Finally! AMoS Chapter 3-8!

[eiahmon]

Title: A Moment of Stupidity Part 3: 1,118 - 1,476
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: Dracula's Curse.
SPOILER WARNING!!! Spoilers for many of the Castlevania games!!
WARNING!! This fic my offend the religious! Read at your own risk!

8.
Awakenings

During his previous stays at my home, Trevor had met Kerwin, Celia, and Silvanus, and to my surprise, Ladislas and Rachim also came to meet him. He liked all of them, especially Ladislas, and I think it had something to do with how Ladislas had told him how he had defied his family's expectations to do what his heart had demanded that he do.

There was only one person that I wished he could meet, but as of 1457, the year I had taken Trevor in permanently, Matatias still had not woken. Trevor knew that Kerwin had a son and that Matatias had been badly hurt and was sleeping while he healed, but he did not know the exact details. He did not know that Matatias had actually died or how long he had been asleep. Kerwin was beginning to despair that Matatias would ever wake up.

So I was very happy to one day feel a burst of joy from Kerwin, followed seconds later by the weak fluttering of the link between Matatias and myself.

"Uncle Joachim?" Trevor asked hesitantly from the desk where he was doing his studies "Why are you smiling?"

“Come child.” I said as I stood up from my chair “Leave your books for now. We have to go somewhere.”

It was a short trip to Kerwin's house, and the joy that he was feeling seemed to fill the entire structure. Trevor and I walked through the halls to Matatias' rooms to find the wall that had closed it off gone. Kerwin was inside, seated on the bed, with Matatias on his lap, holding him tight. Matatias looked up at me, and I could see that he looked as though he had never been burned.

“Uncle Joachim!” he squealed, and Kerwin set him down so he could run over to me and jump into my arms. I swept him up and spun him around, which caused him to squeal in delight, then he put his arms around my neck and laid his head down on my shoulder.

“I've missed you, child.” I said softly.

Matatias giggled. “I love you, Uncle Joachim.' I squeezed him tight, happy beyond all description that he was there, awake and well.

“Uncle Joachim?” came Trevor's hesitant voice from somewhere behind me, and I turned around, still holding Matatias, to see him standing in the hallway, looking at everyone uncertainly. I sat down in the nearest chair, settled Matatias on my lap, and gestured for him to come closer.

“Trevor,” I said gently “This is Kerwin's son, Matatias. Matatias, this is Trevor Belmont.”

Matatias smiled his impish smile. “Hi!”

Trevor smiled shyly and looked down at his shuffling feet. “Hello.”

Matatias looked up at me. “Is he related to Leon?”

I smiled: Matatias had liked Leon a great deal. “Yes, he's Leon's descendant.”

Matatias smiled again and wiggled down off of my lap. He then ran over to Trevor and nearly tackled him. “I like you! Can we be friends?”

Trevor looked at me, eyes wide with panic. He'd never had a friend in his life, and I nodded encouragingly at him. “Ummm... I.... guess we can.”

“Let's go play! Do you wanna play?”

Kerwin was laughing as he stood up from the bed. “Hold it, child. You need to bathe and dress first. And then you need to be fed, while I sort out the servants' memories.”

Matatias looked over his shoulder at him. “But Daddy...!”

“No buts. Now let's get you taken care of. You can play with Trevor later.”

Matatias grumbled something under his breath, but he obediently unwound himself from around Trevor and walked over to Kerwin.

I stood up from my chair then. “Come, Trevor. We can wait in the parlor.” I led him out of the room, and once we were seated together on the couch by the fireplace, he looked up at me in puzzlement.

“Is Matatias always like that?” he asked, and I started laughing.

“Yes, he is, but I feel sorry for Kerwin now.”

“Why?”

“Remember when you were sick a while back?” Trevor nodded, still looking a bit confused. “Remember how when you felt better, you bounced off the walls because you had slept so much?”

“Oh...” Trevor's eyes widened suddenly. “Oh!” He giggled. “Matatias is going to drive him mad.”

I smiled and nodded. “Though I'm sure that he won't mind too much, since Matatias slept for so long.”

While we talked, Silvanus arrived, and he joined us while we waited. Just under an hour later, Matatias, dressed, bathed, and fed, ran straight into the room and climbed up onto his lap. Silvanus closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around him and held him tight without saying a word, and I wondered if he was thinking of his own children that he had been unable to save.

Kerwin walked in then, and Silvanus opened his eyes, kissed Matatias on the top of his head, and eased him down to the floor. Matatias then ran over to Kerwin and climbed into his lap.

“Are the servants taken care of?” I asked, and Kerwin nodded as Matatias snuggled against him.

“Everything is done.” he said “So hopefully no one will question his presence.”

