Chapter 4 Normal 2 0 2001-11-05T10:16:00Z 2001-11-05T10:16:00Z 14 3752 21392 178 42 26270 9.2720

Chapter 4

          The sun had just set on the DePothier residence, when Lester finished cleaning up the stables.  Removing his straw hat and wiping his forehead, Lester looked around.  The large stable was empty.  It made him nervous to be there alone after the incident.

          Two nights ago, all the horses that belonged to the DePothiers were found dead.  They were torn apart, literally, by a large animal.  Several of the farmhands around the area had whispered about a large wolf prowling the countryside.  Those who saw it claimed it was larger than a typical wolf.

          There were those who even claimed it was a werewolf.

This fact was not lost on poor Lester, who had worked diligently for the DePothiers for over 30 years.  Standing at six and a half feet, he was built for hard labor.  His long employment with the family was a source of pride for him.  But today, Lester had almost thrown down his tools and quit.  After all, who wanted to work when there was a werewolf running around?

But he went to work, of course, like the loyal servant he was.  You are too nice, Lester.  You let people walk all over you.  Sighing, he made his way from the stables.  The DePothier mansion was to his right, about 200 yards to the north.  But he continued west, to his small residence that lay on the edge of the forest.  He trudged along the worn path, hands rested behind his head.  The large, warm sun was just disappeared behind his house, but he could still feel the lingering warmth on his face.

Just as he reached the door, his hand stretched out, Lester heard the growling.  Lester looked up, and into two colossal red eyes.

* * *

Lisa stood before her father, Vance DePothier.  She felt scared, but resolved.  Better then what she felt last night, before the dream.  The room around them was not large.  Despite the fortune he had inherited, Vance wasn't out to impress anybody.  It was only furnished with a bed, dresser, and a writing desk.

Vance sat up in his bed.  His small body was thin due to the crippling effects of Multiple Scleroses.  Although it was once well-built, MS had taken it's toll, and he got little exercise in the past six years.  Swinging his legs to the edge of the bed, he looked over at Lisa expectantly.  She helped him up, and brought him out of the room.  The living area outside his bedroom was much better endowed, a cozy place.  Together, they sat down on the sofa in center of the room.

A silence fell over the room as they sat there, uncomfortably.  The silence was too stifling for Lisa.

Turning she opened her mouth to speak, but no words could come out.  Vance spoke instead.  "I suppose you expect me to shout at you.  To scream, to speak harsh words of displeasure."  His voice had a slight rasping edge to it, but it was entrancing.  He had a way of clipping off the ends of each word he spoke.  Whenever Vance opened his mouth, he commanded your attention.  "I also suppose you would expect me to denounce your associating with the count."  He caught the look of surprise on her face.  "Yes, I know."

"Father, I…" she began, but he cut her off.

"No, don't speak.  I wish to tell you a story.  A true story."  He stood up, reaching for the cane he kept beside the sofa.  Waving off her help, he walked over a cabinet near the far wall.  Opening it, Vance took out a locket.  He hobbled back to Lisa.  "This was a locket I received from a woman I met long, long ago."  He handed Lisa the locket.  She opened it to see a small picture of a young, beautiful woman, with flaming red hair.  She was gorgeous.

He sat down again, sighing.  "Once upon a time, when I was young, I wanted to see England.  So, I left Romania and set out for an adventure.  My father had been fiercely opposed to such a journey, but I could not stay put.  A spell of wanderlust had overtaken me!"  Vance's face lit up with the memory, a distant look on his face.

* * *

Justin was just finishing his rounds when he stopped by the DePothier residence.  The new sheriff of Malachi had to see his friend Lester before going home.  His wife would be impatient.  In fact, the bitch would probably scream at him, but Justin couldn't resist gloating.  He and Lester had been best friends for as long as he could remember.  Lester had been the hard working farmer type person, but Justin hated such work.  Maybe Lester would be content to be the slave of the DePothier's but HE would make it big!  No, being sheriff was just a stepping-stone for him.  Yes, Justin is a demi-god of a lover and a genius! He thought as he rounded a corner and walked through the gate that led to the outer courtyard.

As he walked down the path, Justin could just make out the house that Lester lived in.  The back of the DePothier manor was a beautiful garden of Eden.  It's pathways, complex hedges, stables and its large fountain was a testament to their wealth.  Rounding the fountain, he continued along the enclose until he reached Lester's house.  The small dwelling only held three rooms.  It was simply built, meager looking when compared with wealth that surrounded it.  It lay right next to the far hedge.  Beyond the hedge was the forest.

