i know i know i know i shouldn't be starting something before finishing the others but i can'd help it. i am in love with castlevania on netflix. this is an experiment. if it gets enough interest i will keep it going. it was just in my head and i had to get it out.

dillydilly

~oOo~

His footsteps echoed through the dimly lit corridors that were lined with rows and rows of books. This was where he preferred to spend the majority of his time. Wandering the columns and levels of the Belmont Family Hold. Perusing the stories and literature of the enemies of his ancestors.

But then he was half human, therefore it could not be a complete betrayal.

In truth it was easier for him to be here rather than … up there. Here everything was unfamiliar, strange. Nothing pulled at him like hooks in his core, dragging his pain to the surface again and again while he fought tooth and nail to hold it down.

The castle had become too much for him to bear at times. Walking the long lonely hallways of his childhood, the memories still haunted him. His mother's laughter and soothing voice, his father's strong arms and over powering presence. In his dreams his mother would enter his rooms at night, kneeling beside him with a gentle brush of lips across his forehead and warm fingers caressing his cheeks as she whispered good night to her most loved child. His father would stand in the doorway, never speaking but he knew he was there. He always knew he was there.

And then he would wake to the cold silent emptiness of his room and start all over, the ghosts of his memories trailing in his wake.

It was like a vice on his heart; the loneliness. It held with just enough pressure to cause a dull constant pain, but never enough to end him. It ate at him slowly everyday just a little bit more, killing what was once his inner light and replacing it with a darkness that begins to overshadow every moment; squeezing out every bit of life he has circulating throughout his opaque veins.

Enough to torture but never enough to kill, at least not quickly.

It would eat him alive, eventually. He knew it to be true. It would swallow every little ounce of hope he once had, feasting on the little remnants of happiness he has left till there is nothing but an empty carcass; full of despair and memories he just cannot seem to hold onto anymore. He could no longer remember what it was like to be in a warm embrace or to have a shoulder to cry upon. To be trapped in cold with no hope for warmth and yet to be imprisoned in unbearable heat. It was an awful paradox.

The loneliness was all he knew now. His most constant companion and adversary. A beast whose cold fingertips traced his soul and then abandoned him.

But this monster was perhaps the most terrifying of all he had faced, for it was one he had absolutely no power over.

And so like a coward, he selfishly hid within these catacombs, with its endless rows of books and artifacts. There were times when he even considered making a small Keep from the remaining foundations of the old Belmont estate. But those were just flights of fancy. Strange temporary periods of hope that would sometimes bubble to the surface only to burst and dissipate just as quickly. Much like when he thought of the only two people he had ever even come close to calling companions. The closest he had ever come to having friends. Had circumstances been different they would have been enemies. Perhaps even of tried to kill him. Well, at least one of them would have. But the circumstances had been what they were, and so they had stood side by side. They fought and bled together. United in one bloody cause for humanity. He could not have done it without them, and they without him. At times he even wished they would have remained.

Well, at least one of them.

And so now he only returned to the castle only when absolutely necessary. And unfortunately, there have been several times when it was indeed necessary.

He had set up wards and spells around the castle to warn him of intruders. The occasional curious mortal would wander through at times. Some simple curiosity seekers, others seeking to plunder the seemingly abandoned castles stores. Whether the intent was innocent or ill, they were all easily dispatched, usually frightened off by the castles own natural defenses.

It was the times when the unwanted visitors were not human that caused the real problems. Problems that were becoming more frequent as of late.

With his father gone there was a huge gaping hole within the immortal hierarchy. A hole that many an ambitious vampire would seek to fill. And what better start at making a claim at that title than conquering the old lord's castle. What better declaration than killing the unwilling heir apparent that waged war on his own kind.

He had made his intentions known from the beginning. It had started with the messengers from some of the minor regional rulers. He had no one but himself to blame for that. He had been in the earliest throes of his sorrow then and had killed them on site. He did not wish to rule. He did not wish to have anything to do with anyone. They were greedy petty little creatures, scurrying around seeking to grasp on any thread of power. Well, it would not be found with him. And anyone seeking to gain aid or power from him or the works with in the castle would be dispatched post haste. The message got out rather quickly after that.

It was then that other tactics were used.

