Castlevania: Untested (11/27)

[patriciatepes]

Title: Untested
By: PatriciaTepes (AKA Patricia de Lioncourt @ fanfiction.net; PatriciaLouise @ TTH)
Chapter Title: All About Walter
Links to Other Chapters: Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine
Fandom: Castlevania
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Castlevania, any related characters, or the images used below.  Yes, Aly (of Aly & AJ fame) is my model for my main OC.  But please, don't let my inability to draw hinder your imagination, as Ria really doesn't look exactly like that. :)
Summary: Adriana Smith is just a normal girl...or so she thinks. However, as her mother and she move into a house known as Belmont Manor and a strange storm and decoration enter her life, she will find that her mother has not told her the truth of her family...
Author's Notes: So this chapter was a result from brainstorming with my BFF twisted_slinky, and my desire to improve my writing skills.  Namely, the skill of allowing the characters to learn what we, the reader, already know about from the canon without going through what you already know.  Hope it panned out. Oh, and there's a scene near the end here that is partly inspired by the novel Pamela.





Chapter 10: All About Walter

Sophy had not been happy when Ria had arrived home that night, sometime around midnight. Apparently, the talk with Alucard had taken longer than she had thought. Ria couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mother so angry. Sophy's heart-shaped face-the same shape given to her daughter-was burning red as the woman had stormed up to her before she could escape to her bedroom.

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "I've been worried sick!"

Ria's eyes widened. Of course her mother had worried about her before, but not as of late. Sara, standing to Ria's right, looked between the mother and daughter and shook her head.

"You should apologize, Ria," Sara said.

Sophy's eyes bored into her daughter's. Ria wiped away her wide-eyed look and crossed her arms in contempt. She turned her eyes to her left, to avoid both her mother's stare and Sara's.

"I was out, Mother. Why does it matter to you where I was?" Ria replied.

Sophy scoffed and threw her hands out to her sides, half-way into an "I-don't-know" position.

"Maybe it matters, young lady, because I am your mother. I have a right to know where my fifteen year old is at midnight!"

Scoffing, Ria moved around her mother to the staircase. And, although Sophy could not see her, it might have comforted her to know that Sara wore a similar expression of surprise, anger, and dismay on her face. Halfway up the stairs, Ria turned and shrugged.

"I've been going out almost every night these past few weeks. You're just now taking an interest? What happened? Did you read a new 'how to be a mommy' book?"

Sophy looked like her daughter had just threatened her life. With a disgusted sigh, Ria muttered, "Whatever," and finished the climb to her room. Once there, she slammed the door and set her bag-containing laptop and whip-inside her closet. She then began to peel off her clothes at such a speed that they might have been causing her body physical pain. By the time she was dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms and a mismatched, button-up pajama top, Sara was standing in a corner of her room.

"That could have been handled better. What would have been so wrong about telling her that you lost track of time at the café?" Sara scolded as Ria climbed under her covers.

"You're mad because I didn't lie to my mother?"

"Yes. Now, could you kindly explain to me why you're so mad? I think Sophy and I were both at a lost there."

Pulling the covers over her head, Ria grumbled, "We'll talk about it in the morning."

But in the morning, Ria-who was in a much better mood due to the fact that Sophy had left for town early in the day-did not feel like explaining herself to Sara. Instead, when asked about her reaction last night, Ria simply shrugged and replied, "Shouldn't we be training? She's gone."

With a shake of her head, Sara had agreed. So, Ria was once again in her sweats and tank, practicing her movements with the whip. Midway through her training, Sara sighed, circling the area Ria was practicing in.

"Very good, but we need better. Walter will be a formidable foe. You need to do your best and more, Ria," she said, crossing her arms and looking towards the house in a wistful way.

