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Title: Untested
By: PatriciaTepes (AKA Patricia de Lioncourt @ fanfiction.net; PatriciaLouise @ TTH)
Chapter Title: Deceiving Appearances
Links to Other Chapters: Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen
Fandom: Castlevania
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Castlevania, any related characters, or the images used below. Yes, Aly (of Aly & AJ fame) is my model for my main OC. But please, don't let my inability to draw hinder your imagination, as Ria really doesn't look exactly like that. :)
Summary: Adriana Smith is just a normal girl...or so she thinks. However, as her mother and she move into a house known as Belmont Manor and a strange storm and decoration enter her life, she will find that her mother has not told her the truth of her family...
Author's Notes: The song for this chapter? "Secret" by The Pierces. Enjoy!
Chapter 19: Deceiving Appearances
Ria was bandaged and fighting much better despite her small wound. Taking a tag team approach, Alucard and she took down an animate
"Is all the fire a Hell metaphor or something?" she asked as Alucard yanked open the door, which made a loud, very wooden creak.
"Or something," he responded as she walked into the small hall beyond the door.
He closed it behind them, and they walked in silence into the next section of the castle, the only sounds being their footfalls echoing around them. They were greeted on the other side of yet another antiquated door by more axe-wielding, evilly-animated armors that were a little harder to dispatch, due to their numbers. There were at least four, and the armors were smart enough to figure out that two-on-one bettered their odds.
"Watch out!" Sara yelled as a flying axe grazed Ria's uninjured arm.
Alucard had drew his two armors away from Ria, and seemed to be doing better about destroying his. Ria cried out, more in anger and annoyance than pain, and lashed out, low, with the whip. Knocking out the knees of the armor before her, she sent it crashing to the floor, breaking it apart. Of course, more burning followed. She then turned her attention to her remaining armor…which broke apart before she could even
"It's not even bleeding, really," she answered. "I've gotten worse scraps than this playing in a sandbox when I was younger. Let's keep moving."
Alucard nodded, and Sara seemed satisfied as well with her analysis. The dhampire moved to the front of the group, and when he spoke to Ria next, he did not even bother looking over his shoulder.
"We should have the smallest of reprieves, if Walter has not mixed up the order of creatures in this castle. My father cherishes the portraits within this gallery and does not like the roughness that the creatures often display around them."
For the first time since entering this newest section of Castlevania, Ria looked around. For a demon infested—if not possessed—castle, this section was darkly beautiful. Black marble comprised the floor, columns, walls, and ceilings all around her, and portraits hung in little niches accented with richly crimson velvet hangings every few feet. The portraits themselves were of many things; people, places, items…mostly people, she noticed. Sara's eyes were glued to the paintings as they passed each one, and if she wasn't already dead, Ria guessed she would be breathless.
"There was nothing like this in this castle when Walter ruled it…and I have never before got such a clear view of it with the other Belmonts. I don't think this section had been conceived yet when Sonia fought her way through…or maybe it had? I don't know; it's been so long," Sara murmured.
"It's beautiful," Ria said low, knowing that Alucard would not find her comment out of place.
They were passing a small portrait now of a woman with pale hair, a bit paler than Alucard's, in a black dress. The woman seemed very sad, and her face was downturned, as if her eyes were eternally locked on the marble floor. Ria looked up to the flowing locks of the dhampire to compare the colors of the woman's hair to his. They were very much the same…but small, very small, streaks of black—or was it just silver?—shot through his hair, unlike the woman's. Ria began to inquire who the woman, but stopped as the group began to pass another, larger portrait.
It was easily the largest portrait in the gallery, going nearly from floor to ceiling. Ria came to a halt before it, entranced by its single subject. She had never seen the man in the picture before, but she knew who he was…and he still seemed so familiar to her. His features were pale, like so many beings inside Castlevania, and he was dressed in rich blacks and reds, a crimson stone encased in gold hung around his neck. His eyes were dark, but hints of crimson were brought out by the stone he wore…almost like a well-chosen accessory. His hair was pale, a white-blond with the smallest streaks of black or silver interwoven in the locks. His chin was graced by a small, thin, and well-trimmed beard that was same color of his hair, and his lip held a mustache that perfectly matched the beard. Ria gave a short laugh, which she noticed—out of the corner of her eye—brought Alucard to a stop. Yes, she knew this man in the portrait.
"You know," she began, looking back and forth between Alucard and the portrait, "you really look a lot like your fath…"
Her brain reeled backwards, to the night that seemed so very long ago when she sat and first read the Belmont Journals. She recalled Maria's description of Alucard—a much romanticized, but seemingly accurate description. She had mentioned the similarities between the dhampire's features and his father's…but…she had said that he seemed to resemble the other parent…the one Maria had not seen.
Ria whirled on "Alucard," pointing an accusing finger at the smirking man.
"You! I c-can't believe it! You!" she said, now moving her hand to point to the portrait.
Sara clapped both her hands over her mouth, her eyes wider than saucers. "That's why you looked so familiar to me…"
"I had honestly expected you to figure it out earlier," he said, dropping the only glamour he had been using.
