DYTM Chapter 6 What is your reason?
At last, the day had come. The day that was the night of the prime harvest of the Black Moons. For one, excitement filled her mind as she often looked forward to this night, especially now that she was acquaintances with a certain young Dhampir. For the other, it was just the result of another sleepless night due to nightmares of the past filling his head, keeping him from sleep. But for him, he was a bit excited as he was strangely looking forward to what his new acquaintance had in store for them today.
After a good soak in the tub and drying his hair, Alucard slipped on his usual outfit, white long sleeved shirt, dark grey pants and black boots with gold trim. He walked his way through the palace, looking through the halls to see how the castle looked. He figured that if Crina was going to stay at night, he might as well offer up a room for her, since she was being nothing but kind to him. But only for a night, as he didn't want her to stay too long, figuring that it was better for her to keep her stay brief. For one, she needed to hunt for her family early in the morning and two, he just didn't feel comfortable with having someone else in the castle for long periods just yet. Once he was sure that the placed looked well enough to be appealing, he went to the kitchen to grab his basket and set out to do his foraging for breakfast.
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A few hours later, Crina was riding in a covered wagon with her Gabi and her brother Fane leading the cart. Today was going to be a busy day for sure, at least according to what she figured, so Crina prepared to help out any way she could. She also brought a few gifts for the young Dhampir, figuring that he could use a few extra things. The most precious of these items, though, was kept right in her bag next to her on the seat, as this was something that maybe would help in getting the Dhampir to listen to a personal request. Even though it was almost a week since she met the man, she felt that time was running out for her current main goal, one that would hopefully bring peace to both her and her Grandfather. As she made her way down the dirt path before her, she smiled at the thought of seeing Sir Alucard again.
Meanwhile, Alucard was outside, doing a little sword practice while he waited for Crina to arrive. It was always important to get some practice in when it comes to swordsmanship. However, there were times when he would wish that he and Trevor had a chance to sword fight, without the weight of the world on their shoulders of course. Back when he was younger, Alucard would sometimes sword fight with his father, but as time went by, he had to practice alone due to his father traveling. Nowadays, there are times when he wished he had someone to spar with, at least to see about how his skills compare to others. He recalled that Crina was able to fight, as she took down those night creatures the first night they met, but after getting to know her a bit, he figured that she wasn't much of a fighter. But the fact that her grandfather is a Hunyadi, the name of the highly respected royal military family of Hungary, made him think that maybe there was something that she was hiding. Of course, he suspected that before, but there was clearly more than one thing that she was hiding, but as she said, they would start off small.
"Sir Alucard?"
The young Dhampir jumped a little as he turned and aimed his sword at the voice that called to him, only to be met by a bewildered and nervous looking Crina with her hands up and her eyes wide.
"I'm sorry….it's just me…" she said, her voice squeaking a little at the sudden action.
Alucard blinked and then drew back his sword, "I'm sorry. I was deep in thought; I didn't hear you" he said as he put the sword in its scabbard.
Crina sighed as she looked at Alucard, "It's fine, I should've made some sort of noise to get your attention. I just didn't want to scare you like I did with those bombs" she said. She then gave a smile, "But I am glad to see you're looking well" she said.
Alucard returned her smile, though small, "You too" he said.
"So, I brought a few things to help with the garden. If you want, we can start there. Unless you had something else in mind" she said, trying to sound reasonable.
Alucard nodded, "Let's start with that. I have actually collected a few seeds from my time foraging, figured I could add those in to the garden. But I'm curious as to what you brought though" he said, looking at the covered wagon.
"I brought the essential garden tools that every gardener needs along with a few little extras" Crina said as she started walking toward the cart, feeling the young Dhampir right behind her.
