Chapter 14

I'M SO SORRY! Between the holidays and con crunch I have been incredibly busy, but I swore to myself that I'd publish my next chapter before hitting the one month mark. And so here we are!

This is pure, unadulterated fluff. My gift to all of you for having to wait for so long. I also have a whole bunch of comments I have to answer still.. I promise I will, you know how much I treasure your comments. But first things first, I wanted to get this chapter out to you!

I hope, as always, that you enjoy!

I own neither Castlevania nor it's characters.

You entered through the front doors of the castle hand in hand, the enormous doors quietly shutting behind you as you made your way across the front hall.

"Perhaps a bite to eat is in order. Are you feeling peckish? I could certainly go for something… sweet. What do you say?" Adrian's inquisitive gaze fixated on your upturned face, you nodded, "I would like that, yes."

"Wonderful, then it's settled, to the kitchen we go," Adrian smiled, squeezing your hand lightly as he directed you towards your newly determined destination. You followed without hesitation, Adrian could have lead you to the gallows for all you cared, you were just happy to be back in his thrall.

As you walked through the halls you couldn't help but sigh, it was nothing short of a relief to once again be traversing this path. Adrian heard the soft sound you produced and squeezed your hand in response, "Everything feels… right, now that you're back. I feel as if I am at peace. I thought I was doing the right thing by you, but instead of sparing one life, I ended two."

Your eyes widened at his admittance, your surprised gaze locking onto his golden pools of serenity. His expression was wracked with guilt, brows knit together and lips pressed into a tight line. You stopped walking, turning instead to face him, and raised your hand to his face, smoothing your palm along his cheek. He leaned into your touch, brows slowly unknitting as his eyes closed, but only for a brief moment before they were back on you, searching your face for forgiveness.

Your mind processed his words, spare your life?

"I trust you implicitly, Adrian. I know you would never hurt me. Not now, not ever," you spoke with gravity, hoping the earnesty behind your words would carry. But instead of relief, his face crumpled, "But, I did… I hurt you terribly. You slept for nearly three days, I truly feared that you might never wake…" his free hand moved to take yours, and both of your hands were raised to rest against his chest, "I would never set out to do you harm, but… sometimes I have urges that I cannot always control, and those urges can cause me to do… regrettable things."

"But you stopped," you insist, "you didn't kill me. You acknowledged that your actions were harmful and you stopped. I'm still here, aren't I? If anyone is to blame for not controlling their urges, it's me."

But Adrian just shook his head, "For all of the time I have spent alive on this Earth, I should be able to control my urges by now, even the urges brought on by actions such as yours. My father aided my mother in my delivery, yet a small cut drove me to insanity. It's unacceptable. I have… a lot of work to do still. And it's quite reckless of me to endanger you in the process."

Your heart stopped, had he changed his mind? Would he send you away again? Please, anything but that, you readied your pleas but he spoke before you could open your mouth, "But, simply put, I cannot live without you. It's selfish of me, to endanger you for my own personal gain, I know this, and I apologize, but it's unavoidable."

You exhaled heavily as the weight of his words sunk into your chest, and with the hands he still held against his chest you pushed him. Not hard to hurt him, or even budge him, but enough to confuse him.

"Must you be so dramatic? You nearly killed me that time!" you grouse, scowling at him.

Your reaction has him caught completely off guard, and despite himself he chuckles, "Dramatic? Please, if you think I'm dramatic you should've met my father. But regardless, I apologize, I'm holding up our meal. Let us proceed on our course, shall we?"

Your scowl fades into a smile, "Yes, let us proceed. I'm curious as to what you have in store for us to dine on this evening," and with that your journey to the kitchen resumes.

As you cross the great dining hall Adrian begins to recount his meal plans, "The hour is late, so it simply won't do to try and prepare anything too intricate. With that being said, I thought perhaps French Toast with a side of ice cream would be acceptable. A nice combination of sweet, savory and filling. What do you think?"

