Yes?

NURSE: Your wife was brave... and your child was too. Arkady shares your silent strength (Lucard nods in thanks). Sire? Arkady is beautiful. You are lucky to have such a daughter. (Exits)

LUCARD: A... daughter...? (stunned, he approaches the cradle, and stares at his daughter, who gurgles innocently up into his face. Something hits his senses, and his eyes flush gold. Arkady smiles. Carefully, Lucard lifts her up and cradles her close.) A halfling. A vampire child...! (He smiles warmly, and begins to hum to and rock his child).

�

*One year later: September 30, 1461*

(A party is underway, trays of food going back and forth, musicians in the corner of the great hall, and the Dracul family and guests are gathered round the table. Lucard is at the head, with his brother, Radu to his left, and his eldest son, Mircea, aged 15-18 at his right. In his lap, Arkady, now a year or so old, claps happily as he dangles a bracelet it front of her. Radu laughs as she nearly tumbles off her father's lap, going after the tail of a dog under the heavy wooden table.)

RADU: Careful, little princess! You do not want to tumble and crack your royal head at your own birthday celebration! (plucks her up off of Lucard's lap as her father eyes him wryly. He sets his niece on his own lap and bounces her. At first she eyes her father, wanting to be with him, then begins to giggle.)

LUCARD: Ah, you be careful, little brother! (smiles and glances around the room, then gestures to the musicians.) You don't want to change the nature of the gathering so soon, ah Radu? (he nods as the nurse approaches and takes Arkady from Radu and passes her over to the nurse. Arkady looks a little shocked, then begins to wail and reach for her father. Lucard laughs, then stands and kisses her forehead.) I'll come to see you before you go to bed, little one. I promise. (she stops sobbing, and smiles at her father's touch. It is obvious that they share something special. Especially when his smiles grows wider, and his eyes flash yellow for a second and Arkady laughs happily, clapping over the nurses shoulder as she's carried off to bed.)

RADU: (approaching his brother to put a hand on his shoulder.) How do you do it, Vlad? My children never calm that easily. (Lucard smiles as the yellow drains from his eyes and he turns to his brother.)

LUCARD: Magic, perhaps?

�

�

(Lucard laughs as the scene fades and changes to follow the nurse, who is just finishing putting Arkady into the cradle. She fusses with the sheets a little, then steps back as the sound of the door snicks shut.)

�NURSE: Sire? You're up faster then I thought you were going to be. I just put Arkady down, sire, and I-- (Stops in mid-sentence as she turns to see whom she thought would be Lucard, but is stunned to find out is not. The intruder has a deep hood on, so his face is not visible as he slowly begins to chuckle evilly.) ? may I help you, sir? (she backs up slowly, afraid, but keeps herself between the cradle and the intruder) Sir...?

ARMEL: No... I don't think so. You're of no help to me.

(He pulls back his hood, revealing yellow eyes and sharp fangs, and she falls back in horror, opening her mouth to scream. The sound never makes it out though, as two other black-clad vampires pounce from the shadows and break her neck. Armel watches happily, the leer on his face one of enjoyment. He then walks right by the two vampires who are feeding off of the Nurse's corpse, and sneers down into the cradle. Arkady looks up into his face innocently, and he reaches down into the cradle... The scene cuts to the princess' birthday celebration, where Lucard is watching a young page on the other side of the room. The boy, who glances furtively at Lucard, then away, catches his eye and Lucard looks confused. He leans over to his brother.)

LUCARD: Radu? Have you ever seen that boy before? (points to the page, who has become enthralled with the orchestra)

RADU: No. Is he new?

LUCARD: I hired no new pages. And you did not, brother? (Radu shakes his head) Then who is he...? (Begins to approach the boy, who panics, pulling the hat that obscures his face lower and begins to look for an exit. Lucard, however, freezes in mid-step and glances sharply at the ceiling.) Arkady...? (He speeds out of the hall and up the stairs, faster then anyone call see or follow. He throws back the door to the nursery room, revealing the mutilated corpse of the Nurse. He then runs to the cradle, which is empty, save for a note. He scans the words quickly, then crumples it and hurls it into the fire with a roar of rage. He tosses the abandoned cradle into the wall it shatters to pieces, and Lucard roars again. There is the sound of someone clearing their throat and Lucard spins on his heel to glare at the offender, eyes a blazing orange. His eyes narrow suspiciously as he glares at the mysterious page, whose face is concealed in shadow.)

�

SCENE 4: Armel?s cottage

(scene opens on a small cottage, hidden in a dense forest. Some dialogue ensues from inside, where we switch to watch Armel and his two vampire cronies discuss their successful kidnap. Armel holds Arkady in his arms as she sobs and searches for her father. He does not hold her affectionately, rather more like one would hold a fretting cat. The other two watch with yellow eyes, a little repulsed, yet curious at the same time)

VAMPIRE 1: You really think he'll pay?

ARMEL: (rolling his eyes. He's been over this a billion times, and is annoyed with how stupid these two are) He'll pay. The Prince adores his daughter, he'll pay, no matter what.

VAMPIRE 2: (a little nervous. The boss doesn't like stupid questions, but he's got one.) Armel?

ARMEL: Yessss...? (his hands flex, and Arkady wails as her arm is scratched and begins to bleed. He smells it, and licks it off his fingers.)

VAMPIRE 2: (exchanges a glance with his partner) Uh... will he have enough to pay? People... people say that... uh... that the Royal family is... is not well off, lately. The.. euh... the king was wasteful before he left the throne- and his debts- to his son, Prince Vlad.

ARMEL: (setting Arkady aside none to gently, Armel smiles sweetly, then smacks Vampire 2 so fast and so hard that the crony hits the wall. Armel crouches by him and tangles one sharp-nailed hand into Vampire 2's hair and jerks him up.) I don't think you understand. Prince Dracula will give anything, do you hear me? Absolutely anything, for his snivelling brat! And we will get anything.

(He smiles to himself and straightens, then returns to the table to hold Arkady up over his head. She wails and looks frantically out the window, then stops and smiles as a shadow passes over the glass. Armel pauses and spins to glare out the window. Something is not right, and the three vampires can feel it. Armel tosses Arkady, who is now happily wiggling her hands at the window, to one of his cronies, and rushes to peer out of the offending window. Up in a nearby branch, the silhouette of the mysterious page boy becomes visible when the moon brakes through the clouds. He points at Armel, who glares, then stumbles backwards when he senses a mass of people around the cottage. He curses under his breath, and the door flies inward. The door frame is filled with a snarling Lucard, and behind him is the shadowed figure of the pageboy and a small army of mortals. Armel snatches up Arkady, and Lucard freezes.)

