Hi everyone! I just finished watching the fourth and final season of Castlevania on Netflix and all I have to say is thought I thought it had a fantastic ending. Everything was tied up nicely and everyone got a happy ending. Based on how the story cut off with Dracula and Lisa's second chance at life, I wanted to explore the idea where the two of them returned to Wallachia three to four decades after the events of season 4 and ultimately reunited with their son. I wrote this oneshot as a means of giving myself further closure of the series and so I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimer: The Castlevania franchise belongs solely to its original owners and creators.
The sun dipped below the horizon as the stars came out and revealed themselves, blinking against the dark sky like fireflies hovering above stagnant and low-flowing streams and rivers. A cold breeze whistled through the trees, allowing the forest to sing its soft song as the peace of night descended upon it. Crickets chirped calmly from bushes and under rocks, stirring the forest's inhabitants and giving them life. Gravel crunched under steady footsteps as two people walked down the winding path that would ultimately lead them to the home they had left behind.
Lisa Tepes tugged her cloak further around herself, preventing the cool breeze from chilling her bones as she and her husband made the final stretch to their former home. Though the fabric of her cloak was thick, she had grown quite fragile in her old age of 74. She was a skilled doctor and had been perfecting her work for several decades, yet she could not prevent herself from growing feeble and sickly as the years went on. A consequence of age perhaps, but still, she did not let it falter her determination to return home and reunite with her son.
Her shoulders trembled slightly as a chill made its way down her spine and Lisa clenched her jaw to stop her teeth before they could chatter and gain her husband's attention. However, her efforts to prevent him from noticing became quite futile as Vlad had already heard her shiver.
Vlad spared a glance at his wife, tightening his grip around the chilled skin of her hand in an attempt to warm it. "Are you cold, my love?"
Lisa met her husband's concerned gaze and gave him a soft but reassuring smile. "Not at all. I'm quite warm actually," she tried to lie but her voice betrayed her.
Vlad noticed the quivering of her jaw and could hear her teeth chattering as they grinded against one another. Choosing not to say anything, he pulled her closer and covered her with a large portion of his own cloak, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Here. This should shield you from the wind,"
Lisa shot him a bit of an annoyed look. "I don't remember saying that I was cold," she huffed.
"And I don't remember you being so stubborn," Vlad shot back in jest.
"I'm perfectly fine without your cloak to cover me. This cloak shields me well enough from the cold," his wife replied, gesturing to the brown cloak wrapped firmly around her figure. Another gust of wind winded through the trees, causing her another chill to where goosebumps began erupting on her skin. Her teeth began to chatter more violently.
"You were saying?" Her husband asked out of amusement. Lisa smacked his arm with her free hand.
"Oh stop it," Lisa shivered as she leaned comfortably into her husband's side and took what warmth she could. "When did you become so observant?"
"I've always been observant. You just never noticed," Vlad commented as he placed a delicate kiss on the top of his wife's head caressing his thumb along her shoulder.
Lisa shivered again and she pushed herself further against her husband's side, using the portion of the cloak he had covered her in to warm herself. "Whose brilliant idea was it to travel during the winter again?"
Vlad raised an amused eyebrow as he gave his wife a gentle smile. "I believe that was you darling,"
"Well, what a bunch of codswallop. That has to be the worst idea I've ever had," She grumbled under her breath.
"Even worse than tracking down my castle and demanding that I teach you the ways of science?" Vlad jested once more, earning another firm smack on the arm from his wife. He simply chuckled.
"Oh mind your manners. If you knew that this was such a terrible idea from the start, then why didn't you stop me?" Lisa pressed, flicking her questioning gaze onto her husband.
He shrugged. "I tried and failed to sway you into favoring a more reasonable option. You had your mind set and nothing I said was going to convince you otherwise. You were quite persistent in your endeavors,"
"Trying to convince me to take the more reasonable option? You sound just like our son," Lisa paused then, grief settling in her stomach as a sadness washed over her at the thought of her son, their son. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she willed herself to speak. "Do you think Adrian will ever be able to forgive us?"
Vlad's eyes dropped to his boots as they stepped along the gravelly path. The guilt he felt for the way he had treated his son after Lisa had died was still gnawing away at him. "I do not know. We stayed away so that he could live his own life as he saw fit. We kept our distance so we could protect him from the truth,"
"Protect him from the truth, or ourselves?" Lisa asked in return, halting her pace and coming to a complete stop. As soon as her movements halted, so did her husband's.
When Vlad didn't answer her, she continued. "We chose not to return to the castle because we believed that Adrian had the closure he needed to move on with his life," she paused and walked so she could stand in front of her husband and properly look him in the eye. "Everything that our son has witnessed- everything that we put him through? I fear that if we come back into his life that we would be reopening those wounds and taking away what little closure he has,"
Vlad's eyes softened as he listened to his wife speak. He couldn't bear to see the sadness in her eyes or feel the regret that he knew she held within her heart, yet he understood where she was coming from. His son had suffered much torment after Lisa had been killed that instead of grieving with him, Vlad had pushed him away and nearly killed him. Then when the apocalypse was at its peak, Adrian was forced to kill him- his own father- in order to stop the madness that had ensued. The tear in their relationship had started because he was too blind to see that his son was right there in front of him until it was too late to change anything.
