A/N-Thanks for all the reviews. Now, as for this chapter, I was going to break it up into two separate chapters but decided that it might be pointless to do so. I'm really glad everyone likes this story. Now, what everyone has been waiting for…drum roll…The reason that Alucard is trapped here! Remember, I don't own this.

Chapter 7

"Here we are," Alucard said, opening the door for Sage. She stepped into her room.

They stood there for a few, uneasy moments, and then Sage spoke, "Would you like to come in?"

Alucard nodded. When he entered the room, Sage shut the door behind him. He turned, as though expecting an attack of some sort.

"What's wrong?" Sage asked, uncertainly.

"I…"

He stepped closer to her. Once again, she was enveloped in his arms, looking up at him. She ran a hand though his long hair. He bent and kissed her. She kissed him back.

"Should we do this?" Sage asked, knowing well what they both wanted to do.

"I don't know…I want to," he replied. He began to unlace the back of her dress.

She made no move to stop him. She began to untie the front of his coat. Her dress hit the floor at the same time as his coat. She now began to undo the cotton shirt he had on underneath. He kissed her again. She removed the shirt. He began to take off her undergarments.

"Alucard…" she whispered.

When her undergarments were on the floor with her dress, the Dhampire lifted her by the waist and laid her down on the bed. He removed his leather pants and positioned himself on top of her…

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The sun rose. Sage rolled over and opened her eyes. She saw that Alucard was sitting up on the edge of the bed. She smiled.

"Good morning," she said, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Good morning," he replied, without looking around. "I…understand that I was your first."

"Yes. It was…magnificent," she murmured.

Alucard let out a little snort of a laugh. Seconds later, Sage ventured to say something else, for Alucard had not turned around yet.

"Alucard…what's wrong?" she asked.

"We shouldn't have done this…we shouldn't have been together in this way…"

He seemed in a daze. Sage narrowed her eyes.

"Why not?" she asked.

"It…" he cut himself off.

Sage laughed and moved closer to him. "Oh, Alucard…don't worry," she muttered.

She moved to put her arms around his neck, but he shrugged them off. This hurt her.

"Wh…Why did you do that?" Tears were in Sage's eyes. "Alucard…that night was…"

Alucard made no reply, and he had yet to turn around.

"Alucard…I love you," she cried.

"No," he said, almost painfully. He turned to face her. His eyes were pleading. "No, you don't love me."

"Yes…I do," she replied, confusedly.

"No…you can't. Please, you can't love me. You can't!"

"Yes, I can!"

"No, you don't understand!"

Sage scoffed. "You're right, I don't," she said.

"You can't love me. Everyone I have ever loved has ended up dead…or worse. I love you too, but I can't. I don't…want to lose you," he explained.

"Alucard, you're not going to lose me," she said, taking his hand in hers. "Why do you think you're going to lose me?"

"You don't know what happened to the last person I loved…What my father did to her…" he said.

"Was your father responsible for your mother's stoning?" Sage gasped.

"No, no…he honestly loved her…I'm talking about a young woman I met when I last rose up against my father and his castle. She was trying to find her brother-in-law, Richter Belmont."

"Are you talking about Maria Renard?"

"Yes…I spoke with her many times in my pursuit of destroying the castle. I fell in love with her, needless to say. I found and saved Richter, with her help, and the two left the castle and awaited for me to return. When I did, I told her that I was to re-enter my slumber, but she wouldn't have it. She followed me to my resting place. With tears in her eyes, she proclaimed her love for me. She screamed at me how unfair it was to both of us to be separated, possibly never to see one another again. When she left, feeling as though I had not responded, it was I who followed her home. I proclaimed my love in return. We lived in happiness, but only for a short while. Castlevania arose again a year later, and then it was Maria who went missing.

"A note left for me by my father stated clearly where she was at. I had a day and a half's time to safe my beloved. I raced to and through the castle."

Alucard paused. He was searching for words that would possibly lessen the pain. There were none.

"What happened?" Sage pressed gently, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"I was too late. When I arrived in my father's throne room, I demanded to know what he had done with her. He said that it was over. He indicated an adjoining room. I entered and fell immediately to my knees at the sight before me. There lay Maria's body, several slashes covering it. I asked him what he had done to her. He answered that my time had expired and that the Venus Weeds had been hungry."

The Dhampire gathering some sheets in his hands as he balled them into fists. He looked down at the bed, and Sage could see his tears hit the sheets.

"He fed her to them?"

Alucard nodded. "They drained her dry, as they say."

"But that's not the whole story, is it?"

He shook his head. "No. I tried to rise and kill Dracula. He said that I had better listen to the proposal he had. It was not enough that he had simply killed her. He had performed a complex spell to bind a part of her soul to him. He had transfigured it into an object, a globe, he keeps God knows where in this castle. He said that if I did not agree to join with him in his castle that he would finish what he had started and direct that part of her soul and the rest of it into Hell, where she would eternally be trapped."

"Is there anyway to send her soul to Heaven?"

"I'm sure there is…but that would require finding the globe without my father knowing."

Sage leapt from the bed. She gathered Alucard's clothing at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Get dressed," she instructed, beginning to do so herself.

"Why so insistent?"

"Because we are going to find and set Maria free."

Alucard's eyes widened. He then put a smile on his face, jumped forth from the bed, and kissed Sage.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too, Alucard," she replied.

"No…call me Adrian."

End Notes: Okay, so, does that answer some questions? And add some new ones? Did you like the chapter? I'll go ahead and warn you that my computer is messing up so my updates might get quite delayed…but I'm going to get one of my cousins to fix this stupid machine as soon as possible. Until then, please R & R! Thanks!