As always, I would hope that people would check out Slinky's Abnormality. Not only will it offer a backstory for this tale, but it's a fantastic story!
I do not own Castlevania.
I am sorry that this chapter is so OC-focused. I originally had this and the next chapter integrated together but it ended up being 18 pages, so I really did have to split it. I promise that the next chapter will have more diversity and actual characters that people know and love!!! (I know because I don't like ramblings on OC's, either) But hopefully you'll get through it, catch the reference that I'm using for the librarian (and if you're reading this, Patricia, I hope you don't mind me using this idea, or let me know if you do!), and review- there's something at the end you'll really want to catch (though it was a bit hard to slide it in there smoothly!). That being said, sorry for the slow update. Not only did I write the whole thing, edit, split, and then re-edit but I'm also working both full time and part time jobs as well as taking care of at home committments. Hopefully it was well worth the wait!
Chapter 5
The Tour of the Castle
The librarian did a double take, his spectacled eyes wide. "Tepes?" he whispered, "But there isn't any way-"
"Of course there is," she insisted indignantly, "My father is Vlad Tepes, and my mother is Lisa Tepes. I have an older brother named Adrian Tepes and he is married to Maria Renard. We live in a cottage just outside of Cordova Town," she recited. "Father is a-"
The old man held up a hand and cut her off. "Enough, child, enough," he placated. "Are you looking for them? Is that the problem?"
The child took one deep breath before nodding and when she spoke her voice broke slightly, "I just want to go home, mister."
The librarian nodded, sinking slowly into the chair behind his personal study desk to process all that he'd just learned. At length he looked up before speaking, "You may finish your tea and then I will take you upstairs to a guest room. I must speak to someone as you are being cleaned up and then we'll see about finding your family."
The girl's eyes lit up excitedly, rising to meet his. "Really, you'll help me?" she asked, hope swimming in the bright amber orbs.
"Yes, I will help you," he assured her, "however, I can guarantee you nothing, child."
"I- I understand," she said softly, looking back down at the tea swirling in her cup, "But any help would be…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say.
The old man nodded, "I understand, Valeria," he tried the name on his tongue. "You'd best finish up your tea and we'll go upstairs."
~~~*~~~
The child, excited at the prospect of being reunited with her family, finished the tea as quickly as possible. The old man watched her slide down the large chair to the cold stone floor below, smoothed by centuries of his own pacing while his mind was deep in thought.
"Come, child," he said softly, extending a gnarled old hand to her.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but placed a small, soft hand in his. The librarian's hand enveloped Valeria's in a firm but gentle grip as he lead her back into the main area of the library.
They passed the librarian's large main desk before the man stopped short, and, with him, Valeria. "Ah, I haven't left in so long. I'd almost forgotten…" he murmured, and swooped behind his desk, Valeria having no choice but to follow him like a puppy on a short leash as he bent down, rummaging through drawers.
The girl stayed silent for a moment and was just opening her mouth to ask what had been so urgent when he emerged holding three items. The first item was a black leather pouch of light purple powder that sparkled brilliantly where the dim beams of light caught it. The second item was a six inch long oak branch, polished smooth and was about the width of the girl's pointer finger. Looking more closely one could see small runes shifting on its surface, symbols that were unfamiliar to Valeria. The third item was quickly tied into the leather belt around the old man's waist, a short sword sheathed in a brown leather scabbard with an unextraordinary looking metal handle.
The child's nose wrinkled as the smell of the powder reached her nose, her freckles bunching together. "What is that stuff, Mister?" she asked, looking up at the librarian. It smelled faintly of wax, just barely caught under the stronger smell of earth and something that she couldn't place.
The old man looked toward her, bending down to show her the powder. "Adipocere. Do you know what that is, child?" he asked. Valeria shook her head, regarding him and the powder with more curiosity. "It is graveyard wax and grave dirt," he explained. "Mixed with a powdered amethyst stone."
The girl jerked rather violently backward. "Grave dirt?!" she yelped in disgust and alarm. "Like… from a real body?" she asked, looking as if she'd swallowed something nasty.
"Of course from a real body, silly girl," the old man reprimanded gently. "It will ward my desk while I am gone."
Valeria's brow creased in contemplation. "How will it do that?" she asked, eyeing the unsavoury miture out of the corners of her eyes, as if afraid that it might jump out to attack her. "It's just corpse dirt."