After unloading all the gardening tools, Alucard worked on raking the soil that was patted down a little bit, trying to get a fresh layer up on the ground, figuring that the manure that Crina brought would seep into the ground easier. It was starting to get a little hard to focus as the hot rays of the sun started to bare down on his body, especially his head, obscuring his thoughts a little and making him stop to wipe the sweat off his brow. As he kneeled to get a little of the manure off his boots, he suddenly felt a weird weight on top of his head as something was put on top of it. When he looked up, his once hot head was now covered with something light and brown. He felt his head and realized that a hat was placed on his head, one that was made with a weird material, smooth but textured, and, from what he felt, in a wide cone shape, completely covering his head and face. He pulled it off to get a good look at it and was surprised by the design, something that he had never seen before.
"Where did you get this?" he asked, looking at Crina.
"Remember when I said I had business to attend to a few days ago?" she asked, receiving a nod from Alucard, "Well, I got this at the same place. I figured that it was going to be hot out here while you work on the garden and do your foraging. Might as well have something to prevent your head from cooking in this heat" she said with a small chuckle.
Alucard gave an amused huff as he put the hat back on, adjusting it so it would rest easy on his head. He then went to grab the small spade that was over by the others when Crina stopped him.
"Hold on a second" she said. She then fumbled through a small box and pulled out something before bringing it over to Alucard. "I think you'll need these to keep splinters and such out" she said, handing him what appeared to be a set of gloves.
But unlike some of the other gloves he had seen over the years, such as his own black ones and the ones that his mother wore during different appointments, these appeared to be made from boar skin and were thick, just enough to prevent wood from passing through to his fingers. A very useful item for gardening indeed.
Alucard gave a smile as he put the gloves on, "Thank you. These will come in handy later on" he said, turning his hands into fists to see if they would fit well. Once he was satisfied, he went back to grabbing the spade from the pile of equipment, prepared to dig a few holes for the seeds he gathered as well as some of the plants that Crina had brought with her.
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As time went by that day, Alucard and Crina worked on getting the garden all set up but still left room for more should the need be necessary. From planting rows of potatoes and onions to patches of broccoli and cabbage, the garden was well on its way to becoming something worthwhile. They also planted a few fruits and vegetables that Alucard had never seen before, such as lemon and eggplant, things that he would definitely have to try cooking with some day.
With the planting done, Crina fell back on a nearby crate and gave a sigh as she wiped her head of sweat, "Well, I'd call that a success, wouldn't you say?" she asked as she looked at Alucard, who took off his hat to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Yes, a productive day to say the least" he said, looking over at her.
"So, now that that is done, how about we take a break and get some lunch going? I brought a few things to snack on while we wait for the food to cook if you'd like" Crina offered.
"Is it another Beggars Duck?" Alucard asked, recalling the tasty meal from before.
Crina chuckled, "No, not this time. But I did bring something to cook over a fire" she said. She then looked around, "Um, does it matter where we cook it?" she asked, unsure of where she should set up a fire.
Alucard took in the question and looked around. He then noticed a particularly large tree nearby that had a lot of shade underneath it. He then looked at her, "Will that tree over there work?" he asked, pointing the direction of the tree.
Crina looked over at where he was pointing and smiled, nodding, "Yeah, that will work. Just didn't want to offend by just picking a random spot" she said. She then went toward the tree, trying to gather materials for a fire.
Alucard joined her in finding rocks and wood for building the fire, figuring that it would take longer with just her around, that and he wanted to be helpful to her in some way, not wanting her to feel she had to do all the work.
Soon the both of them got a fire ready, but not burning.
"We'll light it here in a bit" Crina said as she went toward the wagon. She gathered a few items from the back, including a large black soup pot, one that Alucard recognized as cast iron, and a device consisting of three heavy metal posts that came together to form the shape of a spire with a thick chain hanging in the middle. After the tripod was set up, Crina put the cast iron soup pot on the chain and used her alchemy to start the fire below the pot. "Now to get the food" she said as she walked back to the cart. She then brought over two large covered baskets, similar to what Alucard was using before, but these were a little bigger than his. Crina set one of the baskets close to where Alucard was standing while taking the other near the fire, but not close enough to burn. She opened said basket and pulled out a metal cooking dish, almost like a casserole dish, removed the lid and using a wooden spoon she brought, started to fill the cooking pot.
