Alucard's Lament

Maria did go after him, she had to see him before he went off and left this realm. For hours she trudged through the forest, coming upon him on at the edge of a cliff.

The half man, half vampire felt something. Something that had been long dormant was now scratching at the back of his mind. He was aware of the girl next to him, as she shifted on her feet. The wind swept through the trees, the darkened branches swaying almost soundlessly; but Alucard could hear them. His mind drifted off again even as she was speaking to him...

"You shouldn't take this weight upon yourself. It is not your fault."

He looked ahead, he did not turn toward her.

Maria watched him carefully, trying to guess what was going through his thoughts, trying to understand what he was feeling. His chiseled features, and pale skin shined in the moonlight. Dhampir or no, he was a beautiful man, of that there was no doubt. How could she get through to him, was it worth trying? Almost as if the Fates were testing them, he turned at that moment and looked deeply into her eyes.

She had her answer; yes he was worth it.

A soft rain began to fall from the darkening skies above, and Maria inwardly groaned. Having walked for at least two hours from Castlevania, she was far from cover. Her short green dress was not enough out here in the woods, and she wrapped her arms around her now wet skin. He looked down at her, a quiet storm filling his own eyes. He opened his mouth a bit, as if to say something and took a small step forward. His height obscuring her vision with the darkness of his form; the rain fell on her face, her body shivered. The long, black cloak Alucard wore blew slowly in the wind. As he came closer still, it wrapped around her legs. Her whole body trembled, but she wasn't sure it was from the cool night air.

Her chilled body moved instinctively closer to him, and could feel the sheer power emanating from him.

Alucard was having a battle of his own; cursed rain. All things in this world seemed to be conspiring against him this evening. He should have left the moment he sensed her presence coming up the side of the cliff. He knew it was her, before the first sounds reached his ear. He knew no good would come of this, and now he was screaming at himself to pull away.

But, as he looked down at her, the rain water slowly running down her cheeks, her hair laying on the side of her face, her dress clinging tighter to her form, his reasoning began to fade. He slipped his hands around her tiny waist, and pulled her to him. His hair flowed over her shoulder, and down her back. He rubbed his cheek against her as a low moan escaped from his throat.

The blood lust reared its ugly head, swirling up from the pit of his stomach, up his spine, up his neck and to his mouth. It permeated his whole being, this lust for her, this want. His fangs grew longer, and though he fought with himself, and tried to calm his hunger it was a struggle he would not win. One word escaped from his lips, "Maria..."

Maria was holding onto his cloak when she heard that deep voice in her ear; chills ran down her spine. She stood up straighter, wrapped her arms around his neck, when the thick voice flowed across the air and into her mind. She sighed, and pulled herself closer to him. She felt the leather of his gloves on her back, as he tightened his grip on her. She rested her head against his chest, the gold stitching of his coat roughly rubbing against her forehead. Her neck now exposed to the wind, the cool water droplets making her skin even more sensitive.

He moved slowly towards that bit of exposed skin, clenching his hand tighter at the small of her back. As his lips moved to lightly touch her, he felt the beating of her heart, her pulse racing the blood through her body. It was centered now right below his lips, his for the taking. His own heart quickened in anticipation of what was to come. He moved his lips against her, Maria grasped at his cloak with her hands, digging her fingers into his shoulders to steady herself. A small whimper came from her throat, she clung to him knowing if she let go she would collapse at his feet. "Please..." she cried softly...

That sound was what pushed him over the edge he had been clinging too, and Alucard sank his fangs into the inviting flesh and bared down, slowly sucking on her neck. The warm blood flowing into his mouth, over his tongue, slowly down his throat. The dhampir held her tightly, as her right arm fell down to his side. She tried once to move away from him, then she fell completely under his spell.

She had tried to steady herself, tried to move away from him, but he wrapped his left arm across her back and growled against her throat. She was whimpering, moaning, trying to stay conscious. She could think of nothing more than his lips on her, the feeling of him gently suckling her neck. He could sense that she was losing consciousness, he pulled away from her. Blood running out of his mouth, dripping down his chin, her blood. Alucard held her so she would not fall to the ground, tiny drops of blood ran slowly down her neck to her breast. He leaned down and licked the trail dry with his tongue. The powerful waves of possession washed through him, taking with it any doubts he had a moment ago. How could something that felt so good, be wrong? Maria was making quiet noises low in her throat, whimpering. Her hand still laced in his cloak as she leaned into his embrace.

Alucard swept her up into his arms, and spun on his heel; walking quickly down the side of the cliff with his lady in his arms. He headed off into the night air as the rain steadily fell.