It was the smell that made him pause.  Justin suddenly backed away from the door as it hit him like a wall.  His stomach flip-flopped; it took all his strength to hold down the bile that was rising.  Holding his nose, Justin opened the door and looked at what was left of Lester.  The body was half eaten, the carnage strung everywhere.  A tide of flies that rushed out almost blinded him.  The horrified look grew worse when Justin saw a small movement in what looked like the clothed abdomen.  The stirring jerked back and forth, until finally, a small rat's head popped out.  He locked eyes with it; the small, beady red eyeballs stared at him.  Justin held his mouth; he fell onto his knees in terror.  The rat lost interest in the staring match, licked its bloodstained lips and went back to its feasting.

That did it.  Justin couldn't hold it back.  He turned and emptied his stomach of its half digested meal.  How could this happen!  THE WOLF!  I have to get help!  He stood up and wiped off the mess.  The darkness was permeating his surroundings; the moon was hidden behind the dense clouds.  So it wasn't a surprise when the blow took him entirely by surprise.  A large, dark limb flew out of the shadows, connecting squarely on the chest and making Justin fly away from the small house.

He pulled himself to his knees.  "Who are you?  Show yourself!" he called out.  A shadow moved towards him.

"You have the most unfortunate luck, my friend," the shadow said.  "Was that your associate there?"

Justin managed to bring himself to his feet.  He backed away.  Whoever, whatever the person was, he was immensely strong.  Justin reached behind himself and brought out his pistol.  "You will die, murderer!" Justin squeaked.  The firearm went off with an explosion of smoke and noise.  Not waiting to see if he hit his assailant, Justin rushed into the smoke.  He didn't get far, as the outline moved with inhuman speed.  It tackled him, pinning him to the ground and held him there with a hand over the throat.

"Now, I did not want have any interruption when I kill Mr. DePothier.  Your gunfire will no doubt bring notice here.  For that, I will have to kill you," the figure chortled. 

Just after the smoke cleared, and just before he slipped into the darkness forever, the moon broke from the clouds and give Justin a horrible vision of a face twisted with sick glee.  And topped off with a large mop of red hair.

* * *

"It was a long, extraordinary journey.  I saw mountains that would put our local range to shame, with peaks so tall, there was no hope of ever climbing it.  I saw fast fields of grass, covered in every colored flower imaginable.  Sights you would never be able to imagine without seeing them.  There were people of every sort that I had the pleasure of meeting."  Vance looked into Lisa's eyes, a genuinely happy look on his face.  "You wouldn't believe the topics of conversation I had!  Politics, money, sex, God!  Never did I imagine such a world existed outside of our own! 

"Once I finally reached England, I had enough experiences to fill up several books.  Yet the best was yet to come.  The towns I saw, the forests I walked in.  It was too wonderful to describe.  I spent several weeks with this gentleman named Farley.  He taught me the history of our home country."  The distant look on his face grew calmer, more sober.  "It was through my good friend Farley that I met Lily.  Beautiful Lily."

"It was on my third week.  We met on a hunting trip.  Lily and I were inseparable.  Every comment I made, she had a reply for.  Every snide remark about another fellow, she could top me."  Vance shook his head and laughed, bringing a slight smile to Lisa's face.  "But it was not to be.  Lily was engaged to another man.  A much older, quite stuck up fellow, you see.  It burned me to see her with him.  And it was painfully clear that she had no wish to be with him either.  So…" he stopped, his head down, his mind far off.

"Father?" Lisa tested.  Suddenly he snapped back to reality.

"So we ran off together."  Vance looked at Lisa.  "I loved her so much, that I suppose I would have gone through the depths of hell for her.  She wanted nothing more then to be with me.  But Lily was too afraid of displeasing her parents.  No matter how much I pleaded, Lily refused.  Finally, on the day before her wedding, Lily contacted me."  Vance reached over and retrieved the locket.  "She told me to wait for her in the cemetery near the church."

"When we met, Lily was ready to go.  Together, we made for southern England, to a ship that would take us home, home to my Romania.  Just before we reached the ship, her family, along with the man she was betrothed to, caught up with us.  They demanded that she return with them, and that I hang.  We refused of course.  But they outnumbered us.  We had no chance.  So.  Finally.  Lily agreed to go peacefully in exchange for my life."  Vance had a tear falling down his eye.  She reached over and wiped it off.  "She… she gave me this locket to remember her by."

