CONTENT ALERT, PLEASE READ: from this chapter on, the story becomes more serious addressing mental health issues, including but not limited to symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts. Keep in mind that, in that time period, there were no therapists or many types of treatment, and that is also a central point of the story. If you are susceptible to this type of content or are going through rough times, I strongly advise that you don't read it.

The city guard removed the two bodies still in the morning. The three went ahead, pointing the demarcations on the way, and it was way easier to find the blades, which reflected the little sunlight there was. Trevor heard Sypha and Alucard's conversation on distilling alcohol from wine, but did not meddle in it, even if he would appreciate a chat on throwing potions. He had already updated them on what happened in the prison, and the news were not received with much shock. Maybe because they haven't seen what I saw. He sighed. Ploiesti? The city was once big and prosper. How would it be after the hordes of night creatures? The suddenly literate dead man poked his imagination.

"Is everything alright?", Sypha held his arm.

"As much as possible", he smiled.

She said no more, but did not let go of him. It's been so little time, and you already know me so well.

As the grove had an end and the glade close to Sohodol began, Carlo waited for them, receiving and giving orders from a side to another. A group of curious people formed, and he dismissed them with some politeness and no success. When he saw them, he gave Trevor and Sypha an intrigued look.

"We don't know how you've done it, but we also don't know how to thank you", Carlo said when they got closer, "The families will have bodies to bury, at least."

"The registrar had no family, though, right?", Trevor frowned.

"Right. He was old enough to be my father, and to be getting senile. He was unpredictable. He never wanted to marry. Sometimes, he didn't even go to work, and sometimes, he locked himself in the office for three days straight.

So, the lead and the deadly nightshade were consuming him for a good while now. Sypha said she would leave a bit, and Trevor glanced at her talking to Isobel in the forming crowd.

"Carlo, is there something else I should know?"

"On the two in the forest, or about the cell?", he crossed his arms.

"Both things."

Carlo looked up, then he looked down, then answered:

"The masks were made of lead, you said? The town hall really missed some plumbing."

"You'd better get rid of all of the plumbing, actually. I don't believe you want to end up like the registrar."

"But was it the lead, for sure?", Carlo scratched his head.

"Not just the lead. They were consuming some deadly nightshade, and that's how they ended up killing themselves. But telling how exactly they got crazy…"

"Well, it'll be a shame", Carlo shrugged, "I'll talk to the mayor. I doubt he'll want to change the faucets for getting water from the well."

"And the jailed man, sir?"

"After the help you gave the town, you are my sir", he joked, "The jailed man made some enemies because he talked in his sleep, that's true. But none of them confessed killing him, and I don't think they're lying. The guard there would've missed the key."

"And was he strangled?"

"That's what it looks like. His neck looks terrible, and he skinned his fingers writing on the wall, God knows how. He was illiterate as I am."

Trevor sighed, tired, and thanked:

"It's time we leave. Peace."

"Sohodol thanks you. You're welcome here" Carlo got closer and whispered, patting his shoulder, covered with the fur cloak, "Belmont or not."

Isobel sat on the edge of the bed and Sypha was on the chair. She ripped blank pages from the scrounged journal and asked the girl for a piece of coal. She wrote the alphabet in order, as well as she could with an improvisation like that. They spent the rest of the morning there, dirtying their hands and repeating letters, correcting and restarting. Isobel was as sharp as she looked like. She did not take long to learn the vowels, and was pretty well with the consonants for a first day.

"But don't tell anyone. Promise?", Sypha gave her the pinky finger.

"Promise", Isobel retributed and they tied fingers, "Can I teach my children?"

"Yes."

"And Izidor?"

"If she can learn it, maybe."

"She understands what I say", Isobel crossed her legs on the bed, "She just doesn't speak."

"Perhaps it is a way for her to speak", Sypha smiled.

"That's true."

The door opened and Alucard entered the bedroom chewing on a big slice of bread.

"What are you two doing?", he ran his eyes over the table, "What a great idea. Are you having fun?"

"A lot of fun, sir."

