[Alucard sits up carefully after Trevor lets go. There's that warm already starting to fade, and that's the worst part about insisting they part. The rest? He can live with that.
They'll have tomorrow. Alucard consoles himself with that as he climbs out of bed, looking at Trevor's clothing pile.]
It was a late night.
[Forgive yourself he means, and then Alucard goes about a more usual routine: robe on, slippers, and then off to the kitchen.
Trevor's not wrong about the amount of leftover food. There's human food a plenty because there were human guests, and so he starts with that. Frying already cooked potatoes after warming some of the beef roast. A little bit of the greens.
He comes back with two plates that should be dinner for most, but they need something heartier given the day ahead. There's a nook near one of the windows that Alucard has long since taken his meals at, and that's where he goes.
Moving about with the food, he's happy. Or at least as close to it as he gets most days.]
We really need to figure out what we call meals if we're going to be sticking to your father's schedule. Traditionally, one doesn't eat breakfast an hour before sunset.
[ The room is in more of an acceptable state by the time Alucard returns. The bed is made and the fancy robes hung up and displayed like the precious things they are rather than left aside like the unwanted weight that, in all honesty, they also are. His own clothes from the celebration are gone, presumably in his own room, but his nightclothes are folded on the chair. He's dressed in his hunting clothes, and that armour is set down on the dresser next to the crown.
He takes a seat at the table, drawing back the curtain to fill the room with what remains of the light. ]
But then we have to account for the meals that follow. In truth, I've been considering rising at three in the afternoon so we still catch some sun.
[It's one of the smaller parts of the whole affair that Alucard dislikes. To be on Dracula's schedule means nights only with no enjoyment of the sunlight, and with it being winter, it's so very worse.
He settles down in his seat, already aware of how the space has transformed. It's respectable again, rather than just his room. A space that's held to standards just like the rest of the castle.
It feels wrong still being in bathrobe and pjs whereas Trevor is not. Alucard's own clothes have to be more considered given what is expected of him tonight.]
We may have to just refer to this as breakfast and pretend that the schedule isn't bothersome.
[But for now, there's food. Alucard eats quietly, his foot brushing against Trevor's for lack of any other way to touch him while eating.]
I don't know. I'm not sure what we should do about her.
[ He eats efficiently, somehow managing a decent balance between wolfing the meal down and still making sure that it all goes into his mouth rather than around it, on his clothes or on the table. It's a long way from the near-starved boy who fell upon food like an animal, ripping and tearing at meat and bread and getting vegetables up his nose. Efficiency means all his focus is on is food for the brief time that it's there on his plate, and so he doesn't respond to the foot brushing against his.
After a remarkably brief period of eating in silence, he puts down his cutlery. ]
We can allow her into the castle, let her go with your father or restrain her here until he's gone too far to follow and then turn her loose. I was intending to do the latter, but the choice is yours.
He won't like her. Not with those words in her mouth.
[Alucard's pace is slower. Not languid exactly, but trying to savor the taste of everything. He's a vampire with the luxury of taking human food this way. He's never looked that gift horse in the mouth.
But of course Trevor eats fast. He has too much to do and not enough time to do it.]
I dislike the idea of restraining anyone. What happens if you hear her out first, discuss, and waylay her like that? See how much information she freely gives.
[ He goes quiet at that for just a moment. He doesn't like that response, he doesn't like how he feels about that response, and he doesn't like not liking how he feels about that response.
It's irritating that Alucard wants to take the high road, to somehow do this without causing any distress to anyone. It's not realistic, and it's another thing to worry over when they already have so many. But then he wants Alucard to remain as he is, as compassionate as his father is ruthless. He doesn't want this appointment to make him colder or crueler.
And yet it would be so, so very convenient if it did. It would be safer for him if it did. It wouldn't need to be sad, just a slight hardening of the heart. ]
I'll tell her that we're aware of the threat. Knowing of it will be enough to change her grandfather's vision. Maybe she'll be willing to return to her people with that.
[Alucard doesn't like that silence. It worries him, because he knows Trevor is evaluating it against what would be politically expedient. Or at least more realistic. There's a sigh, and Alucard's gaze goes to the window.]
If not...I trust you to do what's needed. But we may have to report it to my father in some capacity.
[ It's all that he can promise, in the end. He reaches a hand across the table as a gesture of- he doesn't even know. Reconciliation sounds right, but he's not sure he's done anything wrong. Reassurance? ]
Don't let it trouble you. You've enough to worry about tonight.
