SEVEN
Reverse, Redo, Regret
It was decided early on that they would navigate the caravan in shifts. Alucard lead first since it was after midnight and his eyes were better equipped to see in the dark. Besides, he couldn't sleep anyway. His mind raced with questions that eluded him. His paranoia built even as he desperately wanted to accept it at face value. Perhaps this whole situation was too good to be true. Perhaps Sypha was right and it was all a dying dream. Or maybe this was his heaven? No, he wouldn't have been accepted into heaven. Maybe hell would tease him with this happy ending before ripping it away. He wasn't sure if he could survive that.
The small lantern hanging beside his head bounced to the beat of the gravel road. It provided the smallest bit of light, serving as more of a comfort than anything else. The flames warmed the side of his pale face even as the crisp night air soothed across his skin.
The steady pulse of his companions' heartbeats was a comforting rhythm as well. It was so much louder and noticeable than his own lethargic, muted heart. But he liked the sound. It reassured him, lulled him to a relaxed calm. He could pick out each of the heartbeats from each other, from Trevor's loud, thudding pulse to Sypha's fluttering heart that changed to the tune of her emotions to his mother's steady, serene rhythm. He wondered if they would find that creepy. He could never tell what humans would be comfortable with, and though he did have a human half, he was also too far removed from humanity to judge.
So he neatly tucked the sound of their hearts into the back of his mind and let the rhythm beat like music. His polished, talon-like nails tapped into the leather reigns as he tilted his head back, breathing in deeply. The world smelled like wildlife, like freedom and dense woods. What a lovely night. A good night for hunting, his father would say. Though whether his father meant humans or animals Alucard honestly didn't want to know.
Perhaps once they set up camp somewhere, he'd go hunting. They had bread and dried jerky, but deer or rabbit would be a nice addition. His companions would surely appreciate the fresh meat, and he would enjoy the chance to run and hunt like his more savage nature urged him to do. A celebration of sorts, he decided.
His eyes closed, his lips parted, and he could almost taste the brisk air. Yes, what a lovely night indeed.
Time passed quickly that night along the empty road. Before long, the morning painted the horizon in watercolor reds and purples. Alucard watched the colors bleed together until the sky shown blue and the light burned the edges of his vision and the sun pressed uncomfortable pinpricks along his skin. He tolerated it so Sypha could rest just a bit longer, but soon, the encroaching morning became more of a draining irritation. With a steady exhale, he pulled the horses to a stop and ducked beneath the tarp into the shade of the caravan. Immediately, the filtered sunlight was a relief to his eyes.
Lisa looked up at him, her expression serene. Alucard's leather coat seemed large over her thinner shoulders, concealing her head with its high collar. It squeaked slightly when her back moved against the wooden arch behind her.
Alucard acknowledged her with a tilt of his head.
Across from her, Trevor had fallen asleep on his stomach, his head twisted to the side uncomfortably and arms splayed out on the wooden floor. Sypha had cocooned herself in the blankets beside him, allowing only her forehead and messy strawberry blonde hair to be visible.
Alucard's feet were oddly quiet as he moved over the wooden flooring to the sleeping Speaker. His hands wrapped around her shoulders, and he shook her, just once, with a low mutter of her name. She mumbled an incomprehensible counterargument and burrowed further within her blankets.
He smirked and shook her once more, which earned him a narrow-eyed glare.
"If you want to wake Trevor up before noon, you're welcome to," he told her.
That woke her up. Neither of them wanted to deal with a Belmont in the morning. With a groan, she flopped onto her back. "This floor was not intended to be slept on."
"I'm sure."
Her eyes narrowed. "You slept in a coffin," she accused.
"More comfortable than this, I would say." He extended his hand to help her up, which she accepted. His hand was cold against hers. "The horses need to be fed," he informed her. "I would volunteer, but animals tend to be upset by my presence."
Which was an irritating byproduct of his vampiric heritage. Unless he trained the creature from its youth, animals instinctively tried to avoid him.
Sypha had grown up around horses, so she didn't mind taking over the task of caring for the creatures. The caravan was stocked with various provisions: Horse feed, fruits and vegetables, pots and pans, blankets - All the necessities for travel. The universe finally cut them a break from all the misfortunate of their parallel life.
Alucard took a seat next to his mother. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
Lisa shifted. Her legs tucked more comfortably to her side. "The Belmont snores. Honestly, it's no wonder Vlad dislikes the family. You'd have to hide in a coffin and bury yourself underground just to escape the sound."
He laughed, relaxing against the wooden arch. One leg propped up, and he rested an arm across it. Lisa's laugh was more subdued, and she hid it behind a raised palm to her mouth.