ARMEL: I don't know how you got here, Vlad. But I want the money, or you'll never see your daughter again. (He smiles. Lucard involuntarily glances at the page boy, who lowers his head and takes a step forward into the light. NOTE: WE NEVER CLEARLY SEE THE FACE OF THE PAGE BOY, EVER.) You! It was you... you led him here!

(The page takes a frightened step back, then steels himself. Armel raises his hand, which begins to glow. He mumbles in Latin, and Lucard, who is confused, begins to panic. We focus in on the eyes of the page, which widen in fear of what is happening. He lunges forward, but it is too late. Arkady has disappeared in a flash of light. Armel, who was focussed on Arkady, and not his surroundings, is knocked to the ground by the page and accidentally smashes a chair. Behind him, Lucard has staked other vampires with a part of the shattered chair, who is just now dissipating. Armel shoves the page back, who smacks into the wall and collapses into a lifeless heap. The camera speed slows as the battle quickly concludes. Lucard demands of Armel where his daughter is as he beats him bloody.)

ARMEL: (laughing wildly,)You'll never find her! She's gone!

LUCARD: Where?! (Lucard throws him to the ground, and Armel spreads his hands, laughing.)

PAGE: (stirs on the ground, bloody head hidden in the crook of his arm as he lies on his stomach. Weakly:) When.

LUCARD: What?

PAGE: When. Not where, when... (voice weakens and he groans, coughing up blood.)

ARMEL: (Sobering) No... I put her in a void, in suspension. Time travel is not possible!

PAGE: (with a smile in his voice) It is... when you cast the wrong spell.

ARMEL :( With indignation) Cast the-- never! A spell cast on a human child is the easiest kind!

LUCARD: (Lucard, up to this point, has been very confused, but here he begins to understand. He looks to the page, horrified) Then, Arkady, because she's half vampire...

ARMEL:������������������������������������������������������ PAGE:

Half vampire!����������������������������������������������� Is in the future...

(Lucard, enraged, finishes off a shocked Armel with a wooden stake as the camera slows to one half time. Armel dissolves, and Lucard moves to lift up the page's head. He looks off when it's obvious that the page is gone, and we hear a resolved and determined decision, in regular time.)

LUCARD: The future... I will find you Arkady. I have all of eternity. Nothing can stop me. No one. I am Prince Dracula... and I swear it. (Fade to black)

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*September 30, 1999*

(Focus once again on the candle flame from the teaser. Then focus on the blond man in the opera cape, sprawled in an armchair, jacket and bow tie missing, top few buttons undone, blood spatters on the collar and a few speckles on his lips. It is Prince Dracula, 500 years in the future, now Alexander Lucard, home from the hunt. He watches the flame listlessly, then glances around the main hall of his castle. He then reaches into his pants pocket and removes the locket. He snaps it open . Inside is a small oil paint portrait of both himself and one year old Arkady. A zombie appears to his left and motions to the door. Lucard nods quickly snaps the locket case closed and replaces the necklace in his pocket, and the zombie admits a man, who has a tussled appearance about him and a wad of disorganized papers under one arm and a photo which he is waving wildly in his other hand. He hands the black and white head shot of a young woman, 16-17, over to Lucard excitedly, then pushes up his glasses, and smiles ecstatically. This man is Lucard's personal assistant, William Collins.)

COLLINS: We found her, sir!

LUCARD: (Absolutely shell-shocked.) What...? (he stares at the glossy photo, which looks as if it was taken by a sniper) You mean...?

COLLINS: Yes, sir! We found her, in Canada. She's called Catelin Tess, and she lives in Ontario. But Sir... (fidgets uncomfortably. Has some bad news) She's already 17...

LUCARD: I don't care how old she is! She's been found! I've won, Armel...(smiles happily, so contented as he relaxes back into his chair that he's almost purring. Collins nods and leaves his boss alone with the papers and photo. Lucard strokes it almost lovingly as the face smiles up at him from the paper, her eyes focussed on some unseen object to the left and one hand in her short, moppish hair. He then once more pulls out and opens the locket, gazing at both pictures of his daughter and running a hand over the glossy.) My Arkady... Happy Birthday...

�

(The process of contacting the Tess family is shown through a series of quick senses without sound. Collins first, dialling a number on a phone in an office, and Mr. Tess picking it up. He looks shocked, and glances over at the girl from the picture, Catelin -Arkady- who is reading on a couch. He turns away from her and begins to speak some inaudible words, hand cupped over the mouthpiece of the phone. The scene fades and opens on Lucard packing a suitcase, placing his metal flask in his jacket pocket, then lovingly fingering the photo of Catelin, which by now has been creased and folded many times. He re-folds it, then places it back into his shirt pocket, then picks up the suitcase and hands it to a waiting zombie. Scene cuts to Arkady sitting at her kitchen table, her face filled with uncertainty. Beside her sits her adoptive parents, her adoptive mother crying a little and buried in her adoptive father's arms. He mouths the words,[perhaps with a little sound], "Hon, we feel it's time you knew. We weren't going to tell you until your 18th birthday, but really have to tell you now that the plans have changed. Catelin... you're adopted." Arkady is stunned and her mother begins to weep. Arkady looks to her to contradict her father, but her mother nods. Arkady begins to breathe deeply, and she shakes her head, absolutely and completely blown away. She gathers herself together, gets up, grabs a glass of juice of some sort, takes a drink, pauses for a few moments, thinking. She wipes away a single tear, then sits back down, ready to listen to all her father has to say. The scene cuts to a jet flying through a starry sky, the 'Lucard Industries' logo clearly marked on the tail. Cuts back to the Tess house, where Arkady is sitting with her parents at the kitchen table still, studying photos and adoption papers, reviewing her background, and avidly discussing the telephone calls from Collins.

There is a knock at the door, and Mr. Tess jumps up to get it. He opens the door, and the camera looks over his shoulder at the visitor, who looks up and smiles. Lucard quickly snaps the locket shut as the door swings open and drops it beneath his shirt.)

MR. TESS: Ah, we were just talking about you, Mr. Lucard. Won't you please come in?