Ria cracked the whip at a low-hanging tree branch, breaking the limb cleanly from the rest of the tree. Turning, she watched as Sara appeared lost in thought. Shaking her head, she continued with training, using the fallen branch for practice. She wrapped the whip around it and threw it into the air. Then, with another crack, she split it in two. Then, with a cry, she split each half in half. Four pieces fell where there had previously been one. When she looked to the specter for approval, she was still looking the other way. Ria coiled the whip and carried it on her right shoulder, heading towards the house. This shocked Sara into response.

"Ria, where are you going?" Sara asked, following.

She walked up the stairs and into her room, putting the whip away inside her laptop case. Sara sighed.

"We are not going back to the café," Sara said, crossing her arms and stopping in the doorway as her trainee dressed. "Your mother isn't even back yet."

"Well, it's not like you're paying attention. And besides, I think I've mastered the tree. Maybe I should try a moving target?"

Sara blinked in surprise. Then, she smiled softly. "Okay. Later tonight, we'll go to the cemetery on the west side of town. Surely there will be a vampire victim rising. You can kill one that way."

Ria smiled brightly. She felt strange to have such a reaction to the prospect of engaging in a potentially fatal battle. However, she was glad that she could now put her skills into use. Sara nodded decisively.

"Yes, you're right. With this mission approaching, you should be preparing harder than ever. Walter is dangerous. Very dangerous," she muttered, appearing to give a shudder.

Ria shook her head again, slumping down on the side of her bed. "Sara, you don't have to keep saying that to get me to understand it. I got it. He's evil. As bad as Dracula. It scares the shit out of me just thinking about fighting him. But I know what I'm up against. I read all about it in the journals. Leon's account. Word for word. I got it."

But now Sara shook her head vehemently. Her lips were pulled tight and thin, and her eyes were wide.

"No, you don't have it. You have Leon's side of the story, which is bad enough. But you don't have mine. I was with Walter for about a week's time before Leon got to me. You don't know what happened."

Ria took a deep breath. It had never occurred to Ria to ask her ghostly companion to tell her own side of the story. Not her part of anything, least of all her kidnapping. Ria stood, stepping closer to Sara.

"Then tell me. I want to know. What did he do to you?"

Sara backed away as if Ria could actually reach out and grab her. "No. No. I couldn't…bear it."

"But I should know! You keep saying yourself, I don't know about Walter the way you do! Having you slide me tidbits while I'm fighting him isn't going to do me any good. I'll be dead that way, and you know it. Tell me, please, Sara."

But Sara was looking backwards, out of Ria's bedroom door. When she spoke again, her voice sounded strained, choked.

"I c-can't. It's just…too hard. Even after all these centuries."

"Please. I have to know. I feel horrible asking, really."

Sara looked at Ria, appearing to be searching her eyes. Finally, she shook her head.

"So like Sonia. She asked this of me as well. Her argument was closer to the same, as well, only no Walter involved that time. And just like now, I told her that I couldn't tell her. However…I did show her. But she was much older than you are now. There are…several things that I would hesitate in showing you."

Ria gave a half-smile. "But actually sending me up against the vampire lord is okay?"

Sara returned her smile. "I see your point. Okay, I'll show you."

Ria tried not to look too excited. After all, these were probably Sara's most horrible memories. But it was hard not to be excited. She was going to see Sara's history, which was-in a way-apart of her own.

"Okay," Ria said, feeling her nerves firing, "how do we do this?"

"Try not to look too happy, Adriana," Sara snapped.

Ria blushed. "I'm so sorry. It's just…I've never known much about any member of my family. My father didn't have any brothers or sisters, and his parents died before I was born. My mother had this whole history, and she never even hinted at it. I'm an only child. I've always felt…unimportant isn't the right word, but it's close. Lost or disconnected might be closer. I've always known that there was something strange about my mother…about me. It's just oddly comforting to be finally getting to the root of that feeling and finding out that I wasn't wrong."

Sara smiled sadly. Nodding, she said. "I understand. Shall we begin?"

Ria nodded. "What do I do?"