The situation was therapeutic. His mother was one of the few people he felt comfortable enough to smile around. After all, smiling meant fangs and to nearly all humans, fangs meant danger. In the eyes of the mortal populace, there was little difference between a friendly expression and the bearing of teeth in a threat. He'd learned the lesson long ago when he was far too young to truly comprehend the intricacies of vampire and human interactions; back when he didn't understand how he was different, only how others gazed at him warily or gave him a wide berth when his mother brought him into town.
And how much it meant to him when he was finally able to play with the other children. He was shy, yes, overly polite, and always looked to his mother for the proper responses. When left alone with those his age, he was a bit lost on how to act, what to do or say. But the other children accepted him well enough. They found his eye color fascinating and were more in awe of his strength than frightened. One girl in particular, a pretty brunette with her hair wound in braids around her head, bombarded him with questions: Where did he come from? Were his eyes natural? Did they have the ability to hypnotize?
Innocent questions, bereft of fear. And he'd answered to the best of his ability while also leaving out the more condemning details: He came from a solitary home far away. Yes, his eyes were entirely natural. No, he could not hypnotize others, though perhaps one day he'd develop the ability like his father.
"And what is your father?" the girl asked. There was no accusation in her tone; only simple, naive curiosity.
"A scientist," the young Adrian had answered, just as naive.
Another boy piped up: "Scientists don't have eerie eyes and fangs."
"Some do."
Those were such simpler times.
After that day, the parents forbid their children to ever speak to the Tepes family ever again. From that prejudice grew hate in the form of cruel glares and whispers.
Despite all of that, the brunette girl always treated him with kindness, even though she wasn't permitted to go near him. She often would smile at him from across the cobbled street, and he would smile back - Lips closed to hide his fangs.
Soon, he didn't bother returning to the village at all.
Alucard closed his eyes and sighed. What ever happened to that girl? Had she survived Dracula's wrath in their past life? He hoped she was doing well.
A sudden snore snapped his attention back to the present and to Trevor's splayed out form in front of him. The hunter shifted in his sleep, twitched his hand, then fell still once more.
"Honestly, how has he survived this long?" Lisa mock-complained, her lips twisting with poorly concealed humor.
"Sheer stubbornness," Alucard answered, just as amused.
"You know, it's interesting to me," she said, "how a famous hunter trusts a half-vampire enough to sleep so soundly in his presence. Not that I'm complaining. I just find it… odd is all."
He curled his fingers to his palm, released it. "He didn't always."
"Trust you?"
"Trust anyone, really."
Lisa nodded. "That's…. Quite sad." She tucked a loose strand of messy blonde hair behind her ear with a delicate hand. "I heard what happened to the Belmont family," she said. "The church's betrayal, I mean. Would you believe Vlad was upset to hear of their passing?"
He scoffed with wry amusement. "That's surprising."
"Hmm. He called them the greatest foes of his kind, but I believe he respected them too. I think he considered their passing to be a rather tragic end to the family." Her hand waved to Trevor's sleeping form. "It seems like the great Belmont family isn't entirely gone yet."
A loud, stuttering snore broke through the calm morning air. Lisa winced.
"Believe it or not," Alucard said, his inhuman eyes glittering with amusement, "If you strip away the alcoholism and bitterness, there is quite a bit worthy of respect there. He's a good fighter and, despite his words, a good man. Well worthy of the Belmont name." And thank god Trevor wasn't awake to hear him admit that.
"He would have to be a good person to extend his friendship to you. And the Speaker - Sypha. She's very lovely. I quite like her" Her mouth curved into a grin, and she nudged him with an elbow. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and her? Or the Belmont, for that matter?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. "Mother...
"What?" she asked defensively. "I get to ask all the mom questions. You can't blame me for wanting to see my little boy happy."
His expression softened. He wrapped an arm around her thin shoulders, smoothing down unkempt hair with a pale hand as he did so. Gently, well aware of the sort of strength he could wield, he pulled her against his side and placed a soft kiss against her head. "I am happy," he answered against her hair, and the words were more honest than they had been in years.
She relaxed against him. "That's all I want. My family to be happy and accepted and loved."
Alucard wanted to respond, And I just want my family to live. But those words were too much, too heavy, and voided by recent events.
The caravan rocked into motion as Sypha, from the front of the caravan, lead them forward. The occupants steadied themselves for the rough start before the movement evened out onto the road. Trevor grumbled a bit in his sleep at the disturbance, but fell back into a deep slumber a second later.
"How are your legs?" Alucard asked.
Lisa shrugged. "They're healing swiftly. The medicine you brought certainly helped with that. I believe the wounds looked worse than they actually were." Her gaze went distant as she took in the sight of her bandaged feet. "I'm glad it was you that found me and not Vlad. I dread to think what he would have done."