You look at him thoughtfully, "Perfect, that's perfect Adrian, French Toast is exactly what we need right now." Honestly, he could have suggested anything, anything at all, any of it would have been perfect, as long as it were made by his hands.

He nodded triumphantly, "Excellent, it's settled then," by now you had reached the kitchen, and Adrian rolled his sleeves as he finished his thought, "let us begin!"

A flurry of blurred movements passed before your eyes, and within moments Adrian had everything he needed laid out in front of him, "I'll focus on the toast, what I need from you is the ice cream. Collect the sugar, cream, vanilla extract and salt. Combine it in a large jar and shake it vigorously. Then store it deep in the ice box. Do you think you can handle that?"

You smirked, "Aye, aye, captain!" and with that, each of you set to your tasks.

In between combining your ingredients you often caught Adrian's eyes on you, unabashed gazes that lingered on your eyes, your lips, your hands. You reciprocated them with your own longing looks, rememorizing the angelic face you had come to hold so dear.

It wasn't long before your dinner was being artfully plated and carried out to the dining hall's great table.

"One last thing," Adrian mentioned as he set down the plates, "Sit, I'll be back momentarily."

True to his word, a few moments later he returned with two steaming mugs, handing you one as he approached. You leaned in and sniffed the amber maroon mixture, it smelled of wine and spices.

"What is this?" you asked, taking a deeper whiff this time, enjoying the aroma of the spices.

"Vin Fiert," he replied, "Hot mulled wine. Every country has their own version, all very similar, this just happens to be Romania's entry. It's especially pleasant in the winter months. Go ahead, take a sip, tell me what you think."

You raise your mug to him, "Let's toast first."

He smiles at your proposition, "Of course, let's toast. What would you like to toast to?"

You sit quietly for a moment, thoughtful, before finally speaking up, "To sharing a blessed home, full of love and happiness."

"To you, then," Adrian responded, expression dreamy, sentimental, "for having blessed my home."

You melted at the sentiment, "and to you, for having invited me in."

He nodded, his smile turning playful, "Indeed. Noroc!"

"Noroc!" you chimed in, taking a careful sip of the steaming beverage. It was delightful, but quite strong, better sip that one slowly…

Adrian watched your face as you swallowed your sip, that playful smile still stretched across his lips, "Do you like it?"

"I do! It's delicious, the spices are lovely, but…" here you paused, eyes crossing as you felt the sting of alcohol sliding down your chest. Instead, Adrian finished for you with a chuckle, "but strong."

"Yes!" you spout, only causing his chuckle to deepen, "should I be concerned that you cannot hold your liquor?"

"Absolutely not!" you exclaim, offended, "I just wasn't expecting it is all. And I haven't eaten much lately, and you know it's bad to drink on an empty stomach!"

At this his eyes traced your figure, taking in the visible weight loss you had experienced since he saw you last, "I noticed. There will be no more of that now though, eat up. Poftă bună!"

You raised your eyebrows at his distaste before quickly becoming embarrassed, instead deciding eating would be your best way to hide your shame at his discovery. He, as usual, did not disappoint, the food was absolutely delicious. Even your contribution, the ice cream, was quite nice, fluffy, creamy, just sweet enough. It wasn't long before both of your plates were empty, and your dinners were being washed down with more Vin Fiert. With each sip you took it became easier to swallow, the burn of both the alcohol and the temperature seemed to lessen.

Your eyes were drooping closed by the time you reached the bottom of the mug.

At this, Adrian paused his questions about your first week back at work to instead smirk at your drowsiness, "It seems the exciting evening we've had has taken its toll on you. Shall I escort you to bed?"

You nod, your head feeling ten times heavier than it should, "Yes, please," was all you could manage to tumble out of your lips.

With an amused snort, Adrian stood, guiding you to stand as well, and lifted you in his arms.

You were asleep before he even reached the Dining Hall doors.

Adrian dutifully put you to bed, removing your shoes and tucking you under the covers. He admired his work before placing a soft kiss on your forehead, lingering to inhale your familiar scent. With a content sigh and one last look, he left you to sleep, and made his way to his own room.

Everything was as it should be.