Castlevania: Minuet of a Cursed Fate
Chapter three: Fateful Encounters
Cover Image: Soma being pulled around town by Lancer and Illya as Avenger and Archer watch them from the distance.
August 21, 1614 A.D. twenty three years after his defeat at the hands of Christopher Belmont, Dracula wandered the European continent in one of his homunculus construct bodies, an ability he would later teach to the Einzbern Family. It was then the legend of the infamous Countess Dracula, the woman who bathed in the blood of hundreds of young women caught the Dark Lord's attention.
Dracula, whose homunculus body took the form of a young man in his late teens with jet-black hair that grew at neck length and piercing red eyes, dressed in an elegant black coat, appeared at the Čachtice Castle in Eastern Europe. After brutally disposing of the guards and the other castellans, the Prince of Darkness made it to the tower and it was there, he saw a deceptively young woman with pink hair, aqua coloured eyes, horns and a tail, the bloody maiden was chained to her bedpost, wearing a depressed expression on her face.
"Elizabeth Bathory." Dracula called out the imprisoned beauty, despite being a terrifying being of legend, the Dark Lord spoke with an unusual gentleness in his tone. "Or rather… Countess Dracula."
"W-Who are you…?" In a trembling voice Elizabeth asked for the identity of her questionable saviour. Years of imprisonment and abuse had driven the bloody maiden mad with both rage and solitude. "I-I shouldn't be here! I didn't do anything wrong!" The pink-haired dragon recalled her trial, unable to understand why her activities were seen by the people as heinous acts.
"I am the Prince of Darkness, Dracula." The Dark Lord's eyes started to glow a blood red as he effortlessly cut the chains that bound Elizabeth. "Those foolish humans are but stains on the floor now."
"D-Dracula?!" Elizabeth gasped, for years she had idolized the legendary Vampire King, even using his very name in her obsession with recognition. This moment was like a dream come true for the bloody maiden, having the Prince of Darkness that she adored act as her saviour was too good to be true.
"Come with me, Elizabeth." Dracula knelt and he extended his hand towards the bloody maiden, sympathising with her plight and feeling a kinship with her over their similarities. This rare act of kindness a remnant of the humanity he had abandoned centuries ago. "Join me in remaking this world."
The love-struck Elizabeth took Dracula's hand. At that moment, the Prince of Darkness became the bloody maiden's whole world; he was her saviour, lover and soul mate. The pink-haired dragon would continue to serve Dracula for centuries until his final death at the battle of 1999.
Back to the present at the Tohsaka Manor, Rin was listening to Avenger's report on the battle between Saber and Lancer.
"Master, I've confirmed the presence of both the Saber and Lancer classes." Avenger knelt before Rin as he recalled the previous battle in the park. "I myself faced Lancer."
"And what can you say about them?" Rin listened intently, impressed by the information her servant had gathered and the fact that he survived his battle against Lancer unscathed.
"Saber is a skilled warrior, but Lancer is vain and impulsive." Avenger spoke calmly as he explained the nature of his encounters as well as his observations. "Lancer is highly susceptible to psychological warfare and with the right trigger; I could catch her off guard."
"At least Lancer isn't a problem." Rin sighed in relief upon hearing about the pink haired Servant's supposed incompetency from Avenger. "Well, did you see Saber's master?"
"He was a young man about your age." Avenger described Soma's appearance to Rin, his vagueness intentional on his part to hide whatever connection he shared with the white haired youth. "His magecraft seemed somewhat… odd."
"Oh?" Avenger's description of Saber's master caught Rin's interest. The Tohsaka Heir found her Servant's ominous tone somewhat suspicious. "Explain his magecraft to me."
"He seems to have summoned Saber by accident." Avenger told Rin about the botched Familiar summoning ritual that resulted in Soma's participation as a Master. "With his low level competence, I'm sure he won't pose a threat."
"Good work, Avenger." Rin smiled in approval of the information her Servant has provided, feeling that she was closer to victory.
"I'll keep an eye on Saber's Master… he may be of use to us." Avenger bowed politely to Rin before vanishing into an azure mist.