"'Just corpse dirt'," he mimicked her, "had a strong enough effect on you. Why would you think it would not keep back other manner of creatures?" he reasoned.
"Well…" she hesitated, trying to reason it out in her head, "because… I'm a person… and…"
The old man shook his head, "And the stone gives it magical properties, child. Do not be so obtuse."
The child watched him indignantly through thick lashes as he took a handful of the dirt and tossed it into the air where it hung as if caught in a spider's web, making a wall in front of the desk and the office beyond it.
The old man unceremoniously wiped his dirty hand on his plain robe, bringing out the wand and waving obscure shapes into the air in front of the powder. Slowly the powder began to shift, bunching together as if trying to catch the shapes that were no longer visible before spreading out into a large triangle, projecting depressions of the shapes that the librarian had drawn in the air with his wand. The librarian seemed uninterested in what the powder was doing, merely reattaching his wand and securing the powder into one pocket after making sure the lid had been secured. But Valeria was caught, attention rapt, mouth hanging slightly open as bits of sand slowly shifted away from the triangle, casting a net over the entire 'protected' area, leaving a miniature, shrunken version of the triangle with its miniature, shrunken symbols in the centre of the web.
The librarian glanced over at the child, admonishing, "Come, child. You'll catch flies with your mouth hanging open so."
The girl frowned, watching him intently, "But… you did magic," she insisted, her words a gasp. "Are you a witch?"
To her surprise the old man laughed, his voice deep and hearty as he bent and propped his hands on his knees. Once he'd regained control he regarded her with a grin full of mirth. "No, Valeria, I am not a witch. That would be a fine thing for me to be, being a man. And I'm no warlock either," he interjected as she opened her mouth to protest. "Though it would not be too far off of the mark in this castle," he chuckled. "But I am merely a man that has learned, throughout the years, to perform a spell or two. Though this is a mere trick compared to other spells."
"But what about all of your books?" she asked, amber eyes wide. "Aren't they yours as well? What if they get taken… or burned down… or splashed with water?"
To her surprise he chuckled again, seeming supremely unconcerned. "They will be fine, child. The creatures around this castle, for the most part, have no interest in books. And neither do- well, needless to say they're safe."
The child looked up at him curiously, her head cocked to one side as if trying to discern what he had kept himself from saying before letting it go. He tightened his grip on her hand and the two figures started off.
The old man, it seemed, knew many shortcuts that Valeria had not noticed upon her arrival into the massive library. It took her what seemed an eternity to traverse the enormous stacks of books whereas it took him, even with winding along stacks of books and taking passageways she hadn't even noticed, perhaps ten minutes to reach the wrought iron gate leading into the main area.
They slipped past the old gate, Valeria only noting now, with a shudder, its spikes sticking out of the top, preventing access by climbing should the gate be locked. Valeria, now with the librarian, once again stepped out onto a platform in front of the bridge spanning the marble and portrait galleries.
Without hesitation the librarian stepped forward onto the bridge but Valeria held back a moment, trying to take a few steps back. The old man looked over to her. "There is nothing that will harm you here, child. Come, let's cross."
The child stopped pulling so vehemently but watched the man cautiously, eyes wide. The old man hesitated before sighing, going back to where the girl was standing. Gently he placed a hand against her shoulder blades and she allowed him to guide her across, her eyes closed tightly.
With her eyes closed and his presence constantly behind her, guiding her, Valeria and the librarian soon reached the end of the bridge. They crossed the short hallway into the large circular room leading to the three separate staircases.
Valeria began to go forward, to the hallway back into the main hall but the old man surprised her, motioning them toward the staircase to their left, which led upward. Valeria walked closely beside the old man as they approached the stone steps.
Valeria looked up, observing the tendrils of fog that curled downward, like fingers stretching for the pair, ready to pull them toward some unseen horror. The fog was made even more eerie by the small white lights that lined the stone wall upward. They were much like the lights in the chandelier hanging above the great circular room they'd just left, but there was just one single light per small stone platform jutting out from high in the wall.