LUCARD: I'd love to. (Catelin gets up and goes to the door as well, and stares at Lucard, unsure of how to react. He steps into the front hall, overcome with emotion. He moves to embrace her, then stops himself. He fingers the locket under his shirt. He proffers his hand instead, and Arkady takes it.) I always knew I'd find you again, daughter. I... I have missed you, Arkady. (Arkady looks to her adoptive father, then smiles, and hugs Lucard herself. He is startled, and unsure of how to react. His hands dangle loosely at his side whilst his face displays shock, then the shock and uncertainty melts away, and he wraps his arms around her and rests cheek against her bleach-blonde (white?) hair. No one else can see it, but one glittering blood tear falls into the tresses just before the scene fades out.)

�

(Quick flash of a highschool?s exterior, just to let us know where we are, a bell goes off, and then we flash to into the cafeteria of the local high school. Arkady has just set down her cafeteria tray on a table of her friends. She is well-dressed and well liked, but is neither the most popular, nor the least. She's somewhere in the upper-middle of the social pyramid. There is the usual teenage noise all around her table, as she sits. Unlike her friends, though, Arkady is in another world right now, feeling a little out of place. Her friend, Tara, is seated right beside her. Arkady has the locket now, and she pulls it out from under her shirt and opens it, lost in the picture.)

TARA: Hey, Cate. You'll never guess what Jo did in Chem today. (No reaction from Arkady) Cate? Hey, Catelin, earth to Catelin! (Arkady finally snaps out of it and stares at Tara blankly, snapping the locket shut.) Whoa. I've never seen you so far gone before. Where were ya?

ARKADY: (With a confused smile in her voice) In Luxembourg. (She caresses the cover of the locket.)

TARA: Wha...?

ARKADY: (turns to Tara, this time with a genuine smile, albeit a small one) It's where I'm from, you know.(Tara looks at her friend, waiting for the punch line) I'm serious. Didn't you know that I'm adopted? (Tara's jaw hits the floor, and a 'you can't be serious!' look crosses her face. Arkady stares off into space again, speaking half to Tara, half to herself.) No, of course you didn't. I just found out myself last night. (She returns to earth and notices Tara's expression, she chuckles a little, then offers the locket to Tara, who opens it, jumps, then studies it closely.) Pretty weird, eh Tara? (Tara hands it back, shaking her head, not believing it, and ?Kady puts it back around her neck.) Bet you can't guess what my real name is. Go on, guess. Ten dollars says you can't even get close.

TARA: Your real name? (Arkady nods, and Tara shrugs. Why not?) Luxembourg, you said? (She nods again) Uh... what do they speak there?

ARKADY: What does that matter?

TARA: It'll help me guess what kind of name to use. (sticks out her tounge playfully, a gesture that Arkady returns)

ARKADY: You really weren't paying attention in Geography, were you?

TARA: Do I ever?

ARKADY: Stupid question. French, German, and Luxembourgish.

TARA: Luxembourgish? What's Luxembourgish?

ARKADY: French and German, mixed.

TARA: Ah... well then, how about Gretle Picard?

ARKADY: (making a face) Euhck. Thank God, no.

TARA: Madeline Von Strudle?

ARKADY: Tara...

TARA: I got it! Ursula de Lioncourt!

ARKADY: Tara! (Tara laughs and gives a 'what'd I say?' look. Arkady rolls her eyes and sighs, and Tara shrugs.) Get a load of this: ( she straightens with mock haughtiness, over enunciating each consonant and rolling her 'r's) Arkady Elizabeta Lucard. (Tara looks a little sceptical) I'm one hundred percent serious!

TARA: Arkady? What kind of name is Arkady?

ARKADY: (smiling) From what Alexander said, a boy's one.

TARA: Wha...?

ARKADY: I know. Apparently there was a mistake, and I got a guy's name. Weird, huh?

TARA: I guess... who's Alexander?

ARKADY: (looks down at her untouched tray, a bit uncomfortable, then back up at her friend, who is waiting patiently. She smiles gently and Arkady returns a lopsided one.) He's my biological father. It just feels too weird to have two Dads, so he said it's okay if I just call him Alexander.

TARA: So you've met him?

ARKADY: Yeah, last night. (She shakes her head) You wouldn't believe this guy. Charming, handsome, rich. If he weren't my father, he'd be the kind of guy I'd go for. (Tara makes a disgusted face) Oh, don't look at me like that. He's my father for God's sake. Don't be gross.

TARA: So... uh... (looks a bit uncomfortable with the question she's about to ask) you, ah, you don't have to answer this if you don't wanna, but... if your Dad's alive, then why were you adopted?

ARKADY: (lowering her eyes, then looking back up) A... apparently I was... uh... (Starts to loose it, controls herself, then rushes the rest of the line) kidnapped and sold to a shady adoption agency.

TARA: Holy shit.

ARKADY: I know. (Shrugs, a little confused) Mom and Dad never knew. They thought it was all legal.

TARA: (Pauses, digesting this, then gets an idea) Does that mean the paperwork's all fake?

ARKADY: Alexander's assistant, Mr. Collins, he?s looking into it. But it probably is.

TARA: Whoa.

ARKADY: My words exactly. (The bell rings and students begin to leave the cafeteria. The harsh sound jerks Arkady back to reality, and she glares at her watch as if it's the machine's fault. She snatches up her backpack and runs out into the hallway. Tara catches up with her, breathlessly.)

TARA: Well, whatcha gonna do?

ARKADY: Tonight? (Smiles slyly) Tonight, Alexander's takin' me to ?The Mill? for dinner.

TARA:(stops short) What?! But that's, like, the most expensive restaurant in the whole province!

(scene fades as Tara catches up with Arkady once more, and demands -silently- some sort of explanation.)

�

�

SCENE 8: The Mill Restaurant

(Focus is once more on a candle, left side of the screen. Behind it, out of focus, Lucard and Arkady can be seen at a table with dishes in front of them. His is barely touched, but hers is empty. Lucard is dressed in his usual manner, and his daughter is dressed in a style almost identical to his, minus the tie and exchanging the dress shirt for a clingy navy thing. ?Kady is wearing the locket prominently on her chest. They are laughing over something, and Arkady holds out her hands as if to say 'this big!' The camera slowly comes to focus, and their words can be heard over the restaurant music.)

LUCARD: No.

ARKADY: Yes!