“How did you explain the sudden appearance of a child?” Trevor asked hesitantly.

“I just implanted the thought that he was always here, but he stayed in his rooms all the time because he was sickly. The servants will spread it to the nearby towns and villages, so no one will question it when Matatias appears.”

“Where is he?” came Celia's voice from down the hall, and a moment later, she came through the doorway. She paused when she was Matatias curled up on Kerwin's lap, and then her face lit up with a wide smile, and she held her arms out. Matatias happily jumped off Kerwin's lap and ran up to her. She swept him up into her arms and squeezed him, while he giggled and grinned. The rest of us watched with fond smiles, well, except for Trevor, who was still looking a bit confused at the entire thing.

True to my earlier words, Matatias was a bundle of energy, and he ran all over the house, pestering the servants, knocking into things, climbing all over the furniture. Kerwin was loathe to discipline him after bearing his absence for so long, but he finally had to call a halt to his child's antics at nightfall.

“But I don't wanna go to bed, Daddy!” Matatias protested as we – it took two of us to dress the squirming child in his nightclothes – readied him for bed. “I've been sleeping enough! I don't need to sleep anymore!”

“Matatias,” Kerwin said quietly, yet firmly “I know you don't want to go back to bed so soon, but you have to sleep. You were supposed to have been very sick for many years, so the servants are expecting you to tire sooner or later.”

“But I'm not tired!” Matatias insisted as he rubbed at his eyes, and a second later, he yawned. Kerwin smiled and scooped him up.

“Say goodnight to your Uncle Joachim, Matatias. You'll see him again soon.”

Matatias yawned again and laid his head on Kerwin's shoulder. “G'night, Uncle Joachim.” he said with a sleepy smile

I stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. “Goodnight, little one. I'll see you soon. I love you.” Matatias smiled again and closed his eyes, and Kerwin carried him off to bed. I returned to the parlor, where I found Trevor curled up on the couch, sleeping, and I shook my head and smiled to myself as I gathered him up and carried him home.

******

Time moved on as it always did, and in 1460, when Trevor was ten, there was a council meeting. The child objected strongly to being left behind in Jonathon's care, crying in my arms as I patiently explained to him that it just wouldn't be safe for him there.

“I don't care!” he wailed “Don't leave me with them!”

I didn't know what to do. With the rest of the Belmonts still hating his very existence, a week without me would be torture for Trevor, but it was just too dangerous to take him with me. Some of the others there would happily tear apart a child of the Belmont Clan if given the chance, and I did not want to risk him.

It was Silvanus that gave me the solution.

“Take him with you, Joachim,” he said and held up his hand as I went to protest “and claim him as yours once you are there. He is ¼ vampire, so he can attend as your child. Just say that his parents abandoned him – which isn't far from the truth actually – and that you have taken him as your own. That will give him the protection he needs.”

“Are you sure that he'll be safe there?” I asked hesitantly. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to leave him behind, but I still was uneasy at the thought of taking him with me.

“Just watch him like you would any other child, and he'll be fine. He's under the age of fifteen, so no one would dare lay a hand on him without facing the wrath of the entire council. Have you taught him the laws and rules?”

I shook my head; I didn't think he would ever need them.

Silvanus frowned. “He's part vampire, Joachim, so that's important knowledge for him to have. Teach him, and make sure he's learned them well before you go.”

I nodded in understanding, and that very night, after dinner, I explained the rules and laws to Trevor. He listened intently, asked a question now and then, and when I got to the part about respectful titles, he frowned in thought for a moment.

“What do you call you then?” he asked “You're not my father, so Lord Father is out. You're not my master, and I'm not calling you that anyway. What do you I call you?”

“Hmmmm,” I wasn't sure, truth be told, and I thought back to what Kerwin had called Gannet all those years ago, but then I remembered that he had simply referred to Gannet by name, with absolutely no respect meant. That would not do; the other vampires would not be happy at the lack of a respectful title, unless I had given him permission to do so.

I nearly slapped myself as the obvious solution presented itself.

“You have my permission to call me as you always have, Trevor.” I told him “Just remember what I told you about speaking to the others, including Silvanus, Ladislas, and Kerwin.” Trevor nodded, and I reached out and ruffled his hair. “Off to bed with you now. You've got practice with Jonathon in the morning, and after lunch I'll go over this with you again, to make sure you have it.”

“Awwww, Uncle Joachim.”

“Don't give me that, young man. Now off to bed.”