Alucard watched closely as she did this, but then a certain smell hit his nose, making a chill go up his spine.
"Wait….this smell….is that….stuffed cabbage rolls?" he asked, curious.
Crina looked up at him and smiled, "Yep, sure is. They were prepared earlier this morning while I was out on my hunt for the day" she said. "Mother makes these often for Grandfather if I don't come back early enough for him to eat, but since I came back in time to make breakfast, she had these left over" she explained. She then grabbed a spoon she brought over and started ladling the rolls into the pot, "So she handed them to me and said 'give these to that new friend you made as a gift from me', and so here we are" she said with a smile, one that showed her teeth and a small hint of fun.
Alucard felt a small tug at the back of his mind when he saw her smile. That smile made him think back to when he was younger, to a time when Edmund gave him that very same smile back when the young Dhampir would play hide and seek with him in the library. But now, this girl was looking at him with a smile that gave him a sense of calmness but also a sense of relaxation.
'She has your smile, Edmund' Alucard said to himself as he continued to watch her fill the pot with the rolls.
Upon closer inspection, Alucard could see that the rolls were about as long as his pointer finger, the light green from the cabbage leaves almost looked transparent against the dark color of the insides. He recalled the times his mother would make cabbage rolls, often stuffing them with beef or pork and covering them with a strange yet tasty orange red sauce before cooking them in the oven. Once they came out, the smell of tomatoes and cabbage filled the air, making his nose tingle and his mouth drool a little, which his father would often scold him for.
After seeing that Crina finished stuffing the pot with the rolls, she poured the red sauce that is common for the dish, put what looked like a large round slab of rock that she pulled out of the basket nearby on top of the rolls and covered the pot with a lid. She then started to work on getting the fire lit.
"Why did you put a rock on top of the cabbage rolls? It's gonna make them spoil, isn't it?" Alucard asked, unsure of the idea of putting a dirty rock on top.
Crina looked at him, "The rock prevents the rolls from floating to the surface, which would cause them to unravel and ruin the rolls. The stone helps in preventing that" she said, "Don't worry. I crafted this stone myself. I wash it clean every single day so that it doesn't carry leftover food. It's good. Besides, I know better than to put a dirty rock on top of food" she added. She then gave him a smirk, "Don't like the taste of dirt anyway" she said.
Alucard gave an amused huff at that and nodded. He then took a seat down under the tree as he watched the pot for a moment.
Crina managed to get the fire lit and created an alchemy circle near the pot that combined air, fire and time and activated it, the seal glowing a light red-orange color near the pot. "There we are, now we just need to wait about an hour and we should be good to eat them" she said. She then turned to Alucard, "Now, I did bring a few snacks for us to eat while we wait. I figured that you never had a big variety of fruits and vegetables, so I brought along a couple that I thought you'd like to try" Crina said as she grabbed the second of the two baskets she brought from the wagon.
Alucard looked at her as she started to open the basket, but then he figured that this would be a time to ask her something that was on his mind.
"Before that, may I ask you something?" he asked her.
Crina looked at him and nodded, "Of course, feel free to ask me anything" she said.
Alucard narrowed his eyes slightly, "I understand that you mean to do this as a way to help me and as a way to pay back for the flowers. I see that you are indeed worthy of my trust, especially with all this good food, but there is still something about you that seems hidden, well more than one thing. I won't ask too much from you now, but there is something that I do want to know" he said, "Why are you doing this? It seems impulsive to have this done out of nothing but kindness. And I firmly believe that everything has a reason. So, what is your reason for doing this for me?" he asked. He found her trustworthy, but there was a piece that was missing, a reason for doing all of this. She was clearly hiding something and that made him grow suspicious, not as suspicious as before, but he still wanted to know in case she was hiding something dark from him. And so he waited to see what the result was.
