Alucard
I carried the unconscious Cristine in my arms as exited her burning home. Once I got far enough from it, I turned around and saw her burning home start to collapse." At least the bodies won't need to be disposed of.", I said to myself.
I looked down at Cristine, my usually calm and emotionless expression softened from the sight of her. Her once lovely and neat auburn hair was now a mess, her rose-tinted cheeks were puffy and sticky from what looked like tears drying up, some fresh bruises and cuts were on her once soft skin, and instead of her usual, calm expression which occasionally included a small smile; it was now hurt and tired one.
It tucked her head onto my shoulder to make her comfortable. She looked more relaxed after that. I then walked to my castle to treat her bruises and cuts so she could sleep comfortably.
" They will not hurt you anymore.", I whispered to her as if she could hear me.
When I entered my castle, I placed her in one of the spare rooms. While she lay in the bed, I cleaned the filth on her face and did what I could to treat her bruises and her cuts. Luckily, the cuts weren't severe so there was no need to bandage them.
I finished not long after, I pulled a blanket over her to keep her warm for the night. I heard a small whimper coming from Cristine. I looked at her with concern, tears streaming from her and she squirming a bit. Without hesitation, I gently placed a hand on her left cheek, whispering that she was safe and she had nothing to fear. Instead of calming down, she woke up and gasped. I immediately took my hand away from her cheek and gave her some space. She then sat up and panted, just noticing that she was in an unfamiliar place. She looked at me with her eyes widened. We both said nothing to each other. I reached in to place my hand on her cheek again to show I meant no harm. But when the palm of my hand made contact with her cheek, tears quickly streamed from her eyes. She leaned into me with her arms wrapped around me, closing the gap between us as she sobbed into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her to comfort the poor woman." It's alright, Cristine. You're safe now, they won't hurt you anymore.", I softly whispered to soothe her. I rubbed her back and kept a hold of her as she sobbed. But she eventually began to calm down. I slowly pulled away from her to give her space. Her head was facing down with a facial expression that was still sad but the tears stopped coming at least.
" Does that feel better, at least a little?", I asked her.
Cristine shook her head a yes, still carried the sad look on her face though. But it must have worked at least a little since she stopped the crying." Hm... How about I get you something to drink?", I suggested," Maybe that can get your mind off what happened at least a little. Then maybe we can talk about what happened, or if you prefer we don't have to. You can just rest."
Cristine stayed silent for a small moment before saying," I could use a drink."
I got off the bed and offered a hand to her. She looked at it then at me. As she took the blanket off her she took my hand. My fingers curled around her hand and kept a firm grip as she got off the bed. I then lead her outside of the room, still keeping a hold of her small hand.
I took her from the halls to the main hall, and finally to the kitchen. I walked in with her. I let go of her hand and grabbed one of the chairs. I pulled it out for her then tell her," Do sit down.", and she did no questions asked. I then pushed it in for her but not too much, that would have been crazy of me. I then walked to the cellar door and opened it. Before I entered, I looked at her. She looked back at me." I'll be back shortly with some wine.", I told her then entered the cellar to search for the wine. But it wasn't easy since most of the wine bottles were shattered.
After a few long minutes of searching, I finally found one. I then grabbed two wine glasses on the way back to the kitchen, hopefully, Cristine hadn't wandered off. I opened the door and saw that Cristine was still in the same spot as before, thankfully. But I sighed when I noticed her staring at the two dolls I made to look like Trevor and Sypha." Please, don't look at those.", I tell her calmly.
She turned her head towards me. I walked over and placed both glasses down on the table, one next to her while the other was at my usual spot. I poured the wine into both our glasses then I set the bottle aside. I sat down in my usual spot, which was at the end of the table and on the left side of where Cristine was sitting. I drank some of my wine, she just stared at her's like she didn't know what to do with it. " Do you not like white wine?", I asked her.
" Hm?", she responded as she turned her head to me," Oh no, I just never had wine before."
" Try it, I promise you that it's good.", I encouraged her. She looked at it again then picked up her glass. She circled the wine a little before she took a sip of it.
" This tastes delicious.", she said before she continued to drink more of it. I softly smiled at her, glad that she was enjoying it. Somehow, my eyes then lead my attention from Cristine to the dolls. I frowned a little, remembering what happened before Cristine. "What's wrong?", I heard her ask, the memories stopped playing in my head and my attention was back to Cristine.
" Nothing, just thinking.", I answered before drinking from my glass. We both were silent for a short while. I didn't mention her home or the men, I thought it would be too much pressure for her to talk about it." Your home is lovely.", she said.