A silence permeated the room.  At one point, Lisa thought she heard a sharp noise to the outside, but was too distracted to give it any thought.  Vance's head lifted up suddenly.  "FATE?  Was that what kept Lily and I apart?  NO!  I refuse to believe that.  I was too much of a coward to stand up for myself then.  I should have challenged that old vagabond.  I should have questioned his right to marry Lily without her permission."  Vance looked directly at Lisa, a haunted look in his eyes.  "It doesn't matter if I was going to die.  It doesn't matter that that was how things were done, that women are expected to marry whomever their parents chose.  I don't care."  He sat back against the sofa.  "Not a day goes by that I don't regret what happened there."

Lisa was sitting there the whole time, entranced.  She had never seen this side of her father.  As far she had known, her father had never left Romania.  "Did you ever tell mother about this?" she asked.

"No," Vance said.  "I never told anyone.  As far as you mother and grandfather are concerned, I simply left and came back several months later from a dreadful expedition."

She nodded.  Fate.  She recalled the dream, the three young goddesses that came to her.  No, it was fate.  Or the goddesses.  Something made sure that her father and Lily apart so she could be born, so Alucard will be born.  But she wouldn't tell him.  Standing up, Lisa walked over and hugged her father.  "I am so sorry, father."

He nodded and hugged her back.  "This count, Dracula, is he as monstrous as they say?"

"Well… yes and no," Lisa replied.  She saw her father's concern.  "He is a vampire, father.  But he loves me so much, and…"

"And?"

"And I'm pregnant," she said.

The stillness in the room became all too apparent to her.  She stared into her father's eyes; his blue irises seemed to penetrate her.  Vance nodded.  He stroked her hair.  "Yes.  You love him?"  Lisa nodded.  "Then you must go to him.  I know I was protective of you in the past, but I cannot stop you from following your heart.  I will not make you do something you will regret.  Now, to arrange for your departure."

He rose with her help.  "There is one more thing you must know."

"Yes?"

"Lily, she was…"

Before he could continue, the whole world was exploding around them.  Before he could finish, the window burst out from the frame, showering glass all over the room.  Lisa shrieked and covered her father as they fell to the ground.  She looked up and a shadow fell over them.  Villi stood there, a large smirk on his face.  He stepped down, looking over Lisa in a way that made her uncomfortable.  "I always wanted to know how you high-bred women were like in bed.  Too bad I have other orders," he said, running a hand through his flamboyant red hair.  He grabbed Lisa, but Vance screeched.

"Leave my daughter alone, you bastard!"  With strength he hadn't felt in years, he threw himself on Villi, his thumbs pushed into the other's eye sockets.  Villi shrieked, the pain stabbing him like hot knives in his sockets.  He wrapped his arms around Vance's neck and twisted his arms.  A sickening crack permeated the room.  Vance's hands fell from Villi and he slumped down to the floor.

Villi was angry, his hands held over his eyes.  "BLOODY DAMMIT!  GODDAMMIT ALL TO HELL!"  He lowered his hands.  The room around him was cloudy; it was hard to make out anything.  But he knew he didn't have much time left.  His sensitive ears could already pick up noises coming quickly from outside the door.  Lisa was on the ground, holding her father in her arms.  A sobbing noise came from her.  Villi grabbed her, tearing her from her father despite the resistance she put up.  "Come on, you slut.  We have an appointment to keep with Shaft."  He threw her over his shoulder, and then reached into his black robes.  A small ball came out in his hands and Villi set it down on the ground next to the body.  He pulled out the string that was attached to the top, and then made for the window. 

Not bothering to stop, Villi jumped, falling three stories, then landed squarely on his feet.  He continued running south, past the large fountain, over Justin's mangled body, and leapt over the hedge.  The trees flew by him.  Villi smiled.  Lisa wasn't putting up any more resistance.  She obviously knew her fate.  He still couldn't see well, in fact his sight was pretty horrible at the moment.  But his instincts made up for that.

Before he could think any further, those instincts screamed at him to stop.  He set his feet angled away from him, and came to an abrupt halt.  Lisa thumped against him, gave off a noise and resumed sobbing quietly.  Just as Villi came to a stop, a flash came before him and he saw a curved blade imbedded into the tree in front of him.  Death he thought.

He kneeled down and let Lisa onto the ground.  He then grabbed the scythe, mentally thanking the spirit for providing him with a weapon.  A movement caught his eye, and he brought up his weapon in defense.  They clashed briefly, before Villi backed off quickly.  This was no phantom; this was flesh and blood he was fighting.  And he knew whom.  It was Mason.

* * *

The door finally gave way.  Several of the men at last made their way into Vance's quarters.  They stood there for a moment, gaping at the corpse.  One finally went to investigate the window, but his boot brushed against the ball on the ground.  The movement mixed the chemicals inside.  The resulting explosion took out the whole room, plus several surrounding.

