In the Light of Day

Two years after Trevor Belmont defeated Death itself, loneliness gets the better of the forgemaster, Hector, and he makes a very bold decision.

At a glance, the mess of components that covered Hector’s stone worktable might have given one the impression he was about to bake an enormous cake. It was mostly powdered substances of varying color, and a bucket of water. Though few would take pleasure tasting any of it. Save the water, he supposed. Since it was, well, water.

Much of these components could be used in the construction of a bomb, as well. And if this went wrong, which it most certainly would, he’ll have wished he’d done just that and blown himself to hell.

“Am I really gonna do this? If I don’t, it’s a waste, isn’t it? Most people would kill for this chance, and here it is, right at my fingertips. Or am I just making excuses, to commit heinous crimes against humanity, because I’ve been alone for two years?”

He was hunched over the table, looming, with his hands braced on the edge. Contemplating.

He chuckled to himself. “It’s the ol’ wizard’s trap. Isn’t it? We can, therefore we will. Ain’t magic wonderful.”

“God, I should have asked these questions before I did all this work.” Hector drew a small knife across his finger, letting the blood drip down onto the table, and then reached off to the side for his hammer. It felt heavier than usual. Oh, how symbolic. He took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

“Well, worst case scenario, she kills me, and I go down as the greatest f*****g forgemaster in history.”

Hector raised his hammer.

“Not quite so bad, really.”

He brought his hammer down upon the table, showering the gathered ingredients in blue sparks. This was going to take more than any simple f*****g demon. He brought it down again, searing the room with blue light once more. Again and again, he hammered away. Each time, the sparks and flame grew, gradually engulfing the components. Sweat was pouring down his face, and by about the hundredth swing, the components seemed to begin melting together. Hector had read before that caterpillars actually liquefied themselves in their cocoons, when they turned into butterflies. Rebuilding themselves from the ground up. He tried to just imagine that’s what was happening, and definitely not something horrible.

It was then, he reached down into hell, like he had hundreds of times, calling up damned souls to serve him. Only this time was different. He didn’t want some random demon. He didn’t want a servant. He scoured the pits of the damned for the one he sought, keeping her face clear in his mind. And d****t, if it didn’t hurt like, well… hell.

A new worst case scenario crossed Hector’s mind, where all this accomplished was pulling himself down to hell. He kindly asked that thought to f**k off, and attempted to refocus his mind back on his work.

It must have been an hour or more of swinging his hammer, blue fire blazing upon his work table. The components had combined into a grey goo, gathering into the vague shape of a human. Hector couldn’t believe it was working.

Well, almost. If he couldn’t find her soul soon, this would all be for nothing. And who knew what sort of catastrophe might arise, if this failed? He surely didn’t.

Demons fought for Hector’s attention every step of the way, trying to force their way in to claim the body he had prepared for them. It took all he had to block them out, and keep pushing through to find the soul he wanted. 

Maybe I should have bloody practiced a bit with blocking out demons, before I did this for real. Good ol’ Hector. A daft idiot every step of the way.

He was getting close. He could feel it. That’s what a lot of magic was, really. Feeling. You could write all the incantations and formulas you wanted, but when it came time to actually do it, it always came down to feeling. That’s why it was called magic, and not science.

Hector’s breath caught in his throat. She was right there. So close. The body was nearly a solid mass. There was no time left.

The forgemaster brought his hammer down with renewed vigor. And with it he brought his will down to hell, beating back the cloud of demons who wanted free. They did not disperse for long, but Hector would not give them more chances, hammering them with his will again and again, before they could block him. As he beat the demons away, he slipped his will through that gap in the cloud, as if reaching with his free hand, feeling for the purchase he sought. And he pulled with all his might.

Fortunately, Hector had some foresight, and had cushioned the wall behind him with a mattress, before beginning this procedure. So therefore he did not split his head open when his work table erupted, and sent him flying backwards.

The blue flames slowly died away, bathing the room in a deafening silence. The lanterns were still lit, casting their warm glow over the pale feminine form lying on his once blazing work table.

Hector was frozen. He didn’t even get up from the floor, his eyes just locked on her.

He didn’t even realize he’d been holding his breath, until he saw her chest rise with a deep gasp of life, her eyes shooting open revealing her blood red irises. She lurched upright, ginger hair cascading down her shoulders, as a coughing fit took her, and what looked like soot was expelled from her lungs.

“Lenore…”

“What… who’s there.” Lenore sounded understandably weary. Hector rose, staggering, caught off guard by his jelly legs, and draped a nearby blanket over her shoulders. “Hector…”

“It’s ok. You’re safe.”

“I was in hell…”

“Yes.”

