Castlevania: Trials (2/27)

[patriciatepes]

Title: Trials
By: PatriciaTepes (AKA Patricia de Lioncourt @ fanfiction.net; PatriciaLouise @ TTH)
Chapter Title: No Answers
Link to Chapters: Prologue
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. :) I also don't own the images in the fanart below.  And please don't judge that piece too harshly... it was one of my first ones.
Summary: Sequel to Untested. Ria's survived the first test of her abilities inside Castlevania itself. However, when a new, more powerful baddie appears, looking for the key to Castlevania's power, is she in over her head?
Notes:  In total, there will be four stories in this saga.  The first is called "Untested," this one is "Trials," then "Tribulations."  I'll reveal the name of the fourth one in the future.  Until then, enjoy!





Chapter 1: No Answers

The museum smelled of dust and too much of that "safe" cleaner. And floor wax. It smelled of quite a bit of floor wax. The museum guide walked backwards, pointing at various objects behind glass, the fluorescent light bouncing merrily off of his name tag and obscuring his name in the process. The guide was droning on and on…in voice that clearly stated, "I'm so bored with this," and talking about basically the same thing that was on the little plaque by the glass-protected item. And the teacher leading his students around was nodding as if he were in the middle of an inspiring church sermon. Any moment, Adriana Smith-Ria, to friends and family-expected to hear him say, "Preach it, son!"

Not that Ria heard any of it. She was currently too busy listening to, discreetly, her mp3 player. She had her jacket-really too light for the winter weather sweeping the area-zipped up all the way, her ear buds' cord hidden under it. She would have pulled up the hood to cover the rest, but she had cut her blonde hair a little longer-about a half an inch to an inch past her chin-than she usually did, but keeping it still the same, sharp cut. Her blue eyes were almost glazing over with boredom and her own personal brand of daydream-which was a common occurrence every time she listened to the mp3 player. She was keeping her eyes just open enough to make sure she didn't get left behind in the group. Not that she didn't know her way around…she just didn't want it to stand out that much that she wasn't paying attention.

If she had known that field trips to this museum were common amongst her new school's sophomore history class, she would've opted to not take advantage of her mother's, Sophy Smith, job. Sophy, who used to work more on the forensic side of history, had settled into a job with the museum's cataloguing department, calling the new position, "a much needed break." This, of course, had allowed Ria to take as many trips through the museum as she had wanted. Which was a nice, quiet alternative way to spend out the last few weeks of summer she had had left after-what she was now lovingly referring to as-her smack-down with Dracula. She took Sara with her often, until the whip-bound ghost woman had begun to complain of visiting the museum too much. Ria had thought this sort of contradictory to Sara's lot in her afterlife. After all, how many times had the woman-in the form of the Vampire Killer-been to Castlevania? But Ria hadn't argued and had, instead, starting bringing Isaac along, who was a lot more interested in the place than he often let on.

Currently, while Ria dwindled away the last few hours of her school day-a teasing Thursday-in the museum, Sara-and thus, the sacred whip-and Isaac, who had been living with the Smiths since the defeat of Walter, were at Belmont Manor, awaiting a planned training session later that night. Ria often amused herself by trying to imagine what the two of them did when no one was around. Isaac couldn't see Sara-but, from what all were guessing was constant exposure to Ria, he was becoming more increasingly aware of her presence than what he had previously been-but Sara could see him. Ria found it funny to imagine Isaac checking over his shoulder after every move he made, terrified that Sara would report him to Ria.

Okay, so "terrified" was maybe too strong. But, after all, Ria was simply amusing herself.

Ria was still lost in her own daydreams when she suddenly felt something that felt suspiciously like an elbow dig into her side. She blinked, narrowing her eyes in annoyance, and turned in the direction of the nudge. She found herself face to face with Keisha Stone, a fellow sophomore and the only friend Ria had been able to make so far. Her hair was what Ria called, "Beyonce hair." Which meant that it was long, fell in half-curls, and was dyed a reddish blonde that complemented her mocha skin-tone well. Her brown eyes were wide and she made a quick motion to signal for Ria to remove at least one of her ear buds.

