Soo, this is another chapter!

I don't own castlevania!

So, I know I've been gone but I've been super busy with school lately. So I haven't had a lot of time to write but! I do have two chapters for you all! It was originally one chapter but I was like...eh...split that up. SO, you all get two chapters from me with in a span of a few minutes! You're welcome!

Thank you for all the reviews and readings and follows and everything!

Onto the chapter!

Hector shivered as he walked out onto the open pathway of the castle, the cold winds of the castle's current position whipping past him. He wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to keep warm while mentally questioning why he had agreed with Carmilla to talk out here.

"Dracula respects my skills." He spoke up moving further across the walkway. "And the humans cast me out long ago. Why would I go against his wishes?"

"Dracula has failed his own people." Carmilla said, moving through the frigid air easily. "He believes he fell in love with a human woman. He took a pet. You see that, don't you?"

Hector frowned. "I believe he loved her. He is capable of love. That's the source of his conviction. That, and his love for Adrian. Afterall, he made a family with her, a son of his own flesh and blood. That's not an easy feat for a vampire."

"If you love something, you act to keep it with you for as long as you can." Carmilla replied, gesturing to the human before clenching her fist. "Instead he allowed her to be killed by other humans, and for those same humans to torture his own son."

"He wasn't there." Hector defended, breathing onto his hands to warm them up.

"He wasn't, no." Carmilla hummed. "He was travelling as a human at her whim. Not once did he move to protect her, not once did he consider making her a vampire and bringing her into our community."

"It was her wish, from what I understand." Hector replied. "Besides, he no doubt wanted her to be able to help Adrian as best as she could, especially since he is a dhampir, something so rare that even Dracula, himself, did not have complete knowledge of."

"But even if he did turn her, would she still not have the knowledge she held as a human?" Carmilla asked. "Would she not be able to care for her son, to protect if not better than she had as a human? Would they have had to suffer the way they had?"

Hector did not turn to look at her.

Carmilla sighed. "You are loyal to Dracula and the night world, aren't you?" This caused Hector to look back at her, questions in his eyes. "You would have protected her, just as you tried to protect their son."

"Of course I would have." Hector defended, almost looking hurt at the idea of him doing the opposite. Turning away from Carmilla once more, Hector began to walk back into the warmth of the castle, the vampire's heels clicking behind him.

"Of course you would." She parroted, wistfully breathing out the words. "But on some level...he considers us less important, considers his son's health less important, than the short life of a mistreated pet. Does that sound sane to you?"

"Its...he's...just confused." Hector stumbled as his mind took in the words. While the words themselves he did not see himself in agreement with, at least not entirely, there was something...compelling about the vampire's words. He shook his head slightly as he entered the castle and continued down the long, darkened hall.

"And now he has taken us to war." Carmilla sighed as though the notion was ridiculous. "Should this war be prosecuted by a confused man? A man, who continues to spiral now that his son was taken from his home?"

"I...I don't know." Hector replied, wanting to get away from her words but could feel his confidence in Dracula break down with each word Carmilla spoke.

For a few seconds, Carmilla was silent. Hector almost let out a relieved breath at the quiet when she spoke up once more, fading before him out of the shadows near the staircase.

"Has it occurred to you," She hummed behind him, unfazed by the way he continued to walk past her. "That you, yourself, a loyal servant of the night world, prized asset in our lives and wars, are in fact...next to die."

Hector froze at the bottom of the stairs, breath leaving his chest in a woosh. "What?!"

Carmilla gazed down at him as if he were to be pitied. "You're human, Hector." The way she said human was drawled out as though hitting home a point that should have been obvious to the Devil Forgemaster. Offended, Hectored turned away from Carmilla once more, only to step back as she materialized from the shadows once again.

"You threw your lot in with us because it was your path to greatness and joy." She continued despite Hector walking past her once more. "But your loyalty counts as nothing when a man has decreed death to all humans, yet would not make his lover vampire, rampages across the continent in mad fury!" At this Hector froze and Carmilla came up behind him. "I ask you again, does that sound sane to you?"

Hector clenched his fists and turned to Carmilla. "He promised me that this would be a cull, that humans would be reduced in numbers and controlled."