[ That is to say that he’s not gonna be touching you after you do the murder until you’ve bathed. Even if you don’t get blood on you. Even if there’s not a speck of dirt. ]
And- there is another option, but I’m not sure I care for it. And your father couldn’t know.
[Alucard also doesn't want to be touching Trevor until he's free of blood. But for now? Alucard's eyes look to the window, and he quietly calculates how much longer he can say here. He has to dress soon, and that has now become much more cumbersome.]
Maybe I can convince her to stay away for a week or so, until we know he’s a good distance away, if I offer to let her stay here when she returns.
[ He sighs ponderously ]
I don’t like it much. It means a stranger in the castle while we’re already vulnerable. But it’d keep her safe until he’s gone, and- fuck, I can just not let her n after the week is done.
Trevor, that's someone's life at stake. Especially if he returns having failed the goal.
[Oh God he just said those words out loud didn't he?
Alucard feels himself blanch a little for the thought. He uses that as an excuse to stand up and just walk over to Trevor. End the conversation here, because they're going to awful places. He wraps one arm around Trevor's shoulder to pull him into an embrace, and there's a kiss placed to the top of his head.]
I have to start changing into appropriate clothes. Let's see what the speaker says after you have words with her.
[ If it returns having failed then the speaker is his last concern. That prophecy comes true, and all of them are dead save for Alucard. That, they both know. He doesn't continue, doesn't say anything more about the matter, and just leans into Alucard's touch. ]
Get dressed and go attend to your father. I'll clear the dishes.
[He'll probably return having failed, if he returns at all. It's a quiet consideration all of the have made, and it's one that is loathed. Alucard knows it, Trevor knows it, and Dracula has also considered it even as he puts up all the bluster in the world to pretend otherwise.
Alucard lingers. Presses one last kiss to Trevor's head, hand stroking Trevor's shoulder softly, then lets go.]
Thank you. I'll wash them later. Give me something to do.
[Something to distract.
Alucard does withdraw. He knows what is appropriate for the occasion, and he goes about finding all the right components. Black trousers. A fur lined cloak that reflects no light. A long sleeved shirt in a dark grey to stay warm. Gloves. That stupid crown. Riding boots.
When he finishes - and his hair is down - he looks as somber and as composed as the situation demands he be. An ice cold prince doing as duty demands of him and no more.
The crown is the last thing he places on. Alucard hates it.]
[ The speaker continues to be difficult. So very, terribly difficult.In the end, the most he can get her to agree to is to wait until Dracula is gone and return to stay at the castle.
Alucard's horse is gone from the stable when he returns in the small hours of the morning, and the castle is silent. It's the first time since the start of the celebrations that it has been peaceful here, and that's- well. It's something. Better than the alternative, at least for now, though god knows if he'll still think that when this becomes the way things are every day and the quiet starts to set in.
It's a few hours of spinning thread - that had been Lisa's idea, before she was taken away, that he should do work with his hands to keep himself occupied when things were bothering him - before the castle announces the return of the hunting party. He goes first to Alucard's chambers to draw a bath for him and then makes himself scarce in his own room. Alucard will know where to find him, when he's done. ]
[The hunting part is and isn't a somber affair. There are those among the number that are wild and are happy to act as agents of chaos to announce the group's approach to the village. To let panic set in, to force a hunt of the unwanted priest. Others are quiet atop their horses, watching the carnage but saying nothing.
Both Dracula and Alucard fall into the latter camp as they sit upon their horses in the center of the village, waiting.
The priest is found after a time. Dracula says nothing - only watches as his son announces the crime and the punishment, tearing out the priest's throat in one fell swoop. There are others dead already, and the vampires in their group have taken their fill. When Alucard lets the body go, there is plenty of blood that has gone to waste. A matter done on purpose - that not even their blood is fit for consumption.
Those who helped hide the priest are already dead and consumed. Those who remain are reminded of consequences, and that is all. The group leaves, and Alucard returns to his chambers in the small hours. He and his father had a long discussion after everything, and that was more important than even washing off blood.
When Alucard does return, he takes the damned crown off and goes for the bath. Settles into the warm waters immediately and then:]
[ He doesn't like it. Dracula's way of doing things is cruel, unnecessarily so. That was why his family took up arms against him, after all. He was kinder, by all reports, before his wife was taken from him. Merciless toward suspected spies, still, but not toward those uninvolved.
