Van Helsing copied Hannah's movement, smiling at how the glass seemed to ripple and move past his fingers. "It must be," he whispered in response to Anna, not looking at her. "But it's cold!" He pulled his hand away, fresh snow and ice covering his leather sleeve.
"Yes," Van Helsing agreed, stepping next to Hannah. "I thought so earlier, but..." He faded off, looking to Carl.
Van Helsing smiled. "You helped," he added to Anna. "Right now, I think we should let Carl here look through some of your books if you don't mind... we should be as prepared as we can before messing with that thing."
"What do you know about Dracula so far?" Van Helsing asked. "After all these years you've hunted him, what did you discover?"
"Long enough to finish Dracula and all the things he's created," Van Helsing replied strongly. "Isn't that good enough for you?" He yanked open the castle doors now as they reached them, motioning with his hand for everyone to enter before him.
"Though, in your eyes, it seems enough to condemn them," Van Helsing retorted.
"Their good intentions to want to help destroy the worst of their kind redeems them in my eyes," Van Helsing replied quickly, though he let go of Jinx's wrist. "That cannot be so hard to see."
"Never anyone that didn't do something wrong, an evil deed that therefore lessened the impact of their death," Van Helsing said smoothly, trying to make himself sound convincing.
Van Helsing sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Jinx's wrist and pulling her with him when no one moved, striding toward the castle. "They all seem idiots sometimes," he muttered to her.
"Then let's go," Van Helsing insisted, stepping over to Jinx. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but then glanced at Anna and thought better of it.
"Fine," Van Helsing agreed, nodding at Michael. "If Beatrice needs to calm down, the rest of us can go inside if you see fit, Miss Hannah," he concluded, adding unnecessary emphasis to the last two words.
"Um," Van Helsing began slowly, looking between Beatrice and Anna. "Should we all go inside now, and just... settle down?"
Van Helsing sighed and nodded his head toward Anna. "Ladies," he said a little more loudly than before. "This is Anna Valerias. She's... agreed to work with us, I think, and help get rid of Dracula."
Van Helsing stopped in front of the group, eyeing Hannah and Edward more closely than the others. "Well, I'm sure after Edward and Michael's epic, random rescue mission succeeded since you're all standing here in one peice. Am I correct in assuming you're all alright?"
Van Helsing smiled. "I'll tell her when we get there myself," he said kindly, pushing open the doors for them. The afternoon sun was almost down behind the mountains now, and Van Helsing could spot the carriages just down the pathway and outside the gates surrounding the Valerias castle. "They all look so happy right now," Van Helsing muttered. "I wonder what happened that made Edward and Michael leave so fast."
"Yes," Van Helsing said, nodding and turning toward the door. "We need to make sure Jinx can put something on the other girls to make them look... a little more normal, approachable, you know?"
"Thank you, sweetheart!" Van Helsing exclaimed dramatically, throwing his arms in the air. "Finally."
"You don't have much of a choice, miss," Van Helsing retorted. "They'll be here soon."
"Whether you like it or not," Van Helsing muttered, stepping away from Anna now.
"Will you at least agree to meet them?" Van Helsing implored.