“And now I’m not, anymore…”

“Yes.”

Lenore’s eyes were unfocused. Looking at nothing in particular, in the distance. Speechless. Hector just let her have her peace, as she sorted out her thoughts, and came to terms with where she was. Eventually, he got her up, and they moved out of his dingy workshop, and into a more comfortable space in the lounge. Lenore took a seat on the couch, in a large nightgown Hector had brought for her, along with some tea. He himself took a seat opposite her.

“Sorry about the loose fit. I didn’t actually know your size, so I played it safe.” Hector gave  half-hearted chuckle, casting his gaze to the floor. He felt the creep of shame up over his shoulders, as he wondered if he’d made a huge mistake.

“It’s fine. Thank you. It’s comfortable.” Lenore’s responses were clipped, and straight forward. She sipped the tea absently, her gaze also cast downward. “What… happened.”

He brought his eyes up slightly, barely looking at her. “I brought you back to life. Or… whatever you call it, for vampires, I suppose.”

Lenore’s brow furrowed, and she let out a slightly frustrated sigh, “Yes, I can see that. What did you do!” Her eyes were now fixed on Hector. “Look at me, Hector.”

He met her eyes, despite the welling shame. “I did what forgemasters do. Take damned souls from hell, and put them into new bodies in the world of the living.”

“So I’m a night creature now?” She closed her eyes, and sipped her tea once again. “A lost soul parading around in a bloody corpse, to be your little servant?”

“No no!” Hector’s eyes went wide, and shook his head fervently. “God no, it’s not like that! F**k, I’m an idiot…” He sighed, centering himself. “You’re not a night creature, you are yourself. You are Lenore. You are under no such compulsion to do anything I say, I made absolutely sure of that. And you are not just some reanimated corpse, either. I made your body from scratch. Pure as can be. As you, as you can be.” 

Lenore clutched the blanket on her shoulders, pulling it tighter around her, looking down again. “But I’m not me. I’m dead. I made sure of that.”

“I… Yes. I know.”

Lenore’s face scrunched up. She held herself back for only a moment, before making her thoughts known. “Then why did you bring me back? I accepted death, of my own accord! I walked myself out into the sun! YOUR last words to me were ‘Be free, Lenore.’, and yet here we are! So tell me, why!”

Hector could not meet her gaze. “I…”

“Look. At. Me.”

Though it seemed she would give him no choice, and so he forced himself to meet her eyes. His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were running with pain and betrayal.

“Because Isaac isn’t here. And even if he was, well, I don’t think he’d even care if you were back. Hell, he’d bloody invite us to dinner. I swear, he’s been getting cheerier every day. And… if there was a chance, I didn’t want to live out my life not knowing if it would work.”

“‘If it would work’? I’m your f*****g experiment to show off your giant wizard c**k? ‘Behold, the great Hector! Master of life and death, whether you like it or not!’” Lenore gestured grandly, and with much sarcasm.

“No no no! Oh, f**k me.” Hector pinched the bridge of his nose, “I mean I wanted to give you a chance. A chance at a life of freedom. One not subject to Carmilla’s schemes, or imprisonment in an empty castle. A life you could live for yourself.”

“I had my freedom, Hector. I took it for myself, from man, all on my own.” Lenore took a final sip of her tea, before crushing the cup in her hand. “And you thought you knew best, and sought to take that away from me.”

“Oh please, you expect me to believe you felt ‘free’ in f*****g hell?” That came out more aggressive than he would have liked, and the resulting glare from Lenore made his blood run cold. But before she lept for his throat, she instead crossed her arms, and shifted her glare off to the side.

“I knew what I was doing. The point is I made my own choice.”

“And you still can.” Hector pleaded, as he dropped from his seat, to his knees. “Lenore, of all the vampires in the world, you deserve to live. If f*****g Dracula gets to come back, and you don’t, that’s a crime I just can’t abide by.” 

Lenore suddenly became very attentive. “Dracula’s alive?”

“Yes. His wife as well. Isaac got a letter from him about six months ago. Along with one he was to forward to me. Drac- or Vlad, rather, is living in the north of England now. A quiet life. He’s very happy, or so he says. Invited me to dinner, even. When I got the chance.”

“Did you not go?”

“No. I was… too ashamed. Even if he had forgiven me.” Hector continued, “And after I got that letter was when I started working out how to get you back. Look, Lenore,” He slowly rose to his feet. “We both know you wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t at least some part of you that wanted to be. Like I said, you’re not a night creature. I didn’t pull you out of hell, only offered you a hand. You chose to take it.” Punctuating his point, Hector extended his hand to her.