“Okay, okay.” he stood up from his chair and smiled at me, and I reached out and hugged him. The beautiful infant had grown into a beautiful child, and I knew that he was going to have to beat the girls away with a stick once he was older. And I must admit that I was looking forward to his fourteenth birthday, which is when he would be given the title of Vampire Hunter and officially become Jonathon's apprentice. I could almost imagine the sound of the Belmonts screaming in unison over it, but at the same time, I knew that it would create more problems for Trevor. As long as he lived with me and had nothing to do with the rest of the family, they were content to leave him alone and pretend that he didn't exist. Even Sonia had not contacted her son in the three years since she had left him with me. She and her husband had since had a child together, and from all accounts, they were very happy. Jonathon had not married or fathered any children, so they were all waiting eagerly to see who would be named apprentice, because that child would become the head of the family once Jonathon passed. They were not going to react well to Trevor getting it, not well at all, and I was more than a little afraid of what they might do. The protection wards that Silvanus had cast over Trevor after his birth were still active, but maybe I would ask if they could be strengthened. One couldn't be too careful after all, but that could wait a few more years. For now I had to worry about getting him through the council safely, the future could be worried about later.

******

We departed for the council the following month. Trevor, Silvanus, Kerwin, Celia, Matatias, and myself traveled together as had become our custom, and we met up with Ladislas and Rachim during the trip. Everyone was in high spirits, including Trevor, and I tried not to let my worry about his safety spoil his first long trip, since he was enjoying it so much.

We made it to the neutral zone in good time, and I kept Trevor close as we waited to be escorted to our rooms. There were a few curious glances in his direction, but most didn't seem to really care that he was there. Actose gave him a quick look, and then he gave me a smug smirk that set my nerves on edge. It was like he knew something that I didn't, and needless to say, I was relieved once we were in our room, and the door was firmly closed behind us.

“I will have to announce you tomorrow.” I explained to Trevor once we had unpacked and settled in. “I don't expect any problems, but I want you to stay close to me at all times.”

Trevor nodded. “Yes, Uncle Joachim.”

“Good, now let's see about dinner, shall we?”

Since most vampires were in the habit of eating regularly, even though we don't need to, and since half breed children and human spouses did happen off and on, meals were served for those who wanted them, so I called for a servant to have dinner sent up for the two of us.

“Can we go exploring after dinner, Uncle Joachim?” Trevor asked as we ate, and I thought about it for a second.

“I suppose,” I told him “But you mind me and if I tell you to do something, you do it and don't question me. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

We chatted like normal over the meal, and once we had finished and a servant had cleared away the dishes, I took him by the hand and led him out into the hall.

“I don't need you to hold my hand, Uncle Joachim.” he insisted, and I silenced him with a look.

“Remember what I said, Trevor.” I told him “You haven't been announced yet, and I don't want anyone thinking that you are just a human pet that they can snatch and run off with.”

“But Uncle...!”

“Do not push me on this, Trevor Christopher Belmont, or I'll take you right back in there and you can stay there for the entire week. Which will it be?”

He huffed. “Fine.”

I looked at him again, and he gave me a meek smile before I began to lead him down the hall. I showed him nearly the entire castle, with the exception of the area where Actose and his children stayed, and I refused to go anywhere near the room where they had gang raped me all those years ago. The castle was not ornate and elaborate, but it was very large, though it was still nowhere as large as Walter's castle had been. That castle had once housed Silvanus, his nine wives, and their countless children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, so it had to be large so the family had enough space to grow and run. They had also once claimed all of what is now Romania as their hunting grounds.

After his family was gone, Silvanus let go most of his territory. He kept enough to keep himself and Walter fed, but no more. Once Walter was old enough to be on his own, Silvanus had ceded most of what was left to him and retreated to the small area that he lives in now.

Despite how plain and boring the castle was, Trevor found the tour fascinating, and by the time we returned to our rooms, he was wore out and ready for bed. He went to bed without protest, while I stayed up a bit longer, hoping that nothing would go wrong tomorrow.

During the meet and mingle part of the council the following day, I announced Trevor and claimed him as my own. There were no objections or complaints to that, and I relaxed a bit. It helped I'm sure that the two oldest, most powerful, vampires in the group, Silvanus and Ladislas, already knew about him. There were many happy wishes sent Kerwin's way about Matatias' recovery, and Kerwin walked around with a large smile on his face the rest of the meeting.

All of us gathered in Ladislas' quarters for dinner, and the night was filled with talk and laughter. Matatias and Trevor had become good friends over the past few years, and Trevor treated him like a younger brother. The pair played some kind of game by the fireplace while the rest of us shared a bottle of wine and a conversation. Rachim was, as usual, curled up against Ladislas' side, wrapped in blankets, and he dozed as we talked. The group broke up at Trevor's bedtime, and Trevor leaned against my side as we walked back to our rooms.

The rest of the week went by with no trouble, but despite that, I still couldn't wait to get Trevor back on my own territory. Just because no one had said anything about me claiming him as my own, that didn't mean that no one had a problem with it.

