Author's Note: Earlier today I received a review dealing with the issue on the ages of Vlad Tepes and Adrian Tepes.  Konami was wrong when it declared that Dracula was born in the 11th century.  This historical Dracula, Vlad Tepes III, was born in the year 1431 and died in the year 1476.  Adrian would have to have been born after him.

I am a man who walks alone,
and when I'm walking a dark road
at night or strolling through the park.
When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange,
a little anxious when it's dark.
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark.
I have a constant fear that something's always near.
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark.
I have a phobia that someone's always there-

"Fear of the Dark"-Iron Maiden

     Three months after the birth of my son, Lysander, I had become adjusted to the life of a father.  In the early days of Lysander's life he would wake Maria and I up shortly after midnight practically every evening, but around the time he was three months old he would cut back unless he was hungry or scared; but there was one particular evening when his cries changed the course of my life.

     The three of us were spending the night at the Belmont residence when Lysander's cries woke all of us up at around three in the morning.  Someone rapped on the Belmont door, and the knock woke Lysander.  The knock came from a traveler, who was lost and searching for an inn.  Annette was very upset that he would come to the house at three in the morning, but Richter calmed her down and gave the man directions.  Richter, however, told me that there was something odd about the man that he simply could not place his finger on.  

     The next day I was assisting Richter with the horses in the Belmont stable when the two of us heard this sharp cry from inside the home.  The scream came from Annette.  Richter and I joked that it was probably came across a mouse in the kitchen, but instead we were in for a terrible surprise. 

     There standing over Maria and Annette was Vlad the Impaler himself, back from the grave.  I gasped, but I gasped even more when I saw what he carried under his arms.

     One arm carried the small body of Christian Belmont.  Christian's head was sunk downward starring at the floor, with his brown hair covering his eyes.  I thought that for a moment Christian was dead, because he was not struggling, but then I noticed that he was still breathing.  Father had apparently knocked him out.

     What Father carried beneath his other arm absolutely terrified me.  He carried my three-month-old son, Lysander.  Lysander was awake, but he was not crying.  Why exactly is a mystery to me.

     When Father's dark eyes made contact with me it appeared as though everybody else in the room did not exist.

     "Ah, Alucard," he began, "how nice it is to see you again."

     "Father, put the children down," I replied in the most powerful voice I had.  The sight of Lysander's blonde hair in my father's grasp terrified me.

     "This child of yours reminds me so much of you, Alucard.  The blonde hair and brown eyes, even though I did notice a hint of green, but I suppose that must be a gift from his mother, am I right Alucard?"

     "Father, if that child reminds you of me in any way then I pray to you to put him down gently, along with the other child."

     "I'm sorry Alucard, but I can't do that."

     "Monster!" shouted Annette, who had apparently overcome her fear of Dracula after watching him hold her five-year-old son for an extended period of time.  "Why can't you just stay dead and leave us in peace?!"

     Father chuckled.  "Oh, but you can't want that.  Besides it was your husband's fault for inviting me into your home in the first place."

     I turned to Richter.  He was in complete shock.  "You?!  You're the man from last night!"

     Father cackled.  "Yes, and I must say that I'm a terrific actor!  I fooled you, a man who has fought me how many times now?"

     Richter glared, but Father continued to flash his wicked smile.

     "But it's not only your stupidity Belmont.  I'm back because someone wanted to pay me tribute."

     "'Tribute!'" I shouted.  "Who in the hell would want to pay you tribute?!"

     "Someone who understands 'Hell' quite well.  Someone like our cousin, Elizabeth."

     "Elizabeth?!"

     "Yes, Elizabeth Bathory."

     That was a name that I did not hear in a long time.  Elizabeth was a distant cousin of mine, and a countess.  I really did not know much about her except what I had read.  Elizabeth was born ninety years after me, and in life she started to experiment with the dark arts.  She believed that by drinking and bathing in blood she could obtain unnatural long life, and under her orders she executed at least 650 young women for the sole purpose of drinking and bathing in their blood.  Her subjects awarded her with the title of 'Blood Countess' based on her actions.  In the end she was able to find her immortality, thought it was in the form of a vampire.

     "What does she want to pay you tribute for?!" I demanded to Father.