It had been a minor one, one that simply kept the facial hair off. Now, the subject once again matched the portrait.
"Dracula!" Ria said breathlessly, holding tightly to the whip.
The vampire king clicked his tongue at her, shaking his head. He took a single step forward, as Ria took one back. Sara still had her mouth covered and her eyes had yet to reduce themselves to normal size.
"Now, now…after all I've done to help you, are you really going to turn against me? When you know that I'm the only reason you're still alive in my castle?"
His grin was wicked, more so than any other grin Ria had ever seen him wear before. Her whole body shook, anger and fear making her nerves feel raw. Her grip on the Vampire Killer was like a vice, but her hand was not steady which made the end of the whip that rested on the floor look like a dying fish.
"If I had wanted you dead, you would have been so already," Dracula noted calmly.
Ria knew he was right. Of course he was right! He had deceived her, easily. Too easily. She was sick with herself. A descendant of the name Belmont…and she couldn't even tell Dracula from anyone else. He could have killed her at any time now…and perhaps he would have been right to do so…
"He deceived me too, Ria, and I've fought him for much longer than you," Sara said, as if she had read her trainee's thoughts.
This did comfort Ria…but not enough to consider herself comforted. A million questions flew through her head…finally, she quelled down all the unimportant ones and focused.
"Why?" she forced out through clenched teeth.
Dracula laughed, and it was a hollow sound that scared Ria more than anything else she had yet seen.
"My child—" Ria cringed, hating the way he called her so, but said nothing to interrupt, "How else would I get my throne back, if I had not a vampire hunter with me? I am powerful, yes, but the creatures in the castle vastly outnumber me…and they answer only to the wielder of the Crimson Stone."
"I had already agreed with Isaac to help restore you…for sake of balance," Ria said, almost choking on her words.
"Yes, that you did. But a devil forger is nothing when compared to the King of Vampires. I'll admit that, due to his…connection with Walter, Isaac has proven quite useful…but you needed someone much more powerful to guide you through this place. You are inexperienced, Ria. Talented, but untrained…or under-trained, I should say. You will make a formidable enemy one night when you come to face me…provided you live through this."
There was silence now…but the sounds of creatures in other rooms within the gallery echoed to where the vampire and the vampire hunter stood. Sara looked between the two, finally stepping in front of a seething Ria.
"Ria…perhaps another rest? We should decide what to do with this…development," she gently suggested.
"Fine," Ria snapped.
"What was that?" Dracula asked.
"I'm fine, but we should still probably rest again…to talk," Ria corrected.
"Yes, very well. I know where another room is…follow me."
She did so, with more reluctance than she had ever possessed in her life. They managed to avoid the only monster between them and the room. They slipped inside, Dracula taking a seat beside the room's coffin while Ria moved to stand on the other side of the room. She shook her head, trying to control the anger and disgust that ruled her every thought. She kept standing herself up beside every one of her ancestors…and nothing they had ever done had felt this stupid. She was a failure, she was sure, to the name Belmont.
Meanwhile, Dracula looked quite pleased with himself. He grinned constantly at her, as if she were his dinner guest, cordially invited to this place. Ria shuddered with that thought, reminding herself what vampires ate. Finally, he sighed and crossed his legs, propping one arm up on the back of his chair.
"Why exactly are we resting? What is there to speak about?" he asked.
"You! You're what I have to think about!" she all but shouted at him.
"How so?"
She hated his calm, cool demeanor. She hated the way he wouldn't stop smiling at her. And, most of all, she hated the way that this seemed to be just business as usual for him. She coiled the whip and attached it to her belt, not entirely sure that that was a good idea either. But it was true that he had not attacked or killed her thus far…in for a penny…She crossed her arms.
"You're asking me what I have to think about? You've lied to me, used me, and—oh, yeah! You're my family's sworn enemy! Not to mention a monster, in all meanings of the word," she hissed at him.
"If it helps, I was once a friend to your family, long, long ago," he noted.
"Oh, yeah, I read all about that…I know how that ended. I wouldn't bring that up as your one bright spot, Drac."
He rolled his eyes. A very elementary, immature part of Ria wanted to crack up. Dracula had rolled his eyes! She found this oddly hilarious. But she bit that part of herself down and reminded herself of just how pissed she was at him at the moment.
"Child, don't call me 'Drac.' I do hate it," he said, standing.
"And I hate being called 'child!'" she snapped back.
"Very well, Ria, might I mention that we're wasting time here."
She threw a finger up in front of him.
"Oh, no. You've been demoted to calling me by my full name. Adriana, only."
"You don't even know the origin of your own name."
A weak distraction, but Ria knew he was right. She recalled the night back at the hotel, when she had first met "Alucard." She shuddered now more than usual at the memory. She bowed, mockingly, before him when she responded.
"Then enlighten me, why don't you?"
"It's the feminine form of my son's true name, Adrian. Your family idolizes him for betraying me, so they adopted his name as a family one. I find it disgusting, idolized for betraying family," he said, stepping towards her.
