DYTM Chapter 8 Alone for how long?

The night came and went and soon the sun started to rise. However, for Crina, the night never came. All she did was lay on the large bed that she was provided for the night, looking around the room at all the details that she could see despite the darkness. Sadly for Crina, who's imagination kept coming back to her, the poor woman only got 2 hours of sleep, but yet her inner wake up alarm system woke her up at the crack of dawn, simply out of habit. She couldn't go back to sleep, so she simply changed out of the white nightgown that Alucard let her borrow into the set of clothes she brought with her, a simple flowing grey tunic with arm tight sleeves, a pair of light brown leg tight pants, red-brown leather corset, black weapon belt and her dark brown boots. She also grabbed her halberd, turned it with her alchemic abilities into a pair of daggers and attached it to her belt. Letting her long black hair free fall to her back and to her sides, she started to wonder the halls of the castle, taking in all she could as the sun started to rise over the hills beyond and fill the castle with light.

"Oh wow….this castle is even more beautiful in the light" she said to herself out loud as she looked around.

She recalled all the times that her sister Sonia would send drawings of her times in some of Prague's finest cathedrals and castles and all the details in the architecture would often fascinate Crina, but nothing could compare to the architecture of Castle Dracula that she was now walking through. From the ornate pillars of stone to the beautiful crimson red rug that adorned the floor, the glistening shine from the suits of armor keeping guard to the echo of her footsteps as she walked down the hall. To Crina, this was a dream come true to see the beauty of Castle Dracula, something that she never would have imagined she would see in person.

However, as she was walking down the halls, admiring the beauty, she suddenly felt eyes on her. She turned around, daggers in hand, and looked to see who it was, but she found nothing. 'Hmm…that's weird. I thought I felt a presence behind me…' she thought to herself as she put her daggers back. She then turned, but when she did, she found herself face to face with a wall of shadow, a very tall wall of shadow at that. She jumped back and drew her daggers again, giving the shadow a hiss that sounded like one a vampire would give to its prey. The shadow didn't move, but it manifested enough to where Crina could make out a face, or something close to it. She looked at it closely, but before she could make out a familiar face, the shadow turned and started to move, slowly but surely down the hall. Crina wasn't sure what to make of the shadow, but she started to follow it, getting a feeling that it was guiding her for some unknown reason.

The more Crina walked with this shadow, the more it gave off an aura, one that was full of power and darkness, but not one of danger. Rather, from what Crina could feel, she felt a sense of both remorse and sadness. For some reason, this presence felt familiar, but yet she never encountered anyone like this. It was almost as if something was trying to reach within her bones, but she couldn't pinpoint what. As she walked with the shadow, she looked around at the castle, taking in everything again. However, the shadow then took her past a few places that were horribly damaged, giving Crina a sense of sadness that someone would cause damage to a place so beautiful.

"What…happened here?" she asked herself out loud.

The shadow then stopped, making her stop as well. The shadow then turned and glanced at her. As the light filled the hall, the face turned and disappeared.

"Wait!" Crina called out, not too loud, but loud enough to let a whisper echo through the halls.

Just then, at the end of the hall from what Crina could see, the shadow appeared again. Wanting to know more, Crina followed the shadow, once again passing through areas that were either clean and filled with art of some sort or damaged with broken glass and damaged pillars.

'It's like the shadow is giving me a tour, or maybe leading me someplace…but…while I've never been here before, this presence feels familiar to me somehow. Maybe…' Crina said to herself as she walked down the halls.

"Do you...did you….know my grandfather? Edmund Hunyadi?" she asked she shadow, just out of the blue, "Is that why you're showing me around?"

The shadow stopped, but it didn't turn to her. Instead, it moved someone on itself, like an arm and pointed to a hallway with a light at the end. Crina turned to look down the hall and heard a couple of voices, but she wasn't sure what they were. She then turned to look at the shadow again, but the being was gone.

"How strange…Might have to ask Sir Alucard about this presence...maybe he knows about it?" she asked herself out loud as she turned to the hallway. Unsure of what to expect, she makes her way down the hall.