"What?" Ria said, taking out only one ear bud and being extra careful to make sure she was only whispering.

"Looks like the new exhibit is finally up, Ria. The one you were telling me about," Keisha said, pointing in the direction of the tour guide and their teacher.

Keisha, like Ria, was an American who had been transplanted to Romania. She was an "army brat," meaning that her father, as a member of the U.S. army, often got moved around a lot. He had recently gained rank, as Ria understood it, and her family had been moved here while her Father oversaw the building of a new U.S. military base. Keisha was taller than Ria, by an inch or two, but about the same body size. Now, she had her long arms, currently clothed in a purple sweater, pointing emphatically ahead.

"Look," she commanded.

"All right, all right," Ria said, turning.

And her jaw dropped. Up on a display dais before her classmates was a large throne, constructed of bleached white bones and blood-red velvet lining. Its feet were carved like a demon's claws and two skulls decorated the end of each armrest. Ria felt her stomach curl and her jaw stick in its position of "dropped." Keisha leaned sideways, her eyes on throne and not her friend.

"Creepy, isn't it?" she whispered.

Creepy didn't cover it. Ria knew this throne. She knew it all too well. Against her will, the very sight of it conjured up memories of her fight with the vampire king Dracula, the owner of the throne. She had ended up slamming into the throne on more than one occasion during that fight. Involuntarily, she now reached around and began to rub her back. Then, shaking her head, she knew she had to get answers. She pulled on the ear bud still in, muttering an almost inaudible, "ow!" at the small pop it made coming out and threw her hand into the air. This caught not only her teacher by surprise, but also the tour guide. The young man blinked and cleared his throat, before pointing her out in the crowd.

"Yes? You have a question about this piece?" he asked, gesturing to the throne.

"Um, yeah, um," Ria stuttered, trying to figure out what she was going to say first.

After all, she couldn't very well ask, "Hey, do you guys all know that we're staring at the evil Count Dracula's throne?" Could she? She shook her head free of the crazy thought and continued.

"Where did it come from?" she asked.

A few of her classmates tittered and Keisha shook her head. The tour guide ran a hand over his shortly cut brown hair.

"Um, we don't know. I already said that, miss," he said, but in a voice that showed his clear self-doubt.

The tour guide's confidence was restored when Ria's history teacher, Mr. Hamm, said, "If you had been paying attention, Miss Smith, you would have heard this young man say just that earlier."

More tittering. Ria ignored it and, most visibly, rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, sir. I meant where did the museum get it…was it shipped in? Found locally?" she asked.

The class laughed again, but it wasn't at her. This time it was at the sheepish looks appearing on Mr. Hamm's and the tour guide's faces. Ria fought down a sarcastic smirk and kept her face as straight as possible. She needed to seem indifferent if she was going to find out anything about it. Get too sarcastic, and all she'd wind up with would be detention. The guide cleared his voice again.

"Um, it was found locally by one of our archaeologists. It was found a little ways inside the forest, amongst a lot of ruins. I hope that answers your question. Now, any more?"

But Ria's hand was in the air again. The guide had to choke down a groan. "Yes?"

"Was there anything else nearby? Other than the ruins?"

"Like what?" the guide asked.

Ria faltered, trying to look for a neutral way to make her next inquiry.

"Um," she began. "Maybe a castle or…or bones, or something like that?"

Now her classmates were interested, and all were almost glaring the tour guide down. Keisha stared at Ria, as if trying to read her mind and figure out why she was suddenly so interested in the field trip.

"No. Just ruins, that had fallen several, several years ago," the tour guide said, and the class, as a whole, gave small groans. Clearing his throat once more, the guide added, "Now, if you will all follow me as we continue…"

And he, Mr. Hamm, and the class moved on. Ria, however, simply moved forward to gaze up at the demonic throne. Keisha stepped up beside her, looking between the throne and her friend.

"That was crazy, Ria. Why were you asking all that?"