The lights were odd, bobbing up and down serenely, occasionally wavering back and forth, but they cast an ethereal light upward through the fog. As the old man and Valeria kept climbing for what seemed like a lifetime with no windows or change of scenery in sight the child began to focus on other things. She glanced backward only to note that the way they'd come was simply a cavern of darkness, as was the way ahead. Her legs were beginning to ache with the awkward steps, which were wide and shallow, leading her to follow a tiresome pattern of one long step, one short step before stepping up. Trying to divert her attention she focussed on what she sensed around herself. The slight whistling of wind through the staircase, the rough cloth of the old man's robe brushing against her hand every so often, the dampness of the fog that they were travelling through which seemed to settle into her very bones, the odd smell of moisture from the dense cloud.
Abruptly her attention was diverted as a light appeared ahead and a latticed gateway slowly swam into view. The light beyond the gateway was soft and golden, a welcome change from the cool silver light of the passageway. The girl looked up to the old man, who glanced down. "You can go on ahead, child," he encouraged. The reassurance was all that the girl needed to dash up the remaining steps to the doorway and pull on it.
But the door would not move. She tugged on it harder before looking back to the old man who merely smiled serenely, holding out a key for her to take. She offered him a pouting glance, mumbling 'Why didn't you tell me I needed the key?' even as she turned the ornamental object and the gate swung open.
~~~*~~~
The new room they entered was old and dusty, but had a comfort to it that Valeria could not quite describe. Warm, golden light pooled in from the chandeliers and little lanterns that hung from the wall and there were several study desks littered amongst the shelves of books, which stood seemingly at random in squares, four shelves back to back.
"Welcome to the top level of the library, Valeria Tepes," the old man said formally. "This is where we keep all of our personal documents, biographies…" he trailed off as a balding man in a formal suit approached the two. "And the keeper of this level, Mr Falkner."
The man looked human, his thin and receding gray hair covering the top and sides of his head, his skin with an unhealthy, pale sheen and his gray suit all pointed toward a mild mannered scholar. But when he lifted his head to them Valeria gasped and would have fallen backward if the librarian hadn't placed a hand up to support her.
Mr Falkner's eyes were what had marked him as something other than human. His pupils were the iciest blue, surrounded by vivid red where the whites of his eyes should have been, as if blood vessels had ruptured very thoroughly and recently in both of his eyes.
The man did not seem to notice Valeria's discomfort, however, intent upon the librarian. "I have not seen you come up this way for quite some time, Rinaldo," he said in a voice that was a far cry from the demonic tone that Valeria had been half expecting.
The librarian smiled, "Not that you've come to visit me, James. But I have a rather curious circumstance here," he motioned to Valeria. "This young lady is lost. She woke up in the castle here. I must get her to the bedchambers and find some appropriate clothes for her to wear."
"Simply woke up?" the other man chuckled now, "In here? I scarcely doubt, my old friend, that finding her fresh clothing would do her any good," he said, eyeballing Valeria until she shifted under his scrutiny.
Rinaldo held one finger up to his lips in a silencing motion, making Valeria cock her head to one side curiously. "There is a reason that Lord Dracula, or at least Master Adrian, may want to visit with this child, James. But I would ask you to leave further conjecture for a later date, my old friend," Rinaldo stated, his tone slightly sharper as James opened his mouth to speak further.
The man caught the tone and nodded, "As you wish, Rinaldo. Pass on and use the lifts, then. I would ask that you come up here to converse with me more occasionally though," he said, offering the head librarian a slight smile. "I shall pour us a cup of tea upon your return," he offered in a questioning tone.
Rinaldo nodded, offering the other man a slight smile as he passed him with the girl, who was watching the demonic man curiously.
~~~*~~~
The lift was a rickety machine with a crosshatched brass grille in front of it and a lever that could be pulled up or down, depending on where one wanted to go. Valeria very hesitantly stepped into the lift, feeling it wobble with even her slight weight, causing her to nervously grip the grille.
The librarian, Rinaldo, stepped delicately inside and the box dipped noticeably downward. Valeria gasped, but the old man didn't even seem to notice. He glanced down at the girl and stated, "We are going to be going up a level. I would take my hands off of the grille bars if I were you."
The child jerked back small hands as if she had been shocked, moving to stand as a rough, grating sound of metal upon metal was heard upon the librarian moving the lever up. She was sharply brought back down to her knees as she began to stand, her stomach feeling as if it had shot up into her throat as the small box skyrocketed upward.
