A/N- I'm glad everyone is liking this fic. Now, I know it hasn't been all that "action-packed" but hopefully this chapter will be a turning point for that. I hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter 4- While the Cat's Away

It was to Adriana's great joy--although she kept it well hidden--that her mother had announced to her that she was going shopping the next morning. Ria smiled and nodded over her eggs as her mother fixed her own plate, her back to her daughter.

"You could come with me, if you want," Sophy said.

"No, I don't think so. I'll just stay here," Adriana replied, finished with her eggs and now moving on to the bacon.

She was only slightly fond of bacon, so there were only two pieces on her plate. She finished them quickly. Standing, she moved to the sink to place her plate and fork in.

"But you could explore the town," her mother protested, just now sitting down with her breakfast.

I'd rather explore all those doors you locked, Adriana thought. Aloud, however, she said, "I'm sorry, Mom. I just don't feel like it today. Maybe some other time. I'm going to go…read or something."

Just before she could slip out of the kitchen, her mother called to her. "Ria, you cannot spend your life sulking just because we moved…or because your father died. He would want you…us…to try and be happy."

Adriana crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway of the kitchen, crossing her feet at the ankles as well. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. Her mother was being presumptuous. She hated that. Instead of asking what her daughter felt, Sophy Smith had a horrible habit of just assuming she knew.

"I'm as happy as could be expected under the circumstances, Mother. I'm sorry that I don't adapt as well as you do, but I'm doing my best. I'll be happy again…but why don't you let me do it on my own schedule?" she snapped in return.

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and went to her room. She did not pull out the Belmont journals, as had been her original intention. She couldn't risk that fact that her mother might come up to her room to talk further. However, that did not come to pass. Soon, Ria heard the family's car door open and shut, the engine start, and it pull away from the house. She sighed.

Sophy also never picked an argument or conversation back up that wasn't to her liking. If there was any chance she might lose, she simply let it drop and pretended as if it didn't happen. Pretending like things didn't happen seemed to be her way of dealing with everything. It had driven Ria's father crazy. It was also the reason that--on the rare occasion when the couple had argued--that the arguments seemed to last forever.

Sighing, Adriana pushed her thoughts on her mother's faults to the back of her mind and stood to see if the car had indeed left the premises. Once confirmed that it had, she turned, picked up the hefty journals, and made her way down to the kitchen. There, she retrieved some tools that she knew her mother always kept around and then chose what door to look behind first.

She chose the locked door that matched the described location of the Art Gallery in the Belmont journals. She sat down the journals and some of her tools and chose a thin, needle-like tool to begin her work. She switched tools several times until, after ten minutes, the lock clicked open. Leaving the tools behind, she lifted the journals and slowly opened the door.

There was no light but the sunlight that leaked through the windows in the room. Adriana looked to the wall beside the door and searched for a light switch. Finding one, she flicked it on, happy that there was still working light bulbs in the above chandelier. She drew in a deep breath when her eyes fully beheld the room.

It was elegant in every way imaginable. The small table and the two chairs that sat in the middle of the room was made of cherry colored wood, with the chairs' lining done in red velvet. Upon the table was a gold candelabra, and matching curtains hung over the windows. Lovely, lush red couches and high-backed chairs surrounded the table. But on the walls…lined side-by-side around the room were portraits.

Flipping to the first journal entry by Leon Belmont, Adriana read to herself Leon's description of himself. She found the portrait that matched on the far left wall. Approaching, she found that at the base of the fairly large painting of the man with a fair complexion with short blond hair was a small gold plate on the frame. After wiping a thin layer of dust off, it clearly read "Lord Leon Belmont." Funnily enough, it looked as though someone had tried to scratch out the word "lord." Excited, if not a little frightened, that the journals had matched perfectly the description of everything, she closed the book and followed along the walls, for all of the paintings seemed to have those name plates on their frames.

Right next to Leon's portrait was that of the dark haired woman known as Sara. It did perfectly match the sketch in the journal, and her last name was clearly visible on the plate.

"Trantoul," Adriana murmured.

