Castlevania: Fate of the Dragon
Prologue: Innocence before despair
1074 A.D. A time when the British Empire was entrenched in the war against the heretics that denied the will of the Christian God, in these hard times, even the nobility suffered and many families had to give up their eldest children to serve as knights and members of the royal court, this story begins the heir to the Cronqvist Family, Mathias Cronqvist, who was recognized by the newly crowned teenaged King Arthur for his genius level intellect as well as his family's vast alchemic knowledge.
It was a busy day in Camelot, the castle that King Arthur resided in and the symbol of his authority over the great nation of Britain, there, one of the youth chosen from the aristocracy, the twelve year old Mathias Cronqvist, a young boy with wavy black hair that reached his shoulders and icy blue eyes wearing a regal green garb, was being brought before the king, accompanied by the elite guard.
"You should consider yourself lucky, boy." One of the elite guards smiled at the timid Mathias, knowing that grooming the young boy into a member of King Arthur's court would help end the long war. "Fortune smiles upon you on this day."
Mathias remained silent, the young boy was very nervous about his presence in the halls of Camelot, the Cronqvist heir knew that his parents gave him up willingly and he was very nervous about their decision.
"Maybe you'll make it to the round table." The elite guard member chuckled; he was very excited at the potential Mathias had displayed and what the Cronqvist heir could do for King Arthur.
After a few steps, Mathias found himself in the Throne Room, there he saw King Arthur, an effeminate looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes clad in silver armoured royal garb with blue lining.
"Mathias Cronqvist." King Arthur called out to the Cronqvist heir; he had heard many good things about the intelligence he possessed at such an early age. "You may approach me."
"Y-yes, Your Highness!" Mathias nervously approached King Arthur before kneeling, still timid about being in in the presence of such a powerful figure.
"I've personally chosen you to serve in my court when you come of age." King Arthur looked at Mathias, the king immediately saw a something in the Cronqvist heir's eyes, through them and he saw the soul of a king, what he would say next would shock everyone that was present. "I will formally appoint you so that I can personally mould you into my advisor."
"Are you sure?" Mathias was very shocked at King Arthur's decision; the king's decision to appoint him to such a coveted position was something the Cronqvist heir had never expected.
"In this world, your natural genius is very rare, many youth such as yourself receive a quality education, but that only gets them so far." King Arthur looked at Mathias and remembered all the corrupt officials that had been exposed over the years, all claiming that they did what was best with their education. "You are extraordinary."
"You're too kind, Your Highness." Mathias bowed his head, the Cronqvist heir was humbled by all the good things King Arthur said, but he felt that he didn't deserve them, due to his lack of experience. "But surely there is someone in your court that's more deserving of those words…"
"I mean everything I've just said." King Arthur approached Mathias and placed his hands on the Cronqvist heir's shoulders, confident in his abilities and future in Camelot. "You are a valuable existence."
"Our king has the soft gaze and touch…of a fair maiden." Mathias thought to himself as he looked at King Arthur, though he felt it was not his place to question such things; he felt a very feminine presence from the king.
A few hours later at dusk, Mathias was walking through the halls of Camelot, trying to familiarize himself with the layout of his new home as well as trying to find his room when he saw a door with an ornate lion carving on it.
"I wonder what kind of room this is." Mathias was curious as to why the door was so heavily designed; he's seen similarly designed doors in his father's mansion that usually led to his alchemic laboratories, he gave in to his curiosity and opened the door to see King Arthur changing into his night attire, but something was very wrong, he noticed the king's very feminine body type and two bulges on his chest, the Cronqvist heir couldn't believe his eyes, all signs pointed towards one fact, that King Arthur was a woman.
"M-Mathias!" King Arthur was very shocked that Mathias had seen her in such an exposed state, the king or rather queen, given the circumstances, was worried that her secret was going to be revealed.
"F-forgive me Your Highness, I wasn't aware that this was your room." Mathias turned away, flustered from what he had just seen, the Cronqvist heir never expected the powerful and commanding King Arthur to be such a beautiful woman. "Excuse me…" The young boy prepared to make his leave, afraid of what kind of punishment awaited him.
"Wait…you may enter." King Arthur urged Mathias to enter her room, now that the Cronqvist heir knew her secret; she thought it would be best to explain things to him.
"As you wish, Your Highness." Mathias nervously stepped into the room, not wanting want to get into a worse position than he was already in, so despite his uneasiness, the Cronqvist heir complied with King Arthur's orders.
"Now that you know my secret, you share my burden." King Arthur looked at Mathias, knowing how much harder life would be for the Cronqvist heir now that he knew all about the king's true gender. "My real name is Altria Pendragon, I was raised as a boy so that I could succeed my father as king, knowing this, can you still follow me?"