They stopped as suddenly as they'd begun. The box lurched to a stop, nearly tossing the librarian across the lift as it did so. Dishevelled, the librarian pushed back the grille with nimble fingers and stepped out, helping Valeria exit the lift a moment later before closing the grille.
It was immediately apparent that this level was much different from the one that the pair had previously inhabited. A long, windowless hall stretched before them, a deep purple carpet laid under their feet, thick with dust and wear, and doors of dark red wood lined the hall while golden lanterns above flooded the area liberally with warmth infusing light.
Rinaldo guided the child gently through the hallway, past rooms with closed doors which all looked exactly the same along a windowless corridor that was a mirror of itself, segment past segment with a set of double doors a fair distance away marking the end. Finally, just as the child was starting to believe the double doors at the end were their destination, they reached a particular door and Rinaldo stopped the child with a light touch on her shoulder.
The door fell open easily, revealing a large room with simple furnishing. Cold stone floor was covered with a large, burgundy plush rug that lay across the room. A bed stood in one corner, the mattress much different than the small horse hair pallet that she had at home. The square oak headboard gleamed in the small circle of light shed by the golden lantern overtop of them and the woollen blankets were a simple cream, the set matching nicely with the oak writing desk and set of drawers on the other side of the room and the creamy feather quill and ink set with copper holders.
Rinaldo led Valeria to a door just beside the entrance, however, where an ensuite provided a bathroom. A porcelain tub stood to one side, and an empty chamber pot sat at the corner opposite the end of the tub.
"I am going to have a maid come in to wash you up, Valeria," began Rinaldo, "and we will see what clothes I will be able to find you that are," he paused, glancing at her, "clean, and not ripped. Whilst you are bathing I need to speak to someone, child. I will not be long. Can you stay here for a moment?"
Valeria nodded, shifting nervously as she did so. She wanted to know who it was so urgent for the man to speak to, but knew that it would be terribly rude to ask.
Rinaldo nodded, ruffled her hair lightly, and exited the room.
~~~*~~~
As Rinaldo exited the bedroom that Valeria currently resided in a woman sat trembling in a beautiful garden against the backdrop of a castle.
Lisa Tepes went over the events of the past day. She had heard her daughter, Valeria, yell something about her son, Adrian, being injured while they were in their home just outside of Cordova Town. She had rushed in to the kitchen in time to see him collapse and then…
She had no idea what had happened. She didn't remember an attack, did not remember being carried anywhere, she had simply woken up. It wasn't as if she was near anywhere she knew, either. The closest castle was several towns down, a good few hours' carriage ride. And, she wondered, why bring her all of this distance to place her in a garden, alive and well? Where were her husband, son, and daughter?
She had pulled herself into a sitting position, cautiously peering around, trying to see either her attackers or possible help. She tried to see if there was a town near her location, but could neither see nor hear nothing through the trees and knew better than to go wandering in a strange forest, especially as she did not even know if there would be a town.
Eventually Lisa had resigned herself to an attempt at entering the castle, which had proved fruitless, as had her calls for help. Instead, she wandered the garden, trying to find some clue as to where she was and, with any luck, might catch a glimpse of someone or a town below. It had been several hours since, however, and no further information was forthcoming. She had merely wound up where she had begun.
As rain began to fall, small droplets giving way to larger ones, she huddled at the base of a stone just at the entry of the forest, which offered at least some protection. She was shivering from the cold, hunger was starting to gnaw at her stomach, and she was worried for her family. The garden was beautiful. Blood red roses clung to the side of the building, soft purple lavender grew along the edges of the garden, with various plants dotted around the landscape. Rocks dotted the land as well, thickly overgrown by branches and moss.
Lisa looked sideways at these strange stones. They were thin, oddly shaped stones set in rows, almost as if they'd been deliberately placed there, and each was about three feet tall. The woman's brow creased as she looked at these stones, a realisation slowly forming in her mind. A shiver ran down her back that had nothing to do with the cold. Lisa slowly removed the branches and debris of ages from the rock she'd sheltered under, which was surrounded by curling vines, and carefully planted flowers that the other graves lacked.
The name appeared, clear as daylight, on the tombstone she'd uncovered. A simple grey stone, it was etched with dates of birth and death that were mostly rubbed off by time, occurring some time in the 1400s, but as Lisa spied the name she gasped, falling back on her heels, mouth covered by her hands. There, etched carefully into the tombstone, was the name 'Lisa Tepes'.