Stitched Up Hearts (Alucard X Fem! reader)

Silly Little Humans

(Six years prior)

"Which constellation is that?" I pointed up to the black, cloudless sky. Stars hung above our heads, seeming just out of reach of our fingers. So many of them, covering the whole sky as far as my eyes can perceive.

We were sat on one of the high balconies of the castle. An old, somewhat stained blanket has been brought out, though neither of us will have any use for it. The weather was still cold at that late time of night, though warming up considerably during the day. In another month or so I would have to start wearing shorter sleeves and lighter dresses.

"That is Cassiopeia." Adrian's rich voice cuts through the darkness. "She was the wife of King Cephus, and claimed to be even more beautiful than the gods. Poseidon found this very offensive, and created the great monster Cetus. He told the people that if Cassiopeia would admit his sea nymphs were more beautiful than her, his monster would cease to kill sailors and sink ships."

"Let me guess, she didn't agree?" I grin. I had heard a few of these myths from the Greeks, I'd read stories of their time, and scoured over the philosophy of their times. Someone prideful enough to claim their beauty was greater than the gods would not back down so easily.

"No, she did not. So the people asked Posidon if there was any other way. He replied that if they sacrificed Andromeda, their only daughter, then the monster would stop. Andromeda was saved by the hero Perseus, and as punishment for being so vain, Zeus and Posidon agreed that Cassepeia would hang upside down in the sky for eternity.'' He finished his story.

"Oh, I know of Andromeda. She is the wife of Perseus, yes?" I perked up at the name I recognized, happy to remember something useful. "She married him after he slayed the sea monster and saved her life. Does she have a constellation?"

"Yes, she does." Adrian once again points out a cluster of stars in the shape of a long, crooked triangle.

"But not Perseus?" I scoff. "He defeated both the gorgon and a sea monster. He's more deserving of a constellation than a vain wife and her daughter."

"Oh no, he has his own constellation as well. He defeated many monsters of his time, and was considered a great hero. His constellation is up there, right above Andromeda." a slender hand points out the cluster to me.

"They placed him in the sky so he could be with his wife forever." I raise my eyebrows at that. I wonder what it would be like, to be placed in the sky with the one you love, able to spend the rest of eternity together looking down on the world. "That is either very romantic, or very silly. What if they hated each other?"

Adrian thinks that over, and I see him smile through the corner of my eye. "I don't believe they hated each other."

"I think you're just a foolish romantic." I teased, gently leaning over to nudge him in the shoulder. "But, I'd like to think they were in love. It would be such a shame if they weren't."

"That there is Cephus, Cassipopiea's husband, and King of Ethiopia."

"I think it's amazing how the stars are all connected through one another. They each have their own stories and names. It's beautiful." The stars are so endless out here, one of the most stunning things I've had the pleasure of seeing in this lifetime, yet still, none are as beautiful as him. It seems like the expanse of it all could swallow me whole and take me somewhere I'd never have to wake up again.

"Yes. Beautiful." Adrian says, but his voice is distant. I can tell he isn't looking at the stars, but thinking of something else.

"I know that one, over there." I point to the constellation Lyra. "It's part of Orpheus' story."