Castlevania: Of Darkness and Light

Miracle

*Edited 10/4/23

I don't think I've ever ran so fast in my life. Not even from night creatures. Once the portal closed behind us I sped like hell to the infirmary, Trevor and Sypha on my trail. "(Y/N) wait!" Sypha called. "Hurry!" I cried "He's running out of time!" At least my unicorn buddy kept up with a graceful lope.

I found Alucard lying bedridden where I left him, the Librarian keeping a solemn guard. My stomach churned at the rotting scent of poison. "Is he still alive?"

"Barely." The Librarian turned his head and blinked. "You've come just in time, any longer and he would've been lost. Have you found the Panacea dust?"

"Better. I found its source." The unicorn eyed the librarian, stomping his hoof. He wasn't a friend of the owl creature's presence, neither were my friends who shouted a warning and drew their weapons. "It's okay!" I jumped in front of them, "He's a friend!" 

"There's no way a night creature can be a friend." Trevor warned. 

"This one's different!" To prove it I addressed the Librarian. "Thank you for watching him."

The Librarian responded with a soft hoot. "Think nothing of it. I must return to my studies, the books need tending." The Librarian faded away, leaving us alone. Sypha examined her old friend worried. "It doesn't look good." She breathed with tears in her eyes. My heart sank, seeing how worse his wound progressed. It looked like a black pit of gangrenous skin, the rest of his body pallid grey. Alucard's chest rose every now and then in long, shallow breath. The breath of someone on his way out of the world.

"Shit." Trevor growled, eyes flickering in pain. "Kid, I don't think he'll make it. We might have come too late."

"No, there's still some time! He's still breathing!"

"I know what a person on death's door looks like." He put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "We'll have the unicorn administer the cure, but if he's too far gone.....know that we did everything we could."

A soft whinny came from the unicorn. His hoofsteps soft as he approached Alucard over his sickbed, horn gleaming like my staff in the presence of night creatures. "Please." I begged him. "Save him." A clear golden serum dripped from the unicorn's horn, like venom from a snake's fang. The unicorn plunged the tip of his horn into the blackened wound. Alucard's body violently convulsed . "Help me hold  him down!" I struggled to tie his limbs to the bed as my friends scrambled to assist me. Even dying Alucard was ridiculously strong, even the might of three of us wasn't enough to restrain him.

I tapped into the power resurging within and channeled it up my throat. "BE STILL."  It wasn't a terrifying bellow like before, rather a firm command and reassurance. "I AM HERE." Trevor and Sypha recoiled several feet back, eyes locked on me as they clutched each other's hand. I didn't pay attention to them, or cared what they thought of me. My focus was on him. Alucard instantly stilled, as if my divine voice commanded his body.  Miraculously enough, he reached for my hand and held it tight. I clutched it with equal strength.

"I'm here bud." I whispered,  glancing at the unicorn and nodding. The beast plunged his horn into the wound once more, and Alucard trembled. Thankfully he didn't convulse. His hand gripped me with an iron lock.

 We watched in wonder as the Panacea serum did its work, pooling across the wound in golden light before coursing throughout his blood , his veins glowed showing the perfect picture of the circulatory system. His rotting flesh became fresh and whole again, the putrid stink of poison and death wafted away. The unicorn drew his glimmering horn away, flickering my ears and looking at me as if to say it is done.

I've never been more scared in my life than when Alucard's hand went limp and dropped. "Adrian!!" I screamed, scrambling to get Lisa's old stethoscope. "No no please no." I stilled my breath. Trevor approached me speaking my name. 

"I have to check!" I stilled my own breath and  listened to Alucard's heartbeat. Eyes wide as the tears came flooding down.  "Kid." Trevor placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You did everything you could."

"He's not dead." I shuddered, unashamed of my tears.  "His heartbeat's completely normal. Listen!" I gave the stethoscope to Trevor, whose eyes widened in total disbelief. "Well I'll be damned."

"Trevor, is he alive?" Sypha asked tearfully. 

"Alive and kicking. Luckily little shit." 

Alucard's breathing was now slow and gentle of someone in deep sleep.

"We did it. After all the shit we went through, we did it." I trembled.  Their faces light in joy as I pulled them into a group hug. "I can't thank you enough." "Don't sweat it kid." Trevor patted my heading. "Anything to help an old friend out."

I hugged the unicorn after them. "Thank you." I stroked his muzzle. "Thank you for saving him. You're free now. You can call these woods your home, or go anywhere you like." The unicorn snorted before walking out of the infirmary.

A low grumble murmured from the bed when Alucard stirred from near comatose. We immediately stood next to his bedside, watching as he slowly opened his eyes. I could've died from happiness right there and then.

"I must be in Hell." Alucard murmured groggily. "Belmont's here."

"Good to see you too shithead."  Trevor laughed in sarcastic humor. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

 "What are you doing here?" Alucard grumbled like a dragon disturbed from its slumber. 

"Is that the thanks we get after saving your life?" Trevor remarked amusingly.

"What?" Alucard hissed. "How was that possible? I was bitten by a Plaguemaster, I should have died."

"You should have died." Trevor remarked. "But you didn't. You lucky son of a bitch are the first to ever survive one, thanks to your friend."

"My friend?" The moment he saw me he struggled to get out of the bed. "Easy!" Sypha stopped him. "The poison is cleansed from your body but you still need to rest." Alucard nodded, struggling to move closer to me.  I ran to the bed, carefully sitting down next to him. Alucard mustered whatever strength he had to wrap me into a firm embrace I strongly reciprocated.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." His chest shuddered as warm tears seeped through my shoulder. "I'm the one who should be sorry you idiot!" I snapped, embracing him tight. "It was my fault! If I hadn't run away those monsters-!!"

"No!" Alucard hissed. " None of this was your fault! I reacted out of instinct and you followed yours. You couldn't have known, there's no way you could have known..." My sobs racked my body, "Shh." Alucard held my face tenderly, thumbing the tears from my eyes "It's all right now, my darling. I'm here." I lowered my chin, closing my eyes still crying. "Because of you, I'm here." His lips touched mine.

I flexed stunned, heat flushing throughout my body. "Well look at that." Trevor snickered but I didn't have the mind to sock him in the shoulder. Luckily Sypha did for me. "Well I did have a little help from my friends!" I laughed not even containing my blush. "And a touch of magic for good score. There's so much I gotta tell you, you're not gonna believe the insanity we went through the last twenty four hours!"

Insanity that was worth every minuet for the remaining tingle on my lips, and that moment on I no longer doubted it.