Crina looked at him, slightly shocked at his question, but she lowered her hands and sighed.
"I see. I'm sorry if I did come off as impulsive. I guess it's just…." She trailed off, looking to the side. But she only did it for a moment as she gave a sigh and then looked at him, "I'm doing this because I know that it was what my grandfather would've done, if he was capable of doing so" she said.
Alucard raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked.
Crina's face fell a little bit, "He's not the same as you remember him. He's now frail and lame, so he can't really go anywhere beyond his bedroom, the kitchen, the living room or the back porch, making travel for him impossible now. His old age is making it hard for him to do things normally now, such as write in his journal or even clap to use his distance mirror. He's become blind in one eye because of Sumi's assassination attempt. But that's not the thing that I worry about the most" she said, pausing for a moment.
"What is it then?" Alucard asked, worried about what she may say about Edmund.
"While he isn't there yet, I fear that if something isn't done soon, he may start to lose his memory" Crina said, her gaze looking away from his for a moment before looking back at him. "His stories about his time in the Castle and the times he spent with you are among the first memories I have of meeting him. I grew up on the tales of Dracula the man, of Lisa his wife, and of you as well. Every time he would tell these stories, especially the ones with you in it, he would give a smile that almost glowed like the sky during a sunrise. But that smile went away about a year ago when he saw the trial of Lisa Tepes, the wrath of Dracula's sorrow and rage, and, most of all, your father's attack on you, Sir Alucard" she said, pausing to let him take in the words she was saying. "For at least a week after that vision, grandfather cried his sorrow out at the thought of you, the boy that he grew to love and cherish, being dead, and he not being there to do something to stop Dracula" she said, "So I decided to take a journey to try and find out what happened to you or if you were in fact alive. I would leave for a time to different cities and villages, but would return with nothing. This went on for a year until I met two travelers, Sypha Benaldes and Trevor Belmont" she paused again, trying not to overwhelm him, "When they told me that you were still alive, I had to question them because I was often told never to trust a Belmont, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, they were the only ones that I had a solid lead on when it came to finding you, so I took it. When I discovered that what they said was indeed true, I wanted to try and see if I could get you to come and see my grandfather, just to try and ease his pain of the thought of losing the young man that he loved during his last years at the grand castle. But after finding you the way you were, I knew that the original plan was impossible, so I wanted to try and earn your trust before telling you the truth about Grandfather" she finished. She then looked down to the side, "But now, I feel that the plan is up in smoke. And I have a feeling that you'll now see me as being selfish and taking advantage of you. But please, I'm not doing this for my sake, this is all for my grandfather, so he can live out the rest of his remaining years in peace" she said. She then turned to him, her eyes filled with truth, guilt and a small hint of fear, "Please forgive me for this" she said, feeling uneasy about how he would respond to this. But if he didn't want anything to do with her, she did have one idea left, but she was really hoping that it didn't come to that.
Alucard went quiet, taking in everything that she just told him. The thought of him going to see Edmund only for the man not to remember the many wonderful memories of their time together tugged hard at his heartstrings. She was doing this all for Edmund's sake in the hope of reuniting them after so long so Edmund knows that Alucard, no, that Adrian Tepes was indeed alive after his father struck him down. There was not an ounce of selfishness in her tones and reasons, unlike with Sumi and Taka, who wanted to learn all they could for their own benefits in taking down all those they could. This made him feel a little guilty for thinking that she was hiding something dark, like a plan to assassinate him or simply take the castle for her own benefit. The thought of her doing this for her family made him immediately think back to his own reasons to take down his father, when he first met Trevor and Sypha.