"Sit down. Then, I'll…well, sit on you. I'll blend into you, and you'll experience the memories I want you to see as if they happened to you. You'll say what I said, hear what I heard, see what I saw. But I'll distance myself enough so that you, thankfully, won't feel what I felt. At least, not the horrible, physical things I felt. I'll let you feel what I felt emotionally, as well as the tiny, physical things."

Ria's eyes brightened. "Like in that movie, Ghost. How he could possess people and use them to talk."

Sara's eyes narrowed. "Not quite. I can't actually make you do anything physical. And you won't move. In fact, you should lay flat. That way, you'll look like you're sleeping."

Ria obeyed, closing her eyes as soon as her head hit her pillow.

"Ready when you are," she said.

"Okay. Then I'll start at the beginning."

Ria didn't feel it happening. Suddenly, she just found herself sitting in a study, writing at a desk. There was a quill in her hand, and she was dipping it in an inkwell and writing words she couldn't read. Ria had no idea how to write so deftly with a quill. The room was lit with a harsh candlelight. She was surrounded by books and felt a swell of pride with each quill stroke.

Thank you, God Almighty, Ria thought a thought that was not hers. Thank you, Lord, that my father schooled me in the arts of reading and writing.

A knock from a far off room-the front door, Ria somehow knew-sounded against the night. She knew that there was no need to move from her desk. A maidservant would answer the door for the family. Moments later, such a young woman scuttled into the study and up to Ria, curtsying slightly.

"Miss Trantoul, Master Cronqvist is here to see you. He says that it is rather urgent," the maid said, never meeting her mistress's eyes.

Ria rose from her desk, thoughts of the girl's silliness going through her mind.

"But of course it is urgent, if he's out of bed. He's been ill, near death, since Elisabetha died!" Ria said, rushing around the girl.

Ria had not meant to say anything. Had not known what she would say. But the words had come just as easily as breathing. Like she had always known who Elisabetha and Master Cronqvist was. She had read about both in the journals, but she felt as if she had met them now. Known them, had had conversations with them. Ria rushed into the entrance hall of her-Sara's, Ria reminded herself-lush manor, a manor to rival that of House Belmont.

A man leaned against the frame of the still-open doorway to the manor. And Ria knew him in an instant, an odd feeling of unease pulling at the back of her mind. His long, black hair looked sinewy, in the way that a sick person's hair often did. He was pale, whiter than nature had ever intended anyone to be. His lips, once a bright, health pink Ria-Sara-remembered, were now ashen. He was fully dressed in a noblemen's garb, but simply standing was looking like quite a chore for him.

"Matthias!" Ria called, rushing forward to put his arm around her shoulders. "You should sit. You haven't any strength; you've been sick for so long!"

But Matthias lightly, weakly, refused to be moved.

"No," he croaked, as if he had had no water for days. "Something is wrong. You must come quickly, Miss Trantoul."

Ria arched a brow. "What is it? What's happened? Should I fetch my father?"

Matthias shook his head quickly, nearly sending him to the floor. Ria helped him to steady himself.

"No," he said again. "Leon's only requested you."

"Leon?"

"Yes. His ship arrived earlier than expected. Hours ago, but I've just received this news. He's ill, my dear. He's at the doctor's house and is not doing well. He asked to see only his beloved fiancée. You must come quickly!"

Ria felt her heart stop for a few precious seconds. Her darling Leon was ill…dying, quite possibly. She lost no more time. Nodding, she followed Matthias out of the manor, without so much as informing a servant as to her destination.

As soon as they had cleared the gates of Trantoul Manor, Ria looked around in wonderment. The town that was coming to know around her modern day home was so far away, separated by unpaved roads and forestation. And the forest itself, the great mass of it that her ancestors-Leon, Trevor, Simon, Christopher, Richter…all of them-had called Eternal Night, was so close to the approaching Belmont Manor, which looked, in essence, unchanged by the many centuries. Suddenly, Ria was struck with a feeling of confusion. Had Matthias not said that Leon was at the doctor's home?

