DYTM Chapter 7 What happens after sunset?
Alucard took a final bite of the last cabbage roll as he heard Crina finish up a story about her family. The savory yet sour taste of the combination of cabbage, meat and vinegar/citrus did not tear him away from the tale that the young woman before him spoke of.
"…and then my brother Eli placed a pine cone on Gabriel's seat just as he was sitting down. And in turn, Gabriel ended up cursing so much that even the strongest Wallachian solider would blush like a virgin during sex at all he said. In response to that, Gabriel caught Eli off guard the next morning by slipping a pickled hot chili pepper into his mouth while the young prankster was snoring up a storm. Oh Eli ran faster than a dog with a swarm of bees on it's tail to the well and dunked his head at least three times just to get the lingering taste out of his mouth" Crina said, finishing her story involving her oldest and youngest brothers. "Oh man, we still talk about it to this day. And to this day, mother keeps the hot peppers guarded like a merchant to his gold, not wanting to have that chaos happen again" she said with a laugh.
Alucard put the plate down before laughing heartedly at the tale, "I can imagine why. If this was my family, my father would have sent them both to purgatory for the nonsense they caused" he said, thinking back to his father and what he would've done.
Crina's laughing died a little, "Yeah. I can only imagine Dracula putting up with so much" she said.
Alucard nodded, "Now, Eli's the older brother, right?" he asked, making sure he heard correctly.
"No, no, Eli is the youngest. Gabriel is the oldest sibling" Crina said coming down from her laughing fit. "Here, this is a little trick that the family uses to remember all of them" she said as she held up six fingers, "For the sextuplets, in order, Gabriel, Naomi, Oliver, Sonia, Isabella, and Simona. If you take their first initials, G.N.O.S.I.S, you get the term Gnosis. I'm sure you know what that means, right?" she asked Alucard, raising an eyebrow.
The young Dhampir thought about it for a moment and then looked at her, a little bewildered, "The knowledge of spiritual mysteries. That's an interesting term to use in naming children" he said, surprised with such a creative idea.
Crina smiled, "Yeah, it was father's idea from the knowledge he gained during his teenage years" she said.
Alucard raised his eyebrows and gave a shrug, "As long as it works" he said.
Crina then held up four fingers, "And then for the younger siblings, we have what's called the compass quad, as each of them have a name that represents a direction on a compass. Nestor, Susan, Eli and Wendy. North, south, east and west, respectively" she said, "And what's even weirder is that all of the siblings, despite being born at their same respective times, are all fraternal, all of them look so different, none of them look alike. No idea how that happened, but it did. Might have been recessive genetics" she added, chuckling a little at how crazy it sounded.
Alucard blinked, "Well that may help in identifying them a little easier. Maybe?" he asked, unsure if that was right.
Crina looked at him and then thought about it, "Hmmm, well yes, but there are times when even I get them mixed up" she said with a chuckle.
Alucard nodded, "So, what about your name?" he asked.
Crina looked at him, giving him a confused look, "Pardon?" she asked.
"Since your siblings have interesting ways to remember their names, is there something special with your name?" The young Dhampir asked, "Since you're the only one your age in the family, surely it must have some backstory?" he said.
"Oh oh, I see what you mean" Crina said as she finally understood what he was asking. She then sit back on her hands and looked up, "Hmmm, well I was told the reason why by my father, but truth be told, I don't think it's the whole story" she paused, recalling what she could remember, "As I told you, I was originally supposed to be a stillborn. Mother had complications in the pregnancy and I was born very weak, almost dead. But yet, one hour after I was born, I was crying my lungs out, as if to tell the world that I was indeed alive and was not about to meet death yet. When father heard my cries for the first time, the name that came to his head was Lily, the name of his sister-figure from a long, long time ago" she looked at Alucard, "From what I was told, Lily was born frail and lame in both legs, making it hard for her to walk or do much of anything, but she still wanted to go outside and see the churchyard, as both she and Father were born in a church far to the north of here. However, Lily's mother was very protective and did not want her child to get injured, so she caged, er- bed written, poor Lily from the outside world. But father would always tell her what the outside was like, bringing her items from outside so the girl could see what the churchyard provided. But he could never make her one true wish come true, and that was to go outside and see the world. Father asked the bishop at the church if there was a way to heal her, and he told him that God was the only one who could heal her and that consistent prayer would decide if she is to be healed or not" she said. She then looked away and her face then turned a little sour, "But Father didn't believe that it was enough to heal Lily. Few days later, he caught word from the village about a healer who was able to help a man walk again living a few miles to the south of his town. Father knew he couldn't just take Lily in broad daylight due to the church so he conjured up a plan to take her late in the night. A few hours after midnight mass, Father stole Lily and rode off on the fastest horse to the village the man was said to reside. Days later, he finds the man and tells him his story, explaining his reason to bring Lily and why he fled the church. The man worked hard on curing Lily or at least improving her legs so she could walk and it got to the point where she could start using crutches instead of staying in bed all day. But then she caught an unrelated disease, a lung illness of sorts and ended up dying a few days later, but during her final days, she kept telling Father that she will get better and walk again, showing her ambition and the will to live even in trying times. And so, Father wanted me to be named Lily, but Mother wanted a chance to name a child, so she went with the Wallachian name Crina" she finished, looking at Alucard, "And the rest is history I guess" she added.
