Hakuei trailed her fingers over the length of golden chain, the weight feeling a little heavy on her neck. She had fallen silent when the dhampir had moved closer, eyes skimming over the fine features of his face. There was little she could say, for when he had finally removed his hands from close to her, everything suddenly felt a little final.
She pursed her lips, before smiling quietly at him. "Thank you." He left her no room to refuse the gift, moving like that. Not that she had let him refuse her own, either.
The dhampir felt a little shame that he could not spend more time with her, as for now, the fate of his world weighed heavily in his heart. Unsure of what had happened since his disappearance, unsure of whether his father's influence was truly gone… Alucard needed to return back to his world as soon as possible to assess the damage and to see what he needed to do to tend to the future.
"Although it… pains me," Alucard began, finding it difficult to say his goodbyes even though he had done so many times, even to those who had helped him take down Castlevania, "it would be best for me to return to my universe now."
"Aa, I know." The princess stared at him for a long moment. Perhaps it was to memorize the features of his face more keenly. He was indeed a closed book to many people, but the woman knew him to be someone who did not lie. "I also need to see how my people and my family are faring." Neither of them knew how much time had passed in their own worlds, and despite the warmth they felt around each other, they couldn't just leave their duties and their due to their own worlds.
The mood had shifted many times in the moments they had reunited. Relief, even joy, and then slowly it mellowed out into something resembling wistfulness and loss. Hakuei sighed, but smiled. "I would love to see you again… But I won't demand it of you." Could they even traverse worlds again, like this?
He thought about her words. Before, he did not even know that traveling between different universes existed. Nor was Alucard even aware that there were other worlds out there, it all seemed so fantastical to him. Maybe if he dug around, he could find a way to move between them. Black magic was one of his strengths, his father trained him in it. They had a library of magical tomes - surely, something could be found there. He hated to embrace anything related to that monster, but for this cause… it would be worth it.
Alucard broke away from his thoughts and nodded at the woman, a glint of resolution and newfound curiosity in his eyes. "And I, too. Perhaps one day, if one wishes hard enough, we may be able to cross worlds."
Hakuei took his hand once more, lacing her fingers through his and gazed in the direction of the way home. Lucio and Clark had already left, two marked disappearances. "... Well, shall we?"
It was time to leave for her. She stared at the portal for a long while, wondering what waited for her when she got home. Paimon's fan held a tremulous feeling to it, and she knew that the djinn was looking forward to when she got back.
Paimon, you hold the power of a world-changing magician. Could you take me home, now?
"Oh," she realized she was still holding on to Alucard's hand, eyes flickering to meet his as she let go. Feeling as if she should say something, she chuckled. "... We really are strangers to this. I have the strangest feeling I would miss holding your hand." Shaking her head, she stepped away from him. "If - when -" she stumbled over the word, suddenly sounding almost earnest. "We see each other again, shall we spar again?" Hakuei kept her tone light, looking away from him.
"As do I. It really is a strange sensation, warm and cold." He was a cold, cold man. Half a man, at that. Yet here he was enjoying the feeling of holding hands with someone. Even though he was wearing gloves, a long time ago Alucard would have never thought this would be a reality. As Hakuei looked away from him, the dhampir kept his eyes on her face. Of course, it must be her ethnicity that she seemed to stand out in his memory, among all the humans he had seen before in his life. Or maybe it had to do with the fact she was from another universe altogether. Though he had not known her that long, Hakuei was already starting to be someone he would find hard to forget. These emotions, strong in his mind and beginning to spread to his heart, did not yet appear on his face. "Yes, we shall. I would like to test your strength once more… unless it would be uncouth to fight a lady."
She gave a half-smile at that, continuing to walk towards the path home. "Ladies are warriors in their own ways. Perhaps, even your mother." Hakuei kept her gaze steady and forward. It would be harder to leave if she kept looking at him, though maybe he had more strength than her if he could continue to look.
"Goodbye, Alucard."
Alucard was glad that she had been the one who had departed first. He wondered if he was the one to do so, he would turn to look back at him. The dhampir closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his senses and his heart before he opened them...
And the princess was gone. Before she could process much what she was seeing, Hakuei stood in the middle of an open plain, blinking as the warmth of the sun kissed her face like a long-forgotten friend. It felt like a while since she had been under the sun. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around. "This is… near the Kouga tribe's lands?" She knew the landscape like she knew her own heart.
It was peaceful, but suddenly, it also felt lonesome. There was a long walk ahead for her to return to camp, if there even was camp.
But it wasn't even long when she had started walking when a familiar figure galloped towards her from the distance. Long blue hair flew in the winds, a girlish face with wide blue eyes gazing back at her. "Princess!"
"Seishun!" The princess started running to meet him, a smile breaking out on her face. He didn't look older, but the way he stared at her clued her in on something.
Her attendant practically leaped off his horse, frantically walking up to her. Seishun looked like he was holding himself back from hugging her. "You were gone for a month - where were you?! We almost sent word to the Emperor that you went missing, but since I could still use my household vessel, I knew you were still alive - somewhere -"
Hakuei smiled softly, reaching out to hold his shoulder. The young man looked so sad and concerned… "... It's a long story, but I'm back. Let's just say… I learned that there were other remarkable forces, even compared to djinn and magis. Let's go home, Seishun."
The two soon got on the horse, racing through the wide fields. Hakuei welcomed back the feeling of the wind on her face, but at the same time, wondered at the feeling of loss that wouldn't leave her chest.
As the dhampir bade his farewells to his allies, the man stepped forward into a void of nothingness. For a split second, nothing but white surrounded the dhampir before he found himself in the woods he had been running through in what seemed like ages ago. Behind him on the horizon was the hill where Castlevania had been standing on, not even the ruins had been left behind. Maria and Richter were nowhere to be seen, which did not surprise Alucard - it would have been better if they did not cross paths again.
He looked up at the waning moon, round and full - not the same as the night he had disappeared from this world? How long had it been since then?
Alucard drew his cloak around him, moving as quick as a wolf towards the end of the woods, a village set in his sights. Now that he had returned home, his heart would begin to close over in stone… though he had a feeling that a small part of it would always be beating for a certain somebody.
End of Part One.
