Patricia was wearing the most flowing dress she had ever seen. Her red hair played in the wind as she spun around and around the grand ballroom lit by faded candles. The music continued happily as everyone applauded.
Her grandparents also danced happily, as if they were still children, her uncle had a tall and stunning red-haired woman as a partner, and her friends had also found a partner. There were more people whom she didn't recognize, but at the same time, she knew that she had known them for many years.
That's right, she had been living in the castle with her family for years, she had trained hard to meet the expectations of her trainers and had had excellent teachers to become a worthy maiden as well as a fearsome warrior.
That night of her birthday, she felt like a child again and couldn't stop having fun and doing mischief. She had even turned down some dance partners because she wanted to keep up with her own pace.
Until, the young man whom she wanted to invite, approached her and offered her hand. It was then that she did not hesitate to accept, since she knew that, as soon as they synchronized the beat, there would be no rules for both of them. She was vaguely aware of the wary look from her grandfather and the laughter from her grandmother, and her uncle, as if they were in sync.
Nothing mattered: They were free. Nothing would stop them.
Her reflection in the huge ornate mirror in the living room made her stop.
Something wasn't right. She couldn't tell what it was but...
The woman in the mirror, she was so beautiful, with unruly auburn hair in an attempt to keep it styled, her eyes glowing a deep crimson and her face turning pale. Fang tips flashed from her as she parted her lips.
"What's going on, Milady?"
"Is everything all right, dear?"
"Did something happen?"
"Patricia?"
It was the same woman, the one who turned around at the mention of her name.
"I'm fine, grandma," she contextualized to the maiden in white.
"Are you sure?" She examined it, concerned.
"Don't worry, I just remembered something."
"Okay," she smiled at her "come on, the evening isn't over yet, your grandfather, you know how he is."
She laughed in response and followed her, arm in arm, but not before her eyes, like blood, returned to rest one last time on the mirror, where the girl on the other side remained stupefied, with one hand on the glass.
When Patricia opened her eyes, she was standing in front of the mirror, one hand on the glass.
She was trembling, but only her reflection returned her gaze.
"So, you saw it." she turned to Majo's voice.
Nikki levitated next to her:
"Indeed, the anomaly ended."
"Anomaly?" Patricia looked around her, at the beautiful room that she did not remember having seen before, and then at herself, at her lacy pale pink nightgown, her disheveled hair... "Where is my barrette? And my armor? And my whip?
"Within sight of you, little lady" Majo pointed to a small and jeweled table, where the hair garment was arranged among fine satin.
The girl went to grab it and looked at it in her hands.
"Apparently the jewel absorbed them both when Dracul made the magic recede," said the hologram.
"So how do I get it back?"
"He said that you would learn to use it, eventually" Majo slid across the room until she was in front of the mirror "You were right, this mirror is important, although I still don't know if we did the right thing by placing it in your room."
"I think so" Nikki extended a screen with a beep "We have discovered something spectacular."
"It's the mirror that I told my uncle, although I didn't see when Pinky and Fenix brought it." Then she looked around her again "I don't remember this place either. Are we still in the castle?"
"That's right, as unlikely as it may seem" Majo rolled her eyes.
"Wooow" exclaimed the girl, suddenly unable to stop contemplating the room "So..."
Suddenly, she backed away and ran to the window. It took her a moment to pull the curtain wide, and then a couple of tries to open the gold-framed windows. The wind of the eternal night whipped through her red hair as the colossal sight of her grandpa's castle filled her. Suddenly, flats of her dream returned:
"...She had been living in the castle with her family for years..."
"So... are we really living here?" she sighed.
"At least for now" Majo put a hand on her shoulder. "This area is safe and the human city may be dangerous for us at the moment."
Patricia turned to the sorceress:
"So... can I keep this room?"
"It's yours to dispose" the hologram continued floating between beeps and little screens "If you don't like something, you can now complain to the duo who don't pay attention to anyone."
"Complain?" the girl jumped "I love it! It's the best I've ever had in my life! She turned to the window "And I can see the whole castle from here, it's sooo cool!!!"
The two vampires smiled, but it was Nikki who said:
"In that case, don't say anything to them, or there won't be anyone to lower their ego."
"True" Majo snorted.
"And they also added the mirror... I just told them it was important" There was a contained emotion in the little girl's voice. "How come they do all this in such a short time?"
"They have their methods, anyways, don't tell them they were right, or there will be no one to support them" The screen began to show Patricia asleep and the mirror began to flash.
Slowly, she got up and began to dance around the wide room, making gestures, as if she were greeting someone, as if she was laughing with someone, as if she was dancing with someone... until she stopped before the mirror shone. She started to get closer and closer until she put her hand on the glass.
"Creepy, yet fascinating" she concluded as she reduced the screen.
Patty couldn't believe her eyes but then again, with everything she'd been through so far, she wasn't sure how she felt.
"There was a woman in the mirror" she pronounced, sitting on the soft velvet armchair with pink and black ruffles, next to the window "She was dancing, surrounded by all of you... and then..."
"Oh, fate playing tricks again" exclaimed Majo.
