Castlevaina

Chapter 6

   Alucard woke himself quickly, though his eyes refused to focus. Cautiously moving his hands in the tight space of the coffin, he rubbed his eyes gently, hoping to rub the sleep away. Succeeding somewhat, Alucard opened the lid of his coffin. It raised into the air, high enough to let the vampire escape it's confines.

   With a wave of his hand, his coffin vanished to it's resting place. It would be awful if someone stumbled upon it. He moved on, but not before smelling human. A woman. A human woman was prowling around the castle, most likely a hunter. Sighing and praying quickly for the soul of the hunter, Alucard moved forward. Finding a set of stairs, -again- the night prince trudged forward.

   Before him, and walking very fast for it's kind, was a zombie. The thing had blood gushing from wounds endlessly, coating it in both fresh and dried blood. It's leather armor covered rotting flesh, a short sword, maybe a basilard, was clutched in its grip as it swung at the vampire. Alucard dodges gracefully, no effort going into cutting the thing down with a decapitation. Blood splashed on his cheek, but he fought the temptation to swipe his tongue to lap it up. He had a promise to keep. Walking on at a swift pace, he whipped the black blood from face with the back of his hand.

   He found himself in a darkened hall, one unreached by the oddly bright lighting of the rest of the castle. His mother had said it was something of stored lightning. One that powered the odd contraptions that she invented. This hall, though, was only brightened by the light of periodic flame, burning endlessly and on their own accord. He watched the shadows flicker, warping into snakes that he was sure would snap and bite at him. Nothing came for him, however, as he reached the door on the other side of the dark hall.

   He found himself looking at an odd sort of door. The platform was hooked and suspended from pulleys, giving him evidence that the thing moved. Quirking an eyebrow, he stepped onto it. He was startled when he was caged in with iron bars, but understood when it started to move. It was to keep the passenger safe, to not fall. He waited, leaning on the back of the contraption -another of his mother's inventions, no doubt- and waited for it to cease it's movement. It slowed to a stop, the iron bars raising, letting him freely move again. He glided forward, opening the door into a room very similar to the one with his current cloak. A table with two candles. There was a box, made of metal and plated with gold. He opened it, finding a pair of glasses. They were shaded, he realized, meant to block out the suns rays. He pocked it, thinking it would come in handy when he left the protection of the castle roof. Though he didn't burn, like most believed, the sun was rather irritating. It burned his eyes, which were made for the dark. Why it was in such fancy casing, he couldn't fathom.

   He exited the room, finding the elevator once again. He reentered it, now fully anticipating the clinking of gears and the sudden decent. He relaxed, letting the moving platform take him where it will. It shuttered to a stop once again, leaving him to wonder where it had left him. He stepped out as soon as the gate rose, scanning for threats. He found none, but he could smell gunpowder. Way to much, he thought, for it to be a musket. He continued, spurred by his new curiosity. Oddly, in the room ahead of him, he found a cannon. The black metal was gleaming, gold bands wrapped decoratively around it. He found a leaver on it's back and he quickly deduced that it triggered the cannon to fire.

   Curiosity uncharacteristically won him over and he pulled it, quickly stepping back and covering his ears. He was no fool and vampire or not, a cannon would hurt if it backfired. Thankfully, it didn't but tore the wall in front of it, and from what he could see, it lead to the laboratory. A shortcut. He nodded to himself, no one ever knowing exactly what answer he seemed to come to, and turned back to the elevator. He stepped in once more, somehow knowing where he wanted to go, it went up.

   Finally reaching his previous place, he journeyed on. He had to run up more stairs -darn them all to the burning pits of Hades- before coming before more accusing eyes of the angels. Why the castle and his father liked these statues so much, he would never know. To feel eyes burning through you was unnerving at the least. Quickly leaving the room behind him, he came to a familiar place. The Marble Gallery. Marble gallery was just like the rest of the castle with it's dark theme of black, though it was highlighted by dark purples and burning golds. He couldn't help but admire the architecture. Golden statues of angels with spread wings holding bowls far above their head. Golden swirls of fabric met purple, who leaned on black marble. The floor was white marble, traces of blacks and grays interlaced.

   He would have time latter, but for now he had monsters to slay. Haunted suits of green armor stalked toward him, war axes in their plated fingers. He had to use his shield to save it from embedding itself into his skull, making him throw the charred and scarred thing away. He moved quickly, stabbing it through into the soul that haunted the armor, setting it free. Swiftly making his way, he shredded any piece of walking metal with his blade. As he slowed, though, he was presented a another problem.

   "With my current state, there isn't a way to cross back if I move forward," he muttered to himself. His eyes narrowed accusingly, as if it was the gap from the marble cliff he was standing on to the stairs was personally offending him. He sighed, and jumped down the cliff, landing in a crouch one would compare to a feline. He stood, looking about him. Stairs... more stairs in a interlaced pattern, leaving a little headroom for the set underneath. If he never saw another step in his life, he thought as he began his decent, it would be too soon.