eiahmon | BYOT - AMoS Chapter 5-9

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.

9.
Closure

The Belmont lands seemed empty and quiet with Jacob and Isaiah gone. Bridget was the only one of my grandchildren left, and though she was doing very well physically due to her high magic levels, she stayed close to home for the sake of her aging husband. They were bonded as her parents had been, and her magic was helping to extend Edwin's life, but it was not known for how long that would work. Edwin was 84, and Bridget was 78, and I knew that time had to be running short for both of them. I kept an eye on them, but not as closely as I had with Jacob and Isaiah. Bridget was managing fine on her own, despite her advancing age, but I still made a point to visit frequently.

In the late spring of 1562, 14 year old Christopher was given the title of Vampire Hunter, and he began to join his father on long distance hunts. Christopher was a bright, cheerful child, and he reminded me very much of how Trevor had been before the hatred of his family had cured him of it. He loved to sing and his sweet voice often rang out over the Belmont lands as we underwent his training. In fact, he loved to sing so much that Adrian had a hard time breaking him of the habit of singing while he worked, so he wouldn't give himself away while hunting. Like I had before, I played the bait during training in the wilds, and Christopher was a natural leader that always neatly and efficiently organized his cousins into parties to track me down as quickly as possible.

He didn't possess the magic that his great-grandfather had had, but his crosses and holy water packed quite a punch behind them, as did the Vampire Killer itself. Even though he was still a boy, weaker vampires and monsters began to fear him and his power. The local wildlife also began to fear him, but for an entirely different reason.

Liron fetched me one day and asked me to come out to the training grounds with him.

"You have to see this." he said with a grin, and I gave him a confused look but followed him anyway.

We found Christopher out on the training grounds surrounded by his sister and multiple cousins in the same age group. Liron and I walked up quietly behind them, so no one noticed our approach.

"Do it again, Christopher!" Clara said with an eager smile.

Christopher grinned at her, and then he whirled the Vampire Killer above his head for a second or two before he brought it down to crack the air in front of him. I jumped in shock when a fireball, about the size of a man's head, erupted from the tip, shot across the range at high speed, and exploded against a hay bale at the far end. The bale erupted into flames, and the children cheered at the sight.

I felt my jaw fall open as one of the children shouted: "Again!" and Christopher obliged by firing off another fireball.

"Is that the whip or is that him?" I hissed to Liron, who shrugged.

"I am not certain, but I believe he is using the whip to channel what little magic he has." he replied as another fireball exploded against another hapless hay bale. "He hasn't enough for full spellcasting, but he does possess enough to power up the whip and the subweapons and to do this if the whip is acting as a focus." He shrugged again. "At least, that's my theory. I'd have to ask Aunt Bridget to be sure."

Another fireball went flying down range, and the children cheered and urged Christopher on. I looked at the boy as he wound up for another one, and I noticed that he was shaking slightly. "Looks like he's cast a few too many." I said.

Liron watched him as he let loose, and we looked on as the child stumbled slightly. "Agreed. He's exhausting himself." He walked forward, intending to stop him, and I followed, but before we could reach him, Christopher fired off another and collapsed.

"Christopher!" Liron yelled in alarm, and he ran forwards towards his grandson with me right behind him. The children jumped out of our way, and we reached him to see him unconscious on the grass, with a crying Clara kneeling beside him. The boy was pale and shivering, and his skin was clammy to the touch.

"He's exhausted himself." I said as I scooped him up. "He needs to be in bed." I stood up to carry him home, but a shout from Clara made me turn around.

"The trees are on fire!"

Christopher's last fireball had missed its mark by a large margin, and it had hit the treeline at the end of the range, setting the undergrowth on fire. Flames were licking up the trunks of a few trees, and I handed Christopher over to his grandfather and ran towards the fire. I reached out with the innate control of fire that all vampires are gifted with and tried to suppress it as best as I could. I could at least keep it from spreading until others arrived to put it out.

Alerted by the children's shouts, others quickly arrived at the spot, including Bridget, and the two of us managed to bring the blaze under control. We slowly brought it down in size until it was small enough for Bridget to snuff it with a quick burst of water. We spent a moment surveying the damage, the destroyed undergrowth and the charred trees, before we turned and headed towards the Lord's house. We found Christopher inside, tucked up in bed, and being fussed over by his mother. Bridget stepped forward to look at him, while I waited in the hallway with Adrian and Liron.

A few minutes later, Bridget came out and quietly closed the door behind her. "He's completely depleted his magic reserves. What was he doing?"

"Using the whip to shoot fireballs." Liron replied, and Bridget stared at him for a moment, and then she shook her head.

"I assume that that is how the trees were set on fire?"

"His last one went wild when he collapsed."

