AMoS Chapter 3-2

[eiahmon]

Title: A Moment of Stupidity Part 3: 1,118 - 1,450
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 3 covers the 332 years between Leon's death and Castlevania: Legends.
SPOILER WARNING!!! Spoilers for many of the Castlevania games!!
WARNING!! This fic my offend the religious! Read at your own risk!

2.
Departures

By the beginning of the 13th century, Kaniel had retired from hunting and contented himself with merely running the estate. His son, Ellachim, Leon's great-great grandson, was the active hunter, and he took over the estate as well at the death of his father in 1217.

One thing I should note here is that Kaniel had a younger brother, Joseph, who had been quite put out that he had not inherited the whip and the estate upon the death of his brother. Like all Belmont children (Though the girls, I noticed, were slowly being edged out.) Joseph had been trained in the ways of a vampire hunter, with my assistance as usual. He was a skilled hunter, but the whip and barony went to the firstborn son as tradition (and the laws at the time as well) dictated. Angry and disgusted, Joseph packed up his wife and three children and moved off to parts unknown. His line would never been seen or heard from again.

Things carried on like normal in the vampire world. No one bothered me at council meetings, though Ladislas occasionally invited me into his rooms for drinks. I saw Godric Bernhard several times, but like usual, he ignored me. He also ignored Kerwin and Matatias, and Kerwin admitted that he knew that Godric was planning something and just wished he would get it over with because the waiting was driving him mad.

In 1235, there was another council meeting. By then I had lost most of my nervousness for them, which was helped by the fact that I had no children to protect, like many others did. Kerwin still had not set Celia free, but strangely enough she did not seem to mind. There were quite a few times, I had seen the two carrying on like old friends, which made me wonder what had changed between them. I never asked though; if Kerwin wanted me to know, he would tell me.

Anyway, as we were waiting to be escorted to our rooms, I noticed right away that Ladislas was not second to be escorted to his rooms. Instead another vampire went ahead of him. This other vampire resembled him a great deal, and I wondered if they were related to each other. I also noticed that Rachim was cowering behind Ladislas, shaking in obvious terror. What's more, Ladislas fixed a hostile glare upon the other vampire and continued to do so until the other had left the hall. I looked over at Kerwin, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He didn't know anymore than I did.

At the first meeting, the hostility between Ladislas and this new vampire was a palpable sensation in the air, and I couldn't wait to get away from it. The following night, Ladislas was summoned in front of the council, and just before he went in, he asked me to keep Rachim with me until it was over, to which I agreed. He had to pry Rachim off of him, because the child was crying and refusing to let go, but soon, I was up in my rooms, with Rachim curled up next to me. He was shaking hard despite his heavy clothing and blankets, and the fear was rolling off of him in waves. I wondered what had him so frightened but knew better than to ask.

An hour or so later, a shudder shook the castle, and Rachim whimpered and hid his face in his blankets. Not long after, I sensed Ladislas approaching. He strode in without bothering to knock, and then Rachim leapt into his arms. Then the two left without an explanation. I was puzzled, but I had been easily able to sense that Ladislas was furious, so I didn't dare ask.

The following day, we were all summoned to the meeting hall, where we found Ladislas standing in the center of the room, with one arm curled protectively around Rachim. At his feet was the mangled corpse of the vampire that resembled him. I noted that only Silvanus didn’t seem shocked or surprised before Ladislas began to speak.

“This is a warning to any that would seek to harm my child.” he declared, his voice ringing off the bare stone walls “Touch him at your own peril. I will not tolerate anyone causing him harm.” He then kicked the corpse to the other side of the room, scooped Rachim up, and strode from the room.

“What the hell was that all about?” Kerwin asked later, once we were seated in Silvanus’ rooms.

“That,” Silvanus replied “was Ladislas letting his family know that he wasn’t going to bow to them, not now, not ever.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Family?”

Silvanus nodded, and for a second, his eyes drifted out of focus, and then the sharpened again. “He says it is alright to tell you as long as you do not tell anyone else. Will you keep his secret?”

