Castlevania: Dracula's Laments

Author Notes: STEAK HAS BEEN CORRECTED!! LOL! Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 2
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"Let me go!!" The human struggles in my grip while I have him pinned to the bed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I have to punish you for trying to kill me in my sleep."

I was sleeping peacefully until someone attempted to stab me with a stake while I was sleeping. I instantly awoke to find Julius holding the stake in his hands, with rage burning in his eyes. He's so fiery. It's a shame he can't seem to direct his frustration and hormones to a more... productive purpose. The stake broke on contact, so no damage was done, but I still have to punish this cute little human.

"Seriously, I seem to recall you trying the same method of killing me yesterday. It didn't work out too well." He attempts to push me off with his legs, but he slips and I fall into missionary position. He looks up at me both in anger and in fear. Those emotions tend to go hand in hand with humans. I take this opportunity to bury my nose in his neck. He fights feebly, but his strength is no match for mine.

"Hmm... you smell good. No... actually... you smell heavenly."

"Get off of me!!"

"No." I state flatly. "You have to be punished for trying to kill me in my sleep." I lick his neck lightly. "What do you think would be a good place to start? The neck?" I nip his neck lightly to emphasize the point. He yelps and struggles more.

"No!! Get off of me you unholy beast!!" I've been called that a lot for some reason.

"You humans must feel so highly of yourselves when you speak so lowly of beings you don't understand." He tries to respond, but I cut him off. "If the words that were about to escape your mouth were along the lines of, 'we already understand your kind, demon,' then I rest my case. You still think that I drink blood to survive. That I can't go out into the sunlight. That by me biting, and drinking from a human, they become like me. You think that I keep slaves around my castle, that I can't withstand garlic, or silver, or crucifixes, or that nonsense you call holy water." Julius seemed very surprised by the new information he was receiving. That's not the only surprise he's going to get.

"Why do you think so many hunters before you failed in your endeavor? You cannot comprehend anything you perceive as evil, for that very reason." I draw my face closer to his so I can look into his eyes. There is so much fear and rage in his eyes.

"You have the potential to achieve great things. Don't waste it on fruitless campaigns like revenge." As I finished my sentence, I eased off of him and rolled to my side, attempted to go back to sleep. I could still feel the hunter's presence, his inner turmoil could be felt by anyone within a mile's radius. After an hour of sitting there, he slowly got up and left. I knew he wouldn't leave the castle. He's both young and confused, and he "knows" that the answers he needs are here in the castle, or more specifically, with me.

I didn't see the young hunter for a few days, but I know he was in the castle somewhere. I could smell him. I thought about tracking him down, but I figured he'd come to me sooner or later. Either on one of his revenge crusades, or on a more mature level, which one wasn't known to me, but he would come. And I was right. He came back to me, but not in the way I thought he would. Instead he kept himself hidden, observing me. Trying to find weaknesses he can exploit, no doubt. I decide not to play oblivious.

"You might as well show yourself. I can hear both your breathing, and your heartbeat." His breath hitched when I said that, but he, none the less, emerged from his hiding place. I turned to face him. My, he has one of the fiercest gazes I've ever seen. Had it been anyone else he was after, they'd surely be dead by now.

"I want answers." He tried to state calmly but somewhat failed. I simply sigh.

"Ask." I say flatly.

"Why did you kill my father?" His voice was shaky. He clearly didn't like the part that he was playing.

"Two reasons. First of all, it was self-defense. Secondly, it was fun." He tensed up at the latter part of my answer.

"Why haven't you killed me then!?" His calm demeanor was slipping by the second.

"Because I like you." He was clearly taken aback by my words.

"Do you remember what happened when you first came here?" He seemed to ponder on what I could be talking about.

"I decided to let you kill me. You tried in vain for hours on end, only to collapse in exhaustion. It was after that I decided to hypnotize you." I continued.

"You managed to break my hypnosis through sheer force of will multiple times when no human has ever broken it before. You're stronger and faster than any human I've ever laid eyes on. You're young, beautiful, and besides that..." I vanish then reappear behind him. Grabbing him into an embrace and burying my nose into his neck once again.

"You smell good." He doesn't try to resist this time.

"Why do you torment me like this!?" He manages to say. His body is shuddering and clearly enjoying the way I'm teasing his senses. I run my hands up his body, gently massaging every part of him I could get my hands on.

"Only a race as masochistic as humans could perceive pleasure as torment." He seemed offended.

"Human existence is built around pain. You feel pain when your hungry and are in need of food, because you wouldn't eat if you didn't feel pain. You wouldn't breath if you didn't feel pain in your lungs when you don't breath. You feel pain when your thirsty, because you wouldn't drink if you didn't feel pain. You work harder to make more money because you feel the pain of not having enough. You work harder to satisfy your lovers because you feel the pain of not being satisfied yourself, physically or emotionally. You work to satisfy others because the fact that they feel pain makes you feel pain."

"Humans that aren't as fortunate as others who are the victims of faulty economic decisions or natural disasters feel the pain of their losses, and as a result, you feel sorry for them. You pity them. And if you're not one of the few who can live with the fact that humans will always suffer regardless, then you will feel guilty knowing you didn't help them when you could have. You'll toss and turn in your bed at night, you'll think of their cries for help and their pain, and finally cave in and help them, assuming they are still alive, least you be consumed for the rest of your short existence by the pain that you subconsciously created."

Julius was offended deeply, but still continued to listen.

"You build your lives around failure, and the scorn of your peers. You build your civilizations in direct contradiction to your nature. You constrain yourselves to prisons of pain and grief, all the while screaming for freedom. The irony of it all is bittersweet."

"I don't want such a sad existence for you, Julius." He was taken aback once again by my words. I leaned his head back, and gently kissed him. He struggled and resisted, but soon relaxed. My arms snaked around him and pulled him closer. He relaxed again, and even began kissing back. I pulled back, letting him breathe.

"I want to make you like me." I say gently. He was very scared, but I managed to soothe him.

"I will not take you against your will. Instead, I want you to do something for me."

"And what's that?"

"I want you to go home and tell everyone you know there about me and your experiences here." He seemed both offended that I would ask him for a favor, and puzzled over the favor in question.

"Why?" He asked flatly.

"I want to prove to you that you belong with me, not stuck in such a sorry existence." I leaned in and kissed him again.

"I want you to be my lover."

"I'm not interested in men." He's clearly lying.

"You're getting aroused by another man's touch. You kissed a man back when he kissed you. You've told me while under hypnosis that you are homosexual. Need I continue?" Julius just sighed, defeated in that attempt.

"Why should I stay here with you!?" That old fire returning.

"You killed my father!!" What is with these humans? It's always, "you killed my father!!" I killed my father too, and you don't hear me whining about it.

"To tell the truth, Julius, I actually have a hard time believing that Simon Belmont was really your father." Julius seemed shocked that I would say something like that.

"What the hell does that mean!!?" Julius was mad... what else was new?

"Of all of the hunters that have come before me and fallen, Simon Belmont was the weakest of them all."

"So what!!?"

"You're the strongest human I've ever seen." He blushed somewhat at the compliment.

"Um... thank you...?" I nuzzled closer.

"Please think about my offer?"

"No. I'm leaving tonight." My heart, or what I have left of a heart, sank.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Well... have a safe trip home."

Later that night, he left as promised. Though I was saddened, I followed him home discreetly. I have a feeling that not only will his entire world crumble before him, but that he'll be back in my arms soon. I just hope the damage isn't irreversible....