'It sounds like Sir Alucard, but yet not at the same time….I wonder….' She said to herself as she made her way closer and closer to the lit door.

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A little bit ago…

For some reason, Alucard, normally a late sleeper, was up early, sitting now in the kitchen with a cup of the water he had gathered from the nearby river early yesterday. For some reason, he couldn't sleep last night, at least not a full night. His thoughts kept him up, mostly thoughts of the young woman he let spend the night and her first real reaction to the castle that left him confused and surprised at the same time.

'I can't remember the last time someone said so many positive things about the castle in the same night' he thought to himself.

His thoughts then turned to the smile that was often on her face. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, that smile, every time he thought about it, it gave him a sense of warmth, not the same sort of warmth that Edmund gave him. Rather, the smile Crina gave him, made him want to see more of it. Even though they had known each other so briefly, he wanted nothing more than to protect that smile for her, to keep that smile upon her face. It caused a strange tingle to form within his stomach and a chill to go up his spine.

But once he realized this, a feeling of confusion went through him.

'Wait…what is this?' he thought to himself, 'I've never felt his way…but…I feel surprisingly comfortable…is this-?...' he trailed off in his mind.

'Perhaps you're just an angry teenager in an adult's body'

'What? Why did that….oh no…oh god you idiot, your hormones are reacting' he said as he felt a wave of slight embarrassment wash over him.

'Ok, calm down. You're getting ahead of yourself. You don't even know her past other than the few details that she has told you. Yes, she is kind, but for all you know she could already be married. Wait, no, she doesn't have a wedding ring…' he continued to talk to himself as these thoughts came to his head.

He then looked at the dolls on the counter, narrowing his eyes at the Trevor doll.

"I know what you would think, Trevor" Alucard said, speaking to the Trevor Doll.

" 'I think you should start trying to advance with her. I mean, you clearly are being cowardly for being so distant from her so maybe you should offer her up some beer and get drunk with her so you two can sleep together' " he said, speaking in Trevor's voice. "That's something that I am not going to do" he said in his normal voice as he stood up and turned his back to the door to the kitchen, "Besides, I find her more of a friend than anything else. It's too soon to move forward like that. Isn't that right, Sypha?" Alucard then went to ask the Sypha doll.

" 'I agree, you should really get to know her better before you start to think about moving forward with her. If you move too fast, she'll want to get further away from you. And besides, she may be kind, but for all you know she could be hiding more than you realized, like the fact that she knows another Dhampir. Find out more before moving forward' " he said, mimicking Sypha's thoughts. "Very well, if that's what you think" he said.

"Sir Alucard?" called a tired voice from the entrance of the room.

Alucard immediately tensed when he heard that, knowing all too well who that voice belonged to. He slowly turned with a look of fright and embarrassment on his face, seeing his guest, who he thought long gone, standing in the door. Her face was one of confusion with a small hint of curiosity, despite having dark circles and a look of lack of sleep in her eyes.

"I kept hearing voices. But, who were you talking to? I don't see anybody…" she said, looking around.

"I…uh….Wait, I thought you had to hunt?" he said, thinking back to his original plan, and also trying to change the subject from his embarrassing display.

"Hunt?" Crina asked, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. I already hunted for my family, which should last them for at least two days, including yesterday. I always hunt a little extra before going on these overnight trips so that way Mother has plenty to cook. I guess I should've told you before that, sorry" she said, scratching her head. However, she turned her head slightly and saw something in the corner of her eye, which made Alucard freeze, "Huh? What the? What are…" Crina said as she looked at the dolls.

Alucard started to feel panic rise, but he kept still, not wanting to frighten her, but also trying to think of a way to save his skin.

"Are these….dolls of Trevor and Sypha?" Crina asked, looking at his handiwork, which Alucard responded with an embarrassing nod while hiding his now reddened face in his hand.

Crina took a moment to process it and then she realized what this was.

"O-Oh….oh, I see….after lack of socialization you made these dolls to try and have some sort of companionship?" she asked, looking at him, which got her another nod.

