No Want, No Hunger, No Shame
A/N: Yes, I'm back! Sorry for the delay. Think of this as a late Christmas present! ;)
My apologies for any grammatical errors beforehand. It was late when I wrote it and it was late when I edited it.
Chapter 30
They rode quickly, pushing the horses to their limits. Meryl's legs and behind soon cramped up from the constant jarring pace, but she grit her teeth and stared ahead where Vash (and his donkey) were leading the group. He insisted there was less than a day's ride to the castle Purebrood, but Meryl had to wonder how long it had been since he had been this way.
The group rode in near silence the entire day, only stopping briefly at noon and mid-afternoon for breaks. They all flopped to the damp grass and indulged themselves and their horses in food and water at these scarce times. Even then, everyone seemed much too preoccupied with eating to speak.
Meryl herself rode in a sort of half-daze. Sometime in the afternoon, she became aware of an irritating throb in her neck, under the flesh branded by the K. She also noticed that it seemed to be healing, which she couldn't take for a good sign because one look by Milly told her that the infection had spread and long, thin blue vines of death were winding around her neck like a noose.
Meryl was well acquainted with the side effects of vampire bites, having read book after book on the matter. It was something else to experience it, however.
The fog cover didn't break until late afternoon, and for the barest moment, they all could have sworn there was clear sight of the sun lowering over the hills. Seconds later, however, a cloud blocked their view. One of considerable size and gloominess.
Wolfwood then informed them, in a matter of fact tone, that it would rain that night.
They pushed on, through small thickets and forests, over the rounded hilltops and down through the muddy valleys. Vash's donkey seemed to be the most resilient of them all after the half-blood himself, and just as Meryl thought that she would fall from her saddle with exhaustion (but not before her horse collapsed under her), they rounded the top of one last hill and Vash gave a cry of triumph.
"That's it! There it is!" he shouted with a silly grin, his donkey plodding to a halt as he pointed out a spot on the horizon.
Meryl pulled her horse to a stop next to Vash and followed the line his finger made. Before them lay a barren field followed by a dark forest. Then, rising above both was a rocky outcropping she took to be a hill. Atop the hill was a shabby castle, its outline stark and harsh against the white sky.
"It's beautiful…" Milly breathed from beside Meryl.
Wolfwood snorted. "If you count that sight beautiful, I'd hate to see what you think is ugly," he told her sardonically.
Milly pointedly ignored the priest and turned to her partner. "Well, what do you think, Sempai?"
As she fixed her eyes on the dark shape rising above the earth, Meryl felt an encumbering sense of dread engulf her very being. She heard Milly's question, but couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze from the castle. Her voice seemed to freeze in her throat. Her ears seemed to be filled with a sudden thundering rush. The tips of her fingers froze, small tendrils of ice worming into her veins and proceeding to travel up her bones.
Something flashed in the recesses of her mind. A memory?
A voice. Cold as ice.
Death, hate…I hate you…
"Sempai?"
Meryl's eyes snapped open, her whole body jerking. She realized her eyes had begun to close, but whether in sleep or something else, she didn't know.
Swallowed, she spoke, her voice cracking. "It's a place of death," she said with finality.
Milly's brow furrowed in thought, while Wolfwood remained silent.
Meryl realized that Vash was staring at her. Turning her head slowly, she levelled her gaze with his. There was something in his eyes…
"Let's go," he said suddenly. "We want to make the cover of the forest by night. The majority of the population inside the castle is pure-blooded, and they'll wake as soon as the sun is down. We don't want to be caught in the open." He urged the donkey forward.
They reached the thick woods in less time than Meryl would have thought, and dismounted from their horses (and donkey) to continue on foot. Vash insisted they make their way deep into the forest before setting up a makeshift camp.
The canopy of trees all but blocked the sky from view, but they found a small, round clearing with several large rocks and soft grass growing. From this spot, they noticed the sky was already darkening, but not from night.
"It'll be raining soon, I told you," Wolfwood reminded them all mildly as they tethered their horses (and donkey) to the surrounding trees. They made sure there was plenty of cover for the tired animals.
Milly was unpacking her saddlebags as Wolfwood surveyed the sight, lighting up a cigarette as he did so. Feeling unnaturally exhausted, Meryl flopped down beside a large rock protruding from the grass, but not after hauling her possessions off her horse. Sitting there, she noticed Vash staring around the small clearing with a far away expression.
A place from his past? she wondered silently to herself, and decided not to question him. She was sure being here was just as hard for him as it was for her.
Meryl noticed that Milly seemed to be the only one among them acting the least bit normal. Humming as she rummaged through her things, Milly set about pulling various jars and cooking supplies from her bags.