LUCARD: What did you say?

ARKADY: What else? ?No?.

LUCARD: Ah... you must have broken his heart.

ARKADY: Oh, sure, I?m a regular Brittany Spears.

LUCARD: Who?

ARKADY: (Gives him a look, like ?where have you been?? then dismisses it.) Doesn?t matter. But, yeah... I said no, of course. I wouldn?t be caught dead going out with a goober like him.

LUCARD: (supremely confused) A... goober?

ARKADY: A looser. (Clarifying) Someone who is so annoying and tasteless and graceless and... and... you know, a goober!

LUCARD: (secret little smile) Ah... a Helsing.

ARKADY: A what?

LUCARD: A Helsing. It?s essentially the same thing as a goober, but... more tedious and redundant. (Arkady shrugs, ?okay, whatever?, and Lucard becomes serious) Arkady. There is something that I have been wishing to ask you. I do not need an answer now, but I would be honoured it you?d consider it. (Pause) I know Christmas holidays are coming up for you, and I was hoping you?d be willing to spend them in Luxembourg with me.

ARKADY: (looking a little stunned and cornered) I?I?d have to think about it...

LUCARD: I completely understand. You needn?t give me an answer now, but I do need it before December.

ARKADY: S-sure, no problem.

LUCARD: (perceiving that he?s made the moment awkward.) I haven?t made you uncomfortable, have I?

ARKADY: (hesitating for a few seconds, then softening.) No. (sort of surprised at her own answer) Actually, for some wako reason... I feel real safe around you. Like you could protect me from anything... (Lucard looks away, and a quick flash of a picture of Arkady disappearing at the hands of Armel appears, then fades. Arkady thinks his sorrow is her fault.) I?m sorry. I guess that sounded kinda corny.

LUCARD: (looking back and covering Arkady?s hand on the table) No. It sounded just right. You know, my brother Robert always wondered what it was between the two of us. I always described it as magic.

ARKADY: Magic...? (Smiles softly and looks into her father?s eyes. For a split second, a flash of gold lances over them, but it doesn?t seem to startle Arkady) Magic. I think you?re right. Sure feels like magic to me...

�

SCENE 9: The School Yard

(School the next day. Tara runs up to Arkady in the yard before the first class)

TARA: Soooooo.....?

ARKADY: Soooooo what?

TARA: (annoyed, knows Arkady is playing with her and Tara rolls her eyes) So what happened last night?

ARKADY: We had dinner. (Tara clucks her tongue) And talked. What did you expect, that he?d reveal some great secret about a horrible family history? (Laughs with a mock evil-ness [like Lucard almost. Poor actress has to try to imitate it!], then abruptly stops.) Get real.

TARA: So what did you guys talk about?

ARKADY: Well... my mother?s name was Anna. She... she died in childbirth... My birth.

TARA: Ouch.

ARKADY: (slowly)� It?s not so bad. Alexander?s cool about it. (more brisk)I have an Uncle named Robert. He?s not married. I?m an only child... Uh... Alexander?s the President of a corporation called Lucard Industries.

LUCARD: (interupting) Isn?t that the one�that bought out Microsoft last year?

ARKADY: Yeah, I think. That?s... that?s about it. Oh! And he want me to spend Christmas with him in Luxembourg.

TARA: (Joking) No way. (realizing Arkady is serious) Cate, you can?t be serious. You just met him.

ARKADY: I am... and I think I will.

TARA: Shit, Cate!

ARKADY: I don?t expect you to understand, Tara. It?s...(Off in her own world as she floats towards the door as the bell rings.) it?s simply magic. (She turns back dreamily)Oh, by the way. It?s Arkady, Tara. ?Kady.

TARA :(Frozen in place, absolutely not believing what she?s just heard.) Catelin...!

�

SCENE 10: Various

�

SCENE 11: Arkady?s room

(?Kady is packing. There is snow piled up outside the window on the sill, and there are glowing Christmas lights buried in the snow. Tara is sitting at Arkady?s desk, trying to make heads or tails of everything that?s happened over the last few months.)

TARA: (miffed) So just like that. You?re leaving

ARKADY: They way you say it makes it sound as if I?m going for ever.

TARA: (hurt) And you?re not?

ARKADY: (sobering up) Tara. I?m not leaving to stay. I?m just spending Christmas there. I... have family there I want to meet. A history I want to connect with. (Sits on the edge of her bed, allowing the shirt she was folding to fall) I?m... not abandoning you.

TARA: No. I know you?re not. But... are you abandoning you?

ARKADY: (taking offence a little) What?s that supposed to mean?

TARA: Whatever happened to Catelin Tess?

ARKADY: She?s right here. (Gestures widely, including her room and herself ) She always has been. A name can?t change who I am. My past is just the same.

TARA: Yeah, but it?s your future I?m worried about.

ARKADY: (touched by Tara?s genuine emotion, she stands and approaches her. Tara looks out the window.) This really scares you, doesn?t it?

TARA: (shrugs and turns back to Arkady) It?s Alexander. There?s something weird about him, Cate.� I don't like it.

ARKADY: (laughs) You know, you?re the only person left who calls me that.

TARA: I?m serious.

ARKADY: Yeah... (sighs) I know you are. Listen, he?s a good guy. (trying to prove a point) He loves me. There's a magic between the two fo us... (laughs a bit uncomfortably) I guess that?s not very reassuring, huh?

TARA: Just be careful, Cate. I feel all weird about this.

ARKADY:(gives Tara a hug) Me too. (Takes a small, hand-sized, festive package out of her closet and hands it to Tara, who is about to open it when there?s a knock at the door. It?s Collins, come for ?Kady?s bag. She hands it over, and he takes it downstairs. Both girls look at the decoratively wrapped gift)� You don?t have to open it now. Merry Christmas.

(Both girls look at one another, then hug one last time before heading downstairs. At the door, the mood lightens. Arkady hugs both her parents, Lucard shakes hands and gives kisses then the two of them snuggle close together against the bitter winter wind that is blowing about snow and climb into a Mercedes. Arkady waves out the heavily tinted window as is rolls up and the camera focuses on the refection of Tara on the front steps of the house. She suddenly rips back the wrapping paper and yanks open the box. She nearly brakes down as she stares at the gift within. We cannot see it.)

TARA:(Under her breath, her voice breaking with tears) Oh, shit.

