[Transylvania] Castlevania

[Bloodedge]

Dracula's Castle, also known as Demon Castle or Castlevania, is Dracula's lair and symbol of his magic. It houses an army of his supernatural minions, and tends to collapse when Dracula is defeated. Yet, it is able to restore itself and reappears intact in later years, even when Dracula has not yet revived himself, if another member of Dracula's bloodline lives.

[Apollymi]

Within the halls of Castlevania, someone with the appearance of a crimson haired maid moved about the building. She seemed unassuming enough, but her once pristine white apron was smudged in blood. Beside her a bucket which seemed to contain a great deal of blood and in her right hand a still beating human heart. Her left contained a mop which she was using to clean up the rather gruesome display taking place. As the candle lit hall she stood in was rather coated in the blood of whatever poor human she'd been tussling with before this moment. Even so, the cutest little smile adorned her face as she leaned forward and took a bite out of the heart of this creature while its bones stuck up out of the bucket at her side and she, cleaned up the mess made by the 'attempted' escape.

It was, the night of the full moon, and it was to be expected that the cattle, had gotten a bit restless. But their desire to escape had all but been quelled by the immediate death of their leader. Such was the way of things around here, and this unassuming female had been the dispatcher of this escape artist and now she was enjoying the fruits of her labors, so to speak. while she did this, she allowed herself to wonder about the well being of her Master, who routinely also grew restless and had left the castle to amuse himself among the humans.

[Bloodedge]

The moon reached a 70 degree angle from the Earth's surface in the sky. As this marking of time came, Sorin Lothaire Phantomhive - current lord of Castlevania - returned to his home of 57 years. He seemed troubled... incredibly so. His night had been all but ordinary, and he'd only stepped out for the usual full moon feeding he tended to partake in. A journey down a candlelit corridor from the entryway saw him in wonder for how things had turned out the way they had. He'd met someone other than the victim of his feeding. While this was not too out of the ordinary, it was strange how close he'd come to sinning numerous times because of this person. Eventually, a slow trek brought him to a throne at the end of a conference hall of some sort. He sat upon the throne, crossing his right leg over his left and leaning his head against the knuckles of his left hand, which saw its arm against that of the throne itself. Narrowed eyes glowed with the violet hue of Sorin's irises while melancholy took full hold of the vampire. A discontented sigh preceded the first word he'd spoken aloud since parting with one Kasmina Dacian. That spoken word would be a name...

"Alina."

[Apollymi]

The name of the scarlet haired maid seemed to cause her to leave her work where it was, as she swallowed the heart of the creature she'd been eating. Within seconds she was appearing, via some form of teleportation, directly before a throne where her master sat. A black puff of smoke marked her entrance, as curiously enough, she hadn't known he'd returned home. In fact, she hadn't even expected him home before the sun rose, perhaps her own work had kept her too busy. Still she found herself giving the man a deep curtsy from the foot of his throne as she had a gander up and into those violet eyes of his. What she saw there seemed to cause some form of confusion in her. "Master, you look displeased. Was the night not to your liking?" she asked only hoping to make his day better, wondering if his outing to feed had not satisfied him in some way.

[Bloodedge]

A few seconds passed. In Sorin's mind, it seemed like a century had gone by between him calling his servant, and her appearing before him in her manner of choosing. Whatever the case, she was here now, and she knew something was amiss within moments. "Not to my liking would be an understatement," he spoke. His gaze had found itself on a billowing flame atop a candle to the left side of the room, from his own perspective. He seemed transfixed, but... this was simply his restless mind grasping at something to keep hold of and process. Another sigh escaped him when he realized more of an explanation was needed. "The feeding went as normal. I found some poor girl not long for this world, and I spared her of Hell on Earth. Nothing out of the ordinary at all."

His words were perhaps misleading, but not purposefully so. According to what left his mouth, nothing was out of the ordinary, and thus nothing should have been amiss. This was, after all, how he'd chosen to feed, and the occasional enjoyment he could get out of doing so. "I..."