* * *

Villi smiled.  "You think you can take me, Mason."  No movement in the haze in front of him.  Lisa was probably being taken to the count.  Shaft wouldn't like that at all, but there was nothing Villi could do at the moment.  He closed his eyes and relied completely on impulse.  His sight, at the moment, would be a distraction.  Mason moved forward, flashing his dagger down toward Villi.  The scythe came up and parried the attack.  Immediately, Villi brought up his left foot, kneeing Mason in the hip.  Mason rolled back, and launching another attack.  This time he went for a low thrust, then using his whole body to ram himself into Villi.  He grunted, and stumbled back a few paces, but stayed on his feet.

The two danced across the forest bed, each vying for superiority.  Villi struggled to keep up with Mason, but the black man was more experienced then he.  Villi's instincts weren't enough.  He parried another thrust from Mason, and then fell onto his back, bringing his feet up simultaneously.  The move caught Mason off-guard and he was knocked back onto his backside.

Mason quickly regained his footing, but lost sight of Villi.  He looked around the dark forest nervously, but Villi was no longer there.  He had disappeared.

* * *

Lisa couldn't recall much of what happened after Villi had dropped her.  Only that she was picked up again by something almost intangible to the touch.  She briefly remembered seeing the tops of the trees floating by, but then she fell unconscious.

When she came to, Lisa was inside a large bedroom she didn't recognize.  It was lavishly furnished and the style seemed to scream out Dracula.  Sitting up, she looked out the window to her left.  It was early in the morning, about a half-hour before sunrise.  Safe at last.  Oh, beloved, what will happen to us?  She buried her face into the pillow below her, tears dampening it.  Vance, her father was dead.  And it was her fault.

"Not true," said a familiar voice.

Lisa looked around, then focused onto a dark corner.  "You can read minds too?" she asked uneasily.

Death came out, floating through the room.  "Yes, but only in a certain instances.  The thoughts must contain images and emotions.   In your case, I saw a picture of your father, accompanied by a feeling of guilt."  The creature stopped at the foot of Lisa's bed.  "You can not foresee the future.  Don't let what happened to your father make you feel accountable.  It was Shaft and Villi."

Lisa nodded, but didn't feel any better.  A pep talk from a ghost wasn't her idea of a relief.  "Where is my Dracula?"

"The master will be here shortly."

"But the sun…" she began.

"The master has grown the point when sunlight no longer harms him."

Lisa nodded, brushing the hair that had fallen over her eyes.  "So," she asked, her sorrow stifling and needing to change the topic.  "How old are you?"

"WHAT?"  Death floated back for a moment.  Never in Death's life had anyone asked about it's past.

She focused on him, her curiosity stimulated.  The creature was slightly translucent, it's face hidden behind a hood that seemed to trap any light that fell upon it.  "Who are you?  Where do you come from?" she asked again.

The apparition was taken aback.  It was used to people who cowered before it.  This woman was actually curious!

"I…" it started, but couldn't finish.

Lisa sighed after minutes of silence passed, inquisitiveness overcoming her.  "Let us begin again, and please just give me the first answer you can think of.  How old are you?

"Older then you can imagine."

"Where do you come from?"

"A place far, far away from here."

"What is your name?"

"I… don't… remember…"

The room was utterly still as they stared at each other.  Lisa would swear she could see a human face in that darkness, struggling to recollect.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked.  Death hung before her, it's head lowered in concentration.

"I remember… a village.  People.  Faces I cannot put names to.  Names I cannot put faces to.  I remember… ENOUGH!"  Death lifted his head suddenly, his arm pointed to her accusingly.  "Do not meddle in my existence, do you understand?" 

Lisa nodded.  Before she could respond, the door opened and Dracula strode in.  He nodded to Death, and the apparition bowed, then disappeared.  Dracula set down on the bed next to her, a large smile on his face.

"How are you, Lisa?" he asked. 

"Fine, I suppose," she said sullenly.  Looking paler then usual, Lisa shifted next to him, sighing as Dracula wrapped his arms around her.  "What is going on, beloved?  Why is Shaft doing this?  Why does everyone want our child?"

"Our child?" Dracula whispered, confused.  "Why do you think everyone wants our child?"

Lisa proceeded to recount her dream.  She felt him stiffen as she recalled the way Shaft appeared in her nightmare, how three goddesses saved her, and how they let her view the future of their son.  Lisa omitted the last vision she saw.  The whole time, Dracula said nothing.  He merely held her, listening to her tale, taking in the details.  When she finished, Lisa shifted and looked up at him.  "What were those things?"