"There is no doubt in my mind that reappearing in his life will dissipate that closure he already has, but how can we walk and breathe on this earth knowing that we are lying to him by not coming forward with the truth?" Vlad asked honestly as he searched his wife's eyes for any semblance of an answer.
She didn't answer him and so he grabbed her hands and held them, running his thumbs across her knuckles in a soothing manner. "Adrian believes that we are dead. Shall we go on forever pretending that we are? What good would we be doing to him if we were to remain in the shadows?"
Lisa squeezed her husband's hands as she closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh. "You're right. We cannot keep pretending that we don't exist. He deserves to know the truth,"
Though she was sincere with her words, Vlad could still hear the air of hesitance in her voice. Inclining his head to the side, he spoke softly. "You know that we do not have to do this? I wish to see our son as much as you, but I do not want you to put such strain on yourself if you are not ready. I would understand if you wished to return home-"
"And what home would that be? The castle is our home Vlad, it always has been. Nothing in the world will ever change that," Lisa interrupted calmly. Reaching up with her arm, she placed a hand on her husband's cheek. He leaned into the warmth radiating from her skin as her thumb softly caressed the outline of his face.
"I am growing older with each passing day my love. I am not as spry as I used to be nor am I the embodiment of perfect health. You understand as well as I do that I am sick. No medicine in the world can cure illness brought on by old age," she explained, a sad smile appearing on her lips as she gazed into her husband's eyes.
"Medicine is not the only thing that can cure illness, Lisa. We have other options," Vlad spoke calmly as he stared at her worriedly.
"Like turning me?" She asked him. Her inquiry startled him. It felt as if another stake had pierced his heart.
It pained him to bring up such a horrid topic, especially when he did not want it for himself. In all their years together, they had never once discussed the topic of turning her into a vampire. Even when they had first met, it had never become a topic of conversation up until now. The concept of turning her had crossed his mind on more than one occasion in the past though he never once acted on such a thought. He sometimes wondered how things would have been different had he turned Lisa before the church had gotten to her. She would have never died and they would be living a peaceful life somewhere in the world with their son. Had Lisa insisted he give her immortality, he would have given it to her in a heartbeat. However, his wife's heart and soul were too pure for the world that they lived in and in no way did he wish to taint that by turning her into a hellish monster like himself.
"It is an option," Vlad spoke, though there was no real power behind his words.
"Not for me." Lisa spoke softly. Her thumb stilled its movements but her hand still cupped his face. "I know that my growing older pains you- I see it in your eyes every time you look at me. But turning me- giving me immortality so that I may walk on this earth with you forever? I've never wanted that and I know that you do not wish for it either."
"I don't want to lose you," Vlad admitted, his voice cracking as he willed himself to hold back the rush of tears that he could feel coming. "I lost you once, I do not want to lose you again."
"I know," she replied. "But like everything in this world, all things must come to an end eventually, you and I both know that. While I may not be here physically after I die, I will always be with you Vlad. My heart and soul live in you and our son- I will never leave you as long as you believe that."
She paused, wanting to give some time for her words to sink in before she continued. When her husband finally met her gaze again, Lisa took that as her sign to speak. "We need to go home. I want to see our son and the man that he has become. He needs to know the truth about us. I also want the two of you to fix your relationship so that I may rest in peace knowing that the two of you have each other after I'm gone,"
Lisa stretched up on her toes so that she could place a soft kiss on her husband's lips. When the two of them finally broke apart, Vlad removed a loose strand of graying hair from his wife's eyes and gave her a warm smile. "Shall we go see our son?"
~SCL~
It was still night by the time they reached the forest clearing some distance from Danesti where the castle was located. Exiting the lush forest and stepping out into the clearing, Vlad and Lisa were surrounded by a small but bustling village- Belmont, it was called. Vlad knew the Belmont name well for he had been fighting the monster-hunting family for centuries. He was also well-aware of the persecution that the Belmonts had suffered at the hands of the church decades ago just as he was aware that their family had one sole survivor, one that he had fought the night he died. Though the Belmont family was the sole reason for the danger and near extinction of the vampiric race, Vlad bore no ill-will against them for they were merely trying to protect their own kind.
"This is quite a quaint little village," Lisa commented as she looked around, her arm looped comfortably through her husband's. Her gentle words snapped him from his thoughts.
"Yes. I do believe that this village was created with the remaining people from Danesti and the towns closest in proximity to it," Vlad pointed out as he observed the village.
Small but homey-looking cottages surrounded them on all sides, each having their own little gardens pressed against the side of the structure's brick where the people could grow medicinal herbs and fruits and vegetables for cooking. Every other cottage had pastured areas and corrals to house their livestock that could be used for milk and meat. Horse stables rested on both the East and West sides of the village, providing them with horses that they could use for farming or travelling to other towns for trade. Belmont village as a whole was vastly different from that of the other cities and villages in Wallachia that Vlad had encountered over the years, especially since it primarily served as a small agricultural community. It was one of the only places in the modern Wallachia that wasn't influenced by the likes of the church.
