Chapter 6

Lisa held the six year-old Alucard on her lap as the painter quickly tried to sketch in the outline of the family. Dracula, Alucard and she were dressed up for their family portrait. Dracula had brought in a famous artist from Italy, and he was frantically trying to sketch in the small family before Alucard lost interest again. The child squirmed again, however, and was soon pouting.

"Sit still, Alucard," Lisa soothed, stroking his platinum colored hair. "The nice man will soon be done, and then you can go play."

"But I don't wanna," he whined, twisting around and trying to break free from her grasp.

Finally Lisa sighed and let him go. Alucard whooped and ran from the room. She looked up at her husband and shrugged. "I am sorry, beloved. You know how impatient children are."

Dracula watched his son's receding form. "Yes, I think I am beginning to understand," he said. He walked over to the artist and looked over the portrait skeptically. "Well, do what you can. We will try again tomorrow."

The artist shrugged. "Tomorrow is fine. I work much better in the day, however. Must we do this in the evening?" he said, his Italian accent thick.

"My days... are totally filled up," Dracula replied. "With the amount I am paying you for this portrait, you will paint at three in the morning, nude if I ask you to."

The painter bowed low as Dracula led his giggling wife from the room.

* * *

After Shaft fled the country, Dracula almost went insane trying to find him. He sent out scouts all across the land. He consulted mediums. Lisa had to stop him from swearing to make another pact with the devil. He sent people from the Assassins group into towns and villages to seek out clues about Shaft's whereabouts. Nothing came from the search. It was like he just disappeared. Dracula also searched for Villi. Although his trail was easier to follow, it too went cold after several months.

Mason was just as passionate, if not more, about finding the two. He went on hunts in all directions, scouting out every possible hiding place for miles. After Shaft's trail disappeared, he hunted Villi for over 200 miles. After two months of searching, Mason returned home empty-handed.

Upon his return, Shaft and Dracula focused on Shaft's room. Dracula broke through it easily. With a wave of the hand, the door fell over. A sudden explosion swept through the room, destroying everything. The fire lunged out of the door, sweeping past Dracula, Mason and several of demons with them. When it died down, only Dracula and Mason stood, protected by Dracula's magic.

"Damn," was all the Demon King said.

There was little left to investigate. Almost everything, the books, papers, maps, it was all burned beyond any use. Not all was lost, however. A few pages of journals were left.

"Listen to this, Mason," Dracula had said. "'I must admit, I am enchanted by this new world called, "Earth". It has some of the most fascinating customs and religions I've ever seen. This Christianity is particularly intriguing. Apparently, over 1500 years ago, a messiah from God (these people only have ONE god) came to earth to 'save' mankind. Now, what would mankind be need saving from? A plague? War? Perhaps an invasion from otherworldly demonic forces? Not at all, it was sin! Sin, of all things. Even these pathetic creatures called 'humans' aren't free from their conscious! And even this Christianity varies from country to country. Some believe this messiah was the son of God. Others believe he is God himself. Still others worship the mortal mother that gave birth to him! How very interesting."

Dracula closed the journal. "That is all I can read," he stated.

Mason moved a cabinet, searching the wall for secret compartments. He turned and signed, "So Shaft is not from our world. That I already knew. But what confuses me is what he needed a child for. Why your child?"

"Because he will be a dhampire, a creature of great potential for power. But he failed. That is all that matters." Only a few more books were recovered, along with a partially burned map with part of a name, the letters U L E, in the lower corner.

A few months later, Adrian Fahrenheits Tepes was born. His parents affectionately called him Alucard.

* * *

Lisa laid Alucard down into his bed. She had just washed him, and he was already drowsy. His eyes were droopy and his breathing was shallow. The room was small but luxurious. The bed was made of silk. Dracula went all out, with stuffed animals in every corner. She hummed a sleepy tune her mother used to sing to her, stroking his hair.

"Mama?" Alucard murmured, his words slurred with sleep.

"Yes, darling?"

"Am I going to be like daddy when I grow up?"

The question caught Lisa off guard. "You can be anything you want to be, Alucard," she said.

"I want to be just like daddy," he replied. Before she could respond, he fell asleep.

She kissed his forehead. I want to be just like daddy. Life with Dracula hadn't been an easy adjustment with her. It had taken her several months to cope with his nocturnal 'activities'. While he no longer required blood every night, he would still often 'hunt' as he would call it. Lisa wasn't prepared for this lifestyle, and seeing him return with blood on his lips, knowing that some young mortal just lost his or her life weighed down on her.

To be fair, Dracula had eased up on his hunts. He spent more and more time at home with her, especially when Alucard had been born. But that still left their son's future in doubt. Lisa particularly was aware that they only had precious few years with him, before fate took him out of their hands.

She sighed and looked down at her son. Then, she quickly left the room before the tears welled up again.

* * *

Dracula was sitting at his bedroom desk, reading the parched remains of one of the few surviving journals left by Shaft. It was a spell, voodoo magic. Unlike most other magic, voodoo was less about harming or healing and focused more on human emotion and character. That is, it was used to control a person, to change characteristics. That was the essence of this spell. It was a love potion, meant to cause its victims to fall madly in love with one another.

His eyes shifted over the contents of the spell. Typical ingredients. A bit of this, a dash of that. Chant a hymn, or intoning a demon. Three of the ingredients caught his eye, however. One was red wine. Red wine. The other was a sperm sample (if one of the victims was a man). But that shouldn't have been hard to locate. Before Lisa, Dracula would occasionally bring home a young female for nightly pleasure. It would have been easy for Shaft to obtain a sample from the body before it was disposed.