"At any rate," Bridget added, "he won't be going anywhere for a while. He's on bed rest until I say otherwise, and it will be a few days at least before he's up to getting out of bed anyway, so it shouldn't be too much of a hardship." She looked back and forth between myself, Adrian, and Liron, and she resembled her mother so strongly then that I had to repress a shiver. "Magical exhaustion is extremely dangerous; he could have easily died back there. Once he's up, no more magic without supervision until he's learned to recognize his limits and abides by them. And if any of you see him pushing himself too hard, for God's sake stop him instead of standing there watching!" She strode off then, and the three of us looked at each other.

"Why do I feel like we've been scolded?" Adrian grumbled.

"Because we were." Liron replied. "She's right; we should have stopped him when we saw what he was doing."

I nodded. "Have to admit though, it was fascinating to watch him do that. I never knew the Vampire Killer could be used to channel magic like that."

"It seems like there might be plenty about the Vampire Killer that we didn't know." Adrian said. "It's too bad, Leon never bothered to really ask about; imagine how much he could have learned."

"The one that helped him create the whip moved on not long after Walter's defeat." I added. "So Leon really didn't have time to ask him anyway."

"Well," Liron began as we walked down the hallway towards the living room, "just because the whip can be used to channel magic doesn't mean it should be used for that. Granted, its own power is the only reason a simple leather whip is still in immaculate condition almost 500 years after its creation, but that's no reason to push it."

"Agreed." said Adrian. "I'll talk to Christopher once he's feeling better and warn him against doing that unless he must."

"It might be a nasty surprise for someone if he's ever backed into a corner though." Liron remarked as we took seats around the room.

"You can worry about it some other time." Elena said as he walked into the room. "It's almost time for supper, and Christopher will be hungry when he wakes."

"Is it that late already?" I said to myself as I glanced out the window at the sun, which had begun its daily descent towards the horizon. I stood up from my chair. "I really should go. I'll need to hunt soon before Hector wakes. I'll come by tomorrow and visit with Christopher if he's awake."

Liron and Adrian bid me goodnight, and I went down to Christopher's room to check on him and found him sleeping soundly. I then went home to check on Hector before heading out to go hunt.

******

Christopher didn't mind being confined to bed at first, simply because he was too exhausted and sick to care. The symptoms of magical exhaustion were an unpleasant combination, so the nausea, tiredness, aches, pains, and chills kept him happily buried under his blankets for the first couple days. On day three, he was feeling better, he slept less, and he began to chafe under the restrictions that Bridget had him under.

"I'm bored, Uncle Joachim." he grumbled to me when I came by to visit with him. "I wanna get up, but Mama won't let me. She says I haven't recovered yet."

"Well your mother is right." I said from where I sat on the edge of his bed. "You used up all of your magic shooting fireballs, so you have to rest until you get it back."

"What do you know?" he huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was sitting up, propped up on pillows against the headboard. "You're a vampire; you've probably never been sick in your life."

I reached out and lightly tapped him on the nose. "I was human once, young man, so yes, I've been sick before."

"Really?"

"Really. Did you think I was born this way?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. You've never mentioned it before."

"That's because I never really think about it."

"Can you tell me?"

I frowned in thought for a second. "Oh, why not?" I kicked my boots off and moved to sit beside him against the headboard, which prompted him to lean against me.

"Did you have a family?" he asked. "Were you married?"

"No, I wasn't married. I was a priest, so I couldn't get married."

"A priest? Wow. Did you have your own church?"

"Of sorts. I was the priest for my own family, so I lived in a small room off the chapel in our manor house. I had the final say in everything that happened in that little chapel, so I suppose I could say it was mine."

"Did you have brothers and sisters?"

I nodded. "I did. I had two brothers and two sisters."

"Were you the oldest? Or the youngest?"

"Neither. I was the middle child. My older sister was born first, followed by a brother, then me, then my younger sister, then my younger brother."

"So how did you become a vampire?"

I ran my fingers through Christopher's wavy blond hair. "My master kidnapped me and took me back to his castle, where he turned me."

His eyes widened. "So you didn't want to become a vampire?"

"Not at all, but once my master had died, I became friends with Leon Belmont, and so I decided to enjoy my life as much as I could."

"Is that why you stay with us?"

"Well, you're my family too, you know."

Christopher gave me a smile, and then he laid his head against my shoulder. "Tell me more?"

For the next half hour or so I told Christopher stories about the years I had lived with Walter, heavily edited of course, followed by my friendship with Leon.
"Were you there when he defeated the Forgotten One?" Christopher asked with shining eyes, and I looked at him in confusion.

"The Forgotten One?"

"A huge demon in the basement of the castle! Leon killed it before he fought Walter!" Christopher frowned slightly. "I guess you wouldn't have been there, since you were still in the orb room then, right?"