"You'll have to study hard on your own", Sypha gave her the sheets, "Now, go. I don't want you to be scolded because of me."

They stood up, and Sypha hugged Isobel, who said:

"See you another day, ma'am."

Another day? Sypha sighed. I don't know. The girl left without looking back. Alucard started picking up the few belongings of the short trip and Sypha tagged along to help. They climbed down the stairs to find Trevor kind of ready, stainding by the door and drinking with a distant gaze.

"It's already paid", Trevor finished the mug.

"How, if we have the money?" Alucard frowned.

"Argue with her, not with me" Trevor pointed at the tavern keeper, who cleaned the counter, "If you want to spend more than the storage fee, go ahead."

"That's pretty unlikely", Sypha whispered, "That's because I rescued Izidor?"

"It must be", Trevor left the mug on a table and opened the door, letting the others leave first.

Passing by the gates of Sohodol that took them to the trail to the Hold, they heard a cry of "Sir!" in a boy's voice. The stable boy ran to the three and, panting, he said:

"It's good that I found you, sir", he talked to Trevor, "The boss told me to take you all if it's a near destination."

"It's the same as before. It ain't far."

"Oh… Well", the boy swallowed dry, "I'll prepare the horses. Do you wait, sir? Or are you in a hurry?"

"Are we?", Trevor looked around, "No. But taking us, you mean…?"

"That'll be on us, sir."

Is it a lucky day? Sypha sat on the back of the covered wagon, looking at the grey sky when the vehicle rode the trail from the farms to the next grove. Trevor rested his head on her lap, and she caressed his hair along all of the way. He wanted no chit-chat when she mentioned the idea of going to the laboratory later, bot she was sure to see him smile. Alucard, though, was the greatest enigma: he sat besides the young coachman, making the boy uneasy. The people don't understand. She daydreamed. Someday, they will, maybe.

"Here, at this part. 'Partner arrival, superior orders'", Sypha turned the book so Alucard could see it, "It's more readable and coherent than most of the stuff here."

"The lead had not gone very deep into them, I believe", he scratched his chin.

"Or the deadly nightshade. What about 'superior orders'?"

The three went quiet. They were in the comfortable meeting room, each one in a different armchair. Trevor was lying down, and the other two just sat. Sypha went on reading:

"'Orders of improvement and comprehension. Transcendence'. Someone was out there telling them what to do, of course."

"And they probably wanted to please that person", stated Trevor, "It ain't hard to drill things into the minds of people like them, I guess."

"What about 'transcendence'? Transcend to what?", she asked.

"To become something?", tried Alucard, "Anyway, if you allow me an exaggeration, yesterday was a long day and I want the excess of another bath. Excuse me."

He got up and disappeared into the hugeness of the castle. I don't know if that's any true, but… Trevor appreciated when he did not need to call Sypha to join him in the sofa, lying down as he was.

"There's not much space here", she commented.

"The closer, the better, don't you think?"

Sypha laughed when she was turned, pulled closer, and kissed. The hands ran freely little by little. Trevor whispered:

"How I miss being on our own."

"I know, right?", she went to the top, "But isn't it better that we head to the bedroom?"

"This place is enormous. Who's going to see us?"

"Who?", she frowned.

"I don't care", He pressed her back and slid his hand down.

"I sort of do."

"If it's just a 'sort of'...", Trevor smiled.

Sypha shook her head and kissed him again.

The footsteps from the corridor made them go back to use the sofa with the intentions it was made. More than an hour went by, maybe, before Alucard returned. Thank goodness. Sypha tried to comb her hair with her hands, but she did not notice Trevor having an ounce of worries with their red cheeks and wrinkled clothes.

"It's already six o' clock. You're invited for dinner", Alucard pointed at the interior of the castle with an open hand, "Invited to make dinner with me, actually, if you're urgent about it."

"Oh, we are", Trevor stood up and followed him.

"I know very well what you want", Sypha poked him on the ribs.

"Food, what else?", he was tickled.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…", said Alucard, without looking back.

"Hey, come on, no Bible here", Trevor objected.

