The following day was settled for inspecting the engine room, which Adrian said he would attempt to restore to functioning order. It was a bright day in the forest, half of which Ravenna spent amid the tomes of the Belmont Vault, searching for hints to investigations into the make and reversal of the process concerning night creatures. When finished, she met with her host before the main stairs of the great hall of the castle, and they began their ascent to the sought-for space.
Ravenna looked him over, more a quirk of her trade really, and noticed that despite his late night incursion Adrian appeared if only a little less burdened, his gait not as tense, the line of his mouth less set. Or perhaps it was her eyes playing tricks on her, weary of studying all those types of handwriting for hours under the artificial lighting.
"Here it is," Adrian said when they reached a high arched opening.
Her eyes went wide in wonder at the soaring narrow chamber, bedecked with ruined cogwheels, sprockets, and pinions of various shapes and sizes. Golden summer light flooded the enclosure through a great arched window, revealing destruction in all its ruinous splendor.
"Copper?" Ravenna inquired of the metal objects, receiving a nod from Adrian in response.
"It was the most conductive for the type of energy powering the mechanism," he said, approaching one of the smaller gearwheels.
Ravenna saw a large, hardened leather bag set on the floor, various utensils contained within.
He knelt and spread the tools one after the other. After this, her host produced a thin piece of silk string and tied his hair back loosely before rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He usually wore white with black, she had noticed. Ravenna figured it was an aspect pertaining to his upbringing, which, judging by what she'd seen and discovered of him, had clearly been of distinguished ilk. A clinking sound brought her back, and she saw him taking a peculiar metal instrument with forked endings, reaching between two gearwheels with both hands.
The image of the previous night resurfaced, with him sitting so still and silent for hours, staring at the burning remains of his former friends. He was alone, in the truest sense of the word; it was all too much, too unfair for one so young to live through. Though Ravenna liked to scold her luck, she'd benefited from the great heart of a noble in mind if not lineage, who took her as his ward. With their qualities and drawbacks, her fellow apprentices at the University became her friends. It was the closest to a family Ravenna had ever known, but it was there.
As her thoughts changed and mingled with others, she peered closer, noting the damage on each of the metal components in the room. Some were in worse shape than others. It was as though they'd been heated close to a molten state, but the walls and all else looked unburnt, untouched. Thinking back to what Adrian told her of the Speaker magician, she assumed this was the outcome of elemental magic interference.
"When my companion turned her will upon the castle, its workings resisted and fought against the intruding force," Adrian supplied, now drawing measurements on the cogwheels with a wide, marked wooden utensil. "As you can see, this was the result." He followed her gaze to regard the ruined mechanism for likely the thousandth time.
"I presume you need to replace all of this and infuse the newly crafted pieces," Ravenna said while bringing a finger to her chin. "That is what you need my aid for," she looked back at him.
"Precisely, for them to be receptive to the steering, which is another matter altogether." He removed more rubble close to the space where he'd placed his tools. "But there's a little more to it than that. I need to dismantle the damaged parts first to assess which ones can be salvaged. The copper used in their making will also need to be of a specific level of purity. Metalworkers and smiths in the area are not so skilled in a task of this magnitude, and a trip or two would be required to see a few masters previously known to my father." He sighed. "I am far from that, though," Adrian finished, rising to stand from his bent position and wiping his face with the back of his hand.
"Now." He looked her way. "After seeing this, tell me. Do you have the skill to aid with the make and infusion of these components, Ravenna of Styria?" He neared the woman, his pale face a blank canvas, as empty of emotion as she'd come to know it.
It was less eerie than before, to feel those eyes on her; eyes which mercilessly followed the changes in her expression, and Ravenna had the uncanny feeling he could read more than he let on. But how he did so, now that was a mystery. She willed the thumping in her chest to quieten, and her own eyes cut to his before straying to his face.
Her lips involuntarily quirked at the edges.
"What?" Alucard frowned, watching the Styrian approach until they faced each other. "My question amuses you." He raised an eyebrow.