But the last ingredient had shaken him. It was a sample of the female's special blood. Special blood. It didn't take a genius to figure out that meant a sample of her monthly discharge. The king shuddered at the thought of Shaft obtaining a sample from an unconscious Lisa, as that was no doubt what happened. Dracula's mind debated whether or not to tell Lisa that. Quickly, he took the paper and held it over a candle, letting it burn out of existence. He wouldn't tell her. Lisa didn't need to know this.

Just as he watched the last of the paper disappear, his wife entered the room.

"I'm here, beloved," she said.

He watched her cross the room, her hands shaking. "What is wrong, Lisa? Tell me."

"I... I... nothing," she finally said.

"Do not lie to me, Lisa. I am your husband, I want to know."

She shook her head. "I... I do not want Alucard to grow up to be you. I will not allow that."

Dracula was taken aback. "You mean a vampire? A Demon Lord? What if he wants this?"

"NO," she spat out. "I refuse to entertain such an idea. Our son will grow up to be a scholar, or a knight, or a... a... WHATEVER. But not what you are." She caught herself suddenly, her finger in the air pointing at Dracula accusingly. Lisa lowered her hand.

Dracula felt the anger rising up in him. "Just what in damnation do you mean, not like me. You mean a vampire, right? You mean you would be ashamed for that to happen." Lisa's head jerked up, but she said nothing. "I do not think it is your place to be deciding our son's future. He will grow up to be what I want him to be, as I am his father."

Lisa shook her head. "Dracula, he is my son too," she said, turning around so she wouldn't have to see him. "And as his mother, I would sooner die then let him grow up to be a monster." She finished speaking. But there was no sound behind her. She waited for his response, but upon hearing nothing, Lisa turned slowly. Dracula only stood there, speechless. His face was impassive, stone-like. His body was rigid. But his eyes, they betrayed his feelings. They glittered with hurt, anguish. Betrayal. Before she could speak again, the room filled up with smoke, and he disappeared.

* * *

"Can you imagine, what hell that poor girl is going through? Can you imagine, the horrors she's seen?" the speaker said. He was an old man, his priest's uniform was worn in several places. He stood on a small platform, his shoulder length white hair unruly and dirty. But his speaking abilities were incredible, as he held almost the entire town of Malachi enthralled. "Should we pity young Lisa? Should we pray for her? Does she even deserve our prayers. The answer to that, my friends, is a firm NO. That woman, no that whore, took away our this towns blessings from our most Holy Father. She murdered her own father, killed several of our own people, and then fled to the Demon King's castle, where she does the most vile, unmentionable acts nightly with that god forsaken Count." The preacher stood inside the cathedral. Already, half the town was ready for bloodshed. But that would come later. "This slut would have us think that she is a poor, plain healer. In fact, she already made several deals with Lucifer himself. I have come to warn you all, my friends, a plague is on its way. Our most Holy Father, who gave his life for all of us, has warned me about it. It shall come in five years, and this 'poor, poor' Lisa will come with the 'cure'. She will come to sell all of your souls to the Devil himself!!

"What shall we do?" an elderly mother stood up and called out, her desperation and fright mirrored by most of the people in the room.

"Yes, tell us," said another. Soon the whole room was lit up with pleas for mercy. The old preacher smiled an almost toothless smile and raised his hand, calling for silence. The room soon became quiet.

"Soon, very soon, the first signs of the plague will come upon us. They will be easy to treat. I can show you how. But after that, much worse diseases will come, some of which even I can't stop. Do not blame me, these come from Satan himself. But fear not. When the worst is upon us, the very cause of our heartache herself will come amongst us, claiming to have a cure. Whatever you do, DO NOT ACCEPT IT!!!" his voice suddenly booming. "To accept what she wishes to give to you is to accept the Dark One as master of your soul. We must kill her. To kill her is to rid the world of God's very enemies, and our lord will bless us all and wipe this plague from us." He looked down amongst the townspeople. "I can see a few doubters in here. Fear not, the truth will make itself known in a very short time. Yes, fear not, people, for God is amongst us!" The preacher finished with his hands in the air, and the people stood up with thunderous applause. Yes soon, he thought, very soon and this will all be over.

* * *

Dracula stood on top of the highest tower, with all of Walakiya below him. He could feel Castlevania thrumming with life below him. Unaware of what just transpired in Malachi, he leaned back against the harsh wind behind him and sighed. Perhaps he was too harsh with Lisa. Perhaps. To be fair, not even he could stand what he had become. It was true, he was a monster. How could he pretend to be anything else? It had been four hundred years since he became a vampire, through that pact with the devil. In all that time, Dracula had forgotten what being human was like. Lisa was only twenty-four years old. Compared with him, she was still a baby. What could he expect?

A wave of the hand and Dracula dematerialized, then before him was Alucard's bed. Looking down, he could see the resemblance between Lisa and he son. Yes Alucard was truly their child. Making a silent vow, Dracula promised himself that this child will not grow up to be like him. The Demon King then left to room to apologize to Lisa.

~Well, that was a quick chapter. I wish I could write more, but I find it difficult to write the Castlevania part of this story. *sighs* I really can't wait for this first part to be done. Then the REAL story begins! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this so far. And keep those reviews coming!~

Best

~DV~