"Matthias, we are going the wrong way, are we not?" she asked of the man leading the way, whose walk appeared stronger than he had seemed capable of moments ago.

"No. Belmont Manor is indeed this way," he replied.

Ria shook her head. "But, you said the doctor's home was where Leon was at."

At this, Matthias paused and turned to her. "Did I? Forgive me, I have not been well, as you know. The illness must have played with my memory. I meant Belmont Manor, my dear."

He turned and began the walk again, with Ria following unquestioningly. However, as they approached the gate to Belmont Manor, and Matthias did not slow, she began to grow uneasy. She stopped, briefly, only to be caught by the arm by Matthias, who pulled her on.

"What are you doing?" she asked as they approached the forest. "You said that you were taking me to Leon!"

He did not answer, pulling her through the barrier of trees. He pulled at her as Ria began to struggle, shocked at his apparent gain of strength, for she could not break free.

"Let me go!"

Matthias stopped suddenly, still not looking at her. He looked ahead, as if he were looking into a certain room in a home, although it looked like nothing but more forest to Ria.

"I have her," he called into the night. "This is Lord Leon Belmont's love, and he will come for her."

Ria stared at him, her eyes narrow. Suddenly, a rather large, black bat hovered before the two. She gasped as the bat went from its present form into that of a man with long red hair, crimson armor, and a wicked look on his pale features.

"Well, done, Lord Cronqvist. I shall have much fun with this game," the creature boomed.

The creature reached out for Ria, who seemed to have lost her voice, when Matthias jerked her out of reach.

"You will keep your bargain, Walter. I will be made a vampire!" he demanded.

"What?" Ria gasped. "Matthias, you can't mean that!"

He ignored her as Walter laughed.

"When my game is completed, Cronqvist. No sooner. And that was part of the bargain, if you will remember. Now, give me the woman and complete your part."

"No…" Ria begged quietly. "Matthias, don't…Leon…he's your friend…I am your friend. Don't do this!"

There was no remorse in the dark haired man's features, and he made no apologies. Ria screamed as she felt Walter's icy hand grabbed her by the hand and pull her into him. He smiled down at her.

"Sleep, girl," he said, placing his other hand over her eyes.

Things were black for a moment. Suddenly, Sara's voice-like someone whispering in Ria's ear-broke in.

"It just gets worse, Ria. Are you sure you want to continue?" she asked.

"Yes," Ria whispered, not sure if she said it or thought it.

Her sight returned to her, blurry at first, then clearing. She was in a prison-like cell. The floor she was lying on was damp and cold and stone. She could hear water running in the distance. The only light was a handful of small candles, in a room that was fairly large. She sat up, shivering with the sudden cold she felt.

"Hello?" she called tentatively.

"Well, hello there, human," slithered a voice from the darkness.

Ria jumped to her feet, hugging her arms about her.

"Who are you? I can't see you. Where am I?"

Out of the shadows stepped a man-a vampire, Ria corrected herself-as pale as Walter had been. His hair was long and white, and he was dressed in fine, navy robes. He smiled at her in the way Ria imaged a snake might smile at its food.

"You've been brought to Hell on this earth, child. And so young…you will wither here, flower," the vampire answered, stepping towards her.

Ria drew herself up and backed away to the door, which was metal and rusted almost to the point of being stuck shut. She turned, beginning to beat at the door.

"Let me out!" she shrieked into the darkness she could see through a small window in the door-small enough for only eyes to peek through.

The vampire began to laugh as Ria turned, pressing her back up against the door again. His laughter grew until he was bent double with it. Anger bubbled up within her, and she took two steps forward.

"Stop it! Nothing is funny about this, you monster!" she yelled at him, instantly gasping and pressing her hands over her mouth.

The vampire's laughter reduced itself into chuckled until he only grinned at her. Shaking his head, he bowed lightly.

"You asked my name? I am Joachim Armster, pathetic girl. Do lowly animals even have names?" he said, chuckling.

Ria felt the anger again, but suppressed it. "I assume you are asking my name? It's Sara. Sara Trantoul."

