Let the Symphony Last for Eternity
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Iris looked up from her seat at the black clad priestess before her, raising her elegant blond eyebrow in speculation. It wasn't that she didn't believe the story that Tera was bringing before her, after all the Castle 'was' a living creature. Though the idea that there 'was' a future version of their lord roaming about the Castle and on good terms with the Prince? Given how many times the Prince had stormed the Castle in an effort to defeat his father. A new body should 'not' have been enough to cause such a change of behavior.
But now Tera was in something of a bind apparently, her willingness to speak before thinking had finally caught up with her. Giving Lord Dracula an 'incomplete' report? Did she think it would end well? Not only had she given their Lord an incomplete report, she had somehow found a way to rope Iris into this mess. Displeasing Lord Dracula while being a human was normally an automatic death sentence, with now Iris' own neck on the line.
If not for her own necromatic abilities she would probably have been scared out of her mind, fortunately she was pretty sure she could reanimate her corpse. Once the head was severed there was a still a bit of time before the head died. She just needed to focus her powers and she was sure she could retain her existence if not her life. If her experiences with the prisoners that Lord Dracula had given her was any sign.
She lowered her gaze back to the table where she had been sitting when Tera found her, the tea tray held the still warm pot, the saucer and cup, spoon, and sugar bowl. It was placed to the side with a small parchment resting on the other side with an ink well and writing quill. Did Tera even bother to notice she had cut in on a conversation Iris had been having through the Ouji board?
Probably not.
Instead she was standing there fairly tapping her anxious foot on the ground waiting for Iris to get up and start helping. Sometimes, Iris seriously wanted to cut into the Priestess' head and look at her brain because she was 'sure' there was something wrong there. So many flights of fancy it was beyond Iris really, to fathom how this girl survived.
"I suppose, now that my life has been put on the line, that we'll have to resume our conversation at a later time?" She calmly addressed the seemingly empty seat before her, earning a confused expression from Tera. But at least the Priestess was able to put two and two together quickly enough to figure out what Iris was implying.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were talking to someone! I've just been so worried," Tera blurted out in embarrassment as she looked at the empty seat beside her. Before quickly backing up and clasping her hands before her in an attempt to be out of the way.
She watched as the planchette sped across the board on the table spelling out words with no hands on it.
"I understand, until next time my friend."
"As though we could resume after what you've informed me of," Iris noted with a wiry roll of the eyes. She stood up from her seat and allowed the dark robes she wore to settle about her. "So now we must look for the Prince, and possibly find more information on this supposed future version of our Lord." She repeated as she began slipping on her plague mask and took in the sweet scent of lavender that she had gathered for the mask. Given what Tera had done, Iris felt there was a valid need for something to calm her nerves.
"Well, I would suspect he hasn't gotten far in the Castle, so perhaps we'll be in luck and find the Prince somewhere between here and the front gates. I certainly haven't seen him pass through after all," Iris commented in a stiff yet thoughtful tone. Yet how did anyone expect a Necromancer and a Priestess to capture the Prince without unnecessary harm? Though she was a Necromancer, Iris never used her skills or talents proactively in combat situations. Tera was more prone to pray for aid and through her prayers the Dark Portals would open and bring monsters to fight on her behalf.
And somehow they were going to capture the Vampire Prince.
Ohhh Goody.
While above them, Trevor knelt on the bottom step of a platform style stairway that didn't reach the ground, his focus on the conversation going on below him. The room was seemingly large, as per the nature of Draculas' Castle, and the sound of the conversation wasn't all 'that' loud. Yet Trevor was still able to glean a small amount of information from it. He almost regretted that the room wasn't more like a cave and able to provide an echo effect so he could hear more.
But by now it sounded like they were about ready to make their leave and if they came up the stairs, he wanted room to fight. Though there was always a chance they would just teleport themselves to the door rather than walk. Minions of Dracula didn't seem vastly interested in doing such mundane things as 'walking' all that much.
Though depending on how they were dressed, he couldn't figure out any other way they could get to where he knelt. Sophia had hell any time she wanted to jump towards things, what with her robes and the potential strong wind. Overshoot or be pushed back always made her movement difficult back when they traveled the Castle.
As he knelt there still waiting to see if there was anymore comments from the pair, he heard a sound too soft to hear clearly. Then a soft rushing of air, from that sound there was a series of soft clicks as shoes stepped along the stone floor. Yet only a few short steps and then the sound stopped, leaving him confused while an airy thump like sound rippled through the air. The area stayed silent for a while longer, leaving Trevor to slowly ease up back to his feet in quiet concern.