"Mr. Priest!" she chirped, smiling as Nicholas turned to her. "Put that cigarette out and please find me some wood. We'll need a fire if we're going to eat tonight!"
"It'll have to be a small one," Vash informed her wisely, settling himself down on the ground a few feet from Meryl.
"There'll be no trouble with that once it starts raining." He started for the edges of the clearing, gathering small sticks and dead wood as puffed resolutely on his cigarette.
In the end, the cigarette was used to light the fire, and Wolfwood assumed a look of dejection.
By the time the flames were high enough to cook on, Meryl could feel the odd raindrop fall through the thinned branches above them, occasionally hitting her on the nose. The three of them sat around the fire as Milly was hunched over, stirring two separate pots that sat on a makeshift grid over the flames. And, before long, she was ladling their supper into four small bowls and handing them out. The cheerful woman had something else in store for Meryl, however, and she poured the contents of the second pot into a large mug before making her way over to her friend.
Meryl looked up, spoon poised to scoop into her bowl. She eyed the mug suspiciously. She didn't know how much more of Milly's concoctions and cooking she could take.
"What's that?" she asked, lowering her bowl.
Milly held the drink out to Meryl, a stern look in her eyes.
"Here, have this, Sempai. It's a drink to delay the turning. The recipe is straight from a book by Jonathan Wright," she said to the unspoken question in Meryl's eyes.
The petite woman took the drink grudgingly, wrinkling her nose at the fumes that seemed to be emanating from the mug.
"Drink," Milly commanded with the slight show of hesitation from her friend.
Meryl noticed Wolfwood's eyes laughing at her over the fire while Vash looked on, curious. She gave them both a glare before tipping the mug up and draining it quickly. It was best to do that with all Milly's edible inventions.
Indeed, Meryl wasn't disappointed, and as the last of the drink slid down her throat, what she had been trying not to taste suddenly hit her full-force. She dropped the mug as if it were a hot coal and shot up from her place before the fire. Then, throwing herself into the surrounding bushes, she attempted to cough and gag whatever was left of the horrid drink out of her mouth and off her tongue.
She was barely aware of Vash and Wolfwood laughing behind her. The drink had caused a searing fire to settle in her stomach and spread up her throat and down into her abdomen.
Gasping for air, Meryl stumbled back to the campfire, clutching her throat. The K on her neck had started to sting painfully.
"What was that?" she demanded loudly of her friend. "It tasted like…like…"
"Garlic," Milly offered simply.
"G-garlic!" Meryl exclaimed in disbelief.
Wolfwood's laugher doubled, while Vash assumed a pained look.
The petite woman snatched up her nearby canteen and began gulping down the water within.
As the day stretched on, the rain grew steadily in volume. Fat drops fell from the sky, dripping off leaves and thumping loudly down into the foliage. It wasn't long before they're small fire had been extinguished into a pile of sizzling wood and ashes. The four, in turn, retreated under the forest's thick canopy once more, sitting side by side and shivering from the cold.
It was at this time that they finally seemed to recall why they had come all this way. The threat of Meryl's death was hanging heavily over them all.
Wolfwood first asked how they were going to get into the stone castle without detection.
All eyes turned to Vash as he confidently told them that he knew a way. Meryl, somehow, knew not to question him. She knew he had no wish to reveal his past as he had unwillingly to her. So, before she knew it they were winding along a path through the woods that only the half-blood seemed to know. They were headed for the castle on the hill.
Vash led them through the dampened forest for several minutes until it thinned abruptly and they were standing in the shadow of a large, vertical cliff. A great wall of cold stone. Small streams of rainwater trickled down the rocks, staining them black in their wake, and small misshapen plants sprouted in between cracks, drooping sullenly. When Meryl looked up, she was startled to see that they were nearly beneath the castle. It loomed over them from its perch high above, ominous
The letter engraved in her neck gave a pang, and she averted her eyes from the castle.
The half-blood had crept forward and was now running his hands along the sheer face of rock, feeling and searching.
"What are you doing, Mr. Vash?" Milly inquired, peering over his shoulder.
Wolfwood looked on. "He's looking for an entrance of some sort," he said absently.
Meryl gave him a sharp look and watched as his eyes seemed drawn up to the castle. She was about to ask him how he knew this when Vash shouted with triumph.
"Here it is! I nearly thought I'd forgotten where it was!"
Both Wolfwood and Meryl turned to look, as a section of the cliff seemed to swing inwards much like a door. The blonde stood to the side looking proud.
Milly eyed the door warily. "Is that a way up into the castle?" she asked hesitantly.
Vash nodded. "I used it when I was a child," he told them vaguely, unwilling to say more.
They stared at the entrance, a gaping black hole in the side of the cliff. Meryl could hardly believe they had gotten this far when only day ago she had been sitting in her house feeling as helpless as a newborn babe. They had come so far in so little time, and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Then we'll enter the castle tonight," she said suddenly, lips pursed and eyes narrowed as she glanced once more up at their destination.