Alucard then gave a long sigh, "I…should have told you about that…s-sorry" he said, but then he realized something from that, not only did she hear him doing the voices of Trevor and Sypha, but she could've also heard the topic at hand, "W-Wait, did you….hear that conversation?" he asked, hoping to god that she didn't.

"Not really….I was overwhelmed by my intake of the castle as I walked through to find my way here, that I didn't hear the topic. Why, should I have heard it?" she asked.

"NO!" Alucard slightly yelled holding up his hands, making Crina jump a little. He then cleared his throat, "I-I mean, no. It wasn't a big deal, but it was still….well….private" he said, feeling a little relief that she didn't hear the embarrassing topic at hand. "Now, pardon me for changing the subject, but it looks like you didn't sleep well, seeing the dark circles under your eyes. Was the bed uncomfortable?" he asked, trying to desperately trying to save his skin.

"Oh, no no. The bed was amazing…it's just…when you imagine what a place looked like for so long, your brain goes into overdrive when it comes to seeing the real thing. So much so…that I only got two hours of sleep" Crina said with an embarrassing laugh. "Force of habit to wake up before dawn" she said.

The two of them stood in silence for a bit before Crina sighed and looked at Alucard. She leaned against the nearby wall and crossed her arms.

"So…I'm not going to ask for the details of the conversation, but I will say that I am a bit concerned about you talking to dolls like this. Because with the ones that I have seen in the past who do the same, they lost their sense of sanity to the point where death would be considered a mercy to them. I don't believe you are at that state, but if you don't mind me asking, how long has this been going on?" she asked him, wanting answers but being sure to be polite about it. She knew this was a pushy move, but she felt like she had to get the answers out of him in order to help him.

Alucard was a little stunned, but still embarrassed as he didn't want to be on the previous subject. However, he knew that he got caught doing this, so he had to give an explanation. Taking in the information that she had just given him, he figured that she wouldn't run from the tale he was about to tell her. Hell, she didn't seem to be the type to run from something such as this anyway. However, he felt a bit uneasy telling her this information, but she didn't seem to be the type of person who would use this as a weapon toward him, as she had nothing to gain by harming him. In truth, he did wish to talk about these deep inner thoughts with someone other than his family, but Edmund left long before he had the courage to talk about it, but now, here was his chance to finally tell someone who cares about him his inner turmoil and dark secrets.

"As far as these two dolls go, about…two months now, I believe" he said. He then sighed, "But I was doing this when I was younger too…mainly due to being the only one of my kind. I've been alone for a long time, Miss Crina" he said as he took a seat at the table.

Crina decided to take a seat as well, figuring that this was going to be a long story from the poor solitary Dhampir.

Alucard then went on to explain his childhood, how he felt lonely being a child who was half vampire. He told of the many times he would be at his mother's house and watch the village kids play from the windows of home, knowing that he could not join them for being who he was. As time went by, he would often have dolls of different children and talk to them as if they were his friends, all because he was quite lonely from the ordeal. Of course, Edmund was there to play with him when he felt lonely, but Alucard wanted to be with real friends, children his age, or whatever his age was as he grew older and faster. Sadly, that was impossible as he was taught that people feared vampires and wanted nothing to do with them, making him feel more lonely and isolated deep down. When the time of his mother's death came around, he had a bitterness toward humans, but his mother often taught him to be kind to those around him, so he had a tolerance. But after meeting Trevor and Sypha, his social communication was better and he felt happy to have friends who accepted him, but when they left, it was like he was placed back in the pit of his childhood. And now, being here, all alone with his guilt, grief and sadness has started to get the better of him again.

"…And I suppose that's it" Alucard finished as he took a final sip of water. He then sighed as he looked at his hands, trying to fight back the tears of going back through his childhood loneliness.

Crina was silent, taking in all this information. She could relate to him not only for being the only one her age, but also for being the only one in her family with the will to fight. She often got into trouble with her siblings who, for a long time, wanted nothing to do with her, even her younger siblings would isolate themselves from her because of her weird habits. Sure, it got better as they got older, but even with the people she called friends, she felt alone. The only difference between her and Alucard was that she actually was lucky to have the exposure to people while he did not.