Ria smiled a little. She had learned real fast that Keisha didn't beat around the bush when she wanted answers, and Ria admired that. Without being able to tear her eyes away from the throne, she answered, "I don't know. I just find it interesting…that's all. And Mom never mentioned it to me. God, that tour guide knew nothing, did he?"

Keisha laughed. "Well, he only knows what they told him. Hey, maybe you can just ask your mom about this?"

Ria pursed her lips. That was actually a really good idea. She nodded.

"Yeah. I'll ask Mom. Man, they could really use her in the forensic part of this place again."

"Why do you say that?"

"Huh?" Ria said, jerking herself away from her thoughts. "Nothing. Come on, Keish, let's catch up with our class before Hamm blows a vessel."

Keisha laughed and the two scurried onward, Ria's thoughts preoccupied the whole way.

#

Ria arrived at Belmont Manor at a little after three in the afternoon. Her class had left the museum, via bus, and had arrived back at their school just in time for the day's final bell to ring. She had said her good-byes to Keisha and all but ran to her car, a Kia Rio-a used little thing, its red paint having lost some of its shine and having gained a few scrapes along the passenger-side door. Getting her driver's license had been priority one after defeating Dracula. And Sophy had been so happy to have her daughter alive that she had come home the weekend after the vampire king's defeat with the Rio, which ran like new.

She shut the driver's side door a little harder than she had intended to and crunched her way over dead leaves until she arrived inside her home. She wiped her feet quickly and made her way to the base of the staircase.

"I'm home!" she shouted up it. "Mom? Where are you? I wanna ask you something!"

"I'm up here!" Sophy shouted back. "I'll be down in a minute!"

Ria nodded and headed into the living room, and gave a sort laugh at what she saw there. Stretched across the long sofa, his feet propped up on one arm of it, was Isaac. He had pushed his crimson hair back out of his eyes-which made for a funny poufy effect, as it was quite shaggy-and his eyes were locked on the television ahead. He was dressed in his typical black leather pants and black, silk button up shirt. However, he currently had no shoes on and the paleness of his feet seemed to shine in the darkened room. Shaking her head, Ria walked over and turned on the wall switch with no warning, causing him to groan and hiss at the light. Ria laughed and took a seat in the recliner set just a little bit to the side of the sofa.

"Where's Sara?" she asked, scanning the room and finding no sign of her ghostly friend.

"She was here a minute ago. Then she left," Isaac drawled lazily.

Ria rolled her eyes as she kicked her shoes off and pushed them aside. "I see that. And, by the by, I can see you've had a productive day."

Isaac glared up at her, and said, with a sneer, "I'll have you know that I've done much today. In fact, I just finished my own personal training regiment not mere minutes before your arrival."

"Well, you've gotten mighty comfy in those mere minutes."

"Well, I do work and play hard."

Ria shook her head and turned as the sound of heals on the hardwood flooring of the manor called her attention to the threshold between the living room and the entrance hall. She was a little surprised to see her mother standing there, dressed in a simple black dress that came down just a little past her knees, placing gold earrings upon her ears. Her blonde hair was pulled back and clipped, accentuating her heart-shaped face. Her make-up was looking expertly done, and she looked like she was in some sort of hurry.

"Something going on at the museum tonight, Mom?" Ria said, standing.

Sophy looked up and blinked. Then, with a soft smile, she said, "No. I…um…I'm going out. With someone."

At this, Isaac rose up and looked over the back at the sofa at Sophy.

"You look quite splendid, Sophy," he said.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Isaac."

Suck up, Ria thought. Out loud, she said, "Yeah, Mom, you do. So…you have a date?"

At this, Sophy's brow furrowed with concern. After her kidnap by Walter, Sophy and Ria had finally managed to find a peaceful harbor for their previously stormy mother-daughter relationship that had followed the death of Ria's father, Jared. Now, the two of them had a standing agreement to keep each other informed about everything important going on in their lives. However, Ria had not been informed about this.

"I should have told you. I'm sorry. I can cancel, if you're not okay with this. Because I want you to be okay with this…I mean, after all, it's only been a year since your father's-" Sophy began to ramble, but Ria cut her off.

