I know it sounds rather mad, but my father taught it to me. ...Without realizing it.
[So much the better that he did, though. Once they reach the moonbeam, she helps Alucard position himself as he needs, then tugs his coat properly out of the way and starts to aim the emerald.
The moonbeam strikes its facets with milky light, and the ray bounces around inside the gem and seems to light it from within, before beaming back out and landing squarely on the ugly bite.
Often times our parents are teachers when they do not intend to be.
[But Alucard truly does not question it. It's the least confounding thing to him as it is indeed magic, but rather he's still puzzled how Rosella's father must have known. Was he a magician? Surely he was.
The questions will be asked another time. For now, he watches how the light passes through the emerald, striking over the bite.
At first, there is nothing. Then, Alucard gasps softly, feeling the wound begin to finally close properly, or at least as well as it can under the circumstances. It'll leave another scar, he thinks dully, but he is alive.]
Well done. I think I shall live another day. [More genuinely, he says to her:] Thank you, Rosella.
[He's not the only one to gasp, through Rosella's is born of genuine astonishment and startled pleasure rather than the healing of an injury. A little dumbfounded, she holds the emerald steady until it seems to have done its work, and then finds herself just staring at it where she has it held between her finger and thumb in open surprise. That...it really worked.
It really worked.
It's certainly not the most absurd thing she's ever heard, but it's fast approaching the level of defeating a yeti with a custard pie, that much is for certain.
Still, when Alucard thanks her, the reality of it seems to break the thoughts that had held her spellbound, and before she can think twice about it, she drops to her knees herself and throws her arms around him, burying her face in his uninjured shoulder.]
Oh, Alucard...!
[She won't cry, not like this, but all the air seems to leave her chest in a rush, as now that the immediate crisis is over, the rest of the worry and terror and fright she'd been holding back can finally come rushing to the forefront.]
[She, too, is relieved at his survival. Possibly overwhelmed from having almost been caught by whatever monster that had been trying to catch her, too. For a moment, he pauses, her arms around him, and eventually he returns the embrace.]
We're both all right.
[Alucard's voice is a bit softer, trying to be reassuring.
[It'll occur to her, in a minute or two, that she's clinging to him awfully tightly for someone who has both seen him in a rage and knows full well what a private person he is. For the moment, though, the only thought in her head is of how frail he'd looked as he'd lain down among the leaves, and how surprised he'd seemed when she'd come back for him, after all.]
I'm so sorry, it's my fault...
[She buries her face in his shoulder, snuffling.]
Let me take you home, it's awful out. And that horrible thing might still be out here somewhere.
It is a bit your fault. [Alucard says it wryly, not meaning to actually hurt her feelings.] But you also saved my life. So perhaps we can call it even.
[Lightly, he places his hand to her back.]
Then we should go.
[Alucard stands, encouraging Rosella to follow as he rises. Though his arms slip away from Rosella, he pauses before offering his elbow to her, as a gentleman would.]
[She nods a little, wincing as the motion jars her aching head, but gets to her feet and loops her arm beneath and back over his with practiced grace. Too-practiced grace, to the discerning eye — she hits the proper balance of resting her arm against his without winding up too over-close as a result of it, and naturally falls into precisely the right width apart from him to be able to walk in a straight line at his side without their paths converging on accident.]
— Oh. Here, take this. To keep you safe.
[With her free hand, she presses the little enchanted emerald against his palm, and waits properly for him to lead her through the dark woods back to the castle.]
[It's hard not to tense up, walking through the dark woods and remembering the grasping fingers of the haunted trees in Tamir. Surely Alucard is more fearsome than anything in these woods, though — even, perhaps, Shadrack's awful henchman — but still. Old habits, and all that.
It's much easier to distract herself with storytelling. Far better to remember a glowing fire in the hearth and sweets still warm from the oven piled around while they all told stories, one after another.]
They had a ring struck for my brother, as a gift. Gold, set with a yellow topaz — oh, it was lovely. But it wouldn't have been right to favor one and not the other, so there was something for me, too. Silver, and fashioned after some jewelry my mother has, with a diamond and a sapphire.