On the last day, during the last meeting, the various vampires were walking about the room, talking with the others and being social, saying goodbye to friends, and issuing warnings to enemies, when the room was brought to an absolute standstill by the approaching presence of an extremely powerful vampire. I felt dread settle on my heart; I knew exactly who it was, and I in no way wanted him and Trevor to meet. As Trevor's grandfather, he had a greater claim than me and could remove him from my custody and care at any time, whether or not Trevor and I agreed to it.

I shoved Trevor behind me, while Silvanus and Kerwin, who had figured out the cause of my reaction, closed ranks on either side of me, to better keep Trevor hidden.

“Do not move, Trevor.” I told him quietly “And don't make a sound.”

Trevor didn't answer, but I could feel his hands grasping my coat as the doors to the meeting hall opened, and Mathias strode in as if he owned the place. Behind him was a small red headed, silver eyed boy, who trotted to keep up with him and who held onto his cape with one hand. Such was Mathias' presence and the power that he put off, the a circle formed around him as the nearby vampires backed away from him and stepped back forward once he was several feet away.

During my previous encounters with Mathias, he had been composed, calm, well groomed, and elegantly dressed. Not this time. His clothes were finely made, but they showed the ravages of heavy use and poor care, and they were faded, worn, and frayed. His hair, once the same shade of brown as Trevor's, had gone nearly white, and his eyes seemed wild and unfocused, though I was certain that he could see everything around him with no difficulties.

He strode up to Lady Clara and stopped in front of her.

“Lord Tepes,” Lady Clara said with a slight inclination of her head “So you decided to join us, I see.”

Mathias gave her a smile that was all teeth, and I began to back away, towards the door. Silvanus and Kerwin started to do the same, and Kerwin hoisted Matatias up into his arms, while I gripped Trevor's hand tightly in my own. I wanted to pick him up and hold him securely, but I didn't want Mathias to catch a glimpse of him. I also hoped fervently that there was no familial bonds between them. I looked around for Ladislas and caught his eye, and he too scooped his child up into his arms and began to edge towards the door.

“Sadly no, lady.” Mathias said with a grin, and the silver chain that the Crimson Stone was mounted on jingled slightly as he spun around to looked at the rest of the room. “I need power, the power that can only be provided by the souls of vampires, and here you all are, conveniently gathered into one room for me.”

I reached the door just as the temperature in the room plummeted, and I heard the sound of ragged cloth fluttering on a nonexistent breeze just as I pushed it open. I looked over my shoulder just as Lady Clara screamed, and I saw the bright light of her soul being dragged from her body. I turned away from the sight -

No more! Please, no more!

- and ignored Walter's pleas as I snatched Trevor up and ran from the room, with Kerwin, Matatias, Celia, Silvanus, Ladislas, and Rachim right on my heels. Behind us, the meeting hall filled with screams as those closest to Mathias had their souls ripped out.

The eight of us streaked down the hallways, down into the entrance hall, and out the front doors. I could still feel Mathias and Death behind us, though that presence receded as we moved away, so we weren't being pursued. I didn't know if we were going to get out of reach quick enough, of if Mathias would follow us once he had taken those in the meeting hall.

We made it to the forest that surrounded the castle, and I could hear other vampires fleeing for their lives as well, and I could still hear faint screaming coming from the castle behind us. Trevor's arms were wound tightly around my neck, and I could hear his breathing, rapid and shallow, in my right ear, and I carried him through the trees, and the fear was rolling off of him. I had to get him as far away as possible.

Unfortunately, even vampires have a limit to their endurance, and after an hour of running as fast as possible, we had to stop to rest for a while. We were deep in the mountains of the neutral zone by then, well away from the castle, and we all hoped it was far enough. Thought it was spring, it was still cold up at the elevation we were at, and Trevor was already shivering. He was wearing only light clothing, and we had left everything else back at the castle. We huddled down in the lee of a rocky outcropping, and I sat down on the snow covered ground and held him on my lap. He curled up in a ball and nestled close to me, and I wrapped my arms around him and held him as close as I could.

Ladislas, with Rachim on his own lap, sat down on my right, and I heard the rustling of heavy fabric and then I heard a voice that I had never heard before.

“Here,” I looked up to see Rachim holding out his blanket, and I blinked at him in confusion. In the three and a half centuries that I had known him, I had never heard him speak.

“Here,” he said again “Take it. Trevor needs it more than I do.”

“Are you sure, child?”

Rachim smiled. “I'm sure. I don't like the cold, but I can't freeze to death, but he can.” He nodded at Trevor. “So take it.”

I smiled “Thank you, Rachim.” and took the blanket and wrapped it around Trevor.

“Th... th.... th... thank you.” Trevor managed to say through his chattering teeth, and Rachim smiled and nestled close to Ladislas, who whispered something to him, which caused his smile to widen.

