as his cigar dropped out of his mouth. It only lasted a short while, but he nearly doubled over.
"Father!? What's wrong?! Are you all right?"
He got his breathing under control and flashed her a smile. "It's nothing, Differe, just a slight cold. Don't worry, I'll be right as rain in a few days, you'll see."
Differel could see through the opening that the sun had finally set. She crawled out as Mr. Mistoffelees followed and made her way across the keep to the old doorway. Once outside, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was a moon, giving enough light to see by, but that also meant she could be seen. But she had to chance it. She made her way down the motte in a careful manner, the cat leading the way, then sprinted across the bailey, and once in the field beyond ran flat out towards the Norman church, the cat keeping pace beside her the whole time. She had no idea what she would find there, she only knew her father was quite insistent that it would be her salvation....
Aelfraed opened the door to her father's bedroom and ushered Differel inside. She didn't really know what to expect. Ever since he had fallen ill, Aunt Mandy had kept them separated, all the while reassuring her that he was fine and would recover soon. Now that she was finally being allowed to visit him, she was afraid of what she would see. But except for some medical equipment and IV bags set up on either side of the bed, it looked no different than what she remembered.
A nurse sat in a chair reading, but she looked up when the door opened, and stood when Differel entered. "Lady Pendragon gave strict instructions that Miss Van Helsing was not permitted to visit," she said in a disapproving tone.
"Sir Henry requested it," Aelfraed replied in a pointed manner.
"He is asleep; she will have to come back later!"
"No," a thin, weak voice rasped from the bed, "let her approach."
"Sir, you are too weak--"
"Sir Henry also requested that he and Miss Differel be left alone." Aelfraed's forceful tone surprised her.
"No, I have my orders--"
"It's only for a few minutes, and the doctor gave his permission."
"We will see about that!" And the nurse stormed out of the room.
Aelfraed nodded at Differel. "Go ahead, Miss, I'll be right outside." He closed the door.
Differel walked up to the foot of the bed. Her father lay covered to his chest by a sheet, with an IV in one arm, a blood pressure cup around the other, and a respirator inserted into his lower neck just above his chest. She heard the drumbeat cycling of the pump and the hiss of air as his chest rose and fell.
That's probably all that's keeping him alive.
She was shocked to see his current condition. He was thin to the point of emaciation, his face and hands little more than skin stretched over the bones, and his once muscular frame reduced to a scarecrow's physique. She noted with some irritation that they had shaved off his facial hair. Too weak to even support his reduced weight, he gasped for breath despite the respirator.
It's only been four days since my party. She couldn't believe anyone would deteriorate so much in so short a time, especially someone as strong and healthy as her own father.
"Differe," he said in a barely audible tone, "come closer so I can see you better."
Differel moved around the left side of the bed to its head. Her father rolled his head towards her and tried to focus on her.
"I'm here, Father."
He raised his hand, quivering with the effort, and she grasped it in both of hers.
"I'm sorry, my sweet girl."
"For what, Father?"
"That I won't be there for you from now on."
Her gut tightened with apprehension. What did he mean?! "Aunt Mandy says you'll get better."
He closed his eyes and swallowed. "No, no, she's wrong, wrong to lie to you, wrong to not prepare you. Differe, I'm dying."
She felt stunned. "Father? No."
He opened his eyes. "It's true, there's nothing anyone can do. Some sort of wasting disease no one's ever seen before. It works too fast to treat, and even if they could, they cannot isolate it. I don't have much time left; a few hours, a day at the most, and I won't be conscious for most of it. That's why I needed to see you, before it's too late. I've reached my point of no return, now."
Differel felt tears well up inside her eyes. "Father, I can't lose you. What am I going to do?"
"You are my daughter, my sweet girl, and a Van Helsing. You will find the strength you need within you. You will learn what you need to know. You will make whatever sacrifices are necessary. I know you can; that you will succeed. I wish I could make your way easier, and I regret not being able watch over you and take pride in your accomplishments. Most of all, I'm sorry I cannot teach you what I know and train you in the ways and means of combating the forces of darkness. You will have to figure these things out on your own."
He wheezed and coughed.
Alarmed, she asked, "What is it, Father? What do you need?"
"Water," he gasped and coughed again.
She looked around, and saw a covered cup with a straw in it. She fetched it and offered it to him. He took a number of sips then smiled.
"Thank you, my sweet girl." She took his hand again. "Where was I?"
"I'll have to learn how to fight our enemies alone."
"Ah, yes. No, not alone. In this, Aelfraed can help you. He was my valet before he became our butler, but he was much more. He can be much more to you as well, if you'll let him."
"I will, Father; thank you."
He coughed again, and she let him have another sip.
"There is one more thing I can give you; not advice, a legacy, handed down from our ancestor Abraham through all the generations of the Van Helsing family, to you. If there ever comes a time when you are faced with an unstoppable foe, if you are ever confronted by an enemy so implacable that it seems invincible, go to the family mausoleum, in the cemetery outside the old Norman church. There, inside a stone sarcophagus, you will find..." He lapsed into silence, closing his eyes.
"Find what, Father? Tell me!" She was afraid he had lost consciousness, as he said he would.