Creatures began to appear in the night then. Whether they were monsters left from Dracula's horde or created from another, he was not certain. Rumors had reached him about some queen in Styria who seeks to claim dominion. It was even said that she may even have a Forgemaster at her disposal. He did not give a damn if she sought to rule. She could have the damn title as far as he was concerned. As long as she left him and his alone. But if the rumors of the Forgemaster was true, then something may have to be done. The last thing anyone needed were those monsters unleashed upon the populace again.

The whole thing was becoming quite tedious.

The sound of a thunderous gong rang throughout the library, rattling the shelves and stirring the dust among the books. A ward within the castle going off. He sighed and pulled himself from his reverie. It would seem there were to be more unwanted visitors this night. Quite tedious indeed. With a quick flick of hand his sword launched from the coffin that sat in the shadows and slid smoothly into its scabbard.

Moving faster than the human mind could even comprehend, Alucard appeared before great doors of the castle and braced himself to face his demons once again.

~oOo~

It was moments like these when she knew what it must feel like to be undead. She was just some mindless zombie coming off of a twelve hour shift trying to make her way home. It was exhausting to say the least. And then she was on call for the night. Sometimes it just never seemed to end. Sonia adjusted her bag on her lap as she allowed herself to be lulled by the rocking of the trolley. Her eyelids felt as if they were being dragged down against her will. Well maybe not completely against her will.

She had been in residency at University Med for around four months now. She had only been in New Orleans for about six. The city was a mess. The hospitals still did not seem to have ever fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina. The health professionals had returned of course. But there was still struggle in the city. And it showed within the hospitals. That was why she wanted to come here. So that she could feel that she was accomplishing something as she learned. And she loved the city. She had even had a small apartment on Dauphine Street. It had character and history and these amazing brick wall accents. So worth it. She wanted nothing more than to be there right now, curled up in her bed. Unfortunately, it was going to have to wait. At least for a bit longer.

She watched the blur of lights fly past out of the window. The street lights of the Garden District flickering slowly on in the twilight. It would be dark by the time she finally got home, but she had promised. Her landlord lived here and wanted her to stop by. If she had not also been Sonia's aunt she would have blown her off with some excuse. But she was her aunt and her landlord and was renting her an apartment in the Quarter for a ridiculously cheap price, so she was obligated.

She felt guilty for not wanting to be there. Her aunt was a sweet woman. A bit on the eccentric side, but very sweet. She was her mother's older sister and had become a bit of a mother to Sonia after her own had passed away. That had been hard on everyone. Her father had died when Sonia was very young and she did not have much memory of him, but her mother had been there her whole life, passing away from cancer shortly after Sonia was accepted to med school. Returning to New Orleans had not been easy for her but her aunt had managed to fill that void, caring for Sonia both emotionally and financially. The least she could do is show up when asked.

Dear sweet aunt Maria. They could not be more opposite. Sonia looked at her reflection in the darkening window. Her aunt and her mother both took after their own mother, with long flowing red blonde hair and bright green eyes, they had certainly been stunners. And while Sonia had been named after her grandmother, and their mother, she could not look more opposite of them. With her long dark hair and brown eyes, she had been told she took after her father's side of the family. Something she had resented when younger. Sonia certainly did not feel like a stunner.

Sonia reached up and pulled at the bell and the trolley rumbled to a halt at the next stop. Getting off at First Str she would walk the block to Prytania and Second where her aunt's house was.

It was a grand old house, beautiful in that New Orleans Garden District style. She used to love coming here as a child with her mother. All of the old antiques and books had always fascinated her. It had surprised everyone when she got into medicine instead of antiquities like her mother and aunt. But Sonia had made up her mind when her mother was first diagnosed with cancer.

Although in the end, she could not save her.

Sonia walked through the gate and up the walk to the front porch adorned with wrought iron and gas lit lamps. She opened the unlocked front door and frowned. She had told her aunt repeatedly about that. Not a good habit to have, even in this area. But aunt Marie would just shush her with a laugh and say something about how no one would ever dare.

When she was young, there were rumors that witches lived in the old house. The witches of course being her mother and her aunt. It was something Sonia had never liked and her aunt had never dissuaded. She said it kept the riffraff away. Still, an unlocked door in New Orleans was never a good thing, even if the locals thought you were a witch.

"Aunt Marie," she called out once she was all the way inside. She closed the door behind her.