Silvanus sat down nearby, and with a complicated finger gesture and a nod of his head, a fire sprang to life in the center of our little circle, burning nothing but Silvanus' magic. I felt the warmth of it wash over me, and Trevor stirred.

“That feels so good.” he mumbled from within his cocoon, and the rest of us laughed quietly before we fell silent again. For several minutes, the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the howling of the wind over our heads. We were all lost in thought about what had just happened and worried about what Mathias' next action would be. Would he hunt us all down? Would he leave the area again? What was he planning?

“What was the point of all that?” Kerwin asked quietly after a while without raising his gaze from the fire in front of him. “What does he need all those other souls for?”

“I don't think he was completely sane.” Ladislas replied “Did any of you see the look in his eyes? He wasn't all together in his head tonight.”

I nodded. “This was completely unlike how he had been the previous three times that I had seen him.” I added “He had let himself go badly.”

“I think that can be put down to a combination of the loss of his second marriage bond, and the use of the Crimson Stone.” Silvanus stated “The two together would have a devastating effect on his mental stability.”

“I'm more interested in the child that was with him.” Celia said as she rested her head against Kerwin's shoulder “It was a human child, yet I could sense something.... dark about him. Where did he come from, and why does Mathias have him?”

Kerwin shrugged. “A pet, perhaps? There's no other reason that I can think of.”

“I wonder how many got away.” Rachim said quietly.

“I don't know.” Ladislas replied just above a whisper.

“We need to get moving soon.” Silvanus said “We're still closer than I would like to the castle. Mathias may have left by now, or he could be tracking us down as we speak. We need to get to my house; it is warded heavily, and should keep him away if he comes after us.”

“What about Death?” I asked “Can your wards stop him?”

He gave me a wry smile. “If Leon Belmont, a human, managed to defeat him in battle, then my wards should be more than enough.”

“I'll believe it when it happens, Silvanus.” Ladislas said as he stood, with Rachim still cradled in his arms “But for now I can't think of a better plan, so let's get moving.”

It took us a full day to cross the mountains, and by the time we were out of them, we were all exhausted and thirsty, and Trevor's stomach had been growling non stop for hours. We came across a small village at the base of the mountains, and I raided a house to feed Trevor while everyone else fed off the villagers. They did not kill any; too many deaths in a single night would cause hysteria among the peasants, which we did not want, so they just fed from multiple people, leaving them tired and a bit drained, but in no danger of dying. Once Trevor was eating, Kerwin returned, fed Matatias, who was waiting with me, and then told me to go feed myself. This I did, and I had to feed off of four different people before my thirst was satisfied. Ladislas had to feed off of several people so he could feed Rachim enough, but once we were all fed and ready, we set off again towards Silvanus' house, moving as fast as we could.

It took us three days in total to make the journey from the castle to Silvanus' simple home, and once we were safely inside, Silvanus raised the wards to full power, and I could feel the magic crackling across my skin as he did so. No one and nothing was getting through those wards unless Silvanus wished it. By then, it was nearly midnight, and Rachim and Matatias were tucked into bed in a back room, while Silvanus gave Trevor some bread and cheese to eat, before he too was sent to bed.

Silvanus, Kerwin, Celia, Ladislas, and myself gathered around the table in the small dining room and discussed what to do next.

“So, to sum it up,” Kerwin said “we have a mentally unstable vampire with a human child for a pet, that for no reason that we know of decided that it was a good idea to capture the souls of a number of older, more powerful vampires. Did I miss anything?”

“No, I think that's everything.” Ladislas said evenly “What I want to know is why? Why did he do that, and what is he planning to do with all that power?”

“I'm not sure that I want to know.” I replied “If he's lost or is losing his mind, then there is no way to predict what he might do.”

“Which makes him very dangerous.” Silvanus added “We will have to be careful. He may decide to come after those he didn't get earlier.”

“Or he may decide to leave us all alone and do nothing.” Celia said softly “There may have been no reason other than 'Because I can.' behind his actions earlier.”

“I will inform Jonathon Belmont tomorrow.” I said with a sigh “But I really don't think that there is anything else we can do.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement, and the rest of the night passed in silence.

******

The following day, I left Trevor with Silvanus and ventured out to the Belmont lands, where I informed Jonathon of Mathias' actions. He was shocked and horrified, and he swore to keep a careful watch out, and destroy him if the opportunity arose.

“Please be careful, Jonathon.” I told him “We don't know who or how many he killed. There is no telling how powerful he's become.”

“I'll be careful, Uncle Joachim.” he assured me “I don't feel up to dying anytime soon, but if I can, I will take him down.” He gave me a small smile. “Now, tell me how Trevor's doing....”