MRS. TESS: Tara! Telephone! It?s your mother.

TARA: (turns away from the night as the car revs up it?s engine, and takes the phone.) Yeah, Mom? Yeah, I?ll be home in a couple of minutes. (Looks down into the box and pulls out a delicate silver chain with a crucifix dangling from it.� Whispers:)� Oh, shit Cate. I wish you had kept this. You?ll need it more than me.

(The car rolls away from the curb. Inside, Lucard is looking straight out his window, away from Arkady, and his eyes flush golden.)

LUCARD: Just out of curiosity, ?Kady, what is your friend?s family name? You never did tell me.

ARKADY: Huh? (Jolted out of her thoughts) Oh, Tara? It?s Harker. Tara Harker. (Lucard?s smile grows triumphant and he laughs a little as he takes a swig of red stuff from his flask.) Why do you ask?

LUCARD: Oh... no reason.

�

SCENE 12: Helsing Home, Living room

(The Helsing residence. Of course, it?s been a few years since we?ve last looked in on them, so they?ve all gotten older, but not much else has changed. Chris, like always, is in front of the tube. Sophie is painting -or at least attempting to with all the racket coming from the TV- Max is busy perusing some large, dusty book, and Gustav is reading the newspaper. It is this last person that the camera focuses on as Gustav reads something he obviously finds interesting.)

GUSTAV: Well, well. Would you look at this. (Hands the paper to Max) Looks like our friend Lucard is finally heading back to town.

CHRIS: (Twisting in his seat) Really? When?

GUSTAV: This afternoon. His private jet is set to land at the airport at 10.

SOPHIE: 10? That?s only half an hour from now. (Looks around and brings up the obvious question) Can we get there in time?

CHRIS: Get there? Why would we want to get there?

MAX: To find out why he left in the first place! He?s been gone for four months and all we ever found out was that it was for ?personal? (does the air quotations) reasons. That could me anything from getting a fang re-capped to buying an anti-vampire-hunter weapon.

GUSTAV: You?re right Max. We should go.

CHRIS: (Whining) All of us?!

MAX: Maybe Chris ?this one time- has a point. We don?t all need to go. It?ll be the middle of an airport and it?s day. Lucard won?t try anything. So Sophie can drive, and I?ll go with her.

GUSTAV: Now Max?

MAX: I know, I know. I?ll be careful.

(Max snatches up a vampire-hunting kit, and adds to the bag a small tape recorder, then rushes out the door to join Sophie, who?s already got the little red-rustbucket car started. Chris shrugs and returns to watching the soccer game as Gustav watches them leave from the open door, which he then slowly closes when they?re out of sight)

�

SCENE 13: Luxembourg Airport

(The Airport. It?s a hive of activity, but two people are standing still. Sophie and Max stare up intently at a large computer display marked ?Arrivals?. The time reads 9: 53. The two exchange a glance and run to the terminal entrance through which Lucard is supposed to arrive. There is a hub-bub of media and journalists being controlled by what are obviously zombies. Max manages to get close to the doorframe and plant the tape-recorder before he is shooed away by security. When he returns to Sophie, he nods and they both wait. Lucard does not disappoint. As per usual when it comes to cameras, he barges through the crowd, a flustered Arkady in tow. Sophie and Max exchange a worried glance in the foreground, whilst in the background Lucard pauses for a moment while the zombies part the crowd. He says something unintelligible to Arkady, who laughs and replies. Lucard smiles down at her, then suddenly snaps his head up. Sophie and Max try to blend into the crowd, but it?s too late. He?s spotted them, and his expression is no less than vicious as he glares at them with absolute hatred and clasps Arkady?s arm posseively. Arkady asks Lucard a question, and his focus returns to her, his expression softening. She casts a curiously puzzled glance in their direction, while Lucard leers at them triumphantly. They then take off in the direction of the nearest door at the arrival of William Collins, brining most of the media with them. When the crowd has dissipated enough, Max pounces on his recorder, rewinds it, and listens to the dialogue thereon.)

VOICE OF LUCARD: Well, what do you think of Luxembourg?

VOICE OF ARKADY: It?s very... busy. (Laughter) Alexander? What?s wrong? Who are they?

VOICE OF LUCARD: No one, daughter. Old friends...

VOICE OF COLLINS: M.. Lucard? Mlle. Arkady? If you?ll follow me...

(Sounds of crowds and walking, then Max?s own voice. "I got it Soph!")

MAX: (flicks the off switch) Did you hear that? She?s his... kid! Do... do you think he bit her...?

SOPHIE: No.. No, I don?t think so. Her eyes were too clear... (tries to remember something, but is unsuccessful.) That name...

MAX: What about it?

SOPHIE: I?m sure I?ve heard it before... ?Arkady?...

�

SCENE 14: Helsing house, Living room

(Cut to Helsing house, where Sophie slams her finger down on a large dusty scroll that bares the name "Dracul Family Tree")

SOPHIE: There!

MAX: There?

SOPHIE: There! See? Arkady was the name of Dracula?s Fourth child. His only daughter.

MAX: (grabs the paper from under Sophie?s fist) Born September 30, 1460 of Anna Dracul, third wife of Prince Vlad Dracula.

CHRIS: (leaping up from the couch) No way! Dracula was married three times?!

MAX: (shooting a look at his brother) It says here she died a year later, on her first birthday. But is doesn?t say how. (Looks up at the other three) You... you don?t think she was vamperized, do you?

GUSTAV: (shakes his head) No, or she would have stayed one year old physically.

SOPHIE: What if he found someone who looked like her, vamperized her and hypnotised her into thinking she?s Arkady? You know. Maybe he got lonely. (The other three shoot her a quizzical look) Hey! I said ?maybe?!

GUSTAV: No... even that sounds too bizarre for Dracula. (Pauses) What if we were to assume that Arkady really is his flesh and blood kin? Well, then, how is it possible that she?s here now? (There is a general pause as everyone thinks)

CHRIS: Maybe she was vamperized way back then, and something happened and he just found her now. That might be why he was away for so long...

SOPHIE: I don?t know... she didn?t look like a vampire. The sunlight didn?t even make her scratch. But I think you?re right about the reunion part. She called him ?Alexander?, not ?father?.

MAX: (on the same track) Yeah! If she had known him for that long, she would call him ?Dad?, or something, right?

GUSTAV: (contemplative) What if she never knew him, until now? What if something happened that separated them until now?

