AMoS Chapter 4-2

[eiahmon]

Title: A Moment of Stupidity Part 4: 1476 - 1535
Rating: R for language, and mentions of RAPE and M/M SLASH. Don't like, then don't read.
Disclaimer: Castlevania and its characters and situations are the sole property of Konami. I am making no money or profit off of this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: AU. What if Joachim Armster had lived through his fight with Leon Belmont? What might have been different? Well hang on, because Joachim is going to tell you all about it. From his kidnapping and forced turning to his rescue from the ruins of Walter's castle, and from Trevor's birth and to Richter's death of old age, he tells all - and blames it all on Leon while he's at it.
Section Summary: Part 4 covers Dracula's Curse to Trevor's death.

2.

Finding Family

Trevor and I rode home after dark, but neither one of us were worried about being bothered. It was already well known who had destroyed Mathias, and the feel of a predator that I put off made people reluctant to bother me. We rode in silence most of the way. I had nothing to say, and I could see that Trevor was deep in thought about something.

It wasn't until we were near the Belmont lands that he said anything.

"It isn't over." he said quietly, and I looked at him. Even in the deepening darkness, I could easily see him, and he was looking down at his saddle, thinking.

"Trevor?"

"I couldn't so much as chip the Crimson Stone, which means the Vampire Killer cannot destroy it. I know of no other way to do the deed, which means Mathias will just keep resurrecting, no matter how many times he is destroyed." I said nothing, and Trevor continued. "It may never end; blood may be forever cursed to fight against blood."

"We don't know how often he'll be able to resurrect, Trevor." I reminded him.

"No, we don't. He could resurrect a thousand years from now, or he could come back tomorrow."

"I doubt that. It will take an enormous amount of power to allow him to create a new body."

Trevor nodded. "There has to be a way to destroy that thing." he whispered, after which he said no more.

******

The following morning, Trevor took Sypha into a special room in the hall. The room was empty, yet it was what was on the walls that was important. Started by Kaniel Belmont, Leon's great-grandson, the walls were covered by a intricate family tree, painstakingly painted on by various Belmonts over the years. Trevor showed her where Sara's line had been lost track of, and she happily rattled off names of descendants so Trevor could fill them in. The line ended with Sypha, and once Trevor had put his paintbrush aside and stood up, she threw herself at him and burst into tears. He didn't seem surprised by the outburst, and he waved me and Jonathon out of the room.

They walked into the house later, with Sypha still dabbing at her eyes.

"Are you all right?" I asked gently.

"I'm fine, thank you. I just... Witch hunters killed my family and then my coven. I thought I was the only one left, and now I've found out that I have an entire family still?" She smiled up at Trevor. "It's more than I could have ever wished for."

"We understand." Jonathon said with a smile. "Welcome home, my dear."

******

Sypha slotted right in with the rest of the family, and some of the unattached men wasted no time in trying to win her attention. It was a futile effort for them, however because it was clear that she had eyes only for Trevor. The pair spent a great deal of time together, but they also spent a great deal of time with Grant.

Grant, we learned, was a pirate whose entire family was wiped out by Mathias' minions. In revenge, he had tried to hunt him down, only to end up cursed and under mind control. Trevor had beaten some sense into him, and he had gladly joined in his quest. It was immediately clear that Grant was also interested in Sypha, and he was not happy that she seemed to have attached herself to Trevor. He tried his best to hide that however, and I don't think that Trevor really noticed it. Other than that Grant seemed to treat Trevor as an older brother figure – Grant was about four years younger – and they could often be found around the Belmont Estate, helping out where needed, engaged in conversation.

Grant didn't stay too long however. Only a few weeks after first arriving on the Belmont lands, he departed, claiming that he needed something to keep him busy while he sorted through his grief. Trevor and Sypha wished him well, and he went on his way.