Some days, he can't stand himself for staying here. If Alucard weren't the closest thing to family that he had-
-there's no sense taking that thought to its conclusion. Alucard is the only family he has. The castle makes sure that he can hear his voice even though the walls and without him shouting, and he heads for Alucard's rooms. Pulls his chair up next to the door to the washroom so they can talk without him entering. ]
[ It's the sort of dismissive that makes it sound like he's trying really, really hard to be dismissive. The sort where he knows he's powerless. That being dismissive is the only option he has left. ]
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[ It’s hard to argue when Alucard is like this, all soft and warm and loving and so, so very far from the Prince of Vampires. ]
No need to make food. There’ll be something left from the ceremony, no doubt.
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[Want being the key word. He likes being able to cook for Trevor. It's a modest attempt at repaying the Belmont for so many things he does.]
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If you insist. I-
[ He pauses as he starts to get out of bed, looking down at his proper dress clothes all strewn across the floor and tutting at himself. ]
-really ought to take better care of my things. Go ahead, I'll clean this up and get dressed.
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They'll have tomorrow. Alucard consoles himself with that as he climbs out of bed, looking at Trevor's clothing pile.]
It was a late night.
[Forgive yourself he means, and then Alucard goes about a more usual routine: robe on, slippers, and then off to the kitchen.
Trevor's not wrong about the amount of leftover food. There's human food a plenty because there were human guests, and so he starts with that. Frying already cooked potatoes after warming some of the beef roast. A little bit of the greens.
He comes back with two plates that should be dinner for most, but they need something heartier given the day ahead. There's a nook near one of the windows that Alucard has long since taken his meals at, and that's where he goes.
Moving about with the food, he's happy. Or at least as close to it as he gets most days.]
Trevor? Breakfast.
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[ The room is in more of an acceptable state by the time Alucard returns. The bed is made and the fancy robes hung up and displayed like the precious things they are rather than left aside like the unwanted weight that, in all honesty, they also are. His own clothes from the celebration are gone, presumably in his own room, but his nightclothes are folded on the chair. He's dressed in his hunting clothes, and that armour is set down on the dresser next to the crown.
He takes a seat at the table, drawing back the curtain to fill the room with what remains of the light. ]
Supper? Dinner?
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[It's one of the smaller parts of the whole affair that Alucard dislikes. To be on Dracula's schedule means nights only with no enjoyment of the sunlight, and with it being winter, it's so very worse.
He settles down in his seat, already aware of how the space has transformed. It's respectable again, rather than just his room. A space that's held to standards just like the rest of the castle.
It feels wrong still being in bathrobe and pjs whereas Trevor is not. Alucard's own clothes have to be more considered given what is expected of him tonight.]
We may have to just refer to this as breakfast and pretend that the schedule isn't bothersome.
[But for now, there's food. Alucard eats quietly, his foot brushing against Trevor's for lack of any other way to touch him while eating.]
How long do you expect to take with the Speaker?
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[ He eats efficiently, somehow managing a decent balance between wolfing the meal down and still making sure that it all goes into his mouth rather than around it, on his clothes or on the table. It's a long way from the near-starved boy who fell upon food like an animal, ripping and tearing at meat and bread and getting vegetables up his nose. Efficiency means all his focus is on is food for the brief time that it's there on his plate, and so he doesn't respond to the foot brushing against his.
After a remarkably brief period of eating in silence, he puts down his cutlery. ]
We can allow her into the castle, let her go with your father or restrain her here until he's gone too far to follow and then turn her loose. I was intending to do the latter, but the choice is yours.
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[Alucard's pace is slower. Not languid exactly, but trying to savor the taste of everything. He's a vampire with the luxury of taking human food this way. He's never looked that gift horse in the mouth.
But of course Trevor eats fast. He has too much to do and not enough time to do it.]
I dislike the idea of restraining anyone. What happens if you hear her out first, discuss, and waylay her like that? See how much information she freely gives.
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[ He goes quiet at that for just a moment. He doesn't like that response, he doesn't like how he feels about that response, and he doesn't like not liking how he feels about that response.
It's irritating that Alucard wants to take the high road, to somehow do this without causing any distress to anyone. It's not realistic, and it's another thing to worry over when they already have so many. But then he wants Alucard to remain as he is, as compassionate as his father is ruthless. He doesn't want this appointment to make him colder or crueler.
And yet it would be so, so very convenient if it did. It would be safer for him if it did. It wouldn't need to be sad, just a slight hardening of the heart. ]
I'll tell her that we're aware of the threat. Knowing of it will be enough to change her grandfather's vision. Maybe she'll be willing to return to her people with that.
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If not...I trust you to do what's needed. But we may have to report it to my father in some capacity.
