Small Moments

Disclaimer: Castlevania belongs to konami not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Alucard . . . then he'd be mine.

Rating: PG-13

Part: one of one

Setting: Pre SOTN

Authoress note: Sometimes we worry too much.

Small Moments

{Lisa}

Lisa was beginning to wonder about people and perspective. People defined things by how they saw them. She knew she had married a monster, but it was hard to see that most of the time. She knew that when others saw him all they could see was the monster but when she looked at him she seemed not to notice it. In the beginning, she saw a lonely man who was kind to her. Later she started seeing him as more than someone she spoke to out of pity and began to look forward to their conversations. When she let him kiss her she realised that she had stopped pitying him long ago and was rather pleased with this. She started looking at him the way her mother had taught her, she looked at what he could offer her, a home, warmth, comfort and perhaps a child. When he asked her she said yes with no hesitation. So she had agreed to marry a monster. It was not a normal engagement. There had been no party, there was no ring and she had not begun to live with him yet. He had asked and she had said that she would when they were wed, but first she had things to do. He had been, in her opinion, amazingly understanding. Perhaps understanding came with age, or perhaps he was simply very trusting of her. She knew she would live with him soon, but for now she was still coming to terms with the fact she was marrying a monster. She loved him but she was sensible, she knew that it would not be easy, she knew that she would cling desperately to fragments of her old life and that this would make things hard. but she knew what she wanted and was willing to fight for it. The fact that he seemed willing to help her made her very happy. They would marry in the summer she had decided, that gave her three months to come to terms with everything.

It was winter now, nearly mid-winter and it was bitterly cold. It would get colder of that she had no doubt, but she was not worried for herself. He seemed to take a great deal of joy in making sure she was comfortable. Every morning she woke alone but with fresh wood drying near the fireplace, there was always milk in her cold store and meat hanging in the pantry. She had no idea where he was getting these things and she was not quite brave enough to risk offending him by asking. He liked to give her things and unlike some men the things he gave her were useful. Most men gave Jewellery, or pretty trinkets which were lovely and very sweet but could you eat a stone? Could it keep you warm? No, it could not. So in this sense he was abnormal, she giggled at the phrase and thought he would find it amusing also so she absolved to keep it in her mind and share it with him. She was not sure when she would see him next. In the past summer and autumn, they had shared a lot of time together, seeing each other almost every evening. But that had stopped after the first snow, winter brought cold and cold brought illness and trouble to the weaker members of the village. The elderly and the very young were suffering already. There was a large bout of sickness going through the village at the moment and the only doctor had begged the help of any and all those willing to offer it. Two of her friends and herself had given up a great deal of their time in helping the doctor. They made house calls with him and were had argued with the village elders to allow them to convert the hall into a hospital. The elders had allowed the change and it had taken them days to get ready, but they had managed and were now bringing people into the hall. The doctor claimed this was to prevent the sickness spreading. if one member of a family had the sickness then keeping them at home would infect the whole family and any who visited that house. This way all the sickness was in one place and hopefully would remain such.

Lisa was pleased to be helping, she enjoyed it, loved feeling needed and useful. But at the same time she worried about him. In her eyes, he behaved like any other man she had ever known, and most of the men she knew behaved like children when they thought their wives were not paying enough attention to them. She had watched as Mary's husband Jonathan had literally thrown a small tantrum when Mary could not sit with him in the evenings. Caroline's husband had been slightly less dramatic but had taken to following his wife around the hospital like a small boy. So to prevent him coming looking for her she begged a night away from the hall and waited in her home for him.

"I was beginning to worry," his voice startled her but only for a moment before it brought a smile.

"Forgive me," she turned to him and her smile dropped, he looked saddened despite the fact he seemed to be trying to force a smile. "There are many sick." She explained.

"I know," he sighed sitting next to her at her small table "many of mine are going quietly mad with the smell of it all." Lisa frowned at him and he shrugged looking a little awkward. "I would rather not go into details, be content with the knowledge that I am controlling them."

"I would be, but I don't understand," she frowned he looked if possible even more awkward "please do not hide from me," she breathed "I am not afraid of anything you say," he glared at her and she grinned. He might be feared by men but he was still vulnerable and she had learned long ago that he was particularly vulnerable when it came to her. She used this fact mercilessly.

"You are cruel," he muttered, she nodded "you must understand that they are predators and like all predators they will target the weak, the old and the sick." Understanding dawned and she nodded. She trusted him to keep the village safe from his monsters, but it was still a little chilling to know just how much he protected them.

"I trust you," she said taking his hand, he smiled a little.

"Good," he preened, "but I can only do so much, I can keep you safe from claws and fangs but not from sickness." She frowned at him "I simply ask you to be careful."

"I'll be ok," she answered smiling, "the doctor says it is not in the air, he thinks maybe the water, those who can have stopped using the well."

"You?" he asked, she nodded

"I drink the milk you leave," she blushed a little, "see you do protect me from sickness, me and others." He looked confused "I've been sharing it with Caroline and her family."

"Then I will have to start bringing more," he muttered to himself. Lisa smiled and tightened her grip on his hand. He was cold but not uncomfortably so. She watched him as he appeared to be thinking, he was handsome and she could quite easily distract herself from her worries by watching him. But that did not work today, today she found herself wondering, with all that he could give to her what could she possibly give back to him. He provided for her already, he kept her safe and warm, all she ever seemed to do for him was apologize.

"You are worried," he prodded her. She sniggered and prodded him back. The engaged in a small war for a few minutes before he won and grinned at her victoriously, taking a kiss as his spoils of war.

"Bully," she muttered, he nodded "but yes I am worried. You give me so much and I worry that I do not have enough to give you." He froze as if deeply surprised. She watched him carefully.

"Lisa," he said softly as if struggling "you need never worry about what you give me, just because the gifts you give cannot be measured by conventional means does not mean they lack value. Rather it is the opposite and it is I who struggles to match you in generosity."

"But I cannot even give you my time!" she snapped at him, he laughed and pulled her to him pushing his nose into her hair. He did that a lot and seemed to enjoy it.

"Small moments are all I ask for," he breathed and she smiled.

End

Thank you for reading, please review, I'd love to hear what you think of the fic.

For information on published works and upcoming projects, release dates as well as weekly blogs check out www . katiemariewriter . co . uk

My first Novel, Grey Wings has now been released!

GREY WINGS

Jason is stranded in a dark city, and is in desperate need of help when he has no idea how he will get home.

So, when he collides with Aurelius, an Angel only in the mildest sense of the word – who has committed a crime worthy of great punishment, but has been handed a rare chance at redemption – Jason can see a way home.

However, their journey will be hampered by Fallen Angels, Earth Spirits, and Griffons – and none can say if everyone will make it home.