'Because it's what my mother would have wanted. And we are all, in the end….slaves to our family's wishes'
Those words that he recalled when asked why he was stopping his father came back to him. This woman followed the same path he chose, but rather than to stop one to save the world, she was doing this to save a man from dying with regrets. He also recalled her other cause from before, to show the good in people because she has seen the best and worst of humanity. And now it all made sense, helping him see that not all humans are bad, to show that there are people who do care about people like him, just like Edmund. And now, in taking his place to fulfill her grandfather's wishes, the woman before him, Crina Lupo, was a prime example of just how good and kind people can be. Just as how his mother tried to show his father that there were kind humans.
He gave a sigh and turned to her, "There is no need to ask for forgiveness. Doing things like this for family is not selfish at all, and," he paused, giving her a warm smile, "and I would be honored to fulfill such a wish" he said, feeling a sense of happiness fill his being at the thought of seeing Edmund again.
Crina was surprised to hear his words. She figured that since the two of them had only known each other for a short period of time, she would need to gain his trust in at least six months or so to try and earn some form of bond, but she wasn't expecting him to be so quick to trust her words. Now she was dumbfounded by his words, but a sense of awkward happiness started to fill her being as she heard that he would be willing to see her grandfather to help him recover from an ordeal that was not real.
"R-Really?" she asked, "You'd be willing to see him?"
Alucard nodded, "Yes" he said.
"Truly?" Crina asked.
Alucard nodded again, "Yes" he said. "Did you think I would say no?"
"W-Well…I know that we've known each other for so brief, that I thought that you would find me suspicious….I figured that I would tell you this maybe six months down the line where we would be on easier terms…but I wasn't expecting this to happen…" she said, looking to the side, feeling a little embarrassed.
Alucard raised an eyebrow, "Really?" he asked, he then gave her a smirk, "Timing is not your strong suit is it?"
Crina jerked her face to him, blushing a little, "It's-It's not that! I do have good timing, it's just when applying it to situations like this, psychological practices and such, it's a different matter!" she said, a little of embarrassment in her tone for getting the timing wrong. She then relaxed a little and scratched the back of her head, looking off to the side, "Besides, I know I can be impulsive once I get an idea in my head, and sometimes that doesn't work out well….so I wanted to go the safe path in taking this slow….but maybe I was thinking slower than expected….." she said, trailing off, blush darkening a little.
Alucard watched her and couldn't stop the laughter that was building in his chest. He gave a soft chuckle and looked at her, "You really are interesting, Miss Crina. But please, don't worry about that. Besides, you remind me a lot of Edmund" he said.
Crina then looked at him, a look of slight surprise on her face, "R-Really? You think so?" she asked.
Alucard nodded, "He would often ramble on explaining things, but in the end, he would have a final reason to his findings and actions. You have that in him, I can tell" he said, "You also remind me of my mother a bit. Logical and respectful, and always willing to lend a helping hand in whatever you do" he added, his smile never stopping.
Crina looked at him and saw his smile. For some reason, that smile made her think of the sun, warm and comforting, almost like a gently ray of sunlight peeking through the clouds on a dark and dreary day. Just seeing that in him gave her a warm feeling deep within and she could tell that he was a good person deep down. A little broken, but on the way to be mended from the pain that he has endured after all this time. She gave a smile knowing that he was on the mend and hoped that this would continue as time went by. Perhaps even to the point where they can become true friends, as she felt like he could use one, and of course, she could too.
"I'm glad I remind you of her" she said, smiling.
Just then a growl was heard from her stomach, making her blush a little.
"Oh right, snacks" she said, "I did say I brought some snacks for us to munch on while we wait. Would you like some?" she asked Alucard.
The young dhampir nodded, "Yes, that would be nice" he said.
Crina then pulled out a jar filled with what appeared to be some sort of green vegetable in a clear liquid. She also pulled out something that appeared to be fried and smelled a little of fish, but Alucard couldn't tell what it was. A jar filled with small green round and red objects that looked like eyeballs in liquid also appeared from the basket. Many different foods that weren't jarred were also pulled from the basket, fresh fruits and vegetables that Alucard has never seen before.
