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

Ignorance Isn't Bliss

"I'm going to kill her." Alucard rasped following his daughter's wolf tracks through the forest.

"Rebellious little thing, isn't she?" Trevor remarked humorously. "She may look like you, but she's all her mother on the inside.

"Shut up Belmont." Alucard snapped. His sharp eyes pierced the night, pursuing Emma's clear trail.

"I'm impressed. Never thought she had the balls to stand up her own father, she must really love that pet leech of hers."

"Belmont. Enough." Alucard growled, in no mood for his best friend's snarking. "If anything happens to her......"

"Hey." Trevor placed his hand on Alucard's shoulder. "We'll find her, she couldn't have gone far, and she's left us a clear trail... and if we don't, the girls will." Their wives were out on the search as well, between the four of them, tracking and finding the runaway girl would be a cinch .

So Alucard hoped.

"Has Vance ever been away this long?" Trevor asked.

"No." Alucard responded. "He told me he might have to range further. Winter has restricted movement, for man and beast alike."

"I don't understand why he couldn't have helped himself to Argyle's livestock like he usually does."

"He wanted the livestock spared on the people who need them, and not wasted on his fangs. That's what he told me."

"What a generous bloodsucker." Trevor laughed dryly, getting a sharp glare from Alucard. Trevor quietly chuffed, shrugging his shoulders. "Alucard, does Emma know why Vance leaves the village every so often?"

"Mostly."

"What do you mean 'mostly'?"

"I explained to her vampires are a nomadic species, and possess the instinctive urge to wander afar. Vance is only sating his instincts by traveling now and then." Alucard said.

"Oh he's satisfying his instincts all right." Trevor quipped. "Does Emma know the reason behind a vampire's instinct to roam?"

"No." Alucard quietly admitted.

"No?" Trevor repeated shocked. "You're saying she doesn't know vampires drink blood?"

Alucard did not respond.

"Fuck! Why wouldn't you tell her that!?!?"

"She's eight. She's a child." Alucard murmured.

"She's a child with a fucking vampire bodyguard!" Trevor exclaimed. "Alucard, do you honestly think she's gonna go her whole life without finding out what vampires are?"

"She knows what vampires are." Alucard growled curtly. " Mostly. We've told her other vampires are dangerous creatures who would harm or kill her if given the chance, and that she is safe from them in our castle and village."

"But not the drinking blood to survive."

"No." Alucard "Emma doesn't need to know that....not yet. , I don't want to trouble her, thinking her own thrall she loves like family has an innate thirst for blood."

"He does, all vampires do." Trevor shrugged. "Jesus Christ Alucard! You're not doing her any favors by keeping her ignorant! She's going to find out about these things at some point, there's no denying it, especially with Vance being her familiar and tied to her by a blood oath."

" But not yet." Alucard grimaced. "I don't want her hurt. It isn't merely the fact she's unlike anyone else in the world; She's young for her age. I don't want to expose her to more than she is ready for. That's why she's forbidden from entering the Belmont Hold. That's why I haven't told her much about her grandfather. Is it a crime for a father to protect her daughter?"

"You're not protecting her by keeping her ignorant." Trevor grumbled. "I get Emma's a late bloomer and young for her age, but wouldn't she be better off learning the truth from you rather than seeing it for herself? Fuck......Even Frederic and Mary know a vampire's diet, I'm surprised they never mentioned a thing to their cousin."

Alucard bared his teeth in a ragged snarl and carried on. He picked up Emma's scent.