"The truth is, Miss Crina…" he started, continuing to look at his hands, but then running a hand through his long golden locks, "….as much as I know that I will be alone for the rest of eternity…and…may even die alone….I…." he then trailed off and looked at her right in the eyes, his soul laid bare before her as he spoke the words that were laced with nothing but truth and desperation, "I don't want to be alone anymore…" he said with a slight crack in his voice.

Immediately a wave of recognition filled Crina's body as she heard those words from the man before her. She felt that she heard the words he spoke before, but rather than the subject about being alone, it was something different and by someone else she knew. But here, this felt different. A sense of regret started to fill her body as she had a sense of nostalgia wash over her, thinking back to the person who now Alucard reminded her of, and it was a face she didn't want to see after so long, but yet she knew she had to face it eventually. But now wasn't the time. Right now, she felt an intense need to help this poor lonely soul and, as much as she didn't want to, she knew she had to step up her game to help him. She then got up from the table and made her way over to Alucard, standing before him, looking right at him.

"Miss Crina? What's wrong? What are you doing?" he asked, unsure of what to make of her actions.

"Stand up" she said, speaking in a tone that was both filled with concern and carrying a slightly commanding tone to her.

Alucard was hesitant at first, but he did so, standing before her, only now realizing her height compared to him, at least half a head shorter than him. Regardless, he stood before her, unsure of what her plan was.

Crina looked up at him, still seeing the broken man she had come to know despite the tales her grandfather has told her. She then opened her arms, noticing the gesture made him a little nervous.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Alucard. I just feel you need this more than anything right now, as I'm sure it's been a real long time since you've had a real hug" she said, giving him a soft smile.

Alucard was a bit shocked, but he didn't run from her offer. He hesitated at first, but slowly, he moved his arms around her back and waist, resting his head on her shoulder. In turn, she went on to wrap her arms gently around his neck and shoulders, enveloping him in an embrace of warmth, something that he hadn't felt for a very long time.

"I can tell you've been through a lot during your life. But if you keep holding it in like this, it's going to cause you more pain than anything else you've been through. It's just better to let it out. I won't judge you for it, so please…don't hold back the tears anymore" she said to him softly, rubbing his back a little bit.

Alucard took in a deep breath, inhaling her scent, which consisted of a combination of woodland pine and grass after a rainstorm. He then took in her words and recalled a time when Edmund did the same thing to him as a boy. But this time, it was with someone who he felt that he could really open himself to after all these lonely years. The warmth of companionship and the hug itself started to make him become overwhelmed with emotion, making tears fall from his eyes a little. The cold pang of loneliness and broken heartedness started to fade as her warmth continued to envelop his body as he felt more tears stream down his face and a soft sob emit from his lips. He then buried his face into Crina's neck as he gripped her tighter in his embrace, but made sure not to be too tight, letting go all of the pain and grief he was holding in, body shaking a little as he let it all out before Crina, his new friend.

Crina stayed firm in her embrace with Alucard, gently moving from rubbing his back to petting his soft blonde locks as he let out all his sadness and sorrow into her tunic. She didn't care about that though, just from the emotion she was getting from him, she could tell that this was eating him for quite some time, he just never let it show as she figured that he didn't want to show weakness around those near him, even his own family. Crina stayed like that for a while, feeling out his touch, the cold touch that most vampires had when it came to contact with skin and Alucard was no exception. But for her, who's body heat was starting to become unbearable to her, she instantly felt relief against his cool body, his cold cooling her heat and her fire bringing warmth to his cold.

After a while, the two of them broke their hug and looked at each other for a bit. Crina then raised her hand to his face and in a semi fist, gently stroked up his cheek from his chin to his eye, only to gently remove a tear from his face.

"There. You better?" she asked, hoping she was able to help him with that hug.

Alucard gave her a nod, "Yes, that did help. Thank you" he said, giving her a warm and gentle smile.

"Good. Now, I know I said before that we were going to take this whole trusting humans thing slow, but I think with the state you're in, we may need to kick it up a little. However, the place that I was originally thinking will not be a choice as we would only be able to go to it next month" Crina said, explaining her thoughts.

"What place?" Alucard asked, curious.