"No. You should. Go, that is. Out on your date, and have fun. I mean, life goes on…I'm cool with it. Really. Just surprised," Ria said.

She smiled, trying to reassure her mother, trying to convince her that she was telling her the truth. Which she was, albeit just holding back some. After all, it was strange to see her mother going out on a date…but life does go on.

"I should have told you," Sophy said simply.

"It's fine, Mom. Really. You've been busy this week, what with that new exhibit and all…it probably just slipped your mind. Is he coming to pick you up?"

"No. I thought it best that I find out if he's as nice as he seems before I introduce you to him. Besides, he had to work late at the museum tonight," Sophy answered, inspecting her black heels. "Do these look okay? They're kind of old."

"They look like new, Mom. And he's a co-worker?"

"Yes, he is. Now…I've got to go. Give me a kiss," Sophy said, leaning forward as Ria kissed her mother's cheek.

Sophy turned to leave, only to stop short. "Ria, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Ria blinked. She opened her mouth, about to mention the throne. Her mother looked so excited…if not a little nervous…about her date. With a smile, Ria shrugged.

"It's not important. I'll ask you later. I'll be out training tonight, by the way," she said.

"I know. Isaac told me that you and Sara had set that up. Oh, do you know I've started catching glimpses of her? Like out of the corner of my eye. Blue dress, black hair, with a sort of halfway Princess Leia look?"

"Yeah!" Ria said excitedly. Then, sighing, she laughed and added, "Go on, Mom! Have fun!"

Sophy laughed and nodded, finally making it out the door. Ria sighed and turned, coming face to face with Sara.

"Ah! Well, speak of the devil…or of the whip-bound ghost," Ria said. "Have a nice day?"

Sara smiled. "Yes. I kept following Isaac around to make him paranoid. It's a lot more fun than it sounds. And I've been thinking about your training tonight. Also, I don't appreciate my hair being referred to as a 'halfway Princess Leia look.'"

Ria laughed. "Okay, I'll tell Mom. What do you have planned for the training?"

Ria turned and made her way back to the recliner, and Isaac had already laid back down across the sofa.

"Hi, Sara," he said dully and to the television.

"Tell him I said it back," Sara said.

Ria shared the message. This was one of the main downsides of her whole household knowing about Sara now. They all used Ria to talk to her. It was quite annoying at times.

"As for your training," Sara said, sweeping her large blue and silver dress around the sofa, "it's nothing special. Just some practice killing vampires in the local cemetery and then sparring with Isaac. But, out of curiosity, what were you going to ask your mother about?"

"Oh, I was definitely going to mention that," Ria said, reaching for the remote on the wooden coffee table-with a glass surface-and turning the television off.

"Hey!" Isaac protested.

"Listen, this is important!" Ria ordered, and Isaac fell silent.

Ah, the wonders of controlling someone through a blood bond! One of the best ideas Dracula had ever had.

"I saw the new exhibit at the museum," Ria continued.

"And?" Sara asked.

"It was Dracula's throne."

Isaac was suddenly rapt with attention and deadly serious.

"Are you sure, Ria?" he asked.

Ria nodded. "You don't forget something that nearly broke your back about four times. Could this be bad?"

"Very bad," Sara and Isaac said in unison…though, of course, Isaac was unaware of that fact.

Sara's pale blue eyes were wide as she looked between Isaac and Ria.

"How bad?" Ria asked.

At this, Isaac shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Dracula always protected his throne fiercely, and not in the metaphoric sense. The actual throne was always guarded when he was not near it…but I never knew why."

Ria groaned and slumped down in her chair. "Fat lot of help that is."

"Should we do something about the throne?" Sara asked.

"Maybe we should wait," Ria said.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "What did Sara say?"

"She asked me what we should do about the throne. I think we ought to just wait. I mean, why act when nothing's happened? Besides, it's not like I can just take the throne, now can I?"

"You've got a point. We'll wait," Sara said. "And in the meantime…it's almost dark. Get ready for training, you two."