Alucard took in the information and nodded when she was finished, "I see. Well, that is an interesting story. But," he paused, giving her a smile, "I'd say that it suits you well" he added.
Crina blushed a little at those words, but not enough for him to notice, "Oh, well…thank you" she said. The blush then went away and she then looked at Alucard, "Now I think it's your turn" she said.
Alucard raised an eyebrow, "Sorry?" he asked.
"I mean, I told you the story behind my name, so what's the story behind your name? I understand the Tepes name, but Adrian doesn't really sound local, and Fahrenheit is definitely not a common middle name, so is there some interesting tale to your name?" Crina asked.
Alucard thought about it, going back to what he remembered his father saying. "Well, Adrian is a Latin name coming from the term ater, which means 'the dark one', so I believe Father chose that name and I think because Mother was into the sciences, she chose Fahrenheit. But I honestly was never really told the reasons for said names, so I can't really say. But, you know what Alucard means, don't you?" Alucard asked her.
Crina thought about it, "It's Dracula backwards, so…..opposition to Dracula?" she asked, unsure.
Alucard nodded, "Indeed. Very good" he said.
Crina then gave a frown, "But…'the dark one' doesn't really suit you, in my opinion. You don't seem dark….I mean…to me, you're more like…..sunlight" she said, surprising the young Dhampir.
"Really?" he asked. He then looked at himself, "Maybe the hair makes you think so?" he asked, unsure why she would think that.
Crina thought about it, "Maybe…" she said.
Just then Crina tensed and jerked her head hard to the right, looking around.
"What's wrong?" Alucard asked, only to get a 'shh' from Crina and a hand raise.
She then slowly started to stand up, taking a rock in her hand, entering hunting mode and looking for any sign of movement. Listening for any indication or noise, she slowly starts to move a little forward. However, she then relaxed as she saw what was making the noise. For there, running through the forest and springing over a nearby log, was the flash of white spots from the pelt of a Fallow Deer disappearing into the woods.
"False alarm, just a deer" she said as she turned to Alucard.
"Oh. They are starting to become common around here" he said.
Crina nodded, but then her face turned to one of realization. She then looked at the position of the sun, "Oh, that reminds me, I gotta see about activating the protection circles I have placed on the Belmont Ruins. If I don't, then the night creatures will ruin everything" she said.
"Protection circles?" Alucard asked, unsure if he heard correctly.
Crina looked to him and nodded, "Yeah, this isn't the first time I have come out here to collect the flowers, so I had to put up something to protect me as I spent the night here" she said, "I can show you if you want…after I clean up the food" she said, realizing that she didn't put away the pot.
Alucard nodded, "I can help with that" he said, moving to stand.
"You sure? I don't mind cleaning up for you" Crina said, not wanting to be rude in having the guest she cooked for do work.
Alucard shook his head, "No, I don't mind. You're my…" he wasn't sure what to make of themselves as of now, but he figured that they were close to friends. Better to play it safe though, "You're my guest here, not my servant, and while I do appreciate the cooking, it would be rude of me not to help in return somehow" he said.
'Great minds think alike, I guess' Crina thought to herself. She then sighed, "If you insist, then I'd appreciate it" she said with a smile.
Alucard returned her smile, "Thank you" he said. And so the two of them started working on the cleanup.
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A few hours later, the sun was close to setting and Crina finished activating the last of the circles around the ruins.
"Phew, that was the last one. And just in time too" she said, "Now I just gotta get my lantern, my shears, my gloves and my collection bags" she added. She then rushed to the wagon and leapt into the back, fumbling through her supplies.
Alucard examined the circles, seeing each one lined with Celtic runes, Latin letters, and alchemic symbology. There were also traces of pagan and Egyptian symbology as well from what he could tell.
