His Tears, Her Demons

Chapter Thirteen: A Blood Bath Part I

" Ah, fuck it. It doesn't matter anyway. We still have to search for that village before it gets dark.", the third told them.

I made sure to keep quiet as I saw them walk past the tree I hid behind. Thank goodness that they didn't notice me. I immediately began to run once they were plenty of steps away from me.

I didn't turn back to see if they were following me, I didn't want to. In case they were trying to follow, I went in a direction away from the castle to be sure that they didn't find it.

I'm not sure how long I ran, I stopped eventually to see if they followed. When I looked back to only see no one in sight, I sighed in relief. I began to make my way back to the castle but kept alert of my surroundings.

I felt a bit more relaxed once I saw the castle in sight. But that moment turned into a panic when I felt a strong arm pull me back by the hood.

I yelped as I fell to the ground. When I looked to see who it was, it was the three priests I had seen earlier." Look what we have here, boys.", one of them said with an unsettling grin," A wandering wench."

I looked to one of the other priests around me when I heard the other one say," Wenches like her shouldn't be alone in these woods.".

All three of them gave me a grin that was just as unsettling as the other one." I was just going home.", I stuttered.

" Home? Out in these woods? Quite dangerous for a pretty thing like yourself. Especially when alone.", the first priest said in a sophisticated voice. He looked to be middle-aged, tall, hand dark hair, and a burnt scar on his face, he even had the darkest eyes I had ever seen.

" I have a husband, he should be on his way right about now. From hunting, you see.", I said nervously as I got myself up. I had to lie. Though we did not marry, that was not what I worried about the most. Knowing how far he was and how long it would likely take him, I thought that saying he was coming sooner would at least have them lose interest. But deep down I knew it would not work, and I hated how right I was that time. Especially due to the fact I wore no ring to make it seem as though I was married.

" A husband, you say? Then where is your ring might I ask?", the second one asked in a deep and flat tone as he walked around me like he was observing me. He looked a bit younger than the first with dark eyes as well but had blonde hair and appeared only an inch shorter.

" I left it at home so it wouldn't get filthy.", I lied, turning my head again and again to face him. I held myself, feeling the atmosphere growing more uneasy by the second.

" Oh, we see.", he responded in a low tone, showing that he doubted my answer. I turned when I heard the third one approach me. He was just as tall and appeared as old as the first but had dark brown hair and ice-blue eyes. Be gave me a look of frustration as he swung the back of his hand at me. He hit me so hard that I fell to the ground again. I made a small yelp of pain after receiving the hit and grunted when I landed on my side.

I heard one or two of them make a light chuckle. I placed a hand on my cheek then winced in pain. He left a harsh bruise on my face after the hit.

" Enough of your lies, wench.", he stated in a scratched tone," Unless you want another harsh smack on that lovely face of yours."

" Please...", I whimpered, feeling my eyes water with warm tears," I was only going home...". I felt so powerless in that position, so helpless. In my mind, I was wishing that Alucard was here. His presence always made me feel safe and secure. But with him gone, I was back to where I was before: Helpless.

The third priest knelt in front of me. His hand gripped my chin and turned my head to his. He stared down at me, all calm and serious before saying," I adore it when a woman begs."

I gasped with horror as he tugged me closer. This was just as horrible as that one moment with Taka and Sumi. It was becoming Hell all over again. I heard him exhale the aroma of my hair." Especially from the lovely ones", he continued as he pulled away," and young."

He let my face go and got up. One of them then aggressively tried to remove my hood as he pulled me up. I tried to scream for Alucard or anyone but the man behind gagged my mouth.

" Best keep quiet there, lovely. Or we might have to stop that little heart of yours.", the oldest one stated. Hearing those words brought back the memories of Taka and Sumi, back when I was so sick from the poison they gave me. The flashes of that memory only made this moment so much worse. It was the nightmare all over again. Then all of a sudden, I blacked out entirely.

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The moment I opened my eyes, I didn't remember what happened at all. That was until when I sat up, I found myself still completely clothed but drenched in blood. My breaths began to become rapid and heavy.

When I looked around at my surroundings, I was still in the forest but the castle was not in sight. It was already nightfall, even. How long was I out? How far was I from the castle? What happened to the priests from before? So much has raced in my mind that I felt dizzy from it.

I immediately got up and tried finding my way back. I even began calling out to my love.

" Alucard!", I shouted," Alucard!".

I keep searching and shouting his name for a while now. I felt so lost and desperate.

Not long after it began to rain heavily, as if that wasn't bad enough lighting began to strike. I gasped out of fright from the awful noise. I rushed under a tree, thinking that I would be safe.

I sat against its trunk and held myself. I was freezing from all the rain. I felt warm tears roll down my cheeks as I began to regret ever leaving the castle. I was without any hope at that moment, so lost and scared like a newborn infant without its mother or father. Then somehow, I drifted to sleep.