Kerwin and I nodded; we wouldn’t pass that chance up for the world.

“Fine.” Silvanus sighed. “Ladislas comes from a very old vampire family. Some say they are the oldest vampires in existence. Children do not leave the family upon becoming independent. The head of the family picks mates, tells them when they can have children; everything is decided for them.

“Ladislas followed this routine for the first several hundred years of his life. He married the woman that was picked for him, though the marriage bonds between them were weak since neither really had feelings for the other. They never had any children, simply because Ladislas didn’t try very hard, and when he was around seven centuries of age, he visited his brother and found him viciously beating a human servant boy that had committed some sort of offense. His brother complained that the boy was a complete waste of space that couldn’t do anything right and that he was thinking about doing away with him. Ladislas took pity on the battered child and offered to take him off his brother’s hands. His brother agreed but warned that the child was an imbecile that had never spoken and couldn’t comprehend the simplest directions.

“Ladislas took the boy home, healed him, and set him to work as his manservant. After a few initial difficulties, the boy quickly adjusted to his new role, and Ladislas had no difficulties with him. Over time, he grew to love the boy, and after a year, he turned him, and he threatened his wife to keep quiet about him. Ladislas loved his child dearly and spent every waking moment with him, but eventually, his wife, jealous that her husband spent more time with his new child than her, gleefully went to the head of the family and told that her husband had turned someone without permission.

"The boy - Rachim - was forcefully removed from Ladislas' home that very day, and as soon as they were out of sight of one another, the sire/child bond between them was severed. Believing his child dead, Ladislas asserted his position as the dominate mate and beat his wife viciously for her part in the child's death, and from then on, he never acknowledged her existence again."

"But obviously, Rachim was not dead." Kerwin said.

Silvanus shook his head. "No, he wasn't. The head of Ladislas' family had blocked their bond, making it seem to each that the other was dead. In reality, Rachim was imprisoned for over two centuries, and at some point the family head slipped, allowing Ladislas to feel that his child was still alive. By then he was nearing a millennium in age, and his rage knew no bounds as he broke into the dungeon where Rachim was imprisoned, killing everyone and everything in his way, including his wife. He then willingly severed the bonds with his family, so he would not be easy to track, and then he fled the area, taking Rachim with him.

“They eventually settled here, and were undiscovered until now, but the two centuries of abuse and neglect that Rachim had suffered while imprisoned had permanently destroyed his health.”

“Why did they keep him alive?” I wondered “If he was forbidden, why didn’t they kill him outright?”

“I do not know.” Silvanus replied “What I do know is that Ladislas killed a great number of his own family while trying to rescue Rachim, so they have likely never stopped hunting him. The vampire that came here was Ladislas’ grandfather and head of the family. No doubt he was trying to force Ladislas back to face whatever punishment that they had in mind.”

“Well that certainly worked well, didn’t it?” Kerwin’s voice was dripping with sarcasm “So he killed the head of the family; now what are they going to do, send the second in command?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Kerwin and I said at the same time.

“That is right, nothing. Ladislas killed the head of the family. By law, he is now the head, and no one will dare bother him or Rachim now.”

"For certain?"

"Absolutely."

The rest of the council continued on like normal, though I noticed that quite a few steered clear of Ladislas. The day before we departed for home, he thanked me for keeping Rachim for him, and that was all.

*****

In the summer of 1259, I was at Kerwin's home, sharing a meal with him, Celia, and Matatias. By then it had become plain to me that Kerwin and Celia had long ago passed from simply using each other for sex into the realm of friends with benefits. Off and on, I glimpsed moments of affection between them, which showed me that the relationship was slowly developing into something more.

Once the meal was eaten and the conversation had tapered off, Matatias asked for permission to go into town to see the show that was being put on by a group of gypsies that had come into town the night before. Celia offered to take him, so Kerwin agreed. After a quick reinforcement of the illusions over Matatias, the two departed, and Kerwin and I retired to the sitting room.