She glared at him. "Because betraying a friend is so much better?"
He actually had no reply to that. He simply stared her, seeming to take a measure of her. Finally, he grinned again.
"Have we all our affairs in order then?" he asked, making his way over to the room's door.
"No. My mother…we're here for her…and she means nothing to you, does she?" Ria asked, stepping in front of the vampire.
Sara, who had been silent and watchful throughout this entire argument, gasped. She reached out, as if to pluck Ria from her place in Dracula's path, but her hand stopped short. Whether it was because she knew it would do no good, or that she thought that blocking Dracula's path was Ria's true place, she let her ghostly hand drop down.
"Be careful, Ria," she warned.
Ria was through with being careful and considerate. She had been careful and had still been tricked. Dracula glared down at the young girl, but Ria did not so much as blink…no matter how much she wanted to. She even avoided swallowing, which she so desperately wanted to do. There was a large lump in her throat again…
"Do you want to truth, Adriana?" the vampire king hissed down at her.
She nodded.
"Your mother means less to me than all the dust covering my castle. She's just a means to an end."
Ria took a deep breath. "The end being my help in defeating Walter?"
Dracula nodded. Ria took a single step closer to him.
"Then you're going to find that she means a whole hell of a lot to you, if you want my help. Because if she dies…Walter can have the world."
Sara gasped. Dracula's eyes widened. And both searched Ria's crystal blue eyes—cold now—to see if she meant what she had said. It didn't take long for them to figure out that she did. In the end, Dracula stepped back from Ria.
"Very well. Our first priority is saving your mother," he said evenly.
Ria nodded. She was still shaking as Sara moved to put a hand on the girl's shoulder. Ria refused to meet the ghost's eyes. She knew that her words must have disappointed the long-dead woman…but she could not take them back. Even if she wanted to.
In a swift move, Dracula pushed past Ria, who raised a brow at him. He paused briefly at the door, explaining that he heard Isaac approaching. She nodded, and the vampire king disappeared. Ria took a seat in a chair facing the door, trying to hide her shaking limbs. Isaac appeared shortly after, looked around the room once, and finally rested his eyes on Ria.
"How's my mother?" Ria asked.
"In perfect health, unharmed and worried about you," Isaac answered, leaning in the doorway.
"Good. And Walter? He's not making any alternate plans?" she bit out.
Isaac raised a brow at her. "No, but he is growing impatient with you. Is there something wrong, Adriana?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Who watches my mother when you're not with her? I thought the creatures of this castle wanted Belmont blood?"
He shrugged. "My devils watch over her. And why do you seem so angry?"
Ria jumped to her feet, which caused Isaac to stiffen and reach for his spear. He relaxed, only a little, when he noticed that she was simply pacing in front of him.
"You wouldn't believe…" she began, scoffing and leaving the sentence hanging.
"Try me."
She paused, looking at the devil forger as if she had forgotten he was there. Finally, she huffed and placed her hands on her hips.
"Dracula. He's been masquerading as Alucard with me this whole time…I feel like such an idiot!" she said.
Instantly, Isaac's hand reached out and gripped the stone doorway hard enough to produce a hairline crack in the wall. Ria blinked at him, remembering his blood bond and orders to hunt down Dracula.
"I'm sorry," she said, a bit calmer. "If it helps your bond, I don't know where he's at right now."
"It does…a little. You couldn't still think of him as Alucard? It was so much easier when I could think of him as Alucard, through you and your skewed point of view," he said, his hand relaxing a fraction.
"No, I ca—Wait. Still? Skewed? Isaac…did you know?" Ria asked, stopping in front of him.
He eyed her, silent. Her nostrils flared as her lips pressed tightly together into a thin line.
"How long?" she growled.
He shook his head. "Since the last time I visited you, here in the castle."
She was shaking again. Isaac's gaze, however, was kinder than Dracula's had been when he had been discovered. In fact, it was almost like Isaac was pleading with her to understand. Her chin quivered like she was about to cry or scream…she was close to both. Finally, she put her back to the forgemaster.
"Get out," she whispered.
"What?" he asked, and Ria heard him take the smallest of steps forward.
She whirled on him, causing him to retreat that step. "Just get away from me, Isaac! Go and continue to take care of my mother, and don't bother coming back!"
"Ria!" Sara said sharply. "I know you're angry, but you're throwing away a very valuable resource here. Please, take it back. We need all the help we can get."
"I don't need your help," Ria yelled, more towards Sara than Isaac, although she was still referring to him. "Not here. Keep my mother alive. That's all I need of you. Leave!"
He actually looked a little injured. He inclined his head once, backing out of the room. Ria threw herself into the chair she had previously occupied, fighting tears. She had been deceived not once, but twice. By people she knew she should not have trusted in the first place…but she had been so desperate to have help…so sure that she could not do this on her own…
Sara began to reprimand her for her rash behavior. However, she glared at her friend, sending her quickly back into silence. After a few moments, the whip-bound woman sighed.
"We'll just wait for Dracula to return…then we'll push on," she said, disappearing within the whip.
Ria could use the time alone.
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