Somehow, Maria had managed to convince Alucard to share a home with her after happening upon an abandoned cottage on the outskirts of a village they had happened upon after reuniting, following the destruction of Dracula's castle. She had taken considerable effort to make the building presentable, but there was one issue that bothered her.
She knocked gently on the thick wood of Alucard's bedroom door. When there was no reply, she knocked upon the door again, harder this time. A muffled groan and the beating of wings could be heard from the other side before she got a response.
"You may enter." Alucard responded from within the room as Maria pushed open oak door and walked into his room. She looked around his dwelling and sighed, gently pressing her hand to her forehead.
"We need to do something about this, Alucard." She said, gesturing at the room around her. Alucard cocked his head to the side as he rubbed his eyes, still somewhat groggy.
"Pardon me, Maria, but what do you mean?" the half-vampire inquired, as he followed Maria's finger pointing around his bedroom. The young lady placed a hand on her hip and raised her other arm to shoulder-level.
"We've been living together here for a month now, Alucard and I've been trying to make this place a home for us, but you haven't really done anything to your own room. I'm not saying you need to change how you are but… You basically live inside of a box." Maria stated, gesturing to Alucard's totally barren living quarters.
True enough, the son of Dracula had no personal effects, nor did he have furniture. His room was simply empty, save for the door and a large window and the room itself felt hollow, empty. Perhaps reminiscent of its inhabitant.
Alucard shot Maria a puzzled look, folding his arms as he did so.
"I was not aware that this would be an issue." He admitted. He looked around his room and noticed that indeed, the room was totally barren, but that did not bother him as much as it seemed to bother Maria.
"You don't even have anywhere to sleep. I'd ask how you're doing it but I already know that you're just turning into a bat and hanging from the ceiling." Maria pointed towards an exposed beam and Alucard turned his gaze upward towards it. "You can't tell me that you haven't, either, I can see the claw marks from where you've dug in."
An awkward silence filled the air as the half-vampire furrowed his brow in thought. He had only known two places he could have called home. One, in the castle of his father, was long gone along with what little personal effects he called his own that he did not carry with him.
The other was a literal crypt, where he had sealed himself away following the climax of his first battle against the forces of his father, alongside his old companions and even a place as dead as the crypt was less barren than this room. At the very least, it had a coffin for him to rest within. Perhaps there was some truth to Maria's words, as he had often found to be the case the more time he spent living with her.
He edged closer to the Vampire Huntress ever so slightly. He thought it strange, but there was something charming about how the morning light hit her features. Something that Alucard forced himself to put out of mind in order to get back to the matter at hand.
"What would you suggest then, Maria?" the half-blood asked, as he locked his gaze with hers. She grinned widely and the air was filled by the warmth of her laughter.
"It's funny you should ask that, actually. There's a town, not very far from here. They have a few workshops and a marketplace. It's actually where I bought a lot of the furniture we have here. I was planning on going myself today, but seeing as you're awake…." Maria grinned coyly as she looked at Alucard. "You can come with me this time and actually pick out some furniture."
The Dhampir frowned, nonplussed by the turn of events unfolding before him. His brow furrowed as he glanced towards the wall, unable to mask his displeasure.
"Must I?" He pleaded. He wasn't exactly what he would have considered well-adjusted to living among humans. It had been over 300 years since he had last been able to do that. No, not since Targoviste. That memory left a bad taste in his mouth.
Maria leaned towards him and shot him a wry smile that sent a strange sensation running up his spine.
"If you do, you'll get something really nice later." She whispered softly before she turned around to leave the room. As she faced her back to Alucard, he shivered. "I'll be waiting outside!~" She beamed sweetly.
Sure enough, Alucard found himself wandering outside to meet Maria. She had borrowed horses and a wagon from the village they stayed on the outskirts of. He observed her for a moment, watching her handle the horses gently, petting them lightly and producing carrots from a pouch tied to her waist and raising them towards the beasts, who ate from her hands. There was something about watching Maria around animals that Alucard could not put into words, but witnessing this event put a sense of ease into him that he had not often experienced.
Turning around, Maria noticed the Dhampir standing just over the threshold and beckoned him over with a wave. He complied and approached her, slowly as Maria grinned widely at him.
