Even with his enhanced vision, seeing was almost impossible here. Between the fog, the darkness, thick forest and rain drops the size of walnuts, D found it difficult to maneuver his cyborg through the damp, mossy trees. All he could see was darkness accompanied by long strings of rain as they fell to the ground, along with an obstacle every now and then to obscure his path. The horse shook it's head, beads of rain water danced in the air as they jumped from the stallions hair. D himself was soaked as well. His hair and clothes were heavy and cold as wet streams flowed downward. Large beads of rain gathered on his hat before sliding down the elongated rim and splattering to the puddles below.

"Man.... I can't believe you took this job!" His left hand said worriedly. "If you try to fight him, he'll destroy you!"

"No he wont." D said casually.

"Oh, come on. How long's it been? Five thousand years?!"

"I can see the towers. We're almost there." The tallest towers of the most grand vampire castle could be seen clearly as the full moon shined it's ghostly light upon the dark earth.

D stopped his horse as he reached the gates of the castle and marveled at its beauty. Being here gave D an unwanted comfort. The rain had let up a bit and he could see the detailed designs on the castle. Gold, silver, jade, ruby, emerald, diamond, marble, more kinds of jewels and stones then he could count are what adorned these walls.

He continued on, trotting past the open gate that had been fixed since the last time he remembered being here. The castle was surrounded by a circular chasm that was once a mote. The opening was enormous and the ride across the bridge seemed to last forever. Most of the castle was made of white marble with gold trims. Decorating the outside of the castle were statues of gargoyles, dragons and other magical creatures. The front doors to the castle were gigantic. White marble with a ruby, almost abstract design, of a bird. Above it was an even bigger statue of an angelic vampire. A male with its arms spread in a pair of bird wings and the common characteristics of the royal family of vampires that lived there so long ago. Tall. Thin, but muscular. Long, wavy hair.

D slowed and gazed up at the sight. The castle was old, and it showed. Ivy and other plants grew up the walls. There were cracks in the stone here and there, but, other then that, it seems like someone had been taking good care of the old place.

D stepped up to the doors. "It is I..." He said just above a whisper. "D."

The doors glided open with no creeks or screeches. D was a little surprised because of the age of these doors, but he knew how neat this vampire was.

The dhampil invited himself in. The doors closed behind him as he walked into the long corridor. The ledges on each side of the path were lined with the guardian monsters, as all vampire castles were. But the monsters here were a bit different from the common barbarois. The man who lived here created them himself, rather then hiring them from Barbaroi. He was very picky about his guardians. He always wanted creatures that would not scare visitors, but would protect the castle and the people in it from ones who would act against them. He wanted them to be inviting, particularly to humans. And even thousands of years after humans and vampires stopped visiting his castle, he still had these creatures here. Beautiful animals, rather then frightening monsters.

The guardians didn't intrude. D knew they wouldn't, but he was rather disgusted when they all bowed as he strode by and a pair of humanoid griffins opened the castle doors for him.

The doors, once again, closed behind him. As he looked up at the tall ceiling. All of the windows were stained glass and the walls painted. All artwork depicting ancient vampires, dhampils, and humans alike, and events that happened many millenniums ago. An enormous chandelier hung in the center of a spiraling case of stairs, which led to the many floors of the castle. The walls by the stairs were lined with an indented shelf that held thousands of candles, all lit at the time.

D couldn't help but gasp at the beauty he had been missing out on for so long. He dismounted and took a few more steps inside and attempted to remember his way around. He walked past a diamond fountain statue in the center of the room. The statue was of an anonymous pair of lovers. One a vampire and the other a human, symbolizing peace between their races. He took pleasure in the gentle, melodic trickle of water the fountain offered.

He passed through another pair of large double doors and found himself in an empty party hall. Velvet carpet and wall paper with abstract swirl patterns were what adorned this room. Along the walls were four long entree tables. There was a little food, but not nearly as much as they used to put out, since these halls had not been use in so very long. D remembered when parties were held every night or so. This room would be filled with hundreds of nobles. Vampires, humans and dhampils.

Paintings of ancient nobles decorated the walls. All of the leaders of the past were forever depicted here, many D knew at one time. But most of these people were now long dead. He made his way down to the end of the hall where he glared at a painting of the man he was looking for.

He heard the door he came through earlier open and then close and a soft patter of feet followed. A little, furry, blue creature who looked as if it had the body of a monkey, the legs of a reptile, and an incredibly long tail walked shyly up to D.

"May I be of service to you, Master?" The creature asked.

"...I'm not your master." D said coolly.

The creature opened his mouth to say something else, but the dhampil interrupted him.

"Go back to the corridor." Not once did D take his eyes off the painting before him.

"Yes, Master." The creature bowed and obeyed.

"You've could have gotten him to give you a glass of water or something." They symbiot suggested when the creature left the room. "Do you know you're hyperventilating?"

"Quiet."

"Yeah. Well, just to let you know, your palm is getting rather sweaty and it's REALLY uncomfortable." D turned and headed back while his hand went on. "Look, if you're seriously thinking of going through with this then lets just get it over with and leave! Okay?! Oh god, I don't BELIEVE I just said that!!"

The dhampil made his way up the spiraling stair case. The floor making a gentle 'klack' under his narrow, black boots with every step and echoing off the bright, marble walls. That, and his hands occasional plea to head back, were the only sounds there. As he got to the top of the stairs he began to hear another sound. A sweet melody as pale fingers brushed against the keys of an old grand piano. It was a sad song, but he knew it well and found himself pausing with a hand on one of the double doors to listen for a moment. He pushed the heavy door open and entered the study. There, in the corner of the room, was the player of the piano, the one D had been looking for. He put a hand on his stomach and quivered as a strange feeling swept over his body. He swallowed hard, trying to digest the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. He was nervous. For once in god knows how long, he was nervous and it made him want to vomit. He shook his head and his emotions and continued, letting steady foot steps carry him further into the study. He stopped a few feet behind the vampire, raised a hand up and wrapped his long, pale fingers around the hilt of his sword.

"Dracula..."

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