It should have felt strange to call herself Sara, but Ria had heard the name flow through her lips as if her name had always been such. Joachim bowed again.

"And what does-" and here, he grimaced, "Walter want with such a pretty girl? Another one of his games? He does so love to play. Be warned, he cheats."

Joachim moved away a few paces from Ria and sat down upon the stone floor, his back to her. Ria blinked a few times, then took a few steps closer to him.

"So…you don't intend to hurt me?" she asked.

Joachim laughed again, cutting it off sooner than he had before. Turning towards her, he smiled.

"Me? No, not me. It's Walter you have to fear. I'll not touch you…although…"

Joachim stood and moved so quickly that he had backed Ria up against the door once again, and was putting a hand against her cheek. His face was inches from hers and his hand was colder than ice.

"Although…I should love another shot at Walter…draining your precious blood would be useful to me in that way," he whispered.

"Don't," she whispered back.

It wasn't a plea. It wasn't a demand. It simply was how she felt. Joachim smiled at this statement, tapped her lightly on her nose with his right index finger, and backed away to sit on the floor-facing her this time.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, leaning against the door. She turned her head to the right, her eyes downward.

"He'll do horrible things to you," Joachim said, matter-of-factly. "Just dreadful things."

Ria closed her eyes and held them that way for a moment. Then, she nodded.

"I know. But I will endure. All I have to do is endure…until Leon comes for me," she said, crossing her arms and reopening her eyes.

Joachim grinned his serpent's grin. "He will, will he? And who is this Leon? Your lover?"

Ria felt a blush rise in her. "My fiancée," she hissed. "Not my lover. We are a pure couple, waiting for marriage, as God decreed."

Joachim let out a cackle, shaking his head. "What makes you so sure that one so…unattached to you will come? All the two of you have exchanged are words. Empty, meaningless, promises."

"He loves me," she said, without hesitation.

Joachim eyed her up and down. "Does he love you…or your dowry, child?"

Ria looked down at herself, realizing for the first time that she was in the same, blue dress that Sara always wore. Her hair and body felt the same, but her outfit was quite different. When she looked back at the vampire, she was glaring.

"He loves me. There's no question! He will come for me."

Suddenly, Joachim was staring past her at the door in a way that instinctually told her to step forward. When she turned, she heard the approaching footsteps.

"Here's the one that truly comes for you," Joachim said, retreating back into shadow.

Ria could only stare in horror as the door opened and in stepped Walter, followed by two skeletons dressed in silver armor and helmets with dual horns protruding from either side. The skeletons each took one of Ria's arms and walked her up to Walter. He bent to put his lips almost right upon her ear. She gasped, her face twisting into a scowl.

"Let's get to know one another," he whispered. Then, straightening himself, he ordered the skeletons to take her away.

Ria lost count of the rooms and halls they led her through, Walter following behind. It seemed to take forever until, finally, they arrived at a mostly empty room. This room was brightly lit by numerous candles and its only possession were shackles handing down from the ceiling. The skeletons led her forth and stopped just before the shackles. As they reached for the chains, to clasp them about her wrists, Walter bade them to wait a moment.

He approached Ria from behind. Bending to whisper again, he said, "I would absolutely hate to ruin such a lovely dress."

The dress's tight corset top loosened. She felt Walter's hands rest on her shoulders for a moment, then suddenly, her dress was pulled down until the top half of her was exposed. Ria felt a hot blush cover her body as the skeletons locked her wrists into the shackles, raising her arms above her head. One of the skeletons moved behind her as the other and Walter moved to stand a ways in front of her.

"I was bored," Walter said with a sigh. "Then I was thinking of how rude a host I must be. You've been here for hours, and I have not even inquired as to your well-being. Nor have I made any attempts to get to know you. Cronqvist mentioned your name is Sara, and as you must know, my name is Walter. What kinds of things do you like, Miss Sara?"

