In the forest of Eternal Night, there was a young redheaded female wandering the grounds alone on a dark and silent night. Life was miles away from here, and she knew this very well. For you see, this was no ordinary woman. She was no stranger to night or it's inhabitants, but one thing was clear: She was no angel or saint. She was a demon to her people. A witch, an outsider, but the girl did not care for the town's opinion. She actually didn't care if they suffered or not, and in turn, she betrayed her ancestor's promise: To hunt and kill the night.
Zeira was a young girl in the Romanian country. She was young, around seventeen years of age, with naturally red hair, sky blue eyes, and fair, pale skin. She could easily be mistaken for a vampire, but her family name said otherwise. She was a member of the Belmont clan, a family of vampire hunters that took down the evil Count Dracula for centuries. She was walking in the town, hushing any man who tried to lure her into their schemes with not a single word. Her mere presence changed the atmosphere almost instantly. She was about to leave the town when a voice called her, forcing her to stop where she was.
"Zeira!" called a young, female voice. Zeira mentally cursed and looked behind her.
"What is it, Kathrine?" she asked.
Kathrine was a girl, a good 2 years younger than her, with her father's brown locks and sky blue eyes.
"Where are you going at this time?" Kathrine pondered, looking at her sister with a confused expression.
"Kath, I was going hunting," Zeira answered simply, not bothering to fight it.
"Oh, um…" Kathrine began, shuffling her hands. "I was just asking, because Father told you to be back before sundown…"
"I see…" the older sister spoke with a nod. "Tell Father I'm sticking to my word."
"Alright, Zeira," Kathrine said, making her same, beautiful smile. After her sister left, Zeira walked into the forest with caution, and was deeper in after a few moments with no sign of her anywhere.
The vampire huntress looked carefully at her surroundings, listening closely to the sounds of the forest to make sure of what direction danger could be in. She looked to her whip, keeping a hand on it in case she needed to pull it out at anytime.
"So far, so good…" she whispered to herself before a certain feeling hit her, like she was being watched. Zeira kept her guard as the feeling grew stronger, and out leaped...a squirrel. The vampire huntress sighed, looking down on it.
"Geez, Zeira," she spoke to herself, watching the furry creature nibble on an acorn. "There's no need to let a squirrel scare you."
Suddenly, a low growl emitted from where the squirrel leapt out from, and Zeira diverted her attention to it with a strong glare, unfurling the ancient Vampire Killer whip.
"Show yourself, demon!" she called. "I'm not afraid of you!"
The demon that appeared from the shadows was none other than a wolf with black fur and red eyes.
"A werewolf? Too easy," Zeira scoffed, lashing at the wolf with the Vampire Killer. The wolf growled and attempted to charge at Zeira, squishing the squirrel in his path. Zeira was ready and threw a bottle of holy water on the werewolf, in which the delicate glass shattered and the holy flames erupted.
"Argh! You're a Belmont, aren't you?!" it cried out as Zeira lashed at it with the Vampire Killer whip again, hitting it on a weak spot on the chest. The werewolf fell with no effort, but stood on all fours.
"I must admit, I've never met a female Belmont other than Sonia," it spoke, "but you're certainly more beautiful to be a descendant of hers."
"Hmph, so you know just by the scent of my blood, do you?" Zeira spoke, glaring at the werewolf with determination in her eyes. "Well, I'll make sure your body burns after I'm done with you, monster!"
The werewolf chuckled, howling to the blood red moon in the sky as both Zeira and the werewolf were about to clash in midair. Zeira was ready, but the werewolf, pounced her and pinned her to the ground. Her power ailed to the wolf's as it seemingly grinned.
"You're so damn weak," the wolf spoke, looking down upon Zeira's body. "You'll make a great meal."
"In your dreams, sicko!" Zeira spat.
"Well, don't expect some sort of Knight in Shining Armor bullshit, Belmont," the wolf spoke. "That vampire ain't coming."
"Like a vampire would save a Belmont like me…" Zeira spoke with a smirk. "I'm nothing but trash to them."
The wolf chuckled. "You're a clever girl," it said. "Now, it's time to die!"
Zeira closed her eyes and willingly accepted her fate, but she looked down on her decisions. Maybe she should have just gone back. She should have been with her family. She should have fallen in love by now, but it was all over. She took this as a consequence for her actions, and waited patiently.
Farewell, cruel world, she thought to herself, remaining calm. After a few moments, Zeira's eyes opened to the wolf, who stood, frightened.
"I...It's you!" it yelled, looking at what she thought was a tree, that is, until she looked.
Behind her stood a man clad in red armor, with pale skin and red hair much like hers. To finish it off, he wore a black and red cape and boots similar to her family friend, Alucard. Zeira was seriously really dead, or really shocked.
"F...Forgive me, master!" the wolf pleaded, but the man's eyes narrowed.