"No, I wasn't there, yes I was still in the orb room, and Leon never mentioned anything like that to me."

"I wonder why?" he asked, but the last word of his question came out as a yawn. "I hate being so tired."

I pushed questions about Leon to the side as I smiled at Christopher. "Go back to sleep, child." I leaned down and kissed him on top of his head. "I'll tell you more stories some other time."

"Aww, but I wanna hear more now." He yawned again, and I smiled again with amusement as I slipped off of the bed and helped him lie down. He rubbed at his eyes and closed them as he curled up on his right side.

"G'night, Uncle Joachim." he mumbled as he nodded off.

I chuckled quietly – it was still mid-morning. "Goodnight, Christopher."

He fell asleep and began snoring quietly, and I chuckled again as I slipped quietly out of the room. I waved at Liron as I walked out of the house, and I checked the bond with Hector to find that he was sleeping soundly. I then morphed into a wolf and set off towards Silvanus' house. I had some questions to ask him.

"Joachim!" Silvanus was delighted to see me. "Come in! Come in!" He ushered me inside his small house, and we moved over to the small kitchen table and sat down. He waved his hand, and the tea pot sitting in the center of the worn wooden tabletop filled with tea, and he poured me a cup. I smiled slightly thinking that Christopher could use magic, Bridget commanded it, but Silvanus lived and breathed it. I have never met anyone that can use magic as freely as he can.

He placed a plate of cookies on the table, and I absently snacked on a few while he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

"What brings you out here, Joachim? How is young Christopher doing?"

I smiled again. "He's bored out of his mind, but he's getting better. Bridget won't let him out of bed just yet."

"I know he doesn't like it, but the less energy he uses by moving around, the faster his magic will recover. For some strange reason, the less magic you have, the longer it takes for it to recover after heavy use."

I blinked. "That is strange."

"If I were to exhaust myself in such a way, it would take me not much longer that Christopher to recover, but I would be -"

"Recovering a lot more magic." I said with a nod. "That is so bizarre."

Silvanus shrugged. "That is how magic works." He took a drink from his cup. "Anyway, I don't think that is why you came here, is it?"

I nodded again. "Christopher mentioned something to me, and I figured that you would be the one to most likely be able to explain."

"What is it?"

"What is the Forgotten One?"

Silvanus closed his eyes, and the bond between us slammed shut. I jumped slightly in my chair; I had not expected that reaction.

I reached across the table and laid my hand on his arm. "Silvanus? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." he said without opening his eyes. "I was just not expecting that question."

"If it bothers you..."

"No, just give me a moment."

I went silent and waited, and after a few minutes, he sighed and opened his eyes.

"I have not thought of that creature in so long." he said is a soft voice. He looked at me. "You know that my family is gone, but you've never been told what happened to them."

"Is...?"

"The Forgotten One responsible? Yes, it was. I was away from home, quite some distance from here, but I wasn't concerned. My many wives were more than capable of defending the territory and our home from invaders, and few dared to challenge us anyway. So I was very alarmed when feelings of horror and terror flooded the bonds with my wives, my children, and my grandchildren. I immediately started for home, but..." He looked down at the table top. "I was too late. They started dying, the bonds breaking one by one by one. Just as I reached the borders of the territory, my son Achrian died protecting his four month old sister, and then a second later, she died as well. I reached the castle to find it turned into a place of horror. Everyone was dead; they had been crushed, mangled, torn apart. No one was alive except for the creature that had killed them.

He sighed. "My wives and older children had managed to weaken it, which is the only reason I was able, over the course of several hours, to herd it into the lowest level of the castle and seal it there. Not even I was strong enough to defeat it alone, so that was the best I could do. I did intend to find a way to destroy it in the future though, so I didn't make the seal permanent. It could be broken with a key that I fashioned, but I made sure to hide that key away in a safe place. I did not want that thing to get loose again.

"Walter arrived less than a day after I sealed it away, and I made myself forget about it while I focused on caring for him. He was distraught at the loss of his parents and child in such a short time, and was struggling to cope with his grief on top of the knowledge that his uncle had ordered his death, so he needed a great deal of time and attention. I did tell him the creature was there and warned him to stay out of that part of the castle, but I rarely thought about it after that.

"When Walter was old enough to be on his own, I let him have the castle, simply because I couldn't bear to stay there any longer. It was haunted, every bit as much as your other house is, so I happily let him have it and moved here. He was warned never to break the seal on the door, though I did leave him the key just in case. I pushed all thoughts of it to the back of my mind, and in time, I did forget about it. I was a little unnerved that Walter was raising Kerwin in the same castle as it, but where else would the child live? I don't even know if Kerwin knew it was down there, though I do know that he, like his father had been, was forbidden from venturing down into the lowest level of the castle. I did check on the seal once or twice to make sure that it was holding, but I preferred to ignore its existence after that."

