Taking the last bit of meat off the leg of his half of the Beggars Duck, Alucard then set the bone down, sat back a bit and gave a sigh, indicating his satisfaction of the meal that he just enjoyed with the new stranger he met. However, the sigh he just emitted caused a small chuckle to be brought out from said stranger.
"I take it that you enjoyed your meal, Sir Alucard?" Crina asked a she looked at Alucard, picking her teeth with a small rib bone to get the last bit of the meat out.
"Yes, that was quite good. Thank you for sharing" Alucard said as he gave her a grateful smile.
Crina smiled back in return, "Of course. Food always tastes better when it's shared, or so my Father says" she said. But then she turned to her plate and had a look of thought, "Hmmm, but I probably could have added more. It did feel like something was missing" she said, "Maybe…. some garlic?" she thought out loud, but then she realized her words and looked at Alucard, "Oh, but wait, vampires don't like garlic, right? So maybe something else…" she said, going back to thinking.
Alucard gave a light chuckle, "I am half-vampire. And I do eat garlic on occasion, so that doesn't bother me" he said.
Crina looked at Alucard, but nodded nonetheless, "I see" she said. It was then that she recalled something, "By the way, may I ask you something?" she asked.
Alucard raised an eyebrow but nodded, "Yes" he said, curious but alert.
"I couldn't help but notice that you forage in the woods a lot" she said, looking at the basket that was near the young Dhampir, "Have you no garden? Or have you thought about making one?" she asked, sounding curious and concerned at the same time.
Alucard went quiet for a moment but then looked at her, "I have thought about making a garden, but…" he said, trailing off a little.
"But?" Crina repeated, curious as to what the young man was thinking.
"Well, foraging does have its limit to varieties, I suppose" he said, thinking about the food that he had the past few times he went out to forage.
Crina's eyebrows raised at that, "Ahh, yeah, that would make sense. The forest is vast, but along with that, there is a limitation as to what can grow" she said. "Hmmm, maybe I can help with that" she suggested. She then went quiet to think for a moment.
Alucard looked at her and waited for her response, all while getting a better look at her face. From a distance, Alucard could only see a few facial features, but now that he was closer, what he thought were specks of dirt on her face were actually freckles that littered her skin like raindrops on a window. And it wasn't just her face that had them, they were all over her forehead, her uncovered hands and, from what he could see between her pants and boots, all along her legs. His eyes moved back up to her face as his golden eyes looked at her forest green ones, now wondering what was on her mind. Just then her eyes met his, indicating that she had an idea.
"How about this?" Crina asked, snapping Alucard out of his trance. "Why don't I bring some seeds from my family's garden? We already have plenty to keep, and we don't mind giving seeds away to help others grow their own food" she offered.
Alucard was surprised at the offer, however, that inkling of doubt lingered in his head as he thought about what this could bring or what this could lead to if she was lying. Yet while this was going on, his gut kept telling him that she was good to trust. His thoughts were so conflicted that he didn't realize the look he was giving Crina.
"Sir Alucard?" she asked, giving a look of concern and confusion to the man before her.
Alucard then snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought" he said. He thought a little more about it, then he sighed, "Well, I suppose a little help might do me some good" he said with a small smile.
Crina smiled back in return, glad to see him happy for the help. "Great. Now, just a moment" she said as she got up. She then went to her horse and pulled out a small book and what looked like a reed with a piece of charcoal inside. She opened up her book to a blank page and then looked back at Alucard. "Now then, are there specific foods that you know that you cannot eat? I want to make sure that I can at least give you things that won't cause you problems in the future" she said.
Alucard thought about it, going quiet for a while, thinking hard. "As of now, I have no foods that I don't prefer. I'm curious as to the types of foods your family does have, though" he said, speaking the truth.
"Hmmm, alright. I'll see what I can do with that" Crina said as she put her book away. She then turned to Alucard, "So….is there anything you wish to ask me? I mean, I know a bit about you from what Grandfather has told me" she said.