The dinner that night was modest: they used the less durable vegetables and the fresh meat. We have to save for the road. Everything was ready when it was already dark, and they ate under the candlelight and the torches on the big dining table. When Trevor finished the second mug of mulled wine, he exchanged looks with Sypha before he brought that up:

"On Ploiesti", he began, with apparent boredom, "We should see what's going on there."

"How long does it take for us to get there?", Sypha asked, "Six, seven days?"

"Seven, if the road is bad, what I think it is if the weather stays like this."

"It's a next good stop", Sypha looked at her half full mug, which was cool already, and suited herself with more wine, "I've been asking myself how the occultists' deaths relate to the burglar."

"'No relation' is my guess. They were too different. If re rely on what we found in that house, they were not powerful enough to do such a thing from a distance", Trevor finished chewing on a chicken bone and threw it in an empty dish.

"Even moreso if they had been dead for a day or two", Sypha rested her hand on her chin, "Unless one of them was back from the dead to get revenge for the burglary.

"To Ploiesti, then", Trevor raised his glass for a toast.

"Have a nice trip", Alucard, who was silent before, also did.

The conversation stopped. The other two looked at him. Sypha was brave enough:

"What do you mean?"

"We've talked about that already."

"Why aren't you coming with us?", she asked.

Before he could answer, Trevor interrupted:

"We really had that talk."

"Exactly, and I remember being crystal clear about it. Stay for as long as you wish, or as long as you need, I appreciate it and thank you for the visit, but I won't leave."

"You know we came all the way here because of you", Trevor stood up.

"And I'm giving all that I can offer."

"Have you ever thought of, I don't know, offering an extra pair of hands?", Trevor raised his voice, "The world ain't very safe outside, you should check it out."

"I trust you two to deal with whatever it is."

"We're not here to beg."

"So don't beg", Alucard shrugged.

Sypha pressed her hands on the table.

"You would know the dimension of things if you left this place a bit more", Trevor had disregard in his voice.

"I believe myself to be more necessary here, as I said a year ago. I have no duty to leave."

"So, you'd rather roam through this gigantic, empty house, in a sleepless night, crying alone on the corners? Suit yourself."

What? Sypha asked:

"What is he talking about?"

"I…", Alucard took long to complete, "I didn't expect this from you, Trevor."

"And I didn't expect from you what you're doing to is. Great, huh? Staying here and moping because of what happened. What are you waiting for? Something worse happening some years later, so that you leave this batcave and say 'hello, I've come to fix this mess I could've helped avoid'?", Trevor lost control more and more in every sentence, "Stay, then. Hide as your kind does, and, someday, I swear I'll hunt you down."

Trevor let out a deep sigh and turned his back on him, heading towards the exit of the dining room, his footsteps echoing in the ambient.

"Please, Trevor", Sypha made herself react, "You know what happened. This wasn't necessary"

"Wasn't it? I'm literally on top of what's left of my home. Do I need any more arguments?", no one answered, ""The three of us are missing something, but only two of us don't run away from what we have to do."

He turned again, this time to leave. Let him go. Sypha lowered her head and sighed. It'll be worse if I chase him. When she raised her face to look at Alucard, who sat at the opposite side of the table, it was when she saw him jump over whatever was in front of him and towards Trevor.

Caught by surprise, Trevor fell on the floor and had time to protect his face. He threw hsi head to the side to dodge a punch, but Alucard held him way too hard against the wooden floor to lose balance from the push he tried, so Trevor gave him a headbutt, pulling the other with both hands on his collar. Sypha looked from a side to another and felt herself shaking, but she firmed her hands and shot a wind blast against both; Trevor, who could roll to the top, was thrown against the wall.

"Enough!", she shouted, "Before you to something more foolish."

Her hands started shaking again, and she lowered them. Tears started to come, and she head to hold her breath to stop herself. Trevor stood up, supporting himself on the wall with which he collided. He staggered before recovering his balance and headed to the corridor again. He looked at Alucard, still on the floor, and at her for a bit, turned to the opposite direction, and left without saying a word.

"I want to disagree with Trevor", she confessed, as if she talked to herself, "But I can't."

