Castlevania: Of Darkness and Light

Strange Lodgings and Stranger Company

I flinched a little, but not from how firmly he was wrapping the bandage around my foot, rather it was from his touch. Whenever his fingers gently brushed against my skin it sent a weird, warm feeling in my stomach. "Here, this should suffice. Try standing up." 

I stood up. "So much better." I wiggled my toes. "I feel like I can stand on it a little more."

"That's the purpose." Alucard said. "The bandage will help compress the swelling and allow you to walk easier. It'll have to be changed of course, but I can easily do that. Make sure you do not put to much weight on your healing foot, shift it to your other foot, or even better, your staff to keep it off."

"Noted." I nodded. Next he slathered the white paste on to the scars. Unfortunately I didn't  sit as still for that, I tried, but having cold paste on an already sore injury wasn't easy. Yet I trusted Alucard, holding my staff with both hands on my lap letting him do his work. While he covered the paste with bandages I notice he had his own scars on his arms. It looked like he was caught in a coil, wrapped around both arms as they vanished up his sleeves and reappeared coiling around his neck like a noose. Anger boiled within me. Who hurt you? "You have scars too."

"That I do. I have many of them." He answered quietly tracing the lines on his opposite arm. "This......this was from two foolish visitors who betrayed my trust." He didn't say any more and I didn't ask. I wanted to find whoever the bastards were and stab them through the throat.

"I will never betray your trust." I told him determined. "I swear on it." 

Alucard answered with a friendly pat on my head.

Later on he lead me to my room, a small lavender guestroom with warm furnishings and an even warmer bed with curtains. The full moon shone beautifully through the window . "Wow, soft!" I fluffed the pillows and bed-sheets. "Oh I'm going to sleep so good tonight." I gave Alucard a meaningful look. "Thank you....for everything."

 Alucard lowered his chin. "Anything to help a lost stranger find her way." He told me the castle was mine to explore but advised me not to wander around at night lest I should get lost.

"And I will be close should you need me." He said before closing the door.

Even without the semi-ominous tone of a vampire keeping watch, I couldn't settle in. My sleep was troubled, not because I was uncomfortable. The room was very cozy, and physically it was the most comfortable place I slept in recent memory.  It was hard sleeping alone in a new unfamiliar place, without the warmth of the Speakers huddled against me.  Oh how I missed Vivian, and the cold of the room didn't help either! I tossed and turned before I decided to soothe my nerves whistling about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, and things that certainly didn't go bump in the night in an ancient vampire castle.

I nearly flipped out of bed, clutching my staff against my breast when the door creaked open. "What exactly are you doing?" Alucard's shadow loomed at the door. "Trying to sooth myself to sleep."

"By whistling to yourself?" 

"It helps.... I think." I sat up against the back of the bed. "Sorry, I didn't meant to disturb you." 

"I'm not disturbed." Alucard's shadow moved until he was sitting on the bed, the mattress slightly dipping. From the moonlight I could make out his large imposing figure, his long wavy hair trailing below his shoulder like a maiden's. I wasn't scared, but my body was on alert, being this close to the world's most dangerous predator "If your foot is hurting you I can refit the bandage so it isn't too tight."

"The bandages are fine, thank you. My foot's sore, but that's not what's keeping me up." I sighed. "It's gonna sound crazy, but I'm not used to sleeping alone. I've always had someone close by, like the Speakers, or the old farming couple (rest their souls.) I think being alone in a huge place like this makes me feel vulnerable, that I have to stay awake or else I'll be killed."

"You are safe here." Alucard responded quietly. "I assure you, but if you are uncomfortable. I can stay with you while you sleep. Would you like that?

"Yes!" I nodded franticly. "Do you mind?"

"No." Alucard responded flatly. "Just give me a few moments to set up a cot beside you."

"No need." I said. "You can sleep with me." I heard Alucard sucked in air through his teeth. "What?" I asked. "Safety in numbers. The Speakers do it all the time. If night creatures crash through the window you can sink your teeth into them or I can bash them in the head."

Alucard breathed a few moments. "I supposed you are right." He settled awkwardly into the bed, curling up as far from me as possible, his back turned and his shadow looming over the moonlight like a mountain.

"Thank you."

Alucard stirred, brushing his hand against my arm. I still woke periodically through the night, though mostly from cold this time around. I shivered, nearly waking up at one turn when I felt a heavier blanket cover me. "I hope I'm not repeating the same mistake over again." The vampire's voice murmured in my dream. "But I think I can trust you." I smiled in my sleep feeling tucked into the blanket and a hand gently stroking my hair. "Sleep well, little one."