CHRIS: Helloooo? Aren?t we forgetting something here? She?s human. He?s not. Doesn?t that mean she should be dead by now?

GUSTAV: Not necessarily. (He turns to the corner bookshelf and pulls out a particularly old book off the shelf and begins to flip through the pages)

CHRIS: What?!

GUSTAV: You see? It says here that if a child is conceived during the time of the changing of the vampire, there stands a good chance that the child itself will be born with the taint of at least a little of the vampire blood within them.

CHRIS: Whoa... hold up. Are you saying that Arkady might be half vampire?!

MAX:(studying the Family Tree) No. He?s certain of it. Look. Arkady was born in September of 1460. We all know that Dracula had become a vampire at least six months before that. What if he was vamperized exactly nine months before?

SOPHIE: Then Arkady would be half vampire... and maybe, she might be Immortal too.

CHRIS:(ever the realist) But if she?s immortal, why not just an immortal baby?

GUSTAV:(his nose in the book) It says here that halflings do grow up, like normal children, but it doesn?t say anything about the rate of growth. What if it?s slower?

MAX: Then she could still be alive today!

SOPHIE: So why say she died at the age of one?

MAX: Something must have happened to her. To separate them... and he just found her four months ago. (He looks up at the horrified faces of his family and swallows hard)

�

SCENE 15: Main Room, Lucard?s Castle

(Scene fades and comes up on Arkady in the main hall, straightening her shirt. She?s wearing the locket. Lucard is by her side, dressed with his usual perfection. They are waiting for someone, and she is nervous. He squeezes her hand, reassuringly, and she smiles as the door opens and a man in fresh jeans and a sweater and clean leather jacket enters and approaches Lucard with affection, giving the customary greeting kisses of Europe. He does the same to Arkady and her eyes bug out, stunned.)

RADU: (laughing) Vlad! She has not been in Europe long, no?

LUCARD: No. (Laughs and gestures to Radu) ?Kady, this is my brother, your Uncle Robert.

ARKADY: Hello. (Extends a hand and Radu stares then takes it, sniggering) Older or younger?

RADU: (taken aback) Pardon?

ARKADY: Are you older than Alexander, or younger?

RADU: Ah! Younger! (He smiles and winks as if he revealing some huge secret) Always younger. (turns to Lucard) Isn?t that right, brother?

LUCARD: Indeed it is. Arkady?

ARKADY: Yes?

LUCARD: Could you do me a favour? I realize I left the slivovitz in the library, would you go retrieve it?

ARKADY: Sure. If I can remember where the library is... (she smiles and exists the room, looks around the halls, confused, remembers where the library is, picks up the flask of plum brandy and returns to the main hall door. She is about to push it open when she hears Radu say:)

VOICE OF RADU:�- -and she does not know yet? When do you plan on telling her?

VOICE OF LUCARD: Eventually. I have her here now, she?ll never return to Canada... ever. I have all the time I want, and for now, such a thing is not needed to be known. It has stayed a secret for so long, what is a little while longer?

VOICE OF RADU: It is your choice, Vlad. I?ll not contradict you... but what if she meets any of those pesky Helsings? Might they not tell her the whole truth?

VOICE OF LUCARD: She won?t. She?ll be watched every time she leaves the castle starting tomorrow morning. Nothing unpleasant will happen, I assure you.

(As the preceding dialogue is heard, many emotions dance across Arkady?s face. Confusion, fear, puzzlement, disgust, and finally vague understanding and a decision made. She then clears her throat and opens the door, handing over the slivovitz)

ARKADY: (hand on head) I?m...eh..not feeling so hot. Jet lag, I think. If... if you?ll excuse me, I think I?ll go lie down. (Lucard nods sympathetically as she hugs him good-night, then turns and embraces Radu as well.) It was nice meeting you, will you be here in the morning?

RADU: (pleased) Yes. I?m staying for Christmas.

ARKADY: Great! (Turns to go) Good-night. (Exists. Radu and Lucard exchange a smile and make themselves comfortable by the fire)

�

SCENE 16: Arkady?s room, Lucard?s Castle

(The camera focuses on the flames of the fire in the main hall, blurs, and re-focuses once more on a single flame on the left side of the screen. The focus shifts to Arkady, who is pulling on winter outer-clothes, checks a phone book, tears out a page and shoves it into her pocket, then blows out the candle.)

SCENE 17: Street outside of Helsing?s Home

(Black-out comes up on the soft glow of a street lamp, then swings to Arkady, who is walking down a lamp-lit street during a light snow-fall, pausing every now and again to consult the page she tore from the phone book and a map. She finally stops in front of a house, checks it?s number, checks the page, then approaches. She knocks on the door and a shout comes from within. The Locket is clearly visible against her scarf)

GUSTAV: Coming! I?m coming! (He opens the door cautiously as he wipes his hands on a dishtowel in his hand) Yes? Can I help you?

ARKADY: (glances back to the street, suddenly realizing that this wasn?t exactly the brightest idea, then changes her mind. She wants to know.) Are you G. Helsing?

GUSTAV: (opens the door a little wider) Yes. My name is Gustav. Who are you?

ARKADY: I... I think you can help me with something. I heard that you may know something... important about me, that I don?t. And I really want to know. My name is Ca- ... Arkady.

(Gustav looks stunned, then snaps out of it and beckons her to enter. She does and he glances fretfully at the Cross of the Magyars. It sparks a little, but nothing happens. Max and Chris come downstairs to see who the visitor is, and Max freezes in Mid step. Arkady recognizes him immediately)

ARKADY: Hey... didn?t I see you at the airport?

(Camera swings to the clock in Gustav?s hall- 7: 15...)

�

SCENE 18: Lucard?s Castle, Main room/Arkady?s room.

(Fades and opens on Lucard?s clock - 9:00. Lucard and Radu are seated by a merrily crackling fire. The clock chimes and startles the men, who were in animated conversation)

LUCARD: Dear me. I?ve quite forgotten the time. If you?ll excuse me, Brother. I ought to go check up on Arkady.

RADU: By all means.

(Lucard exits the room and walks through a hallway to another door. He knocks, then admits himself when there is no answer. He is startled to find Arkady, seated on the bed, still half dressed in her outer-wear and covered with a light dusting of snow. She looks up at him from under her wet hair, angry betrayal and hurt on her face as the silent tears roll down her face, and two pieces of paper clenched in her hand. One, an old scroll labeld "Dracul Family Tree", and the other a freshly-written one titled "Half Vampires")

ARKADY: (Thrusting the papers at a stunned Lucard) Tell me this isn?t true!!