'Interesting….I've never seen alchemy like this….I wonder…' he thought to himself.
"Sir Alucard?" Crina called, unsure of where he is.
Alucard turned to her voice, "Coming!" he called. He then glanced at the circles one last time before going off to join Crina for what was to come.
Soon he was by Crina's side as she held her lantern.
"So, what happens now?" he asked.
Crina looked at him, "We wait for the sun to go completely down. Once the sun is gone and the only light in the sky is that of the stars, that is when the blossoms show their dark secret" she said. She then turned to Alucard and handed him his gloves which were near the garden, a bag and a pair of shears. "Here, you'll need these for the picking" she said.
Alucard was a bit surprised but he took them and put them on nonetheless.
Crina smiled at his actions, but then recalled something he asked a while back. "That reminds me, you asked me before about these flowers, didn't you?" she asked.
Alucard thought back and remembered when she mentioned about the flowers. "Yes, I do recall, I asked you what you meant about the vampiric race but you had to leave" he said.
"Well, what I meant to say about that is that while these flowers are considered important to humans who have vampire related injuries, this one night a month is the only time that Black Moons are helpful to the vampiric race. For tonight, the flowers become beneficial to help in controlling the thirst and desire for blood. Sort of a….drug, you can say, but a good drug. Especially to Dhampirs, such as yourself, but mostly those who have a hard time with blood related reactions" she said.
Alucard's eyebrows raised at hearing that, "Really?" he asked, earning a nod from her. But then he realized what she said, "Wait. How would you know that?" he asked, curious and concerned at the same time.
Crina, in the light of her lantern, smiled warmly at him while narrowing her eyes a little in mischief, "Well….I'd be lying if I said that you're the only Dhampir that I know, because the truth is, you're not" she said.
Alucard's eyes widened at that, looking at her shocked, "Wait, what?" he asked, not believing her.
"Sorry," Crina stopped him, raising her hand, "story for another day. For now, look, the flowers are turning" she said, pointing to the blooms.
"Wait, no, what do you…" Alucard was about to ask her again when he suddenly saw something strange in the corner of his eye, only to turn and see a very bizarre sight before him. For here was the Belmont Ruins, normally a cold pale place, now lighting up the night with a strange bright red glow that reminded Alucard of the red that lit up in his father's eyes when he fought him with Trevor and Sipha. "What the...what is this?" he asked.
"The Black Moons reveal their true nature on a night when there is no moon out. For so long as the moon is out, the flower is only beneficial to humans and poison to vampires. But, at only one time a month, during the darkest night, these flowers become cure instead of poison. And as such, the Black Moons…become Blood Moons" Crina said, speaking in a voice that almost sounds like a philosopher explaining a prophecy she foresaw.
Alucard looked on in both wonder and slight unease. He had been here near the Belmont Hold for a few months now, but never had he seen anything like this before. There was just something about the flowers that sent a chill up his spine with anxiety, excitement and slight desire for something.
"I…I'm getting a weird feeling being near these flowers. It's like my vampire side is….tamed….tamed when I know it shouldn't be…" he said, "Almost like it's being suppressed" he added.
Crina nodded, "I'm not surprised. Dhampirs who haven't been exposed to the flower usually act like that the first time they take in the scent" she said. She then took her lantern and moved forward. "Come on, we need to pick as many of these as possible. My patron relies on these flowers and I gotta make an antidote to send to her soon" she added, turning her head to Alucard.
The young Dhampir looked at her, "You're certain it's safe for me to be near them?" he asked, still feeling uneasy.
Crina stopped and nodded, "I know you're safe. I wouldn't be showing this to you if it wasn't" she said, speaking in a reassuring manner. She then walked back to Alucard until she was in front of him and held out her hand to him, the glow of the Blood Moons creating something of a red halo around Crina's form while the lantern in her hand showed her soft, welcoming smile. "Do you trust me, Sir Alucard?" she asked, just as she did before with him to keep to her word, here she did it again.
Alucard thought about it, looking at her and then her hand then back to her. She said times before that she has nothing to gain from harming him, so she wouldn't be leading him into something like this if it wasn't safe. And so, with a sigh, he took her hand and shook it, "I do" he said. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, when she asked those very words, he got a tiny weird warmth within him that he didn't feel before. He would have to see about his mother's old books to see about that. Maybe it was the start of an illness? He wasn't sure.