Suddenly, Sorin choked on his very words before a statement could be formed. He'd never before been in such a tizzy. Now that he was, he had no clue how to maintain himself and prevent breaking down due to the thoughts consuming him. "I was seen. Maybe. This woman. I caught a glimpse of her escaping the alley in which I fed. I thought myself to be prying for the truth in appearing to her once more and testing her behavior, but... I was consumed, Alina. Words not my own took hold of my mind, driving me into a frenzy of simultaneous adultery and blood lust toward this woman!" As he spoke, Sorin's eyelids began to part ever so slightly. The reflection of the oscillating flame he watched danced across his eyes, adding to them a gleam rarely seen upon his visage. "Her blood, Alina. The scent of it was maddening. My own senses betrayed me in a way that made me believe I could taste it, and... it was the sweetest delicacy to ever grace even my imagination."

[Apollymi]

Alina's posture straightened soon after the current master of this castle began speaking. What he initially described was a night like any other where he chose to go out and find his own meal. The maid could barely keep the look of confusion off her face as he described what was his most normal of outings to almost perfection. Right down to his mercy killing of some poor almost dead soul. The man made being a vampire one of the kindest things she'd ever witnessed but...

A spark came to this woman's eye as he went on to describe events of this night which were out of the ordinary. He nearly choked on the words before getting them out, such was frighteningly unusual. The redhead was standing at attention, leaning in just a little as if hanging on his very words as she tried to summon the interest in this story. 'Maybe?' her eyes narrowed as his finally opened again and he described the sensation of being overcome with blood lust. Such a thing was quite common in the lower ranking vampires. Those almost feral creatures were generally enticed by any stray blood they came across. But for those who fed only when they wished to, to be enticed by blood as this young man was describing, that was something wholly different. 'I've never seen him like this before, how strange it must be for one such as him to possess such...' there was a pause in this maids thoughts as if she couldn't come up with the right word to complete her thought. 'Feelings.' was what she settled on. "My lord, forgive my candidness but your words imply that no harm came to this woman. One who managed to kindle in you a blood lust even I was unsure you actually possessed. If no harm was done, then surely my lord, should not be in such a state now?" she questioned, meaning to somewhat reassure the man that he'd done no wrong as his conscience probably needed. She also meant to leave him an opening to explain why this particular instance was such a major problem for him.

After speaking on that matter though there was something else which bothered the maid about the speech given by this young man. Knowing this was something which had happened to him, she could scarcely hold back the curiosity alight in her crimson eyes. If he didn't know whether or not this woman knew of his identity as a creature of the night, had he done something about it? "Forgive the question my lord, but this woman who enticed you so, did you rid her of her memories of this night to help ease your conscience?" the maid asked curiously. In all her years in this castle, she'd never witnessed this man in such a state, tortured by his own being was something she never really expected of the rather pious vampire she'd come to work for.

[Bloodedge]

"Hm..." Though Sorin's eyes had been slowly widening, they came to a sudden halt before reaching their limit. His brows drew together as this stop occurred, as the maid offered what she expected to be reassurance of some sort. It did not serve this purpose. "No harm was done. Everything proceeded normally, for the most part. What bothered me was that I had these urges at all. I've never lost my composure... but tonight, I nearly led myself into damnation." The more Sorin thought back to his earlier mental struggles, the more annoyed he became with himself. Was this what it meant to bear the blood of Dracula? No; that couldn't be right. Such a curse wouldn't rear its head now, so late in his life. There had to be something else afoot. Perhaps the answer was as simple as the blood within this woman having some special property he did not know of. One could only assume this to be the case.

Another query met Sorin's ear this day. This one pertained to his ability to erase the memory of the woman he'd met, or rather, the question was if he had done that very thing. Recalling the events, he was remiss to say he likely should have. "... I had every opportunity. For a time, I was almost certain she knew, and I am even more so now. I just... I couldn't. It took everything in me to get away from that woman without ending her mortal life. How I wonder what is happening to me now."

[Apollymi]

Alina watched as her master continued to struggle with his own actions. Though by the maid's own belief it was more like inaction, but her's was not to question this day. Her master, the purest vampire in existence, seemed to think he would have led himself into damnation over someone, which she found most preposterous. "Are you so sure it was damnation you were headed towards? Master, speaking freely, you hold yourself to abhorrently high standards for a mortal man, even the clergy are less pious. And your standards as a vampire, make most cringe by their very existence. Again, your urges were your urges and you conquered them, which by your own statements was no small feat. Perhaps, you should give yourself a bit more leeway than that, at least when considering things you haven't actually done," she offered. Knowing the man held himself to high standards was one thing, but... allowing him to wallow simply because he hadn't experienced his current set of feelings was a bit more than the maid could allow. This was probably why she was summoned in the first place. Still something about this man's speech bothered the maid, but she would hold on to that thought for just a while.

