Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hector was in his workshop, hammering incessantly, resurrecting yet another creature of the night for Striga. Striga had started a territorial war with other vampires, even knowing it was against the law, even knowing it was illegal to resurrect the dead, but he seemed not to care. Striga forced Hector to work like a miserable wretch day and night to create as many creatures of the night as possible, and Hector was almost certain that if he struck the hammer again, his arm would break from exhaustion.

Bound by chains that prevented his escape, he picks up another corpse, probably that of a beggar, and begins hammering again. In today's society, master devil blacksmiths were completely illegal and, if caught, could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty in the electric chair. Hector certainly couldn't imagine dying that way, but it wasn't as if he had the right to stop, was it?

But then Camilla came in, wearing a rather transparent white nightgown, which meant it was daytime and she was sleeping. Luckily, he noticed this detail; he was almost losing track of time in that dilapidated workshop, but he knew that Camilla hadn't come in there to say good morning or offer him a delicious breakfast that Hector would give his own leg to eat..

- Oh, Hector, darling, I see you're very hardworking. I like hardworking men.

- Please, Camilla, I'm getting too tired to tolerate your fake flattery.

That phrase probably would have earned her such a hard slap that most of the blood vessels in her nose would have burst and stained the floor red, but the slap never came. This means that Camilla is trying something akin to a negotiation, but, as always, she's the one who would benefit the most.

He thought this might even be a good thing, since he could negotiate a room with windows, maybe better food, and a hairbrush would also be welcome, especially since he was tired of combing his own hair with his fingers every day. Hector would give anything for an extra pillow; he misses sleeping with two pillows.

- What do you think about working in a pet store downtown?

Hector was speechless when he heard that sentence.

💺

Adrian was in a terrible mood. His parents had planned a vacation trip to Romania, the vampire paradise. Romania was the country with the highest number of vampires in the world and, in Adrian's opinion, it was incredibly boring. For many, visiting a historical place teeming with bloodthirsty humans might be wonderful, but Adrian wanted to go anywhere in the world but there.

He detested the stereotypes Serbia had about vampires and how unpleasant some tourists were. They constantly asked for photos, screamed in allergic reactions whenever they looked at Adrian or his father, and stared at them with eyes so wide they almost popped out of their sockets. The stereotypes included jars of "real eyes" submerged in "real virgin blood" sold in souvenir shops, a coffin-shaped bed to make them feel like real vampires (although vampires sleep in normal beds and this whole coffin-sleeping thing is medieval nonsense), and worst of all, little bottles of "real vampire blood" that promised to turn you into a vampire in minutes.

They hadn't even arrived yet and Adrian was already sulking, staring out the airplane window hoping the plane would crash into the sea; at least, if it crashed into the sea, it would be much more fun.

- Is something bothering you, brother?

Adrian glanced to the side and saw Isaac. Isaac was reading a very interesting book (only to Isaac) called "Secret Dinner," written by a Brazilian author. Adrian didn't quite remember what the book was about, but he thought it was something about cannibalism or something similar. On all his vacation trips, Isaac took the opportunity to read several books, such as The Metamorphosis, Bambi, The prince of the Forest, Crime and Punishment, among others whose names Adrian didn't bother to remember.

- Brother, are you listening to me?

Isaac called his attention.

- Ugh, I just didn't want to go on that trip! It's such a drag having to go to that place, what's there to do there that's interesting?

Dracula, who was sitting on the other bench, heard the complaint and quickly offered to debate with his son.

- There are many interesting things to do in Romania, such as visiting the Belgrade Fortress, the Temple of Saint Sava, and taking a boat trip.

When you mention boats, you immediately hear the cheerful laughter of Vlad Junior, Adrian and Isaac's younger brother. Since Vlad Junior was a half-human, half-vampire child, everything seemed interesting to him. If you threw a stone in front of him, he would find it the most interesting thing in the world.

- See? He didn't complain.

Lisa chuckled as she listened to the conversation beside her, putting down her Doctor House series to pay attention to what was about to happen.