Not even two hours later, Kerwin practically leapt from his chair and ran from the room. Alarmed, I followed him, calling to ask what was wrong as I did so. In response he sent me the feel of another vampire that was not only on his territory, but dangerously close to Celia and Matatias' location.

Since it was broad daylight, we could not safely fly to their location, instead we used long distance translocation, and we were halfway there when we both felt a surge of terror from Matatias -

Daddy!

- and we arrived at the town square to a horrifying sight.

Matatias was tied to a stake in the center of the green, and smoke was billowing off a pile of burning wood at his feet. Small flames were licking up his ankle length tunic and long sleeves, and an angry mob was standing around, clamoring to burn the vampire.

I could see no sign of Celia.

"Daddy!" Matatias shrieked "It burns, Daddy! Daddy, help me! Make it stop!"

And then he just went up. Flames engulfed his small form, and the crowd cheered in approval.

"Out of my way!" Kerwin roared at the crowd as he plowed into them, and I was right behind him, but it seemed as though we were wading through molasses in winter. Something was holding us back somehow. trying to prevent us from reaching Matatias.

I could hear the child screaming in my mind, and the agony he was feeling echoed down the bond between me and Kerwin. The screaming gradually faded as he burned, and soon the figure on the stake slumped down as the bindings were burnt through.

"Move!" Kerwin screamed as he fought his way through the crowd "Matatias!"

Daddy...

Kerwin stumbled then, as the bond between him and Matatias snapped as Matatias died. I felt a sense of sickening horror welling up within me as I realized what had just happened, and Kerwin let out an anguished cry. Whatever had been holding us back vanished them, and Kerwin streaked towards Matatias' still burning body. He smothered the flames with his mind as he reached the stake, and I turned away and was sick at what I saw once the flames were out.

Matatias was burned beyond all recognition. His skin, hair, and eyes were gone, and all that was left was a charred mass of muscle and bone. Smoke drifted up lazily from him, and Kerwin, wailing in grief, dropped to his knees beside him and gathered him into his arms. I finally reached them then and knelt down beside them just as Kerwin threw his head back and howled out his grief to the sky. The jeering and cheering crowd fell silent them, and I spared a quick glance around to see dawning horror on many faces as they realized that they had just killed their lord's son.

I then saw a flash of red amongst the crowd, and my eyes narrowed in fury when I spotted Godric Bernhard standing there. He had a smirk of smug superiority on his face, and I knew then who had incited the mob. He gave me a mocking salute, and then he turned and began to walk away.

I glared after him for a second, before Kerwin's heartbroken sobs fell on my ears. I turned back to him to see him cradling Matatias close and rocking back and forth. I gently pulled him to his feet, and it was then that I realized that I was crying myself.

"Let's get Matatias home." I said softly.

"My boy," Kerwin sobbed "My baby."

He didn't even appear to notice that I was there, as I led him through the crowd - which parted for us - and away from the scene. A carriage appeared from somewhere, and I guided Kerwin up into in and pushed him down onto the bench as it began to move. Once inside, the smell of burnt flesh and hair hit me hard, but I did my best to ignore it.

I looked at Matatias, lying still in Kerwin's arms, and it occurred to me then that I would never see him smile again, never hear his footsteps running up and down the halls of Kerwin's house, never hear him call me Uncle Joachim again. A sob clawed its way up and out of my throat, and more tears streamed out of my eyes and down my face.

We reached the house, but before the carriage could even come to a complete stop, the door was wrenched open to show Silvanus standing there.

"We have to hurry." he said urgently "We don't have much time." I wondered what he was talking about, but I didn't get to ponder it as he climbed into the carriage and scooped Kerwin up as easily as one would a baby. He carried Kerwin, who was still holding Matatias, into the house and into Matatias' rooms. I followed close behind, but once we were in Matatias' bedroom, he turned to me.

"Joachim," he said "I need you to find me three humans as quickly as possible. Try not to be seen, but I need them as quickly as you can. Bring them back one at a time." He sat Kerwin down in a chair and went to take Matatias from him, but Kerwin wailed in protest and held Matatias tighter. Silvanus looked over his shoulder to see him staring at him in stunned incomprehension. “Hurry, Joachim!” He then turned back to Kerwin.