"Baku.  Dream demons.  My god, Shaft was merely paying lip service to me."  A dark, quiet rage came over him.  The room seemed to become colder around them, as if the very air itself could feel his dark power and was repelled by it.  "I will kill him, with my bare hands."  He felt her move about uncomfortably.

"I abhor the way you speak like that."

"The bastard wishes to take our child from us.  Do you wish for me to do something else?  Leave him free to run amok?"

"No… but I hate violence.  My father is dead, Dracula.  He is… dead, I…" She couldn't finish.  Dracula held her as she broke down again.  As he watched her pour tears for her father, Dracula swore again to himself: Shaft will die.

* * *

Dracula wasn't the only one upset that day.  Mason stalked down the barracks of the Assassins.  As Dracula's only completely human battalion, they had the luxury of warm quarters, soft beds, and rich foods.  All of which Dracula's undead army had no need of.  He was a generous man, Dracula.  When he was not in a generous mood was when you had to look out for him. 

But Mason was not paying attention to his surroundings.  In a foul disposition from not being able to kill Villi, he was bound and determined more then ever to enter Shaft's quarters.  So as soon as he returned to the castle, he gathered several of his best men and marched to the supernatural door.  First they tried simply breaking it down, but it refused to even budge.  Ramming it with large objects didn't help either.  After an hour without success, Mason finally moved in with explosives.  The enormous blast seemed to shake the whole castle.

When the smoke cleared, the door held firm.

If he could speak, Mason would have been shouting every foul expletive he was thinking.   So, returning to his housing, Mason decided to wait until he could ask for his master's assistance.  And Until then, he would guard Lisa with his life.

* * *

Villi kneeled before Shaft, silently hoping to get out of his situation with his life.  Shaft was livid.  No, he was beyond livid.  He was in a state that couldn't be described in words.  They were standing in a grotto far west of Castlevania.  Out of Dracula's territory.  But that wasn't far enough, as Shaft was already set for departure.  He had prepared for the possibility of this happening, but that didn't help his mood.

Now, he was pacing back and forth, spewing out his anger.  So foul was his frame of mind that dribble was actually running down his chin.  "You incompetent, drab, small-minded ass!  I ought to fry you to a crisp right now.  Why I ever saw any use in you is beyond me," he continued.

"Master, I apologize," Villi attempted to counter.  "But how was I supposed to fight of that spirit Death AND Mason with my eyes so badly wounded?"

"You let that old man blind you?  That weak old man?  All I asked was for you to kill Vance and kidnap the girl.  Why did you wait so long?  Must you toy with your opponents like an overconfident amateur?"  Shaft continued to rave on for several minutes, and then finally calmed slightly.  "Whatever, I need to depart now.  Dracula is coming after us, and there will be no hope for me if cornered.  Even with my powers, I can't take on that many creatures."

Villi nodded, but didn't move.  He was too afraid to agitate Shaft.  "What about Lisa and the child.  When will we make our move?" he asked.

"OUR MOVE?" Shaft reacted, incredulous.  "Going for her now is suicide.  I need to get as far from here as possible.  I will wait until the child is born and continue to wait until it grows into a boy.  Patience is the key here.  I am still going to take him.  I just have to wait until they lower their guard.  And I will prepare until then."  He turned to Villi.  "You are on your own.  If you can survive several years on the run from Dracula, maybe I will let you continue as my servant."

His servant was shocked.  "B-but I thought you would take me with you.  I have no wish to be some wandering vagrant with a demon king on my back!  Please…"

"No," Shaft interrupted, "You are…  On.  Your.  Own.  Be grateful you escaped me with your life."  Shaft walked toward his horse and mounted it.  "I'm returning home.  To Hyrule.  I'll see you in eight or nine years.  HYAAA!!"  With that, Shaft rode off.   Villi watched as his horse exited the cave and disappeared.  Standing alone for several moments, he then immediately turned and ran out of the cavern.  If he was to survive, he had to start at once.

~You know, it seem's like everything is working against me.  First the FF.net breaks down, then my laptop breaks down, finally I mentally break down.  I was halfway through this chapter when Sept. 11th took place.  I obviously didn't write then, or several days after.  Dammit, does anything make sense in this world?  Oh well.  If any of you are confused, this story, for now, is more drama then romance.  As the series nears its end, the romance will kick in full gear.  Boy, if only you knew what I have in store for you.  Twists you couldn't possibly expect.  I will try to write more often.  I promise.~

                                                                             Best

                                                                    ~DarthVegita~