Ria bit her bottom lip, aimed her eyes at the wall above Walter's head, and said nothing. Walter smiled an almost pleasant smile.

"Shy? No matter. Do you know what I like?"

Again, she said nothing. Walter continued, regardless.

"I like blood, Sara. And do you know my favorite way to obtain blood, Sara? Pain, my dear. I like to see blood following pain…especially from beautiful maidens such as yourself. So, I'm going to indulge in that which I like. Do try to be enjoyable."

Ria heard the crack of a whip, but felt nothing. However, she still made a face of pain and cried out. Another crack, another scream. But she still felt nothing, actually. This must have been what Sara had meant. She would keep Ria from feeling Walter's tortures. The whipping continued, Walter's smile growing wider-and perverse. And Ria continued to mimic the reactions Sara had had so long ago to the intense pain that she now shielded Ria from. Tears were rolling.

There was a brief pause as Walter raised his hand and stepped up to her. He put a finger against one of the slashes left by the whip, and she screamed as he ran it all the way up the open flesh. Then, he put the bloodied finger to his mouth and licked off the blood. His eyes closed and he groaned pleasurably.

"There is no finer vintage than a virgin's blood. A little longer, girl, then I shall return you to your cell," he said, stepping back.

With a nod from its master, the skeleton continued. Ria screamed and screamed. Then, several whips later, she felt one connect with her flesh, with real pain. This time, the scream was more than justified.

"I'm sorry!" whispered Sara's voice in Ria's ear. "I got swept up in the past. It won't happen."

"That's okay," Ria replied.

Walter began to circle around Ria until he stood behind her. The whipping, however, had not been ordered to be stopped. Suddenly, Ria's face made a different expression. It was still one of pain, but it was not as shocking as the pain of whipping. Suddenly, everything went black again.

When Ria regained consciousness, she was laying on the floor of the cell again, fully dressed. Her back stung so badly, that she raised herself into a sitting position as quickly as she could, although she desperately wanted to rest her weary limbs.

"Tck, tck, tck," Joachim, standing over her, clicked his tongue at her. "Such a beating. I have a respect for you, girl. Most humans would still be unconscious."

Tears were leaking down Ria's face, but she was not sobbing. She shook her head.

"What if Leon doesn't come? What will happen to me?" she whispered.

Joachim sat down beside her. "He will come. That's the whole point Walter has you."

Ria looked at the vampire strangely.

"Moments ago, you were saying that Leon would not come. What's changed?"

He shook his head.

"I've seen your strength. Only a strong man would pair with you, and no strong man would let his fiancée go willingly. He will come."

Ria couldn't help but smile at Joachim. "I hope you're right."

Days, at least four or five, passed in this manner. Ria would be sent for, whipped or physically tortured in some way, and be returned to the cell, where Joachim would play the unlikely angel and reassure her that Leon would come for her. However, these days seemed like moments to Ria, as Sara played them through her mind. The memories slowed once more, however, as the night of what must have been the fifth or sixth night, arrived. Ria was pacing in front of Joachim, who was smiling wickedly at her. Walter had not yet come for her this night.

"Leon will come. I know it! I feel it! He's on his way now. He might even be in the castle tonight!" she said.

It was not a mantra. It felt like fact to her. She was lecturing Joachim on the truth of his reassurances of days past. The two were in the center of their cell.

"Tonight. He could be here tonight, fighting his way through for me."

Suddenly, the door opened. Walter chuckled as Ria whirled to face him, trying to look resolute.

"Oh, child, he will come for you soon," Walter said, a dark mirth underlying his voice. "But it doesn't matter. He will come not to save you."

Ria scoffed and stepped defiantly towards the master vampire. She could feel Joachim's curious gaze on her back and heard him pull himself to his feet.

"Why else would he come? He'll save me, killing you, you hell spawn!"

Walter approached her, placing an icy hand on her cheek. "It is too early for you to be feeling the effects, since I've only bitten you once. But it will happen, regardless. You are tainted, Sara. You'll become a creature of the night. A vampire."