Alucard closed his eyes and breathed in. He knew what his father would have done, and it was probably worse than Lisa had ever dreamed. "He would go mad without you."
He didn't mean to say it. After all, his mother had enough worries in her life - Her husband's morality being one of them. But there it was, the quiet words tumbling from his mouth so easily.
And Lisa looked impossibly sad. "Do you think so? He's come so far, Adrian. He's actually interacting with the human world."
"He holds love for you, Mother. Not the human world."
"I am human," she argued like she had a hundred times in the past.
"An exception to the rule, not a true example. He sees you differently than the others. You know this."
"But he can change. He already has, Adrian. Every day, he's just a bit more human."
Alucard closed his eyes. His hands tightened into fists. When he spoke, there was a flash of fang. "But he's not human. You can't just change what he is because you love him."
"You think I don't know that?" Her words were stronger then, more defensive. "Do you think I don't see what he is every time I look at him and see red eyes and sharp teeth? Or even you, for that matter. I love both of you for you, for your mind and heart, and I wouldn't change anything about what you are. I just want you to be kind, Adrian. Not decorate your lawns with impaled corpses." She fell quiet, the muscles of her jaw tensing. Her eyes traveled over his face, examining his profile, trying to read something so very important. She delicately reached up and touched his chin, pulled his gaze to her. There was so much pain there, deep in his solemn expression. Pain and fear and regret well beyond his years. "What happened?" she whispered. "You've never spoken about your father like this before. Why are you arguing this so vehemently?"
Because hundreds of people died when his mother burned?
Because his father had been driven insane because of love?
Because he himself had brutally murdered his father for humanity and for her?
He released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, turning to gaze forward into nothing in particular.
"Promise me something, Adrian," Lisa said, moving her hand to his shoulder. "Promise me that if something happens to me, no matter what it is, you'll keep Vlad from doing something terrible. Help him understand that there is good in humanity and that I wasn't just an exception. Please."
An image of his father, reaching for him, pleading. "My son…"
His father dying because of him...
Lisa lifted herself on her knees, her fingers tightening around her son's muscular upper arm, and placed a soft, fleeting kiss against his cheek. "I love you, Adrian. I'm so proud of the man you've become."
Alucard closed his eyes, seeing red dance behind his eyelids. God, his chest hurt. The sunlight pulled at the corner of his consciousness, and he suddenly felt so very tired.
His mother sighed and relaxed against his side, using his oversized coat as a makeshift blanket. She drifted to sleep there, peacefully against his side, completely ignorant to the images and thoughts plaguing her son's guilty conscience.
Trevor Belmont could be called many things. Brash. Uncouth. Rude. Often unhygienic. Loyal when he wanted to be.
He was not, however, an idiot. He would have died long ago if he lacked some semblance of sense in that dense head of his.
Sunset had finally fallen. It would be another day till they reached the next town, especially if they stopped that night to make camp. Trevor had been put in charge of the caravan, and for the longest while, he absently listened to Lisa, Alucard, and Sypha talk casually in the back. The subject of their conversation hadn't been anything important, bordering on easygoing nothingness, but it was pleasant to listen to nonetheless. Before long, they fell into a relaxed silence, and he had nothing to listen to but the indifferent hum of nature.
He pulled the horses to a stop, looked up to the gradually darkening sky, crisp with the warm and cool breeze of summer nights. "I'm going to take a piss," he announced behind him in case anyone was listening. But there was no answer, so he grunted a response and hopped down to the dirt road beneath him.
The forest had grown eerily silent as he trudged to the road's edge and unlaced his pants to relieve himself. He tilted his head back as he did so, listening to the heavy stream of urine hitting the ground in the utter quiet.
A chill fluttered down his spine; his shoulders tensed. Something wasn't right. The woods were too quiet, too still, like the wildlife had all simultaneously decided to hold their breath. His eyes narrowed, and he slowly examined his surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except….
There, in the distance to his right, a bright glow in the shadows of the trees, swaying like the wind disturbed it.
Trevor considered it for a moment, his mind racing through his memorized knowledge of inhuman beasts. A fairy circle? No, not quite… Too solid. More like a Will-o'-the-Wisp. Either way, nothing good could come of eerie magic in the middle of nowhere.
So he redid the laces on his pants and turned on heel to march back to the motionless caravan….
Only to stop once more. No one had seen a Will-o'-the-Wisp in this part of the woods for decades. Most people thought they no longer existed. Then what was he seeing? Was it a danger to travelers along this road?