Silvanus drank his tea and poured himself a second cup, and I waited quietly for him to start speaking again.

"Unbeknownst to me, Walter had the key in a place that was accessible to the various hunters that came to the castle. Difficult to reach, close to the throne room, and guarded by his most powerful servants, one had to solve a puzzle and find a key to get the key to the creature's prison. Most never bothered to try, those that did usually died in the attempt. Only Leon succeeded."

"Since I had cast the seal, I felt it dissolve, and I waited to see if the creature would break free or of someone had defeated it. Once Walter was gone, it was clear to me that whomever had finished him had also destroyed the creature as well. Kerwin told me who was responsible for Walter's defeat, but he did not ask why I wanted to know. He was too worried about caring for you then.

"I did go and speak to Leon, and I asked him about the creature in the basement, and he confirmed that he had killed it. I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear that. The only reason he had been able to was centuries of confinement with no sustenance had weakened it considerably. He said that it's right arm looked as though it had rotted off, and its skin was all gone, consumed by giant maggots. I assume what's left of its corpse is still buried under the remains of the castle, but I haven't gone to look." He ate a cookie. "I was so grateful to Leon for killing my family's killer that if you had not made the offer to turn him, then I would have done so instead. It's a debt I can never repay, which is part of the reason I was all too happy to set up the wards around the Belmont lands."

He went silent again and sipped at his tea, and I did the same, thinking about what he had told me. "He never said anything to me." I said after a while.

"Perhaps he never thought about it. I did tell him how and why the creature came to be down there, so perhaps he believed it not his story to tell."

"Perhaps." I shivered as an old memory peculated up through my thoughts. "I heard its breathing once."

"Oh?"

"Yes, once... Walter locked me up in the lowermost prison area for a couple weeks once. I could hear a heartbeat and hear slow, heavy breathing. There was also a strong scent of rotten flesh. It must have been it; I must have been very close to it."

"If you were in the lowermost prison, then yes, you were practically next door to it." Silvanus tapped his fingers on the table. "Joachim... why had he put you there?"

"Because..." I looked down at the floor and took a deep, shaking breath. "Because I had tried to deny him. He... took what he wanted anyway, beat me, and then he threw me down there as punishment."

I heard Silvanus stand up and felt him come around in front of me. He then knelt down on the floor and pulled me out of the chair and into his arms.

"One of my biggest regrets," he said as he held me, "was not doing anything about Walter when it became clear to me that his sanity was starting to slip. I could have easily destroyed the Ebony Stone and taken him back as my own, but I did not. I gave myself many excuses as to why I let him go on like I did, but all of them sound weak and feeble to me now whenever I hear about how he treated you and Kerwin."

"I..."I swallowed. "I'm glad that he's gone."

"I know. I loved him like a son, but I too am glad that he's gone. I only wish that he could have moved on and found peace in the afterlife."

I nodded in agreement and let him hold me for a bit longer before I had to return home.

******

Christopher recovered from his exhaustion with no ill effects, and Bridget spent several days working with him to determine the limits of his magic. Once those were known, she lectured him quite harshly about the dangers of going to far, until the terrified child swore upon all that was holy that he would be careful. Elena wanted to object at the lecture, but Adrian held her back.

"He could have easily killed himself, darling." he said. "T'is better to be upset and frightened now than dead later."

From then on, Christopher reserved the fireballs for only the most dire situations, preferring instead to push what little magic he had into his subweapon attacks, which consumed far less energy. Even those though, would become too tiring to use after so long, so he focused on using the whip only. Adrian worried about how limited he would be in a serious battle, but Christopher didn't seem to mind all that much. He still shot off fireballs off and on (and started more than a few small forest fires doing it), but as planned, he kept those in reserve for when the situation was really dire.

******

The following year, 1563, 16 year old Clara married and moved off the Belmont lands to live with her new husband. Christopher missed his older sister dearly, and Adrian dragged him out on as many hunts and training missions as possible to keep him occupied. The idea was successful, and Christopher happily buried himself in the work, though he still visited his sister and brother-in-law as much as possible.

It was during one of those visits, that he met his brother-in-law's younger sister, Simona. The pair apparently fell for each other at first sight, and three years later, 18 year old Christopher married the 15 year old Simona. The entire clan, as well as Simona's family, celebrated the marriage, and the pair quickly settled into married life in the Lord's house.

Sadly not everything went smoothly for the new couple. Despite repeated tries, they seemed unable to conceive a child. Like they had with Isaiah years before, some urged Christopher to find a different wife, but, like Isaiah, he refused to do so. Adrian assured them that they had plenty of time, they had just married after all, so there was no big hurry for them to have a son or daughter. If it came down to it, if they wanted children, they could do like Isaiah and Heather had done and adopt, and the whip would pass to a cousin when it was time to do so.