It was a grand foyer. Dark wood floors and crown molding along the walls. Great old portraits of family members long past adorned the halls and fireplace. Her namesake's portrait hung above the fireplace in the main greeting room, her green eyed stare gazing down at her. Her mother's portrait hung across from her grandmother's, matching green eyes and red gold hair. Sonia walked over to her mother's portrait. It was beautiful but it did not do her justice. Her name was engraved on a small plaque at the bottom of the frame.

Charlotte Aulin Belnades Belmont

"Sonia? Sonia darling, is that you?" her aunt's voice rang out from the hallway

"Yes Marie, it's me," she replied. Sonia could not help but smile as her aunt swept into the room. Her blonde hair, having turned silver long ago, was swept back into a low lose bun. Her skin was fair and still smooth for her age and Sonia could not help but wonder at time if she had work done. Good for her if she did. She wore minimal make up and yet still looked beautiful. Even in her late sixties she could still turn heads. She pulled Sonia into an embrace. Even the strength in her arms belied her age.

"Oh my sweet girl, let me look at you," she held Sonia at arms length. "Why you are nothing but skin and bones. Are you eating? Do they even let you eat over there?"

"It's the scrubs aunt Maria," Sonia laughed, "they make anyone look skinny. They are very forgiving that way."

"Well that's just nonsense. They forgive nothing," she said dismissively as she hugged Sonia again. "It is a good thing I had Amber make something before she left today. Well, come on, come on. Don't just stand there like a goose! Come on."

Sonia was swept down the grand hall to the kitchen where an impressive amount food was laid out on the counter. Her stomach growled instantly. Maybe she would eat just a little.

Several servings later, Sonia sat in a large comfortable chair in breakfast area of the kitchen. Her aunt sat across from her as they talked about their day. Sonia told her about her rounds at the hospital and her hopes of moving to the cancer ward of the children's hospital. Her aunt could not understand why she would want to be around so much sadness. Sonia would tell her that there were some amazing stories to be told in those wards. Some beautiful souls to be encountered. She wanted to be a part of something special. She wanted to help bring some hope to people's lives. And there were times when she truly felt as if she did help. There were times cried, yes she most certainly cried, but there were also times when, if miracles existed, they happened. Her aunt sat quietly as she spoke, sipping at her glass of wine.

"You know what you need my sweet? You need a vacation and a good man. And by good I mean in the sack darling."

Sonia laughed. "In about five to ten years maybe. I'm good for now."

"No, no pet, you do. You need to rest, just a bit. You have been nonstop now since your mother passed, God rest her soul. You are young and should living. Not surrounding yourself with death."

"Auntie, I appreciate the concern I really do, but I'm fine."

"But –"

"I'm fine," she interrupted. She really did not want to get on this discussion again with her aunt. Sonia had been going at a pretty brisk pace since the death of her mother. She had been out on a few dates but nothing memorable. There would be a time when she could slow down and take a break for a bit, it just was not right now. "Trust me," she repeated, "I'm fine."

"Mmm," her aunt replied, lips pursed and eyes narrowed as she looked at Sonia. She threw back the last of the wine in her glass and smiled at Sonia. "Well come on then. Time to show you."

"Time to show me what?" Sonia said slowly.

Her aunt's eyes sparkled. "My latest acquisition."

Sonia followed her aunt up the stairs and into one of the five bedrooms of the house. It was a room that was rarely used. A large ornate four poster antique bed and armoire were on one side of the room while a large vanity was on the other. But it was to the far corner that her aunt pulled her too. An object that almost touched the tall ten foot ceilings sat in the corner covered with an old sheet. Her aunt pulled it with a flourish ted o reveal a large broken mirror in an ornate gilded frame. The mirror itself was a complete loss but the frame was something to behold. Gold and silver seemed to be almost woven into the wood work that arched and swirled around the shattered glass. The top and the bottom of the frame was carved with cherubs and vine work that snaked all along the top to a great point while strange shapes were carved into the sided. Symbols that Sonia could not quite make out and yet, for some reason, looked familiar.

"Oh Marie," Sonia gasped, "it's gorgeous."

"I know! It is almost shameful what I paid for it but I just had to have it."

Sonia ran her hand along the side of the frame. "How old is it do you think?"

"Hmm, well I can't be certain," her aunt tapped her chin with a finger thoughtfully, "but I thought perhaps sometime around the late 1300 to early 1400's … maybe …"

Sonia continued to run her hand along the frame, her fingers brushing over the strange symbols. "It's a shame about the mirror."

"Oh, I think it still works."