He sighed, his eyes rolling in exasperation. "Dammit," he muttered to himself and turned to march toward the flickering light in the middle of nowhere.
Trevor Belmont was no idiot.
Except on the occasions that he absolutely was.
Despite his weight, Trevor had trained himself to be a silent hunter. His skilled feet wasn't quite as unnoticable as a vampire's, but it was damn closed for a human. His body had tensed for any sudden movement. The light didn't retreat as he approached it, bobbing mechanically with no signs of intelligence.
Soon, he was close enough to see that the light was indeed a lantern - Albeit one that was attached to a curved staff. Beneath that staff was a woman, old and grey, barely more than a skeleton herself. Her skin was stretched taut over fragile bones, her facial features sharp and gaunt. Her white hair surrounded her head in brittle strands, unkempt like a local madwoman. Her torn and bedraggled clothes emphasized that disheveled appearance.
And around her eyes was a wrapped bandage that coiled a few times around her head, rendering her blind.
"Yeah…." Trevor muttered to himself. "Fuck that." He turned around. "Nope. Gonna pretend this didn't happen." Two steps, then -
"Trevor Belmont."
He gritted his teeth together. "Fuck."
The woman's voice was delicate, low with age, but still iron with confidence. "Will you not speak to an old woman?"
He addressed her with a scowl. "Old woman, yeah. Old witch in the middle of the woods with a blindfold on? Yeah, not dealing with this shit today."
"So rude, last son of Belmont. What would your family say?"
"Not much, considering they're dead now. But hey, they'd probably be all about dealing with you. Guess that's why they're dead now, huh?"
She grinned, showing off her blackened crooked teeth. "I think the dead says quite a bit, especially when they're Belmonts. Even now."
"Meaning…"
"Meaning we're having this conversation, you and I. And you, Trevor Belmont, died once."
He froze.
"Ah." She tilted her head in amusement. "I got your attention, didn't I?" Her crooked finger pointed to him. It looked like it had once been broken in multiple places. "I was there, in that other time. I watched you die in the war."
His lips curved into a scowl, but his heart was racing. "Didn't think to help me, huh? Who's rude now?"
"I did help you, hunter. You asked a request and I answered. We made a deal, and I have not forgotten."
Fuck. That voice back then…
Trevor had said, I'd give anything to save them.
His throat was suddenly dry. He tried to hide his apprehension with a nonchalant expression. "So what are you?"
The woman shrugged. Her hand tightened around her staff. "There are different names for me in every culture. Death, maybe? But that's not entirely accurate either. The closest, I believe, are the Greek's idea of Fates. I suppose that's what you could call me. A Fate, like my sisters and my sisters before me."
"And what, I owe you my soul now? We made a deal and you brought us back to take our souls?"
"Nothing nearly so dramatic, dear boy. What would I do with your souls? I have all souls in the end anyway. No." She shook her head and licked her chapped lips. "No, I want to see how this plays out. What are lives, but stories? And I do enjoy a good tale. So tell me a story, Trevor Belmont. Tell me how you would stop Carmilla."
He crossed his arms over his chest, squinting at her with suspicion traced over his expression. "That's it? Just do my thing and you want nothing else?"
"Mm. Not quite. You see, I'm still offering you something incredibly valuable. When this story draws to a close, I will take something from you to complete this transaction."
"And what would that be?"
"That would spoil the surprise, wouldn't it? What kind of story would that be?" She grinned again, and the threat of danger crept down his neck. "No, I will claim what is mine at the end. And believe me, Belmont, it will be something you will miss."
The muscles in his jaw tensed. "I'll protect them. I always will."
The old woman's expression softened very slightly. "Yes. I know you will. I'm counting on it." She stood, but her back remained hunched over. "Don't make this transaction for naught. Either way, I will be getting my payment. Don't waste your chance, Belmont. That is my final advice to you." She motioned behind him, still clutching her staff as it held her up. "Look. Your friends are awake now."
He turned, just slightly, and the woman was gone.
The forest immediately breathed back to life. The birds chirped; the wind rustled the leaves. Even the sky seemed to brighten into a more comforting dusk.
Trevor didn't move for a long while. Back then, in that other time, what agreement had he made with this creature, this Fate? His words weren't exactly remembered clearly.
Anything , he had said…. He knew that word was spoken.
Would he really give anything to save the people he cared about?
With resolve, he realized that yes. No matter what, they were the most important thing to him.
Unsettled still, he made his way back to the caravan, determined to keep the ominous conversation to himself.
Notes:
Some ominous foreshadowing there, huh?
So I've been playing with the idea of what relationships I want in this story, and I want to hear from you, dear reader. What do YOU want to see? Comment and let me know. It will help me decide what direction I want to go here. :)