She walked up to Alucard and offered her hand when she saw him getting up; he refused it. He did not look her in the eye, choosing any other side. He rubbed his hand on his hurt forehead to clean some blood that was not his. He did not answer her.

"I knew you weren't quite well", she stared at him with disapproval, "But this is-"

"You should've interfered."

"I just avoided that you two killed each other."

"You should've said something", he shook his head, closed his eyes, and sighed, "You should've-"

"You're not in the right to tell anyone what to do, Alucard."

He let his hand fall, before pressing the hit part of his head, and kept quiet.

"What's up with you?", Sypha asked in a whisper.

"You know what happened to me."

"I don't think that's all of it."

Alucard, then, looked at her, who found surprise on the little she could see from his face. It's an incredible building, but it's not a place made for much light, exactly. Sypha asked:

"How do we get to that meeting room?"

"Why do you want to go there at a time like this?"

"We've been there much later."

He shrugged and walked forward.

Out of the two sofas and two armchairs he could have chosen to sit, he chose the one where Trevor spread himself earlier with her. Sypha felt her cheeks getting warmer. Is it on purpose? She sat by his side.

"If you wanted to sit down, the table was right behind us", Alucard pointed to the back with his thumb, "Why the change of scenery?"

"Why not?", she frowned.

He did not answer and was back to being silent.

"Tell me about the year you spent here", Sypha requested.

"As I said, I slept more than anything."

"And what else?"

"I…", he looked at his own hands, with his elbows on his knees, "I woke up sometimes and walked by the castle. I've been to the Belmont library, but you already know that."

"And why didn't you spent the whole time sleeping, as the time when we met you?"

"I was hurt back then, I needed to rest… To recover.

"And now, you don't need to recover?"

"There's no sleep in the world that'll fix it."

I know. Sypha put her arm on his shoulders and let him speak.

"Besides, it's like… It's like my sleep patterns aren't the same anymore. When I wake up, I have no energy. It's like I ran a marathon over Wallachia from start to finish and stopped to take a nap. My head also hurts. This time, at least, there's a reason", he smiled with sarcasm towards the floor, "It took me weeks for me to fall asleep again, and I still could hear the wind, the rain, the thunderstorms outside. I could ignore it before, but not now."

"Do you usually dream?"

"Sometimes. It's a nightmare, when I less expect it. I didn't use to have so many."

"Can you remember how was the last one?"

"I remember when it was. It's… A recurring theme."

She sighed and pressed his shoulder gently.

"I'll go there at times. This is what Trevor was talking about", Alucard closed his eyes, "I'll go to the place I dream about."

"Why do you do that?"

"I don't know", he had a crying voice, "To make myself suffer, I think."

Sypha had a heartache. She repeated:

"Why?"

"Because there are days where…", the first tear fell, "...Where I don't want to be here."

"Then come with us."

"I didn't want to be alive."

Sypha got up and stood in front of him, kneeled on the floor, both hands on his arms.

"I wish I was dead and burned, I wish I was a pile of ashes, until nothing remained, no trace of me", he sobbed, "And there's an eternity ahead of me."

Alucard cried endlessly, and she hugged him. He corresponded with his weak, shaking hands, grabbing the shirt he lent her. Seeing you like that… Sypha also let out a tear. They only broke it apart when Alucard could breathe again.

"Hey", she whispered, "I can't say that I feel your pain. That wouldn't be true. But I… I don't have my parents either."

"What happened to them?"

"It's commonplace among my people. They were mistaken for thieves and murderers. A father shouldn't have to bury a son, but that's what my grandfather did", she swallowed in dry, trying to stop herself from crying, "I miss them everyday."

"My condolences."

"Thank you", she cleaned her face, "I still have my grandfather, and the Speakers are a family. But a person can't replace another, right?"

She used her long sleeve to clean his face as well, and, still kneeling, she held his hand. As in the day we said farewell.

"I'm here because Trevor saved me back in the catacombs. You're here because we met you there. He's here because of us, otherwise, he'd be an aimless drunkard, God knows where. And we're here and now because of you. See?"