"So you decided to join me after all?" She beamed at Alucard as she climbed up onto the wagon. The son of Dracula nodded and joined her, pulling himself up onto the wagon next to Maria, who shifted over to give him enough space to sit.
"Yes. I've given thought to what you said and perhaps this may be worthwhile. At the very least, I will need somewhere to sleep. Hanging from the ceiling to sleep has had me awaking somewhat nauseously." He confirmed. Maria chuckled softly at him as she took the reins into her hands.
"I can't say I'm surprised. I don't think I could manage to sleep like that at all, let alone for the month or so we've been living together. Well, aside from the first few days after we moved in and we didn't have any furniture at all and barely a roof over our heads, which reminds me of wh-" Maria began, recalling their early days together after happening on the village they now stayed in, before Alucard cut her off.
"Maria. I told you the same thing then as I told you when I met you in that forest. It was not to be a regular occurrence." He quipped dryly, aiming to push past the topic of his Wolf form being used for warmth as opposed to its intended purpose. Maria simply smiled at him as she signalled the horses to move. As their hooves softly thudded into the earth, Alucard turned to face Maria once more. "Where do you intend for us to go, Maria? Where is this town?"
Maria pointed north. "It's about an hour's ride north from here? I heard it got attacked a few times by Dracula's forces a couple of centuries ago." Alucard immediately had a familiar feeling. He'd been in this area once before, long ago.
"God above, it better not be Gresit." He whispered to himself. "Very well then. Let us hope that this weather holds."
Unfortunately for the half-vampire, his intuition had proven true. The high walls of Gresit dominated the skyline as Maria pulled into the stables just outside the city. As they disembarked from the wagon, Alucard rubbed his temples.
"It just had to be Gresit. Is this perhaps what Trevor meant when he would go on and on about God defecating in his meals?" The half-blood muttered softly. Maria tilted her head slightly in response.
"Did you say something there, Alucard?" Maria asked, curiosity getting the better of her. He shook his head in response and followed her towards the town gate. It was, thankfully, raised this time, a stark contrast to the total lockdown that had been in place when he had awoken here following his first confrontation with his father.
He was not, however, prepared for the sight awaiting him beyond the gates and through the thick walls of stone. Gresit had almost completely transformed in the centuries since he had last been here. What had once been a fiery wreck was now once more bustling with life. It was almost overwhelming. This was true civilisation once more, the first he had known in a long time. Maria could sense his apprehension and instinctively, without even noticing, extended her hand and took his into it.
"It's a big town, isn't it? At least this way we won't get lost." She laughed nervously, a faint red tinge creeping into her cheeks. "Sorry, is this alright? I know I should have probably asked you first."
Her hand was softer than he had expected, able to tell this much even through his gloves, and carried a certain warmth within. From just this contact, he could physically feel the blood running through her, life pulsating through her body, faster admittedly than he could normally hear and whilst somewhat embarrassing for him, the sensation was not unpleasant. He simply shook his head at Maria's question dismissively.
"This is fine, Maria. While I am not a child, you make a good point. This city is much bigger than I had first expected and it would do poorly for us to be separated here." He stated, his voice a tinge warmer than he was used to speaking with Maria in.
Lightly, she tugged at his hand and led him into the town. There was so much more life to Gresit than he had known before. When last he left, it had suffered immense damage from the invasion of his father's demonic armies, but now? It was as if it had never happened. In spite of the hardships the people of Gresit had endured, given the time, they had thrived once more. He smiled softly, almost imperceptibly. Perhaps this was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The same spirit that his mother had believed in, and the same spirit that that perhaps had allowed Maria to not give up on him. She hadn't noticed his smallest of smiles as they wandered around town trying to make their way to the marketplace.
Maria herself had thoughts running through her head as she walked the streets with Alucard in tow, hand-in-hand. There was something about the look in his eyes when the city walls came into view that seemed to suggest he had been here before, perhaps long in the past. Was his experience here good or bad? She could not say.
Her eyes darted around before focusing on a sign pointing to the town square and the scent of roasted meat filling the air around her. She used the mouthwatering smell to guide her to the centre of town and her eyes lit up as a large series of stalls and shops lined the streets in front of her.