Crina's smile softened again as she looked at Alucard. For some reason, when his face was alit by the lantern she was holding, his face seemed to be more….gentle, almost like she was looking at an angel instead of a vampire. And feeling his hand in hers, despite the coldness of his touch, gave her a sense of purpose….of connection….of….of…..
'You are a threat to us all! You'll cause death to all who are close to you! It's all your fault!'
Just as Alucard let go of her hand, Crina tensed as a certain pang of pain from a past came back to her in the form of a voice she never wanted to hear again. Taka's voice was one thing, but this voice was a totally different story, one that she did not want to encounter ever again, for her and her family's safety. But it didn't help the hurt she was hiding from Alucard, or at least trying to hide.
"Crina? Is something wrong?" Alucard asked, feeling concern building up.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Crina looked at Alucard. "O-Oh, yeah. It's nothing, just an old memory popped up" she said, hiding her thoughts.
Alucard got a sense that something wasn't right, but he knew better than to intervene with personal thoughts so he shrugged it off. "So, to the flowers?" he asked.
Crina nodded, "Yes, to the flowers" she said, turning with the lantern and walking to the flowers, all while Alucard followed behind.
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After a good two hours of picking, almost all of the best blooms were cut save for a few buds and a few new blossoms that were needing to grow. Both Crina's and Alucard's bags were full almost to the brim. The red glow around the ruins started to fade as the brighter blossoms were taken and put away.
"There, that should be more than enough to make the medicine. I would just need to get a few more ingredients and then I'll be ready to send it off" Crina said as she got up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You alright, Sir Alucard?" Crina asked.
Alucard stood up and stretched his legs a little from squatting so much to cut the flowers off. He was grateful for the gloves as these flowers, unlike most Morning Glory flowers, had small yet deadly thorns on them, almost like a rose vine, but yet not quite. He held a cut blossom in his gloved hand and gently looked at the petals. The once black fragile leaflets now aglow with vibrant red lines that look like blood veins on a human arm. It was both eerie and amazing at the same time to Alucard, who carried mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. He then turned to Crina, "Yes, I'm fine. This was an interesting night, to say the least" he said.
Crina smiled, "Yeah, it always gets interesting. It's almost like something is lit on fire from within whenever I'm near these flowers. Like….a desire or something" she said.
Alucard looked at her and thought about it, nodding, "Yes, it does feel like something increased" he said. He then turned to the flower in his hand, "I wonder what makes them grow like this?" he asked, mostly to himself.
"Hard to say. I've been trying to grow them domestically for years, but I still haven't been able to do so. They can only thrive here, at the Belmont Ruins of their origin. But, if I had to guess, the reason why they only grow here has something to do with the property itself, since this is the location of the Belmont Clan's longest living residence before it was burned down to the ground. As for why they become Blood Moons, it's still a mystery to me and I want to find out. But I can't find any clear cut answers" Crina explained, telling Alucard what she knew.
"I see…that is unusual" he said, curious about that small fact as well.
Just then Crina gave a yawn. "Well, that's an adventure for another day. Best for me to get the wagon ready to sleep" she said, grabbing the lantern and turning to go toward the wagon.
"Wait" Alucard said, raising his hand, which made her stop and turn to him.
"Hm? Something wrong?" Crina asked.
"Well….I actually had prepared a room for you to stay the night in" he said. "You'll need to get up to hunt, correct? I didn't want you to suffer the creatures of the night" he added.
Crina was surprised at the offer. "R-Really? You don't mind me staying over?" she asked.
Alucard nodded, "I figured that since you're always looking at the castle, and the many times you said that Edmund told you about the interior, you might be interested in what it looks like on the inside. I feel that it's the least that I can do for all you've done for me" he said, smiling.
Crina, from what could be seen by the lantern, blinked innocently at the thought of seeing the inside of the castle, but clearly excitement was starting to build on her face. However, before she could say anything, she stopped herself and gave a cough.
"I..I would be honored to spend the night here, Sir Alucard" she said, returning his smile with one of her own.
"Very well then, shall we?" he asked as he picked up his bag, gloves and sheers and then made a motion to the castle.
Crina followed along, but she tensed herself up, as excitement started to grow within her at the thought of seeing the castle from the inside. As she walked closer to the entrance, all the things that her grandfather told her before started to come back to her. Grand arches, elaborate stained glass windows, ornately detailed gargoyles, and many more different descriptions that her grandfather told her growing up filled her mind as she made her way up the stairs to the entrance.
Alucard had the doors open for both of them and casually walked in, the candelabras that filled the halls became alight, helping guide both the young Dhampir and his new guest to their destination. However, as he started to walk toward the steps that lead up, he hears a crash behind him. He turns with a jerk to see Crina, her mouth open, eyes wide, hands loose of grip as she stood there with what looked like a simple shocked face.
