Chapter One: Part 1

A Chapter by LyzaGrey

The frosty Haven air nipped at the tips of Alucard’s ears and nose, painting them a frigid pink. The trees, looming overhead, were barely visible through the clawing shadows of the oncoming night. Despite the lack of a visible sky, Alucard knew a storm was coming; he could feel it in the ominous silence of the forest creatures, and hear it in the whisperings of the lonely wind.

Though he hoped to make it to the nearest Inn before the thunderous rain came crashing down on him, Alucard pushed through the glowing entrance of the Golden Rabbit sopping wet head to toe. The water in his black, leather boots squished between his frozen toes as he made his way to the Innkeeper’s desk across the quiet room.

Candles blazed from every corner, and the air smelled of pine and sage. The innkeeper was sitting in a cracked, wooden chair, his head drooping as he muttered incoherently. When Alucard flipped his red and silver coat off and slammed it on the counter, with all the intention of waking the old man up, he cleared his throat.

“Single.”

The man was still half asleep as he pulled himself off the chair, clearly upset with being woken up, and pulled a key off a hook behind him and handed it to Alucard harshly.

“There you go, room for one, you lonely sod. First door on the left up the stairs,” the man grumbled as he returned to his chair and instantly fell back into his sleep.

Alucard was relieved to find freshly, boiled water already in the wash basin, and a toasty fire lit in the little fireplace that occupied the wall opposite the bed. As he peeled the now skin-tight black shirt off, he noticed the many gashes and bruises from an earlier encounter with demons in the West Woods. He’d won the fight, but not without getting a little dirty. He always got dirty, but he never lost, he couldn’t afford to.

Alucard pulled Ares from the leather strap on his back and stared at his reflection in its blade. He looked tired, and his shaggy white hair was pasted to his neck and forehead. Dark circles had formed under his slate grey eyes, making him look deathly; making him look as dangerous as the life-long companion he wielded in his hands now. Alucard traced his slender fingers across the intricate designs that trailed down the wide blade, cutting it in half. There was a story with this demon slayer, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

Setting the sword aside, and laying his clothing as close to the fire as he could without letting them catch ablaze, Alucard washed his face and blew out the candle that sat beside the head of the bed on a night dresser. Pulling the sheets back and sliding inside the warm blankets, he shut his eyes, and once again, prayed for sleep.

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