Bill slowly rubbed his eyes as he mumbled to himself bitterly. It was cold and he hated the graveyard shift. But he couldn't fall asleep or the boss would have his head if he found out. Stretching his muscles a bit, he shook his head to clear out the cobwebs in his head.
"Man, this stinks..." he yawned.
He knew that in an hour or two the sun would peak its head over the horizon and then he could go back to sleep. Just a few more hours. Just a few more...
Bill snapped awake as he heard the flutter of bats in the night sky. Scratching his head a bit, he looked up at the dark sky.
Probably heading back to their cave to sleep. Sleep would be nice.
"Well I doubt anyone is coming, not at this late hours. I bet they're all asleep in their nice soft beds." Bill muttered as he tried to keep himself from nodding off.
The sound of a horse's galloping echoed in the back of Bill's mind. Lifting his head, he could make out the blurry outline of something black coming toward him.
"What's that?" he muttered as he tried to clear his eyes.
Something glinted a bit out to the side of whatever it was that was coming toward him. Rubbing the last sleep out of his eyes, Bill stared hard at what was approaching.
He could clearly see the edge of sword coming straight toward him as the horse thundered passed him. Bill's spear clattered to the ground outside the gates of Saillune by the thickening pool of blood.
Bill could now sleep. Sleep and never worry again. Forever...
"Alright then, I believe that takes care of most of the paperwork. Now if you just sign here," Benvolin gestured to the document he placed down on the table. The other person graciously signed as Benvolin studied it a bit, before smiling, "Congratulations, you are the proud owner of the Saillune Royal Opera House, Mister..."
"Tepes, Vlad Tepes."
The man was of late middle age, he already had a streak of white going through his black hair as he gazed around the room with his dark eyes. His skin had a pale tone and he wore a massive black cape with crimson silk underneath. He stroked his mustache a bit as he smiled, revealing a fang that glinted in the candlelight.
Examining the signature and then looking at the signer, Benvolin nodded, "Of course, Mr. Tepes, forgive me. It's quite early in the morning for me. I'm not used to having such a late night."
"Don't worry Mr. Benvolin, your opera house is in good hands now," Vlad smiled as he stood up to shake Benvolin's hand.
"Whoa," Benvolin gasped at the shake. "Your hands are a bit cold, maybe you should wear gloves or something."
"Perhaps I shall."
"Well, I must say I never thought there would be a day when I would sell this place. I spent so much of my life building this opera to what it is now. I really do hope you'll ensure the tradition of greatness this house is known for." Benvolin sighed as he packed the paperwork into the bags.
"You have no need for worries. I only purchased the place because I too have a fondness for the arts of the theater. I was advise in this by a dear friend of mine, who is great fan of one of your singers." Vlad said.
"He is? Perhaps I know him. What is your friend name?"
"I'm afraid I am not under power to reveal his name, as he would rather remain anonymous." Vlad remarked, stroking his mustache. "But I can assure you that you have nothing to worry," he smiled as he escorted Benvolin to the door.
"Well, I hope so. I'll be off now." Benvolin smiled as he placed his hat on and walked out.
"Have a pleasant morning, Mister Benvolin." Vlad said as he closed the door to his office.
"I can rest assured that the purchase went well?"
"Of course my friend. The foolish mortals are unable to withstand my power of hypnotic suggestion," Vlad laughed as he sat down by his desk.
A panel of the office wall moved away as the Phantom stepped inside with the panel closing itself again with his passing.
"Now, you'll make the necessary changes, Vlad?" the Phantom said as he pulled out a bottle from his cape and placed it down on the table.
Nodding as he picked up the bottle and examined it, "They will be carried out. Hmm, Zefilian wine. Good vintage. But please, Phantom, call me by the name given to me by those who foolishly tried to stop me. Dracula."
"Soon I'll make Carlissa the Diva of this city, but first you must attend to her rival Maria."
Dracula smiled, "I'll attend to her this very evening, but how goes the project?"
"It'll be completed soon. Only a few selected pieces are required now." the Phantom spoke as he slowly walked back to the wall as the panel opened. "I'm certain that my new supplier will not suffer from the same mistake that Nicholas did."
"That primitive had it coming to him," Dracula muttered as he examined his watch. "Dawn is coming soon, I'll retire to my chambers till the coming dusk."
"And I'll attend to my other business. As I leave you in peace." the Phantom gestured as it stepped back through the passageways behind the walls.
The sound of the gongs could be heard outside.