- Dad, Romania is boring.

- When you were little, you loved going there.

- Only when I was a child, but now I'm 16 and I know what's boring and what isn't.

Adrian said, tapping his finger on his own head, trying to prove to his father that he was a master at detecting what was funny and what wasn't. Isaac decided to ignore the argument and put on his headphones to better concentrate on his reading, which irritated Adrian a little, since he wanted him and his brother to unite in a mortal battle against their father over diverting the plane and going to Canada or Thailand. Lisa decides to intervene to defend Dracula.

- Honey, don't exaggerate, maybe you'll have a chance to find a lovely vampire girlfriend."

- MOM! I'm not going to get a girlfriend on this trip!

- Well, you never know, maybe a fleeting romance.

-Mom! Of course not, how embarrassing!

He looks out the window while he hears his parents laughing behind him, mocking Adrian's hypothetical romantic interest. He desperately hopes the trip will end as quickly as possible.

🌕

When they arrived, it was already night and they were heading to the hotel they had booked to rest a bit before starting to explore the city, observing and admiring things related to vampires. Adrian intended to convince his parents to let them stay in the hotel room, but obviously they wouldn't allow it, saying it was a family trip and that everyone should stay together. Adrian was surprised to see Isaac take his camera out of his backpack to photograph what seemed interesting to him.

- I can't believe it, you really think this place is interesting enough to photograph?

- Of course not, I intend to use the camera to photograph other things because, whether you agree or not, Romania has a lot of diversity and art that I would like to photograph and study later.

It's clear that Isaac never missed an opportunity to study, not even during vacations. Many say it's detrimental for Isaac to dedicate all his time to studying and not have time to relax, but what they don't know is that studying wasn't an obligation for Isaac; it was a hobby.

Vlad Junior gazed out the bedroom window at the city lights and the people passing by. He was clearly very excited to jump out the window and wander alone through the city, just because his parents were taking so long. Adrian approached to check if the window was properly locked to prevent accidents. While Dracula finished putting on his socks before putting on his shoes, Vlad Junior ran to him, pulling him by the hand.

- Daddy, Daddy, I want to go to the city, I want to, I want to. Let's go quickly, please, please.

The younger boy pleaded, looking at his father with the golden eyes that were a genetic gift from his mother. Dracula combed Vlad Junior's long black curls back so they would better match his rosy, youthful face.

- Of course we'll go, but first we have to wait for Mom to get ready.

Okay, while Mom was getting ready, it was best not to wait for her to get up, because she would obviously take a while.Knowing that putting on his shoes wasn't worth it, Adrian took the opportunity to throw himself onto the bed next to Isaac, rest his legs on him, and fiddled with his phone, which had 65% battery left and was infested with messages. Isaac glanced at Adrian out of the corner of his eye, hoping his brother would understand that he didn't like being used as a footrest, but Adrian chose to ignore him.

He starts going through the received messages and realizes it's from the group he and his friends Sypha and Trevor created to communicate better.

The group's name is "The Divas and Belmont".

He received many messages asking how the trip was going and if he could bring back souvenirs. They also wanted Adrian to take lots of photos of the trip, but he never really liked photos; Isaac and Lisa are the ones who do. Adrian will take, at most, four photos, and he won't even appear in any of them.

While they were exchanging messages, Vlad Junior took advantage of his brother's vulnerability to mess with his beautiful golden hair. He started making completely messy braids while Adrian delved into the wonders of WhatsApp.

And worst of all, Isaac was watching and decided not to tell Adrian, just to teach him a lesson about personal space. While Adrian was texting, Sypha started talking about the local culture and how she wished she had gone on the trip just to experience it all.

And Trevor only sent strange Gifs.

🐾

Adrian was very annoyed. First, his hair was a mess because of his younger brother; second, he had forgotten his headphones to listen to music; third, he had forgotten his jacket and was getting cold; and worst of all, his parents were playing Pokémon and hadn't invited him so he could earn points too. The night was a disaster, and Isaac was distracting himself by fiddling with the camera and the photos he had taken. He tried to peek over his brother's shoulder to see the photos, but Isaac noticed him quickly.