     "Don't know, don't care," he replied, still with his ever present grin on his face.

     By this moment Richter had seen enough of Vlad the Impaler in his household and cracked his whip to let him know about it.  Father never changed the expression on his face, he only showed Richter his unconscious son and that was enough for Richter to stop.

     I too thought for a moment about rescuing Lysander from Father's arm, but out of fear I could not.  I was not afraid of him hurting me, but I was afraid that I might hurt Lysander.  Father had a pretty strong grip on the baby and I was afraid that if I tried to pull Lysander away I might hurt him by Father's refusal to let go.

     Maria, who had been relatively quiet this whole time, tried to reason with him.  She begged Father to let Lysander go, but Father seemed to find humor in my wife's plea.

     "Let him go?" he started.  "All right I can let him go.  How 'bout I let him go into the hearth?"

     Maria gasped.  I thought she was going to cry, but I was enraged.

     "If you lay but a hand on either of their two heads I swear to God that I'll kill you!"

     "Swear to God?" Father replied.  He started to laugh.  "The kind all-loving, all-merciful God?  Have you been following the teachings of Jesus lately Alucard?"

     "Shut up!  Your war with God has nothing to do with Lysander or Riff!"

     "Oh, but it does.  You see Alucard these two children are the offspring of those who would try to kill me, so they're a threat to me.  That's why they have to come along with me, but don't worry I promise I won't hurt them.  In fact, maybe I'll raise them to be just like me.  Your 'Lysander' could become the 'Alucard' I always wanted."

     "Bastard!" shouted Richter.

     "Come now Belmont, don't talk about your son that way."

     Richter sneered at Father's comment.

     "Anyway, I thank you for your warm hospitality and for the fact that I get to take too small children with me back to the Castle," Father said with sarcasm.  "If you want them back I'll be waiting," and with that Father vanished, taking with him my son and my nephew.

     Almost immediately after Father transformed himself into mist, while he carried Lysander and Christian along with him, Richter and I were in the Belmont stable preparing a pair of horses for the journey to the Castle.  We promised our wives that no harm would come to our children, but both of us were worried.  I was probably more worried for Lysander's safety than Christian's, but my fear was not based on the fact that Lysander was my son and Christian was not.  No, my fear was based on Lysander's age.  At three-months-old Lysander was dependent on the people around him.  Christian was to, but not as much.  Lysander was also more susceptible to diseases than Christian was.

     To make matters worse it was usually a ten-day journey to Castle Dracula on horseback, and I was afraid that neither Lysander nor Christian could hold out that long.  Richter, however, had a plan.  He knew some of the roots off the main road that would allow us to travel faster to the Castle.  Travelers usually do not venture off the main road because bandits often have camps in those areas.  Of course, with the Castle visible in the distance I doubted that bandits would try to make camp in those woods.  Plus after facing my father in battle, bandits were the least of my troubles.

     After we arrived in the Castle we did our best to search every room we could find.  Personally I assumed that Father was holding Lysander and Christian in quarters near the master throne room, or possibly even my old bedroom.  Unfortunately Richter and I never had the chance to discover where our two children were being held because we were separated.  We were on the second floor of the Castle and I somehow fell from a window.  I have no explanation for how it happened, it simply just happened.  Fortunately I was all right, but because it was dark Richter was unable to see me, so we were basically on our own now.

     I survived through the Castle, but I cannot say the same for Richter.  He still is not exactly sure of what happened to him, but somehow he was knocked unconscious and carried to the master throne room, which is where I rediscovered him.

     Father was there, naturally, along with my son, nephew, and Richter.  Richter was lying next to his son unconscious.  Lysander was sleeping, but he appeared to be all right.

     "Good evening, Alucard!" Father declared with a grin to mock me.

     I unsheathed my sword in response.

     "Oh come now, Alucard.  Surely you don't wish to fight me.  Especially not while I hold three of your family members in my hands."

     "Lay one hand on them and I'll cut your throat!"

     Father chuckled.  "Come now Alucard, we've been through this before.  I was actually going to make a pact with you."

     "A pact?"

     "Yes, my son.  I'm willing to spare the life of your son and the two Belmonts, along with your wife and sister-in-law and any future children that they may begat if…"

     "If what Father?!" I declared.