Fire from lit torches hissed and crackled as they passed, the flames their only other source of light as they walked further down the path that was to lead them up to the castle. They were the only two people that were up and talking at this hour of the night. "I quite like this place," Lisa said, gaining his attention. "It reminds me a bit of Lupu in its younger days."
"Before the church took it over?" Vlad asked for clarification. Before he had met his wife, he did not travel much for he did not like being around humanity and their insufferable stench.
"Yes, before the church." She answered as they walked. "Lupu was a center for agriculture and farming, much like this village. It prided itself on its nutritional and medicinal resources and so it became a place of trade among other villages. Back then, such advanced medicines and herbs weren't seen as witchcraft."
"I see." Vlad stated, trying to imagine Lupu as his wife had described. "So when the church staked their claim, all that knowledge on medicine and science was lost to history?"
"Precisely." Lisa answered. They could see the castle towering over the village with its entrance wide open and welcoming to those who wished to enter. In all his existence, Vlad had never seen his home resting so comfortably close to humanity.
"There it is, Lisa." Vlad said to break the silence. "We're almost home,"
His wife squeezed his arm. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be standing at the foot of the steps. It'll be just like how we imagined it,"
Vlad gave Lisa a warm smile before he returned his crimson eyes back to the home they had left behind so long ago. "In all my years of existence, I do not think I have ever seen those doors open for longer than a few minutes at a time."
"It seems that Adrian has become more comfortable around humans," Lisa said, sounding proud. "This is more than I could have ever imagined for his life. It warms my heart knowing that he is doing so well."
"Mine too," Vlad replied. "I cannot even begin to imagine the lengths he had to go through after we died to be able to create such a peaceful life."
"Then let us find out," Lisa said, urging her husband forward.
The two of them walked the rest of the way to the castle in comfortable silence. However, the closer they got to the castle, the more the anxiousness and nerves began to settle in. Though they were both ready to return home and reunite with their son after so many years, neither of them could help but feel hesitant about the situation they were walking into. Their son didn't know that they were alive and that they had been for a very long time. Even though they had discussed the topic on multiple occasions, they still worried that returning to the castle would ruin their son's only sense of normalcy. Both Lisa and Vlad longed to see Adrian but they weren't sure how he would react to them returning after being gone for such a long time. The last thing they wanted was to hurt their son more than they already had.
The inside of the castle was completely dark by the time they reached the entrance of the vast structure. It looked mostly the same from when they had first left it aside from a few changes in decor. The main hall was not as dark and dreary as it used to be. Instead the walls and flooring has been made to give the inside of the castle a more spacious and lighter perspective. It looked more open and less stuffy. Gone were the extravagant and lavish red rugs, statues, and tapestries. In their places were more modern modes of decor that opened up the castle to a more friendly and welcoming appearance. All of the same portraits still hung along the walls, though there were new ones that neither of them had seen before.
"It seems that our son has made quite a few changes to my castle," Vlad said, unsure if he was pleased by the alterations or upset by them.
"At least the portraits are still there," Lisa commented humorously as she patted her husband's arm. "It could be much worse, you know."
Vlad halted in his tracks and threw his arm protectively in front of his wife when he noticed the presence of a sword that had shot across the room and came to hover mere inches from impaling him between the eyes. Lisa was confused as to why her husband stopped so suddenly until she noticed the sword threatening to impale her husband. She recognized the magical sword almost right away. It was the blade they had gifted their son on his fifteenth birthday after he had fully matured into an adult.
"No further." Their son's voice reverberated throughout the entire hall, causing Lisa's heart to warm instantly upon hearing her son's voice again after so many years.
Looking up, Vlad and Lisa were met with the figure of their son standing at the center of the upper archway at the top of the steps that broke off on two sides to lead into the eastern and western wings of the castle. His pale face was partially illuminated by the faint glow of the moonlight casting down from the open doorway. Amber eyes gazed down at them from the balcony, analyzing them as if they were merely two strangers and not his own mother and father. Dressed in a pristine, white silk tunic and black pants that hugged his legs, freshly cleaned boots covered his feet and stretched all the way up to his knees. His appearance was almost angelic and the air of which he carried himself was authoritative and confident.
Neither of them said a word as their son kept his sword on his own father, clearly wary of their presence. He didn't recognize who they were because the hoods of their cloaks were pulled up to hide their faces from view. Vlad exchanged a glance with his wife, unsure of how to proceed. With their son on edge like he was, saying the wrong thing or explaining everything too quickly could upset him. Whichever way they chose to proceed posed a sufficient amount of risk.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my domain?" Adrian asked, his tone low and dangerous as his teeth flashed in the lighting.
Thinking quick on her feet, Lisa lowered her husband's protective arm and stepped forward one pace. She cleared her throat. "My husband and I have been traveling all winter. We haven't seen a town or village in over a week. We saw your open door and thought that we would be welcome since it is rather cold outside,"
Lisa hoped that Adrian would recognize her voice when she spoke. He didn't. "No vampire is welcome here. Any vampire crossing this land would have known that,"
"I am no ordinary vampire." Vlad stated, his crimson eyes flashing in the shadows as his lip curled up to bare his fangs.