"Well…" Alucard began, recalling something that he didn't quite get answered before. "I don't recall your name, unfortunately. I know you told me before, but I don't quite remember it" he said.
Crina's eyes widened a little, but then they returned to normal. "Oh, well you probably were still cranky from when I woke you up, so I guess that is understandable" she said with a small laugh of embarrassment. She then stood, gave him a smile, and gave him a polite bow, "I'm Crina, Crina Lupo. Daughter of Nero and Maria Lupo and the 7th grandchild of Edmund Hunyadi" she explained.
Alucard gave her a small nod, "A pleasure, Crina" he said. But then he heard that last part and raised an eyebrow, "Wait, 7th grandchild?" he asked, unsure if he heard that correctly.
Crina then went back to sit down and looked at Alucard, "Yep. 7th grandchild out of 11 living grandchildren total. All of which are my siblings. Well, it would have been 13 if my half siblings were still alive, but they died before I was born so I don't know if they would count now" she said, explaining her family.
Alucard gave her a look as he took that information in, "11 children?" he asked, clearly baffled.
Crina gave a chuckle, "Yeah, six older siblings, all sextuplets and four younger siblings, all quadruplets. I'm the only one who is my age" she explained. Seeing Alucard's face made her a little nervous. "Um, are you alright?"
"I….I'm just…..How?" he asked, clearly unsure of how that happened.
Crina chuckled a little, "Well, uh…..that's…kinda a long story" she said, scratching the back of her head.
Alucard gave her a look, one that spoke of curiosity and slight bewilderment.
Crina sighed, "Well, alright. Long story short, mother's always had a high infertility rate, resulting in many miscarriages and the like. Father wanted a child with her, so he went on a journey to try and find something to help with increasing fertility. Sure enough, he found a flower that helps and he gather a lot of them. He made an oil from the flowers that was apparently highly concentrated and gave it to my mother. Few months later, she ends up pregnant. But when the due date came, instead of one baby, they ended up with six. Four girls, two boys. Seven years later, I, who was supposed to be a still born, ended up crying my lungs out an hour after leaving the birth canal. I think they said that I was supposed to be a stillborn boy, but I don't remember that. Anyway, four years later, Mother wanted to try again, somehow got lucky and had quadruplets when they were expecting twins. Two of each on that set. So now, my family is of Grandfather, Mother, Father, six sisters and four brothers. But as of now, all my siblings are in different lands learning different ways of life and gathering knowledge, so I am the only child at home, which I don't mind" she said, finishing her story.
After hearing all that, Alucard was a little speechless as to what to say to that. Considering that he had no siblings growing up, it was hard to imagine what it would be like to have brothers or sisters. Just then a thought appeared in Alucard's mind, showing him possible images of his father trying to round up multiples of himself from causing damage to the castle, just as how he used to do so when he was young. Imagining how Dracula would react made him chuckle a little, as he figured his father would have gone nuts with having more than one child around the house causing a mess.
"Something funny?" Crina asked, snapping Alucard out of his thoughts.
"Oh, well,…I was just trying to imagine what it would be like to have siblings, as I was an only child and such" he said, being honest with her.
Crina cringed a little, "Trust me, you were probably better off being an only child" she said, recalling the many times she had to deal with her siblings. "They're good to have, but they are annoying as heck. Plus, when you're the only one your age, it's a little hard to fit in to both the older and younger sibling groups" she added, indicating a bit of sadness in her tone.
The young Dhamphir nodded, as he could agree with that. But the more he thought about it, the more he figured that she felt alone even among so many of her own family, making her feel isolated and left out. "I can only imagine what that would be like…" he thought out loud, thinking of how alone he would be with being the only one his age without any way to really be with any other siblings.
For a while, the two of them were in silence while deep within their own thoughts. Each thinking about what was just talked about, with one feeling depressed at recalled memories and the other having their imagination run a little bit at the ideas that were previously said.