Lenore’s face contorted slightly, in frustration. “Well if you were on bloody fire, what would your first reaction be when you’re handed a bucket? To take a moment to examine what’s in it, or who it was that handed it to you? Or would you just immediately douse yourself?”

Hector felt the shame creep over him even farther, looking away from Lenore. “You’re right...” He was startled when he felt something grab his hand, and turned to see Lenore rising to meet him.

“I mean, so are you. A part of me is happy to see you, and is glad to be back. It wants to just lay in bed with you all day, and forget about bloody everything.” Lenore reached down for a wooden candlestick sitting on the end table, picking it up, and running her fingers over it contemplatively. “And the other part wants to rip your damned throat out, break this candlestick in half, and stab myself in the heart.” Hector could hear wood creaking as her grip tightened on the candlestick.

He smiled at Lenore. “You can. I admit, what I did was selfish. I made a choice on your behalf. So at the very least, I can give you the chance to really make a choice. One where your back isn’t against the wall, with only one way out. One that is fair, like you deserve. And if you choose to end it all again, I will not stop you, or attempt to undo it. You have my word, and my life, should you decide to take it.”

A smirk crossed Lenore’s face. “Very well then. Thank you for this chance, Hector. I appreciate it.” Lenore quickly snapped the end off the candlestick, and pointed it directly at her heart.

“Whoa! Hold on!” Hector interrupted.

“What?” Lenore’s eyes flared with anger. “You JUST said the choice was mine! I was going to kiss you goodbye, and be all f*****g dramatic, you pig!”

“Well, there’s just a bit more, before you actually make a decision. Is all.” Hector slowly stepped back, both embarrassed, and scared.

“Just a bit more? What the f**k are you talking about? You JUST f*****g told me you wanted me to make a trulyfree choice, without my back against the wall! With nothing to shape it for me! F**k it, I AM going to kill you first!” 

Hector put his hands up,  as Lenore stepped toward him, “I just want you to make an informed decision! And that information should be here, any minute now…”

Lenore quirked an eyebrow as he trailed off, “What the hell are you talking about? What’s-” she was cut off by a knock at the front door.

“Oh! Well that’s convenient.” Hector made his way to the door, unlocking a very paranoid looking amount of locks, before opening it to reveal a pair of cloaked figures stood in the late morning sun. “Thank you for coming. Please, come in. Sorry you had to come in the daylight.”

“Hector, who are-” Lenore cut herself off as the two figures stepped inside, and removed their hoods. The larger of the two was an imposing woman of pale grey skin, and a massive mane of black hair that nearly blended with her cloak. The other wore immaculately done makeup upon her darker skinned face, and her hair was bound back, behind her.

“Lenore…” Striga said with surprise and relief, as she and Morana rushed to Lenore, who rushed to meet them in return, jumping into their arms.

Lenore’s voice had a slight tremble, “What…? How…?” 

Morana interjected, “We could ask the same of you! We thought you were dead!”

“Well, I was. But Hector brought me back.”

Striga shot a look over to Hector, “Wait. He did what?”

“It’s a long story, and a complicated procedure.” Hector gestured, defensively.

“Tell me what you did to my sister, forgemaster.” Striga fixed him with a very serious look.

“She’s not a night creature. You have nothing to worry about. She is herself, as much as she ever was. Please, don’t make me ruin the moment with wizard talk.

“Striga, please. It’s fine.” Lenor turned Striga back to her, and held the larger woman close. “God d****t, Hector. You complete b*****d.” She said in a voice somewhere better giggles and a sob. “You just had to make this hard.”

“Well whatever that complete b*****d did, I’m just glad it has returned you to us!” Morana took Lenore’s face in her hands. “But seriously, Lenore. What happened? Was it Isaac? Did he kill you?”

“No, no. Hector convinced him not to.” She took Morana’s hands in her own. “But… after he took the castle, he still didn’t trust me. He wouldn’t let me leave, so… I walked out into the sun.”

“Lenore…”

“I had to! I was not about to spent the rest of my life as some man’s prisoner!”

“You took your future into your own hands.” Striga interjected, solemnly. “Just as we did, when Carmilla was killed, and we abandoned the castle. I respect your strength, Lenore.”

“Striga!” Morana batted the larger woman on the arm.

“She did what she had to, Morana. And she would do it again, if need be.”

Morana looked at Lenore, with worry. “No… Lenore.”

“I can’t allow my choice to be stolen from me, Morana. It’s all I have in the end.” Lenore declared.

“What are you going to do, Lenore?” Morana asked, though it sounded more like a demand. “Are you just going to walk back out into the sun, while we have to watch? Your sisters?”

“Well…” Hector interjected.

