Hello there! I know I should be working on my longer story, Thirty Pieces of Silver, but I had this little scene in my head, and it wouldn't go away. So, here it is. This one shot isn't necessarily connected to Thirty Pieces (ie. it isn't a "deleted scene"), but this short piece pretty much sums up my head cannon in regards to Alucard's reign as prince, before he came to England... Basically, there are certain elements in here that will be developed in my longer work, but this story in itself is pretty much stand-alone.

Also, I got the idea for this one shot after I heard a song called "Mary's Lullaby" on Youtube. In Hungarian, it's "Maria Altatoja", but if you type in "Hungarian lullaby" on Youtube, just click the first link, and I guarantee you'll find the right song... It's got a cute little animation and everything, ha ha :P

Anywho, enjoy the angst!

Alucard was dreaming.

It was not one of his usual dreams, though. There was no all-consuming darkness at the corners of his mind, no shady graveyards, no angry gentlemen from a time gone by staring down at him. For once, he forgot the pain of a stake being driven into his chest, and he could not remember what his own blood tasted like. No, this dream was different.

He found himself walking down a corridor of light grey stone, a white-washed ceiling arching overhead. The windows were small slits in the walls, but sunlight poured in from outdoors and illuminated the hall. Archer's windows. He had not laid eyes on those in years.

There was a heavy wooden door standing ajar at the end of the landing. A peculiar sound came floating out from the room beyond, beckoning him. Alucard followed the soft little noise until he reached the door and pushed it open.

The room was flooded with light, and it momentarily blinded him. He raised his hand and shielded his eyes while the sound grew louder and louder.

When his sight finally adjusted, he saw a lone figure sitting by a large bay window. She was sitting on a few cushions, her dark head bent over some needle work. As her delicate fingers moved over the cloth, she continued to sing to herself, unaware that he was there. Alucard could not fight off the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was a lullaby from her old country. She liked to sing it when she thought he wasn't around, but he never missed a chance to listen if he could help it.

Alucard pushed the door open further and stepped into the room. He was trying to be quiet, but her head snapped up the moment he took a step. He froze, worried that if he moved too fast she might go away.

But, instead of fading, she smiled and turned towards him. The sunlight created a halo around her head, and she looked to him the most beautiful woman in the world.

She stood up, and Alucard's gaze fell to her waist, where her swollen belly protruded from beneath the blue silk of her dress. For a moment, he was overjoyed, practically elated, but his happiness was quickly dashed. He remembered suddenly that the child in her womb would not live past the age of two. How cruel that he should have to watch that little life grow inside her, only to see it extinguished so soon…

She appeared to sense his sadness and, with one hand under her stomach, approached him. When he looked up at her, he saw that she was offering him her hand, that smile ever present on her face.

"Domnul meu," she murmured, her voice like little bells. "Doresti sa dansezi cu mine?"

In life, her plain brown eyes had not been things that poets wrote sonnets about. In front of the courtiers and other nobles, she had had to hide her feelings, made her eyes opaque, to protect herself and her own. That was a time when no one was safe at court. But, there was no need for secrecy now. Now, her eyes danced with all the vivacity and love she held in her heart. Now, she revealed all to him, trapped him in her lively gaze, and he had no desire to escape.

Nodding, he took her small, delicate hand into his and let her lead him further into the room. He went obediently, but it did not take him long to realize that something was wrong: The light was fading outdoors, the room was growing darker, and her face became blurry. He was waking up.

She continued to step back into the room, which had turned into one dark, narrow corridor. She let go of his hand and continued to fade with each step. Desperate, he rushed towards her, both hands outstretched, as the world tipped, and he watched her fall away into nothing-

With an involuntary jolt, Alucard's eyes flew open. He was leaning awkwardly against his chair, his nails digging into the armrest. Breathing heavily, he took in his surroundings: The cavernous stone walls, the murky darkness, and the dank atmosphere of the Hellsing manor's cellar were all too familiar to him. He was certainly not dreaming anymore.

With a heavy sigh, he reached over to his end table and poured himself a glass of thick, red blood and sat back in his chair. Taking a sip, he told himself to relax, though the heaviness of his heart was difficult to ignore.

It had been centuries since he had a good dream about her. In fact, it had been centuries since he dreamed about her at all. Most of the time, it was too dangerous to think of her. It was easier to dwell on what had happened with Mina one hundred years ago. That memory still hurt, but it was the lesser of the two evils. Mina had been special, and he did love her, but he always saw her as a shadow of the one who had come before her…

He swirled the blood in his glass, watching the little whirlpool with a deadpan expression. Before long, he set the glass back down on his end table and closed his eyes. He wasn't particularly thirsty right now.

In the darkness behind his eyelids, he searched for her. He delved as far as he dared into the abyss before him, looking into the undulating shadows for the hem of a silk skirt, or the delicate curl of her hair. The longer he looked, the worse he felt, though he could almost hear her voice in his ears.

"La revedere, Wladyslaus." She always called him by his Christian name if she was feeling bold. "La revedere…"

Slowly, he opened his eyes, half-hoping to get a glimpse of her. But, nothing but the darkness stared back at him. A familiar tightness set into his throat, as if an invisible hand had begun to choke him, and his eyes stung. He swore he could still hear her singing faintly, but he knew better than to give into that delusion. She was gone, and he would never see her again.

Suddenly, as if some violent spirit had possessed him, he lashed out and flung the end table up into the air with all his might. It came crashing down to the floor in a terrible cacophony, wood splinters and glass shards flying in all directions. He leapt to his feet, stepping in the spilt blood, and made his way to the back of the chamber, where his coffin lay shrouded in darkness. He raked his fingers through his hair and wordlessly bellowed out his grief, but not even that was enough to drown out the lingering notes of Ilona's lullaby.

Since I love sticking foreign languages in my stories, here are some translations (they may not be accurate, as I don't speak Romanian fluently, but I tried):

- When she first speaks, Ilona asks, "My lord, would you like to dance with me?"

- "La revedere" means "goodbye"

And yes, if I messed up Alucard's 'real' name, please tell me. I know the real Dracula is known throughout history as Vlad III, but he signed his documents as Wladyslaus (Vladislaus) Dragwlya, so I figured that was his full given name... At least, I THINK Wladyslaus is his full name...I was trying to read his signature and figure it out, but he has terrible hand writing!

Anyway, thanks for reading!