After a few minutes, Crina finally stood up and stretched. "Well, I said that it was a long story, probably not what you expected, but it is what it is" she said. "Sorry if I bored you at all" she said, unsure of how he took her tale.
Alucard turned to her with a confused look but then it turned into a face of calm happiness, "No, not at all. I actually found it interesting" he said as he stood and stretched as well. "I can't say that I have any stories that are that interesting, especially since I was an only child" he said, "but perhaps I could share some of my own stories with you. You do seem…easy to talk to" he said, feeling a bit unsure if those were the right words to say.
Crina smiled, "Well, that's a relief. Glad to know I'm not boring you" she said, "But don't think that's the only story I have about my siblings, because believe me, I got plenty of gossip to embarrass them about" she said with a mischievous glint in her eye and a joyful chuckle in her voice.
The young Dhampir gave a small chuckle as well, "Well I'll look forward to that then" he said. He then started to gather his basket that he put beside himself and look around the castle, "But, for now, I suppose I should look around the castle for a suitable place to plant a garden", he then turned to look at Crina, "Since you seem more knowledgeable about it than I, would you mind helping me?" he asked her.
Crina looked a little surprised by the offer, but she nodded all the same. "Of course" she said. "But let me pack up my pack first. Don't wanna leave anything behind for when I return home later" she said.
Alucard nodded, "Understandable. I need to put my basket in the kitchen anyway. I'll be back in a brief moment" he said. He then made his way into the castle, the doors opening and closing behind him.
_*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*_
A few hours later and the deed had been done. Crina helped Alucard find a suitable place to plant a garden, just right outside the kitchen window so he could see all that would grow and such. She also helped him in building a greenhouse for the garden, making the structure out of wood and glass from an abandoned garden house outside of the Belmont manner. It wasn't too big a structure, 15 ft by 15 ft, but it was big enough to separate certain plants from one another. After setting up the house, Crina helped Alucard dig up the land so that it could be ready to receive the seeds that both he collects from the forest and she gathers from her family's garden. Once all of that was finished, Crina sat herself down on the ground and rubbed the sweat off her forehead.
"Phew. Well that was a successful day, I'll say" she said, looking at the progress. "Now it's just a matter if the seeds will grow" she said as she stood up, then turned to look at Alucard, "I've learned from the past that horse and cow manure do help in fertilizing soil for gardening. While my family doesn't have cows, we do have horses so I should be able to bring that here via a wagon. I'm sure I can bring a few vegetables and such to help you get started at least" she said.
Alucard nodded, "That does seem like a fair idea. I believe that the Scandinavians did the same during the Viking age when harvest times were tough" he said.
Crina smiled, but then she made a face like she forgot something, "Harvest time?" she said out loud. Just then her face changed to where she recalled something, making her snap her fingers. "Oh! I almost forgot about that!" she said out of nowhere. She then called on Gabi, who came at the sound of her name and two claps of the hand.
Alucard watched her, "What's wrong?" he asked.
Crina didn't turn to him as Gabi came closer, "Just a second, Sir Alucard" she said, focus turned to this.
Once Gabi was near, Crina rummaged through her saddlebag to pull out a small notepad that was bound at the top. Excitement filled her mind as she fumbled through the pages. "Come on, come on, I hope it's tonight" she said as opened up the latest page, moving a finger across the contents. But then her face fell as she covered her eyes, "Aw damn it, it's three more days from now…." She said disappointed. She gave a small pout but then sighed and shut her book. "Oh well, patience is a virtue I guess" she said as she put the book away.
"What is three more days from now?" asked Alucard.
"The peak harvesting time for the Black Moons" Crina answered as she put her book away and then turned to Alucard.
This made an eyebrow raise on Alucard's face, "Black Moons?" he repeated to her, curious.