"Wow…" she gasped as she turned to face Alucard, eyes bright and smile beaming. "Look at this, Alucard! There are so many merchants! We're sure to find something perfect for you here!"
Alucard shifted somewhat uncomfortably in place and rested his free hand on his hip. True enough, there were stalls as far as his eyes could see and one of these vendors was bound to have something, but in truth, he found this locale somewhat cramped for his taste, almost suffocating. He simply nodded in response to Maria's excitement as she led him through the street.
There was so much choice that Maria felt somewhat spoiled, far too many merchants for her to choose. Some peddled exotic silks, others spices. Of course there was also the various street vendors serving all manner of foods, ranging from simple slices of dried goat to sweet pastries. The scents were overpowering and almost caused the young woman to forget her purpose for bringing Alucard along to Gresit in the first place. She took a deep breath and steeled herself, managing to pry herself away from the street food stands and ask a local townsman where the nearest workshop was. Perhaps a woodworker there would be able to sell them some furniture.
After more or less dragging Alucard around town for a good twenty minutes, Maria had finally happened upon a small carpenter's workshop, close to the city walls. The shop itself was somewhat cramped and smelled strongly of sawdust and wood shavings, but the scent was somehow relaxing to Maria. Sensing that he had customers, the carpenter himself approached the pair from within the back of the shop. A short man, with the firm calloused hands of a craftsman, the carpenter grinned as he approached.
"Well, well! I don't normally get visitors like this. How can I help you folks today?" He asked the pair though only Maria was particularly interested. Alucard was absentmindedly staring towards a carving on a shelf near the wall.
"Actually, we were wondering if you made furniture? We just moved into a new place and we don't really have much to our name." Maria confessed. It was at the very least a half-truth, but they weren't exactly destitute. The old woodworker smiled knowingly.
"Ah, you two are newlyweds, perhaps, yes?" He chuckled, eyes lighting up as he removed his tool belt and set it upon a nearby workbench.
Maria's face flushed crimson and she threw her hands up in the air, waving frantically.
"N-No, no! N-not exactly!" she stammered. The Craftsmen raised an eyebrow for a moment, before chuckling loudly.
"I see, I see, not yet. Still, t'is a serious courtship if you're buying furniture together, after all. I don't have much in this workshop itself, but I do have a warehouse out back with some of my finished pieces for a young couple such as yourself." He gestured towards a door and beckoned for Maria to follow him out back.
Softly, Maria pulled at Alucard's hand, snapping the Dhampir out of the trance he had fallen into. He said nothing, but followed where Maria led him. True enough, as the carpenter had promised, a warehouse stood a short distance away from the carpenter's workshop. The old artisan pulled open the door and wandered inside, beckoning Maria and Alucard inward with a wave.
The warehouse itself was not exactly what Maria would call well-lit and it carried a faint scent of dust, as if it had not been cleaned out in quite some time. The aged artisan bowed his head, somewhat embarrassed by his own current state of affairs.
He cleared his throat and gestured around. "Well, I do apologise for the less than glamorous appearance of my warehouse, don't normally get folks from Gresit coming in to buy furniture and the like. Seems folks these days are more interested in nick-nacks and trinkets like what your man was as intrigued by before we headed out here."
"Your man?" Alucard whispered to Maria. She turned around quickly to face him and stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
"There's been a bit of a misunderstanding but he seems willing to sell some of these things to us. Let's just play along for now, okay?" she whispered back. Alucard paused for a moment. Though deception wasn't wholly in his nature, but surrendering himself to Maria's whims had worked out well enough for him today so far, so he wasn't inclined to do anything that might alter that. He simply nodded and followed Maria's lead.
The sheer volume of furniture this single man had created by himself was almost astounding for Maria. The level of detail the craftsman had put into the woodwork was easily apparent and it was obvious to Maria that this had very clearly been a labour of love. The craftsman in question beckoned her over and gestured towards one of his finished pieces.
"Now, if you two are to live together, then you're going to want somewhere to lay your heads. Take a look and see for yourselves if you think it'd suit you." He requested, gesturing towards a sturdy, dark oak bedframe, inviting the pair to inspect the craftsmanship.