I used to like to play with hers, when I was young — though it was all much too big for me, of course, and I could never work out how to pin the brooch without it drooping. But she remembered, so that was for me. There's a date engraved in the silver. On my brother's ring, too. A memory of a happy occasion, is all.
[Do the woods frighten her? That would be understandable, especially considering tonight. The way she tenses makes it clear, but he would indeed protect her.
But he listens, arching a brow, turning the words over and over in his head. Gold with topaz for her brother, a necklace for her. Play with her jewelry.]
Rather well off for peasants, aren't you?
[Perhaps earlier in the day, he'd have been livid about being lied to. That he'd have ushered her out immediately, sent her away and never looked back.
But he would not be quick to throw away also what she'd done for him. The relief in her eyes, her kindness, her comfort, even her embrace.]
[He's promised her before that he wouldn't be angry with her, and he wasn't after she eventually told the whole of the truth. Really, that's all she's done again. Never lied outright, but only omitted things. Kept silent. Changed the subject.]
You did, a number of times, and I never corrected you. I suppose I certainly looked like one, showing up in rags as I did. And I deferred to you as any guest seeking favors ought to, of a host. And I called you sir when I made myself your servant, as a servant ought to.
[She glances at him from beneath half-lowered eyelashes, offering a wobbly smile.]
But if we were headed back to my castle instead of yours, I suppose I might outrank you, truthfully. So — yes, we're rather well off for peasants. But we're just about right, for a royal family.
I suppose that's true. You'd never really told me otherwise, and I made my own assumptions. And perhaps your old clothes were suitable for someone attempting to hide from another person. A clever one, aren't you?
[Alucard pauses, pushing some branches aside to let them through as they get closer to the castle.]
Oh, don't. You won't let me call you milord, you can't possibly think I'll put up with being "my lady"ed.
[Now she does sidestep a little, just enough to make it a seeming accident when she nudges her elbow against him. Certainly a completely unintentional bump. Not deliberate in the slightest.]
It's called Daventry. On the banks of the Southern Sea? With the Great Mountains to the north. If — if that helps.
[There's skepticism in her tone, it's true, but it doesn't seem to be directed at Alucard's assertion that he's the son of Dracula. If anything, it's more of sideways agreement that the Dracula of Kolyma is very, very decidedly not his father.]
I'm afraid I don't know much about it. Just the story I was told, it was all before I was born. And I don't know how long he might've been there before my father met him. But I remember he said...there were ghosts guarding his castle, and a ferryman to take him across the sickly moat, and poison brambles all about the path? And Dracula himself wore a black cloak...oh! And a ruby ring! Big enough to have initials engraved in it, "C-D".
[She casts him a sheepish look.]
I...suppose that doesn't sound like your father at all?
[Alucard says it wryly, but he doesn't scold Rosella for believing such stories. He's heard several ridiculous tales about Dracula, and so many of them have been far from the truth. This one is at least has some basis, just for the wrong reasons.]
This does remind me something that Dracula used to complain about, actually.
[Which is good timing; they finally make it through the woods and into the clearing with both the castle and the sealed Belmont Hold.
Ghosts guarding the castle. Alucard pauses, glancing at the skeletal remains of his betrayers, but instead focuses on the castle itself.]
There was a vampire in my father's court, eager for power but too cowardly and weak to do anything for himself, at least in comparison to others. It is said, actually, that he found a way into another realm to establish himself: Kolyma. It would be there that no one else could challenge him, the lone vampire that could rule over humans without much to fear. And why not use the famed Dracula's name to boast himself?
That wasn't his name, of course. And Father was furious about it to the point it was almost comical.
[As they finally break free of the woods, Rosella visibly relaxes, letting her shoulders drop with a soft sigh at the familiar — albeit slightly terrifying, still — sight of the great twisted castle in the clearing. And there is the pit she's not supposed to go into, and there are the...skeleton bones...
Ah, yes. Home sweet home.
Well, it's still worlds better than a date with the blue meanie, regardless.]