He managed a weak smile. "...your knight champion."
"My...what?!"
Before he could answer, Differel heard a commotion in the hallway. Though several voices were raised in anger, and she recognized Aelfraed's among them, the only words she made out were the last: "Out of my way, butler!"
"Aunt Mandy's here." She trembled.
"Courage, my sweet girl."
The door flew open, and a tall, powerful woman charged in. Her green eyes flashed with anger in an enraged, rounded face. Her copper, shoulder-length hair was styled into three waves: two framing either side of her head, and one sweeping across its top.
"Differel!" she roared. "I told you not to come here! Now, leave immediately!"
"No," Henry said, "let her stay."
"You are too weak, as the nurse said!" She grabbed Differel by the arm. "You are coming with me!" And she pulled her towards the door.
Aelfraed got in front of her. "Sir Henry wants her to stay."
"Stand aside, or you will find yourself sacked!"
"No!" Henry barked, struggling to rise up. Differel tore loose from Mandy's grip and ran back to the bed. "This is still my house! I will decide who leaves and...who...st--"
He collapsed back onto the bed, panting and gasping. The nurse, who had followed Mandy in, took his pulse from the other side of the bed.
"Father, please, take it easy!"
Mandy came up behind her, but she only laid a hand on her shoulder. "Differe, your father is in no condition to tolerate this much excitement, and you are only making it worse. Now, please, come with me."
Differel shook off her hand. "No!" She turned on her. For the first time in two years, she felt anger rather than fear at of her displeasure. "He was fine until you showed up! I'm staying, for as long as he has left!"
"Differel, enough! Your father will be fine, he just needs his rest. Now
, listen to me and do as I say!"
"Don't lie to me! Father told me he was dying, and I'll stay until he passes on."
A look of cold fury crossed Mandy's face before she suppressed it. "You should not have done that, Henry, she is too young to deal with it."
"That...must change."
"And it will, but as I see fit."
"She is my daughter, Miranda."
"Not for long, brother-in-law."
"Lady Pendragon!" Aelfraed cried, shocked and outraged all at once.
"Be silent, butler!"
"Miranda, listen to me," Henry said. "I mean for Differe to take control of the Caerleon Order when she comes of age. However, she must be prepared. I expect you to teach and train her as I would have. I ask you to do this, in the name of my dear wife, Differe's mother, your sister. Please, for her sake, for her honour, I ask you to support her daughter, your niece."
Mandy's face softened and she actually smiled. "Of course, Henry, as I always intended to. I love her as Gwendolyn did. I give you my word, she will be ready and fully capable of taking on her duties when the time comes."
Her father smiled, sighed, and closed his eyes, as he appeared to sink further into the bed. "Thank you, Miranda."
He then looked at Differel. "My sweet girl, Aunt Mandy is correct about one thing. You should not remain."
"But--"
"No buts, young lady. It will be some time before I pass on, and for most of it, I will not be awake. Come, we'll say our goodbyes now, that way we will both have a pleasant memory to give us comfort. Besides, this is not truly goodbye, only farewell, until we meet again in the Lord's Kingdom."
"Yes, Father." Differel felt tears streamed down her face. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then laid the side of her head against his lips so he could do the same.
"Farewell, Father," she said when she straightened up.
"Farewell, my sweet, lovely girl. Your mother would be proud of you."
"Say hello to her for me."
"I will." And he closed his eyes.
Mandy laid her hands on her shoulders, and when she turned her towards the door, she did not resist and let her guide her out. Aelfraed followed, and nodded to the doctor, who went in and closed the door.
"I will prepare your lunch, Miss," he told Differel, and nodding to Mandy he went off.
"You should go to your room and rest," Mandy told her, not unkindly.
"And you should not have lied to me."
Mandy gave her stare, not angry, not hostile, just cold and indifferent, as if she didn't care what Differel believed. "I did, as I always have done, what I think is best for you."
"Hmph. Perhaps, but from now on, I will decide that for myself."
Mandy flashed a cruel half-smile. "We shall see, Differe. Now, go to your room."
She did as Aunt Mandy instructed. It was a short walk across the width of the family wing past the library, but it seemed to take forever. She walked on autopilot, not really knowing or caring about anything around her, but she didn't feel grief-stricken. That surprised her. She did feel sad; after all, she had cried.
But I should feel worse.
Instead, it seemed more like a sort of numbing lassitude, as if she was exhausted. When she arrived at the children's bedroom, she sat on her bed, just staring into space, as she tried to make sense of it all. Aelfraed brought her lunch soon afterwards: a tongue sandwich and a glass of milk. She ate almost out of reflex, without fully realizing she did so, and afterwards laid down to rest. It was then that the enormity of what would happen finally broke through the stupefying malaise, and she began to cry again. Only it wasn't the brief drizzle she had experienced before, but a proper downpour. She buried her face in her pillow and sobbed for some time, finally falling asleep in the midst of her bereavement.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that Aelfraed woke her.
He sat on the edge of her bed. "Your father has passed away, Miss."
She blinked, her eyes red and blurred from her crying, and he passed her her glasses.
She slipped them on. "How was it?"
He smiled. "He died peacefully in his sleep, and at the last he
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