Lenore put a frustrated hand to her forehead, “Oh for f**k’s sake, Hector! What did you do!?”

“It wasn’t by design!” He gestured defensively, which he was very used to doing today. “It’s just the magic that brought you back is, well… brand new. I used what I knew as a forgemaster, but had to change most of it. The whole process is just so different, from normal forgemastery, I have no idea what the side effects might be. Building the body from scratch, reaching for a specific soul, letting you choose to come back, removing the binding, giving you your original form and not that of some freak! Hell, even the chemical makeup! Especially the chemical makeup, really.”

“The ‘chemical makeup’? What is that supposed to mean?” Lenore took a few, intense, steps toward Hector. Her sisters fixed him with their own judging gazes.

“It means that, even though vampires come from humans, you are still different creatures. I know the chemical makeup of humans, alchemists figured that out a long time ago, but I don’t know vampires. I don’t know what the specific differences are, if any. And there wasn’t really an easy way to figure it out. So, I just used the chemical components for a human body. And a few drops of my blood, as well.”

Lenore, and her sisters, looked aghast. “So… what? I’m human now?”

“Not quite. You’re definitely a vampire, but there may be more human in you now. So it’s entirely possible sunlight might have a lesser effect on you. But we have no way of actually knowing at the moment.”

“Well, there is one way…” Lenore looked towards the door.

“Yes. There is.”

“My sisters. Could you give us a moment?”

“Lenore, please-” Morana pleaded, before Striga took her by the arm.

“Of course, Lenore. Come on, Morana. Give them some space.” And the pair left for the other room, closing the door behind them.

Lenore took Hector’s hands in hers, and looked right into his eyes.

“So. What are you going to do?” Hector asked.

“I was thinking a ‘trial by fire.’ To test your theory. Let fate decide, as it were. If I burn up, it wasn’t meant to be, and we just go back to where we were.”

Hector chuckled. “Yeah, and Morana comes out here, and kills me.”

“Well, that’s a risk I’m willing to make you take, you complete b*****d.” A smile crossed Lenore’s face. A happiness Hector had never seen in her before. Except for maybe just before she had burst into flames right before his eyes. 

“And what about if it doesn’t kill you? What then?”

“Then we are going to Dracula’s, for dinner.”

That look of embarrassment returned to Hector’s face. “Oh. Right.”

“Oh shush. We’re going. It’ll be good for you, and I’m not spending the rest of your life with you, while you’re all mopy about Dracula.”

“He goes by ‘Vlad’ now.”

“Ok, Vlad then, whatever. Just promise me you’ll go.”

Hector chuckled, despite himself. “I’m not sure I have much choice, but yes. I promise.”

“Good boy.” Lenore wrapped her arms around Hector’s waist, resting her head against his chest. “So. Your blood, was it?”

“Yes. My blood. How’s it feel to have me inside you, all the time?” Hector smirked.

“Oh, you pig!” Lenore scoffed at him, but to both their surprise, they began to laugh. It caught them so off guard, they laughed even more, and tears ran down their faces. Lenore wiped the water from her eyes, and composed herself. “So, Hector. Do you love me?”

“Of course, I do.”

“No. I need you to say it.” She looked up to him, watery eyes glistening in the light that peeked in through the curtains.

“I love you, Lenore. More than I have anyone else.” Hector replied, soberly.

“Oh, bullshit.” Lenore gripped Hector by the back of his head, and pulled him down to her. Their lips locked together, and did not part till their lungs gave out, and they separated, gasping.

“Do you believe me now?”

“You’re making a convincing case.”

“We could keep going, if that’ll convince you?” He leant down to meet her lips briefly, once more.

“I think I’d like that. But… I have something I need to do. And I want to have something to look forward to.” Lenore took Hector and pressed a last kiss to his forehead, before making her way to the door. She let her nightgown fall to her feet, and cast a final look to her forgemaster, with a smile.

“I love you, Hector.”

And so, Lenore opened the front door of Hector's home, and walked into the light.

Reviews

[wtp]

This was a pleasure to read. I never felt like I was lost, in spite of the expansive back story that was introduced piece by piece over the course of the story. There are some pieces that are never fully explained (like why going to Dracula's for dinner will embarrass the forgemaster) but they really weren't essential.

I especially liked the cliffhanger ending - will she or won't she burn?

Thanks for sharing.

[ABabblingBrooke]

Such flattering words! Thank you so much! (ToT)

[Aiwendil]

I love this! Great way to continue the depressive S4 which ruined Lenore and Hector's story.

Would mind please also post it on Archive Of Our Own? This site is a bit hard to access (because it requires registration).

Thanks!

[Shoto]

I loved it please continue the story🖤🖤🖤