"Um, Crina? Are you alright?" Alucard asked, unsure of what to make of her current expression.
"Oh…..my…..god" Crina said softly as she looked around the entrance to the castle. Just from what she could see, it was clear that her imagination and interpretations from her grandfather's stories were nothing compared to the real thing that she was seeing in front of her.
Alucard figured that maybe she was scared of the sight of the place. "I know, it's rather scary for a castle, but it's really just-"
"It's beautiful" Crina said suddenly and quietly.
Alucard paused at that, giving her a slightly bewildered look, "W-What? It is?" he asked.
"It's beautiful" Crina said again as her mouth turned into the biggest smile that Alucard has seen on her face yet. She then took in a deep breath and giddly started looking around. "Oh my god, this is so beautiful! I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life! Look at these candelabras, so ornate and detailed. Even the pillars are detailed in top craftsmanship!" she then gave a gasp as she looked up, "And the ceiling! The vaulted ceiling and the arches, oh my god! Even the gargoyles are so cute!" she said. She then looked at the duel ascending staircase ahead and ran to it, "Even this staircase is gorgeous! Oh my God! This place is absolutely beautiful Alucard!" Crina said, clearly like a little kid on the day of yule, all smiles, excitement filling her being to the brim and now overflowing.
Alucard stood there completely dumbfounded by the sudden display of excitement and joy. He had never encountered such a reaction to anything in his life, let alone his dark, empty castle that was still busted from the fight with Dracula and his war council. For some reason, he felt pretty sure that if Dracula was still alive he would either kick her out for her energy or blush a little at her compliments. Maybe a bit of both. But for now, he just couldn't help but feel a little proud that someone would find his home lovely.
Crina then calmed down from her high and realized what she said, blushing a bright red from her embarrassing display of affection and admiration. She then cleared her throat, "Umm…sorry you had to see that….I guess that since I have been told many times about the beauty of this place, I wasn't sure what to expect. And….with that, my expectations were….nothing compared to what I see before me…" she said, scratching the back of her head. "You….probably think I'm weird for doing that…huh?" she said, figuring that Alucard would turn her away for such a show.
Alucard snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Crina, "What? Oh. No, I don't think it's weird. It's just….I've never heard anyone say so many positive things about the old house….I was expecting….something more along the lines of fear and unease. So to see this display…was both unexpected and surprisingly enjoyable" he said, a small dusting of pink on his cheeks for hearing her say so many uplifting words.
Crina's blush didn't disappear as she heard him say that, but she did stay silent for a bit. After a few moments, she then cleared her throat. "So um….I believe you were showing me the way?" she asked.
Alucard nodded, "Come, I'll show you to your room for the night. Perhaps you have words of positivity for it as well" he said with a bit of a smirk, making Crina look away with embarrassment. Regardless, she followed him to her room for the night and braced herself for what was to come in the morning.
Alright another chapter done! Sorry it took so long, this one was a little hard to work with, but now, I have a plan for future chapters so it should be a little easier for me from here on out. Or at least I think. Regardless, I will work on the next chapter and do what I can with this story. I hope you'll still stick with me! As next chapter will hopefully be up sooner than this chapter was. Let me know what you guys think from this as it really helps me. But, I say no pressure to you as I don't want to force someone to comment.
But I also need a bit of help from you guys. Just as I have had trouble with beasts from this series despite not playing the games, I don't know about items from the games either. If someone could find me a list of items, more specifically from symphony of the night, it would be most helpful as the only item I am aware of is wall chicken from an article I read before.
Once again, thank you for the supporting and reading this humble little work.
Now for some fun facts:
-The name Adrian itself comes with two different definitions. "The Dark One" and "Sea or Water". Here is the link to the wiki page that explains the name, wiki/Adrian . I find this a little ironic as Alucard, when swimming, needs to wear a holy symbol in order to not be affected by the water. I only know about this from a youtube video called 107 facts about Symphony of the Night as I don't have time to watch the entire game, nor do I have the money or systems to play the game.
-As with any form of herbology, flowers have both benefits and side effects. Since these flowers were growing everywhere, I figured that they had something to do with vampires, so I decided to play on it. I hope you guys like the idea, as these will play a role later on in the story.
-Surprise, Crina knows more than one Dhampir! But how will this play out? And who owns that mystery voice? You'll have to keep reading to see!
That's all I got for now. Hope to see you guys soon!