The display wrung a soft whisper of mirth, and Ravenna bit down on her lip, her eyes narrowing in tune with her smile. Something felt raw and tight inside; he averted his gaze to the window.
There was a thin, black mark of dirt or whatever else smeared across his cheekbone. It was on the same side and in the same place where his wound had been, an almost endearing contrast to his sullen bearing. "I have the skill," Ravenna said, attempting to keep her smile from widening.
"I did not think you to be so thrifty with your words," Adrian muttered in mild irritation at her light-hearted manner.
He liked it better when I feared him, she thought wryly. She tried to lay heed to him, she really did, but in the end, Ravenna could take no more. Beyond her misgivings and on impulse her hand reached cautiously, and then her long fingers were touching his face to remove the distracting smudge. It lasted a moment before he went completely rigid, drawing back sharply as though she'd burned him.
Ravenna was left with her hand hovering in the air, blinking in confusion, so fast he'd recoiled.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, baring his teeth, touching his face where the offending fingers had been.
Ravenna shook herself back to cold reality, her lips parting in bewilderment. What was this now? She looked away from him. "There is dirt on your face." She crossed her arms. "I did not mean to offend," the woman tried swallowing her pique, unsure whether she may have broken some unspoken local custom or other. How could she have known?
When there was nothing, Ravenna regarded him again, only to see Adrian kneeling before his tools, his back turned to her.
"That will be all for today," he said, sifting through the scraps of metal with renewed intent.
Taken aback, tense and weary in both mind and body from her work and now his peculiar ways, Ravenna chose to retreat. Evening began its descent, and she found it odd how swiftly time had flown by. A new day awaited tomorrow, and with it, more work. "Good, well then, I'll take my leave," Ravenna offered, a dour edge to her words she couldn't hide, and soon enough, the echo of her steps heralded her withdrawal.
She did not see him turn to look over his shoulder, unmoving, listening to the sounds of her departure until the gaping corridors swallowed them.
※※※
When she finally reached the former chamber of his mother, which Ravenna kept as per their agreement, the woman rushed to light a candle. The soft flame gave her more nerve. It aided in not listening to every hiss of air flitting through the crevices in the walls, not lingering on any supposed movement behind the curtains; but speaking of the curtains, the air was stale in the room and Ravenna crossed the space to the large window, cracking it open. The frigid night air and sounds of life from beyond the woodlands reached her, soothing waves that mellow unrest. She then went to lie on the bed, reaching for the throw found in one of the many drawers.
Never have I thought I would come to this. A deal with a vampire, a castle with a life of its own, a trove of precious knowledge. Not even a vampire... but the son of the most dreaded of vampire lords.
As she pondered, her thoughts returned to details of what she'd discovered during her research earlier in the day. And then, unwelcomed, amid her thoughts brimmed a memory like a drop of blood on a white sheet: the way his skin felt under her fingers. His previously scarred skin had felt fine and unchanged to the touch, healed. It was still rather exceptional.
Her head turned to one side, then the other. Her eyes closed, then opened. Nightly air fluttered through the heavy curtains, and they billowed with the draught in a ghostly dance.
Please... Ravenna willed sleep to take her, stubborn though it was in its arrival. As she closed her eyes again, she felt a pleasant flicker deep within, leaving her oddly breathless. And the flicker intensified like a balm, a lake of heat and sweetness; its ripples engulfed her completely.
When she reopened her eyes, there was touch; soft, unearthly touch, gliding along her leg, lifting her white nightgown all the way to her hip. Ravenna squirmed, and as her vision refocused on her abode, she drew in a sharp breath.
"Adrian?..."
It was him, lest her eyes deceived her. It was his pale hair, loose around his shoulders this time. Those were his beautiful though saddened features, his unnerving eyes rimmed by long, dark lashes. He wore a fine white shirt as usual, and she could see the slightly ragged edge of a scar peeking from beneath his loosened collar. It was... it was his hand, his long fingers... touching her?