Of course, I knew that it wasn't he only reason he had left, but I wasn't going to mention that to Trevor. Sypha also seemed to realize that there was more to Grant's leaving than needing something to do, but she didn't mention anything either. If Trevor knew anything, he kept it to himself.

******

Things settled down after that. The Belmonts were still welcomed everywhere they went, and Trevor was treated like royalty every time he ventured out, though some wondered where he had come from. As a bastard child and the grandson of Mathias, his existence had been kept hidden from the rest of the world for most of his life, and it was known that Baron Jonathon Belmont had no children of his own. Once Jonathon had retired from hunting, a story had been quickly concocted that Trevor's parents had died when he was a teenager, and that Jonathon had taken him in. It worked for the most part, but even then people questioned why Jonathon would pass up other members of the family by naming Trevor as his heir, and of course, there was still the simple fact that no one outside the family had seen Trevor prior to his fourteenth birthday. Trevor and Jonathon kept silent about it, and the questioning died down once the excitement of Dracula's defeat began to wear off.

There was one thing I was puzzled about though; what had happened to Adrian? I asked Trevor about it one night a few months after Mathias' defeat, and he sighed without looking up from the large book he was writing in.

"He said his bloodline was cursed." Trevor said softly. "He said that the best thing he could do was rid the world of his cursed bloodline."

I was shocked, and I felt my jaw fall open in surprise. "Did he...?"

"Did he suicide? No, I don't think so. I heard him mention that it was possible for vampires to put themselves into a deep sleep and remain that way for years, similar to how Matatias had been." He looked up at me. "Is this true?"

I nodded. "It is, but I am not sure if half breeds can do it."

"He seemed pretty confidant that he could, and I believe that is what he went off to do. Once Dracula was dead, and the castle had fallen, we stopped at the first inn we came to to spend the night, and he was gone when we got up the next morning." He turned back to his book then and continued writing, and I found my curiosity piqued.

"What are you writing?"

Trevor looked up at me again. "Leon wrote everything he knew about Mathias and the Crimson Stone."

"Yes, I remember that. He said he wanted to make sure that his descendants knew what they were up against."

"Jonathon and I were able to find his original papers, but they were falling apart due to age. I coped them into this book, and now I'm adding my own observations about him: what worked, what didn't, what seemed to hurt him the most, his attack patterns, the castle layout, and so on. He may not come back in my lifetime, so I want my descendants to be prepared as well. I also need to mention the seal that we used, now that I think about it."

"Seal?"

"It was my fa – Alucard's suggestion, that we put a seal to prevent anyone from just raising the castle on a whim. It will take a surge of demonic energy to break that seal, not something that humans, or most vampires for that matter, can muster. I just hope it will be enough."

I gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it will."

******

By then Trevor and Sypha were officially courting, much to my delight. She made him happier than anyone else, even me, and it did my heart good to see him falling in love. I heard grumbling, some of it good natured, some of it not, from the other men in the family about him getting such a good catch. It was clearly believed that he was getting the better end of the deal, as there were still some that believed that the grandson of Mathias/Dracula did not deserve anything good, despite saving us all. Those grumblings eventually reached Sypha's ears, and it left Trevor in a panic over her reaction.

"What do I tell her, Uncle Joachim?" he asked as he paced frantically in his living room. "What do I say?"

"The truth might be a good start." I told him.

"The truth? So I should tell her that I'm the grandson of the monster whose minions caused her to be turned to stone for years? Yes, I can imagine she would love to hear that!"

I found myself wanting to go curse a few people again; it was clear that Trevor fully expected Sypha to reject him due to his parentage, like his mother and father had done.

I stepped up to him and took him by the shoulders to stop his pacing. "Trevor, if she is the one, then she will not care."

Trevor tried to pull away from me, but I wouldn't let him. "And if she does care?'

"Then she is not the right one."

"But I want her to be!" he burst out, and then he stared at me in horrified shock, having apparently not intended to say that out loud.