"Now Hector, you don't truly believe that, do you?" She cooed. "You saw how lost he was when the humans first killed his wife and hurt his son. While the war he rages is planned, it is merciless. And now that his son has been taken? Rather than sending out a search party, he continues to slaughter any human his forces come across whether they are in relation to the current situation or not."

"H-He's upset." Hector defended, but even his own words seemed hollow to himself.

"If he's upset now, then what do you think will happen should he never find his son?" Carmilla asked, eyes narrowing. "What do you think he'll do, should the humans have killed his son?"

"There is no proof of that!"

"That doesn't mean it is not a possibility!" Carmilla shot back. "This is war, Hector. Whether we like it or not, the worst case is a possibility. And Hector, I know that you realize what will happen if they kill his son. The blood will stain the land more deeply then what has already happened. There will be no human left alive for the wrong they will commit. And what, do you think he will listen to you should this happen? Do you think that Dracula would listen to a human? He'd slaughter you on the spot."

"I-...I just want to do my work Carmilla." Hector replied after a few moments of silence. He couldn't deny that there was a possibility of Adrian dying out there, possibly already being dead, but he didn't want to dwell on those thoughts. Turning forcefully away from the vampire, Hector began to quickly make his way to his forge, but he knew that the other was right behind him.

"I know you do." She sighed as though understanding his struggle. "And I have a way of ensuring you will continue to do it. You just have to answer one question for me."

Once again, Hector's hands clenched into fists out of his frustration towards the female. Why couldn't she just leave him alone already? "And what's that?"

"Are you prepared to abandon Dracula to win the war?"

He acted without thinking. Before he knew it, Hector was pulling Carmilla into his forge, hand tight around her wrist while his ears were pricked for any sign of Dracula's men. After enough time passed that showed there was no sign of them being hunted down, Hector turned back to Carmilla.

"You don't say something like that outloud in this place." He hissed, eyes narrowed at the female vampire.

"What matters more?" Carmilla shot back, her own hand forming claws in her anger. "Wiping the earth of the human's you hate and submitting to your own death, or coddling a broken, old man?!" She narrowed her eyes even further at him. "The castle must land at Braila, Hector."

"Why?"

"You won't do it just because I wish it?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Fine. Braila is a major city. If we take Braila, we further cripple the humans. Not only that, but should Dracula's son be anywhere, I would not be surprised if he was taken there as one of the remaining cities."

"What does any of this have to do with abandoning Dracula?"

Carmilla sighed. "Should we land in Braila, Dracula will no doubt send out his army. At that time, my own army will come and seize the castle. As I said before, he is not sane. The castle and control of the war needs to be taken from his hands, but he will not give it up without a fight. You know this. Letting me take control will not only ensure your life, but it will also take this weight from the old man's shoulders."

Hector watched her in silence before closing his eyes with his own sigh. "Dracula is powerful. Your forces alone may not be enough."

"Your right." She leaned in closer. "Brilliant Hector." She turned to the pile of bodies that sat in the forge. "They may not be, but that is why I must ask you to do something for me."

Trevor brushed away the tarp that was hung before him, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of the cracked mirror behind it. "What the hell is this?"

"You don't know?" Sypha piped up from behind him, eyes looking through the book in her hand.

"I don't know." Trevor replied back with a sigh.

Sypha turned to him, pushing the book back onto the shelf. "This is your house."

Trevor wiped the dust from the reflective surface before crossing his arms and turning to Sypha as she approached. "Do you know everything in your house?"

"I don't have a house."

"It's true." Adrian's voice came from above them, making them look above the bookshelf. "She's a speaker. They're nomads."

"It was a rhetorical question." Trevor grumbled up at the boy. "Also, what are you doing up there?"

"I was reading." Adrian replied like it was obvious.

"But why up there?"

"Why not?"

"Just…" Trevor took a deep breath. "Just tell me what the mirror is."

"It was a magic mirror." Sypha said, leaning in closer to the object before her.

"It might be a distance mirror." Adrian said, hopping down to land besides the two. "My father has one. He can even travel through it."

"Is this one like his?" Sypha asked, trying to understand the ruins etched into the frame.

