Isabel and the Beast - Alucard

Chapter 5: The Chain

Whatever my initial fears of Adrian were, they could not help but settle after months of routine. I came to my own conclusion that he was simply a bored and lonely half-vampire. A decent one, too. If he'd been too bored and cruel, I can imagine how things might have turned out differently. But considering I belonged to him after our arrangement, he never made me do anything I did not want to do. No...We'd come to a comfortable pattern of making food together, eating together, and spent more and more of the day doing other activities together as well. His initial resistance to anything involving me seemed to melt away as time passed on.

While I was to stay in the castle, I was allowed to roam around nearby, outside, as well. Except for the area around the busted-up castle nearby. It looked like it had been a castle, anyway. I had very clear instructions to stay away from that area. And because I liked my outside-roaming privileges, I listened. Sometime after I'd moved in, the impaled bodies had disappeared, spears and all. I appreciated this. I picked berries. I listened to the birds singing. It was nice. What a strange kind of captivity this was. I'd learned much of the castle - The areas I was allowed in, anyway. The library, filled floor to ceiling with educational materials, and a lab of sorts. Adrian had confessed that his mother was a doctor. That's how he knew how to heal me, thought the bandages had come off some time ago. I did have some troubling scars, claw marks that went up and over my shoulder. They just peeked out of the neckline of my dress - Dark purple against pale skin. He promised they would lighten up with time. When I'd asked why he had all this knowledge and wasn't doing anything with it, he hadn't responded. My own brain puzzled with this - The kinds of things I learned from month to month could help so many. If I ever was able to leave.

I would be going into Sweetbriar the next day and spent a good part of the day baking little pastries with the berries I'd found. Adrian came in with a couple fish and started preparing for dinner. After the couple months we spent together, we'd shared recipes, coming to a middle ground in our knowledge. I'd shared with him everything I'd learned about cooking fish after growing up in a coastal town. He'd shared the bits he picked up himself, from who-knows-where. What resulted was even better food. I hummed to myself quietly as I worked, and only noticed his smiling out of the corner of my eye. I pretended not to notice - If I said anything, he'd stop. That damned wall of an expression would slam down. So I hummed to myself, and made pastries. I'd already made a cobbler for today, for the two of us. There would always be some left over, and I'd eat in my room while reading a book I'd snatched from the library, warm in my bed.

There was a loud sound at the door, followed by the loud, bellowing voice of a man I didn't recognize. My eyes went to Adrian, wide and uncertain. He'd only laughed. It shouldn't have put me to ease as quickly as it did.

"My friends," he said, moving over to where I stood. "No reason for alarm. Come. Meet them."

"I'm a mess," I'd said in a whisper, even though no one else could hear, and he stood just in front of me. He'd looked over me and smiled, his fingers gently moving over my forehead, brushing off what I assumed was flour.

"You look wonderful," he said. Something fluttered in me, but one thing at a time. I followed him out into the hall, brushing my hands nervously at my apron the tucking any loose hairs behind my ears.

A tall, dark-haired man in a fur-topped cape stood next to an oddly dressed woman with short hair and big eyes. Both approached but eyed me with some curiosity as they greeted their friend. Adrian hugged the woman briefly but seemed to acknowledge the man with some awkwardness before returning to me.

"Isabel, this is Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades. Friends of mine."

I nodded awkwardly, half tempted to bow. I had stories about some Belmont's, in my travels. The man, Trevor, quirked an eyebrow. "And she is...?" He looked to Adrian.