Thoughts of Christopher and Simona's troubles were struck from everyone's minds though, in 1568. Liron, now 68 and still holding the title of Baron, was going about his business, checking on the progress of the harvest, miles away from the wards, when I felt an intrusion. I bolted from my house, shouting for Adrian to lock down the wards as I went, and then I streaked off in the direction that I sensed the invasion coming from. As I ran across the open fields and through the forest in wolf form, I felt several more intrusions – how many were there?

I came upon them quickly, just inside my eastern border, the breeze carried the scent of their blood to me, theirs and...

I roared like a wild animal as I leapt at them, coming out of my wolf form during the jump. There was a pack of them, nine in total, with three lying dead on the ground already. That left just six for me to deal with, and I slammed into the closely pack group of them and sent them scattering. One dragged a limp Liron away from me, while the remaining five clustered in front of her to keep me away. I saw that one forcing her blood into Liron's mouth, and I growled as I summoned my swords and prepared to attack.

I don't know if their numbers made them bold, or if they were stupid, but the five facing me seemed to have no fear of me at all, even though I could tell that they were much younger than me. They did not smell like any of the vampires in the area, which made them masterless and well within my legal right to destroy.

One of them darted towards me, claws flailing and fangs bared, and I dodged to my right and sent one of my swords swinging after him. He failed to completely avoid the blade, and it sliced deeply into his shoulder, nearly cutting his arm off, as one of his fellows ran at me. A second sword went flying at that one, pinning her to the ground through her heart. A nod of my head set her on fire, and I retrieved my weapon and returned it to its protective ring that circled me. I caught a glimpse then of the other, trying to creep away with Liron in her arms, and I snarled in rage and sent a sword flying at her. She dropped Liron and let out a little "Eep!" as the blade barely missed her, and she turned tail and ran, leaving Liron lying on the ground.

Her companions ignored him lying there, and I focused my attention of them. I could hear Liron's heartbeat, strong and steady, so he was alive for the moment, though it had already begun to slow as he began to turn. I would have to get him home soon. The remaining four spread out in front of me as I backed up towards Liron, and I set my swords in front of my like a shield as I picked him up and cradled him in my arms. I then returned them to circling around me.

The other four and I eyed each other for a long moment, and then with a yell, they all charged me at once. Since I was holding Liron, I couldn't fling my arms out like I normally did, but I formed my swords into the ring in front of me. Too late, the others saw what I was doing, and they were unable to avoid the white hot beam that fired out in front of me. They screamed as the full force of my power melted the skin from their bones and set them on fire. As soon as the attack ended, four swords, one for each of them, rammed into their hearts, pinning them to the ground, and killing them. The fires reduced them to ashes, and I scattered that with a wave of my hand.

I recalled my swords and looked around for the one that had bitten Liron, but she was long gone, and I couldn't sense any presence on my territory. I dismissed my swords then, held Liron tighter, and began the trek home.

There was an uproar when I carried an unconscious Liron inside the ward line, but that uproar quickly settled when I carried him straight to my house without saying a word to anyone. Adrian was quick to follow me, and I heard his sharp intake of breath when I laid Liron, pale and still, down on my couch.

"Is he turning?" he asked as I tucked a blanket around Liron.

"Yes," I said softly, "he is, though it will take days for him to turn completely."

"Who did this?"

"A group of younger vampires. He killed three of them before I got there, and I killed five. The last one, the one that actually bit him, got away."

Adrian did his distant vampiric ancestry proud and growled. "I'll be back later then. I have some hunting to do. Take care of him, Uncle Joachim."

"You know I will, Adrian."

Adrian walked out then, shouting for Christopher as he went. Once he was gone and the door was shut behind him, I reached out to Silvanus and let him know what had happened. Would it be safe to turn Liron to me already, or would I have to wait until the turning was complete? He responded with shocked silence at first, and then I received the mental equivalent of a head clearing shake, before he let me know that I could turn him at any time.

I then hefted Liron up into my arms and bit him. He whimpered quietly when I began to drink, but he made no other sound, nor did he struggle. He swallowed the blood that I gave him, and there was a soft sigh as he relaxed into my arms. Perhaps due to his age, but he did not wake like I did after being turned. He remained unconscious in my arms as the hours went by, and he was still out when Hector woke up that night. The bond between Liron and I wouldn't form until after he had died and resurrected as a vampire, so there was nothing to tell Hector that anything different was happening as he wandered into the living room, rubbing his eyes. He stopped abruptly when he saw me sitting there and stared in silence for a long moment.

"What happened?" he asked as he stepped closer to look.