Really! He had no luck in these circumstances, so he had to scurry off to try his hand in different ones somewhere else? Rather bold of him, I must say.
[Although. If that Dracula was a weak and cowardly vampire...hm. How awe-inspiring, then, must a proper vampire be?]
Still, he's long gone now, so. I hope you're not too cross about it.
[Unexpectedly charmed by the small gesture, she flashes Alucard an almost shy smile before stepping through into the castle, where it immediately becomes apparent that she really hadn't spent her hours alone frivolously or in vain.
The floor has been swept out, mopped on the stone and vigorously brushed on the carpets; the dust and cobwebs have been knocked down and away from the forest of light bulbs. She even stacked the stone rubble into neat little piles, as though she couldn't quite work out what to do with it, but was determined to make it look tidy anyway. The smell of water and clean soap lingers faintly in the air, where it'd once been stagnant and stuffy.
Just inside the doors, Rosella pauses, turning back to face the entrance so that she can capture Alucard's expression when he first catches sight of her handiwork.]
It's only a start, I know, but — I've still two more days. I'm sure I can do even better than this, in that time.
[Somehow, in the midst of everything that has occurred, he'd almost completely forgotten that Rosella was set to clean the castle. And it shows, truly; even just the entrance has never looked so good, the rugs so plush, and everything so clear of dust. Even the bricks have been set aside in a pile.
Alucard is silent for a moment, startled, then remembers -- oh yes, that had been part of the agreement. How hard she has worked and shown it, and how hard she had worked to keep him alive, sacrificing her own belongings to accomplish that.
He swallows, then shakes his head.]
No... no, you've done fine, Rosella. I've no doubt you will accomplish what you must.
For now, perhaps we should try to refresh ourselves. Tea, perhaps. And I will try to find what I can of Daventry in my father's books. I'd... like to discuss it with you, if that's all right.
...I'd like that. It's been such a night already, I wouldn't mind something...more quiet.
[She steps toward him, like she's about to take his arm again, but then hesitates before shifting her aims in favor of lightly touching her fingers to his sleeve for a moment, instead.]
Where shall we speak? In the kitchen, or in the rooms you gave me? I...know there are only a few places you wish me to go, so I'll follow wherever you like.
Very well. I'll go clean up some, and fix the tea. I can bring it to the library when it's ready.
[Her fingers lightly trace the embroidery along the very edge of his sleeve, the contact almost imperceptible — but there, and fond, and equal parts absentminded and entranced.]
Go softly on that shoulder of yours. I know you said you're able to heal such things on your own, but...still, don't overtax yourself. You were in a bad way, out there in the forest. Give yourself time to recuperate.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[So much the better that he did, though. Once they reach the moonbeam, she helps Alucard position himself as he needs, then tugs his coat properly out of the way and starts to aim the emerald.
The moonbeam strikes its facets with milky light, and the ray bounces around inside the gem and seems to light it from within, before beaming back out and landing squarely on the ugly bite.
Oh, she hopes this works.]
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[But Alucard truly does not question it. It's the least confounding thing to him as it is indeed magic, but rather he's still puzzled how Rosella's father must have known. Was he a magician? Surely he was.
The questions will be asked another time. For now, he watches how the light passes through the emerald, striking over the bite.
At first, there is nothing. Then, Alucard gasps softly, feeling the wound begin to finally close properly, or at least as well as it can under the circumstances. It'll leave another scar, he thinks dully, but he is alive.]
Well done. I think I shall live another day. [More genuinely, he says to her:] Thank you, Rosella.
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It really worked.
It's certainly not the most absurd thing she's ever heard, but it's fast approaching the level of defeating a yeti with a custard pie, that much is for certain.
Still, when Alucard thanks her, the reality of it seems to break the thoughts that had held her spellbound, and before she can think twice about it, she drops to her knees herself and throws her arms around him, burying her face in his uninjured shoulder.]
Oh, Alucard...!
[She won't cry, not like this, but all the air seems to leave her chest in a rush, as now that the immediate crisis is over, the rest of the worry and terror and fright she'd been holding back can finally come rushing to the forefront.]