"Yes, Your Highness…" Mathias felt that he had no other choice and that his fate was sealed by his newfound knowledge, but at the same time, the Cronqvist heir felt sympathy for Altria and the burden she carried, having to live a lie for the sake of her people. "I will help you carry this immense burden no matter what happens to me."
"Then I will place my secret in your hands, Mathias." Altria smiled at Mathias as she pulled him into a hug, knowing her secret was safe with the Cronqvist heir and at the same time, admiring his resolve to stand by her and share in her burden.
Five years had passed since that fateful night and Mathias, now seventeen, had grown up into one of Altria's most trusted court members, after a long meeting regarding the war, the Cronqvist heir had made brilliant tactical decisions that day, but his reception was a mix of astonishment from the king and disdain from some of the older generals, who viewed him as an upstart and envied his position. Mathias was on his way town when he was approached by a bearded middle-aged man wearing a blue and white robe with a golden trim.
"Rinaldo?" Mathias immediately recognized the middle-aged man as his alchemy tutor from his childhood, the great alchemist, Rinaldo Gandolfi.
"So you've become King Arthur's advisor, who would have thought that the boy I've taught would get this far." Rinaldo smiled at Mathias, very proud of his former pupil's accomplishments ant position.
"It is because of your teachings, Rinaldo." Mathias smiled, grateful for all of his mentor's great advice and teachings.
"I just helped you hone what you already had." Rinaldo assured Mathias of his natural abilities and intelligence, knowing that the Cronqvist heir possessed the blood of the most knowledgeable family in the alchemic world. "Not just anyone can do what you did."
After a long conversation with Rinaldo, Mathias returned to Camelot to meet with Altria who had requested his presence in private after their long meeting with the court, as the Cronqvist heir entered the room, he saw the king waiting for him.
"You called for me, Your Highness?" Mathias entered the room and then he knelt before Altria, waiting for her answer.
"No need to be so formal with me now." Altria smiled at Mathias she was very thankful to him for agreeing to share her burden, the king then helped Mathias up and urged him to sit on the bed next to her.
"Your Highness, is this appropriate?" Mathias looked at Altria with a puzzled expression, though he has known her for five years, the Cronqvist heir was still uneasy about interacting with his king so casually.
"You are my personal advisor, so it is your duty to tend to my needs." Altria looked at Mathias, enjoying her private moment with him, away from all the lying and politics. "It's also your duty as my friend."
"As you wish, Your Highness." Mathias gave in to Altria's demands, though he did not show it, he was very grateful to his king for the kindness she had always showed him.
"Do you regret where you are now?" Altria looked at Mathias with a sorrowful expression on her face, feeling guilty for all the stress the Cronqvist heir had been going through. "Away from your family…"
"I hold no love for the father that neglected me for his research…or the mother that so willingly gave me up to boost her social status." Mathias held the bitter memories of his childhood and his neglectful parents deep within his heart with a strong sense of loathing, but those feeling seemed to have subsided when he met Altria. "You, my king…are the only person I can truly love as my family…"
"Mathias…" Altria was touched by the sincerity in the Cronqvist heir's voice, the king felt that he was the only one that saw and accepted her for who she was, instead of the lie she had to live. "I'm so glad that you feel that way."
"I am your dragon; I will protect you even at the cost of my own life." Caught up in the moment, Mathias placed his hand over Altria's and gazed into her eyes, the Cronqvist heir wanted his king to know just how much she had meant to him.
After Mathias had left the room, Altria was left alone with her thoughts, the memory of the Cronqvist heir's sincerity was heavily affecting the king's emotions and she unknowingly blushed as she placed the hand that Mathias had held on her cheek.
"Mathias…if only I wasn't the king…if things were different." Altria thought to herself as she reflected on her encounter with the Cronqvist heir, new feelings of both love and longing towards him building up in the king's heart. "We could have shared more than a familial love…"
Author's note: This is the start of my newest Castlevania story, this will be my version of the classic timeline Dracula's origin and his transformation from an idealistic knight into the Dark Lord, this story will span three generations, the first will be about Mathias, the second will be about Dracula and the final one will be about Soma Cruz, Dracula will meet many of the Type Moon characters later on and will have a very profound influence on them, the Dracula Arc of the story will have him meeting the Dead Apostles as well as the Type Moon girl that will replace Lisa as Alucard's mother. This story is set in an alternate universe to my other two Castlevania stories, Rosario of Sorrow and Cross of Sorrow, if the reviews go well, I will adopt this writing style for future chapters of the two mentioned stories, next chapter will be set ten years later and Mathias will meet both Leon and Mordred. I may have had to move some parts of the timeline. Special thanks to Zero-Nightmare for helping me come up with the ideas for this story.