I smiled at him. "Trevor, you need to relax. I know your own family hurt you over this, but I doubt Sypha will. She seems to really care about you. Take her for a walk, and tell her everything."

Trevor sighed and looked down at the floor. "Do you really think that she'll care?" he mumbled.

"I seriously doubt it, but you won't know for sure until you tell her."

He sighed again. "All right." He glanced out of the nearby window at the setting sun. "I wonder if she would like to go for a walk after dinner?"

"I guess you'll have to ask her."

He gave me a shaky smile as I let go of him. "I'll go do that then." He walked out of the house, and I grinned as I heard the front door bang shut.

"Oh Trevor," I said quietly in the otherwise empty room, "She's already got you wrapped around her finger."

I selected a book from the library and settled down in my favored spot to wait. If Sypha did reject Trevor – which I firmly believed wasn't going to happen – I wanted to be there when my godson fell apart. If she didn't, I wanted to be there to tell him "I told you so.".

Trevor returned two hours later, and the creaking of the front door hinges made me look up. He walked into the living room, with his hair mussed up, his clothes rumpled, and wearing the goofiest grin I'd ever seen on his face.

I gave him a smug smile. "I told you she wouldn't care."

Trevor giggled quietly. "Yes, yes, you were right. I'm going to bed now." I watched him, amused, as he practically floated down the hall to his bedroom. I knew he would be having sweet dreams that night and many more to come.

******

Trevor proposed to Sypha at the start of the new year, and later that month, in 1477, they were married in the Belmont chapel. I shared the front pew on the groom's side with Trevor's half sister and half brother, Kerwin, Matatias, Silvanus, Ladislas, and Rachim, much to the dismay of the rest of the family.

Trevor's sister, Hannah, and his brother, Peter, had reached out to him a few years before. Trevor had been wary at first, but soon he had welcomed them into his life, though he still firmly rebuffed their parents, to the latter's annoyance.

Trevor of course was a nervous wreck, so much so that I had forced him to take a sip of my blood prior to the start of the ceremony, so he wouldn't sick up while reciting his vows. As it was, he was still very nervous, half expecting Sypha to make a break for it, which made me want to go kill a few people. The Defeater of Dracula still had trouble believing that there were those that wanted him. I despaired that he would ever move past it.

So when Sypha came down the isle, the large smile that appeared on his face had a lot to do with relief that she had decided to marry him after all. Trevor managed to keep himself calm and recite his vows without any trouble, but it was plain that he wanted to shout his joy to the world when he and Sypha were pronounced husband and wife.

Once the wedding was over, the party moved into the hall for the wedding feast, followed by music and dancing. Everyone had a good time, and the party only ended when Trevor and Sypha announced that they were retiring for the night. Hoots and catcalls followed them out, and I grinned and went home. I had no desire to listen to my godson consummating his marriage.

Being married did Trevor a world of good. Gone was the quiet loner that flinched slightly whenever someone raised their voice around him and was constantly expecting those around him to reject him. Sypha's unconditional affection did more for him than I ever could, and he now freely mingled with the rest of the Belmonts and showed none of the nerves that he once did.

On more than one occasion, when Trevor would go out hunting, Sypha would accompany him, which scandalized the rest of the family. Their whips and sorcery approached worked well for them in keeping down the numerous monsters still running around after Mathias' defeat. There were some that insisted that Sypha stay home as was proper, but she only laughed at them. When they demanded that Trevor order her to stay, he also laughed at them.

"I will never tie her down." he told them. The Belmonts fumed and raged, but that had no real authority to make any demands of Trevor, and they knew it. Not even Jonathon, who was nearly 63 years old at this point, or myself, could make Trevor do anything he didn't want to.

******

One other thing came out of the marriage, and it was something that I had not expected at all.

"You want me to do what?" I asked incredulously as we stood in my small living room.

Trevor looked me right in the eye. "I want you to help me see if I have a wolf form."