“You need to let me take him, Kerwin.” he said gently “I’m here to help him.”

Kerwin looked up at Silvanus then, and tears were still rolling down his face. “Opa, please.” I started at his use of the German word for “grandfather”, and then I ran from the room to do as I had been told.

When I returned nary ten minutes later, Matatias was lying on his bed on top of the blankets, and Kerwin was standing over him with one arm extended and his bleeding wrist was held over Matatias, dripping blood onto the hideous burns. Kerwin was drinking from Silvanus’ neck, and I hastily pushed the stunned human towards Silvanus before I left again in search of another.

When I came back, Kerwin and Silvanus had not moved, but the first human I had brought was lying dead on the floor, drained, and Matatias’ burns seemed to have started to heal.

“Turn Matatias over onto his stomach, Joachim.” Silvanus ordered, and I hastened to obey and tried to ignore the feel of the crisped muscles as did. Kerwin did not move from his position as Silvanus drained the second human I had brought, and I left the room a third time to find another.

This time when I returned, Kerwin was sitting down, looking dazed and tired, and Silvanus had Matatias in his arms. I held the third human out of him, and he bit deeply into the man’s wrist and drained him dry. He then lowered his face’s to Matatias, and sealed their mouths together. I heard a gulping sound and realized that he was forcing blood down Matatias’ throat in an attempt to revive him.

I watched, silently praying to whomever may be listening that it would work, and after what seemed like an eternity, Kerwin let out a relieved sob, and he began to cry again. I could not feel Matatias, but Kerwin evidently could. Silvanus turned to him and gently laid Matatias in his arms.

“Your son, Kerwin.”

“It worked?” I asked, and Kerwin nodded as he held his child close. I sighed in relief and sank boneless into a nearby chair. Matatias’ skin had grown mostly back, and his eyes had regenerated, but his body was still withered and wasted.

“He’s in a healing sleep, Kerwin.” Silvanus said gently as he knelt down in front of them “He will need to sleep for many years as he finishes healing, but when he wakes, he’ll be as if this had never happened. Just come in a few times a week to give him blood and bathe him, and he’ll be fine.”

Kerwin let out a choked sob and nodded.

A half hour or so later, Matatias had been bathed and dressed in one of his gowns. Silvanus had cleaned the blood off of the bed with a wave of his hand, and Matatias had been tucked under the blankets. Kerwin, in a scarily convincing act, demanded that the door to the rooms be walled up, and his servants, believing him to be a parent that was mad with grief, hastened to comply. A small gap in the bricks was left at Kerwin’s request, and it was hidden behind a portrait of Matatias that was hung on the wall. The gap allowed Kerwin to look in on his child whenever he wished, and it also allowed him to enter the rooms as mist when needed.

Once that was done, Silvanus and I led Kerwin to his own bedroom, so he could bathe and rest after the emotionally draining day that he had had, and Silvanus quietly explained the revival process as we watched Kerwin sleep.

“Ideally,” he began “a child’s parent or sire does the reviving, but Kerwin does not have the power needed for such a thing yet. All it is, is pushing a great deal of blood into the child to heal the injuries that caused death and restoring the body to life. It has to be done quickly though; you have only a hour or two at most before the soul moves too far out of reach and the body begins to rot.

“Since Matatias was left bloodless by the fire, giving him my blood and my blood only would have turned him to me as well as healing him. It could have also overrode Kerwin’s adoption and made him my son instead, so I had to feed Kerwin so Kerwin could then do the healing. The blood contained my power, but was Kerwin’s by the time it touched Matatias. Once he had started to heal and had enough blood in him, I simply gave him a large amount of my blood straight, and that is what brought him back.”

I nodded in understanding and looked at Kerwin as he whimpered in his sleep and began to toss and turn. An anguished moan escaped his lips, and Silvanus got up from his chair, walked over to the bed, and gathered Kerwin into his arms. Kerwin curled close to his adopted grandfather like a small boy as Silvanus rocked him and soothed him.