- Why are you looking at my photos?

- Because I'm bored and want to distract myself, and you're my entertainment for tonight.

He said while looking at the photos. Most of the photos were of historical cityscapes and other nerdy things that people who like philosophy would take.

- Why don't you go play Pokémon with our parents?

- Because they won't let me join the team~~

Adrian grumbled as he leaned on his brother, feeling his legs weaken. Isaac was strong, so he could support his brother's weight; the problem was that he didn't want to tolerate his dead weight.

The place was infested with vampires, and it was difficult to spot any human presence besides Isaac's. But Isaac wasn't worried at all, since he was literally one of Dracula's children. However, he couldn't venture out and explore further. It was a crime to attack and drink human blood, especially that of children, but that didn't stop human children from being kidnapped in Serbia and disappearing forever. So, although Isaac felt very safe with Dracula's presence, it didn't prevent him from being sucked into the earth and disappearing forever. In other words, Isaac couldn't push his luck.

His parents began exploring the city more thoroughly, while Vlad Junior was eager to run away and disappear into the crowd, but without success. They passed by a very popular church in the area and, in Adrian's opinion, unnecessarily large.

- It's funny to think that this church was responsible for killing thousands of vampires in the Middle Ages, but now it's frequented by thousands of vampires and few people. It's ironic.

said Isaac while taking a picture of the church. Adrian considered him a nerd, but couldn't tease his brother, as he would need the photos to send to his friends later

The streets were decorated with beautiful lights, vampires filming with their expensive cell phones and having fun, and vampires bowing respectfully in the presence of the Tepes family. Lisa and Dracula began to talk about the history of the city and how Dracula's grandfather was still alive when vampires hid from the sun and didn't even know what an umbrella was. They talked about the medicine of the time and how precarious it was. Lisa really wanted to go back in time to have helped the city evolve in terms of health and... Lisa realized she was reaching out and holding nothing.

Adrian and Isaac were reviewing all the photos they had taken, while Isaac tried to convince his brother to transform into a bat and take the picture from a high place, but he refused because the camera was heavy in his bat form and he wouldn't go that far to photograph a church. The two were in a "spiritual battle" trying to get the perfect shot when they noticed the desperation of their parents, who approached looking for the little runaway and asking if any of them had seen him. Vlad Junior was running away, but when he realized that Adrian had noticed his escape, he started running with his short, but fast, dhampir legs.

- Hey, why do you always like to run away?!"

Adrien shouted as he chased after his little brother, who loved playing bank robber or prison escape. Vlad Junior was quick and easily hid in the crowd, while Adrien had difficulty finding his little white elf, who everyone insisted was his brother (Adrien loves his brother all the time, but sometimes that love disappears). Adrien was almost losing sight of his brother when his father suddenly appeared in front of him; of course, his father was quite a character.

Adrian knew his father would be the first to catch up with Vlad Junior, so he didn't even try too hard to keep up; first, he was trying to survive the crowd without having his cell phone or wallet stolen. In fact, he had already lost sight of his entire family. The vacation is going wonderfully; he'll surely tell his friends how much he's enjoying being in Romania.

Adrian was cold, his cell phone was dying, he still hadn't managed to eat anything appetizing, but after all this, he would certainly demand that his father buy him a gigantic steak. After finally managing to locate his parents, he also noticed that they had stopped to talk to someone. Sometimes, some vampires liked to have long conversations with the Tepes family, and this irritated Adrian even more. Damn it, why do people have to respect them so much that they want to talk to them all the time? He just wanted a vacation... and a gigantic steak.

Isaac saw Adrian approaching and followed him with his eyes until he joined the family group. Adrian saw Vlad Junior in his mother's lap and smiled at the sight, which lessened his anger a little, but only a little, very little.

- It's good that you finally arrived, brother, you must be tired.

- I am tired and hungry, but I'm gathering strength to return alive to the hotel.

- Our father will take us to dinner, but first he wants to thank this young man for his kindness in helping to capture our... prison escapee.