A few weeks later, during which we had all returned to our own homes, we got the final count. Twelve vampires had died in Mathias' attack. Everyone else managed to get away, but it was not known if a council meeting would be held again any time soon, since no one knew if he would try and repeat it. Jonathon kept an ear to the ground, listening for any hint that Mathias was in the area, but rumors had it that he had left the area after the attack on the council, and he would not be heard from again for several more years.

******

In the summer of 1464, Trevor turned fourteen, and he and I were dreading it as much as we were looking forward to it. We both knew how the rest of the family would react when Jonathon named him as his apprentice, and that it would not be favorable at all.

“Just remember.” Jonathon told him the night before “No matter what anyone says, the whip chose you. Sara chose you to be her next wielder, and no one can take her from you. Remember she said that she would work for no one else once I hand the whip down. No matter what the others say, you are not just the grandchild of Mathias Cronqvist, you are Trevor Belmont, my apprentice and heir, and the whip's chosen, and no one can take that from you. Do you understand?”

Trevor nodded. “I understand, Jonathon.”

“Good,” Jonathon smiled at him. “I expect you here by the early afternoon, so I can announce you to everyone else, and don't worry about what they say or do. I will not change my mind about you, and if anyone tries to hurt you, I will cast them out of the family for harming the heir. It's a serious threat, and I will make sure that they are aware of it.”

The following day, we had a small birthday party for Trevor at my house, and Kerwin, Matatias, and Silvanus attended. Ladislas and Rachim didn't come, but they did send a gift. Once the party was over, we made the short trip by horseback to the Belmont lands, and Trevor was practically vibrating with nerves by the time we made it there.

The vast majority of the clan lived – still lives – on one large parcel of land. The individual families have their own house, but they are all in sight of one another. The largest house is occupied by the head of the family and his wife and children, if he has any, and it was built around Leon's original home. Even today, if you go in there, you can see some of the original timbers from Leon's time. Oftentimes, if the whip is passed on while its previous user is still alive, that person will stay on in the house, with the new family head. Rarely do they move out, as Lamont did.

As we walked through the gated fence that separated the Belmonts from the peasants around them, there were many stares, most of them hostile, directed at Trevor, though some looked at him, confused. He hadn't been seen on the Belmont lands in seven years, and some did not recognize him. There were also angry mutterings about that “monster child” coming to spoil the inheritance ceremony, but I simply put my arm around Trevor's broadening shoulders and ignored them. He tried to do the same, but it was plain that their hatred still hurt him.

We walked right up to Jonathon's house, and were let it immediately, and I heard a few whispering at the implications as the door was shut behind us, and a servant led us into the sitting room, where Jonathon was waiting.

“Are you ready, Trevor?” he asked quietly, and Trevor hesitated for a moment before he shook his head.

“Is it possible to be ready for that?” he asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction we had come from.

Jonathon stood up from his chair. “Ignore them.” he said firmly “They do not matter. What matters is the ceremony. Focus on that, and ignore everything else.”

Trevor swallowed nervously. “Right.”

Jonathon reached out and squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. “I'm going to head to the hall now. Uncle Joachim will walk you over there in a few. Don't call attention to yourself. Just sit there quietly until I call you up.” Trevor nodded, and Jonathon smiled at him and walked out of the house, towards the meeting hall used for large family gatherings.

I gathered Trevor into my arms and held him for a moment, and I could feel him shaking slightly. “Jonathon is right.” I whispered to him “They do not matter. Sara has chosen you; that is the important thing.”

“I know, but knowing is not going to make this easier.” He looked at me. “Walk with me?”

“Of course.”

He and I walked out of the house to the hall, which was already filling up with people. We took seats in the very back of the room, out of the way, and out of the sight of most of the family, and waited. The room filled up with people, and the babble of voices filled the room and bounced off the vaulted ceiling. We couldn't see Jonathon, but we knew he was in the building, likely in one of the back rooms, waiting.

As soon as everyone was seated, Jonathon appeared, and he walked to the center of a raised dais at the far end of the room and raised his hands for silence. He began a speech that was in a similar vein to the speech given by every other holder of the whip when announcing their apprentice, and I tuned him out in favor of watching Trevor.

Trevor was sitting with his eyes closed, breathing slow, deep breathes. His nervousness and anxiety were rolling off of him, so I put my arm around him and whispered calming words in his ear while he waited for Jonathon to wrap up his speech.

“Sara has chosen you.” I reminded him “And if Leon were here, we would have loved you like his own, everyone else's opinion be damned.” He nodded faintly and opened his eyes just as Jonathon finished speaking.

“Sara herself has chosen my apprentice and heir, and after many years of training, I would have to agree.” Jonathon said to the room, as children waited with bated breath and as adults quietly boasted to one another that they were sure that their son would be chosen. “Trevor Christopher Belmont, I choose you. Come up here, please.”

