Chapter 2: Shadows Have Eyes

Even within the cloistral seclusion of the archives, the Master Librarian could still feel their presence.

There was no mistaking it: the preternatural chill that even a bonfire would be hard-pressed to vanquish, the dreadful atmosphere one could only find in a cursed graveyard, the way his heart juddered in his chest with every uneasy breath he took.

Vampires.

Hundreds of vampires congressed together like a den of snakes writhing about in a winter nest, and as the man turned the thin pages of the great tome before him, a bead of cold sweat slid past his eye. A council such as this, all the great Generals of the night, had not taken place in four centuries, not since Dracula shed the name Mathias Cronqvist and threatened, as well as succeeded, in toppling the ancient hierarchy of his predecessors.

…and so the vampire lords of old were subjugated and forced to bend the knee to the Dragon, their resistance cowed and broken. Thus has been the natural order since the 1094th year of our Lord.

From the walls, the painted eyes of Lisa Țepeș and her young son watched indifferently as the Librarian closed the book with a soft thump. The portrait of Seras Victoria too looked on in vague disdain as he extinguished the collection of candles flickering in the dark chamber, then Elizabetha watched him gather his cloak and lantern as he made his way from the library.

It was worse in the corridor, he thought. It felt like death.

Lantern creaking in hand, the Librarian made his way down the dark passage until he came upon the throne room where Dracula's army congregated in hushed silence. The lesser vampires, their faces cowled and shadowed save for their piercing red eyes, had arranged themselves in loose knit ranks. The Generals stood at the foot of the dais: Zufall and Dragoslav, vampire lords who had been in Dracula's court since his rise; Godbrand, Sharma, and Raman, who had all come into the vampire king's service through Draculina's efforts; and Cho, the vampire princess of the Far East, who was far older and more terrible than any of the others around her.

The Librarian had seen them all individually once or twice since he'd first come to Castle Dracula but never all at the same time, and never with the remainder of Dracula's lesser forces. The sight was equal parts terrible and awe-inspiring. None of the Undead seemed to take notice of him. Likely they were too busy muttering and sulking about the presence of Hector and Isaac, who stood apart from the lesser ranks and a fair distance from the Generals themselves.

Or perhaps it was the dark master himself who held their attention so.

He raised his head as Dracula emerged from the shadowed corridor behind his throne and welcome his Generals. He spoke briefly of the late Lisa and of humanity's vices. He foretold a future where Wallachia was without the scourge of humanity, a Wallachia that would serve as the center of the night world's dominion, and a Wallachia inhabited only by the demons of Hell. Lastly, he commanded the forge masters to prepare plans and strategies.

And that was all the great lord said.

"The only two humans in your inner court and they're the ones who will plan our next attack?"

Well, excuse you, thought Master Librarian, quite fond of his human state in spite of its shortcomings and eventual mortality. He lifted his head as Dracula issued a sharp reprimand to the Berserkr Draugr about his choice in advisors before he turned away and vanished back into the shadows.

In his absence, Godbrand then challenged the forge masters directly as they made to follow the vampire king, and the Librarian suppressed his laughter at the exchange that followed: animals, boats, and age old petty grievances. "Bigot! I like boats! I'm a fucking Viking! We're supposed to make boats out of things." Perhaps the Undead were not so unlike their human counterparts as they liked to think.

When Isaac and Hector had gone, mutters and whispers broke out amongst the Generals, punctuated here and there with more enraged shouts from Godbrand. Raman and Sharma, longtime neighbors though not exactly friends, put their heads together in an unaudible conference. Zufall rounded angrily on Dragoslav, then he railed at Godbrand who demanded to kow if he was picking a fight, and then he turned away from everyone and stormed toward the lesser vampires who shrank away in deference. Only Cho-hime said nothing at all, but there was a wager among the Generals that she in fact couldn't speak, that the Japanese princess had been mute since birth and that not even immortality could heal that affliction. Rather Cho's cold, black eyes scanned the throne room, observing her comrades with a gaze as indifferent as the portraits in the library. She tilted her head in demure puzzlement when her dark gaze alighted on the Librarian and his lantern, the smallest of frowns marring her pale face. Unperturbed, he raised his hand in a small salute, and she gave him the briefest nod of acknowledgment and did not point him out to her fellow Undead.

"What manner of war that is so righteous and good as he claims puts human slaves in the business of battle plans and tactics?" Zufall was snarling still.

"Not slaves, I don't think," Raman said primly, the gold bracelets about her wrists jingling as she uncrossed her arms to examine her sharp nails. "Slaves run off, slaves betray, and slaves have an agenda. These creatures you call slaves are here of their own free will as Lord Dracula says."