"He was attacked," I explained as I rocked Liron in my arms. "A younger vampire tried to take him as her own."

"So he's turning?" Hector sat down at Liron's feet.

"He is, though it will be several days before it's all said and done."

"Are you going to make him yours, like you did me?"

"Already done, little one."

"I wonder why she did that?"

"I don't know. There were others though, so I have an unpleasant suspicion that whatever plans they had for him were not good."

"I guess they weren't expecting you to come to his rescue."

I smiled faintly at Hector. "I guess not." I stood up. "Let me put Liron to bed, and then I'll go hunt before I feed you." I carried Liron into the bedroom, and laid him down in the warm spot that Hector had left behind. I tucked the quilt around his shoulders, kissed him on the forehead, and I found Hector standing the doorway when I stood up.

"Joachim?" he asked quietly. "Are he... and I going to be like you and Kerwin. Brothers?"

I smiled at him. "Yes you will." I hugged him for a moment. "Wanting a little brother, are you?"

"I think it would be nice. Isaac and I were like that, but then..." He trailed off.

"I understand, little one, but it might take a while to get that way. The two of you will have a sibling bond, but since he was turned against his will, he probably won't be happy with things for a while until he settles down."

Hector gave me a brilliant smile, and he practically skipped off to the library. I smiled in amusement and left the house to go hunt.

Adrian and Christopher returned well after midnight. Hector was engrossed in a favorite book, and Liron was still in bed.

"Did you find her?" I asked as Christopher plopped down into a nearby chair, while Adrian looked in on his father. Hector came out of the library, and he curled up on the couch next to me.

"We did." Adrian replied as he leaned against the door frame. "We got the full story out of her too. Apparently they were siblings, all turned by the same mistress as children. Papa killed their mistress years ago, so they decided it only fitting that they get him as a child. They just had to wait until they could catch him off your territory, but since the Belmont lands don't go beyond your borders, they got tired of waiting and just attacked him when he was close enough. They were not expecting you to reach them so quickly, or for him to put up such a fight."

"Were they going to... hurt him?" Hector asked, and Adrian looked at him.

It was Christopher who answered though. "A couple of them might have. The one we caught said she had no intention of letting them hurt her child, but who knows how well that would have worked in the long run. At least he's here, where Uncle Joachim-" He nodded at me. "-can protect him."

"Did you kill her?" I asked, and Adrian nodded. "Good."

Liron slowly turned over the next several days. I fussed over him, feeding him, bathing him, dressing him, and feeding him more blood to speed things along, and through it all, he remained either unconscious or asleep. During the daylight hours, I slept in the center of the bed, with Hector curled against my back and Liron in my arms in front of me.

Six days after he was bitten, the moment that I both feared and hoped for arrived. Liron gasped in pain, and his heart began to struggle to keep going. I sat up in bed, scooped him into my arms, and cooed to him. His eyes flew open and bulged in panic, and he clawed at me.

"Just relax, Liron." I said soothingly. "It will be over soon." Behind me, I sensed Hector waking up and heard him sit up as Liron let out a strangled cry and went limp as he heart stopped.

A few hours later, the bond flickered to life, and not long after that, I felt Liron regaining consciousness. He moaned softly as his eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at me. The turning had knocked a number of years off of him, so he no longer looked 68 years old, and his eyes were once again that bright blue that he had inherited from Jacob and Trevor.

"Uncle Joachim?" he whimpered in confusion as his eyes darted around the dark room. "What happened? Why am I here?" His eyes suddenly widened as horror flooded the bond from his end. "No! I didn't want this!"

I sat him up. "You were already turning by the time I got them away from you, little one. I just turned you to me."

"No!" He shook his head as he began to cry. "I didn't want to be turned! I want to see my parents again! I want to be with Mary! I don't want to outlive my children! I don't want to live forever!" Grief filled the bond, and I held him close to me and rocked him as he cried.

I fed him, and he took the blood I offered him, and then he cried himself to sleep in my arms.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hector asked as I tucked Liron back into bed.

"He just needs time to get used to it, that's all." I said.

Too bad the feelings from the bond told me otherwise.

Liron woke as soon as the sun was down, and Adrian came by to visit so I could go hunting to feed my children. Later, once he had adjusted, I would teach Liron to hunt, but for the moment, I opted to just feed him since he was so upset still. I could feel his absolute misery through the bond, and Hector was nearly in tears himself as he followed me out of the house.

"What's wrong with him, Joachim?"

I reached out, and Hector walked into my embrace. "Were you happy to be turned?" He shook his head. "Neither was I. He just needs time to adjust, that is all." I gave him a gentle push towards the house. "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay," Hector said miserably, and he turned and went back inside.