In the eastern horizon, the sun rose up and bathed the land in its warm light of life. Banishing the darkness away as it rose. Creatures that stirred in the night, descended into the deep realms of dark, bidding their time for the next approaching dusk. And so the people awakened from their nightmare, never knowing whether it was imagination or reality. Only going forth to do their daily pattern of life, as the creatures in the darkness watched and waited.
"So, what happened?" Lina inquired, behind her were Amelia and Gourry both tired since last night escapade. Zel had politely refused to come along when the gongs were raised, insisting he had other things to check on first.
"I don't know," the Captain muttered as he looked behind him toward the scene.
A crowd of people had gathered around and the Saillune guards were doing their best to keep everyone a safe distance away. A few other guards stood around the sheet covered body that was laying there.
"All we know was when the morning patrol came to relieve Bill of his post, all they found was his body lying there," the Captain stated as he led them to the body.
"What happened?" Amelia asked as she looked at the body. The was something wrong with the outline of the body on the sheet, something was missing.
"His head was severed from his body." the Captain said.
"Any witnesses?" Lina remarked.
"Only one witness, but I warn you her account is a bit disturbing," the Captain sighed as he signaled to one of the guards. A hunched old lady was escorted to them as she looked at them with her one good eye.
"What did you see?" Amelia demanded.
Brushing a few strands of white hair out of her face, the old lady smiled a toothless grin. "I saw what happened. Hidden in the shadows of the gateway, far from his eyes. Did I saw what happened to the poor man. He was standing by his post, his eyes were filled with sleep. Thrice did he nearly fell into blissful slumber, but he woke soon before that. That was when he came."
"Who?" Gourry interrupted.
"He rode a giant black steed, to look at him makes your blood run cold. In his hand he bore a sword, to sever the heads of those he meets. The guard merely noticed his coming, before the icy blade came down upon him. Taking the head, the horseman rode through the gate deep into the city and that is all that I saw," the crone said as she hobbled away, leaving the others to absorb what she had said.
"Can you describe his face?" Amelia called after the crone.
"He had no face, no head," the crone called back before she mingled her way through the crowd.
"No head?" Amelia muttered in disbelief.
"As I said, don't take what that old crone says too literally. She obviously was drunk. This is simply the work of a sick man," the Captain sneered.
"Your assailant is not a man of flesh and blood that you presumed him to be."
A young man slowly walked up to them dressed in the common outfit of a scholar, though the color seemed to be a bit faded. His brown hair was tied back in a ponytail as he looked at them with his cold brown eyes.
"And you are?" Lina asked.
"Constable Ichabob Crane from Sleepy Hollow." Ichabob bowed.
"You're a long way from Sleepy Hollow, Constable." the Captain muttered,
Ignoring the man, Ichabob continued, "I have come here in pursuit of the very one responsible for the heinous deed. Many years have I spent in Sleepy Hollow tracking him down and now the path has led me here."
"Who is is that you're chasing?" Amelia said.
"The Headless Horseman,"
"That's just a myth," Lina retorted, rubbing her bandaged arm a bit. "Just a bunch of old local superstition."
"I do assure you that the Horseman is very much real and very dangerous. He has left a path of severed bodies in the Eastern Woods and I believe he has now come here." Ichabob commented.
"But why Saillune?" Amelia asked a bit shaken by all this. "Didn't he just reside in the Eastern Woods?"
"He used to, but now something has drawn him here. And that something I believe is the very thing that made him start his bloody rampage. His head." Ichabob said.
"His head?" Gourry muttered, scratching his own head in confusion. "I thought he didn't have a head?" he asked as Ichabob nodded.
"Once he did," Ichabob said as he looked up at the clouded sky above. "Once he was just a normal soldier of the army, but then his Lord started to dwell into the forbidden branch of research. The branch of immortality. The King sought to cheat death and to that end he had his sorcerer conduct numerous experiments on his subjects to unravel the secret."
"So the Horseman is immortal?" Amelia commented.
"Not completely. He was experimented upon before he was beheaded in the Eastern Woods to see the result. Apparently they succeeded partially, for he didn't die that day. Now years later, he haunts the woods seeking his lost head to reunite with it."
"So if we retrieve the head, he'll go away?" Lina inquired.
"No, he has become driven by the lust of killing. It drives him now. The key to stopping him lies in his head still, but I don't know anymore than that. Unless the other rumor is true..." Ichabob sighed.
"I wish Zelgadiss-san was here, he could probably make sense out of all this." Amelia murmured to herself.