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AMoS Chapter 5-7
Title: A Moment of Stupidity Part 5: 1535 - 1568
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 5 goes from Trevor's funeral to Liron's death.
7.
Renewal
The next handful of years skipped by quietly. Hector continued to show slow improvement, and in 1544, four years after I had taken him in, he stood for the first time. His legs shook under his weight, and it it hadn't been for my arm supporting him, he would have fallen. Still nothing could have kept the wide smile from his face, even after I had scooped him back up into my arms and sat down with him on my lap.
Two years later, he was able to toddle along with only a little help with balance every now and then, and it pleased me more than I can say when he walked into the chapel with me to attend Adrian'a wedding. I kept one arm around his waist as we walked in, and he needed a little help to sit down in the pew without falling. He was trembling slightly, and he leaned against me and took a rest while we waited for the others to be seated.
"I love you." I whispered to him as we waited, and he smiled slightly and snuggled closer. Isaac was curled up on his lap, and he lightly petted him as the ceremony got underway. He had explained that Isaac would live as long as he was feeding power to him via their bond, so as long as Hector lived, so would the Innocent Devil.
Adrian was 23, and his bride, a small, blond headed young woman that appeared much younger than she looked, was 17, and the two of them happily settled into married life in the lord's house with Liron. Liron was considering retiring from hunting, but he opted to wait for a while to give the newlyweds time to get used to their new status. He was only 46 after all, and had a number of good years in him. Low numbers of masterless young vampires and monsters had resulted in less hunting, so he was in much better physical shape that Trevor and Jacob had been in at the same age.
The following year, Clara Belmont was born, to Adrian and Liron's delight. I sat back and watched the new family from a distance and made no attempt to get close. Liron tried to draw me in, citing that I was essentially Clara's great-great-great grandfather, but I refused. I had no intention of getting that close to another Belmont after the heartbreak of losing Trevor. It had been 12 years since that horrible day, but it was still wasn't enough. I really didn't think I would ever be able to move on from that.
The year after Clara's birth, in 1548, Christopher Belmont was born. To Liron's shock, the whip responded to the newborn infant just as it had to Adrian years ago. So Liron did the only thing he could do; he announced Christopher as Adrian's heir. The rest of the clan was confused, while I just laughed. Later on once I was at the lord's house with Liron and his family I explained how the whip had responded to Trevor when he was only five.
"And considering how powerful Trevor grew up to be," I said with an amused chuckle. "imagine how strong Christopher is."
Everyone else laughed with me, and Elena, Adrian's wife, stood up.
"I have to check on dinner." she said with a quick look at her husband. "Here, Uncle Joachim, why don't you hold Christopher for me until I come back?"
Before I could respond, I found a swaddled baby thrust into my arms, and I swallowed my objections as I tried not to drop him. I sighed and looked down at the tiny face. Christopher had his mother's hair, and though he had not opened his eyes in my presence yet, I had been told – multiple times – that they were a light blue. I could see Adrian and Liron grinning at me, and I bristled with irritation at the obvious scheme.
I stood up and carefully handed Christopher to his father. "I have to go check on Hector." I said, and then I walked out of the house.
"That didn't work the way we intended." I heard Liron mutter as I walked out the front door, which only worsened my irritation.
I walked into my house and moved into the bedroom to check on Hector, and of course he was fine, sound asleep. He slept through the days and was awake at night, as was expected for a young vampire, though he still took a long nap at around one in the morning. I sat down in the rocking chair, hid my face in my hands and sighed.
"Uncle Joachim?" came Liron's voice from behind me.
I didn't bother to turn around. "What do you want, Liron?"
"I would like to speak with you, if you don't mind?"
I sighed and stood up. "Let's go out into the living room." I stood up from the chair and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me so we wouldn't wake Hector up. I also took the precaution of narrowing the bond between us; no doubt this conversation was going to irritate me, at the very least, and I didn't want him to feel it.
Once that was done, I folded my arms across my chest and looked at Liron. "Now what do you want?"
He got right to the point. "Why did you not want to hold Christopher?"
"Why did you want me to?"
Liron sighed. "Uncle, it's been 13 years since Grandfather died. Don't you think it's time you moved on?"
"Once you've outlived one of your children, Liron, come back and say that to me."
He stepped closer to me and gave me an earnest look. "Uncle..." He sighed. "Joachim. I can't imagine what that felt like when you lost him -"
"Then why are we having this discussion?"
"- but he is dead, and turning your back on us isn't going fill that void in your heart."