"Er…I'll tell you about that later. Right now, I think you need some different exposure. Get out of the castle and meet people" she said.

Alucard immediately froze at that, "Woah, wait a minute, I'm not too sure about this. Pretty sure that if you're taking me to a village, they would not welcome my fangs for sure" he said, very nervous about meeting strangers.

"No no, I don't mean going to a village, I mean seeing my Grandfather and mother. Just those two, nothing more" Crina said, explaining herself a little better to the young male before her.

"O-Oh. I see…" he said, a little embarrassed that he didn't get it the first time.

Crina nodded, "If you can handle Trevor and Sypha, you'll be able to handle Grandfather and my mother. It's only the three of us right now, as Father is away on his trade and won't be back until another month from now, so I think just these two should be a good next step" she said, "What do you say, Sir Alucard?" she asked, wanting to see what he thought.

Alucard thought about it, figuring that if he was indeed going to have some sort of exposure, it might as well be with someone he knew and one other person. Crina was willing to go with him on this journey and there was no way that she was going to let him stay in one place, he could tell that from her for sure. Though cautious, he then looked at her and nodded.

"Very well. I suppose we can do that" he said, feeling a sense of comfort wash over him, despite the earlier thoughts he had about her. He pushed those thoughts aside as he looked at her, taking in her gaze, comforting and optimistic.

Crina then smiled and nodded, "Alright then, I'll bring you over for dinner, tonight" she said.

Alucard's face fell a little, "Tonight?" he repeated to her.

Crina nodded, "Might as well. You don't have anything else planned tonight, right?" she asked him.

Alucard was about to argue, but he really didn't have much planned for the day, so he stayed silent.

"Thought so" Crina said, "Besides, I'm sure you're wanting to see Grandfather again after so long" she said, recalling what he said yesterday to her.

Silence filled the room for a moment with the two young ones looking at each other with gentle smiles before two different rumbles filled the room, making the two of them blush in each other's faces.

"I suppose I should go out and hunt for breakfast…" Crina said as she looked to the side. She was about to turn and leave, but she then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, let me do it this time. You've cooked for me a few times, and I think it's my turn. Besides, you are my guest here, so it would be rude if I didn't treat you to a meal" Alucard said, giving her a warm gaze.

Crina looked at him, taking in his words, but then sighed, "Very well, but…do you have any ingredients to work with?" she asked him.

Alucard then nodded, "Yes actually. I had prepared for this to happen, so, if it came that you had to hunt, I wanted to give you a good meal to say thank you for all you have done for me so far" he said. "Then, perhaps afterwards, I could give you an official tour of the castle. I'm interested to see your reaction to the rest of the castle, and not just the lobby" he said with a small smirk, recalling her actions.

Crina blushed a little more and looked to the side in embarrassment, "I don't think I'll react like that again, Sir Alucard" she said, "But then again, no guarantees" she added, scratching her cheek a little.

Alucard smiled at her comment before turning to the pantry and working on gathering the ingredients necessary to cook a good breakfast, all while Crina watched him, rosy cheeks still adorning her face and a growing warmth of friendship filling her being, a small sense of joy filling her body at the thought of Alucard meeting Edmund after so long. She was definitely looking forward to dinner tonight along with the rest of the day.

Alrighty another chapter up! Sorry for the long delay. Work was hard again this week. But I figured that since Alucard was unique to the world, it must have been pretty lonely for one such as him. So I decided to include that in this chapter. Also, Alucard does need a hug, so why not put that in to this place now? Plus, I figured that he would eventually get caught talking to the dolls, so might as well be now, right? Lol. Poor Alu. Small thing to point out here, this chapter contains important lines for the future, so bear that in mind. But be ready as the next chapter will include Alucard and Edmund meeting again after so many years. So look forward to that! Also, I'm gonna try and post weekly if I can, but I can't guarantee ever single week, but I will at least try to get it in by the weekend if I can't do it by then. No abandonment here buddy!

Anyway, no real fun facts in this chapter from what I see, so maybe next chapter will bring. Stay tuned for the next chapter ^^ Let me know what you guys think and I will see you again soon.