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We're both all right.
[Alucard's voice is a bit softer, trying to be reassuring.
They're both okay, for both of their efforts.]
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I'm so sorry, it's my fault...
[She buries her face in his shoulder, snuffling.]
Let me take you home, it's awful out. And that horrible thing might still be out here somewhere.
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[Lightly, he places his hand to her back.]
Then we should go.
[Alucard stands, encouraging Rosella to follow as he rises. Though his arms slip away from Rosella, he pauses before offering his elbow to her, as a gentleman would.]
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— Oh. Here, take this. To keep you safe.
[With her free hand, she presses the little enchanted emerald against his palm, and waits properly for him to lead her through the dark woods back to the castle.]
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[It's what he assumes, anyway. Why else would she have it, then? Then again, she seems a bit too educated in some ways -- but is he overthinking it?
What's important is that she did come back for him. Comforted him when she did not have to. He has to trust that much.
And so, Alucard begins to guide the way back to the castle.]
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[It's hard not to tense up, walking through the dark woods and remembering the grasping fingers of the haunted trees in Tamir. Surely Alucard is more fearsome than anything in these woods, though — even, perhaps, Shadrack's awful henchman — but still. Old habits, and all that.
It's much easier to distract herself with storytelling. Far better to remember a glowing fire in the hearth and sweets still warm from the oven piled around while they all told stories, one after another.]
They had a ring struck for my brother, as a gift. Gold, set with a yellow topaz — oh, it was lovely. But it wouldn't have been right to favor one and not the other, so there was something for me, too. Silver, and fashioned after some jewelry my mother has, with a diamond and a sapphire.
I used to like to play with hers, when I was young — though it was all much too big for me, of course, and I could never work out how to pin the brooch without it drooping. But she remembered, so that was for me. There's a date engraved in the silver. On my brother's ring, too. A memory of a happy occasion, is all.
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But he listens, arching a brow, turning the words over and over in his head. Gold with topaz for her brother, a necklace for her. Play with her jewelry.]
Rather well off for peasants, aren't you?
[Perhaps earlier in the day, he'd have been livid about being lied to. That he'd have ushered her out immediately, sent her away and never looked back.
But he would not be quick to throw away also what she'd done for him. The relief in her eyes, her kindness, her comfort, even her embrace.]
I'm not angry. Just curious, truthfully.
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[He's promised her before that he wouldn't be angry with her, and he wasn't after she eventually told the whole of the truth. Really, that's all she's done again. Never lied outright, but only omitted things. Kept silent. Changed the subject.]
You did, a number of times, and I never corrected you. I suppose I certainly looked like one, showing up in rags as I did. And I deferred to you as any guest seeking favors ought to, of a host. And I called you sir when I made myself your servant, as a servant ought to.
[She glances at him from beneath half-lowered eyelashes, offering a wobbly smile.]
But if we were headed back to my castle instead of yours, I suppose I might outrank you, truthfully. So — yes, we're rather well off for peasants. But we're just about right, for a royal family.
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[Alucard pauses, pushing some branches aside to let them through as they get closer to the castle.]
To what country need you to return to, my lady?
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[Now she does sidestep a little, just enough to make it a seeming accident when she nudges her elbow against him. Certainly a completely unintentional bump. Not deliberate in the slightest.]
It's called Daventry. On the banks of the Southern Sea? With the Great Mountains to the north. If — if that helps.
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[Though he does look a bit sheepish at being called out so hard. HMMM.]
Daventry. [Alucard looks thoughtful, his brows furrowing.] Daventry... I swear I must have heard of that place before.
Give me time to check the libraries. Perhaps it is a realm I must be reminded of.
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[Prepare yourself, Mike McVampire, your long con is about to get blown wide open.]
That's where Dracula made his home, and you seemed to know of him, so...
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The mention of Dracula makes him sputter before he barks out laughing. He has to stop for a moment, and the sudden amusement turns bitter.]
Oh yes. I know Dracula. I am his son.
Though I could certainly say he'd never made Kolyma his home. Wallachia was his realm, though he could travel wherever he wished.