That's all we have. She did not state what she thought; she opted for the brighter side, going on:

"We need you. Don't die yet."

He held her hand tighter and sighed, staring at her as if she had answers.

"I wanna go for a walk", she stood up, "Where can we go?"

"Trevor is waiting for you."

"He sees me all the time. Also, he must be in a terrible mood", she laughed out of disgust, "You told me about taking me to the laboratory, huh?"

"Are you sure this is a good time?

"Yes. Come on, show me where it is.

They arrived the laboratory after a myriad of stairs and corridors. What a labyrinth. Alucard turned on the lights, much brighter ones than the others in the house. After her eyes got used to it, Sypha noticed how empty the room was.

"Where are all the things?"

"There was a much worse fight here", Alucard searched the drawers, "There are still interesting items, though. I have an experiment in mind. Have you ever seen fake gold?"

"I've seen fool's gold, if that's what you mean."

"No, it's way more beautiful", he smiled, going from a side to another, gathering pieces, "If it was you instead of me, you should wear protective equipment. But let's say I'm immune to a lot of noxious things."

Alucard set the necessary structure of glassware with a flame under one of them. He showed Sypha two closed recipients:

"This is lead nitrate, and this is potassium iodide. In hot water…", he measured the correct amount of each with a scale, "...They'll create a reaction."

You didn't even need to do anything for this visit to be amazing. Alucard poured the powdered substances into water and they waited for the solution to cool down slowly. Golden glitters appeared, falling like rain.

"And this is the substance they used to paint the masks."

"That's fascinating", Sypha forgot her dropped jaw.

"Isn't it? It fooled a good bunch of alchemists, and I believe it still does", he put off the flame and sighed, "Trevor would've appreciated the visit, I think."

"He would. The books on chemistry for beginners, down in the Hold, are his."

"And I prevented him, by being an idiot."

Sypha got closer and held him delicately by his arm:

"With that mood he's now, he'd better be on his own."

"I'm not afraid of him."

"And I don't want you to be. I just want you to get along", she picked up the reagent bottle, "And I don't think this thing is over. You can always do the experiment again."

"I sure can."

"It's good to see you smile again", she let go of him.

It's been a year. She hoped her face was not red. A year you didn't notice.

"And it's good to have someone that listens to me", Alucard dimmed the lights of the stand, "Even if it's not a new compliment."

Sypha felt like she swallowed a thorn, and also wished it went fast down her throat:

"Thank you. It must be time for me to go."

"Can you find your way in the house?", he headed to the door.

"No, actually."

"Then, I go with you."

The way back looked a good measure shorter than the way up. But the return is always like this. When she started to recognize her surroundings, she asked:

"Are you going to sleep now?"

"No. I have to organize the things in the lab", he looked down, "I'm not sure if apologizing is of any use."

"It's a good start. Good night, then?"

"Good night."

Sypha opened the door and jumped into bed. Under the warm blankeds, she took off her shirt and hugged Trevor, who retributed with a pleasant sound.

"You took too long", he complained.

"Are you feeling better?", she kissed his scruff.

"No."

"Are you hurt?"

"Not much", Trevor turned his body to hold her, "Do you still think I was over the top?"

"Yes. But I also think you're right."

"If you blamed me for the fight, I'd go sleep on the couch", he let out a deep sigh, "What about Ploiesti?"

"Let's see how things progress tomorrow. I don't want to go without him either."

"To be honest? After today, I seriously thought of leaving him behind."

"Yeah, I know", she leaned to kiss his forehead and heard a painful grumble, "Sorry."

They went quiet for an instant, until Trevor said:

"We need a plan in case it goes wrong."

"There's no real way to have a plan", she shrugged, "We go outside and see what's going on, you and me."

"Like before?"

"Just like before", Sypha looked down, "Don't you think we're trying too hard?"

"Trying what too hard?"

"Trying at every cost that he comes with us. Maybe we're doing more harm than good."

"Uh, no, I don't think so", he frowned, "I really don't."

"I don't know, I sort of have doubts."