" Thank you.", I responded.
" And quite large for one person.", she continued which touched a nerve of mine. But I couldn't be angry at her for it, she didn't know the reason why I was the only one in the castle." This used to be my father's castle", I told her," until he died."
" I'm sorry that you lost your father. How did he die?", she asked.
" By my hand with a wooden stake to his heart.", I answered her with a slightly melancholic tone. I didn't need to look at her to know that she was shocked. An answer like that can shock anyone.
" Why did you do it?", she questioned further in a timid tone, I looked at her. I must have given her a serious or offended look on my face since her's was a nervous one. I drank the rest of my wine, then set my glass down and shut my eyes for a small moment as I thought about how I should respond to her question. I took a long breath then opened my eyes. I looked into her eyes deeply as I asked," If I tell you, would you promise to not be afraid of me or to see me as a monster?"
" Of course, why would I see you like that?", she answered with a small and confused smile, obviously oblivious to why I asked such a promise. I managed to smile back a little but that was short-lived and my expression turned back into a sad and serious one.
" My father wasn't always the monster people say that he was, there was a time where he was more human.", I started.
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The story took me longer than I expected to explain, but she still listened. For all I know how long I talked, it could have been hours. I was surprised that she didn't end up falling asleep, being bored, trying to interrupt, or being scared or disgusted.
" After my father's death, my friends and I said our farewells and they left to go on with their lives. As for me, I remained here, protecting both my father's knowledge and the Belmont Hold.", I finally finished. She looked at me as if she wanted to say that she was sorry.
" You and your father really must have struggled with your mother's death.", she responded in a gentle tone," I'm sorry for your losses. My mother was taken and killed by the Church too.". I looked at her, her head was down with a sad expression on her face. I watched as a tear streamed from her eyes, down her cheek. It dropped onto her hand. I could tell that she spoke the truth.
"How old were you when it happened?", I asked her out of curiosity and pity.
" About seven, I think.", she answered. I was almost startled by her answer. She had lost her mother longer than I have, and at an early age." How did your father take it?", I continued to ask.
" I never knew my father. My mother always told me that he was never the type to stick around. I never understood why though.", she answered. I was more startled and more curious about the answer to that, but I also felt more sorry for her after learning it. But I was also a little puzzled on how she managed to survive long enough to be the woman she is now." Were you always alone since then?", I asked her further.
" I used to have an older sister who took care of me. We used to be very close when I was young. When I was thirteen, she was gone. I don't know why she did it, she never left a note or even said goodbye.", she told me with a heartbroken expression on her face," Maybe she did it to find our father. Maybe she did it to find those who killed our mother....or maybe she did it because of me. I might've held her back, maybe I wasn't good enough."
" Do you really think it's your fault?", I asked her, hiding my small bit of anger at how someone would abandon her at such a young age. She rubbed her hands together, having a guilty and sad look on her face. She probably sensed the anger I had when I asked her the question." It's always felt like that.", she responded. I reached over and placed my hand on her's, curling my fingers around to hold it. " None of it was your fault.", I told her in a kinder tone," You deserved none of the cruel things that had happened to you. You are a good and innocent woman.". Cristine looked at me but said nothing, not even arguing that she was otherwise. She then looked down again but carried a small smile on her face. She took a small glimpse back at me but turned away when she caught me smiling at her. I couldn't help but find her shy response rather adorable. Her smile shortly vanished and turned back into a frown. It didn't take long for my smile to follow suit only my facial expression was now a concerned one.
" What's wrong?", I asked her, knowing that something was on her mind.
" I don't know what to do. The only home I ever had is gone. The Church will find me again, they'll say that I'm responsible.", she explained to me with worry. I tighten my grip into a firm one so that she didn't feel uncomfortable or hurt.
" Stay with me then.", I almost immediately suggested; she looked at me almost surprised from my offer," I can protect you, provide for us both. Maybe we could teach each other some things? You could teach me about planting and maybe some food recipes, and I could teach you...Well, whatever you like to be taught."
" Really? You would do that?", she asked in amazement.
" Yes, I gladly would.", I told her smiling," I also could use some help cleaning up the place and organizing some things, if it's not too much trouble.".
" I would, I love to help.", she smiled, I felt her equally firm grip on my hand. Just like that, I thought it was too good to be true that she would accept my offer. But it was true, or at least I think it was. Either way, it was still a joy to know that someone was willing to stay and help. She and I could both use each other's company, this was truly a joy.