Castlevania: Lisa's Last Words
Chapter 4: The Urchin
The girl's gaze lingered on Dracula, causing him to shift uncomfortably. "You're not like everybody else," she observed, her voice filled with curiosity.
Dracula mentally cursed himself for forgetting to reinstate his glamor. "Why would you say that, child?" he asked, attempting to deflect her attention.
The girl giggled, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "You have really sharp teeth, and your eyes are red! And your hair is so pretty and white!" She reached out a hand and pointed at his hair, and Dracula found himself drawn to follow her as she walked towards the nearby woods.
Without acknowledging his presence, the girl expertly prepared the fish for cooking, using a stick to skewer it and placing it over the campfire she attempted to light. Dracula watched, transfixed, as she worked. When she struggled to start the fire, he intervened, opening his cape to reveal a small ball of hellfire that ignited the flames.
The girl's eyes widened in wonder. "Wow, you're a wizard, mister!" She leaned in, her face aglow with excitement, as she rotated the fish over the fire. "You're really big and look tough, mister. Are you a soldier?" Her words were laced with a sense of awe, and Dracula found himself drawn to her innocence and resilience.
Though he remained silent, the girl's words resonated within him. He had indeed been a soldier, a prince, and a monster. His physical strength was formidable, but it was his magical prowess that made him a force to be reckoned with. Yet, in this moment, he was simply a stranger, drawn to the warmth and kindness of this young girl.
"I was, long ago," he said, his voice low and introspective, recalling his days as a soldier in the Crusades. "You don't fear me?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
The girl looked at him with a confused expression. "No? Why would I?" Her innocence was refreshing, and Dracula found himself chuckling.
"Many do, child. The fear I inspire is unrivaled in all the lands." He couldn't help but boast, but the girl simply smirked.
"You don't look bad," she said calmly, as if assessing him. Dracula was taken aback - here was a girl standing before the embodiment of evil, and she thought him not a bad person.
"What's your name, mister?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Dracula hesitated, unsure of what to reveal. "Call me... Matt," he said finally, using a derivative of his original name.
"Okay, Mr. Matt," the girl said, presenting him with the cooked fish. Dracula shook his head.
"No, you need it far more than I do, child." He observed her frame, thin and small even for her age. She likely didn't eat often, and his heart went out to her.
The girl shrugged and began to tear at the fish with her teeth. "Where are your parents?" Dracula asked, though he suspected the answer.
The girl paused, her eyes clouding for a moment before she responded. "Mom said Dad was up in the sky somewhere. Then Mom said she would go to see him. Then Mom wouldn't move anymore." Dracula's heart ached, recognizing the tale of loss and abandonment.
"An all too common story," he commented, his voice barely above a whisper.
As the sky began to brighten, Dracula knew he had to seek shelter before daybreak. "Child, I must take my leave," he said, his eyes scanning the horizon.
But the girl was insistent. "You can stay at my home, Mr. Matt. Come on! This way!" She walked through the forest, munching on the fish as she went, and Dracula found himself following her once more.
He was drawn to her innocence, her resilience, and her kindness, despite the hardships she had faced. As they walked, Dracula realized that his body was moving independent of his thoughts, as if his very being was drawn to this child's warmth and light.
A few minutes later, the girl led Dracula to a cave, its exterior appearing filthy and foul-smelling. Yet, he had sought refuge in far worse places over the centuries. The girl tossed aside the fish stick and took his hand, guiding him inside. "Don't trip, okay?" she said, her concern touching his cold heart, although he could see with ease.
As they entered, Dracula saw signs of habitation - an old pot, a knife, and a makeshift bed of hay and pillows. "You live here?" he asked, surprised by the concern in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm back, Mom!" the girl exclaimed, waving at a pile of bones against the wall. Dracula recognized a skeleton picked clean by predators, and his heart sank.
"I met this nice man today, Mr. Matt," the girl said, smiling at Dracula. "Say hello!"
The girl's introduction was met with Dracula's awkward greeting, "Um... Greetings," as he struggled to find his place in this peculiar encounter.
"Mom doesn't talk anymore," the girl explained, her voice innocent and oblivious. "It's okay, she's always watching me. Aren't you, Mom?" The silence that followed was deafening, and Dracula felt a pang of discomfort.
"You have a nice daughter, madame," Dracula said, humoring the girl by addressing the skeleton. His voice was laced with a hint of irony, as he acknowledged the girl's motherly presence.
As the girl's exhaustion became apparent, Dracula attempted to usher her towards the makeshift bed. "I'm not tired... I want to... talk to... you..." she protested, her words trailing off as she continued to yawn.
As Dracula lifted the child and placed her on the makeshift bed, his voice took on a surprisingly tender tone. "Now, now, you must rest," he said, his words laced with a hint of concern. He couldn't explain why, but a pang of worry for this young girl, all alone in the world, had taken hold of him.
Despite her exhaustion, the girl arose, her eyes pleading with a desperation that tugged at Dracula's heart. "Depart? You mean you're leaving? Will you come back, Mr. Matt?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Dracula hesitated, his heart heavy with an unfamiliar sense of attachment. "I... I do not know, child," he answered honestly, his voice barely audible. The prospect of never seeing the girl again filled him with a sense of dread, and he couldn't explain why. He, the Dark Lord, feared nothing, yet this tiny human had somehow managed to pierce his cold heart, leaving him with a sense of vulnerability.
As the girl's soft breathing filled the silence, Dracula was left to his thoughts, grappling with the unfamiliar emotions that had taken hold of him. He wondered why he felt such a strong connection to this young stranger.
As the day wore on in silence, Dracula became lost in contemplation, his gaze fixed upon the slumbering girl as he grappled with the weight of his centuries-long existence. Long-suppressed regrets rose to the surface, and the words of Adrian echoed in his mind: "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot." Dracula whispered the words aloud, and their significance struck him anew, like a revelation.
He came to realize the futility of his endless crusade against humanity. For centuries, he had waged war against them, to what end? Lisa's final wish was for nothing more than peace in his son's heart, and Dracula knew Lisa desired the same for him as well. Despite his efforts, humanity had endured, a testament to their resilience. Dracula couldn't help but admire their tenacity, even in the face of fragility.
As the hours passed, Dracula made a vow to himself: he would find Lisa, no matter how long it took. He swore upon Elisabeta and Lisa's memory that he would protect her from harm, defying anyone who dared to stand in his way - the church, his fellow creatures of the night, the Belmonts, even God himself.
As night began to fall, Dracula felt an uncharacteristic eagerness to depart. The girl's presence had unsettled him, and he longed to distance himself from her. Finally, with the last rays of sunlight gone, Dracula transformed into a bat and took to the skies, leaving the cave and the girl behind, fleeing from the unfamiliar emotions she had awakened within him.
The girl woke up with a stretch and a yawn, her voice still sleepy as she called out, "Mr. Matt?" But when she opened her eyes, she saw something amazing! The man she knew as Mr. Matt was changing into a tiny, adorable flying creature right before her eyes! The moonlight shining through the window made it look like a magical transformation.
She jumped out of bed and ran outside to follow the little flying thing, but it zoomed away into the dark sky so fast she couldn't keep up. She looked up at where it disappeared and thought to herself, 'I wonder if he'll come back?' with a big smile spreading across her face.
But then her tummy started rumbling, reminding her it was time for dinner. So, she went back to the lake to catch some fish, just like she did every night.