"No. Which is why you are not welcome here," Alucard said, his eyes never once leaving Vlad's. It was clear that he was threatened by their sudden presence at the castle. "Belmont is a peaceful village. There hasn't been a vampire or a night creature on this land in centuries. I would very much like to keep it that way."
Even with their conversation, Adrian still had not recognized his own parents. Maybe it was time for them to take another approach. "Is that any way to greet your own father?"
Lisa's head snapped to face her husband, surprised that he had decided to take such a direct approach. Adrian growled and within a second, he was standing in front of them both, lingering dangerously close to Vlad. "My father?" He scoffed. "My father is dead. He has been for a very long time, so I ask again. Who the fuck are you?"
Vlad closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh, and pulled down the hood of his cloak, revealing his face. "It's me, son."
He turned his gaze towards Lisa, gesturing for her to lower her hood by giving her a curt nod. Nodding in acknowledgement, Lisa too lowered her hood, revealing her face. "And me,"
His sword clattered to the ground, the noise echoing throughout the room as if a pin were dropping on the marble. Alucard stepped back, his eyes wide and frantic as they flicked back and forth between his mother and father. He wore an expression or pure and utter surprise and confusion. Alucard was distressed; he didn't understand what was happening or how he was seeing his parents alive and in the flesh. Was this what madness truly felt like? Alucard forced himself to look away from his mother and father as he staggered back a few paces. His mind was overwhelmed and he had to put a hand on his forehead to calm himself.
"No. You're not here, you're dead. Both of you are dead- I-I watched you die." He stuttered, unable to look his mother and father in the eye. Vlad and Lisa exchanged a worried glance with one another. It was difficult to watch their son suffer this way after only barely reuniting with him again.
Lisa placed a gentle hand on her son's arm. "We're here, my son- both of us."
"How can that even be? I watched you both die, I saw your souls in Hell." Alucard asked, still averting his gaze for fear that he was really losing what little sanity he had left.
"Look at me Adrian," Lisa pleaded. It took a moment but finally Adrian removed his hand from his forehead and looked up at his mother, meeting her gaze. There were fresh tears in his eyes that were threatening to spill over. "Your father and I, we're alive. You're not going mad; we're really here and we're not going anywhere,"
Recognition flickered in his amber eyes then and he had to grab onto her arms and feel her face to know that she was really there. Once Alucard realized that his mother was really there and not going anywhere, he gave a watery smile and pulled his mother into a tight embrace. Fat tears began rolling down his cheeks and falling onto his mother's cloak as he embraced her, refusing to let her go for fear that she would disappear again. Lisa was startled by her son's sudden action at first but she quickly adjusted, wrapping her arms around her son and holding him while he wept. Tracing her fingers through his golden waves, she leaned her head on his shoulder as she tried her best to console him.
"M-mother," Alucard choked out in between his shaky breaths. He did not ever want to let her go.
He could feel his father's eyes boring into him and he became uncertain of how his father was feeling. As a child, Alucard remembered his father expressing his pride and joy towards his son as he taught him the ways of battle and hunting for food, though those happy sentiments dissipated over time as Alucard matured into adulthood. Even when Dracula was alive, Alucard had never been able to read his emotions for his father always hid them behind an emotionless facade unless he was around his wife, though even then, showing emotion was a rare occasion. It wasn't until the Catholic church burned his mother at the stake that he saw his father express nothing but raw emotion and hatred. Though it was emotion conveyed as unadulterated rage, it was still the only time where Dracula had dropped his emotionless facade and turned into something haunting.
Another pair of arms enveloped them then. Alucard could feel his father's breath tickling the top of his head and he realized then that he had joined him and his mother in their embrace. He felt his father's head rest atop his own and for once in his life, Alucard wasn't afraid that his father would do something to him out of anger. It wasn't like before when his father had been blinded by rage because of humanity that he had tried to kill his own flesh and blood. No, this time was different. This time, Dracula was conveying his love for his son. Seeing this kind of caring nature from his father- behavior that he had not witnessed in many years- come to life made his heart ache.
"My boy," Vlad whispered against his son's hair, tugging at Alucard's heartstrings and causing more tears to be shed. "My sweet, compassionate boy, we are home."
~SCL~
It took some time for Alucard to recuperate from the sudden appearance of his mother and father and to come to terms with the reality that they were alive and had been for some time. When they had broken apart from their long embrace in the castle's main entryway, Vlad and Lisa wanted to explain everything that had happened, but their son shot them down before they could even begin their harrowsome tale. Alucard figured that his mother and father were quite spent from their journey back to the castle and so he wanted to accommodate them and retrieve himself a drink before listening to their story.
Leading Vlad and Lisa into the kitchen, he gestured for them to have a seat at the table. "Tea?"
"Please, thank you." Lisa said as she took a seat at the polished oak dining table next to her husband.