"Leave it, Liron!" I turned my back to him. "This conversation is done; now go home."
I heard him run up to me, and then felt him impact against my back as his arms came around me. "Please, Uncle! Don't do this to us! Don't do this to yourself!"
From Hector's end of the bond came the sense of confusion as he woke up, and I growled and practically carried Liron to the door and none too gently pushed him out. "You've woken Hector up." I snapped. "Go home, Liron!" He went stumbling down the porch steps, and I slammed the door behind him before I went to check on Hector.
Hector of course was fine, and after a few soothing words, he went back to sleep easily, and I wandered into the library and sat down in front of the fireplace. I kept my head bowed and did not look up at Trevor's portrait.
I must have stayed that way for several hours, for when I raised my head when I heard my door opening, the sun was almost gone, and the library was dark.
"I said go home, Liron." I said as I looked back down at the floor.
"It's not Liron." came Jacob's voice, and I whipped my head up in surprise.
Jacob had just turned 70 at the beginning of the year, and though he had arthritis in his arms and shoulders like Trevor had, his was not as severe, so he was still capable of taking care of himself with little difficulty. He looked a great deal like Trevor had at that age, only his hair had gone straight to white instead of gray.
"Jacob?"
"I never thought I'd see this out of you." he said as he walked slowly into the room, leaving on a cane for support. "Pushing your own family away from you as though they were nothing."
I looked away from him. "I don't have any family, Jacob, you know that."
"Oh is that so? So you did not raise your godson, my father, as your own child? So you were not named by him as grandfather to myself, my brother, and my sister? You did not hold Liron after his birth and introduce yourself to him as his great-grandfather? Last I heard, you had a large family, so why are you hiding from us?"
"I am not hiding from the Belmonts, or have you not seen the mountain of children that gather on my porch every day?"
"The children that you dispense treats to but otherwise do not interact with unless you must? And if you're not hiding from us, then why did you refuse to hold Christopher, who I might add, is your great-great-great grandson?"
I sighed; I had no answer to that. Jacob said nothing; instead I heard him walk across the floor over to me, and then he sat down on the couch next to me.
"Remember how I used to call you Paw-paw, when I was little?" he asked.
I laughed quietly; I remembered.
"But everyone else called you Uncle, including Papa, so I started doing the same." Jacob looked up at Trevor's portrait. "I tried to talk him into accepting your offer, you know."
I looked at him in surprise: I had not known that. "You did?"
He nodded. "I wanted him to do it, because I couldn't bear the thought of him dying, and I knew that his death would destroy you. He refused to consider it of course, for the same reasons he told you. He said 'Grief is a part of life. I know my death with hurt him, but he will still be there for you when you need him.'" Jacob looked at me. "How does it feel to know you've made a liar out of your son?"
I looked down at the floor. "Jacob..."
"I know it was agony to lose him. I was watching when Lords Bernhard and Asenti had to drag you off of his grave while you begged him to come back to you. I also know that you spoke to him via the whip, and I won't ask what you said to each other, but I have to wonder. Is this what he wanted you to do? To ignore the children you were named grandfather to? You haven't spoken to Bridget or Isaiah in years, and the only reason you speak to me is because I still live in the Lord's house.
"And don't get me started with your treatment of Liron. You used to adore him, and now you barely speak to him unless it's necessary. Now he's at home, distraught because he was thrown out of your house on top of you refusing to have anything to do with his grandchild. Right now, he really doesn't know if you still care about us at all, and quite frankly I agree with him." He stood up and looked down at me. "Maybe you should return to your other house, because you living in the one that Papa built, and that Liron rebuilt, so you could be close to the family seems to be a waste of time now." He walked out of the room then, leaving me to sit in silence in the darkened library.
I leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling above me for the longest time. I had nothing to say to that.
"Joachim?" came Hector's sleepy voice from the doorway, and I looked up to see him standing in the door in his sleep clothes, rubbing his eyes. I hadn't even felt him waking. I sat up straight and held my arms out to him.
"Come here, child." He toddled over to me and curled up on my lap, so I put my arms around him and rocked him a little. "Are you thirsty?"
"A little."
"Alright, get your drink." He sat up on my lap, and I tilted my head to the side to make it easier for him to bite me. I then held him as he fed and thought that he was probably strong enough to learn how to hunt. He still wouldn't hunt for himself, but it was more on the just in case he was ever separated form me and had to fend for himself. Of course, something truly terrible would have to happen for me to leave him for that long, but there was always the chance.