When I returned, Liron was crying in Adrian's arms, and he refused to drink when I tried to feed him. Not even Adrian could convince him to feed, so I finally had to give up and feed Hector instead. Hector, still looking like he was on the verge of tears, disappeared into the library, and I tried again to coax Liron into drinking, but he still refused.

"I don't want to drink." he whispered through his tears. "I don't want to live like this." He looked up at me. "Please don't make me."

I gently wiped his tears away. "I don't want you to starve, little one."

"Please drink, Papa." Adrian pleaded, and Liron looked at him for a long moment. He then looked at me with sad blue eyes, and he laid his head against my shoulder and looked up at me. I lowered my head, and he allowed me to feed him with a blood kiss. He laid in my arms afterward, crying softly, and I looked at Adrian, who looked heartbroken. We tried to comfort Liron, but he wasn't accepting any of it, and once again he cried himself to sleep in my arms after a few hours.

"I'll come by tomorrow night and see him, if that's alright?" Adrian asked, and I nodded. "I really should go then. The day comes early, and I guess I'm Baron Belmont now. We'll be able to keep things quiet for a short while, but sooner or later, people will notice that he's not around anymore."

"Worry about it later, Adrian. Your father needs you now."

Adrian stood up. "No, he doesn't. It's you he needs right now." He looked down at Liron. "Take care of him for me."

"Always."

Adrian walked out, and I sighed and moved from the floor, where we had been sitting, to the couch. Liron whimpered in his sleep and curled close to me, and I ended up holding him until the early morning. The only reason I put him down then was that I needed to go hunt again to give Hector his second feeding. I tucked him into bed, kissed him, whispered that I would be back, and slipped out of the house.

******

Liron slept quietly through the day, and when he woke in the late evening, there was no sign of the storm of tears that he had shown earlier. He was quiet and calm, but the numbness I felt through the bond let me know that it wasn't due any acceptance of his situation. He was in shock, like I had been years before. He fed from me without resisting, and Hector was able to coax him into the library, and I watched with a faint smile as Hector sat Liron down on the couch, sat down beside him, summoned a book, and started to read aloud to his new brother.

He remained calm and quiet as the night passed, as I bathed him and dressed him in clean clothes, as Hector read to him some more, and as I put him to bed for the day. He never once spoke a word, and I never felt anything but numbness from him. The following night, he fed without a word, and then he wandered silently out of the house.

"Liron?" I called. "Where are you going?" Hector and I looked at each other in confusion, and then I stood up from my chair to follow my younger child. I followed Liron across the yard and into the chapel, and I found him there, kneeling on the floor in front of the Holy Table, looking up at the hand carved statue of Christ on the cross hanging from the back wall.

I came up to stand behind him. "Liron?"

He turned his head to look up at me, and though the church was lit by only the altar lamp hanging behind the Holy Table, my vampiric sight allowed me to easily see the tear tracks on his face. The numbness faded from the bond then, to be replaced with a hard determination.

"Please let me go, Uncle Joachim." he whispered, and I knelt down beside him and slipped one arm around his shoulders.

"You're too young to be on your own, Liron."

He looked away. "That's not what I meant." he said in a small voice as he slowly raised his hand to show a sharp oak stake that he was holding. I didn't know where he had gotten it, but at the moment I didn't care.

"Liron..." I looked at his eyes, which were once again filled with misery. "How can you ask me to do this? To kill my own child? Could you do that to Adrian, or Lucas?"

"If they were suffering and desperately unhappy, then yes, I would if they asked me. I would hate it, but I would do it." He looked away again, this time up at Christ. "I can't live this kind of life, Uncle Joachim. I'll never be happy as a vampire; please don't make me go on this way."

"Liron..."

"Please." he pleaded quietly as more tears ran down his face. "I can't do this."

"You haven't tried yet, little one. Please just give it time. I'm sure you'll adjust to this life just as I did."

"I don't want to adjust!" he wailed. "I just want to die!" He raised the stake. "If you won't, then I will, my soul be damned!"

I wrenched the wood out of his hands before he could stab himself and threw it aside. I then crushed him to me as he began to bawl. I rocked him and ran my hand over his hair, which had turned back to auburn from gray.

"I can't do this." he sobbed. "I don't want to. I just want to move on. Why won't you let me?"

I gently tilted his head back to look up at me. "Is this what you truly want?" He nodded tearfully, and I cupped his face in both hands as tears crested in my own eyes. "Never, think for an instant, that I don't love you, Liron Belmont. I love you so much, and I would give you anything if it made you happy." I wrapped my arms around him again. "Even your death."

I reached out with one hand and summoned the stake, and it came skittering across the stone floor and jumped into my hand. "I love you." I whispered.

"I love you too." he said into my shirt. "Don't... don't put me with Grandfather, okay?"