"Why in the world..? Why now, Trevor? You refused every time I suggested it before."

He blushed slightly. "Sypha and I were talking, and she wondered if I had one."

"Let me guess," I said with a smile, "She said you would make a gorgeous wolf, or something along those lines."

Trevor blushed again and nodded. "She did."

I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Oh Trevor, bowing down to a woman."

"You would too, in my place."

I managed to get my laughter under control. "I'm sure I would. Anyway, I'm not sure if you do, or even if you're capable of making the transformation. I'll have to talk to Silvanus about it; I'm sure he knows."

"Might I accompany you?"

"Eager to get started?"

"Very much so."

"Well let's get going then."

I flew us to Silvanus' home, and for once Trevor did not protest being carried. I could sense his eagerness, and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face and resolved to do something very nice for Sypha.

Silvanus welcomed us in and inquired the reason for our visit. Trevor got right to the point.

"Do quarter breeds have wolf forms?" he asked, and Silvanus gave him a knowing smile.

"Hoping to find yours then, I assume?"

"So they do?"

"Some of them do." Silvanus explained. "It depends on the power inherited from the half breed parent. Be aware though, Trevor, that even if you do have a wolf form, that doesn't mean you'll be able to use it. Making the change requires power that many quarter breeds simply do not have. The less power you have, the more painful the change is, and you may not be able to make it."

"How do we know if I even have one then?"

"I'm sure you do. I can sense your power level, and it seems to be high enough. What I am not sure of, is if you are capable of making the change."

"I want to try."

"Very well then." Silvanus stood up and gestured for us to do the same. With a wave of his hand, he then pushed the furniture away so we had a clear space in the center of the room to work in. "Joachim, if you would."

I nodded in understanding and dropped down into my wolf form.

"I know you've probably seen your uncle in wolf form before, Trevor." I heard Silvanus explain. "But I want you to take a good look and memorize every feature of the wolf's body. If you do not have good visualization, you won't be able to make the change, or worse, it will fail part way. A full vampire would survive such a mistake; you, however, will not, so make sure you have it perfect in your mind."

For the next several minutes, I walked around and allowed Trevor to look me over as Silvanus lectured him. I was more than a little worried upon hearing that a partially failed change was possible, and that it would be fatal to him, but I tried not to let that show. It was best that Trevor learn under our watchful gaze, than to try it alone somewhere and get himself seriously hurt or killed.

"I've got it." he finally said after a while.

"Are you certain?" Silvanus asked.

"Yes,"

I tuned Silvanus out then; he was telling Trevor the same things that Walter had explained to me years ago. Instead I kept my focus on Trevor as he gathered his power for the change. I could feel it, but it was nowhere near what I had hoped, and I began to think that he wouldn't be capable of it.

But then.. Trevor began to change. It was agonizingly slow, and I knew that it had to be painful, but slowly fur sprouted in his arms and legs, he fell forward to land on all fours, and his face began to elongate. But then the change seemed to stop.

Silvanus placed his hand on the back of Trevor's head, I felt a jolt go through the room, and suddenly there was a dark brown wolf with deep blue eyes half standing, half sitting on the floor, looking around in bewilderment.

"Oh my," Silvanus said with a pleased smile, and I trotted up to my godson and began to inspect him. He managed to get to his feet, and he wobbled as he stood there, but after a moment, he raised his head to look at me and let out a throaty woof! I gave him a wolfish smile as I looked him over, pleased to see that he appeared to have no injuries. I morphed back into my normal shape and began to rub his ears.

"You're gorgeous." I whispered to him, and it was true. His fur was the same color as his hair, and his eyes were an almost unnatural shade of dark blue. He was taller than me, but shorter than Kerwin, and he had an overall more stocky build. His tail was long and bushy, and he wagged it back and forth when I scratched him behind his ears.

"How do you feel, Trevor?" Silvanus asked, which caused Trevor to look up at him. "Are you in any pain?"