"Yeah, it's the name I gave to the flowers that grow at the Belmont Ruins" she said with a small smile. She then turned in the direction of the ruins and pointed to it. "They can be picked and used anytime, where they can be used to make medicine for vampiric related injuries such as bites and the works. But the best time to harvest their beneficial qualities is during the night of a new moon, or when the world is covered in the dark of night with no light other than the stars. During that time, a strange occurrence happens, changing the flowers completely. And while the Black Moons are helpful to humans, the night of the new moon is when the flowers become helpful to vampires or those of the vampiric race" she said.
This caught Alucard's attention, "Vampiric race?" he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Crina looked at Alucard, about to answer, but then looked at the sky, seeing that the sun was about to set. It was then that panic started to settle in for her, "Oh crap, I didn't even keep track of how late it was. Sorry Sir Alucard, I'm gonna have to tell that story another day. It's my turn to help Grandfather with his nightly routine and he doesn't like it when I'm late" she said as she then went to her horse.
"Will you be back tomorrow?" Alucard asked as he watched her, "I would like to hear more" he said.
Crina thought about it as she started to pack up, but then she sighed, "Sorry, but I got business tomorrow so I won't be able to come then or the day after that" she then mounted Gabi and turned to Alucard, "But I'll tell you this, I'll come back on the day when we're to have a new moon that night. I want you to be able to see what the flowers can do, so I'll come that day and I'll tell you then, ok?" she said, explaining a plan.
Alucard looked at her, unsure if she would keep to her word. He didn't mind seeing her again, but she could be manipulating him.
Crina sensed his uneasiness and figured that she had to do something to make him believe her words. To help him see that she means well and has no desire to cause him any form of harm. Something with some form of meaning to him so that it would not only bring comfort but also bring a sense of security with the bond that was forming between them. She figured that if she gave him something, it may make him think that it was some sort of trick to control him and she didn't want to have that thought cross his mind. The last thing she wanted to give was blood, as her Grandfather stated that the young dhampir did not like the taste of blood even after his father tried to get him to have it before, and that could cause some sort of future issue between the two of them. After much thought, Crina decided that the best way to tell him that she would keep to her word was in the simplest fashion.
"Do you trust me?" she asked him.
"Pardon?" he asked, a little confused, raising an eyebrow.
"I ask you, do you trust me?" she asked again.
Alucard looked up at Crina, unsure of what to make of what she was asking.
Crina's eyes then soften a little, "I know that you have lost trust in humans, I can tell that with how you have those two on stakes and how you acted around me when I tried to finish the duck earlier. You gave a valid point, that I could have been someone with a bomb ready to attack you, but I wasn't, not then, not now" she paused before continuing, "I know that humans are cruel and I know that there are those who would much rather see others die for their own benefit. I may not have traveled around the world to see all walks of life, but with those that I have come across, not just Sumi and Taka, plenty others, I have seen both the good and evil in humanity. But I want to prove to you, one who has been here alone for so long only to be betrayed by the first people who you poured your soul to, that not all humans are bad. That there are indeed people out there who are willing to help those in need and that they are not just healers, but from all walks of life. Some of which who choose to put aside their pride all for the sake of others around them. Others who walk a path to try and understand how people find their happiness. All of these people, are who I want you to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, feel with your own hands, and trust with your own heart and soul" she said. She then closed her eyes and looked to the side, "But, I won't force you to make a choice. You must make this of your own free will, as I have no control over your life nor your choices" she then returned to looking at him, determination glowing within. "But if you give me a chance, for you to put faith in me, to show you the true good in people, I promise you, you won't be disappointed nor will you be alone anymore" she said, her words firm. "So I ask you again, do you trust me? Do you believe the words that I am telling you? Do you have faith in the words and promises I speak to you? Even if your trust is unsure and wavering, if you have even the smallest ounce of trust in my words," she paused and then held out her left hand to him, "then take my hand in yours and shake it" she explained, her eyes never leaving his, as if they were looking into his soul.
