Castlevania: Of Darkness and Light

A Strange Revelation

edited 7/26/22

I followed Alucard through the interior of the castle, hobbling on my staff and frequently pausing from the pain in my injured ankle. I couldn't walk fast or far without taking a stop, gazing in awe at the surrounding castle. The gothic walls, the dark chambers, the hidden shadows lurking behind each and every corner. It truly felt like a vampire's keep and part of me still feared I was  a cow trotting to the butcher.

The light from the torch faded, and I quickly limped to catch up with my host.

Alucard didn't see me as a threat, he told me that enough. "Even if you tried to stab me." His cold  eyes darted at my hand concealing the knife scabbard. "Or tried to pierce my heart with silver." He noticed the sword beneath my cloak. "You wouldn't get very far. I'm faster and stronger than you. I could kill you the instant you laid a hand on your hilt."

I flinched, drawing my hand away from my weapons. "But I won't kill you, you've given me no reason too." He noticed my ankle wobbling. "You are injured."

"No shit I'm injured." I muttered. "It's a miracle I didn't break my leg running from those night demons." I winced, lifting my bad foot off the ground. "Maybe I did break it and I'm just a tough cookie."

"You didn't break your leg." Alucard responded curtly. "Else you wouldn't be walking now. It looks like a sprain. Once you're bathed and cleaned, I'll take you to the infirmary where I can tend to your wounds."

"There's an infirmary in this castle?" I asked curiously. "There is." Alucard said quietly. "You sound surprised." "I am." I admitted. "I'd never heard of a vampire healing people, no offense."

"None taken." Alucard chuckled quietly. "Though it wasn't my infirmary......it was my mother's. She intended to open  a hospital ward for the surrounding villages....." He sighed. "She never got to it....."

He carried the same melancholy in his voice when Mary spoke about her deceased husband. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." Alucard responded quietly. "She would have been happy seeing it put to use for an injured and amnesiac traveler."

I told him of my travels leading up to me stumbling with a sprained ankle up the steps of his castle. "It's sounds like you've had quite the journey." He remarked. "You can rest easy here for the night."

The bathroom was a small marbled room with a fancy tub, a strange bowl, a sink with a mirror, and a shelf with what appeared to be potions. Alucard told me Dracula built it to accommodate his human wife. He pointed out the the different aspects in the room and their functions. My ears perked as I watched him fill  bathtub fill up. "How does it do that?"

"This castle employs advanced technology that is centuries ahead of what humans possess at this time." Alucard replied plainly. "The most important is what you see here, running water and indoor plumbing." He touched his hand in the water. "This should be warm enough, what do you think?

I stuck my hand in. "It is warm!" I gasped. "This is so amazing! How'd you make it warm?"

"I turned the handles. Here, the left one is hot water, the right is cold, but wouldn't mess with it now, I hate to have you scalding yourself. In fact if you ever want to take a bath, come ask me and I'll set you up. Only I know of the mechanics of bringing in running water inside a castle that was once movable. "

"Okay." I nodded, examining the labeled vials on the shelf. "Are these magic potions?" "No. I don't dabble in that." Alucard said. "They're scents you put in the water that make it smell nice. Here." He opened a vile and wafted it under my nose. "This one is of the Mediterranean sea. What do you think?"

"It smells very pleasant." I said. "Can I use this one?"

"Of course." The generous vampire poured the vial into the bathtub while I undressed. "Now once you are finished and clothed call me and I'll ....." His face went red when he turned to me.

"What?" I cocked my head. "What's wrong?"

Alucard blushed looking away from me. "You are many things, stranger, shy isn't one of them." He gestured the now filled, sea smelling bathtub. "Here, I'll be close when you need me."

"Thank you." I sidestepped around him so he could not see my shoulders, plopping right in the the tub with a loud splash. "Oh this is so warm and it feels very good!" I wiggled my nose. "It smell good too! Is this what the Mediterranean sea smells like?"

"I wouldn't know." Alucard said averting his eyes. "I've never been to the Mediterranean before. My father kept his travels inland, the only sea I've ever known was Black Sea, but that is inland."

"I would really like to visit the sea one day." I murmured sinking low into the bath, the warm water soothing the aches and muscles in body. I could stay here forever.

"Careful, don't sink to the bottom or you'll drown." Alucard chuckled, handing me a cloth. "You should scrub the mud and blood off you." "Thanks." I smiled and got right to it, scrubbing my arms and legs. "Easy!" Alucard exclaimed. "You'll scrub yourself raw!"

"But that's how the Speakers washed me when I first joined them." I answered confused. "They washed themselves fast so they can be on the road again and safe."

"You are not going anywhere." Alucard responded softly. "And you are completely safe within these walls. I promise you." I nodded, feeling the truth in his words before scrubbing myself easier.

I should've known better than to wash between my shoulder blades.

Alucard came running in hearing me scream, and found me arched over wringing in pain. "Are you all right!?" I couldn't answer him until the burning subsided, breathing heavily before slowing myself down.

"I am." My voice ragged as tears dripped into the bathwater. " I agitated it. An old wound I think." I leaned over the side of the tub, not caring if my back was exposed. Alucard's footsteps drew closer. I jerked away, splashing more water out. "I'm fine!"

"It's all right." Alucard reassured in a soft voice. "I just want to look." I knew he saw them by the small gasp he made. "You have quite the interesting scars, my friend." His hands were gentle on my back, but I flinched. "No! Don't touch!"

"I won't touch them." Alucard promised. "They appear to be old wounds, but they still hurt you?" "Occasionally." I sighed. "They act up every now and again, but I think it was my fault this time. I agitated them."

"I see." Alucard mused quietly. "You said you did not recall anything before waking up in that burnt field." "I don't." I said, allowing him to wash my back ( he made sure to avoid the sore spots.)

"No." I shook my head. "Just the sensation of falling and burning." I reached behind me gently touching the thickened skin between my shoulders. "Here."

"I see." Alucard said quietly, now tending to my arms and legs. "It appears you are more than you seem, and the Elder was right, you do have a purpose on this earth, though I don't know what it might be." My ears perked. "Who do you think I really am?"

"Not who, but what."

"You're freaking me out now." I went stiff. "What do you think I am? Please don't tell me I'm really a disguised demon." That set him chuckling. "What!? It's not funny, I've already had a rough day and I don't need any more shit tossed my direction!"

"Relax." Alucard ruffled my hair. "You're not a demon, far from it." He looked me in the eyes with an intrigued smile. "My friend, I believe  you may be a fallen angel."