Trevor looked at him for a second, and then he nodded his head slightly.

"Severe?" Trevor shook his head. "Moderate?" This time Trevor nodded slightly, and I frowned, but Silvanus gestured for me to keep silent. "Pain is to be expected, Joachim. He's mostly human, after all." Silvanus turned back to Trevor. "All right now. I'm going to give you another burst of my power to enable you to transform back. Are you ready?" Trevor nodded, and Silvanus placed a hand on the back of his head again. "Start to change back, Trevor."

With a low growl of effort, Trevor slowly started to return to his normal shape, but once again, the change seemed to stall before he was all the way there. Again, Silvanus gave him a boost, and Trevor suddenly appeared in his normal form on the floor, bathed in sweat and panting with exhaustion.

"Trevor!" I knelt down beside him and began to look him over. "Are you all right?"

"I feel like I've been given the beating of my life." he groaned. "Is that normal?"

"For a quarter breed like yourself?" Silvanus said. "Yes, that is normal. It will get easier as you practice, but let me make myself clear. You are NOT to practice without your uncle with you. Am I understood, Trevor? You can easily get stuck halfway, which could easily kill you."

"I understand." Trevor mumbled tiredly as I pulled him to his feet. He learned against me and started to nod off, so I simply scooped him up into my arms.

"Take him home, Joachim." Silvanus told me. "Give him a little bit of your blood to heal his aches and strains, and then put him to bed. Make sure that you are close by when he tries to transform again. If need be, you can give him a short burst of power like I did to push him over."

"Will he always need it?" I asked as I settled him into my arms.

"At first, but then he'll be able to muster his own power, I'm sure. He just needs someone to show him how, which is essentially what I did."

I nodded in understanding and carried Trevor home. Thankfully, Sypha was not in the house when I carried him inside, and by the time she came in, her husband was already tucked into bed, sleeping soundly.

Over the several few days, Trevor practiced his wolf form whenever he could. After the first few tries, he no longer needed a power boost from me and was capable of making the change on his own, though it was slow. It still also left him tired and achy, but not nearly as bad as it did the first time.

Finally, one evening, he was able to make the transition smoothly, though still a bit slow, and it left him with no aches or pains. I had him go back and forth a few more times, and once that was done, he was standing in front of me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen on his face.

"I think I got it." he said excitedly, and I smiled softly and nodded in agreement. "I can't wait to show Sypha!"

"Show me what?" came Sypha's voice as she stepped into the house. She stopped in front of us and looked back and forth between us for a moment. Trevor gave me an eager look, and I nodded for him to go ahead.

Sypha's eyes became impossibly wide as he transformed in front of her, and she dropped down to kneel in front of him.

"Oh, Trevor," she breathed, "You are so beautiful." He nuzzled her, wagging his tail, and she rubbed his head and scratched him behind the ears. He growled in pleasure, and I smiled to myself and slipped out the door. I trusted that he would be able to change back without any assistance.

Trevor used his wolf form to the fullest after that. He quickly learned that hiding as a wolf in the shadows allowed him to overhear conversations easily, which made it easier to hear of any rumors flying around that might be of importance. He also just enjoyed running through the woods, and Sypha, not one to be left out, quickly found a spell that allowed her to assume a wolf shape for a limited amount of time. The pair of them then often took late night romps through the woods, a secret to everyone but the two of them and myself.

It was while in wolf form, nosing about the nearby farms, that Trevor overheard talk between the various farmers. Apparently, even though the rains had been good so far, their crops were struggling for no apparent reason. He also heard talk of men that were normally calm and mild mannered, losing their tempers at the slightest provocation and attacking anyone around them.

Trevor was concerned about the rumors, but they were pushed to the back of his mind when Sypha gave him some important news.

"Sypha's pregnant!" he crowed, and he yanked me out of my chair and proceeded to dance about the room with me. I laughed; it brought me so much joy to see him so happy.