Ria shook her head and withdrew from Walter's touch. From the cell's still-open door walked in two succubi, one with vibrant blond hair and the other with vibrant red. Both had their leather-like wings folded about their shoulders and were so scantily clad in barely covering corsets, that Ria wanted to blush for them. They stopped on either of Walter's sides, just behind him.

"You're lying!" she shrieked at Walter, convinced.

"I sank my fangs into your delicate skin the first night I tortured you, dear. And your blood flowed freely into me, until you lost consciousness. A single bite will turn you…but more slowly than three or the exchanging of blood. It's much more agonizing."

"No," she whispered.

"Grab her," Walter ordered.

Both succubi did as directed, carrying a kicking and screaming Ria towards the door. However, the group was stopped as Joachim approached Walter.

"I gave her hope," he said to Walter. "Just as you asked. I built up her hope, so that you could rip it away. I was promised freedom. Your word!"

Walter laughed and placed a hand on Joachim's left shoulder.

"I lied," he said, pushing Joachim so hard that the vampire's body flew across the room into the stone wall at the back of the cell.

Walter gestured and the succubi continued out of the door. The group did not stop until they had reached a room high in one of the castle's towers. Inside, was a lavish, black-dressed four-poster bed. The succubi threw Ria down upon it, each taking a side, and held her down. She lifted her head to stare at Walter, who stood at the end of the bed.

"You're lying," she said again, but with less confidence this time.

Walter smiled. "You'll know soon enough. But, until then, ponder this…"

Ria felt a cold hand slide up her leg, under her dress. Her eyes widened, and she gasped, trying to struggle.

"If I'm lying, then this is undeserved punishment. You are an innocent. But if I'm not, and I'm not, then you should enjoy this. You're a monster, a demon from hell, who deserves to be treated like a lowly whore," he said, sliding his hand up further. Then, with another smile, he added, "Don't worry. I'll only use my hand."

Everything went suddenly black, but Ria was sure that Sara had not lost consciousness in this memory.

"I won't show you the rest of that, Ria. You're too young," Sara's voice whispered.

"That's okay. I'm not sure I wanted to live that anyway. But I don't understand…"

"What?"

"Why did he do…that? He had no attraction to you, did he? Why would he…do that?"

Ria heard Sara sigh. She could almost imagine the sad look welling up in her eyes.

"He wanted me to feel shameful. Ashamed because I was feeling pleasure in my darkest moment…and not with Leon."

Ria nodded, once again not sure that she physically did the action. But she could find no words to comfort her friend. Sara sighed again.

"Just one more memory, Ria," she said. "A short one."

The scene faded back into sight. Ria was back in the cell, with Joachim sitting on the opposite side of the room. She was huddled into a corner. At least two nights had passed since that awful experience with Walter. And she felt strange. She was colder than usual. The cell was growing brighter, and no more candles had been added. And she felt thirsty in such a way that it was like it might never be quenched.

Ria knew. She knew it now. Walter was right. She was going to become a vampire. She still harbored a tiny glimmer of hope within her, but the flame of that candle was so tiny that it was practically nonexistent and the molten wax was swallowing it. The cell door opened. Walter's frame stood before her.

"Come, child. It's time to return you. Your beloved Leon awaits you," he said.

Ria did not even question. She was a void. She stood without struggle and followed Walter out of the cell.

And it was dark. Not the dark of Sara taking her out of memories or losing consciousness within the memories. It was the kind of dark that let Ria know that she was back in her own room, on her own bed, in her own body, with her eyes closed. She could not open them. Not yet.

"Ria?" came Sara's voice, worried. "Ria, are you all right?"

Ria felt a hot tear roll from the corner of her eye and down the side of her face.

"That monster…I can't believe he did that to you. I can't believe you went through all of that," she said, her throat tight and her eyes still closed.

Sara said nothing. Suddenly, Ria's eyes flew open. She saw Sara staring down at her, confused. But she was determined.

"Walter is so dead!"