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[ It's all that he can promise, in the end. He reaches a hand across the table as a gesture of- he doesn't even know. Reconciliation sounds right, but he's not sure he's done anything wrong. Reassurance? ]
Don't let it trouble you. You've enough to worry about tonight.
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[He's still eating, but this? This is more important. He squeezes Trevor's hand gently.]
I'd much rather worry about this, admittedly.
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[ That is to say that he’s not gonna be touching you after you do the murder until you’ve bathed. Even if you don’t get blood on you. Even if there’s not a speck of dirt. ]
And- there is another option, but I’m not sure I care for it. And your father couldn’t know.
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[Alucard also doesn't want to be touching Trevor until he's free of blood. But for now? Alucard's eyes look to the window, and he quietly calculates how much longer he can say here. He has to dress soon, and that has now become much more cumbersome.]
I'm listening.
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[ He sighs ponderously ]
I don’t like it much. It means a stranger in the castle while we’re already vulnerable. But it’d keep her safe until he’s gone, and- fuck, I can just not let her n after the week is done.
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He'll smell her when he returns. How will you defend the action?
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[ That is to say he has no fucking clue. ]
If he returns in a good mood, she’s a guest. If he’s in a bad mood, we’re just kind of screwed.
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[Oh God he just said those words out loud didn't he?
Alucard feels himself blanch a little for the thought. He uses that as an excuse to stand up and just walk over to Trevor. End the conversation here, because they're going to awful places. He wraps one arm around Trevor's shoulder to pull him into an embrace, and there's a kiss placed to the top of his head.]
I have to start changing into appropriate clothes. Let's see what the speaker says after you have words with her.
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[ If it returns having failed then the speaker is his last concern. That prophecy comes true, and all of them are dead save for Alucard. That, they both know. He doesn't continue, doesn't say anything more about the matter, and just leans into Alucard's touch. ]
Get dressed and go attend to your father. I'll clear the dishes.
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Alucard lingers. Presses one last kiss to Trevor's head, hand stroking Trevor's shoulder softly, then lets go.]
Thank you. I'll wash them later. Give me something to do.
[Something to distract.
Alucard does withdraw. He knows what is appropriate for the occasion, and he goes about finding all the right components. Black trousers. A fur lined cloak that reflects no light. A long sleeved shirt in a dark grey to stay warm. Gloves. That stupid crown. Riding boots.
When he finishes - and his hair is down - he looks as somber and as composed as the situation demands he be. An ice cold prince doing as duty demands of him and no more.
The crown is the last thing he places on. Alucard hates it.]
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Alucard's horse is gone from the stable when he returns in the small hours of the morning, and the castle is silent. It's the first time since the start of the celebrations that it has been peaceful here, and that's- well. It's something. Better than the alternative, at least for now, though god knows if he'll still think that when this becomes the way things are every day and the quiet starts to set in.
It's a few hours of spinning thread - that had been Lisa's idea, before she was taken away, that he should do work with his hands to keep himself occupied when things were bothering him - before the castle announces the return of the hunting party. He goes first to Alucard's chambers to draw a bath for him and then makes himself scarce in his own room. Alucard will know where to find him, when he's done. ]
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Both Dracula and Alucard fall into the latter camp as they sit upon their horses in the center of the village, waiting.
The priest is found after a time. Dracula says nothing - only watches as his son announces the crime and the punishment, tearing out the priest's throat in one fell swoop. There are others dead already, and the vampires in their group have taken their fill. When Alucard lets the body go, there is plenty of blood that has gone to waste. A matter done on purpose - that not even their blood is fit for consumption.
Those who helped hide the priest are already dead and consumed. Those who remain are reminded of consequences, and that is all. The group leaves, and Alucard returns to his chambers in the small hours. He and his father had a long discussion after everything, and that was more important than even washing off blood.
When Alucard does return, he takes the damned crown off and goes for the bath. Settles into the warm waters immediately and then:]
I'm back.
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Some days, he can't stand himself for staying here. If Alucard weren't the closest thing to family that he had-
-there's no sense taking that thought to its conclusion. Alucard is the only family he has. The castle makes sure that he can hear his voice even though the walls and without him shouting, and he heads for Alucard's rooms. Pulls his chair up next to the door to the washroom so they can talk without him entering. ]
Unhurt?
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[The one hurt Trevor can't protect him from. Not really. Alucard's voice sounds weary even through the door.]
We...talked for a while, afterwards.
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[ It's the sort of dismissive that makes it sound like he's trying really, really hard to be dismissive. The sort where he knows he's powerless. That being dismissive is the only option he has left. ]
About anything I ought to know about?
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