     He looked me straight in the eye and declared, "If you'll declare absolute loyalty to me."

     I was stunned by Father's statement, because I never expected it; but it did not take long for me to answer, "Yes."  I knew that by agreeing to his demands I would never be able to see my wife and son again, but I was also willing to lay down my life for their future.

     Father arranged for a carriage to escort the Belmonts and my son back to our village.  The carriage was driven by a phantom driver, and under Dracula's influence the horses appeared to triple their speed.  Richter and Christian were still unconscious but I knew that they would be all right, although I was concerned that they had not yet woken up.  Lysander did wake up to cry, and I did my best to comfort him.  He was all right. 

     My time away from home caused concern for Maria.  She decided after Richter and I left that she was also going to make her way to the Castle to rescue our son, but she did not go alone.

     Maria was able to recruit the services of Natalia.  Natalia was an upper-class citizen from our village.  She had a modest build and was pretty, but I simply could not stand her!  She was never rude to me or anything I simply did not agree with her lifestyle.  She was a woman who never lifted a finger in society, but was known to gossip.  Honestly, I do not know what Maria saw in her, or how she was able to actually convince her to come along with her; but come along she did.

     The two of them, however, never made it to Castle Dracula.  Instead they spotted the carriage that carried Lysander, Richter, Christian, and I.  And I am still not sure how Maria did it, but she leapt at the carriage, forcing it to stop.

     "Adrian!" she screamed with joy, before she embraced Lysander and me.  I hugged her back, but I never displayed the same kind of enthusiasm that she did, and she could tell that there was something wrong.  "Are you all right?"

     I shook my head.

     "Why?  What's wrong?" she asked while removing her bodice to nurse Lysander.  It bothered me to watch her do that knowing that I might have another opportunity to feel the warmth of her breasts.

     "I can never return to you Maria."

     "What?!  Why?!"  I thought she was about to break down, but she did not.  She merely stroked Lysander's blonde hair.

     "Because I made a promise to my father.  I told him that I would be loyal, and in return he would grant me the lives of the Belmonts, Lysander, and you.  And that this promise would extend to any more children."

     "No!" she declared.  "I'll not have you return to him!"

     "Maria, I'm more than willing to sacrifice myself for you and Lysander's future."

     "You may be willing to sacrifice yourself for us Adrian, but I'm not ready to let you go!  I promise you that I'll bring you back home to Lysander and I."

     "It's not possible," I told her.

     "Where there's a will, there's a way," she told me, before giving me a kiss.

     I turned and looked at her before stepping back into the carriage.  I wanted to believe that there was a way, but I did not know what it could be.  I tried to look at Richter and Christian, who were forced on Natalia's horse, but were still out cold; yet all I could do was stare at Maria.

     After I returned to the Castle I had my first encounter with Elizabeth.  She had a petite body with brown hair and eyes, and ruby red lips.  She was also of average height for her time.  "Hello, Alucard," she began.

     "Don't even talk to me!" I shot back.  "I've nothing to say to you!"

     She flashed me a smile.  "Why Alucard, whatever could you mean?" she added with a giggle.

     "Damn it you know exactly what I mean!  How could you bring him back…"

     "For you to kill him Alucard."

     That statement caught me off guard.  "What?!  Excuse me?"

     She chuckled.  "Yes, Alucard.  You see, your father is the lord among vampires; but I believe that rather than have a lord what we need is a queen!"

     I knew now what Elizabeth was talking about, but I was still slightly confused.  My father was the lord among vampires.  He was the chief vampire, because apparently there were no other vampires in the world when he returned from his death in 1476.  Elizabeth wanted that title for herself, but for another vampire to take the title of 'Lord of the Vampires' that vampire has to actually kill the head vampire, which in this case was my father.

     "Then it's your job to kill him, not mine."

     But Elizabeth continued to laugh.  "Oh, I know that Alucard, but I need your help."

     I raised an eyebrow to her.

     "You see Alucard, I know that you have the ability to kill your father, and I know that you want to kill your father.  I can help you do so, but all I ask in return is that you leave the final blow to me."

     I was furious at every word that exited her mouth.  "This is what you think I am?!  Some damn puppet on a string?!  Did you ever consider my feelings for a moment?!"