"Do you know when?" I asked.

"This winter, the midwife thinks. I hope it's a boy! Or even a girl! I don't care!" Trevor took me for another round about the room then, and I laughed again and shared in his joy.

For the first few months of her pregnancy, Sypha continued to go hunting with Trevor, despite his objections, though she stopped running with him as a wolf. The risks of the shape changing causing harm to the baby were just too great for her to risk it. At about the fourth month, she decided that hunting was no longer a viable option either, and she stuck to home and hearth, though Trevor tried to stay with her as much as duty allowed.

******

No long after fall arrived, and with it came sobering news.

"The harvest failed." Trevor said quietly one night. "Some farmers were able to get something usable from their fields, but most found nothing that they could save."

"What about livestock?" I asked. We were at Trevor and Sypha's home, which I seemed to be spending a great deal of time at. Trevor was tending to the Vampire Killer, cleaning and oiling it, while Sypha mended by the fire.

"Most of the animals are fine for now." Trevor replied. "But no one knows how long that will last since the farmers don't have much to feed them over the winter."

"So there will probably be a die off once the cold weather sets in."

"Likely."

Sypha sighed quietly and put her mending down. "It feels evil." she said quietly.

Trevor looked at her. "Sypha?"

She shook her head slightly and stared into the fire. "This entire mess feels like a curse to me. I can't explain it any more than that."

"I'll ask Silvanus next time I see him." I said. "If it's a curse, then there must be a way of breaking it. There's also the question of where it came from and who cast it."

"Dracula." Trevor replied without hesitation. "This feels like him."

"Yes," Sypha agreed with a nod, "It does."

"I can easily imagine him cursing the world as he died," Trevor added, "believing that he would destroy mankind one way or another."

"And if it is a curse cast by him," Sypha finished their line of thought, "then the only way to break it would be to destroy him."

"But he's already dead." I said with a sigh.

"For now," Trevor said, "If centuries pass before he resurrects, then he might succeed in his drive to destroy mankind. We might be forced to resurrect him ourselves if it comes to that."

I nearly choked on my tea. "Let's not entertain that idea, shall we?" I said once I had cleared my throat.

"I don't like it either, Uncle Joachim, but we may not have a choice, depending on how long it takes him to resurrect."

******

A few days later, I spoke to Silvanus about the curse that seemed to be going on.

"I sense it too." he told me grimly. "And I agree with Trevor and Sypha that it came from Mathias; the power feels very similar."

"Is there anything we can do about it?"

"Sadly no, the curse is too widespread, and its caster is too powerful. Lifting it without killing Mathias again would be an impossible task."

"So we'll have to wait until he resurrects."

"For however long it takes."

******

As fall gave way to winter, it soon became apparent that the failed harvest was worse than previously thought. Many families simply didn't have enough to make it through the winter. Trevor, ever the kind hearted soul, ordered that large storehouses of grain be emptied and distributed to the peasants on the Belmont lands, thus ensuring that they wouldn't starve over the winter months. He also led the menfolk on large hunting parties, hoping to catch enough meet to make up for the dwindling numbers of livestock, which had already started to die off as their feed stores ran low. He allowed each individual family in the Belmont clan take only enough to see them over, the rest he gave to the peasant families.

Some complained about Trevor handing out so much to the peasants under his control, but he told them that if they didn't like it, then they were more than welcome to try life off of the Belmont lands. The complainers took the threat for what it was and shut up.

As the unusually harsh winter moved in, roving animals, starving themselves, lost their fear of humans and began attacking villages, desperate for food. Trevor was kept very busy keeping them at bay on his lands, and things worsened when other creatures began appearing, monsters like the ones summoned by Mathias almost two years before. They appeared in multiple places at once and feared no one, human or vampire. I had them on my territory, as did Silvanus, Kerwin, and Ladislas. One such creature, a warg, was actually brave enough to attack Rachim. Though very frail, Rachim was still more than a match for it, and he destroyed it easily, even if the effort left him a bit shaky afterwards. Even Actose had to contend with them, though with all of his children, including a never before seen one that was said to have tangled blond hair and wild blue eyes that spoke of madness, he had little actual work to do.