So the woman had learned of the future version of Dracula and was now charged with finding the future version. More over, Alucard was in the Castle as well and those women would be hunting down the Dhampire. But Alucard wasn't human and that inhuman status would allow him to still be alive and active since Trevors' time. But how would that affect Alucard with his 'half human' status? If all the people who appeared after a certain point disappeared, how would a 'half' human be affected? Wouldn't events would have drastically changed and in doing so would mean that Alucards' memories would change as well..
The problem was what Dracula told Trevor, how time had shifted and how the future had been rewritten. That Trevor was still here meant it was someone from after his own life time that had disappeared and Trevor didn't know who or how. With the absence of that person the future was adjusted accordingly wiping the future Dracula from existence. Those women were 'not' going to find the 'Dracula in a white coat' because whatever happened to cause him into being was now gone.
With those thoughts in mind, Trevor began to worry, not for himself, in as much as for Juste and for Alucard. Juste was a member of Trevors blood, inherited the Vampire Killer and had been injured, did the change of the future remove the white haired Hunter or was he safe? Though in retrospect it was possible that Alucard could have been from Trevors' time?
Regardless, if Alucard was here, Trevor had a duty to aid his friend and that meant returning the way he came. Ascending the stairs two at a time past the vivid colored walls of the hall and gold statues of angels. Given that Grant was also in the castle, Trevor wasn't going to be surprised if it turned out that Sophia was also here. And he could only pray that they were safe as he moved to find and ensure Alucards' safety.
Though once he found the Dhampire he was going to have to make finding the other two a higher priority. Not to mention trying to find out who exactly went missing from the timeline so he could rescue them. Once that was done he wanted to meet this future Dracula, still unable to believe he had met one that felt lacking in all that malevolence that 'Dracula' was known for. The Castle also seemed to be shifting, once the future Dracula disappeared, same sensations he was used to regarding the Castle returned. Yet the monsters weren't acting fully aggressive to his presence, at least not 'yet' from what he could tell. Once the Future Dracula disappeared the zombie maids in the area had all sank back into the floor, as Zombies tended to do.
In fact, a number of monsters he had seen upon his arrival had yet to appear, Trevor realized as he looked around at the occasional variation of skeletons. Was it that some of the monsters he had seen in the Castle were bound to the future Dracula and could only manifest upon his presence? But that was neither here nor there as far as Trevor was concerned. The main thing was to find Alucard before Dracula's forces did. His eyes took in the walls and his surroundings as he came to accept that this wasn't the same as any other trek through the Castle.
This time the mission of the Belmont Clan was 'not' to find and destroy Dracula as it was for generations after Trevor. Now, somehow, the mission was to find the rest of his clansmen who hadn't disappeared. Somehow they had to rally together, figure out 'who' was missing and rescue 'that' Belmont from Dracula. Even in that aspect, Dracula wasn't even the 'threat' rather he was just as much a victim of this time manipulation as the rest of the Clan.
Trevor had to wonder if the person who caused this was aware that he was putting Dracula into power or if he had a back up plan. Perhaps, if he found a monster that was flesh and blood, he would try to ask it a few questions. Politely of course, the Future Dracula was surprisingly mindful of his servants. So perhaps if there was anything remaining of that Draculas' presence in the Castle one might actually give him some input onto things.
As he finally reached the door and opened it, it brought to mind, again, the realization that now the doors acted like normal doors. No more being sucked into some weird portal only to be sent who knew where. So he could only hope that once he found Alucard, he wouldn't have to worry about being abducted to another part of the castle and separated.
"Lord Prince, your Lord Father wishes for your presence in the Master Chambers. We trust you won't be difficult about this matter."
Trevor came upon the two women from before, recognizing the stern tone of one of the women, Iris, he believed. The speaker was dressed in a long black robe, while the other woman with her was with just above her shoulder black hair. Her robe like dress was also black and he figured she had to be 'Tera'. While he could see across from them was Alucard?
He knew they were off to find Alucard, but the man before him wasn't the person he recalled back when he faced Dracula. The 'Alucard' he recalled had skin the color of the dead, his hair was black as night and his clothes were simple, high quality, clothes. Yet he could tell that, like the Alucard he knew, this was also a dhampire.