"How do we say this to the vampi-patriarchs?" Nikki made a face.
"I'll tell them!" The girl got up again "I'll tell them everything, where are they?!"
The maidens looked at each other with affected amusement and, turning to the little girl, spoke to her sweetly:
"You're smarter than them Patty, but right now they're in a... complicated situation..."
"What?" she gasped "What happened? Tell me!"
"Uncle!"
Marie looked up as the little girl ran over to where Trevor lay unconscious.
"Patricia?"
"We're sorry, she insisted" The ghost seemed agitated as if she had run a marathon, and Majo placed herself right behind her.
"What happened to him? He will be well? He is a strong vampire, right? He's going to be fine, right?"
Marie took the face of the girl that she was about to break into tears.
"He will be fine, surely he is very strong, and his friends have already taken good care of him."
Without holding back any longer, the two embraced, but her gaze returned to the impassive face of her son.
"He's going to be fine, Gabriel promised."
"And Grandpa, where is he?" Before she could answer she sentenced "He went to look for who hurt him, right?"
Marie did not know why she was surprised at this point:
"That's right, but it's complicated."
"But he has a plan, doesn't he?"
"It seems so" was her affected response.
Patricia separated from her and stood up in front of her uncle:
"I hope he finds it" Her face was angry.
Marie blinked. At another time, she would be worried by that sudden outburst of hers and she would have to explain why revenge was not a good thing, and the damage that it had done to all of her family. But, with her beloved Trevor still unconscious, and considering the lifestyle they were leading, she clenched a fist.
"You're right, I hope he finds her. Because as long as she exists, any of us could be in danger. Gabriel's methods have not always been appropriate, but he will not forgive anyone who hurts us."
Not even himself. She added to herself.
In Castlevania City, Saturday night was bustling, with club lights on, music playing as loud as the speakers could reach, people parading the streets in their regalest outfits, and cars speeding down the avenues.
It should be overwhelming for an immortal being like him, but instead, it brought back distant memories of his visits to the great metropolises. He had never liked being part of any of that, but his beloved Marie adored it every time they came to visit and he should come prepared with extra coins, in case any item was to her liking.
He wondered if she too would be delighted with this new scene. He could bring her and experience it for herself.
Sure, as long as they weren't hunting a bloody sorceress.
"Em... excuse me, Milord" the dark-skinned lady and loose-sleeved dress with light feather themes that accompanied him, pointed to his suit "are you sure you want to go... like this?"
He saw himself, since they had insisted on changing her garments for some more... suitable, but this was the armor that had accompanied him for all these centuries, and surely he was on his way to meet a dangerous opponent.
"Oh, Fenix, what do you think?" the other lady in a black and pink suit, with her hair of reddish tones from dark to light at the wavy ends, stood next to her partner "it's not like his cosplay was iconic enough and suddenly someone recognized him: oh, look, it's Dracula, let's ask him for a selfie".
He crossed his arms. He had decided to use them to find the bitch that cursed his son, since they were more familiar with this new world and Trevor trusted them enough. But they were a couple of complex presences for him, who was more than used to solving his affairs on his own. To what extent was it pertinent to listen to them?
"Do you have something in mind, ladies?"
They looked at each other and the grimaces that hid his mischievous smiles did not bode well when they focused on him again. It was the pink lady who pointed the screen of one of those devices called a smartphone at him.
"Choose, my lord," she said, sliding her finger over men in suits, both drawn and real.
Men whose appearance was curiously similar to his own.
"Behold, Milord" exclaimed the feathered lady "you have the honor of meeting the only and one with the largest collection of "Draculas" in all Castlevania."
"Oh, dear, you will make me blush, juju."
The dragon didn't understand half of what they were referring to, but he began to look at the options with interest. Some were more quality than others, some were modern adaptations of their armor, or simple garments with scale motifs, even one with a dragon crisscrossing around the shoulders and part of the chest.
"Impressive" he mumbled unable to avoid it.
"Oh, thank you, juju" Her gesture was exaggerated, but her blush, too human for an immortal, was genuine "I can give you suggestions, there is an artist I really like and..."
There were some really elegant ones, he had to admit.
"I'll use this one" She touched the screen and the image enlarged.
Pinky took one look and stepped back, putting a hand to her chest, nothing faked about her reaction.
He observed every detail, even the boots, the accessories, and the back, when he thought he had enough information, he backed off. Threads of blood emerged from his arms and engulfed him. When it disappeared, he had a stunning outfit with black and red patterns reminiscent of the details of his armor. His chest, however, was closed with a tie studded with rubies, obsidian, and black diamonds. He donned what she recognized as sunglasses and a tall hat of some dark material.
"Shall we go?" He said, adjusting the thick gloves that hid his claws.
However, the girls were both stunned, their mouths open.
"O-M-G... that's..." Fenix seemed to be out of breath, even though she didn't need it.
"Yeah, that's it" He could swear the lady in pink had tears in her eyes.
He rolled his eyes and turned to urge them to move, but he couldn't help but listen:
"Did you see, Pinky? I told you your design was my favorite."
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Peace~ was never an option~