#

The cemetery that was just a little ways from Belmont Manor had been the site of Ria's first victory over a vampire. Now, she had killed so many in that place that it was beginning to lose its significance. As it was, Ria was now currently in the act of wrapping her Vampire Killer around a newly risen vampire's neck.

"And…pull," Ria said, doing just that.

The whip tightened and went clean through the neck, making the vampire dust in seconds.

"Well done," Sara said. "You're really getting this. However, you're still not doing so well with magical fighting, but we'll cover that later. Tell Isaac that he's up."

But Isaac had inferred from the destruction of the vampire that his turn was next, and he was ready with his Chauve-Souris when Ria turned. She readied herself, holding tightly to the whip, and waited. Finally, growing impatient, she struck out first, a move that was easily dodged by Isaac.

"Normally the bad guys will attack first," Sara noted.

"I know," Ria said, hitting the soft cemetery ground and rolling as Isaac jabbed with his spear.

He brought the weapon around his back and tried to smack her on the side. Ria ducked under it and came up, aiming her whip at his chest. With a cry of, "whoa," Isaac side-stepped her, just barely, and came up behind her. He brought the Chauve-Souris straight down, clipping her on the left shoulder.

"Ow!" Ria cried, stumbling forward.

"Sorry," Isaac said.

She whirled and faced him, her eyes set in a glare.

"Hm. Not as sorry as he's going to be," Sara muttered.

Apparently, Isaac had no need to hear Sara to understand that sentiment. Ria struck out again and again, hitting him almost every time. Finally, he did a back-flip, putting some distance between the two of them. With a slight smirk on his lips, he said, "So, anger's always it, is it?"

"What?" Ria snapped, lashing out again.

She clipped his arm as he dodged to his left. When he was upright again, he smiled.

"So…Mom's hitting the dating scene now, huh? How about that?" he said.

Ria felt her mouth twitch involuntarily. "I'm fine with it."

"I saw that," Isaac proclaimed.

She lashed out towards his thigh and connected, hitting the inside just above his knee.

"Yeouch…careful there," he cautioned.

"Sorry," Ria snapped.

Fighting was a lot simpler when you didn't have to spend half your time apologizing to your opponent for hurting them. But Isaac recovered quickly and had that silly smile on his face. Like he knew something she didn't.

"And you've had…how many dates recently?" he asked.

That struck a nerve. Ria, with a growl, lashed out with the whip, too fast for Isaac to move. She struck him right in the chest, a little harder than she had really meant to. She saw the small gash her attack had caused as he fell back. With a gasp, she ran and knelt beside him.

"You okay?" she asked hurriedly. "I'm sorry."

Isaac started to answer, but was cut short as a slight rumbling seemed to erupt from the very ground. He exchanged a look with Ria that clearly asked the same question she was thinking, which was something along the same lines as, "What the hell is that?"

But before either could actually vocalize a question, the rumbling transformed into full-blown movement, throwing Ria off her knees and forward towards the ground. Isaac caught her by the shoulders and held her steady.

"An earthquake?" Sara asked.

"Does this country usually get earthquakes?" Ria asked, feeling her teeth chatter with the motion.

"Yes…but this is something more, I think!" Isaac responded, pointing.

The few trees that decorated the cemetery were splitting right down the middle, as if struck by lightning…or in a cartoon, maybe. But there was no lightning, and Ria was about eighty percent sure they all hadn't been sucked into a television.

"That's not all! Ria, look at the horizon!" Sara yelled.

Ria's eyes widened as she directed Isaac's eyes in the same direction.

"Dear God," he said, keeping a hand steady as he turned to look at the line of the horizon.

Only it wasn't so much a straight line anymore. Instead, it looked as if fire-actual, flame-y fire-was rising up and licking at the moon with crimson and orange serpents' tongues. And then, just as sudden as it had started, it stopped.

Ria pulled herself up, breaking free of Isaac's supportive hand, and stared off into the distance. Then, just as Isaac was on his feet, she groaned.

"Oh, man. I hope that doesn't mean that Castlevania's back."