"I figured that I would let you try a few of these to see if you would be interested in planting them. Some of these are really good with fish" Crina said as she started to open the jar with the long green vegetables. The jar then opened with a 'fhump' sound and a strong acidic scent filled Alucard's nose as Crina took out a single vegetable.
"These are known as pickles. The vegetable itself is called a cucumber, a type of squash with a light, crisp flavor that is said to cool the body down on hot days. But when it's jarred and pickled in vinegar it turns into a delight that really gives the body an overall cooling sensation. Perfect for a hot day such as this" she said as she handed the jar to Alucard, "Want to try?" she asked.
Alucard nodded, taking the jar gently from her and taking a sniff of the scent up close. The overwhelming smell from the vinegar has mellowed compared to normal vinegar, could be due to the vegetable absorbing the juices during the pickling process. He was about to grab one when he heard a very strong crunching sound and turned to Crina. She had just bitten into one of the pickles and was now chewing, the sound from earlier muffled but still audible, her mouth making a smile as she happily ate the green snack. He paused a bit then turned his attention back to the jar, pulling out a single pickle. Once out, he shook it a little to get the juices off and set the jar down, making sure it wouldn't spill. Taking the pickle in his fingers, he then brought it to his mouth and took a bite, the crunch he heard from earlier filling his ears as he chewed on the sour snack. Almost immediately the sourness from the vinegar fought the sweet flavor of the cucumber itself, creating a contrasts of tastes that help cool down the overwhelming heat his body was enduring from the hot sun. The texture of the pickle was interesting as well, a tough rough exterior with a soft and juicy interior that danced on his tongue in a waltz of flavors and textures. Truly a snack worth having on a hot summer day.
"Well, what do you think? Are the pickles a keeper?" Crina asked him.
Alucard swallowed his piece and turned to her nodding all the same, "Quite tasty. I always thought that pickling such as this was just a preservation process to store specimens. I didn't think you could apply the same process to food" he said.
Crina nodded, "Yep, they've been pickling food at least 2000 years before Christ. Started in a land known as India and all the countries in the Indian ocean as well as the southern pacific ocean. It's a common practice down there, or so my father says. He's brought back several foods that have been pickled before, all set with different foods and spices" she said.
"Is that so? I'm curious in trying some of them" Alucard said as he took another bite.
Crina smiled, "Maybe another day. For now, we got all this here, and the cabbage rolls for lunch" she said, looking at the pot. "Just another half hour and we'll be good to eat" she said, "Until then, can you pass me another pickle? They're kinda addictive" she said with a grin.
Alucard smiled, nodding as he grabbed another pickle and gave it to her, the two of them enjoying their break from the heat. Just two acquaintances on a summer day eating good food, and sharing stories about life.
Whew! Another chapter up! Nothing like bonding over gardening and good food. Great way to know people, right? So now you know Crina's reason for trying to befriend the young Dhampir and her ultimate goal for herself. Now it's just a matter when that goal is achieved. And what is this place that Crina is talking about? Stay tuned for more as I work on the next chapter. Let me know what you guys think and I will see you again soon.
Now for some fun facts:
-The hat that Crina gives Alucard is a bamboo hat from China. I figured that with the trades still going on, there would be trades for all sorts of items from clothing to home essentials. I read that most straw hats that people wear weren't really around until the 19th century, but since bamboo hats were, I figured that they would be among the items of trade. The hats of the 15th century were made of cloth and weren't good at covering the head fully, so that didn't help.
-So yeah, I hate pickles. Never been a fan of them, but they were the only cooling food that I could think of that would fit during the 15th century, so I tried to describe them in a positive way. Sorry if I got that wrong. Also, on the topic of pickling, I would suspect that Dracula uses pickling as a way of preserving specimens for scientific research, but I don't see him as the type to like pickled food. He comes off to me as the type of person who prefers fresh over pickled, but that's just me. Who knows about Lisa though.
That's all for now. See you guys soon.
I do not own castlevania.
I only own the OC's in this story.
