FiFi's Bizarre Adventure:Black Herring
By:CleruSonofShintetsu
[Chapter 8: Castle of Black]
Away from the path that Filomena walks, on the other side of Europe, there sits an old castle that once belonged to the Wallachian king, Vlad Tepes. This castle, once thought abandoned, is crawling with all manner of horror, including various zombies and lesser vampire servants. Much of Vlad Tepes' old iconography has been stored away, and in it's place, the rot that hid behind it.
On a higher floor of the castle, lay one of several coffin rooms, and in one such room...lay the slowly waking Sophitia Corleone. Her eyes jolt open and she punches the lid of her coffin open, sitting up from the dirt and muck within.
"Gah!? A coffin of dirt? Where am I!?" She asked herself, looking around the dank and eerie room. She jumped out of the coffin and looked down at herself, her hands and her bust primarily.
"Damn...so I really am some...pale monstrosity. My skin is fair but the color is washed out...hmph." she pondered, her thoughts cut short when the door to the room opened up. She reached for her dagger, only to find it was no longer on her person, so she instead took a defensive stance.
The moment the door fully opened, a vampire walked in, wearing crimson colored armor with a black cape. His features were masculine, but gentle, and he had a stubble goatee with short curly blonde hair.
Sophitia glared at the 6'2ft tall vampire. "Just who the hell are you? Are you here to have your way with me, monster!?" she asked, not letting her guard down for even a moment.
The vampire raises a palm. "Peace, I am here only to introduce you to your new home." he explained, putting his palm over his chest and bowing politely.
"My name is Dragos Black-Mist, son of King Fane Black-Mist. I am the heir to the Blood Moon Kingdom that my father is building." he explained, expecting no less than vitriol from Sophitia.
Sophitia spat on Dragos' boot, defiant in the face of what she's hearing. "Bah, you think me willing to serve a monster? Let alone how unbelievable that such myth is brought to life? You are demons hiding within the palace of a man so murderous that quite frankly I'm surprised you arent humping the walls as we speak!" she said, glancing around the room for another way out.
Dragos sighs and nods. "I know, but know that his rage was justified against the empire that once defiled him. His tragic life is the very reason we fight on you know." he calmly explained, drawing the intrigue of Sophitia.
"And just what the devil are you on about? Fight on? What, are you to declare war on humanity?" she asked jokingly. Surely there was no way that such an army would be enough to conquer the numerically superior human race, right? Such thoughts were flowing through her mind like water down a raging river.
Dragos nodded again, slowly. "Indeed, mankind must be converted and cleansed of human filth. Vampires, werewolves, other creatures, even witches are better suited to rule the world. Humanity has failed this world, and it will inevitably destroy itself in one swift movement..." He said, pacing around the room as he spoke.
Sophitia caught sight of his fine scabbard, holding a finer sword within for sure. She slowly relaxed her stance, allowing him to speak as she paced slightly toward the door. "And what, your army of monsters surely has a weakness, correct?"
Dragos, yet again, nodded along. "For vampires, the sunlight can erase them from this realm. For werewolves, they have no access to the moon's energy at daytime and are more sensitive to sunlight. Witches and other creatures yet elude my knowledge. Of course, such a weakness to sunlight should include you...in spite of your more unique transformation." he said, glancing at her as he said this last part.
Sophitia's eyes widened and she immediately questioned him. "Wait, unique? I'm a bloody vampire, just like you!" she said, pointing at him.
Dragos cut in after, "But you're NOT like me, that mask is an ancient experiment that only you, myself and my father have been a part of! The black stone mask and it's essence have made us into true vampires! Stronger, faster, even the sun's destruction of our bodies is briefly delayed, as I was once nearly erased by accident over a century prior." he said, his expression more serious now.
Sophitia took in this information carefully, piecing it together one by one. "So if I am correct...you mean to say that I am among the more...perfected vampires. Your father wages war against mankind for being akin to self destructive children, and he's gathered an assortment of all sorts of creatures of the night to serve him?"
The vampire prince nodded, again. "Yes, so please...cooperate, we can train you and make you one of our finest agents." he said, holding a hand out for her to hold onto.
Sophitia approached him and gently grabbed hold of his hand to shake it...only to instead deliver a kick to his groin, denting the armored covering and harming him accordingly.
Surprised, the vampire grunted and staggered back, falling onto one of the coffins. "A-are you insane, woman!? Why would you...agh! The damned groin..." he said, slowly rising to his feet.
Sophitia took this time to bolt from the room and through the halls. She overheard the vampire ordering the guards to catch her at all cost, and soon enough, numerous zombie soldiers were after her. These soldiers were all decked out in anywhere from gambison to chainmail, and armed with spears and axes and swords alike.
"Damn it all! There really is an entire cabal of guards in this castle! I don't even know left or right in this place, and I'm being pursued by freaks! I think I'd have been better off dead..." she said, frustrated with her situation.
She turned a corner and was greeted with a line of spearmen, cackling as they blocked her way. Upon closer inspection, some of their faces were barely human at all. Many of them had rotted or monstrous faces, and all were akin to roughly mutated human beings thanks to their zombie forms. Gritting her teeth, she jumped into the air and kicked the center guard's head in, sending him to the floor. She then grabbed the other guards and smashed their heads together, adding them to the pile.