“Hush, child,” he said softly “Matatias is alive. He is sleeping, and he’s going to be alright. Shhh...” Kerwin quieted and settled back down, and Silvanus held him for a bit longer before he laid him down and tucked him back in.

The next day, we staged Matatias’ funeral, and Kerwin had no troubles convincing those in attendance of his grief, as he cried throughout the proceedings. After that, he watched the very public executions by fire of the six people that had tied Matatias to the stake and ignited the fire. We returned to the house and as we were walking up to the door, Celia, battered, bloodless, and nearly naked, staggered out of the bushes and collapsed onto the grass. Kerwin darted forward and picked her up, and he carried her into the house.

An hour or so later, once she had fed, bathed, and dressed herself, she told us what had happened.

“Matatias?” she asked as we took seats in the study.

“Sleeping.” Kerwin said as he handed her a glass of mead.

“He’s alive?” She sounded so desperately hopeful it made my heart ache.

“He is.” She sighed in relief and leaned bonelessly back into the chair. She then drained her mead in one gulp.

“What happened, Celia?” Kerwin asked as he sat down nearby, and she sighed again.

“Matatias and I were watching the show, when he asked if he could go to a vendor that was selling candied fruit. I gave him the money and told him to come right back. I turned back to the show for a moment, when I heard Matatias start to cry. I thought he had dropped his candy or something similar, but then I heard someone scream “Vampire!”. I turned to him to see him being dragged away by a group of people. He was fighting them and calling for me, but before I could go to him, something hit me, and when I woke up, I was alone in a dark room. There were no windows, and I couldn’t get through the door.

“I don’t know how long I was in there, but soon a man came in, and he looked like my lord’s father. He told me that Matatias was dead, that he had made sure of that, and that he was going to have fun with me before he moved on to my lord and Master Joachim.”

I wondered when Celia had started using respectful titles then, but she continued her story, so I forced myself to pay attention.

“He assaulted me,” she said quietly “and laughed while he did it. Once he had gone, I was able to slip out through a crack under the door as mist.”

Kerwin stood up, walked over to her, pulled her to her feet, and enveloped her in a hug, while Silvanus and I looked at each other.

“It was..” Kerwin began.

“Godric Bernhard.” I finished, and we looked at each other.

“He is making his move.” Silvanus said “It looks like he has been under orders to wipe out Walter’s branch of the family the entire time, and he’s just now acting on it.”

“Why did he wait so long?” Celia asked as Kerwin helped her sit back down.

“I imagine he was waiting for us to drop our guard.” I replied “That is the only explanation that I can think of.”

“This has to stop now.” Kerwin said firmly “I cannot let this attack on my children go unpunished.”

I looked at him uncertainly. “Kerwin?”

“He is right.” Silvanus said “If he does nothing then it is only a matter of time until Bernhard goes after one of you three. Right now, he does not know that Matatias lives, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually, and then he will finish what he had started. The Bernhards must learn that touching any of you has deadly consequences.”

Kerwin nodded. “I will take care of this.”

“Are you going after Godric?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“No, Gannet will just send someone else if I kill his child. I need to take care of the problem at its source.”

Celia looked at him in alarm. “You’re going after your Uncle Gannet? Oh Kerwin please don’t. He’s too powerful.”

“I have to, Celia.” he said softly “We’ll never be at peace here if I don’t. Matatias is too weak to move anyway, and I’ll be damned if I am chased away from my home because of events that happened over a thousand years ago.” He looked over at Silvanus. “Will you watch over my children while I’m away, Opa?”

Silvanus nodded. “I will, Kerwin. Now go, and come home safe.”

Kerwin strode from the room, and Celia looked at me. “Go with him, Joachim. Don’t let his desire for vengeance consume him.”

I looked over at Silvanus asking an unspoken question, and he nodded. I nodded at Celia, and I walked from the room, following Kerwin.

Chapter 1 --Chapter 3

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