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[There's skepticism in her tone, it's true, but it doesn't seem to be directed at Alucard's assertion that he's the son of Dracula. If anything, it's more of sideways agreement that the Dracula of Kolyma is very, very decidedly not his father.]
I'm afraid I don't know much about it. Just the story I was told, it was all before I was born. And I don't know how long he might've been there before my father met him. But I remember he said...there were ghosts guarding his castle, and a ferryman to take him across the sickly moat, and poison brambles all about the path? And Dracula himself wore a black cloak...oh! And a ruby ring! Big enough to have initials engraved in it, "C-D".
[She casts him a sheepish look.]
I...suppose that doesn't sound like your father at all?
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[Alucard says it wryly, but he doesn't scold Rosella for believing such stories. He's heard several ridiculous tales about Dracula, and so many of them have been far from the truth. This one is at least has some basis, just for the wrong reasons.]
This does remind me something that Dracula used to complain about, actually.
[Which is good timing; they finally make it through the woods and into the clearing with both the castle and the sealed Belmont Hold.
Ghosts guarding the castle. Alucard pauses, glancing at the skeletal remains of his betrayers, but instead focuses on the castle itself.]
There was a vampire in my father's court, eager for power but too cowardly and weak to do anything for himself, at least in comparison to others. It is said, actually, that he found a way into another realm to establish himself: Kolyma. It would be there that no one else could challenge him, the lone vampire that could rule over humans without much to fear. And why not use the famed Dracula's name to boast himself?
That wasn't his name, of course. And Father was furious about it to the point it was almost comical.
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Ah, yes. Home sweet home.
Well, it's still worlds better than a date with the blue meanie, regardless.]
Really! He had no luck in these circumstances, so he had to scurry off to try his hand in different ones somewhere else? Rather bold of him, I must say.
[Although. If that Dracula was a weak and cowardly vampire...hm. How awe-inspiring, then, must a proper vampire be?]
Still, he's long gone now, so. I hope you're not too cross about it.
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[He pauses, then holds the very giant door open for Rosella. Less as a cruel captor, more as a gentleman, despite their current state of affairs.]
And I am not very close with other vampires.
[Or anyone.]
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The floor has been swept out, mopped on the stone and vigorously brushed on the carpets; the dust and cobwebs have been knocked down and away from the forest of light bulbs. She even stacked the stone rubble into neat little piles, as though she couldn't quite work out what to do with it, but was determined to make it look tidy anyway. The smell of water and clean soap lingers faintly in the air, where it'd once been stagnant and stuffy.
Just inside the doors, Rosella pauses, turning back to face the entrance so that she can capture Alucard's expression when he first catches sight of her handiwork.]
It's only a start, I know, but — I've still two more days. I'm sure I can do even better than this, in that time.
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Alucard is silent for a moment, startled, then remembers -- oh yes, that had been part of the agreement. How hard she has worked and shown it, and how hard she had worked to keep him alive, sacrificing her own belongings to accomplish that.
He swallows, then shakes his head.]
No... no, you've done fine, Rosella. I've no doubt you will accomplish what you must.
For now, perhaps we should try to refresh ourselves. Tea, perhaps. And I will try to find what I can of Daventry in my father's books. I'd... like to discuss it with you, if that's all right.
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[She steps toward him, like she's about to take his arm again, but then hesitates before shifting her aims in favor of lightly touching her fingers to his sleeve for a moment, instead.]
Where shall we speak? In the kitchen, or in the rooms you gave me? I...know there are only a few places you wish me to go, so I'll follow wherever you like.
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No. That's terrible. But he doesn't pull away; he wants to let her know she's safe.]
The library has a table and chairs. It'll give me space to research, if you are amendable to that.
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[Her fingers lightly trace the embroidery along the very edge of his sleeve, the contact almost imperceptible — but there, and fond, and equal parts absentminded and entranced.]
Go softly on that shoulder of yours. I know you said you're able to heal such things on your own, but...still, don't overtax yourself. You were in a bad way, out there in the forest. Give yourself time to recuperate.
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