Once he was done, I eased him off of my lap and onto the couch so I could stand up. I leaned down and kissed him on the top of his head. "Why don't you read for a while? I'm going to the Lord's house; I'll be back later."
"Okay." He curled up on the couch and summoned a book from a nearby shelf, and then with a wave of his hand, he lit all the lights in the room. I smiled at him as I turned towards the door; weak as he was, no one could dispute that Hector was a fast learner. He had mastered that trick within hours of me showing him how to do it.
I walked out of my house and crossed the short distance to the Lord's house to find it dark. Everyone was obviously in bed for the night, and I easily slipped inside without making a sound and made a beeline for one particular bedroom. I eased the door open to find Liron sleeping in the center of his bed. His wife had died suddenly a few years before, and he had refused to remarry, so he slept alone.
I ghosted over to the bed and said down beside him, and he stirred and rolled over to look at me.
"Uncle Joachim?" he mumbled in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
I gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
He sat up and looked at me, and I reached out and enfolded him in my arms. "I'm so sorry." I said again. "I never meant for it to go this far. I just needed time away after Trevor was gone." I closed my eyes and held him close to me. "I love you. I know I haven't acted like it, but I really do." I felt him nestle against me, and he began to shake as I realized he was crying. "Oh Liron, please don't cry." He shook his head. "I'm here now, child, and I'm not going to go away again. I promise."
"I love you too." he whispered, and I smiled faintly as my own eyes began to tear up.
"I'm here now, Liron." I whispered as I rocked him. "Go back to sleep, and in the morning you can introduce me to your grandson."
He raised his head and gave me a watery smile. "I'd like that." I returned the smile as he laid his head down on my shoulder. I kissed him on the side of his head and held him as he fell asleep in my arms. I gently laid him down, tucked him into bed, and then kissed him goodnight. He smiled faintly and rolled over onto his side with a quiet sigh.
I quietly left the room and went in search of another. I found Jacob and his wife asleep in their bed. I knelt down on the floor on Jacob's side and gently ran my fingers through his hair, and he woke at the touch.
"Ha-ha," he said quietly, "it worked."
I smiled fondly at him. "Brat."
"And you love me for it."
I smiled at him again. "I do, even though I haven't acted like it in years."
His face was lit up by a beautiful smile then. "I love you too... Paw-paw."
I laughed quietly. "You were right, you know."
"Of course I was."
"Brat." I brushed his hair out of his face. "I am sorry. I never realized..." I trailed off, and then took a deep breath. "I never realized how much I was hurting my family."
"I guess," Jacob said quietly, "we forgot that you were hurting too. How do you go on in life, knowing that everyone you care about is going to die? I couldn't do that."
I sat down on the floor. "It's not something I thought about much until Jonathon died. I've seen many Belmonts come and go since Leon, but I hadn't been all that close to them. Oh I was friends with Leon, and I was godfather to his children, and their deaths did hurt, but after that..." I shrugged. "I was more of the distant relative or the old family friend. It wasn't until your father was born that I started getting close to the clan again."
He reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. "I really... I suppose I can't blame you. I would have done the same in your shoes, I think." He sighed, but the sigh turned into a yawn.
I laughed quietly. "Go back to sleep, Jacob. I'll still be here tomorrow."
"Alright then." He gave me a sleepy smile as I leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, Paw-paw."
I brushed his hair out of his face. "I love you too, little one. Go to sleep now." He closed his eyes with a faint smile as I stood up to leave the room, and he was sleeping by the time I made it out of the house.
Hector was still reading in the library when I returned, and he looked up at me when I sat down beside him.
"Joachim, are you all right?"
"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?"
"You didn't keep the bond closed while you were next door."
"I'm fine, Hector. Just something that I needed to sort out."
"If you're certain..."
"I am."
"Okay," He closed his book, set it aside, and then climbed over onto my lap.
"Hector?"
He locked his arms around me and snuggled in. "I could feel everything from you," he whispered, "and... you have a family... and I never really did..."
"Oh child," I wrapped him in my arms and rocked him, something that he loved. "You do have a family. You have me, Kerwin, Matatias, Celia, Silvanus, Ladislas, and Rachim, and don't forget the Belmonts. They consider you family just as they do me."
He looked at me. "But... we're not related."
"Are you not my child?"
"I am, but -"
"Do we not have a bond?"