“Here we go, for better or worse.” Trevor said quietly just as the room went as silent as a graveyard at midnight. Trevor stood up and calmly walked forward to the front of the room, and once he had climbed up on the dais to stand aside Jonathon, the explosion happened.

“How is this possible!”

“That demon child cannot inherit!”

“Cronqvist's grandson will not be the head of this family!”

“Are you mad!”

“He must have ensnared Jonathon somehow!”

“He should have been drowned at birth!”

Trevor visibly flinched at that last one, and Jonathon had had enough.

“Enough!” he roared “I have made my choice! The whip has chosen him, and I will stand for no attacks, verbal of physical, upon my apprentice and heir! Anyone that disagrees with me if free to leave the family permanently!”

Sonia stood up then, and my heart sank. I had hoped that if she didn't defend her son, she would at least say nothing against him. “In anyone's memory, the whip has never spoken to anyone.” she said

“How can you know for sure that it spoke to him? How do you know that he's not carrying tales?”

I stood up then. “The whip spoke to Leon several times.” I said, sending her a nasty look as I did so. “I saw the whip respond to Trevor, as did Jonathon. Are you accusing a mere boy of deluding the two of us?”

She blushed to the roots of her hair. “No, of course not, but....”

Jonathon folded his arms over his chest. “But what?” he said impatiently as he tapped his foot against the floor. When she didn't answer, his eyes narrowed in anger. “To attack one's own child is a terrible ting to even contemplate, Sonia. Your son, the child that you bore, is standing up here with me, and has just had a great honor bestowed upon him, and you dare to question his worthiness for it!” He swept his gaze over the rest of the family. “None of you deserve this honor. All of you shunned and ostracized an innocent child simply because his is the grandchild of Mathias Cronqvist. For your actions, all of you, as well as your children, were never in my consideration. Leon Belmont rescued a full vampire from near death, and yet you, his descendants, wish harm upon a ¼ vampire child! I am ashamed of all of you, and if I could, I would throw you all out of the family! Trevor Belmont is my apprentice, and I will change that, no matter what any of you say! My decision is final!”

People began to shout again, but their protests were cut off abruptly when a bright flash of violet light came from the Vampire Killer, which was hanging from Jonathon's belt. He unhooked it and held it in both hands as everyone, including Trevor, stared at it in confusion. The light from it brightened, so much so that it was painful to look at, and when it cleared, there was a third figure on the dais, standing behind Trevor with his hands on the boy's shoulders.

“Leon,” I breathed in the silent room, and the shadow? shade? memory? of my old friend smiled at me before he raked his eyes across the rest of the family, as if he was issuing a challenge. No one spoke a word, and Leon nodded once in satisfaction before he leaned down and whispered something none of us could hear in Trevor's ear. Then he faded and disappeared from sight. The whip glowed once more and then went dark.

Jonathon blinked and shook his head as if he was awakening from a trance, and then he laid a hand on Trevor's shoulder and walked him out of the hall. I quickly followed, leaving the rest of the Belmonts in shocked silence behind us.

“He said he is a memory.” Trevor said quietly once we were outside. “He said his soul has gone on to the afterlife, but the whip stores a conscious memory of whomever wields it, and that's what he was. He said he agreed with Sara that I was the right one, and that no one dared challenge him.”

Jonathon chuckled weakly. “No, I would hope not. Insisting that I am out of my mind in choosing you is one thing. Calling the family patriarch into question is just not done.”

“I think that settles everything nicely.” I added as we walked inside Jonathon's house “No one will dare challenge Trevor now.”

“Well, idiots do happen,” Jonathon replied “But I'm sure that most of them will keep quiet now.”

“I can't believe that that just happened.” Trevor said quietly “Leon Belmont came to my defense.”

“I've said it before,” I told him “Leon would have been ashamed at the family's treatment of you. I'm more than a little surprised myself at what happened – I had no idea that the whip could do that – but I'm glad he was able to.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Now let's go home. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow, so you need to eat and sleep.”

“I'll see you bright and early after breakfast.” Jonathon told him “If you thought your training was intensive before, it's about to get much worse, so go home, have a good meal, and get a good night's rest. You'll need it for tomorrow.”

Trevor nodded in understanding, and the two of us departed for home.

There were faint grumblings after that, and you could tell that some people still weren't happy that Trevor was the future wielder of the whip and head of the family, but after Leon's appearance, no one said anything out loud to either him or Jonathon.

******

In 1475, Jonathon, who was by then 61 years old, retired from vampire hunting, and he passed the whip and the headship of the family down to Trevor, who had just recently turned 25. By then most of the Belmonts had settled down and accepted Trevor, though some were still not happy about it. Those kept their mouths shut however.

