She sat on the deep crimson couch as she raked the brush through the dhampir's hair.
"We have to go out to the fields today and create the orchard for the townsfolk," she mentioned casually as the brush made another pass through his golden strands.
She could sense his frown. "Are you sure you want to be exerting yourself?" he asked her.
"I will be fine," she placed the brush down before gathering his hair into a ponytail and tying it off with a bow, "I can not stay cooped up in this castle forever."
"You are growing weaker," he said before turning around to look at her.
She rolled her eyes and placed the brush on the bedside table, "I am fine."
"You are barely sustaining your hunger," he spoke harshly, "I have never met a vampire that does not survive on human blood."
"You do not survive on human blood," she countered as she stood up from her seat.
"I was born this way," he followed after and placed a hand on her arm, "I do not believe that you can survive like this much longer."
"Animal blood will have to do," she closed her eyes with a frown, "I have no wish to uproot my life once more to go on some old goose chase. Carmilla is as good as gone. I would never be able to find her."
"I am—"
Thump!
The two looked up before bringing their gaze back to each other.
She frowned and ran her hands over her face, "We need to talk to her."
"His death took a toll on all of us," he sat down on the end of the bed, "We're all taking this differently."
"I understand that but she has been locked away in her room for weeks on end," she pointed out.
He sighed before slowly nodding, "We can knock on her door later."
Alucard patted the seat next to him and she begrudgingly sat down. He threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.
She placed her head on his shoulder and stared blankly in front of her.
"We have had a hard couple of months," he whispered to her.
The young woman closed her eyes, "How I long for the time when things were simpler."
She could feel his eyes burning into the side of her head, "When you lived with Hector?"
"When I lived with you, silly!" she snaked her arm around his waist, "When we had the entire castle to ourselves. I no longer think of Hector."
"You don't?"
The young woman cast herself further into the dhampir's embrace, "He threw me aside for a woman he met merely months ago. He was her prisoner! I fought so hard to save him and he did not even care."
"You deserved better than that," he leaned his head on top of hers.
"I know."
🧭
The sun was high in the sky and the duo decided to take a walk outside and check on the new village.
She had initially wanted to check on Sypha but Alucard had swayed her to check on the village first.
"Y/N. Alucard," the brunette smiled, "It's nice to see you both."
"Greta!" the young woman smiled and embraced the other woman, "How is the building coming along?"
Greta motioned to the area of land behind her. Villagers were chopping wood and hammering planks together. A few stalls were in the middle of the unfinished buildings and Y/N could see some cobblestones being put into the streets.
"Construction is going well," she smiled, "We are planning to have a finished town by the end of next year."
Alucard looked at the budding town and busy market, "That sounds wonderful."
Greta nodded at the town before returning her gaze to look at the two vampires, "I couldn't have done this without you both."
"I wouldn't say that," she said.
Greta smiled, "You don't have to."
With that, the duo said their goodbyes, and Greta left to return to the village.
"It feels nice with so many people around," Alucard spoke with a significant smile.
She nodded, "I—"
Her words got caught in her throat at the sight of the woman, "Sypha?"
Alucard turned around and looked at the Speaker with wide eyes.
The blonde held a sack in her hand and stood in front of the duo with crossed arms. The woman constantly shifted her weight as if ready to run at any second.
"I need a horse."
Alucard and Y/N spared a glance at each other.
The H/C frowned, "A horse?"
"I have decided that it would be best if I returned to the Speakers," she placed a hand on her growing stomach, "It would probably be better to raise my baby with the support of my family."
"Sypha, are you sure?" she said as her hands began to get clammy, "You know that you always have a home here."
Alucard spared Sypha a small smile. "I have heard that it takes a village to raise a child," he gestured behind him, "Luckily for you, there is one being built right here."
She waved her hand dismissively, "I wouldn't want to be a bother," she tightened her grip on her sack.
"You would never be a bother," the healer said with a smile. Alucard stepped closer to her and wrapped an arm around her.
"We have been meaning to tell you something," he said.
"You have?" the Speaker's eyes shifted between them both.
Y/N nodded, "We came up with a name for the town."
"Belmont."
The name hung in the air and tears sprung into Sypha's eyes. She chuckled before dropping her sack and allowing a tearful smile to cover her face.
"I think I would like to live in a town named Belmont."
Y/N threw her arms around the woman and embraced her in a tight hug, "That's great!"
Sypha pulled away from the hug with a smile before looking around at the town. "First we're going to need to build some wells," she pointed at an empty plot of land, "A town office for commerce there."
Alucard chuckled, "That's the spirit."
The healer smiled at the scene in front of her. Sypha spoke passionately about the changes that would make the town better.
Even though the past few months had been horrible, she was happy that something good had come from all this heartache.
Nothing could make this moment better.
"Nice to see you're settling in well."
Her eyes widened and her head snapped around to see the bruised and battered hunter.
Her face remained frozen in shock. How could it be?
"Trevor!" Sypha exclaimed before running into the hunter's arms, "How?" she whispered.
"I don't know," he closed his eyes as he embraced the Speaker tighter. The healer could only look on in disbelief.
Trevor slowly opened his eyes and looked at her grin before pulling her into the hug. Sypha wrapped her arm around her and pulled her deeper into the hug. The young woman was wrapped in a comfortable blanket of warmth.
"Don't sulk, bloodsucker," Trevor chuckled, "Join in."
The dhampir crossed his arms and looked away from the trio, "I don't—"
"Alucard, get over here!"
A smile came onto her face as she felt Alucard's slightly cool skin rub up against hers.
Despite the coldness of her own skin, she had never felt so warm before.
When she originally decided to set out on the journey of a lifetime, she only wanted to grow her independence and find Hector. She may not have gotten all that she had wanted at the time but she could confidently say that she had gotten everything she could ever possibly need.
In a sense, she couldn't be happier that Hector ran away with Dracula because she was able to meet such wonderful people.
As she watched Trevor and Alucard banter while Sypha muttered to herself about possible improvements to the village the healer couldn't help but allow a broad grin to cover her face. Alucard, Sypha, and Trevor were everything she could have ever wished for and more.
The healer couldn't wait to see what journey the next chapter of her life would give her and she couldn't wait to face it with the loves of her life.
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Anddd cut! That's the end! I had so much fun writing this book and making my ideas come to life. I'm thinking about writing some bonus chapters to explore Y/N's dynamic with the loves of her life. If y'all are interested in reading some bonus chapters let me know and I'll write them. Thank you so much for reading and if you enjoyed this book feel free to check out my others. I'm planning on finishing all my books by the end of the year to make room for new books next year.
~Pink