At the Fuyuki City Park, Soma was approached by Illyasviel. Outwardly, the mysterious girl seemed innocent and playful, but her eyes showed predatory intent.
"Um… sure…" Soma answered timidly as Illyasviel stared at him, the white-haired youth felt a chill down his spine despite the mysterious girl's playful tone. "My name is Soma Cruz by the way…"
"Ok, Soma." Like an excited child, Illyasviel clung onto the white-haired youth's arm, but the sinister glint in her eye contradicted her innocent actions. "Let's walk around the city." The mysterious girl started to pull on him, feeling a strange sense of familiarity around the Cronqvist Heir.
Unknown to Soma and Illyasviel, Avenger was watching them from the distance. The golden-eyed Servant wore a melancholic expression behind his mask as he saw the somewhat peaceful interaction.
"So, you've taken to stalking little girls?" A man with white hair, tan skin and violet eyes dressed in a red long coat over black body armour, spoke in a strangely familiar tone as he approached Avenger with a smirk on his face. "And my Master at that…"
"You're an Archer class… how ironic." Avenger spoke back to the red-coated Servant in a similarly familiar but colder tone. "Old friend."
"And you're an Avenger class… that suits you a little too well." Archer spoke with both sarcasm and bitterness in his voice over what his friend had become. "And you're nothing but my old friend's ghost."
"Then witness it for yourself, Hero of Justice." Avenger gestured towards Soma and Illyasviel, his cold tone conflicting with the emotion on his eyes and the hopelessness that was made clear in his voice. "Our greatest failure…"
Soma was dragged around by Illyasviel to various candy and toy stores until the white-haired youth was exhausted, unable to keep up with the mysterious girl and her energetic attitude. The two eventually retired to a café where they sat across each other.
"Thanks for taking me to all those places, Soma." Illyasviel smiled sweetly at the white-haired youth, grateful to the the Cronqvist Heir for his company.
"Umm… you're welcome." Soma smiled nervously at Illyasviel, though outwardly calm and friendly, the white-haired youth was confused about his current situation and had trouble understanding the mysterious girl's reason for dragging him around. "Not like I had a choice…"
"You're really nice, you know that?" Illya stood up and sat on Soma's lap, facing him with yet another smile. "I think I'll take you home." The mysterious girl leaned her head on the white haired youth's chest as she closed her eyes contentedly.
"This is getting real creepy…" Soma took note of all the stares directed towards Illya and himself, knowing exactly what the situation looked like. "People are gonna get the wrong idea!" The white-haired youth panicked at the thought of being known as someone who's into children. "I could just walk away… but I don't want to hurt her feelings…"
"I'll be right back." Illya got off Soma when a certain kind of cake behind the window caught her attention. "Don't go running off now… or else…" The mysterious girl's smile turned sinister as she entered the building.
Soma was frozen by fear thanks to Illya's smile; though she was a little girl, the white-haired youth felt the weight of her veiled threat as if it were made by a seasoned killer.
Before Soma could do anything, he found himself being pulled away by an unknown figure and when the white-haired youth looked over to see who it was, he saw none other than Lancer, who was now dressed in a black and pink tank-top and skirt with her horns and tail now absent.
"What the hell?!" Soma was even more confused and he couldn't help but feel that he was out of the pan and into the fire. "As if my luck can get any worse!" The white-haired youth thought his day with Illya was bad enough, but now he was being dragged away by an enemy Servant.
"Be quiet." Lancer covered Soma's mouth as soon as she made sure they were alone, wanting to keep their meeting a secret from everyone around the area.
Knowing that in his current position, he lacked the mana to summon Saber or use his dark magic, Soma was at Lancer's mercy, so he had no choice but to obey the pink-haired Servant.
"You'll answer all my questions." Lancer removed her hand from Soma's mouth and she pressed her bladed nails against the white-haired youth's neck as she interrogated him. "What magic did you use last night?"
"D-Dark magic." Soma feared for his life as some blood ran down his neck, he knew that in his current position, Lancer could very well end his life if she wanted to, but he was wise enough at least to lie to the enemy Servant. "It was a spell I learned from the Clock Tower."