When I wasn't trying to keep my own territory clear, I assisted Trevor with his, and the two of us often spent the entire night chasing packs of starving animals and marauding bands of monsters away from homes and farms. If I didn't accompany him home every morning and make him go to bed, he would stay up all day as well. Thankfully, Jonathon was able to ease his burden by handling some of the duties of the local lord, so Trevor would have time to rest. As soon as he had rested, however, it was up, a quick meal, and then out he'd go again. And during the day, he was on his own, as I didn't dare be seen by the peasants.

******

As things deteriorated, with worsening weather, dwindling food supplies, and lesser amounts of animals to hunt, there was one bright ray of hope and joy.

During a howling whiteout, Sypha went into labor, and early the next morning, just as the winds were abating, she gave birth to a son. That night I had handled the hunting so Trevor could be close for the birth of his child, so it wasn't until I returned in the early afternoon after feeding and bathing did I meet the newest Belmont.

Trevor greeted me at the door with a wide smile, and he quickly took me into the master bedroom, where Sypha was sitting up in bed, feeding the little one. After a moment, she handed the infant to her husband, who then handed him to me.

"Uncle Joachim," he said quietly as he handed him over. "Meet your grandson, Jacob Belmont."

I cradled the infant in my arms and smiled down at his tiny face. "Hello, Jacob," and then the rest of Trevor's sentence penetrated my mind. "Wait, grandson?"

Trevor smiled at me. "Sypha and I talked it over and agreed that since you were the only father that I had as a child, then it's only fitting that you be Jacob's grandfather."

I was stunned into silence, and Trevor laughed quietly at my befuddlement before I shook myself out of it and smiled widely at him. I looked down at Jacob and brushed my fingers across his soft blond curls. "I think I would like being a grandfather very much."

Jacob had very fine, wavy blond hair, and when he opened his eyes to look at the new stranger that was holding him, I saw that he had Trevor's deep blue eyes.

"He is so beautiful." I whispered, and I glanced up at Trevor for a moment. "As beautiful as his father was." Trevor blushed and looked down at the floor, while Sypha snickered at his discomfort.

I had a grandson! If I could have, I would have shouted it to the world. Instead I had to settled for sharing the news with Kerwin and Silvanus. Kerwin laughed loudly and joked about me somehow becoming first a father, and then a grandfather without having to get anyone pregnant, while Silvanus just grinned knowingly at me. Matatias of course demanded that he meet his best friend's baby boy, so a few days later, I got to watch Matatias stare in amazement as he held Jacob in his arms. He then very seriously told Kerwin that he wanted one of these, which made Kerwin sputter as the rest of us roared with laughter.

Jacob's arrival was cause for a celebration, though the celebration was muted somewhat by the famine going on around us. Still, the birth of the family heir is always something to be cheerful about, and any cheer was welcome at the time. Trevor, at least, was happy, because the celebration showed him that Jacob was the acknowledged heir. Some Belmonts, mostly older members of the clan, still refused to acknowledge him as the head of the family, but at least they acknowledged his son. I suppose the great-grandson of Mathias Cronqvist is better than his grandson.

Jacob did not have fangs at birth like Trevor had, though Silvanus assured me that they would make their appearance once he started teething. They would be smaller than Trevor's and would not be large enough to be functional. Jacob's vampire ancestry was also far enough removed that he would not feel the urge to bite and drink when injured, as Trevor sometimes did.

Trevor had admitted that he had used his fangs once, before I had taken him in, but he would never tell me why.

"It's in the past." he explained. "I'm content to leave if there. Jacob will never have to use his, and that is enough for me."

Chapter 4-1 – Chapter 4-3

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