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The Legend Of Cornell
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Disclaimer: I don't own CastleVania...Konami does. Must they rub it in? None of these characters are mine except for Marcell, Christopher/Mutt, Matthew, Emilia, Maiko and his tribe (excluding Ortega), Marius, Joseph and his village, and Holly.
Author's Note: I have spent almost a year working on this story, and I am happy with the results. As always, I will reread, spell-check, and add on things. In edition to creating a good percent of the characters and settings before and after the journey in CastleVania, I also replayed the game it was based from (CastleVania: Legacy of Darkness) as I wrote each part of the story, to insure a decent accuracy in scenery, events, and dialogue. Still quite a bit was edited and added on to, to bring out the meaning and fit into the story… And I still get no credit. Bah! Almost 2/4 of this story is based directly from the game. I hope you enjoy, and if you're still interested, read the next sequel: The Chronicles Of Malus! I enjoy reading reviews so please give helpful comments if you'd be so kind!! Thanks!
---Riddle272
Chapter 1
Cornell strolled through the new hamlet which he began to call his home. It seemed like only yesterday that the trees were in bloom, yet now cold white powder covered the ground. The tribe had settled here only two days ago from their weeks journey. His father kept him so busy that Cornell barely had time to see his new surroundings the days before. He looked up at the frozen trees bare from their leaves, yet covered with snow. Four months of this wintry wonderland until the tribe migrated for spring...
Someone screamed.
Cornell turned to the direction of the noise. It came from behind one of the village houses. Through the dark, his keen eyes could see candlelight reflecting against the side of the house. There was a second yell. This time he distinguished that it came from a girl. A young one perhaps... Cornell investigated cautiously, not sure of what he'd find or even why he'd even decided to check. What he found was the Cossa brothers. All three of whom were a few years older than him. They each held a large stick in one hand and a torch in the other. The scream had not come from them, but from a very young red-haired girl huddling against the wall in front of them. The oldest Cossa, Maefir, kicked the huddled young girl angrily.
"Get up you weakling!"
The little girl screamed. Maefir kicked her again.
"This one's stubborn and useless." The middle Cossa brother, who Cornell knew as Raven, said. "The slave camp will probably get rid of this weakling anyway..."
"There will be nothing left for the slave camp the way you're treating her." Cornell said.
The Cossa brothers turned around.
"Cornell, what do you want?"
"I wish you would leave her alone, for one." Cornell said stepping closer to the red-haired huddle. "She's already in bad shape, and she's only a small child!"
The eldest Cossa sneered at the young boy. "You talk like you know everything. What does your father teach you anyway?"
Cornell chose not to answer that question. He picked up the bundle from the ground. Now he could see the small child clearly. Apart from her loose and unkempt red hair, her white dress was filthy, her feet were bare and her eyes were filled with tears.
"Where are her parents?" Cornell asked.
"Dead. The tribe killed them all, remember?"
"Oh yeah..." Cornell felt slightly guilty. The were-tribe had gone on a celebration raid the day before. She must have been a survivor the brothers found in the ruins.
"So you kept her outside and starved her? She's not a wolf. She can't survive outside like this!"
"She's a human! Who cares?"
"Humans aren't bad!" Cornell blurted before he could stop himself. He added quickly, "But it doesn't matter, I'm taking her with me." That too he had not meant to say.
"Back off, we found her first!" Raven growled, stepping up to Cornell as though he planned to snatch the small girl from his arms.
"You said she was worthless..." Cornell replied. "What would you want from a 'stubborn and useless weakling'?"
The oldest Cossa stepped over to stand next to his brother and face Cornell also.
"Well, aren't you smart?" Maefir said, "Maiko won't like it when he finds out that Matthew's son is rescuing humans...but that's fine. Keep the little filthy thing. There are others..." He motioned to his younger siblings and left Cornell behind the house in the cold, alone with the red-hair.
Cornell looked at her and she looked away timidly.
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He said quietly.