"Hmm…" Lancer pulled her hand away and took a very good look at Soma's face, and to her shock and awe, he bore a striking resemblance to Dracula when he used his younger homunculus body. "I-I won't kill you because you're cute… but there's still a lot I want to know about you."
"I'm not going on another "date" am I?" Soma wore an annoyed expression as he saw where the conversation was headed, feeling that his unusual encounter with Illya should have been enough torture for one day. "Oh crap!" Suddenly, the white-haired youth remembered that the mysterious girl's veiled threat. "I have to go back!"
"No you don't." Lancer smiled maliciously at Soma as she grabbed his arm, the pink-haired Servant had no intention of letting the white-haired youth go after his familiar face had piqued her interest. "I spared you, so that means I own you, be grateful!" The petite girl couldn't take her eyes off the Cronqvist Heir.
"So… what now…?" Soma sighed in defeat, seeing that there was no chance of getting out of his current situation. "Whatever it is, let's just get it over with."
"Since my Master is so boring and won't listen to my singing…" Lancer pouted at the thought of her dull accomplice before smiling at Soma. "I'll have you listen."
"Alright then, let's get this over with." Soma smiled at Lancer, though he was considerably annoyed at the sudden imposition, he felt that anything was a welcome change from the tense cat and mouse game that Illyasviel was playing with him. "I know a great karaoke."
"Karaoke?" Lancer stared at Soma confusedly, not knowing what kind of place the white-haired youth referring to. "Is that like a theatre?"
"Kinda." Soma felt strange about warming up to the Servant that almost killed him the night before, but being with her was an oddly familiar sensation to him, shaking the thought away, the white-haired youth took Lancer's hand. "Come on, let's go!"
Soma and Lancer made their way to a Karaoke building and the white-haired youth reserved a room for them, but what happened next would haunt the Cronqvist Heir forever.
Lancer's singing was horrendous and with each note; the song ate away at Soma's sanity over the hours that he had endured.
"So? Did you like my singing?" Lancer beamed with joy, feeling that she had finally gotten to sing for someone again. "Did you?"
"Umm…" Soma was stuck between a rock and a hard place, if he lied and praised her, he would have to endure another song and if he told the truth, he would incur the horned Servant's wrath. "It was… an interesting experience." The white-haired youth smiled nervously.
"That didn't sound sincere at all." Lancer pouted as she heard Soma's half-hearted reply. "Whatever, I'll sing for you again tomorrow! So be prepared!"
Soma grimaced at the thought of having to hear Lancer sing again, but he kept a forced smile on.
Soma made it back to his apartment at the middle of the night, and before his hand could touch the knob, the door was opened by none other than Saber, who had a look on her face that indicated both anger and worry.
"Soma, where have you been all night?" Saber spoke in a harsh and demanding tone as she interrogated the white-haired youth, her face looking both stern and irritated.
"Well…" Soma tried to avoid telling Saber the truth, knowing that his run in with Illya and Lancer would upset her to no end, especially since the latter was an enemy Servant. "I just had some… errands to take care of."
Saber did not want to hear any of Soma's excuses, so she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the apartment.
Soma mentally prepared himself for a long night of scolding, and Saber still had it in her mind that the white-haired youth was her old love, Mathias reborn, so she had no intention of letting him out of her sight again.
Within the walls of the Tohsaka family mansion, Rin turned in her sleep, struggling with a vivid dream and in it, the black-haired mage found herself watching two combatants, the first was a man who resembled Avenger, but with a different mask, a black one with a bat motif and four red eyes, that covered the upper half of his face, though still masked, this is probably the most she's seen, but the black-haired mage didn't recognise and the second, a man who resembled Archer.
Avenger held out his hand and a crystalline red sabre with a cross and bat wing adorned hilt appeared in his right hand in bloody mist.
Archer summoned two curved short swords one black and the other white, each themed after the symbol of Yin and Yang.
The two warriors ran across the battlefield and clashed blades, with a force so great that it generated sparks. With that image, Rin's dream started to fade, but not before she heard these words from both combatants.
"If it hadn't been for you…"
Those words filled Rin's heart with instinctive fear and despair, though she heard Avenger's voice; there was something vaguely familiar about it, as if it belonged to someone dear to her.
