Burn the Witch - Castlevania

Chapter 7 - His mistake, her misfortune

Note: Art specially done of this chapter by Kira-bunny! 

As requested that day, Adeladia wrote down everything Adrien could've ever wanted about herself - and thus, the man began his tireless study into her wellbeing, the weak girl by his side on every turn. For Adeladia, days had felt like weeks, the relentlessness of her job slowly becoming far too much for the sickly girl to handle. The sun would rise and it would fall in what felt like years, only ever falling asleep at her small desk as her saviour moved around in constant thought, wracking his brain for anything he could as to help her. Adeladia wondered if he had perhaps forgotten her Human needs as he clearly wasn't such - she was unsure, but as the days passed she could feel her body suffering under the weight of this new job. At first, all was well. He had allocated her a place to rest, at times brought her food and always made sure there was a jug of water kept nearby, but over time he seemed to forget these simple needs. She was too busy to even go near her room, the food slowly ran out and the water became less and less frequent - the man had become completely consumed by his study into the girl, indirectly harming her more in the process of trying to bring her back to health. Her hands would shake and her mind would wander - writing was no longer an easy task, although, at the end of the day, she did agree to the job and he did warn her of the difficulties, but she had never thought it would be like this. Their blossoming friendship had very slowly turned into an almost 'master and servant' complex, and the thought itself made Adeladia feel sick. She was so sure for a time that this man could be her first friend in years, that maybe he was different, but her thoughts of him being a 'saviour' to her, were in jeopardy. Of course, she silently thanked him each day for the kindness he had shown her and the fact that he sheltered her and kept her safe from the outside world, but that was past now, and his 'care' was turning into harm. 

The blonde man sat in thought at his own desk, gloved hand upon his forehead as he stared down to a stack of re-written documents, Adeladia glancing to him wearily, hoping that today perhaps he'd allow her to rest, but from his stoic expression, she could tell that today was like no other. She knew what he did wasn't intentional, and that he never truly wanted to harm her, that he'd simply become too caught up in trying to help her - but she couldn't allow it to go on in such a way. Surely a month of relentless work was enough thanks. Her hand trembled at the thought of speaking out against him. Even although they were together most days, Adeladia never truly felt close to her 'knight', in fact, she felt even more distant from him now than ever before. Even when he stood close, it was like he wasn't even there. He was always lost in thought or just wouldn't respond to her at all - she had basically given up hope of any kind of friendship at this point. But she refused to let herself die under his care, even if it was by accident.

"Adrien, please, I-" 

"One more thesis Adeladia, just one more-" 

"No," She said as gently as she could in an attempt to not upset the man, but from the sudden look of confusion on his face, she realised she had already failed. "I need a break. Please, just this once. I need but a moment." Without allowing him to respond, she stood up from her chair and very quickly removed herself from the small room, Adrien left staring after her in confusion. 

Walking down the hall, Adeladia took a moment to rest, placing her hand against the wall and taking a deep breath - she was utterly exhausted. In those moments she longed for sleep, but she knew that she had to go outside, just for a minute - it had been so long. Ever since collapsing through his front doors, Adrien had never let her go outside in fear that someone may harm her or that it would make her more unwell, but she needed it. Ever since she was young, she was always outside either playing or walking, and even when she was on the streets she still enjoyed the rain and the sun - being constantly inside now was almost too much for her. 

Continuing through the castle, Adeladia felt herself become more and more weary, as if her body was begging her to stop - but she had her goal, and she was determined to succeed. Yet, on her way, she paused - there was a painting on the wall she hadn't quite noticed before. Turning her body towards it, she squinted at the mesh curtains that had been put over it as to hide the large portrait, she was honestly unsure of how she hadn't noticed it before now. It was huge and in an oval shape, seemingly with three figures on it. She knew she shouldn't have, but unable to curve her curiosity and to learn more about the man she knew so little of, she gently moved the curtain aside as to gaze at the artwork. The figure to the left was an ethereally beautiful woman with long golden hair, a radiant smile and the most breath taking blue eyes she had ever seen painted. On the right, there was a very tall dark haired man who she could've swore was somehow familiar, but ever still, he had a gentle smile that made her lips curl to mimic him. He was intimidating and large, but too, fatherly and gentle. And in the centre, unmistakably, was Adrien as a child. Short curly blonde locks, stunning golden eyes - this was his family, his parents. The words he had spoken to her as she first arrived echoed inside of her mind - his family was 'taken away', just as hers had been. Perhaps this is how he had become the way he was, stoic and quiet. Maybe just as her, his family had been taken from him during the attacks on Wallachia, she couldn't be sure, and she knew they weren't nearly well acquainted enough for her to ask him - perhaps in time she would learn more about him and where he came from, but for now, she let the curtain once more fall over the large painting. 

Continuing on through the halls, she finally came to the large staircase in the foyer, her heart beating hard as she dreaded the descent. Ever since her illness began, she had never been good with stairs, even more so now, but she just had to reach the outside. Taking her first step down and holding her breath, she could practically feel her body begging her to stop, but she was far too close now, and began down the stairs slowly, one step at a time, gripping the large banister as she did so. Once halfway down, she stood for a moment as to catch her breath before continuing with her descent down. Her mind went back to the times she would practically fly up  the staircase in her family home before the attacks. How her and her siblings would race each other up and down them, sometimes just run up and down to keep fit, it was such a different time to the trembling mess she had become. Although, she would always try her best to continue to live as she did, she refused to let it get the better of her even although her body was clearly winning over her mind. As long as she could, she would never stop trying to survive. 

Upon reaching the bottom, a gentle smile graced her face as she saw the door to the outside was so close now, and thus, she picked up her dress and began to walk towards the door, but as quickly as she started, something felt wrong, more wrong than usual. A sudden light-headedness came on that made the girl stop dead in her tracks, a cold sweat suddenly taking over as her vision began to tunnel. It was so fast she could hardly make sense of what was happening and why she had so suddenly began to feel so unwell, but deep down she knew - all of what had happened had simply pushed her body too far, and now, she was finally, truly, paying for it. 

"Where are you--" Over the ringing in her ears, Adeladia heard the gentle voice of Adrien from behind, her head turning to see the tall man standing at the top of the staircase, staring down at Adeladia with an uneasy expression. Yet before the man could even finish, Adeladia felt herself suddenly slip away, her consciousness leaving her as her frail body swayed. Within a moment, Adrien had appeared behind her, catching the falling woman with one hand as she fell, taking her hand in his other as he watched her hurt expression fall. "--going...?" The man finished as he held her ever so easily with one hand. He waited for a moment, expecting a response, but none came - she was utterly unconscious. 

"Adelaida?"