Adrian was confused. He thought it was his father who had captured his brother, but he wasn't going to argue; he didn't have the energy for it. Adrian approached to see the "savior of the Tepes family" and saw gray hair and a beautiful pair of blue eyes, and those blue eyes were truly very beautiful.

- Thank you for helping us save this little escapee, excuse me, what is your name?

- My name is Hector, it was a pleasure to help you.”

Chapter Text

Adrian studied the Savior of the Fatherland for a few seconds. First, he had curly, silver hair; second, he had beautiful markings under his eyes and one near his mouth; third, he had beautiful blue eyes. Adrian had to mentally admit:

This boy was a hottie.

- Thank you, Hector.

- It's alright, after all, it's not safe for children to run around like that.

Alucard scolded himself again for forgetting his coat, as his face was now flushed with embarrassment, too self-conscious even to look at Hector. Fortunately, he didn't need to speak to him-

- You're Adrian Tepes, right? Your parents said you stayed behind during all this mess. Nice to meet you.

Hector extended his hand, expecting Adrian to shake it, but Adrian just stared at him, slightly embarrassed, for a few awkward seconds. Isaac nudged his brother to bring him back to reality.

- Brother, it's rude not to greet people.

Adrian became even more embarrassed as he regained his composure, and when he extended his hand to greet Hector, Hector quickly pulled it away.

- Oh! It's alright, he doesn't have to greet me if he doesn't want to, it's fine. He must be tired.

He immediately wished a stake had been driven through his heart, and his face turned even redder. Adrian didn't know what to do around beautiful people. What should he do? Compliment them? Treat them like normal people? Obviously, yes, but in Adrian's view, they were too beautiful to be treated like normal people... that seemed very wrong, but Adrian could always mentally reprimand himself and learn a moral lesson afterward.

- Sorry to interrupt your trip,

said Dracula, feeling guilty for taking up the other young man's time.

- Trip? Oh, no, no, I'm not traveling, I live here,

said Hector, pointing to the pet shop next door. It was a very nice shop, with animal toys in the window and a path of footprints leading to the door.

-;Well, I work here, but I live in this city,

Isaac stared for a moment, as it was a little strange to have a human alone in a place populated by vampires. He would be an easy victim for any vampire with morals in hell. Dracula was also surprised.

- But isn't it dangerous to work alone at this hour of the night, young man?

- Ah! Don't worry, Mr. Tepes, I've been working here for some time and nothing has happened to me so far.

Isaac realized that Hector was pushing his luck.

- Wow, I must be taking up all your time. I'll get back to work and let you enjoy the trip. Please excuse my insistence on talking.

Lisa was about to rebut the argument that Hector was being inconvenient, but Hector quickly returned to the pet shop, politely waving to the family, which caused the Tepes to wave back (embarrassedly) and resume their stroll through town. Isaac noticed a ring on Hector's ring finger, and it didn't look like just any piece of jewelry; no, no, Isaac sensed something strange about that ring. Adrian had been completely avoiding eye contact with the boy out of sheer embarrassment. He didn't want Hector to think he hated or despised him, but now it was too late. He didn't know if he would have the courage to go back and apologize, as he feared looking like an idiot.

🥩

As promised, everyone went to a restaurant to enjoy what the city had to offer, and Adrian finally got his well-deserved giant steak. Isaac was feeding his runaway brother because, for some reason, he was obsessed with wanting Isaac to feed him. Like the spoiled dhampir he was, Isaac simply picked up the spoon and the food. Dracula tried to argue with his son that he didn't need to do that, but Isaac insisted on continuing, claiming he could feed his brother and himself at the same time.

Isaac was thinking about the boy he had seen earlier and the ring that was still on his finger. Obviously, there was a lot of alternative fashion; Isaac had seen many of that strange type, with strange hair, strange clothes, strange slang (he even suspected Adrian had been a goth at some point in his life, since he only wore black), but that ring... something intrigued Isaac.

- What are you thinking about?

Adrian calls his attention.