Before she had time to think about what she had just pulled off, more guards were coming up behind her, and fast. She continued to run, aimlessly trying and failing to get out, until she was suddenly punched in the face by a large crimson skinned figure and sent flying off the balcony and onto the ground floor, mouth and nose bleeding profusely.
"A-agh...damn, damn, damn!" she swore, starting to lose her cool at long last. She squirmed around on the floor and attempted to crawl towards the front door, until she was blocked by a new figure.
"What a waste you nearly were...Italian." said a deep Romanian voice. Sophitia looked up towards the figure and gasped in awe at the sight.
The figure was a 7'0ft tall man in crimson armor, though more regal and well made than the other vampire's armor was. He had his hair in a regal bun, and a fine mustache, all colored platinum blonde. Atop his head, sat the crown of Vlad Tepes.
"On your feet, and then you kneel. You are gazing upon the high king of vampire-kind, Fane Black-Mist." he announced, many undead and monstrous servants gathering around, and three more behind him. Those who showed up behind him were of noteworthy appearance, and one of them was Dragos himself. The other two consisted of a voluptuous vampire woman in a low cut and tight dress, and the other one was a werewolf in human form. The werewolf was very muscular and had long, wild ginger hair, and wore a simple sleeveless shirt with a torn cape.
Sophitia, realizing her injuries had already begun to mend, slowly got up, then knelt as instructed. "...Why? Why did your attendant choose me? You owe me this much, an explanation." she said, causing an outraged growl from the crowd.
Fane rose a fist and shouted, "Silence, all of you! Behave yourselves in my presence!" he commanded, the room growing silent again. He then lowered his arm and answered her question.
"Manners aside, you are correct. You see, you were by no means my intended target. That fool is my right hand man solely due to his mind and battle prowess, but he could afford to restrain himself. Truth is, maiden, you are merely lucky that the mask did not kill you." he said, taking a moment to await a reaction. When there was none, he simply continued.
"Right now, he is in the process of conquering England as we speak, forging an army of the dead in his wake. He yet lives because of luck, as do you. You would do well to accept my mercy, and accept your lot as one of my champions. Will you kneel before your king? Will you aid me in gracing mankind with the blessing of vampirism and ascendance?" he asked, tilting his head and awaiting her next response...should there be any.
Sophitia was feeling every manner of tension in the world. She thought to herself for this brief moment. "God...am I not in hell, being decieved by the Devil himself? What manner of nightmare have I brought upon myself? Someone, answer my ache...my ache of the heart, of mind and body! Nay...it is no use. I must...allow myself to serve this monster, this demon brought to life. Perhaps I can make my escape at a later date..."
With a deep breath, she bowed her head and declared aloud, "I submit to your rule, o wise king, and savior of mankind from it's own foolish nature..."
Though her words held no heart, the room was satisfied, and the king drew his sword, a dark and wicked blade. He then lowers it, knighting her accordingly.
"From this day hence, thou art a true member of my court. May ye serve my kingdom well, and learn to accept the truth and glory of our cause. Now rise, and follow my son to your new chamber." he said, his old form of speech returning solely to make the announcement feel proper.
Sophitia was then led in the direction of her new room by Dragos, silent throughout the entirety of the walk until he piped up with a question. "Sophitia, was it? I believe that is the name that Bastia presented us. Are you faring well?" he asked, trying to make smalltalk.
Sophitia responded curtly, "I've nothing to say to you right now. I need time to process everything I've seen tonight..."
She folded her arms and Dragos nodded. He raised a hand to his side and spoke once more. "Yes, but be aware that night is your new day, and day is your new night. You surely cannot sleep at these late hours anymore, and must adapt accordingly." he said, much to the shock of Sophitia. He was right, Sophitia was going to be active solely at night now, for daylight would scorch her to ash.
Sophitia nodded, opening the door to her chamber as soon as they arrived. Within was a fine bedroom with a small prison cell on the side. Sophitia entered and slammed the door behind her, surprised in hindsight at how little consequence her disrespect for the prince had as of yet. She ignored any further attempt at conversation from the prince and flopped onto the bed, finally having a break from the slew of events she went through. As she lay there on the bed, she began to lose herself to tiredness. She had no regular feeling of exhaustion, but she forced herself to relax, and stare into the ceiling.
"Oh FiFi...I know you yet live. Whatever the monster who converted me may try...I know you can survive his trickery and fight on. Regardless of our quarrel, no human deserves the fate that has befallen me. Perhaps...this is what I deserve...for ruining our friendship that night." she said solemnly, looking back upon the night their friendship waned.
It was three years ago, her family was going through a financial crisis that almost ruined them, and she was getting fed up with Filomena's cowardice...
"Why!? Just stop, shut up! I'm tired of trying to toughen you up when you continue devolving back into a sputtering whiny mess! I am about to become a beggar on the street, and your ceaseless self loathing is driving me mad! Would you simply submit to a husband treating you as his carpet!? Begone with you, our friendship is strained, if not over...you woman-child..."
Sophitia grimaced at her words, and how years later, this reunion could have salvaged things. They tried so hard those past nights, being amicable to boot, but she felt dread that if they were to reunite again...something would yet get in the way of their would-be rekindled friendship. With a heavy heart, she shut her eyes and went to sleep, trying to calm her mind and body.