Alucard walked to the stove and put a kettle on while his parents made themselves comfortable at the table. He was retrieving the china from the cabinet when his father interrupted him. "I will take a cup as well,"
His amber eyes flicked briefly over to his father who had his elbows propped up on the fine oak of the table, his eyes resting comfortably on his wife. His fingers were intertwined with Lisa's as he held her hand in his, running his thumb soothingly over her knuckles. It was strange, seeing his father so calm and collected when the last time he had been around him, he was a raging demon on a suicide mission. Quietly, Alucard shifted his gaze back in front of him and retrieved a third cup from the cabinet and brought it to the table, setting the empty china in front of his father.
"I don't think I have ever seen you drink tea before," Alucard said, preparing the herbs he intended to put into the tea to give it flavor.
Vlad's eyes shifted to his son as he worked at preparing the tea. "It has become an acquired taste over the years. I have found that I quite like it from time to time,"
"I see." his son replied as he set some honey and a little ornate container filled with sugar cubes on the table. "If you've acquired a taste for tea, does that mean you're eating human food on a regular basis as well?"
Lisa would have been caught off guard by her son's inconsiderate question if not for the curious expression he bore on his face. It was completely understandable that he would be curious about his father's endeavors and travels in the human world. Adrian had not known his parents were alive for a few decades. It was only plausible for him to be intrigued and confused, especially when Vlad and herself had lived a new life away from him. It was almost as if their son didn't know who they were anymore.
Vlad chuckled, breaking the awkward silence that had descended upon them. "On frequent occasions, yes. I still have to drink blood to sustain my health and preserve my strength but I do not partake in such desires often. Consuming food that the humans eat has become a regular thing for me,"
"He's even learned how to cook, too. He often makes me dinner when I do not have time to make it myself. Did you know that your father is an exceptional baker?" Lisa doted on her husband, causing Vlad to become unusually flustered.
"Really?" Alucard asked as he flicked his gaze towards his parents, one eyebrow raised in silent inquiry.
"Oh yes. Your father makes the best honey cakes and gingerbread. He's even outdone some of the best bakers in the countries that we have traveled to," Lisa gushed even more, causing her husband to flush even more out of embarrassment.
"Now, now Lisa. There's no need to over exaggerate my skills to the poor boy. I'm really not that good at baking. I'm still learning,"
"Oh stop it- I am not exaggerating. You are an excellent baker so stop selling yourself short. You have a natural talent for it Vlad. I can see it even if you don't." His wife replied stubbornly.
Vlad opened his mouth to speak but his son beat him to it. "How strange,"
"What is?" His mother asked.
"Who would have thought that father had a knack for baking? It's such a human thing to do," Alucard said rather plainly as he tended to the now whistling kettle on the stove.
Lisa looked over and gave her husband a warm smile, delicately squeezing his hand. "Your father has grown very accustomed to humans and their way of life. I think he actually likes them instead of just tolerating them like he used to. He's come a long way and I'm very proud of him,"
Vlad eyed his son, watching him as he mixed the herbs he prepared in the boiling water in order to make the tea. "It seems that you have changed a lot too, my son."
"Yes, well, a lot of things happened after the both of you died." Alucard stated, leaving the matter unspoken. After he had killed his father, he had lost his sense of sanity and his connection with the world. Those months of sorrow were the darkest parts in his life and he wished not to dwell on them.
Alucard stepped across the room and towards the table with the hot kettle. Grabbing the china he had set in front of his mother and father, he steadily poured scalding hot tea into them, quietly setting them back down on the table when they were full. It was when he was pouring their tea that Lisa spotted the thick, gold band that adorned his finger.
"You're married?" Lisa asked, halting their son in his movements as he glanced at his own ring.
"Yes. I have been for quite a few years now." He stated as he returned the kettle back to the stove to cool. "Forgive me for not mentioning it sooner, it's been a bit of a surprising night,"
"When did it happen? Who is she, or he?" Lisa began bombarding her son with questions.
"Lisa," Vlad warned, but Alucard waved him off.
"It's alright, I do not mind." Alucard stated as he took a seat in the chair across the table from his mother and father, taking a sip of his tea before speaking. "I married a little over twenty years ago. My wife, Greta, is an amazing woman. She has a kind nature and a feisty personality. She's also very opinionated and stubborn to a fault- she will stand up for anyone or anything that supports her beliefs. She very much reminds me of you, Mother."
Lisa gave her son a loving smile. She couldn't help but feel pride and adoration that her son had managed to find someone to love and someone that could make him happy. "She sounds absolutely wonderful darling. Pray tell. How did the two of you meet?"
"It was under quite unfortunate circumstances really." Alucard stated as he took another sip of his tea. "I was here at the castle, protecting what was now my domain and keeping it secure from night creature stragglers that were in the area. I was doing a perimeter check one night when a horse as black as night exited the forest and stopped on my front step. The horse was in distress when I approached and its rider was slumped over its back dead. I assumed that he had been attacked by night creatures on the road and had succumbed to blood loss. There was a note in his hand, it was a call for aid by the people of Danesti."
"Danesti?" The name piqued Vlad's interest. He was trying to remember where the town was. "Isn't that the farming village twenty miles south of here?"