"Doubts on what?", Trevor raised his voice loud enough in the quietness of the bedroom, "If I had killed my father, I wouldn't want to stay home. There are certain things from which we need to stay away."

"I don't have a house, or something to run from."

Maybe I do have that something. She closed her eyes before her memories tormented her. With enough time, they felt tired, and slept without talking anymore.

Alucard was sleepless. Each step he took walking in the castle emitted an echo to a distant corner of a long corridor, and he knew he would not see much more than a ghost or two. The dead were not good company. He did now know where to go, but there were places he did not want to be, he could be sure of that. His feet took him to the entrance of a watchtower. It'll do no harm. He climbed the spiral stairs.

He looked down from the open window. There was an immensity between him and the ground. He peeked outside with his whole head, with both hands on the railing. The wind was strong, and a drizzle, that soon became heavy rain, hit him. What happens if… He leaned some more. Not much, isn't it? He went back to the room and closed the window. Feeling cold from the wetness, he searched for his jacket again. He climbed down the stairs and wandered to the hall in which he once chose to sleep.

He could see the doors of the castle from there, and he got the garment from a hatstand. He looked at the casket for a long moment, from which he got up just some days ago. Sleeping sounds like a nice option. But not here. He did not want to be awaken, or even found. I'll have to think better. His body started to feel the effort of the last days, and he found himself in the meeting room where they spent the afternoon.

The old diary was on a table. He opened it and read it, sitting on an armchair. It made no sense, especially in a time like that. Pages and more pages on tests, surreal hypotheses, lunatic conjectures of those unknown and torpid men. Alucard started muttering the words on the book without understanding what they meant. Am I not just as insane as they were? He laughed at himself. I'm a tragedy. That's what I am. An endless tragedy.

"Wake up for once."

The couch where Alucard napped turned all of a sudden and he went off to the floor.

"Ouch", he hid his head, "What's the meaning of this?"

He stood up, still with blurry eyes, and he heard a grumpy Trevor in the meeting room:

"I thought you were sharper in your sleep."

"If you wake me up this way again, I'm beating you up for real."

I'll think of apologizing later. Indeed, it had been a while since the last time he had such a deep sleep. He brushed his hair off of his eye and scratched it, blinking repeated times until he could see clearly, in one of the few rooms of the castle where the sunlight could enter; it was a grey day, but bright enough to bother someone who was just asleep.

"You can be sure I'm the one beating your ass", Trevor patted his shoulder, "Check out what's in front of you."

"Tone it down, you're insufferable. It's too early to brag in my room."

He did as he was told, and then he saw at the center table the finest breakfast their pantry could offer. There was tea served in good oriental porcelains, which he did not eve know where they were before, an improvisation of honey bread made in a cast iron pan, a bunch of salty oat crackers they found in Sohodol, the rest of the mulled wine, fresh water, the fruit jam he bought himself, a jar of salted butter, and a sliced sausage. Alucard had no words.

"It was her idea", Trevor pointed Sypha, "If it was for me, I'd leave you hungry."

"Let's say a memorable goodbye , at least", she smiled, and he could see she made an effort for that.

They all sat. Alucard kept quiet, listening to their conversation, noticing the details. Where was the map? How would the road be? Was it enough food? Have they counted the money? He swallowed it dry. The food disappeared from the table, and the other two started wandering back and forth in the room, with a lot of baggage to order.

"What do you think of leaving after midday and stopping in-"

"I'll go with you."

Sypha interrupted what she was saying, and her and Trevor staring at him with disbelief.

"Sorry?", asked Trevor.

"I'll go with you to Ploiesti. I can't say for after that, but for now, I'll go."

They did not answer. Alucard went on:

"I can still go", he stopped, "Right?"

Before he had any reaction, Sypha jumped on him to hug him, while Trevor gave them a stinky eye. When she let go of him, Trevor helped them stand up from the couch; he held his companion by her shoulders and also held one of Alucard's shoulders with the remaining hand, confirming:

"It's done, then. If you change your mind, I'll pay back yesterday's kindness."

"Oh, you will", Alucard smiled with irony.