Alucard didn't come back.
Trevor had long since returned from his trip to get firewood, but Alucard had not.
The forest was completely quiet, making the air tense. Until Trevor opened his mouth.
"I knew it," his face was bent into a disgusted scowl. "I knew that he was leaving us. He's probably drinking some poor virgin girl's blood right now, like in the old wives' tales."
Sypha's eyebrow twitched. "Shut up, Trevor!"
He flinched.
"He said he was going to get food. For us! If he wanted us dead, he would've killed us by now. What motive does he have to do that?"
Trevor hated to admit it, but Sypha was right. The dhampir couldn't beat Dracula at full strength and now he was weakened. If he went in there without their help, he would be torn to shreds.
But instead of admitting defeat, Trevor crossed his arms. "Hmph!"
And with that childish act, Sypha's disappointment in him was all but assured.
She rolled her eyes and let out an audible sigh."He'll be back by morning. Probably got attacked by something."
They were wrong. So very wrong.
Alucard had been in the middle of hunting for his new comrades, when he felt a cold hand circle his neck, sharp claws gently poking his aorta.
The dhampir mentally kicked himself for not noticing the threat sneaking up to him until it was too late.
"What do you want, Father?"
"No greeting for your father, son?"
"I gave you one. I wouldn't have uttered that word tying you to me if it weren't in a greeting. Now," a note of hostility tainted the monotone voice of the dhampir. "what do you want?"
The hand around Alucard's neck loosened until the arm attatched to it dragged it back to the owner's side.
Alucard took the chance to jump away, out of reach, before Dracula changed his mind and decided to break his neck.
Alucard thought he saw a small flicker of emotion in his father's eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it. Instead, it was replaced by a stone cold mask.
"Join me, my son," was the reply that nobody expected. Least of all Alucard. Even the animals seemed to go silent.
"What?" Alucard wasn't sure he heard the man right. Join him? Like hell he would!
"I know you heard me, Adrian. Do not make me repeat myself." Dracula's voice took on a demanding tone.
"I must decline," Alucard bit back coldly. "If you've already forgotten, you tried to kill me, and now you're trying to kill humanity, which I'm trying to protect." He shifted into a better position to run away if needed to. "What point would I have to join you other than to get myself killed?"
Dracula's eyes narrowed; most likely in disappointment.
At him.
At Alucard.
This wasn't good.
"Because I told you to. Isn't that reason enough?" There was something akin to frustration in his voice, before a low growl emmitted from deep in his throat.
Alucard's brain began to work overtime.
Why is he so hostile today? Dracula had never lost his temper, except for those few times when the dhampir was a child. He's impatient. Rash.
Then, something clicked.
When was the last time he fed?
It could be dangerous if left unchecked, Alucard knew that. Not only for Dracula, but for every living thing with blood in its veins.
The dhampir decided to test his hypothysis.
"When was the last time you fed?"
It started with a simple question.
"That is not your concern," Dracula snapped.
Feisty lately, too. Another thing added to the list.
Next, Alucard decided to provoke him.
"Then explain why you're so moody. You're acting like a werewolf in heat."
Alucard could've sworn that he saw a vein throb on the elder vampire's temple. His plan was going smoothly for the most part.
"Shut up, Adrian."
"I will not."
"That was an order, boy." Each word felt like a knife to the heart, with how much hostility and thinly restrained anger was carried within the biting growl of Dracula's voice.
Unfortunately, Alucard was always a rebellious child, and that hadn't changed over the years. Far from it. In fact, you could say he got worse with age. And that was something that the king of shadows did not like. That his son, his servant, his heir would dare to defy him. If Alucard knew anything, it was how much his father despised not being able to control the one person he wanted to remain under his influence. He hated being looked down upon as a lesser being.
That's why, that very reason is why, when Alucard looked into Dracula's red eyes, he allowed a small spark of defiance to light his own sharp gaze. And why he suddenly tilted his head up in order to look down his nose at the elder vampire with a look or near boredom on his face.
Alucard couldn't deny the sense of joy that flowed through him for just those few seconds. The few seconds as he watched Dracula's face twist into an ugly look of anger and hatred. Anything that was calm about the vampire before was now completely shattered.
"Why you little-!"
Alucard dodged a swift swipe at his eyes from a clawed hand, and took a few more steps back, just to be safe.
"What?" the dhampir asked, in a clearly mocking tone. "Is something the matter?"
Alucard could practically feel the waves of bloodlust and murderous intent rolling off of Dracula and onto him.
Alucard knew he was playing with fire. And he knew that he would get burned eventually.
Another clawed hand tried to strike his face once more, this one faster than the previous. Alucard almost couldn't dodge. And yet still, he provoked.
"What, too slow to hit a child? Are you so weak that you can't even beat your own son?"
"SHUT UP, YOU INSOLENT BRAT!"
The next swipe was too fast to even block, forget about dodging. It struck right across Alucard's face, making a diagonal gash across his eyes and down his right cheek.
The dhampir drew in a sharp breath, stifling a scream.
He could feel it. Feel his eyes start to break down and shut off. Black spots began to cover his vision, as warm blood seeped out of the wounds and down his neck.
He had just enough of his vision to be able to see the horrified look on Dracula's face. The guilt that Alucard could see begin its feast upon his soul.
As his vision blacked out, and he could feel himself sway, and tilt towards the ground, he wondered, Will this be the time I can finally have some rest? Will the darkness swallow me whole like it has refused to do so in the past?
Those questions went unanswered, as Alucard thought. There was no higher power, no God, to protect and watch over everyone equally. Even if there was, why did he abandon the monsters that he created? What a bunch of lies.
A small, bitter smirk stretched across the fangling's bloodsoaked lips, as all that remained of his vision was lost. And with it, his consciousness, thrown into the void.
Maybe this time...He would never wake...
I...kinda got a bit deep there at the end. Wow. Didn't expect this scene to go like that. But, anyway. Sorry for the wait for this new chapter. Writer's block is a monster that nobody should have to go through. But at least I advanced the plot some [which is surprising 'cause when I first started writing this, I had no clue what I was doing!], and hopefully writing the next chapter will be a bit easier. At least this chapter will be posted when Stairway has almost one thousand reads! I never thought that anybody other than robot would read this, not to mention enjoy it. So thank you to everybody that stuck around, even though my update schedule is non-existent. I give you all virtual cookies. And don't be shy to leave your opinions and critique in a review or PM. Every bit of feedback I get makes me so happy. I have no clue when I will update next, so to be safe, I'll say that a new chapter of this and/or Burden will be up within a month. I hope you enjoyed this long(er) [I hope] chapter of Stairway, and I will see you all next time!
Bye-bye!
Majesty