"Tonight?" Milly repeated, surprised.
"We only just got here, shorty," Wolfwood reminded her. "Maybe we should have one night's good rest before taking on Knives and his court of vampires."
Meryl turned sharply, here eyes focusing on her friend. "I'm not willing to wait another day. By tomorrow, I probably won't have the will to stand, let alone fight vampires," she told them honestly.
Vash spoke next, coming to the petite woman's aid. "She has a point, you know. The quicker we act the better."
There was silence among the group until Wolfwood gave a heavy sigh. "We'll need a plan."
Vash smiled. "I already have one."
"So, what's this plan of yours, broomhead?" Wolfwood drawled lazily as they settled back into their camp, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep away the cold.
Meryl sat with her back against a large pine tree as Milly stood a few feet away with the horses. Vash was pacing before them, brow furrowed in concentration.
"As far as I know, the entrance I showed you is a secret. We'll have no trouble getting into the castle. It's avoiding everyone inside that we'll have a problem with," he told them.
"Do we know where the serum is?" Meryl asked pointedly.
Immediately, the blonde's pacing stopped. He looked at Meryl with an unreadable expression.
"I believe I know where he keeps it. You'll have to trust me." His eyes pleaded silently with her.
Biting her lip, Meryl nodded solemnly. She trusted him.
Relieved, Vash continued. "If we want to get in and out of the castle as quick as we can, I think only one or two of us should go. The rest should stay behind with the horses to ensure a quick—"
"Whoa, wait just a second here!" Wolfwood interrupted loudly. "What's all this crap about one or two of us going in? That's suicidal!"
Vash set his jaw, unwilling to stand down. "Purebrood is crawling with vampires. They can smell a human a hundred yards away. The less of us in there, the better."
"But you're not human, Mr. Vash," Milly pointed out, looking concerned.
Nodding, he answered. "That's why I'll be one of the two going in. I'm the only one here who knows the layout of the castle, too."
Milly's brow creased in worry. "But that only leaves the option of one of us going…"
"I will," Wolfwood said immediately, but found he had a strong wall to crack before that could happen.
Milly stood, hands planted on her hips, chin tilted in superiority. "No, I'll go. Mr. Priest, we need someone to stay behind with Sempai."
"Hey!" Meryl protested. "I'm not defenceless!"
Wolfwood frowned, ignoring the small woman as she stood from her spot under the tree. "Vash needs someone with firepower," he protested.
Milly glared, a frightening sight. "No, Sempai needs someone with firepower. I'll go with Vash and you will stay behind."
Vash attempted to jump in again, wincing slightly. "No one's getting left out! I—"
"You're not going in there if I have anything to do with it!"
"You don't have any say in the matter, Mr. Priest!"
No one seemed to have noticed the small vampire hunter as she listened tiredly to the argument, but with increasing annoyance. She had come to her own conclusion, the only viable and logical way to end the debate. It was very simple.
"I'll go."
Words stopped in midstream as Milly, Wolfwood and Vash turned to stare at her blankly.
"What?" Wolfwood asked, and Meryl could sense the wheels in his head turning as he searched for a reason to deny her.
"I will go," Meryl stated firmly, fists clenched tightly as she stared down all three of her companions.
She saw Milly was about to utter a protest and silenced her sharply.
"I won't have either of you risking your lives up there for my sake! Not when I can still do it myself."
Wolfwood lofted an eyebrow at her. "You won't make it out," he said bluntly, knowing it would rile her.
And, at any other time, Meryl would have spouted off a few obscenities and started a loud and tedious fight with the priest, but now she realized that he was just trying to protect her. Albeit in a somewhat odd sort of way.
She returned his look, unwilling to back down. "Better me than one of you," she told them all, daring them to protest. "If I stay here and you fail, I'm dead anyway. It won't be long before that demon's bite has infected my whole body with its poison and I'll be turned to the living dead. I'd rather die than have that happen," she told them all frankly, and her eyes fell on Vash. He stood silent, his thoughts eating away at him.
Their eyes met.
"What have I got to lose?" she asked.
A/N: Wow, I can't believe I've actually made it this far…(faints) This chapter was really hard for me to get out for one reason: Christmas. Does anyone know how difficult it is to write something so, well, depressing when there are Christmas tunes blaring in the background? Not to mention I had to make time for all those relatives…gah:P Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter. We're coming up on a scene that compelled me to write this whole mess of a story, lol. How crazy is that?
A huge Thank You to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I love all your comments, so keep them coming:)
Now, excuse me while I get started on the next few chapters. I've got a deadline, you know! ;)
--Cayenne Pepper Powder