Alucard looked at her hand, taking in her words, and then looked back up at her. For some reason, the words she spoke reminded him of his mother. A desire to help others, one who wants to do all she can to make the world better and improve lives. The determination within her eyes spoke millions to him as he knew that those words would not have been spoken if she was hollow or manipulating him. However, he turned his eyes away for a moment to think about her offer. The thought of jumping in to something that grand, to come across so many people that he didn't know all at once made him start to feel nervous. He wasn't sure if he was prepared for such a step, but he was willing to try it, as he knew that Trevor and Sypha would've done the same thing if they were here.
"I see, but I'm not sure about meeting so many people at once…" he said, a twinge of anxiety in his tone.
Crina's face softened at that, "I never said we would do this all at once…I know that the thought is overwhelming. Slow and steady wins the race after all. So we'll start out small and work our way up" she said. She then gave him a gentle smile, "Start with me. And I'll start with you" she said, wanting to reassure him.
Hearing that last part made Alucard slightly jerk his face toward her with a look of slight shock, as she repeated the exact words that his mother said to his father all those years ago. Those very words that helped his father start to see the world for the better instead of for the worst, now repeated to him after all this time from someone who wanted to help him see the world better than the view he was given. Just hearing that made him feel safer with her presence, just like how he felt safe with Trevor and Sypha when he discovered their ambitions and goals. Feeling that, he slowly raised his left hand, put it in her long waiting one, grasped it and gave it a firm shake.
"Very well. I'll give this a chance" he said with a small smile, feeling somewhat lighter after making the deal.
Crina's smile widened, "Great. Then I'll see you in three days from now. Right now, I gotta get going before I get my ear torn by Grandfather's scolding" she said, "I'll be sure to bring seeds, food and such for you to help you get started. Can't start with nothing, right?" she said with a smirk. "See you then, Sir Alucard" she added.
Alucard nodded, still smiling from earlier, "See you then, Miss Crina" he said as he backed off a little, but then he frowned, "Be sure to be careful, the night creatures are about to come out at this time. Be prepared for a fight ahead" he added, knowing how the creatures worked.
Crina nodded, "Will do" she said as she then gave a 'Hah!' with a click of her boots to Gabi's sides, getting the horse to start running and riding away into the orange glow of the sunset from the trees, disappearing from Alucard's sight.
As he watched on, Alucard crossed his arms and thought back to her words and then chuckled to himself, "Ironic to hear those words Mother spoke to you all those years ago by a woman who showed up out of nowhere setting off bombs to fight monsters in the middle of the night, isn't it, Father?" he said to himself as he then turned toward the castle to walk back inside, "And in the words of my Father, I think I might like you, Crina Lupo" he said to himself as the doors shut behind him, the thud of heavy metal echoing across the way as the sun sank into the mountains beyond.
Author's Notes:
Whew, finally a chapter after so many days. Apologies for the delay. Work has been hard and depressing, but for now, I'm glad to get this chapter done. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.
Also, I finally finished a picture of Crina. I can't draw to save my life, so I had to settle for an online character maker. Hopefully it will clear up what Crina looks like. Not sure if you can see her freckles well, but they are there, completely littering her body. May want to copy and paste in a separate tab. Let me know if there are any issues.
Credit: Azalea Dress Up Games - Viking Woman Dress Up Game
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Now for some fun facts:
-The flower that Crina talks about is Primrose, a flower that grows in Southern Europe, North Africa and parts of Asia. While I don't know if a concentrated oil can produce that many children, but figured that I put a little bit of my own family in there, as my father comes from a line of big families. Late Grandfather was 8th out of 14 children. Try to imagine Dracula dealing with that many kids in one place. Lol.
-I wasn't sure what to call the flowers at the Belmont Ruins, so Black Moon was the first name that came to mind and it just kinda stuck. And since it grows in the old home of a family that hunted vampires for years, I figured that the flowers had to have had some sort of ability related to vampires. Wait and see next chapter what happens to the flowers on the night of a new moon. I think you'll like it.
Anyway, that's all for now. See you guys in the next chapter. For now, stay safe, stay healthy, stay happy. Bye Bye now!