Sorin went on to answer her inquiry about the woman who might have had knowledge of his identity as a creature of the night. What he went on to explain was that he had made inquiries of the woman and was almost certain she knew. And even stated that he had every opportunity to rid the woman of the memories of him and the previous night events, and yet he hadn't done it. He claimed it had taken everything he had just to leave the woman's side without taking her life. This made the maid's eyes widen ever so slightly. If he wondered what was happening to him now, she could hardly know, but she supposed she had an idea or two about that. "Master, I must ask... if you didn't feel the need to erase this woman's memory of you, are you so sure she won't aim bring death and destruction upon you?" she questioned her master, but at this point she was mostly just curious about his motivations. Having never seen him in such a state, she could only do her best to help him get to the bottom of his own feelings, perhaps a few leading questions would help him find the answer he sought.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course, Alina," Sorin replied through a heavy sigh. "Had I not managed to resist, I surely would have drained that woman dry without so much as a whispered prayer beforehand. I could tell her soul was pure, and that act alone would be one of the greatest sins I could commit. Even at this very moment, confession awaits me." The vampire began rubbing the bridge of his nose with closed eyes, finding the annoyance of the earlier situation to be fading away. The annoyance of his present confusion, though, persisted. "Don't misinterpret my meaning, Alina. I am fine with the outcome of my efforts today. I wouldn't have things any other way than how they were, under the circumstances. Blood lust is unbecoming of me, though..."

Soon enough, Sorin's hand moved away from his face to allow him a straighter posture within the throne. Once the vampire's spine was erect, he draped both arms over their respective sides of the throne, and opened those deep, violet eyes once more to look upon the maid. His doing so preceded a retort to her most recent query. "If I were to be honest, I would say I am not so sure about anything. I have nothing more than a spark of faith, is all, but I suppose the answer will come in due time. Ah, yes... time." The simple mention of the word time had placed another thought in Sorin's mind. He had returned earlier than he normally did. It would have been his intention after the initial feeding to clear out some of the lesser, more feral vampires until sunrise, but his chance meeting had thrown him off quite a bit. "If it is no inconvenience to your schedule, I'd have my tea as early as possible. Sweeten it to death. The palette craves for nothing less tonight."

[Apollymi]

The news that her Master had almost succumb to the blood lust induced by a pure soul was shocking to Alina. She didn't think the man registered the innocent on his palette at all, especially given the types he chose to keep in his castle as cattle. The maid understood what he meant by confession but the idea of it was still rather foreign to her, given her own background. "Master, I still can't say I understand the concept of sitting in a dark room and telling someone else of the wrongs you think you committed. But if it helps you to feel better then as always I support your decision," the woman said as she offered another curtsy as was her way when she was feeling particularly pleased in her duties. This was no constant of her personality but she figured her tortured Master could use something a bit lighter as part of his day. It should also go without saying that she missed the irony of this statement as she was basically taking his confession as his demon servant right now. Her next set of words would be in answer to those spoken by Sorin as if to poke at his meanings. "Perhaps, it is unbecoming of you. Or perhaps it wasn't only blood which called to you?" the maid let the semi-rhetorical question hang in the air as if she didn't expect an answer. Instead she was content to allow the conversation to shift, and shift it did.

It seemed that Sorin the master of this castle had nothing more than a spark faith that the woman that had spied on him wouldn't simply try and have him killed for what he was. It was an interesting choice of words coming from the rather pious vampire who held faith in rather high esteem to begin with. Beyond this the idea that a pure soul wouldn't immediately ring all alarm bells about a vampire was curious as well. "The word faith used in the sentence is a rather clear indication of your leanings in the matter Master. Even if you are consciously not as certain yet. I will admit I find it strange that a pure soul wouldn't simply ring the alarm for the sake of all around her... it strikes a curiosity I cannot rightly reconcile," the maid went on to say. In the five decades of this man's life that she had served him, she found him to be one of the strangest beings she'd ever come across. Even so, the idea that anyone pure enough to make this man believe he would sin, also would have nothing to say about a vampire in general was an equally strange being by the maids own standards. That would have been just the kind of individual she would have taken contract with, were she not presently bound to the lord of this castle.