Tentatively, Maria reached outwards and gripped the wood. It was firm and covered in a thin, smooth varnish that brought a certain sheen to the oak. She examined the length of the frame and glanced back towards Alucard, as if to compare his height to the length of the frame. Noting that it was slightly more long than the dhampir was tall, she nodded triumphantly.
"How much is it?" The young blonde asked. The carpenter smiled and was about to point out a price before Alucard cleared his throat, catching the elderly gentleman off guard. The Dhampir put a hand into his coat and withdrew a lustrous, black jewel and offered it to the carpenter.
"Will this suffice as payment, good sir?" Alucard inquired, handing it off to the other man, whose eyes widened in response. He had never seen such a beautiful jewel before in all his days and yet a craftsman with his discerning eye was able to determine just how valuable the jewel was.
He nodded slowly. "Yes, yes this will do, most certainly. Considering the value of this gem, I'd reckon you'd be able to pay for a few more pieces. Feel free to take a look around and pick out what you need." Maria's eyes lit up in response and Alucard turned to face her, his gaze softening somewhat, almost cracking a smile at Maria's excitement. He nodded to her as if to signal she was free to run wild and she immediately shot off around the warehouse, looking for anything that might have made Alucard's bedchamber a little bit more homely. She had already picked out a wardrobe, a nightstand and a small bookcase for their living room before she stopped in her tracks and beckoned over to the Dhampir.
"Alucard, you know, it's just been me picking stuff out, but… it's your room too. I want you to pick something out from here too." She stated with a determined look on her face. "We aren't leaving until you pick out something that you want for yourself. I mean it."
Something about Maria's tone caused Alucard to shiver. Had he ever experienced such a situation? He could not recall any time where he'd been spoken to in such a manner. Not even his own mother or father had spoken to him like this. Though, he did consider the turn of events rather amusing. After all, in the hundreds of years he had been alive, never had he ever met anyone quite like Maria Renard. Conceding to her will, he wandered around the warehouse for a brief moment, before realising that perhaps he could use somewhere to sit after all, or at the very least, seat visitors to his room.
A dark walnut chair caught the dhampir's eye. It looked sturdy. Perhaps a little bit too much so. Tentatively, he sat down and immediately regretted doing so. To call the chair uncomfortable was an incredible understatement. While a typical or comfy chair would conform to the spine of the one sitting in it, this chair actively seemed to want to damage the spine. It dug into places no chair ever should and honestly seemed more like it was intended to be used as a torture instrument or to seat ones worst enemies. It. Was. Perfect.
"Maria." Alucard called out. Hearing him, the shorter blonde wandered over to where he appeared to be stuck in the chair and not in a comfortable way.
"Are you sure about this, Alucard? It doesn't exactly look like you're having a good time." She confessed. In response, Alucard's eyes brightened as he gazed into Maria's own. He nodded and managed to pry himself free from the hellish throne.
"I have never been more certain, Maria. It is perfect." He stated, almost with pride, as he stretched uncomfortably and rubbed his back. Noting this, the carpenter approached and bowed his head to the pair.
"As your lovely wife-to-be told me, sir, you have a wagon currently stored at the stables. If you will meet me there, I will send for some couriers to bring your furniture to your wagon." He grinned as he examined the onyx that Alucard had paid him with. Alucard nodded and extended a handshake, somewhat tentatively, which the aged carpenter accepted with a warm grin.
"It was a pleasure to do business with you, sir. You have my thanks." Alucard said, in as warm a tone as he could muster for a stranger who had done him a kindness on this day. Maria was surprised at how natural he looked, considering normally he only reserved this manner of speech for when it was absolutely necessary. It gave her some degree of hope. Perhaps, based on today, Alucard could live among people again.
The journey home was silent, Alucard may have surprised the couriers by being able to load the wagon with furniture by himself, but they hadn't thought to pry further when Alucard simply started he was a powerful warrior. Maria glanced at him as he took the reins this time. She hadn't expected him to be capable of driving a wagon, or riding a horse, but after seeing how well he handled interacting with the people of Gresit in spite of his discomfort, Maria learned that Alucard was a man who could pleasantly surprise her. Perhaps, she thought as she gazed softly upon him, she could help him open up to the world once more and lessen the pain that he carried within him. Today was a start, and tomorrow could be even greater. She would be there for him, every step of the way.