Rounding around the room, she gazed on in wonder at the portraits of Sonya, Trevor, Christopher, Simon, and Richter Belmont. Occasionally, the wife of the Belmont would have a portrait next to their husband's. Richter's wife, Annette, was one such wife. There were even a few non-Belmont's featured in the room. A man named Hector and a woman named Maria appeared. Adriana knew their roles in the Belmont family line by the stories in the journals. Unfortunately, the non-Belmont that Adriana had been interested in seeing, Dracula's son Alucard, was not featured.

Finally, she came to a fireplace that stood in between Annette and her sister's portrait. Instead of a picture of over it, there was the oddest decoration. A whip, that looked a little over-used, hung on three silver hooks before a background of red velvet. At it's end opposite from the handle, hung that of a small cross. Without really thinking, Adriana reached and took it off the wall. She knew this whip. It was called Vampire Killer. And stranger still, she felt like it was and had always been hers.

But how could she feel like that? More importantly, how did she know the name of this whip? It had not been mentioned anywhere in the journals. Shaking her head, she gathered the whip up in her hands and glanced at her watch. And panicked. She had been in the room for two hours! She knew that the town near her house was small, and her mother would probably be home soon.

Now moving at a run wherever she went, Adriana took the journal and the whip, exited the Gallery, deposited her precious items onto her bed in her room, and rushed back downstairs to remove the evidence of her breaking into the room. She had only just replaced the tools when she heard the car door open and her mother step into the house. She and her mother exchanged quick words in some semblance of a conversation, and then she quickly escaped upstairs.

Adriana's eyes were shut, for sake of resting them, when she opened, shut, and leaned against the door of her room. Then, something most unexpected happened. Someone spoke to her!

"Well, it's about time another female Belmont was born!"

…………………

Isaac's head was reeling. It was so much to comprehend in such a small time. Even one such as he, who had commanded the dark art of devil forging, found it all so difficult to take in. It was a hard realization to wake up, suddenly, and be told that you were previously dead. And to add to it, to be told that it was centuries past when you had been alive.

Isaac sat upon the floor in front of the familiar throne of his Lord Dracula, only it was not Dracula who sat upon it. It was one called Walter…the one who had raised him up. The devil forgemaster pulled the rough cloak around him tighter. There was something very strange about all of it…his death, that was. Resurrections were common-place in Castlevania.

"There is no afterlife," Isaac said, trying desperately to recall anything from his being dead. But there was nothing…nothing but a dark, cold place.

"Not true," said the vampire called Orlox. "There is indeed a Heaven and a Hell. You were not in either place."

"Purgatory, for a follower of Dracula?" Walter inquired.

Orlox shook his head. "No. All those who possess souls that inhabit Castlevania are not able to pass on. The castle…collects souls, if you will. That's why resurrections when the castle has been called upon are so easy."

"Interesting…" Walter said, in a monotone voice. He turned his attention to Isaac. "Things have changed. Dracula no longer rules Castlevania nor the night. It is I who have this power now. You will serve me…and you will hunt down Dracula and destroy him."

At this, Isaac stood. A glare in his eye, he said, "My Lord Dracula could never been truly defeated. You have stolen his power, have you not? I will not serve one such as you. You are weak."

"Insolence!" Orlox hissed, but Walter raised a hand to silence him.

The vampire smiled as he rose up from his seat and advanced upon Isaac. The devil forgemaster did not back down. Walter smiled.

"You will find that you have no choice. Tell me, are you familiar with blood bonding?"

"Yes. It can be used in devil forging to…" Isaac's eyes widened as he finished slowly, "to force loyalty upon the Innocent Devil. You've bonded me, haven't you?"

"Indeed. Now, my orders to you are to prepare yourself for the outside world and then hunt Dracula down. Once you have found him, kill him. Show him no mercy and no help. Now…Go!"

Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but, finding that he had no words, he gave a small inclination of his head and said, through gritted teeth, "Yes…Lord Walter."

With the sound of Walter's laughter at his back, Isaac followed Orlox out of the room.

End Notes: So, what did everyone think? I hope everything wasn't too mushed up together. Please review!