Castlevania Nocturne: A Guardian's Tale (Part 1)

Machecoul

" Such a shame you have to leave so soon. You are the most pleasant company and I rarely have the chance to host someone....shall we say..... someone like me." The noblewoman wafted her fan in the late summer heat.

Emma sat on the bench under the shade watching the birds in the garden pond. "Likewise, but there are plenty of us in the world, and they're easy to find if you know where to look. That knowledge is enough for me." Her bare feet gripped the grass, happy to feel the Earth under her feet after weeks at sea.

After docking at Le Havre, Emma bid a sentimental farewell to the Captain and his crew. She didn't look at the ship behind her when she walked down the ramp and quay, suppressing the knot in her throat while stepping foot on European soil for the first time in a hundred and fifty years. Highly likely she wouldn't see any of their friendly faces ever again, save the Captain maybe, but that was guaranteed at some point.

Vance had taken leave of her, the amulet protecting him from the sun tucked beneath his collar and his hat concealing his bloodshot red eyes. "I'll catch up with you when I can." He touched Emma's hand. "Don't look for me." Emma nodded and understood.

"Come on, Richter." Emma spoke softly, holding her pack around her shoulder. The coach waited for them, the driver waving. The young boy followed her into the carriage after she greeted the coach in fluent French. "I didn't know you could speak French." Richter remarked surprised as the carriage left the port.

"Sure can." Emma rested. "Make things easier now we're here. I mean, there were French in the army so that came in handy."

"Army?" Richter puzzled before his eyes widened understanding. "You fought in the Revolution."

Emma nodded. "Under Washington himself. 'Course I didn't fight officially in any battles, not until near the end, but I played my own part. I was a nurse most of the time. Kept the soldiers alive so they could fight and hopefully survive another day." She touched the hilt of her sword concealed under her coat. "Not all of them survived, of course...war is that way....but most did. Anyway, there were a few Frenchmen in the army I knew, including that spirited fellow I saved from becoming a vampire's dinner. Lafayette was his name, I believe. "

"That's incredible." Richter gawked.

"Thanks. I suppose it is." Emma nodded.In her pack was a medal given to her in honor by the General-become-first President of a new nation for her service.Emma had conflicting feelings about her commander on what she learned about him after the war. Not that it would have changed her decision on saving him from an ambush by vampires. Too much was at stake.

"What did you mean you were a nurse most of the time?" Richter asked, hoping to gleam more answers. "What else did you do?"

" I helped carry the water and artillery, cleaned clothes for the soldiers, and served food. That sort of thing. I wasn't alone of course, many women served in the army, I made acquaintances with some, but one became my good friend. Her name was Mary Hayes and we were in the thick of battle together at Monmouth......"

The carriage rumbled southward through the French countryside. Emma looked out her window to a changed world. Richter, to a world that was new. So much had changed since she last looked upon the European continent. She had traveled a new world, seen different cultures, met different people, served in a war, and fought in a revolution that birthed a new nation.

Found love and lost it again.

Emma closed her eyes, listening to the rumbling of the carriage and the hoofbeats against the dirt road. She didn't fall asleep completely, opening her eyes momentarily when Richter rested his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. They napped the remainder of the ride.