Chapter Text
My footsteps resonated through the empty castle that looked more macabre at night. Walking towards Alucard childhood room, I could see all the damage caused by the fight between the sleeping soldier; a hunter; the scholar and Dracula himself with of course… My final blow.
I didn’t bother knocking and the smell of alcohol was too prominent when I opened the door.
“How many bottles has he drunk so far?” That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I scrunch up my nose, the stench overwhelmed my senses.
“Well you look like shit, Alucard.” I said after seeing the dhampir laying down on his bed hugging a bottle of wine.
This room needed some ventilation, fast. I picked up a bottle and broke the nearest window I could find that faced the front part of the castle. While doing so, I asked once again after no receiving an answer.
“Are you sure you aren’t turning into Trevor.”
He lifts his face and to look at me. “Go away.” He takes down a bottle of wine in a large swig. He groans.
“I don’t need any lectures now, Hela. Especially from you.” His words were a little slurred.
“Ah well the hard way it is.” I step in closer to Alucard, tugging him from his shirt.
“You need fresh air and a bath, so let’s go.”
Without a second thought I throw Alucard through the window and follow suit, falling with grace and stopping a few inches from the ground.
As I toss him out the window, his eyes widen. His body hits the ground in a heavy thud. He pushes himself up and rubs as his nose is bleeding from the impact.
“Oh for the love of-!” He groans, trying to stand.
“Jesus Christ Alucard, you were supposed to stop the fall like me.”
I step forward to him and start scanning his face and tapping his head to see if there are other injuries.
“It’s just a bloody nose, you crybaby.” I pushed him a bit too hard so he fell again. “Whine when you are actually injured. Now let’s go to the river…” I started walking towards the body of water, I knew this path way too well for my liking.
“Don’t call me a crybaby. My body isn’t like yours, Hela.”
The moonlight shines down on both of our faces, making my skin look paler and Alucard’s golden eyes shimmer more.
.
The night was chilly, not that I could feel much when it was cold or hot. But I preferred how the moon glistened in the water and how it couldn’t be used as a weapon towards me. Remembering all the pain caused by _him_ made me shudder.
I really don’t know why I’ve come back after seeing it through the promise I made to Dracula, after he injured his own son, after everything Alucard said to me.
Maybe I have to stop making promises so I can be as far away as possible from people and vampires. At least… I don’t have anyone to run away from anymore.
I remember what Alucard said before that I unintentionally ignored.
“Well you are almost like me, you look like a vampire, just like me, the only difference is that you’ve been acting like a total human and not like a dhampir since your father died…”
I paused briefly to remember the favor and well… another troublesome promise I made.
“And don’t bullshit me, you can do very well when you want to.” I reached my favorite tree where I could see most of the surrounding area of the castle and the Belmont state. “I had to come back in order to take care of you as a favor to her. Do you know how worried I-, no, Sypha was?”
His eyes narrowed as I said that. “After you… killed my father.” He looks away, thinking about all that had happened.
“Believe me, I didn’t want to come back after that but because of no sight of you after I killed Dracula and the request made by Sypha, I couldn’t say no.”
He turns to face you. “And you did it as a favor to me.” His tone had no joy in it. It was dead serious.
“Haa…” I let out an exasperated sight. “How much have you drunk to ask me something like that?” It was more of a rhetorical question; I didn’t want to know the answer to.
“I did it for you, yes. You couldn’t do it but there was a job at hand, and I couldn’t just stand by and break another promise I made. Also, … I didn’t want you to be in more pain than you already were.”
I broke a twig hanging by the tree to see in what state the wood was in so I could climb it to the highest point. My tree has never disappointed me and this time wasn’t going to be the first.
“Besides, Dracula gave me his blessing” I rolled my eyes as the implications that Dracula made some years ago “…as if I was going to be with you and told me to look after you. That’s why I am going to make guard here and you can go ahead to the river to take a bath.”
As he turned his back to me and started walking towards the river, I stared at his golden locks that were longer when I sealed his coffin away beneath the city of Gresit. I had to rip away my gaze from him and turned it to the ground. The undergrowth of the forest has covered more area than I remember.
Alucard was more… obedient than I expected. Better for me right? I won’t need to stay here for much time if things go this smoothly.
I climbed my tree ‘till I reached the highest point. From there I could see the tree canopy that was so vast, it covered almost all the Belmont territory. The only exception was the clear where the river was, the ruins of the Belmont state, and now… Castlevania standing in all its glory even though its spark has been lost a long time ago.
.
I was adrift in my thoughts when Alucard called my name.
“Hela, I’m done.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me so high up in the canopy.
Letting gravity help me get to the ground, I jumped and landed on the ground, inaudibly.