"Yes, but what -"
"No, we are not kin in any way that humans measure it, but you are my child; you share my blood, which makes us related in that way. The bond between us is just a weaker version of the bond between a child that was born vampire and his or her parents. The bond between me and Kerwin is the same thing that we would have if we were actual siblings, just not as strong. Silvanus is bonded to us s though he was our grandfather, even though he is not. Again, the only difference is the bond is weaker. So in a way," I lightly tapped Hector on the nose. "you are Silvanus' great-grandson, Kerwin's nephew, and Matatias' cousin. The bonds are not quite as strong as they could be, because my master and Kerwin's father, Walter Bernhard, died centuries ago, but the bonds are there nonetheless."
Hector frowned in thought. "Walter Bernhard... Lord Dracula mentioned that name once or twice. Did they know each other?"
"I know that they met at least, but I am unsure how well they knew each other. Walter was Mathias' first victim after he used the Crimson Stone."
Hector's eyes widened. "Does Kerwin know?"
"He does, so does Silvanus."
"Aren't they... angry at Lord Dracula for that?"
"Furious, I assure you, but they know that there is nothing they can do about it. Getting too close to Dracula would be suicide, even for Silvanus, and they know it."
"Aren't you angry?"
I sighed; trust Hector to ask such a loaded question. "Things between Walter and I... were not good when he died. I wish he had been able to pass onto the afterlife normally, but I can't regret that he's gone. I know I loved him for a number of years, but he had not been kind to me towards the end of his life, so it was a relief once he was gone and Kerwin was able to claim me as his."
Hector curled up into a ball. "He hurt you, didn't he? Like Actose hurt me." he said in a tiny voice.
I sighed again. "He did, but he wasn't always that way. Kerwin told me that his mental state had been sliding for years, and that slide accelerated not long after he turned me. By the time Leon Belmont defeated him, he was almost completely out of his mind."
"Is that why you stay with the Belmonts? Because Leon freed you?"
I smiled. "Not just that, but because he also carried me out of the castle and kept me alive until Kerwin could come and get me, so it's all his fault you see."
Hector wrinkled his nose in confusion, something that I found adorable. "His fault? And why did he have to carry you?"
"I was too sick to walk. Walter hadn't been feeding me, so I was very ill when he died."
"But you got better."
"After a few years and a lot of feedings, yes, I did."
"Is that why you've never spoke of Walter before? Because he was cruel to you?"
"It is.. difficult to think of him, but there are many reason for that. Kerwin and Silvanus have the same problem, which is why we rarely bring him up in discussion."
"Why Silvanus?"
I leaned against the couch back. "Walter's parents died when he was too young to be on his own, so Silvanus took him in and sired him." The full story could wait until some other time; it wasn't like we would have to worry about the rest of the Bernhard family causing trouble. As a matter of fact, Kerwin had said that he sensed their numbers decreasing for some reason, but he didn't care enough to go investigate.
"So that is why I'm basically his great-grandson, because he sired your master?"
"Exactly."
"Ooooh, okay. I understand. I didn't know the bonds worked liked that."
"It's how they are supposed to work, at any rate. Sadly, they don't always."
Hector closed his eyes and laid his head down, and contentment filled the bond from his end. He stayed on my lap until his midnight nap, when I put him to bed and went to go hunt.
******
In the morning, once Hector was in bed for the day, I returned to the Lord's house to find them just sitting down from breakfast, and I was quickly roped into joining them. I spent a pleasant hour with them before the children woke for the day.
One year old Clara was the first one up, and she toddled out into the main room, holding onto her mother's hand. She stopped and stared at me for a moment, and then she darted over to her father and held onto his leg. Adrian lifted her up onto his lap and turned her to face me.
"It's just Uncle Joachim, Clara." he assured her as he smoothed a few strands of her reddish blond hair out of her face. She scooted back to lean against his chest and shook her little head, and I felt my heart sink a little. She didn't know me, and that was no one's fault but my own.
Thankfully, a nice distraction came in the form of Christopher. He woke a few minutes later, wailing to be fed, and once that was taken care of, Elena carefully placed him in my arms. The tiny infant yawned, and he blinked open his eyes and looked up at me. They were a light blue, and I cradled him in the crook of my arm and smiled down at him.
"Hello Christopher," I said gently, and he blinked at me before he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. I held him for a bit longer, and then I stood up and handed him back to his mother. I then excused myself; I had others to see.
I found Isaiah and his wife in their home, and after he stared at me in surprise from seeing me on his doorstep, he quickly dragged me inside. As soon as the door was closed behind me, I reached out to my grandson and embraced him. He returned it, and my eyes were suspiciously damp when he stepped back and smiled at me.