Adrian hummed as he leaned in closer, eyes trailing over each of the ruins. "I don't think so? I think there are more ruins in my dad's mirror. It also floats, though, so it can be something else. But...it might be able to just view things." His eyes lit up with a realization. "We can use it to find the castle!"

"But it needs to work in order to do that." Trevor replied, gesturing to the shattered parts of the mirror.

Adrian turned back to him. "That shouldn't matter. As long as the runes are workable, then we should be able to find the castle."

"Do you know enough about the runes to make the mirror work?" Sypha asked. "I know some, but I think you may have more experience with magic mirrors then I do."

Adrian bit his lip. "I know some? I mean, some of them probably need to be redrawn anyway with how long it's been down here, but it might help if I have a book with runes."

"Then we'll find that!" Sypha cheered. "There has to be at least one down here, especially with all the spells Trevor's family has around here."

Sypha sighed as she put another book back onto the shelf she was near. Her eyes felt heavy though she had no way of knowing what time it was since the hold was so far underground. Rubbing her eyes, Sypha moved away from the shelf and began making her way towards the center of the library where she last saw Trevor. As she moved past shelf after shelf, a flash of gold shown in the corner of her eye. Turning to look down yet another path framed by bookshelves, Sypha saw the sleeping figure of Adrian curled up on the floor, an open book fallen next to him.

A gentle smile took over her lips as she crossed the small distance between them and knelt down besides the sleeping child. Looking him over, she could tell from his peaceful expression that it seemed no nightmares were bothering him at this moment. As much as she wanted to move him, she didn't know if there was a more comfortable place other than the floor in this labyrinth of information, nor did she want to disturb what little rest he was getting, especially with the emotional outburst he had however long ago when they first entered the Belmont Hold.

With one last glance at the sleeping dhampir, Sypha continued on her way. At some point in her tired walk, Trevor's voice called softly out to her before she spotted him.

"You ok?"

Sypha closed her eyes. "Tired."

"Sleep then." He replied from his spot on the floor.

She bit her lip. "A bit...lonely." Now that she thought about it, she always had the company of her caravan. She hadn't noticed during her research, but being without them for so long made her a bit homesick.

Trevor opened his eyes from where he had been resting on the floor to stare at the small candle he had placed in front of him to keep him somewhat warm and the area lit up. His arm moved to hold open the sheet he had wrapped around himself. "My dusty old sheet has room for two." He said. "And...no one was ever lonely in this house."

Sypha let another soft smile grace her lips as she moved to sit beside Trevor. "Thank you."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Trevor spoke up. "Is Adrian asleep?"

"Yes." Sypha replied just as softly. "Which is good. He's had a...rough few days."

Trevor hummed in agreement. Then, after a few beats, he asked, "Have you...figured out what we should tell the kid?"

"When did that responsibility fall on me?" Sypha huffed.

"When we both agreed I can't do the whole comfort thing."

"Right…" Sypha sighed. "I haven't really thought about it, my mind being focused on getting to the castle in the first place. Not only that but...I don't want to think about it. I don't really want to think about any of it. I mean, we might have to take away the only parent from Adrian, even if it's for the good of the world, but what then? We can't just leave him, but what if he wants nothing to do with us? I mean, obviously he wouldn't but then what will he do?" Her hands came up to bury her face into them. "I don't want to hurt him, Trevor. I don't want him to lose his family."

Trevor groaned. "Trust me, Sypha, I don't want to orphan the kid either."

Sypha shifted closer to Trevor in the blanket. "How about this? No matter what happens, we'll try to be there for Adrian. However this ends, even if Adrian hates us, we will be there for him."

"Yeah...that sounds like a plan."

"The cat's need herding, Issac." Hector spoke, turning to his fellow forgemaster. Now that they were far from the ears of the vampires, he knew he could safely attempt to speak to Isaac without much danger.

"That's a good way to get your eyes clawed out, Hector." Isaac replied, eyes narrowing slightly with his words.

"I mean it." Hector returned, coming closer to Isaac. "Dracula gave us the task of creating a war plan and, recently that is, to find his son. But...between the generals and their fighting and his own attitude…"

"And what attitude is that?" Isaac cut in, disapproval clear in his voice at such words directed towards his master.