�

SCENE 19: Main Room, Lucard?s castle

(Scene cuts to Arkady, seated in the chair before the fire in the Great Hall, her eyes glassy from unshed tears as she listlessly watches the dancing flames and listens to the conclusion of her father?s tale. She distractedly fingers the locket. Lucard is seated opposite, Radu leaning on the back of it.)

LUCARD:... but I was too late. The mysterious boy didn?t lead me there fast enough. It was just so far away... a good two hours ride due south of the castle. I?m so very sorry Arkady.

RADU: I would have helped, but I wasn?t Undead yet. (The men exchange a concerned glance when Arkady makes no response.)

LUCARD: Arkady...?

ARKADY: (snapping out of it) So the stories are true, then. You?re Count Dracula... and I?m Dracula?s Daughter. ( she chuckles emptily) Wasn?t that a movie? (Lucard places a hand on her shoulder and she instantly sobers up, her lips curling in disgust as she brushes his hand away with a shrug) I don?t believe you. I can?t. (She stands and slowly makes her way to the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder with blank eyes just before she leaves) I can?t be evil (and exits).

�

SCENE 20: Library, Lucard?s Castle

(Arkady is seated in the Library, her knees tucked up under her chin and her arms wrapped around her calves, the same lost expression in her eyes. She stares lifelessly at the walls of books, then suddenly snaps out of it when a title catches her eye. She springs to her feet and dashes over to yank the book from it?s place, sending a cloud of dust flying. Quickly, she scans the pages, then lets forth a small cry of triumph. She scans the lines, then mumbles something in haulting and flat Latin. There is an impressive flash of light, wind, glitter and smoke, and when it all clears, she is gone. The book has fallen from her hands to the floor, still open on the same page. Lucard and Radu rush in, alarmed by the noise, and Lucard lets out a strangled "No!" when he sees the book. He scoops it up, then wails in despair, handing the book over to Radu to read as he collapses into the chair. For the first time, the camera picks up the title on the top of the page- "Living in History -One day")

�

SCENE 21: Outside of a servant?s entrance, Castle Dracula

(Arkady, startled, falls forward into a puddle of mud just outside of what is obviously a castle wall. She disgustedly picks herself up, brushes at her dirty jeans, and looks around)

ARKADY: Holy Shit. Toto, I don?t think we?re in the Twentieth Century any more... (She notices that her locket has fallen off into the mud. She reverently picks it up, wipes it clean, and places it in her pocket.)

(Just then, the laughter and shouts of a group of boys becomes audible, and Arkady turns to watch them enter what is obviously a servant?s entrance. She discreetly follows them in and hides in the shadows cast by the candles until they depart. She then emerges from her hiding spot. All around her there are piles of discarded clothing, and empty pegs where crisp uniforms once hung. All of the pegs are empty... all save one. Grinning, Arkady approaches this last uniform as the scene slows and fades out.)

�

SCENE 22: Great Hall/ Castle Dracula Nursery

(Arkady, now dressed as the young men before her were, as some sort of valet or page [ the locket is now in her hat], sneaks into the Great Hall, where a party is underway, and begins to look around. Then her heart sinks and she becomes very frightened. Her father! She spies Alexander! Quickly, she pulls the brim of her plummed hat lower and turns her back, praying that he hasn?t seen her. She pretends to be enthralled with the music from the orchestra, keeping an eye on Lucard. She begins to panic when it seems that he has spotted her, for he begins to head in her direction. Suddenly, though, he halts in mid-stride and stares up at the ceiling. He cries out "Arkady!" and blots for the door. Arkady freezes for a moment, then lets loose a sigh of relief when she realizes it was not her but her younger self he meant. With a clear expression of open curiosity, she follows him up the stairs, then pauses, horrified, at the open door of the nursery. Within, a ghastly tableau is laid before her. The nurse is lying mangled on the floor, the cradle smashed to pieces, and her father stalking back and forth in his finery, his eyes blazing a demonic orange. And then she realizes who is missing from this picture)

ARKADY: (Under her breath) Where am I? (Ponders for a moment, and then it hits her) This is the night I was kidnapped...! (Arkady nervously clears her throat and speaks louder) Ahem... Prince Dracula?

LUCARD: (Snaps his head up and hisses angrily. His eyes narrow suspiciously) Yessssssssss?

ARKADY: (taken aback, but then she steels herself.) I know where she is.

LUCARD: WHAT?!

(A voice over of Lucard?s tale is heard: "It was just so far away... A good two hours hard ride due south of the castle... I?m so very sorry Arkady")

ARKADY: I know where Arkady is.

(Black out)

�

SCENE 23: Stables, Castle Dracula

(Arkady and Dracula rush about in a stable that is lit by torches. Radu watches from the doorway, confused, while Lucard pulls himself up onto a saddle. Arkady is helped onto her own horse, and then nearly topples off. She?s never ridden before. Radu seems to come to a decision, then calls for a horse himself. Lucard and a dozen soldiers take off into the night, in the direction that Arkady points. She too, is about to leave, when she spies Radu turning ?round his horse, leading it into a possition that makes mounting it easier. She cuts him off before he can even leave the stable. From his point of view, she looks at him from atop her own horse, her face hidden deep in shadow, her posture commanding. A true Dracul.)

RADU:(Taken aback at first, and then angered and commanding) Why do you not let me pass, boy?!

ARKADY: You can?t fight Armel. You?ll be hurt.

RADU: Do you presume to tell me what I can and cannot do?! What gives you the right? Who do you think you are, boy?!

ARKADY: I am your niece, (Doffs her hat, and Radu gasps in astonishment,) Uncle Radu.

RADU: I do not understand... (Arkady removes the locket from her hat, snaps it open, and hands it over. Radu takes it, looks, then nearly falls off of his horse. He then hands it back with an unsteady hand. Incredulous, he whispers:) Arkady?

ARKADY: I... I can?t offer you an explanation now, Uncle. I have to hurry! (Turns the horse to go)

RADU: Wait! Why not? Why can?t I go?!

ARKADY: Because... you?re not dead. (Exits. Radu stares after her in confusion and the scene melts to black as her silhouette melts into the shadows.)