"What brought this on?" he asked.
"Your brother gave me a good talking to, and I daresay it was well deserved."
"I'll say." He stepped up to me again and held onto me tight. "Don't... don't ever leave us like that again, Uncle Joachim!"
"I won't, child, I promise I won't." I held him tighter. "I love you."
He snuggled against me and didn't say anything for a moment, then he stepped back and began to tug me into the main part of the house. "Now come in! Come in! There's so much that you've missed that I need to fill you in on..."
I spent a wonderful hour with Isaiah and his wife, and then I had to move on, because I still needed to see Bridget.
I found her in her house, in the company of her husband and oldest child. She screamed with joy when she saw me, and I swear she used magic to drag me into the room so she could hug me. I was then shoved down onto a couch, and I found myself surrounded by three deliriously happy voices for the next two hours.
******
That night, once Hector was awake, fed, and dressed, we went over to the Lord's house for dinner. Jacob was there and so was Isaiah, his wife, Bridget, her husband Edwin, Liron, Helen, Jonas, Carmen, Adrian, and Lucas, as well as their spouses and children. We could just barely fit around the table, but only Hector seemed to mind any. He was a little uneasy in large groups after years of being the plaything of Actose and his children, but I kept the bond between us open wide and sent him calming feelings during the meal. He didn't eat much, since getting sick exhausted him, and once we had moved from the table into the family room, he curled up on my lap and dozed.
He didn't do so for long however, because the sound of Jacob jokingly calling him "Uncle" had his attention in an instant.
"Uncle?" he said in confusion, and Jacob laughed.
"Would you like to to explain this one, Uncle Joachim?"
I smiled softly. "I claimed Trevor as my child when he was ten." I explained. "So even though he wasn't a child of blood and no bonds would have existed between you, the two of you are essentially brothers, which makes Trevor's children your niece and nephews."
Hector looked at me for a second, and then he looked over at Jacob, Isaiah, and Bridget. They looked back with identical smiles that I remembered well from their hunting lessons as children, and Hector smiled faintly as he closed his eyes and curled close to me again. The motion was muted since he was tired, but I could feel his happiness at hearing such a thing. He fell asleep then, and as much as I was reluctant to, I stood up to take him home, but the movement woke him up.
"Stay here," he said sleepily, "We don't have to go home now, do we?"
I smiled as my grandchildren and great-grandchildren laughed at his words and sat back down. "I suppose we can stay for a bit longer." He gave me a sleepy smile and closed his eyes again.
We did stay, as the hours went by, as the rest of the clan trickled off to bed, as Hector slept in my arms. Long after Clara and Christopher were in bed, Jacob finally nodded off in his chair sometime after midnight. I handed Hector over to Liron, and then I scooped Jacob up into my arms and carried him to bed. That seemed to be the cue for everyone else to head off, as Isaiah and his wife returned home as soon as I returned from tucking Jacob in. I gave him a long goodnight hug, as though I was not expecting to see him again, and he was all too happy to return it. When I released him, he stepped back so I could do the same with Bridget.
"Don't ever leave us again, Uncle Joachim." she said softly. "We lost our father, our mother, and our grandfather within days of each other. Please stay with us from now on."
"I swear I will."
She stepped back then and gave me a watery smile before she and Edwin hurried out. Once everyone else had departed, I took Hector from Liron, took him home, and put him to bed for his nap. I then returned and spent a little more time with Liron before he also went to bed, followed quickly by Adrian.
"Goodnight, Uncle Joachim." Liron said as we embraced before he went off to bed. "I'm glad you're back."
"So am I, little one, so am I." I kissed him on his forehead, and he smiled as he stepped back. "Go get some sleep, Liron. I'll be around tomorrow." I reached out and gently smoothed back an errant strand of his hair. "I love you."
He smiled again and leaned in for one last hug, and then he went off to bed. I returned home to find Hector still napping, so I wandered into the library and flopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Trevor's painted face looked down at me from above the mantel, and for a second, I though I saw him smile at me as I laid my head down on the armrest and closed my eyes.
"Goodnight Trevor." I mumbled as I started to nod off. "I love you." As I dropped off, I thought I heard a whispered response blowing in through the open window behind me.
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Oh, Joachim's going to be completely all over the place when he discovers this! Hmm... I wonder if Alucard is going to realise that his son's returned again as the son of the Belmont he helped out. It's definitely going to be interesting.
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