"Shoo," he spoke, and the wolf fled.
Zeira blinked multiple times, but he was there, looking down to her.
"Are you alright, miss?" he asked, and Zeira nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" she spoke, standing up. She was able to get a better glimpse of his face like this, and she knew he had to be the vampire the wolf spoke of.
"I apologize for my pet's rude behavior," he spoke. "The thing always gets himself into trouble and runs off to kill any wanderers."
"It's understandable," Zeira spoke, looking down on her whip as it glowed uneasily around him.
"I see you have Leon's whip," the man spoke. "To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting a female Belmont?"
"Hmph, guess there's no hiding it," Zeira shook her head, smirking. "Name's Zeira Belmont."
"Walter Bernhard, my lady," he spoke, bowing respectfully.
"I...see…" Zeira spoke, doing the same. "I assume you're a vampire, yes?"
"That I am," Walter said, looking upon the girl's much smaller figure. "What were you doing out her, Zeira?"
"Hunting for some food," she answered. "Mother and Father haven't eaten in days. I'm worried for them."
"I see," the vampire spoke, nodding once. "I will allow you to continue your hunt and return home."
"Thank you, Walter," Zeira spoke, smiling slightly. "If there's anything I can do for you, feel free to ask."
"For starters," Walter began, "you need to go back to town whenever you're done here."
Zeira looked down, a red blush spreading across her cheeks. Realizing a vampire cared about her safety other than her clan's ally, Alucard, really made her happy.
"I...don't think I want to go back," she spoke, looking down.
"You're a fool then, Zeira," Walter spoke simply. "You could be an easy target for other creatures here in this forest. I'd rather you not die in these woods. T'would be a waste of human life."
"I know, but…" Zeira stopped herself before completing her sentence.
"Just...go when you're done here," Walter spoke, looking at the smaller redheaded girl before him.
"...Alright," Zeira said simply, turning her back on the vampire and walking away. Returning to town like nothing ever happened was hard for a girl like her, especially after being saved from a near death experience. Upon getting home, the girl was immediately spotted by her father.
"Where have you been, young lady?" Richter questioned seriously.
"Hunting for food, Father," Zeira answered honestly. "Reason it took me so long to get back was a stupid werewolf."
"I see…" Richter sighed. "You're going to be the death of me, Zeira. As long as you made it out alive at the end of it is all I need."
Zeira smiled and hugged her father tightly after hearing his word, a small smile on her face.
"Soon, he'll come back, and it'll have to be up to me…" she spoke, looking down.
"Zeira…" Richter spoke. "I won't let you do it alone. Alucard will be at your side, like he was with our ancestor Trevor."
"I guess you're right, Father…" Zeira spoke, feeling slightly better. "I know you're not wrong about that fact."
"And there's a new ally to our clan," Richter spoke.
"Do you mean…?" Zeira spoke, unable to believe what she was thinking.
"Yes," Richter spoke. "Alucard has a child. A daughter named Aluria."
"You can't be serious!" Zeira nearly screamed, squealing in joy. She had a cousin!
"Alucard and Maria are visiting tomorrow, and they're dragging Aluria along with them," Richter spoke. "Be on your best behavior."
"I will, Father!" Zeira yelled running up to her room and squealing again.
"An actual cousin…" she spoke to herself, smiling happily as the sun went down. She watched it set into the trees in front of her window. Her sky blue eyes fixated upon the sun brought her a sense of despair. She knew this peace wouldn't last forever, and she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible before anything terrible did happen.
Walter sat in his castle, looking out the window and smiling.
"Zeira is a courageous girl for fighting my werewolf like that," Walter spoke to himself, smirking. "She may be young, but she has the bravery of her ancestor, Leon…"
"Master," Spoke a single voice, and Walter turned to see one of his maids.
"What is it now, Kiara?" he asked, and Kiara looked down.
"That Belmont you met in the woods today…" she spoke, looking down.
"What of her?" Walter asked, noting her expression.
"She's...my daughter's niece…" she spoke. Walter knew of Kiara's daughter, who was a distant cousin of the Belmont clan, but was taken is as an adopted sister after her parents were supposedly killed.
"I see…" Walter closed his eyes, hugging Kiara. "I know how you feel about being away from your daughter, but I assure you she has Alucard by her side. No harm will ever come to her. Especially with the training both you and Richter gave her."
"I'm not worried about that," Kiara spoke. "It's just...I'm more worried for my newborn granddaughter…"
"Ah, Aluria, was it?" Walter asked. "Mathias will not touch her as long as you and your child roam the world. Kiara, she will protect her family and her home…"
Kiara sighed. "That's what I'm worried about. What if she doesn't come back…?"
"Then I'll take matters into my own hands," he stated. "I won't stand for seeing you sad, Kiara. Never."
Kiara smiled. "I thank you, Walter. I'll do whatever I can to repay you. I am loyal to you, and only you."