His son nodded. "Yes. The town was being swarmed with night creatures every day and their numbers were beginning to dwindle. They had no resources to properly defend themselves and I was their closest ally,"
"I see." Vlad said, stroking his beard once with his hand. "So you went to help them?"
"Yes." Alucard replied. "When I arrived, Danesti was facing another swarm of them, though these were not your average night creatures. These ones were rather large and armored- probably spawns of one of the vampire lords in the area. I fought them off just as they were about to break through the only walls Danesti had surrounding them for defense. Greta was the head woman of Danesti and was leading the effort to rid the village of the night creatures,"
Alucard shifted in his seat to make himself more comfortable before he continued. "As I said, Greta is a very stubborn woman and is persistent when she wants to be. Though I had come to their aid and slain the night creatures that were attacking the village, she wanted me to stay and help them further. When I refused, she kept trying to persuade me,"
"Now, who does that sound like?" Vlad teased his wife, giving her a playful smile. Lisa smacked him in the arm, causing him to laugh.
Alucard chuckled at the display. He always enjoyed seeing his mother and father interact with one another. As a child, his parents' love for each other made him wish that someday he would have the same kind of loving relationship that his mother and father had. The fact that he had managed to find that kind of love made him the happiest man alive. When his parents finally stopped their teasing, they turned their attention back to their son, urging him to continue with his story.
"Greta would not let me leave Danesti until she convinced me to help with their cause. Though I was reluctant because I did not entirely trust their kind, I eventually gave into her request. I brought them here to the castle," he explained.
"You brought them here, why?" His mother asked, slightly confused. Though she was a very intelligent woman, she did not understand strategies of battle or how to create an equal war front.
"Danesti simply did not have the resources they needed to properly defend themselves from a night creature attack. So I brought them here; the castle serves as a strong hold against enemy attack and so I knew that they would be able to barricade themselves inside its walls if things became too much for them to handle." He explained as he took another casual sip of his tea before setting the cup back down on the table in front of him. His amber eyes flicked to his father's crimson ones. "I also did not want to be away from the castle for such a long period of time. Aside from the magical treasures that sit within the castle, the Belmont hold that I was entrusted to protect resides underneath this place."
Dracula's eyes widened ever so slightly. "The Belmont hold? I thought everything of theirs was destroyed decades ago when the church burned their estate to the ground?"
"The estate was destroyed, the hold underneath it was not. It was sealed by Enochian magic, no one could get in unless they knew the spell to open it." Alucard stated.
"That explains why none of the generations of records and journals of our kind and other monsters were ever found," Vlad concluded then, taking a drink of his own tea.
"Regardless, I brought the village people here and within a few days, more people began showing up from the other nearby villages. They were seeking refuge because what was left of their homes had been destroyed by night creatures and other hellish beasts. In that time, Greta and I bonded over similar experiences we had faced in the past. I helped her and her townspeople, and she helped me see that not all of humanity was bad,"
Lisa smiled fondly, reaching across the table and squeezing her son's hand. "She sounds wonderful, Adrian. We would love to meet her. Is she here?"
Alucard smiled kindly and shook his head, leaning back comfortably in his chair. "She is not. She is traveling with our children, she should be back sometime within the week."
"Children? You have children?" Lisa asked, caught off guard by her son's reply.
"Three of them. Two girls and a boy," Alucard answered.
Lisa couldn't help the wide smile that spread across her face. She had always hoped that her son would settle down one day and have a family of his own, but he was surprised by just how large his family seemed to be. "Three? Who would have thought," she paused, becoming lost in her thoughts briefly before eventually turning her attention back to her son. "What are their names? What are they like?"
Alucard couldn't help but smile fondly at the thought of his three children. He flicked his gaze to his mother and father as he spoke. "Our son, Ciprian, he's the oldest of the three. He looks much like me though he has Greta's kind eyes and smile. He's quite the troublemaker of our household- he stirs quite a bit of chaos among the villagers, more so now that he's older and he thinks himself to be the most eligible bachelor. I like to think he took after his mother in that little endeavor of his. Cirpian also has Greta's cheeky and stubborn personality,"
Vlad closed his eyes and released a silent chuckle. "Your son seems like quite the character. You were quite the troublemaker yourself when you were younger,"
"Was I?" Alucard inquired. "I don't seem to recall."
"Oh you were." Vlad stated, giving his son an amusing smile. "You would run amuck around the castle, shouting such nonsensical things and destroying everything in your line of sight. Lisa could never keep up with you because you were too fast,"
"I suppose that does sound familiar," he recalled.
"I would hope so. It was your childhood, afterall." Lisa said, drinking some of her own tea. When she set her cup back down on the table, she returned her son's gaze. "Now, tell me about your daughters. What are they like?" Lisa pressed, wanting to know everything that she could about her son's life that she and Vlad had missed out on.