As their conversation progressed it seemed that he wished to have his tea early today. Such a thing would be rather easily managed by the maid, though she generally expected him back much later than his present appearance. "It is no inconvenience, my lord, I need only your patience for a few moments to prepare what you'd like. I'll bring the cakes as well, there are some here freshly made, that you might enjoy." she commented only to give that same effortless curtsy and disappear from his sight in a puff of smoke. She'd leave him alone for approximately 15 minutes, and when she returned it would be with tea, ready to serve. All manner of cakes and treats as well as a truly sweet and decadent dark tea steeped in blood and sweetened with fair sugar and sweet cream. It was truly the sweetest tea she could have concocted and was served in fine china for to help along the man's own tastes. "Tea is served my lord, I am sorry about the wait, it took me a bit longer to find the proper balance of 'sweetened to death'," she commented as those crimson eyes of hers flashed with devilish light.

[Bloodedge]

Alina expressed her lack of understanding for the confessions Sorin, and others of faith, took to be absolved of their sins. This much was to be expected. She was a demon of higher caliber than most, and thus had always been connected to Satan in some way, be it direct or otherwise. "Confessions are delivered directly to the Lord, Alina. By admitting to our wrongdoings, we are cleansed of our sins. I do not expect you to understand." In the midst of this discussion, Alina voiced her opinion in the form of rhetoric. What could she have meant by it, though? If it had not been the blood alone calling out to him, then what else?

There was much to consider about this woman Sorin had encountered. At this very moment, though, he preferred the idea of moving past this ordeal with a fine cup of tea. Soon after his request, it was brought to him with accompanying cakes to sate his apparent sweet-tooth. Surely this would serve the purpose of quelling him. As sugar-filled as it was by Alina's assertion, it had to match the craving he'd experienced earlier this night. He took the cup before anything else. "I'll live an eternity. I think I can handle a few minutes worth of wait for tea," he said while raising the cup to his lips. The first sip was one which would make most men turn their heads. Its bouquet was almost that of raw sugar, yet precisely what Sorin had requested. But, that's not all the first sip was; it was also the only sip. "Augh!" he exclaimed, immediately tossing the cup full of tea onto the floor before the throne. Something about it was infuriating. It just... wasn't a match. "How did I, for even a moment, believe I could substitute my craving with tea!? Mankind has nothing that could sate this thirst!"

[Apollymi]

Alina presented the tea to her Master with her usual amount of flair. And as he took up his cup she rose from her curtsy and moved to the side. This was quite interesting because she also got to watch as the cup of fine china flew from the man's hands and shattered on the floor. This was yet another angst filled moment for the man, one which she hadn't expected to see from him. Her crimson eyes widened just a bit as she found herself looking up at the Lord of this Castle. Though she knew she'd created this drink exactly to the man's specifications she also knew that with the thirst created by fresh blood and power, he'd likely not be able to get anywhere with mortal food either, even with the steps she'd taken to include less mortal food than normal. "I take it the tea wasn't to your liking, my lord?" she questioned rhetorically, only to disappear and reappear within a second cleaning up the mess which had taken place by virtue of the cup hitting the floor. The pieces were even assembled again on the cart as if by magic. After all, she couldn't have him breaking fine china so easily. As she bowed her head she had little to add. "Perhaps, master should give his senses time to clear fully. I imagine after encountering something so new your senses aren't yet ready to go back to the mundane that is... tea," she offered. If her own thoughts were anywhere near correct nothing but the one person he refused to give himself would ever properly satisfy, her Master. Perhaps she could talk him into allowing himself a bit more.

[Bloodedge]

"No... no, the tea was fine. I'll go mad if I try to use it as a replacement, though," Sorin replied. He'd had enough of this ordeal for now. There was hardly anything he could do, bar feeding on the woman plaguing his mind at present, to quench this thirst. That was not an option, though. He felt that if he did such a thing, he'd not only go to far, but be exposed to some form of drug he'd likely never experience again... and that would lead to him having this problem for the rest of his immortal life. Alina may have been onto something with her words. "You're right. I'll sleep on it, and hopefully this will be over by sunrise," he said. With that, Sorin would adjourn to his quarters, resigning himself to there until it was time to return to the throne and commune with the commoners he allowed into Castlevania to make requests of him.

Continue the story here.