The girl flinched as though Cornell had yelled at her. More tears formed in her eyes and she started to weep silently.
"I know you're scared, but I promise I won't hurt you. It's okay..."
Cornell took a moment to think. Where could he take her? The tribe would kill her if she stayed here, but there wasn't another village for thirty miles. Who would want a traumatized and malnourished child anyway? Cornell scratched his hair with his free hand. He didn't know much about what humans wanted... Maybe he could take care of her!
He chuckled and started walking aimlessly back onto the village's main path. No, his father would never agree. He didn't hate humans, but he didn't like to be around them either. Especially since Cornell's mother's death. Come to think of it, Matthew would probably kill the little girl, like the were-tribe would... Cornell stopped to look around the cold and desolate village. Where could he take her? A cold gust of wind blew past him and he moved towards the forest. He journeyed into the fairly deepest part of the forest on the west side of the village. The tribe was least likely to go there. Though it was much colder and darker than in the open and the ground was deep with snow. The trees howled and shivered in the dark as the icy wind blew above, sending cold chills through Cornell and of course the small child. Cornell brushed away a large circle of snow for both he and the girl to sit. As he placed her on the ground, she stumbled and curled up in her usual huddle.
"Um...you're probably cold," He said finally. "And hungry..."
Cornell gathered some fire wood, then made a good and steady fire for them to sit by. He also ventured into the dark trees and managed to find two hares to cook by the fire and eat. After the boy tended to the fire, he took out a small knife and began to skin his catch. All the while, the girl shivered and watched him curiously.
As the hare were cooking, he caught her gaze and gave her a smile, motioning for her to sit by him. For a moment she looked at him with fear, but decided to get up. She stumbled over to Cornell. Cornell sat by the fire and placed her on his lap. He combed her disheveled hair back, as the least he could do for now.
"What's your name?" Cornell asked.
The girl shook her head.
"You don't remember what your mother called you?"
The girl shook her head again.
"Well, I'll give you a name." Cornell thought for a moment then spoke. "I will name you...Ada."
Ada looked up at him curiously, but Cornell could tell what she was thinking.
"Me? My name is Cornell."
She nodded. Cornell prepared the hares for eating, and gave a piece to Ada. She looked from the meat to Cornell, wondering what she was to do with it.
"It's safe to eat." Cornell said, trying a piece himself.
Ada looked at the meat again. After a few moments of bewilderment, she decided to try it. It seemed quite obvious that she liked it, because after the first piece it didn't take her long to devour the rest. Afterwards, she nestled into Cornell's warm coat. He embraced her lightly. Maybe this human would begin to trust him?
"I have to go now." Cornell said. "I can't let you come with me. Stay here for now, okay?"
Ada sighed, but Cornell noticed that she was asleep. Cornell placed her on the ground and blanketed her with his coat. He could stand the cold longer than she could. He put out the fire with snow and started out the forest towards home.
"You're late." Matthew said matter-of-factly, as Cornell walked in. His father didn't even glance up from the book he was reading.
"Um…yeah." Cornell said, thinking of an excuse quickly. "I got caught up playing in the snow, you see..."
"Ah..." Matthew said. He looked up over his book at Cornell. "And since when did you like snow?"
Cornell blinked. He was caught.
"Recently…" He murmured.
Matthew stared at his son for a moment before smiling slightly. He didn't feel like interrogating him.
"That sounds like fun." Matthew said half-heartily, going back to his reading. "Did you enjoy the snow?"
"Yeah..." Cornell murmured again, looking at the floor. His father knew he hadn't been anywhere near the snow long enough to build even a mini snow-wolf. "I'm going to go on to bed, okay?"
"Alright then. Goodnight Cornell."
Cornell wished him a goodnight and wandered to his room. He lied on his bed and stared out of the window at the snow he indeed hated. He thought of Ada sleeping alone in the below-freezing weather. She should be kept warm with his fur coat... Hopefully, she would still be alive when he came back tomorrow...