"Is this a dream?" Ravenna murmured, receiving no response as he reached for her hair, smoothing it over gently. His fingers trailed to her face, cold on her cheek, drifting to add the slightest pressure over her lower lip.
It felt real enough, and yet he could not... she could not... "This is... not like you..." she choked sleepily, her limbs useless.
"Do you wish me to leave?"
His question was genuine, his touch retreating; it felt like loss.
Ravenna swallowed, a hand lazily pressing over the one retreating from her thigh. "Stay..."
It was then that her first basic impression of him resurfaced, like a fresh stream bursting from the depths of the earth. He was devastatingly beautiful without that scowl. There was no doubt about it. And he was lifting her to him.
"Yes, this must be a dream..." Ravenna whispered as she was hedged into a sitting position at the edge of the bed, his hand splaying across her back. It was cold, but it felt good.
Her hooded eyes met his, now gold and glistening red. His lips parted, revealing sharp fangs. For an unknown reason, the sight made her incredibly tense; she trembled all over. Ravenna knew not what this was, but she knew somehow this was not... A dream, a mere dream... she reiterated to herself, though the nature of it took her by the greatest surprise.
Even more surprising was his smile as Adrian slowly knelt before her. He gingerly took one of her wrists, watching her closely. "May I?" came the soft question, softer than she'd ever heard him speak, and her heart and womb jerked in unison.
Unsure of what she even agreed to, Ravenna nodded hazily, lost in his gaze as he brought her wrist to his mouth. His lips burned, hot and fine; she drew air between her teeth, and Ravenna propped herself on her other arm, her head tilting back. What about tomorrow?... How will we face this... tomorrow...
"Why come to me... now... ?" she found the will to ask.
"I need you," he said, eyelashes fluttering, his chest heaving, pressed against her knees.
He was lonely. The simplest answer. But so sudden, so... unlordly of him, improper even, as some would say with aghast expressions. She could have said No—why hadn't she?
Because...
Ravenna lifted her head at the sudden sting when sharpness pierced her skin, and an unexpected spasm of pleasure struck her with the pressure of him at her veins.
The air left her lungs; she watched him, feeding on her. This act, the blood sharing, was so dangerous but the ache turned to pleasure, speaking to a side of herself so primal her breaths became ragged as she stared into his eyes. Ravenna felt hot slickness between her legs; she rubbed her thighs together, only wanting more. Her chest rose and fell in heavy panting wisps, even as he reached and pulled at the hem of her nightgown, down her shoulders and lower, revealing her breasts. Her breath caught when he then reached between her thighs, spreading them slowly, feeling along her flushed skin with his hand; cold, his touch... was so cold...
Her lower body spasmed with another stab of pleasure as Ravenna recognized this need. She'd read of it from the ancients when writings were yet unmarred by doctrine; of surrender and domination, of finding oneself in another; of affinity and the deepest communion.
Her toes curling, her thighs tensing, Ravenna lowered herself boldly into his hand. Her head fell back again, her eyes closed at the pleasing touch.
Nothing but a dream. Tomorrow, this will be a half-forgotten memory... maybe not even that.
While it was strange that she felt no pain, she was too far gone to wonder. Ravenna did not even feel him end his tasting of her and gently lick the spot on her wrist clean, before rising to be level with her again.
Adrian brought his face to hers, and Ravenna sighed at the heavy sweetness of that scent, one particularity she always secretly enjoyed about him. Her fingers caught in his soft hair, lost in its waves.
"Come with me," Adrian called to her, and she nodded, still nuzzling longingly against his neck. She felt him shift and allowed herself to be lifted against him.
She was being carried somewhere but had no notion of where, and as Ravenna looked up to see his face, she found it odd that his features were a blur. No, she should wake. What was happening...
Her eyes closed.
They were outside. She felt the chill air and saw the endless array of stars overhead, dusting the velvet skies. There was cold where Ravenna sought a warm heartbeat. A mild summer wind feathered its refreshing breath over her heated skin, and every nerve of her body drowned in anticipation. Her head fell back in his hold, her hair streaming lazily as it swayed down against the tall grasses of the clearing. His steps were slow and even, carrying her farther and farther from the castle, and into the darkened forest.