[Apollymi]

As the dusk began to settle on the land a single true black horse and its rider could be seen making an approach to Castlevania. This horse unlike many which were black in color didn't seem to have faded at all, regardless of the fact that it spent all day out in the sun. It was aptly named Midnight and after having spent a while riding with the beast, Kasmina seemed to think it was best mare she'd had for herself in ages. The sun shown over this land causing large shadows to appear here and there, still the young woman didn't seem frightened, even as she looked upon the massive castle and wondered how the man managed to be within the city at any reasonable hour. She took in the view of this place in all its splendor, while she herself was dressed as usual, with her bonnet and hair around her face blown gently about by the ride she'd taken. Still after making her way to the front of this building, she dismounted giving the beast a calming pat on the face before she walked up to knock on the door of this giant castle. It could hardly be called anything else, given its sheer size. 'Christ in heaven, our entire house would fit through this door...' she thought to herself. Still she had come burdened with glorious purpose and she intended to see it through.

After using the knocker on the door, a thundering echo would be heard down the hall. This would bring forward, a certain red haired maid whom was always at the disposal of the owner of this dwelling. She was not presently covered in blood and looked like an average maid, the color of her eyes, had even become that of a simple darkened brown instead of the crimson they tended to be other times. "Good Evenin' Mistress, do you have some business with the master of this castle?" asked the maid after the large door had parted. This maid looked over the young woman with great dismay. She was used to the common folk who made themselves known here from time to time to beg favors of the master of the castle, but never had she seen one with such obvious good breeding as the lass before her standing here today. Beyond this the demon maid felt something strange from the young woman, she'd liken it to power but such things were unseen in humans, still it was an understanding she simply couldn't ignore.

Kasmina looked on with the same neutrality she seemed to always be capable of managing. "I need to speak with the Viscount Sorin Phantomhive. He has recently paid me a great kindness, and I simply wish to return the favor with the information I have come across this day. If he is willing our meeting shall be brief, I know he is a busy man," said this young woman with raven hair framing her face and rather piercing emerald green eyes. Her manner was one which the maid respected and as such she allowed the woman into the great hall at the entrance. "Mistress, if you might wait here for a moment while I go tell the Master who calls upon him?" she asked, seeming to need the young woman's name which she shared without thought. "Kasmina Dacian, and I will wait patiently here..." she said seeming easily able to keep to her word. A curtsy came from the maid but was soon enough dispatched as she headed to the left and once the door was closed behind her disappeared only to aim to appear at Sorin's side, wherever he might be within the castle, a curtsy already in place. "Master, the young Mistress Kasmina Dacian, wishes to see you. She claims to she aims to return a kindness you paid her, what should I tell her?" asked the woman of the vampire she was bound to.

[Bloodedge]

On this night, the vampire Viscount Phantomhive was seated upon the throne he'd returned to days prior. He'd spent the majority of this day dealing with the common folk who braved the journey to his castle. The path alone was treacherous on foot, and those who appeared making requests during the day were always rewarded by Sorin, in some way, with a reasonable wish of their choosing. In the recent days, he'd been named Count. Now, he commanded two centuries - some of which could be seen even now, taking up positions around the inside and outside of the castle.

As he sat upon the throne, Sorin swirled tea around the inside of a cup which he'd not drank from. He seemed less bothered by events from earlier in the week, but he'd still not consumed anything of any sort since the day he'd encountered Kasmina in the city. His violet gaze rose from the swirling fluid when his most faithful servant appeared before him. Looking upon her, he wondered what she could possibly need at this hour. Sunset was mere minutes away; no commoners were to be asking things of him now.

Interestingly enough, there was no person present to ask anything of him. Instead, someone wished to return a favor. That name... he could not mistake it. Sorin's eyes widened to their limit when he heard the name, and he felt an immediate skip in his eternal heartbeat. The shock saw him abruptly squeeze the handle of his teacup until it shattered, causing the cup to fall and spill tea over the arm of the throne. "Kasmina Dacian, you say..." he repeated. This was a curious event - very curious. What kindness could this woman think to repay, and what did she think she could do to repay him for it? Was it worth his sanity to let her within his reach once more? Could he contain himself if he did allow this? These were questions plaguing the new Count's mind, but he knew how perilous the journey here was... and how much worse the trip back would be at this hour. He couldn't possibly turn someone away and let them risk their lives to go home, having accomplished nothing.

"... Bring her to me."