�

SCENE 24: Armel?s cottage

(The moon becomes visible through the blackness of the blackout as if it were emerging from the clouds, and glows on the twisted shadows of a night-darkened forest. The moon breaks free and illuminates Arkady, who stands on a low branch, pointing out a cottage to Lucard and a small handful of troops, who take off towards the rough hewn door)

ARKADY: She?s in there, sire! (She leaps from the tree and rushes after him. She arrives just in time to watch him tear down the door. Inside, Armel can be seen holding a tiny, gurgling baby girl. She whispers:) Good God! That?s me!

ARMEL: I don't know how you got here, Vlad. But I want the money, or you'll never see your daughter again. (He smiles. Lucard involuntarily glances at the Arkady, who lowers her head and takes a step forward into the light. NOTE: WE CLEARLY SEE THE FACE OF THE PAGE BOY, THIS TIME... AND IT?S ARKADY!.) You! It was you... you led him here!

(Arkady takes a frightened step back, then steels herself. Armel raises his hand, which begins to glow. He mumbles in latin, and Lucard, who is confused, begins to panic. We focus in on the eyes of Arkady, which widen in fear of what is happening. She lunges forward, but it is too late. The baby has disappeared in a flash of light. Armel, who was focussed on the child, and not his surroundings, is knocked to the ground by Arkady, who lunges at him in anger, and they accidentally smash a chair. Behind them, Lucard has staked other vampires with a part of the shattered chair, who are just now dissipating. Armel shoves Arkady back, who smacks into the wall and collapses into a lifeless heap. The camera speed slows as the battle quickly concludes. Lucard demands of Armel where his daughter is as he beats him bloody.)

ARMEL: (laughing wildly,)You'll never find her! She's gone!

LUCARD: Where?! (Lucard throws him to the ground, and Armel spreads his hands, laughing.)

ARKADY: (stirs on the ground, bloody head hidden in the crook of her arm as she lies on her stomach. Weakly:) When.

LUCARD: What?

ARKADY: When. Not where, when... (voice weakens and she groans, coughing up blood.)

ARMEL: (Sobering) No... I put her in a void, in suspension. Time travel is not possible!

ARKADY: (with a smile in her voice) It is... when you cast the wrong spell.

ARMEL :( With indignation) Cast the-- never! A spell cast on a human child is the easiest kind!

LUCARD: (Lucard, up to this point, has been very confused, but here he begins to understand. He looks to Arkady, horrified) Then, Arkady, because she's half vampire...

ARMEL:������������������������������ ARKADY:

Half vampire!������������������������� Is in the future...

(Lucard, enraged, finishes off a shocked Armel with a wooden stake as the camera slows to one half time. Armel dissolves, and Lucard moves to lift up Arkady?s head and rests it on his lap. Her hat falls off, revealing a large patch pf blood where her head hit the wall, and he is startled to see not a boy before him, but a girl! In regular time, he stares down at her bloodied face with horrified yellow eyes.)

LUCARD: You?re a girl!

ARKADY: Yes. (Coughs up blood violently and it speckles her lips)

LUCARD: (sensing that she is dying) You are very brave...

ARKADY: (please, tears welling) T-thank y-you...

LUCARD:(comforting the dying Arkady as she shudders and winces in pain) If I ever find my daughter, I hope that she grows up to be as loyal and noble as you, child.

ARKADY: (the previously held back tears begin to fall) You have no idea how m-much that means to me... Father.

LUCARD: (stunned, his eyes search her face) Arkady...?

ARKADY: Yes, Father. (Fumbles in her hat, then weakly hands over the locket, which he takes with trembling hands)

LUCARD: Where are you from?!

ARKADY: F-Far in the f-future... aghk!

LUCARD: I shan?t let you die, Daughter! (Sinks his teeth into Arkady?s neck, and the scene fades as the camera leaves the two and focuses out the window, where the sun is beginning to rise)

�

SCENE 25: Armel?s cottage

(As the sun rises, travels, and sets quick-time, we cut forward. Lucard is now seated with his back to the wall, arms resting on his crooked knees and the locket chain wound around his fingers as it dangles. Arkady?s corpse jerks to life on the floor and she sits up, staring at Lucard with the trademark yellow eyes, and then at her hands, which have begun to shimmer and disappear.)

ARKADY: I?m returning...!

LUCARD: Arkady! No! (He clasps her close, refusing to let her go) I shan?t loose you! Not after this!

ARKADY: You won?t. You?ll find me again. (Gasps as she realizes she can now see through herself) Oh.. I don?t want to leave either! I finally feel like I belong somewhere. Tara was right, this whole thing is so weird... (Tears begin) But I don?t have a choice. Good-bye father...(voice becomes hollow as she vanishes) I forgive you for all the evil you shall do... Good-bye...

(He holds her tighter, but eventually, his hands sink right through her dissolving form, and he tries desperately to hang on. He doesn?t give up until she has completely vanished. He looks sorrowfully off into the sunset when it?s obvious that she?s gone for good, and we hear a determined and resolved decision:)

LUCARD: The future... I will find you Arkady. I have all of eternity. Nothing can stop me. No one. I am Prince Dracula... and I swear it. (Fade to black)

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SCENE 26: Library, Lucard?s Castle

(Lucard, back in the late twentith century, paces impatiently in the library whilst Radu sits, watching him. There is another burst of pyrotechnics like the first, and Arkady appears of the floor in her bloodied page uniform, still staring at her hands in disbelief, her vampire face evident. She looks up when she is fully re-formed and springs to her feet. For a moment, her father and her stare at one another, then she runs into his arms, and the scene fades. The last thing visible is the shimmering of a lone candle flame, the locket propped up against the candle, open to not a picture of Prince Dracula and baby Princess Arkady, but to the other side, where there is a painting of Lucard and teenaged Arkady...)

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END

(Roll Credits!!)

Theatrical Trailer:� (Thought of Everything, didn?t I?)

ANNOUNCER:

"Legend... Myth... Fiction..."

(Scenes of Lucard in power, in battle, on a throne... with a look of boredom on his face. Next cut, Lucard at the fire, then being attacked by the vampire, and then his glowing eyes from beneath his cloak.)

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"An unspeakable tragedy... with an otherworldly outcome..."

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"But sometimes... there?s no escaping fate..."

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"In the Shadows of Candlelight..."

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"Blood is Always thicker than revenge..."