"Our second-born, Olivia, looks just like Greta. She's very soft-spoken and well-mannered. She spends most of her time in the library reading, trying to absorb all the knowledge about the world that she can. I've even found her in the Belmont hold on a few occasions, reading some of the records kept in there. She's well-versed in almost every language to where even I cannot keep up with her,"
Adrian paused for a moment so he could take a drink of his cooling tea before he continued. Once he was finished, he carried on. "Lina is our youngest. She takes equally after her mother and I as far as appearance, though her personality is a bit of a wildcard. Sometimes she is calm and collected like her sister and other times she's off creating a mess with her brother. Lina likes to spend the majority of her time outside planting herbs and vegetables that the village can use during harsh winter months. She also likes helping those that cannot help themselves, it does not matter if they are animal or human. She reminds me much of you, Mother."
"Your children sound absolutely wonderful, Adrian." Lisa said, reaching across the table and squeezing her son's hand. "I cannot wait to meet them, if you'll let us of course?"
Alucard gave a curt nod. "Of course. I would never wish to keep my family from you both, especially after seeing how much you both have changed. This castle is as much of your home as it is mine- I would never turn you away."
Lisa smiled gratefully, Vlad clearing his throat to speak. "Your children, are they like you?" He asked, not wasting any time. Alucard knew exactly what he meant.
"They are somewhat like me, yes. However, because Greta is a full-blooded human, our children are drastically more human than dhampir." Alucard explained, his smile fading and his expression growing serious. Swallowing, he continued. "Since they are only a quarter fraction of what I am, my children do not suffer the extent of the bloodlust that I do and they can be satiated on human food alone if they so choose,"
"So they do not possess any of the abilities that you do?" Vlad asked.
His son shook his head. "Not to the same extent as mine, no. Ciprian has strength and speed similar to mine, easily making him a threat if he ever found himself in a situation against another vampire. He's also an exceptional swordsman. Olivia has an expanse of knowledge far greater than that of vampires and scholars much older than her, making her well-versed in politics and summoning familiars should the need arise for it. Lina possesses the ability to shapeshift like me and because of her advanced skills in herbology and healing, she can wield simple spells and incantations of dark magic,"
"How fascinating. In all my centuries of existence, I never could have imagined something like this to be possible." Vlad admitted aloud.
"All things are possible, my love. You of all people should know that by now," Lisa said, leaning up and kissing her husband's cheek.
There was an awkward silence between the three of them as they pondered their thoughts. Alucard silently sipped his tea as his amicable and light-hearted conversation with his mother and father drew to a close. There were a multitude of questions on his mind, ones that he wanted, no- needed the answers to. He needed to know and understand how his parents were alive after he had seen their souls united together in the depths of Hell itself. He needed to know why they chose to stay away rather than return to the castle and he needed to understand why Vlad Dracula Tepes had grown so forgiving and tolerable of humanity after he had sworn to wipe them from the face of Wallachia after they had victoriously watched the love of his life burn at the stake for alleged witchcraft.
However, before he could even open his mouth to speak, his father spoke first. "I see you've redecorated this old place," he pointed out, changing the subject that was looming dangerously over their heads.
"Yes, well, I believed that the castle needed change. The portraits still remain and most of the rooms I have left untouched, though I have added many things over the years as to make it more welcoming and approachable by the villagers. I changed many of the halls and some of the more spacious rooms of this place. After everything that happened, the castle was just too sombre for my liking. So I made the alterations and made this place my own."
"Well the alterations look lovely, dear." Lisa butt in before Vlad could rebuke. "I had tried to get your father to tear down those old curtains and tapestries for years but he never listened to me. I understand that he'll burn to a crisp in the sunlight without proper protection to conceal his skin but even so, I always thought that this castle was too dark and stuffy,"
Alucard chuckled airily at his mother's remark. Moving his gaze to her, he smiled softly. "I am glad you approve,"
An awkward and somewhat tense silence fell over them again. This time, Alucard decided to push forward the questions he had been wanting to ask since his mother and father arrived on his doorstep. "How are the both of you alive?"
His sudden straightforwardness gave his mother and father pause in what they were doing. Vlad noticeably stiffened in his seat with his back pressed against the back of the chair like a stone statue, his long nails digging into his palms as his jaw set into a fine line. His mother's shoulders stiffened as well, though it was brief compared to the likes of his father. When Lisa noticed how silent and tense her husband had become, she placed a calming hand over his. His posture remained stiff, though his hands relaxed ever so slightly. Sparing a glance at his wife, Vlad urged her to speak for the both of them. Finally, Lisa turned her eyes back to her son, her hand not once leaving her husband's.
"We do not know." She answered bluntly. It was the only reasonable reply that she had. Even after all these years, she and Vlad still did not understand the nature of how they both ended back up on the earth, alive and breathing.
"You do not know?" Alucard questioned immediately. His brows were creased together in contemplation. "How could you possibly not know the nature of which you both came to return to the land of the living?" He pressed, sounding slightly irritated by the entirety of the situation.
"Adrian, please-" Lisa tried to intercept but her son would have none of it.
Alucard abruptly stood from the table then, his hands slamming down on the tabletop. Neither Lisa nor Vlad flinched at his quick movements, for they had predicted that something like this would happen when they had ultimately decided to return home to their son. The two of them remained silent as they watched their son try to collect himself. His golden hair was curtaining his face, obscuring it from view as his amber eyes remained fixated on the fine outline of the oak table underneath his pale hands. His arms and shoulders were trembling, as if he were to fall apart at any given second.