- Why the question, brother?

- Because Junior has been waiting for you to feed him for ages, and you're not eating either.

Isaac looks at the younger boy and notices the pitying expression on his face, waiting for Isaac to feed him, so he quickly fills the spoon and feeds Junior.

- Now that you mention it, brother, I'm thinking about something, you know, the boy we talked about earlier?

- Please don't remind me of him.

Adrian still hadn't gotten over the episode.

- Why? Do you hate him?

If we follow that logic, Adrian hates most of the good-looking people he's ever met in his life.

- Forget about it, what are you thinking about?

-;Don't you find it suspicious that a human is working alone so late at night in this city?

- Um, no.

Isaac stared at his brother's foolishness before turning his attention back to Junior and feeding him again.

- Ah! I mean, yes, yes, it's really strange.

- You're pretending, and pretending very badly.

Human alone + city of vampires = human missing forever.

Besides, Hector mentioned that he's lived here for a while, does he have family here? What kind of human would want to live with family in a city full of vampires? Something's wrong. Is Hector in a relationship with a vampire? It's the most likely scenario, but it's still not safe for him to work alone at night. Isaac returned to his thoughts as he gave Junior another spoonful of food, while Adrian ate his.

- Maybe he's using some kind of magical security device, you know? It's not really a crime if it's used for protection.

Isaac's eyes widened. Of course, that could be it. That's why Adrian didn't find it strange that a human was alone in that place, but such objects were very expensive to buy and manufacture, and Isaac didn't think a boy who worked in a pet shop would have something like that. Could it be the Ring? Probably, but how did he get something so expensive? Was it a gift?

- Maybe we should go back to the pet shop tomorrow.

- What?! Why?!

To be honest, Isaac liked a bit of suspense and wanted to study Hector and how he managed to survive in that little vampire nest, plus he wanted to know what security device he had and how he acquired it. A great study opportunity.

- What are you two talking about?

Lisa said, looking at them curiously.

- Isaac, you always feed your brother and forget to eat, so your plate will get cold.

As soon as he finished the sentence, Vlad Junior took the last bite before Isaac realized his plate was still full and untouched.

- ;Sorry, Mom, we were having an important conversation.

- Talking about what? About someone handsome?

Isaac didn't react, but Adrian blushed slightly and quickly looked away from his parents. This was an old strategy his parents used to find out their children's opinion about something or someone; a brief comment was enough to see Adrian or Isaac get annoyed, excited, nervous, or even embarrassed, as was the case with Adrian.

-:That's not the main subject of our conversation.

-So, does that mean he's a handsome person?

- Mom!

Isaac finally turned his attention back to the plate and to plans about what to do if they went back to the pet store.

🌜

Hector was almost finished cleaning the shop after a long night. His boss had already left, leaving him alone, even knowing the dangers of that city for a human, but neither the boss nor Hector cared much about that. He was sweeping when he noticed a small pug jumping inside its cage, trying to get Hector's attention.

He stopped everything he was doing and went to the little black pug, picking it up. Hector fell in love with that dog the instant he walked through the door and gazed at that little creature with its wide blue eyes. How could he resist its charm? The little dog always greeted Hector in the shop wagging its tail and barking excitedly, and the vibrant "click-clack" of its paws was almost always reserved for Hector when he came into its field of vision. He vowed to adopt that dog, but first he needed to organize things so that little Cezar (that's what Hector called him) would feel comfortable in his home.

Speaking of home... It was getting late and he wanted to go home to rest, so, somewhat reluctantly, Hector put Cezar back in his little house and gave him a farewell pat, returning to cleaning the shelf. He began to think about the previous events and the accidental encounter with the Tepes family. What should have been just the rescue of a runaway child had turned into a meeting between one of the most well-known families in the world and a small, insignificant enslaved blacksmith.