"I won't, little one, I promise." I mentally pulled the carpet off the floor and tossed it aside, and then I laid Liron down. "Close your eyes, Liron, go to sleep." He closed his eyes, and I smoothed his hair back from his forehead and willed him into a deep sleep. I looked down at him, sleeping with a slight smile on his face, and...

My arms reached forward to scoop him up, to carry him home, but that feeling of peace from his end of the bond... That would go away if I simply took him home. He would be upset, he would be angry and betrayed. He would never forgive me.

I leaned down and kissed him softly on his forehead. "Tell your grandfather and father that I love them, will you?" I whispered, and his smiled widened for a second. "I love you."

I raised the stake, took a deep breath, and before I could stop myself, I brought it down hard. The sharp point easily cut through his clothing, his skin and muscle, and pierced his heart. I felt the mental equivalent of a hard kick to my own chest from the bond, and Liron's eyes flew open to look at me.

Please finish it! I heard him say to me, and I pushed down on the stake, ramming it through his heart and out through his back so hard that I heard the tip snap off against the floor. I heard a mental scream from Hector, but I ignored his distress as Liron began to thrash about on the floor as his body began to die. He was far too young to have any chance of surviving a stake to his heart, and I held onto the smooth piece of sharpened wood as blood bubbled up out of his mouth and spread in a pool on the floor around him.

He arched and bucked and thrashed as his heart stuttered to a stop, and I felt the bond collapsing as his struggles slowed and stilled. His eyes were dilating, I could barely feel him, yet he managed to lock gazes with me one last time. I let out a shuddering breath as he went limp on the bloodied floor, and the light faded from his eyes.

I can still save him! I thought crazily. All I have to do is pull the stake out and...

Thank you... he whispered, and his head lolled to the side as the bond vanished completely.

"Liron!" I heard Hector screaming and the sound of his running feet against the floor behind me. "Liron!" I let go of the stake, turned, and caught him in my arms, and I picked him up and began to carry him away from the altar as he struggled to reach Liron. "No! Why did you do that! Liron!"

I moved about halfway down the isle and turned to face Liron's still form. I forced Hector's head down on my shoulder, so he couldn't see anything, and set Liron on fire. I stood in the isle as Hector screamed and struggled in my arms, and watched Liron burn. I was careful to keep the fire from spreading to the building, even as I increased the heat enough to completely reduce him to ashes, destroying any chance at all of reviving him.

Hector slammed his fists against me. "Liron, no! You killed him! You killed him! Whhhhyyyyy!"

I ignored him and kept my eyes on Liron, even as his body crumbled to ash, even as tears blurred my vision, even as the roof groaned in protest at the heat exposure. It took a few minutes to cremate him, and only then did I snuff the fire.

I set Hector, who was still hysterical, down on his feet. "Hector, look at me."

"Murderer!" he spat, and I cupped his face in my hands.

"Hector! Listen to me, Hector. Liron needs your help. Do you understand?"

"How can I help him! He's dead! You killed him!"

"Yes, little one, he's gone, like he wanted, but there is one last thing we must do for him, and I need your help to do it." Hector quit struggling then, and he looked at me, red faced with tears pouring from his eyes. "We have to scatter his ashes, Hector. Can you help me do that?"

He sobbed and looked down at the floor, but he nodded, and I ushered him forward towards the pile of ashes lying in front of the altar. I knelt us both down. "Don't be afraid, Hector. We have to do this, so no one can force him to come back in a form that is painful to exist in."

Hector scrubbed at his eyes. "Someone could do that?"

"Yes, it's possible, which is why we have to scatter the ashes, so no one can ever hurt him again. Do you understand?"

He nodded tearfully and began to gather the cooling ashes into his hands. I did the same, even though I could barely see what I was doing through the tears. Due to the intensity of the fire, there wasn't much ash to gather, and the two of us were able to gather it all at once. We then walked out of the church, and ignoring the crowd of Belmonts that had been alerted by Hector's screaming, we walked to the cemetery behind the church. Right as we passed through the gate, a breeze sprang up as if someone had conjured it, and I looked down at the pile of ash in my hands for a moment before I threw it up into the air, where the breeze quickly picked it up and carried it away.

Hector hesitated. "Go on, Hector." I urged him, and he nodded before he threw his hands up, releasing the ashes to be scattered on the wind. We brushed our hands clean of any remaining ash, and then I picked him up and carried him home, where we found Silvanus and Kerwin waiting on us.

Kerwin wordlessly took Hector out of my arms and carried him off into the library, while Silvanus wrapped me in his arms and walked me over to the couch. I grabbed onto his robe with both hands, and cried for another child that I had lost.

Chapter 5-8 -- Chapter 6-1
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BYOT - AMoS Chapter 5-9

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