     She started to chuckle, which made me even more upset.  "Now, now, Alucard.  Just calm down…"

     "Oh shut up bitch!  Damn it I had everything I ever wanted.  I had a beautiful wife and a beautiful child and your greed has taken all of that away from me!  You know what though?  You're damn right that I want to kill my father, but right now I think I'd rather kill you more!"  And that is exactly what I did.  In fact, I did it in a way that would make my father proud…by impalement.

     Maria told me before we departed that day that 'if there's a will, there's a way.'  I honestly did not think too much on her words, but I often thought about her and Lysander.  I wanted to see them again, but I only believed that I would get to see them in my dreams. 

     Maria, however, is a strong woman full of courage.  I do not know exactly how she did it, but she convinced Natalia and an elder priest named Father Miceadu to accompany her to Castle Dracula.

     Father Miceadu was in his early sixties, and had been an Orthodox priest for at least forty years.  He was fairly tall and robust man that often wore glasses.  He was conservative in his outlook on life, and maintained a strong devotion to Jesus.  Maria and I both knew of him, because he was the pastor of the church in our village.

     When the three of them came in contact with me at the Castle I did not know what I was going to do.  Honestly if Maria had not been there I probably would have attacked Miceadu and Natalia, but I simply could not attack the love of my life.

.    The four of us encountered Vlad the Impaler together.  Father sat on his throne with his cold dark hair blowing in the wind.  He appeared not to take any notice of us until he noticed me.         

     "So you've chosen to defile me and our family history again, have you Alucard?"

     "Father, I'll never lay a hand on the mother of my child, so yes Father, I have defiled you!"

     "Then you must face your punishment," he replied, as he unsheathed his sword.  "I'll chop you down before your precious wife, then I'll chop her down next to you."

     "I'll never let you hurt me or him!" responded Maria, full of courage.

     Father chuckled.  He did not take Maria's words too seriously.  Instead he turned to Natalia and Miceadu, but he paid more attention to Miceadu.

     "And how 'bout the two of you?  Especially you priest.  Is your God going to be here with you?"

     "God has never let me down!" Miceadu responded.

     "Just wait," Father replied.  "He always does at the most critical moment."

     "Which explains why the Belmonts have been able to defeat you for over the last 300 years, right Father?" I replied.

     Father's eyes grew wide with that comment.  I knew that I had struck a raw nerve with Father.  "You will take those words back Alucard!"

     "I will not Father!"

     Father snarled at my defiance.  "Perhaps you should consider it."

     "And perhaps you should consider this!" Maria exclaimed, as he sprinkled a bottle of holy water against my father's skin.  The blessed water burned his skin like acid.  He fell back, but kept a tight grip on his sword.

     "Forget you, Alucard!  I'll slay your wife first!"  But I was ready to defend my wife.  My sword was already drawn, and I parried my father's attack.  My father's strength was incredible—as it always has been.  I did not know if I was going to lose my grip on my sword, and have my father slice me. 

     I found help from a source that I did not expect.  Natalia was armed with a pistol, and she fired it into Father's torso.  Bullets will not harm him, but they will aggravate him.  He actually pushed me aside, and turned his attention towards her, but that proved to be a fatal mistake. 

     With Father caught off guard I rammed my sword into his back.  He let out a moan, but did not expire.  It was Father Miceadu who delivered the final blow by inserting a piece of the consecrated Host into Father's mouth.  Father's body shook as though it had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and then to my absolute horror it combusted similar to a balloon right before my very eyes.   So ended the reign of Vlad the Impaler. 

     Approximately one year after Lysander's birth, Maria was pregnant again.  This pregnancy was different from Lysander's.  When Maria became pregnant with Lysander she was hoping for a child, but this time she was not expecting one, especially not with Lysander so very small.  But for me, I enjoyed the idea of having another baby. 

     Ironically, Maria's sister, Annette, discovered that she was pregnant as well around the same time.  Unlike Maria, I think that Annette was ready to become pregnant again, because Christian was six-years-old, so it had been a while for her and Richter. 

     I am sure that both Maria and Annette were expecting a pregnancy where their husbands would always be at their side for the duration of the pregnancy and after the birth of the baby, but an evil in a different kind of form was preparing its strike on Romania.