As Rin slept and Soma was scolded by Saber for his carelessness, Shirou was going through his late father's things, lately, the auburn-haired youth hadn't slept, not since he discovered his deceased parent's secret study.
"Huh?" A peculiar item caught Shirou's attention, an old picture of his father, a man with messy black hair, black eyes and a stubble dressed in a black suit and with him was a woman who resembled an older Illya, with the same white hair and red eyes, dressed in a white winter dress, but the last figure in the picture was a middle-aged man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes
"Kiritsugu Emiya, Irisviel Von Einzbern and… Julius Belmont." Shirou read the names of the three figured depicted on the photo, he recognised the first one as his father, but the other two he did not know.
Shirou continued to search through Kiritsugu's belongings until he found a long red rapier that emanated with a magic glow. The auburn-haired youth picked up the sword and beside it, he found a journal with the name "Shanoa" written on it.
"Shanoa?" Shirou spoke the written name before opening the journal, but inside, he did not find words, but instead, he found various magic seals, and as the auburn-haired youth made contact with one of them, the book started to move of its own accord and with each page that flipped, a magic seal glowed vibrantly, blinding the young man.
As the light faded, Shirou rubbed his eyes to find a beautiful young woman with raven-black hair and icy blue eyes, she was wearing an elegant blue garb with an armoured black and gold chest plate, her back and hands exposed to show three magical tattoos.
"I am Caster, are you my Master?" The raven-haired Servant had her gaze fixed on Shirou, her impassive tone and cold expression making it impossible to see what she was feeling.
Shirou stood there, dumbfounded by what had just happened, like his best friend, Soma, he was now a Master in the Holy Grail War, not by choice, but because the circumstance demanded it.
Author's note: After a long and I mean long wait, this story is finally updated! Soma's interactions with the enemy are solidified and Illya will play a very important role in both Soma and Shirou's lives and she'll also be a huge driving force behind many of their actions.
Illya's role as Archer's Master and Rin's role as Avenger's Master play into a sad story arc regarding an alternate future and it should be obvious who Archer and Avenger truly are at this point.
Archer and Avenger's backstory, as well as their bitter rivalry will be explained in the future. The only clue I can provide for Avenger's beginnings are that he is a figure very similar from the character Full Frontal from Gundam Unicorn.
The main theme of Soma's character development is Dracula's past catching up on him and how there is nothing he can do to stop it. Saber's love for him and Lancer's curiosity and eventual infatuation are all Mathias/Dracula's doing, but soon, they see that Soma is much more than just Dracula's rebirth.
In this story, Soma can be described as a younger Mathias pretending to be Shinji. At first glance, Soma seems spineless, sarcastic and generally uncaring, but what he hides beneath that is a sharp intelligence and a strong empathy.
Soma in general would rather give in or hide to avoid fights, that's because he wants no one to have grand expectations for him, only Rin knows that it's all an act though.
Shanoa's role as Shirou's Servant will be similar to Saber's, only Shanoa is a darker, more aloof figure and she'll be generally mission-minded, but she will warm up to him eventually. His connection to Julius will remain a secret for now.
Now to answer my reviewers
Zero-Nightmare
Thanks!
Avenger loves to use psychological warfare and can exploit his enemy's weaknesses.
Saber's reunion with Soma gets far more emotional when they enter the castle and her rivalry with Lancer intensifies.
Alucard will be a Master again, and his Servant will be a familiar face.
Oh, quite, Illya will be a stalker yandere.
Awesome! Just give me any suggestions you have.
Alhazad2003
And things get far worse in this chapter. Soma is now part of a dangerous game and his opponents… four love-struck girls! Alucard is still as cold and pragmatic as ever, but his plans fail.
Ultima-owner
Thanks!
Lords of Shadows
Thank you, I'll try to keep them interesting.
Yes I do, and it will span 1,000 years.
Duncan0Idaho
I'm setting up Shirou and Soma as rivals and best friends, and Sakura still has her love for Shirou. The servant is Shanoa, who is pretty much like Saber in a sense.
Guest
Sorry about that, I'll try to update more often.
TheOneAboveGod
That's being built up near the end of the war, and my 1999 story with Julius uses a similar theme.