“Okay, now you should go and fix up something to eat for yourself.” My intentions showed that I wanted to climb the tree once again, and yet I didn’t notice his. Alucard had annoyance visible in those refined features.
He scoffed and I paused before turning my head towards his direction and my back supported against the tree.
“Is there a problem?”
“The problem resides on itself when you don’t treat me like an equal, Hela.” His scowl was getting more prominent with each passing second, “I let it pass for at the beginning, I wanted to convince myself that it was your discomfort talking but…”
Alucard negligence towards his body was starting to show as he talked and tried to stand properly, but couldn’t because his body was so weak that I didn’t understand how he hadn’t gotten sick.
“This has always been your problem.” His voice was getting louder. “No, we fixed this before my mother died.” He screamed the last part, I can understand that he’s frustrated and many other things yet, he won’t scream at me and use me as a punching bag. I have to interrupt him or this could turn into a fight.
“Hela, I-. “
“Apologies for interrupting you, but you are screaming at me when you know that is disrespectful, if you want to have a conversation lets chat calmly.”
“You are right, I’m sorry for screaming at you.”
“Continue with what you were saying.”
“Ah right. So I can understand that being apart from me for such a long time, made you forget about it but you should at least show me some respect.”
Now Is my time to scoff.
“Respect? I am treating you with respect after what you said to me beneath the city of Gresit. Oh and I was apart from you ? Whose fault is that huh?” Alucard is crossing the line and when feeling hurt, I tend close myself and talk coldly.
He was caught off guard for my cold demeanor.
“Wh-whose fault is that?” he dares to even think for more than a minute as if it wasn’t a big deal my departure. “Mine?”
D-did he just ask me that?
“Yes, weren’t you the one who told me before you went to sleep in Gresit that I was a monster even worse as the other vampires of the court? It was getting hard to talk with a knot in my throat, and there’s no way I would show how much he hurt me saying those words. “Weren’t you the one who told me to get away from you because I repulsed you?”
I pushed my back off the tree so the moonlight can also show the scowl in my face.
“Weren’t you the one to tell me to not come back to you ever again?” I was getting angry and I won’t scream at him, I don’t want to scream at him. “Forgive me Aucard if I’m not treating you as an equal after you redounded many times that you and me are not equals because I am a vampire a monster and you a dhampir.”
I let out sigh to keep my composure, “I came back and I am treating you with respect even after all of that, so the least you could do is not ask more from me…” I pause, “I can’t give you more, what we had was broken the moment you told me that I disgust you.”
“You came back to kill my father?” He looked down at the ground, staring at the undergrowth of the forest.
“Huh? You don’t remember?”
“I remember everything.” He said, his tone turning bitter. “I remember the look on his face as you stabbed him. I remember the final tears pouring out….” He looked away.
“You may have done me a favor. But… you still murdered him.” He stared at me after a moment, with the same hatred, no, it could be more than Gresit. “Don’t you realized that I hate you for killing my father? I don’t need you to take care of me. Go ahead and disappear once again”
“I didn’t expect less but…” I trail off. I brush my short hair back out of frustration, that it didn’t bother me any less.
I take a step forward. “Fine, you can hate or resent me as much as you want, I don’t care anyways” that’s a lie, “I’m here to perform the last order I received from your Father” I glare at him with so much determination. “Whether you like it or not, it doesn’t matter. I’ll stay here until you can stand up on your two feet”, this is exhausting I sigh so my resentment doesn’t control me.
“I-”
“I am _not_ done, don’t interrupt me”, I spit out as I raise my index finger between the space there’s between us. “After that… I’ll disappear without a trace as you asked of me years ago. Until then, let’s make the best out of our time so this won’t be a waste.” I straighten my back and ask “Understood?” Well. I’ll be damned habits don’t die so easily.
Alucard maintains eye contact with me. That has always been off putting for me, not even my closest comrades did that.
“Yes, General. Anything else you want from this cadet?”
What a mother fucker.
“Ah, we are using ranks now?” I haven’t been addressed like for so long but, I haven´t forgot the burden it comes with.
“Yes, I thought that your rank fitted you the most when you adopt that absurd act.” He watched me mockingly. “Am I wrong, General?”
My eyes turned red briefly and the atmosphere became thick.
I approached him until our noses were almost touching.
“Do you want to play that game huh?” That would take an enormous toll on me yet, he didn’t need to know that. “Kneel.” I whispered “your Commander orders you, Alucard.”
He widened his eyes as his knees gave out and fell to the ground with a light thud. He didn’t think I would use that against him. Then again, neither did I think that he would say that I was a monster and that he wanted me far away from him and… to look at me with such hate. Maybe I already knew it but I didn’t want to accept it.
.