Of course, Hector wouldn't let himself be shaken by the mere presence of the Tepes during his shift, but it was an honor to meet them and even feel a little flattered to be fawned over after helping them—what an honor! Perhaps this feeds the ego of many, but Hector didn't have much time to let his ego inflate in that way. After all, he was still just a human without a surname and, besides, it seemed he didn't get along very well with Dracula's son, Alucard... was his name Alucard? Would it be impolite to call him Adrian without being close to him? Perhaps that's why the dhampir didn't like Hector immediately; perhaps Hector was too rude in calling him by a name that was probably only used for close friends.

Perhaps this had disturbed Hector's mind somewhat, but he probably wouldn't find him again and certainly wouldn't go after him, since his goal wasn't the young dhampir and his family. Carmilla knew it was dangerous to get involved in a rivalry with the Tepes and didn't want Hector near them, not because she liked him, but because she didn't want Dracula to decapitate her only Devil's Blacksmith Master for his incompetence. Carmilla firmly believed that Hector would be foolish enough to challenge the patience of Count Dracula Tepes and his family. Hector agreed with Carmilla when his thoughts returned to the dhampir and their first encounter.

Hector was already turning off the lights and walking calmly through the streets, where the only source of light came from the lampposts and the moonlight above his head. Hector wasn't afraid of the dark; he had been when he was a child, but not anymore. To be honest, the darkness was even comforting, because in the dark, Hector couldn't be noticed or bothered; it was good not to be disturbed. His path was simple: go straight ahead, climb the staircase decorated with red flowers to the top, turn right, continue straight ahead for five blocks, enter an alley that rented party dresses, continue straight ahead and stop when he saw a funny vampire looking at him as if he were a helpless rabbit.

He remained calm; it was normal to have vampires on the street at this time of night, after all, they swapped night for day. Besides, he had already encountered that vampire countless times on that same path and nothing had happened to him, but its predatory eyes were still fixed on the back of Hector's neck. He walked straight past the vampire who, as always, stared at him as if he were a piece of meat, but continued his way to the end of the alley, which was partially lit by the shops that hadn't yet closed and others that were opening.

Perhaps that was why he hadn't yet been attacked; the streets were too busy in that part of town for an attack to be noticed.

He left the alley, turned right, and finally arrived at his small apartment. It wasn't an extravagant apartment, as it only had a bed, a table with a single chair, a crooked lamp, and a microwave—well, luckily Hector had bought frozen food and silverware that day. All of this might sound very negative, but in reality, it seemed like a dream to Hector. The apartment might be in this state, but he could still save money to buy new furniture, more chairs, new clothes—everything new. Hector really wanted this and felt it was something very different from what he had before, something new and innovative for himself. For now, he was content to sleep with his two long-awaited pillows and eat microwave food that tasted like leftovers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

For now, he was still focused on finding the target Carmilla wanted and on being promoted from slave to mildly exploited employee a few times a month, and mainly concerned with giving Cezar, who would eventually be his little lifelong companion, the right vaccines and toys.

It was only a matter of time.

It was only a matter of luck.

It was only... a matter of trying hard enough to live like a normal person, or trying to play the role of a normal person. Just stay calm and patient. While lost in thought, Hector noticed two shiny objects in his backpack. So, to escape some of his own responsibility, he rummaged through the backpack looking for the shiny object. Upon finding it, he came face to face with two coins.

Two devil coins.

Hector remembers those coins; they were the coins his father had given him as a gift when he was 11 years old... well... he stole those coins from his father when he was 11. His father was a Master Blacksmith of the Devil and used that to support the family. At the time, he was too young to understand the seriousness of his father's work, but now, at 17, he understands that his father was a true criminal and understands why his parents fought so much.

He remembers arriving home with a zombie animal, all excited to show his mother his talent, his talent that would condemn him to hell. He had never seen his mother so furious, so angry that, in addition to killing his zombie animal, she beat him so violently that he woke up the next day covered in purple bruises, which caused another fight between his parents.

Hector never returned the Devil's Coins to his father, even knowing that if he were caught with them, he would be condemned to death without even being able to consult a lawyer—that is, if the death row inmate wasn't Carmilla. But Hector refuses to part with them because he has an emotional attachment to them. This will probably kill him, but he doesn't know how.