"You both were dead. Mother, I saw your ashes piled at the bottom of a burning pyre. I killed my father and watched what little life and sanity he held onto leave his eyes as he combusted into nothing more but a cloud of withering souls and ash. I saw your souls trapped in that inescapable purgatory you condemned yourselves to and I watched you suffer."
Alucard recalled it all, even as agonizing as it was to reopen past scars and wounds that he thought he left behind. However, his voice never once faltered. It remained low and even, his voice the only sound that was keeping him grounded to his sanity. Tension-filled silence encompassed the room. No one dared to move a muscle, no one dared to speak. Finally though, Alucard broke his silent stupor.
"Do you not remember anything that happened the night both your souls were ripped from Hell and brought forcibly back into the mortal world?" He asked calmly.
Lisa and Vlad exchanged a worried glance with one another but eventually they shook their heads in answer. "No, we don't."
Alucard sighed. "Father, after you died, there were those that wished to bring you back. For months, other vampires tried and failed to return your soul back to the mortal realm until one mortal man sought to bring you back through the means of a Rebis ritual." Alucard explained, though his efforts were brief.
Lisa's face contorted into that of confusion. "What ever in the world is a Rebis ritual? I've never heard of such a thing,"
"It's death magic." Vlad stated suddenly. He had only ever read of such a ritual hidden away in some of the older tomes within the library, though he never knew of anyone that would actually attempt such a ritual.
"Whoever enacts such dark magic takes the soul of the thing that they are trying to bring back to the mortal world and traps it within the perfect alchemical fusion between a man and a woman. The hermaphrodite- also known as a Rebis- becomes a host for a returning soul. However, instead of only bringing one of you back, they brought you both." Alucard explained, sounding pained by this fact.
Lisa and Vlad shared another glance. They did not recall any of this that had happened to them, yet hearing about such a horrid thing from their son meant that he had been present during the time of the ritual. It was now clear to them that Adrian had bore witness to their forced return to this earth and that instead of being able to find peace within his life after they had died, he was tortured by their tragic return to the mortal world. Lisa squeezed her husband's hand as they tried to imagine the absolute pain and agony that their son must have gone through to experience such a traumatic event.
"Do you really not remember any of it?" Their son asked, breaking the silence. He was refusing to look at them both for fear that he would break all over again.
"We woke up naked in a field in the middle of nowhere. The last thing we remember is being in Hell before we found ourselves back in the world of the living. Any recollection of events in between that are near nonexistent." Vlad explained, shifting his eyes onto his empty teacup.
"Why didn't you come back?" Alucard asked then, slightly altering the subject. He straightened his posture and then rephrased. "If you were alive all this time, then why didn't you come back?"
"We wanted to, my son. But things were complicated. We weren't sure how you would react to your Mother and I being alive and we did not want to impose on your life. Your mother and I were miraculously given a second chance so that we could right our wrongs and make a better life for ourselves," His father explained.
"You believed that we were dead, that your father and I were finally at peace together in the Afterlife. You had closure. We did not want to take that away from you," Lisa explained, her voice soft.
"Closure? You truly believe that I had closure with everything that had happened?" Alucard questioned, raising his voice ever so slightly. His eyes were full of emotion; he looked pained.
When neither his mother or father answered his question, he continued. "It took me almost a year before I finally was able to come to terms with the fact that you both were gone and never coming back. You both were gone and I was left to pick up the pieces after everything went to absolute fucking shit." He paused, straightening his posture and shifting his amber eyes to his father. "I had to deal with the aftermath of the war you started in my mother's name. For a long time I resented the both of you for leaving me to figure out this world on my own. I was alone and the only two people I considered to be my friends left me. I went mad. It wasn't until Greta and her village came into my life that my world came together and I finally had a reason to live. Greta, Sypha, and the Belmont are the only reason why I broke out of my depressive stupor and moved on with my life,"
Lisa and Vlad both frowned. The room was silent for a few minutes while Vlad and Lisa allowed their son's words to fully sink in. For the few decades they had traveled, the two of them had always tried to imagine what they had put Adrian through after they had left this world. However, they had not realized exactly how much their son had suffered until he had explained it to them. Both of their hearts ached. They felt guilty about every torment their son had suffered because of them. Though they were both wracked with guilt, Vlad felt the most guilty for he was the sole reason why the war on humankind started in the first place.
Lisa looked up at her son, a sadness in her eyes. "I'm truly sorry, Adrian. For everything that you went through because of us. We never wanted to put you through that or for you to live that kind of tormented life. Your father and I never wanted that kind of life for you, ever." Her eyes shifted downward, tears pooling in those bright blue eyes of hers. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Do you think you can ever forgive us, my son?"
Adrian shifted his eyes upward so that they were resting calmly on both of his parents. His expression was calmer, softer. It was nowhere near the pain and anger he had been feeling only minutes prior. He was empathizing with the guilt that his mother and father felt. Adrian understood exactly how they were feeling just as they understood his stance and how he felt. Eventually, he bowed his head in a slight nod.
"I do not know. However, for whatever my word is worth, I will give myself the time to try."
THE END