The Germanic lord bared his teeth in a low growl. "No matter. Slaves, serfs, or freemen, what right have they to usurp our rightful place advising our lord and master?"

"Calm yourself, Zufall," Dragoslav raised a placating hand. "That goes for you as well, Godbrand. You are making a spectacle. Enough."

"Fuck you, too, damned Slav."

Sharma broke his silence then, his hand to his chin in thought. "It is strange that Lord Dracula would install humans as his confidantes, though. I would have thought the Lady Seras would be his right hand in our great endeavor. So where is our angry Wallachian princess?"

At the mention of her name, a ripple of unease swept through the throne room and all went silent. Everyone had been thinking it, of course. Where is the only surviving fledgling of Dracula? Where is the Red Death, the Belmonts' Bane, their Grand General, and their master's precious daughter? The Librarian cast his gaze around the hall, gauging everyone's reaction. Cho glanced at him briefly, as though he might have the answer, but he too was quiet on this matter. Raman tapped her fingers against her elbow and Dragoslav tugged at his beard in contemplation, perhaps of a long ago memory.

"What, the bitch isn't here?" Godbrand broke the silence.

"I think not," Zufall said, considerably calmer now than he'd been before. "I was the first to arrive a week past, and I've seen no sign of Draculina nor her own household. Just the forge masters. As well as Master Librarian who thinks he is hiding there in the shadows."

The Librarian curled the corner of his lip in a wide smirk. "Now, my lord, if I was hiding, surely I would have had the sense to extinguish the lantern, non?"

"What are you doing there?" Dragoslav asked with a look of profound disdain.

"Am I not allowed to be here?" None of the vampires replied to that and instead grumbled irritably amongst themselves. All except for Cho who raised her sleeved hand to cover what Master Librarian thought was most definitely a smile. He shrugged carelessly and sauntered into the open, lantern swinging by his side. "But since you asked, my lords and ladies, perhaps I might be persuaded to shed a little light on the matter of Miss Grand General Draculina's whereabouts."

"Is she dead?" Godbrand spat. "If she is, I'm chasing her out of her grave. I still have a score to settle with that hellspawn."

Raman snorted. "Several scores at this point, I would imagine. So what has our dear Seras gone and done now? Stolen your favorite oar and scratched her name on it?"

The Viking snarled in her direction and was reaching for his axe when Sharma cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Enough, Godbrand. Master Bernadotte, please speak plainly. What has become of Draculina?"

"What makes you think I know?" The Librarian grinned. "I'm not responsible for her comings and goings nor do I keep account of zhem. Terrible manners that."

"Why wouldn't you know?" asked Zufall. "For as long as you've been in Dracula's service, you've followed Lady Seras around like a gosling. It's creepy."

Bernadotte bobbed his head in a thoughtful nod. "Be zhat as it may, I have no answers for you. My lady may be within the castle, or she might not. You are welcome to seek her out."

"Leave him," Raman sighed in disgust. "Unless you have a coin on you, he won't tell you a thing."

"You have me there, Madame," he laughed. "Only a fool would give away information without naming his price first. Especially when dealing with vampires." For a moment, the Librarian wondered if any of the vampires would actually cough up a coin or two, although the Indian Maharani seemed more likely to tear out his throat from the sour look on her face. Turning his head a fraction, Bernadotte eyed her down, his smile faded.

Raman's fingers twitched, but she made no move against him, and with a roll of her eyes, she turned away. Sharma followed suit with a brief glance over his shoulder. Then Zufall and Dragoslav detached from the group, speaking to each other in low tones. Cho then faded away without a word, as usual, and then Godbrand was left, looking the Librarian up and down as though he had something to say. Bernadotte turned to him with an amiable smile and held out his hand, palm up in expectation. The draugr growled and stalked away, muttering about 'fucking livestock.'

Master Librarian Pip Bernadotte shrugged and, lantern swinging, returned to the shadows as well, whistling merrily in the cavernous hall.

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Author's Notes: Similarly to Integra, placing Bernadotte in this crossover was a challenge. I had considered leaving him with his Hellsing occupation, mercernary, and there were other ideas that ranged from caravan guard to a monster hunter without any affiliation to the Belmonts. That said, while it may seem odd that he is reimagined here as the Master Librarian from Symphony of the Night, there is a reason I placed him there specifically and it has a lot to do with the Librarian's function in the game. But more on that in future chapters.

I do not own either of these series.