"Aunt Maria, it is completely shattered," Sonia replied incredulously. "You're going to have to replace the whole thing."

"What? Oh yes, the broken glass, yes. I'll replace it of course."

Sonia shook her head. Her aunt was so flighty at times.

"Oh will you look at the time," her aunt gasped. "Well you can't go home now. You will simply have to stay here."

Sonia looked at her watch. Eleven thirty already? She held back a sigh. The streetcars would not be running anymore. If she wanted to get home she would have to call a cab or Uber. Two things she did not like to do. She gave her aunt a suspicious look.

"You planned this, didn't you." It was not really a question.

"Oh don't be mad sweetie," her aunt implored. "I never get to see you. You have to forgive your needy old aunt. Humor me just this once."

"You should be ashamed of yourself aunt Maria."

"Sometimes I am," she replied with a wink.

They stayed up a bit longer before saying good night. Sonia did not worry about her scrubs, she could get new ones at the hospital if she got called in. And since she and her mother had practically lived here while she was growing up, finding an old t-shirt to sleep in was not that difficult either. She would have to sleep in the room with the mirror though, as her old room had been turned into another closet for her aunt. First world problems, Sonia thought with a sigh.

As Sonia sat on the bed and brushed out her hair, she looked over at the old mirror. After a moment, she got up and walked over to where it leaned against the wall. Something about those markings nagged at Sonia, grating just under the skin. She traced the markings with her fingertip, running over them again and again. It was while doing this over and over again when she realized.

They were incomplete. The markings carved into the sides were incomplete. At some point in this grand old mirrors history, someone had covered portions of the markings with paint and gilding. Sonia looked around the room for something, anything she could use, finally settling on her keys. She began to scratch furiously away at the gold and paint to reveal the carvings in their entirety. When she had finally removed all of the paint and décor, she ran her hands along the sides brushing away the dust until the wood felt warm beneath her touch. The dim light of the room made the strange shapes almost seemed to glow from within the wood as her hands moved over it. It also seemed to make the glass within the mirror look as if it rippled. Sonia froze.

It did ripple. Like water disturbed in a pond, every time she touched the markings with her hand the glass rippled. Before Sonia realized what she was doing, she reached out and touched the glass. She gasped as her fingers disappeared into the mirror, the icy cold from within stealing the heat from her hand. The cold crept up her arm and under her clothes, spreading across her skin like the lacy tide in a frigid winter beach. Icy cold began to chill her into clumsy numbness as her arm became more submerged. The cold seeped into her spine and traveled down to her toes, spreading painfully into her feet as if she stood on frozen stone instead of the fine wool rug over the wood floor. Sonia felt as if she had lost all sense of time and place as that icy hand crawled along her person, licking at her face as she gasped another breath as if drowning.

She could no longer see. Everything was black.

When she was finally able to find a light and focus her eyes, she found herself on the ground struggling to get up. The temperature of the room had dropped significantly. So much that she shivered and her teeth chattered uncontrollably. It was then she realized she was wet, her hair dripping as rivulets of water ran down her arms.

How did she get wet? How did she get on the floor? Wait, where did the rug go?

She struggled to her feet and look around at surroundings she did not recognize. Broken glass lay scattered around her feet in hundreds of strange reflections of light. She looked for the source of the light to find it coming from behind her. It was a doorway, the light was coming from a doorway. And standing within that doorway was a man holding a sword.

It was finally too much for Sonia to bear, and she found herself falling once more to the ground, this time embracing the dark.

~oOo~

Alucard walked along the dark hallway, sword in hand. Whatever it was that was in the castle, had come through the distance mirror. This could be bad. This could be very very bad. It was not till he reached the entrance to the chambers that he realized how bad.

He walked through the doors, sword at the ready. But he was not met with some dark creature from the hordes of the night. Instead he found a young woman, barely clothed in a short shift, soaking wet from to toe and shivering. She looked at him from beneath a curtain of dark hair, fear and confusion coming off her in waves before collapsing to the ground. He had her before she ever touched the ground of course and it was now his turn to stare in confusion.

What the hell just happened?

~oOo~

Maria closed the door to the room with the distance mirror once Sonia was all the way through. She then walked back down the stairs to the main sitting room and poured herself another glass of wine. Turning she held her glass up to the portrait of her sister.

"It is done, sweet Charlotte," she whispered softly, "I just hope you were right."