"He doesn't care." Hector replied with a wave of his hand.

"He cares very much." Isaac returned. "He wants all of the humans to die and to get his son back. He made that very clear." He thought back to the monstrous anger that came from the man whenever his missing son was mentioned, the very obvious passion he had towards ripping the humans race apart as he scoured the land for Adrian.

"That hasn't escaped me." Hector replied, turning away from Isaac to pace. "My point is that he doesn't care how." He leaned against a tree, hand bracing himself. "And we're failing him."

Isaac quirked an eyebrow at that. "Oh?" He drawled. "Are we now." His words were more of a statement towards Hector more than a question of agreement. He truly did not see where the other was going with this.

"Yes," Hector sighed, pushing himself back upright and turning to Issac once more as he gestured with his hand. "We need to assert an order to the war. We're the agents of his rage, not paintings of it. He can't just thrash around."

Crossing his arms, Isaac leaned against a tree behind him and glared pointedly at the other forgemaster. "What do you want Hector?"

"I want to present a united front, I want a plan." Hector stated, stepping forward, coming closer to Issac with each step until he stood in front of him. "I want to move forward and get this over with in an orderly manner. I want you to agree to move on Braila."

When Hector could see that none of his words had any effect on the man before him, he sighed.

"I know that, strictly speaking, we've never been friends."

Now Isaac opened his eyes and finally spoke. "It seems counterproductive to cultivate human friends when we're engaged in the project of ending the human race."

Hector reached out to place his hand on Issac's shoulder. "But we are on the same side."

Issac looked down at the hand in disinterest. "Is this where we kiss like benedicting monks from different monasteries?"

Hector froze, eyes wide as he stared at Isaac. "I don't think I've ever heard you try to tell a joke before."

Isaac rolled his eyes as he shrugged Hector's hand from his shoulder and walked past him. "You still haven't"

Hector watched him go for a few seconds before directing his gaze down to the ground below him, eye tracking a mouse that was running past. "All Dracula is, is the sound of a warhorn. He needs us to be the clear voice over that noise. He needs us to speak in one voice."

"He needs us to be loyal." Isaac spoke up, still walking away from Hector, hand raising to block the sun out of his eyes.

Hector huffed, eyebrows furrowing. "How is it disloyal to provide the guidance he requested of us?"

Isaac took a moment to look back at Hector and say, "If it's serving you and not him" before continuing to walk away. "There are people in the court who have their own plans, their own agendas."

Hector followed after Isaac, a sigh escaping his lips as he continued to try to get Isaac to see where he was coming from. "I am loyal to him and his intent," He defended. "But he asked for a plan, and we need to give him one unambiguously." He stopped just behind Isaac's still figure and crossed his arms. "We go to Braila, prevent a diaspora by boat, and then proceed along the coast from there. Not only will that take out one of the remaining largest cities and one of the human's larger routes of both escape and defense, but it may provide any news of Adrian should his kidnappers have taken him anywhere near there. As a large populace, there is a chance that their leader could have been involved in Adrian's kidnapping."

Isaac hummed, processing the information as he gazed out over the forest the castle had currently been residing in. Nature was so peaceful without the humans, wasn't it?

"What do you say?"

"Well," Isaac mused, turning away from the forest. "It will please Carmilla so I distrust it. But, it would stop her from making mischief for the moment. And...it would get the war room pointed in the same direction. And, should the city have any ties to the attack on our Lord's son, or not, there is a benefit to its destruction." With a twisted grin, Isaac turned back to look over the forest once more. "Why, I think it would even make Godbrand smile."

Hector, oblivious to the hidden meaning of the final phrase, chuckled. "Well, don't talk me out of it."

Isaac couldn't help the small laugh that rose in his chest at those words, joining Hector in their amusement as they walked back towards the castle.

So yeah, that's the first part! Again, could have kept them together but I felt better splitting them up. This one isn't super eventful, a lot of stuff happening with the whole manipulation on Carmilla's part.

Anywho stay tuned! There shall be another!

Feel free to comment or anything else! (though I've had a rough week. Any review will help!)

Until next time! :D