The black clad woman seemed to have heard Trevors' arrival for she turned to glance over her shoulder to check on who had suddenly joined them. Which seeing a Hunter and not a Dark Child, she turned around to keep an eye on him. While the other woman kept her focus on the Dhampire before them. Any good fortune that seemed to smile upon the pair as they walked through the door and discovered the prince on the other side felt dashed. A vampire hunter always had a feeling about them, and the Princes' eyes were purely gold, which was not a great thing to see when he was a dhampire. Where human colors were dominate unless the urge to feed overtook them, that the Prince looked 'hungry'...
"Alucard?" Trevor felt the need to confirm the identity of the dhampire, not simply because of the stark change of appearance but also because of the golden eyes. Alucard never had shown his vampire side save when he shape shifted or used spells that were exclusive to Draculas' bloodline. And if this 'was' Alucard and something 'had' happened to him. Well it was Trevors' duty to help his friend in any way he could.
"How are you here Trevor? Its been over two centuries since last we saw each other."
That voice alone was all it took for Trevor to recognize and know that this 'was' indeed, Alucard.
"Oh that is turning into a rather fascinating tale, one of which I think even these ladies would be interested in hearing." Trevor replied with a half smile of amusement, happy to be reunited with a friend of his. Even if said friend was pale as death, with eyes the color of gold and far more elegantly dressed than he recalled. But those were questions he could pester the dhampire while they traveled through the Castle he figured.
"Meaning?" The blond asked with a raised eyebrow, and a no nonsense air about her. Alucard was now a pale blond and Trevor 'had' to wonder if all blondes were dead serious folk.
"You're not just looking for Alucard, but also the 'White Coated Dracula' correct?" Trevor noted aloud for the group currently before him. As far as he was concerned there was no threat to have this discussion with the women. The Future Dracula had disappeared as his time was rewritten so there was little threat to that person. Besides, it wasn't as though he was obligated to inform them that the future self was gone. "How did you hear about him? Since I got the distinct feeling that he was keeping low profile."
The women looked between each other in mild surprise and the black haired woman looked thoughtful. Yet Alucard looked stunned and deeply shaken, his hold on the claymore at his side suddenly became a death grip. Which made Trevor wonder if Alucard had 'also' met this future Dracula.
"White coat? Soma?" Alucard inquired in a tight voice as his gaze turned inward as though he was studying a memory. Suddenly that curious comment about 'doing what he wanted' suddenly made an alarming amount of sense. If Soma was his Father, then of course he could do as he wished within the Castle. It was 'his' Castle! Even that strange gaze that subdued Alucard in an instant made more sense with the knowledge that it was his father.
As the realization that Alucard could have been construed as saying that he took after his father in doing as he wished. He remembered how Soma looked at him for a moment before commenting that Alucard should 'keep' doing as he was doing. In context that it was his father, it was an incredibly passive way of showing approval one could say. But that it was his 'father'?!
"Oh, did you meet him?" Trevor asked, surprised as he saw the barely contained emotions on Alucards' pale face. The other two in the room looked just as genuinely shocked at Alucards' admission as well as that a Vampire Hunter already knew of this particular Dracula.
"I came across him when I arrived in the Castle, but he did not confess to who he was..." Alucard hedged out unsure of how much he should discuss in front of his fathers' followers. Especially if this version of his father was the one in charge. He lacked the confidence to trust his memories that kept seeming to dance between two different histories. Which was completely impossible, history couldn't have 'two' different versions after all. Admitting that he couldn't recognize his own father was also something that bothered him. In fact, Soma didn't seem to recognize him as well, maybe that was why he received such an odd look. Maybe Soma was trying to recall Alucard and it not coming to mind?
"Well if he's not here I believe the reason why is already here," Tera retorted, after all, what hunter could resist slaying Lord Dracula if they could. That this hunter and the Prince knew each other made it abundantly clear who the hunter was. That someone who lived centuries ago was currently alive in the Castle though? That was a mystery to her and one she wanted an answer for. Though at least now she could report back to her Lord what happened to the supposed other version of Dracula.
"Indeed our duty is to bring the Prince back to his esteemed Lord Father, not be interrogated by a long dead hunter." Iris added coldly, reinforcing that blonds were hard women and making Trevor wish his more laid back friend was here.
Maybe a pirate made for a better ice breaker than a hunter when in a castle surrounded by the underlings of a vampire.
"Then you will answer 'my' questions," Alucard replied coldly, the softest of hisses that came with the end of his sentence.
Which bothered Trevor since Alucard normally kept his fangs retracted and hissing didn't happen. If the future had changed, had it affected Alucard in such a manner as to possibly be turning him fully into a vampire? While the two women looked both startled and concerned as their attention was readjusted onto the Dhampire. Going as far as to face him fully and at attention in concern for their own safety.