Despite their best attempts to keep it quiet, word of the Belmonts power had spread, and few of the rumors were good. There were whispers of consorting with the devil, and use of unholy powers, and the entire mess reminded me of what Kerwin said after Walter's death at Leon's hands, about he was surprised that people hadn't vilified him for it. I had kept my distance from the clan during Trevor's childhood and only interacted regularly with Jonathon, so I had missed most of it, but some of the rumors had reached me as well, and I was seriously thinking of asking Silvanus to ward the land on which they lived before the fear turned violent. If rumors of Trevor's heritage got out, I was certain that there would be violence, and so did the rest of the family, so people kept their opinions to themselves for the time being.

******

In 1476, stories began filtering down to us about animals vanishing during the night. People were puzzled and a little worried, but most attributed the disappearances to wolves. After about a week, a farmer went looking out for a horse that had escaped from a paddock and found the poor creature dead in a field, torn to pieces and scattered about. He ran back to the safety of his home, where he told his wife of the horrible thing he had seen. Traps were set out, to catch the beasts responsible – most believed it was still wolves at this point – but nothing was caught.

Three days after the farmer's horrific discovery, the idea that it was marauding wolves was completely destroyed when something managed to get into a locked barn and slaughter several pigs. The animals' bloody, shredded remains were scattered all through the inside of the structure, yet the barn door was still closed and locked when the family came out to feed their livestock in the morning.

Now people were terrified. No wolf could open a door, no wolf could manipulate a lock, no matter how simple it was.

People argued and fought over what to do, and while they did the attacks continued to escalate. Finally, nearly a month after the first attacks on livestock, and entire family: husband, wife, three children, were slaughtered in their home during the night. There was almost nothing left of the bodies, except for splashes of blood and a few pieces of skin and bone.

On top of this, there were rumors of a vampire running through the area. No one actually saw this vampire, but he left a trail of bloodless victims in his wake, and many believed that he was the source of the monsters. I knew that it was none of the vampires from the local area; none would be stupid enough to do anything to incite such fear. Doing so could bring a mob down on one's head, so it had to be someone else, someone that had no reason to fear any little lynch mob that the local peasants could form.

Finally, after weeks of violence, after several deaths, and in the midst of the panic and fear, someone remembered that the Belmonts hunted vampires. Of course, it took a long time for someone to finally pluck up the courage and approach Trevor to ask for help, but by then he had already made up his mind to go investigate. Before he could leave, we heard of a castle that had appeared in Wallachia. None knew where it had come from, but people told tales of the monsters that spewed from it and of the evil that emanated from its stones. Close to the castle, people said, the dead rose from their graves, monsters stalked the land, looking to feast on those that ventured too close, and the moon dripped blood from the darkened sky above.

By then, Trevor was living on the Belmont lands, in the head's house along with Jonathon, and I watched him as he packed for his journey. He would have to travel across the mountains of the neutral zone, to the other side where the dark castle was said to be. The journey would be incredibly dangerous for him, and if I could have, I would have forbidden him from going.

“I need to do this, Uncle Joachim.” he said firmly as he slung a bag of supplies over the back of his horse, behind the saddle “The people need to see that the Belmonts are not to be feared.”

“And when you defeat Mathias – come now, we both know it is him.” I said when he looked at me 'What then? Will they still fear you because of the power you used? What if you are... injured.” I refused to say “die”.

“Then I die doing what I must.” he said evenly “I am the only one that has a chance of stopping this madness. If I don't, how long before the monsters attack us? If it is Mathias, how long before he comes after Leon's descendants? This has to be done, Uncle Joachim.”

I sighed heavily; he was right, but that didn't mean I had to like it. “You are my son in all but blood, Trevor. I don't want to even consider losing you. Swear to me that you'll be careful and come home safe.”

“I swear that I will be careful, and I can't promise that I'll come home. All I can promise is that I'll do my best.”

I sighed again; I did not want him to go out there alone. I didn't want him to go out there at all, and it killed me to know that I couldn't go with him. No one outside of the Belmonts, and the area vampires knew I existed, and if someone were to spot me, rumors could start, and the Belmonts didn't need any more of those.

The leather of the saddle creaked as Trevor climbed up into it, and I reached up and handed him a small crystal vial that was filled with my blood. He took it and looked at it for a moment before he looked down at me.

“For emergencies.” I stated with a weak smile, and he smiled back for a moment before he took up the reins and clucked at the horse.

“I'll be back as soon as I can.” he said as he rode out of the stable, and once he was outside, he urged the horse into a trot, and then into a canter. I stepped outside the stable door and watched him ride away, until he was swallowed by the deepening gloom of the approaching night.

Chapter 7 –- Chapter 4-1

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