There is Beauty in Darkness

Chapter 26: The Promise of Freedom and Unlikely Bond

*Dracula's Castle*

Night had fallen and all was silent with only the sounds of crickets and owls echoing through the night. Taka and Sumi had already been given rooms to sleep in, after being given a small tour of the castle, and were invited to have dinner with Alucard and Miri. The two arrived at the dining area, seeing the food already prepared and left for them but didn't see their new teachers anywhere. They decided to wait for them and their attention was captured by Miri's puppets, which were based on her friends, Trevor and Sypha. They were both confused and a little....concerned. They had heard stories that gipsies like making voodoo dolls.

Soon, Alucard and Miri had arrived carrying a fresh wine bottle and glasses for each of them. Miri was about to call out to them when she realised they were looking at her puppets. She blushed in embarrassment while Alucard chuckled. "Don't look at those. Miri's ashamed of them." He said. Laughing when Miri playfully smacked his arm. "I am not! Hush!" The two f them walked over to the table as Alucard opened the bottle.

"Madam Sumi? Sir Taka? Would the two of you like to some refreshments with your meal?" Miri kindly asked them. The Hunters from Japan smiled at the young girl and nodded their heads, making their way towards the table as Alucard poured each of them a drink.

"How long have the two of you been here on your own?" Taka asked as he and Sumi took their seats. Alucard and Miri smiled at each other as the held the others hand. "Oh, years. Or possibly a couple of months." Alucard said, unaware of how much time has passed since the two last saw their friends. "We've been making the most of it every day and restoring the castle to its original grace we just...allowed time to escape us." Miri tells him.

"So, you've seen the palace condition of our new home." Alucard stated as he took a sip of his wine.

"It wasn't what we expected." Sumi says with a small hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Well...there was a small battle." Alucard says.

"It must've been a legendary battle." Taka said with wonder as he leaned in to hear more of this legendary battle that brought down Dracula and his whole court. However, it wasn't as legendary as it was...heartbreaking. "Mostly just desperate and sad." Alucard somberly says as he stares into his wine. Miri gave his hand a loving squeeze as she knew that he must be thinking of his father. While Alucard has learned to move on and see the future, he'll always carry the memories of Dracula within him. "Shall we speak about something else, please?" She asked.

"What exactly happened to the mechanism that moves the castle?" Sumi asked.

"She melted it." Alucard said, motioning towards the Sypha puppet. Taka and Sumi looked over at the puppets in confusion while Miri gave a small giggle. "She did...sort of...dissolved the device, though Sypha wouldn't very much admit that aloud if she were here." She said. Miri then cleared her throat to get their attention away from the puppets. "Moving along."

"Yes, you said you were a part of the court of this Vampire you call Chō?" Alucard questioned.

"Yes. In northern Japan. Far from anywhere." Sumi says. Beginning her tale of her and Taka's lives at Chō's secret fortress in Northern Japan.

"We all lived in her secret fortress. Trapped in her fortress."

The fortress resided on a mountain where tree and mist cloaked its whereabouts. Although the fortress was a beauty to behold, inside was dark, evil, and filled endlessly with screams and blood. Chō stood at the top of her throne as a samurai warrior, a Vampire hunter sat at the other side of the room.

"We were given to Chō's hidden court as children. It amused her to have a human honour guard. Not that she needed guarding." Taka says. "Sometimes, it was her pleasure to have us allow a hunter to pass through her ranks and into the court."