"Adrian..." Ravenna murmured, tortured by a need like nothing she'd felt before. She was lying down again, the cold earth beneath her.
She smiled as his hair feathered over her face when Adrian hovered above her. He drew ever closer, his eyes gaining a green sheen she had never seen before, his mouth parting to reveal blackened sharp teeth—
Ravenna jolted awake to the sudden, cold spray of liquid splashing across her face.
Adrian was staring at her, wide-eyed, a metal blade protruding from his chest. Green oozed from between his lips, onto her chest.
She shrieked; pushed, tried to scramble away into the darkness, suddenly feeling very awake and very confused, gaping at the still body of Adrian before reluctantly turning to the figure before her.
She froze.
"A-Adrian?" Ravenna screeched in disbelief, seeing him before her, his sword drawn and bloodied. And he looked very, very angry. His hair was in disarray, his eyes blazing red, teeth sharpened when he snarled.
Deep contempt was etched on his features as he sheathed his weapon in one fluid movement. "Do you perhaps mistake me for your keeper, Styrian?" the dhampir hissed, bending and jolting her up by the arm so swiftly Ravenna had to prop her hands against him for stability. Her head was spinning; she felt sick.
"What, no!" Ravenna blabbered, dazed and no less afeared. "I was... sleeping and..." Her eyes shot to the body lying on the forest floor.
Whatever it was, it was neither human nor vampire. It was certainly not Adrian. Its arms and legs were clawed and its skin had a mottled grey complexion similar to that of a snake. Its mane of hair was also long and shimmering grey, hiding its features from view.
"You must watch yourself here," Alucard stressed. "I cannot, and will not, stand watch for every time you take a wrong step," and he turned his back on her, heading towards the castle. He did not call to her, nor bid her follow.
Unnerved, flustered, and frightened, Ravenna followed. "What kind of wonder was that?" she still wanted to know, trying to keep to his fast strides and mortified at what had passed, at what had nearly passed.
Her cheeks were still stubbornly aflame for completely different reasons. She crossed her arms to her chest, feeling all the colder in her thin shift and bare feet.
"An incubus," Alucard threw. "It bewitches its victim, spurs and brings forth your deepest desires, then draws you away for its final feeding." He paused, and Ravenna heard a sigh. "Did you leave your windows open, Ravenna?" he asked, still stalking forward.
"I... I... might have," Ravenna swallowed, looking downward. Damn it. "But how was I to know?!" she groused.
No answer. He said nothing else until they entered the castle. Seeing how disheveled and irate he was, Ravenna found it best to turn tail back to her chamber, then thought better of it. She turned to Adrian instead. "Would you... please?"
Alucard bid her move forward, understanding her request. When, after a dark trek in complete and utter silence, they reached her chamber, her host stepped in first and inspected every corner, ensuring there was no peril. Ravenna lit a candle on a desk near the wide bed and went to close the window. After doing so, she remained there with her hand on the window latch, peering outside into the night. The ancient forest was still, its mysteries retreated beyond the sea of trees.
Her mind was misty, her heart racing with the memory of what she had allowed surfacing from depths unknown.
Your deepest desires.
Warm lips, sleek gleaming fangs.
How laughable.
Pressure at her veins, inside of her.
How absurd.
"Ravenna."
The woman stepped out of her mind and looked over her shoulder.
Adrian stood in the doorway, sword scabbard in hand. His expression had lost some of its sternness, falling slowly into that shadowed stillness risen like a shield around him. "You must be more careful," he said in the end, his words regaining the soft tonality of a grave.
Ravenna turned back to the window with a nod, unable to mull over it all yet and still shaking from the event.
Demon blood was drying on her face, and had seeped into the cloth of her nightgown. She sighed, fingers curling into the material at her middle. Her gaze then went to her injured hand, and the two near-identical puncture gashes marring her wrist. When Ravenna looked over her shoulder again, Adrian was gone.