Castlevania: Black Legacy
Chapter 2: Hell House


At last I came to an aged castle drawbridge which seemed to have been refurbished into a working bridge for the residence I saw just ahead. A luxurious villa of three stories decorated with statues of lions and a fountain outside. I walked toward the ornately decorated door knocking with a heavy fist as the door was rather thick.

The door creeked as it opened slowly Greeting me was a young woman...actually very young. Girl would be more apropriate a word in fact. She couldn't be any more than twelve but by the maid's uniform she wore and her behavior she clearly must have been a servant. I found her appearance strange though. Her eyes were a haunting red and her hair, I was sure must be a silvery hue of blond. Surely it's blue color must have been a trick of the light but I would later learn that this was indeed the color of the girl's hair.

She bid me welcome politely. "Welcome sir to the D'Rais resicence. I assume you are the Mr. Shneider the mister and misses were expecting." she said. If this little girl were playing a joke on me she was doing a good job. At this point I was convinced she was indeed a servant.

I stood at the doorstep as she pulled the door open and waited as she stood silently staring at me. I thought it would be rude to tell her but clearly she'd forgotten something important for supersticious men like myself. "Will you be coming in?" She finally asked me. "It is bad luck, young miss, to cross the threshhold of another's home before I am bid to enter." I replied. Smiling with humor the girl asked me to enter which I soon did.

Soon after entering I looked around finding the entryway quite enormous. There were two levels immediately visible the upper most atop a grand staircase, over which hung a massive chandelier. It appeared to be made of carefully worked brass, surely it weighed a massive amount. I wonder how it got up there and for that matter how sturdy the cieling must be to support it. Surely a cieling supporting such a hefty load would remain standing come a week after armageddon.

The young girl made her exit through a small door off to the side. I was soon after greeted by a woman I would assume to be of thirty or more years. She wore her hair up in a bun and was dressed in a maroon dress with a white collar and a green broach.

"Would you be the Mr. Shneider we have been awaiting?" She asked me. "That I am Ma'am. I came as quickly as I could." I replied.

"My husband will be glad to hear you have arrived. You look as if you have had a long and difficult journey though. Allow us to be your hosts while you rest."

I walked up the stairway aproaching the woman. Lifting my burly body up the stairs in all its weight reminded my legs just how much walking they had done and my feet the unforgiving nature of the terrain. "I believe I will take you up on that offer miss...." I halted as I realized I had rudely gone without asking her name.

"Mary D'Rais" she said thankfully sparing me having to interupt myself in order to ask. She with an ever light walk, barely producing any sound stepped off to the left and around the balcony.

She lead me through a door which passed through an outside passage, roofed above and supported by stone pillars. Suspended in a shelf of soil were a row of hedges here on the second floor along the outside wall giving this particular walkway both the secure comfort of the indoors with the fresh air of the outside. I would have spent a moment to comment on the architecture had my mind not already retired ahead of my body.

We passed through another door a short distance away where I found a magnificent indoor garden. The D'Rais familly certainly must be fond of plants I thought. THe room was circular with a magificent marble pillar standing at least three stories tall in the center. It was surrounded by a circle of rose bushes which was matched by a ringe of rose bushes around the walls of the room. At the top a glass dome and around the outside walls windows that stretched the full hight of the room. Normally I this room would be basking in the full glorious light of the sun, but today sadly was badly overcast and a sense of a coming storm in the air. Despite this the beauty of the place did not escape me. I would have to return here to admire it later.

Another door opened and in my tired state I felt myself losing sense of direction. Thankfully the design of this residence was fairly linear so I hoped later I would not find difficulty in navigating. Now I was fully inside, a small entryway greeted me with various paintings. I immediately recognized that Misses Mary D'Rais was among them. I also noted a man slightly older, also dressed finely. Though his hair was thinning, he carried a dignity about himself. Oldrey D'Rais it read. The man who'd written me asking my aid.

Also among the paintings were two young lads. A blond haired boy, who's picture was labeled Henry O. D'Rais, a younger and more strange looking boy, who's hair was the same strange blue shade as the girl I saw earlier, and his eyes a purple hue. It was Marked Malus D. (D'Rais). It was strange that his picture noted the D'Rais name differently. Perhaps comissioned by a different artist. Though as mary noticed me having halted my walk and standing slack jawed as if a schoolboy in my fatigue she politely volunteered an explanation.

"The Blond haired boy is our son Henry. He's since grown into a fine young man, though he's moved away. The blue haired child is our adopted son Malus. He's still with us and you should meet him shortly. I'm sure you have many questions and Oldrey will be glad to tell you everything you need to know. My husband is a good man who loves our familly dearly. Even now he's researching our familly roots. But you should rest before I speak any further."

I nodded in agreement. There was no sense taking in too much information in my half aware state, only to have it forgotten. She lead me up the stairs and into a hallway. To my left I spied a series of stained glass windows that looked more as if they belonged in a church than a private manner. To the left were a series of doorways. Mary lead me to the first inside which I sighted a number of ornate chairs, and on the far side of the room a bed that looked far finer than any I'd slept in.

"Here is the guest bed. I hope you find it to your liking." Mary said sincerely.

I nodded my head quietly. She stepped back toward the door and before closing poked her head through to say one last thing.

"I will inform my husband of your arrival. He has been anxious as of late. I hope your arrival will put his mind at ease."

The door closed, leaving me with silence. I would barely get my boots from my feet before I sell into restful sleep. What followed I still question its holding in reality.

I stood among walls of stone painted over in white, that had faded over the age. Rusted iron doors hung half dismembered from their hinges as if some tremendous force had ripped them away.

The age cracked walls were splattered in red and I paced through with an overwhelming sense of dread running through my body and mind. I took a chance to gaze through one doorway and found what looked to be a man, aparently mad with delirium beating his head against the wall bloody from the lengthy repetition of this action. His hair was frazzled and untamed, and he was wrapped in a white canvase coat covered in straps and buckles meant to retain him. A straight jacket it was called, something used to restrion individuals who'd gone so mad that they were a danger to themselves.

I backed away and looked through the halls cautiously walking, and soon my walk became all out run. I felt I must flee this place though I had no idea which way would lead to freedom. Still these halls must end so I dashed franticly. I came to an abrupt stop as I tripped over something. Looking toward my feet I saw another individual much like the man I saw earlier, wrapped in straight jacket, but curled on the floor crawling along like a worm, seemingly not minding my collision with him. I pulled myself half up as I looked ahead and a saw a number more of these madmen.

Three were gathered in a circle and aparently were thrusting their head into something. Aparently having noticed me one of them turned around and I gazed in horror at his...no IT'S Face.

Lips and cheeks looked to have been removed by blade and and flame cauterized to expose the teeth making the creature's face nearly like a skull. and hanging in those teeth, two of which were elongated and sharpened to points, was what appeared to be a severed human limb.

Both disgusted and terrified I scrambled to my feet, and then I glanced upward. Hanging by aparently nothing from the cieling was another creature. Its sharpened teeth snarled at me before it released its grip and dropped toward me. As i threw my hands in front of my face the world went black.

I awoke in a cold sweat, still in the guest bedroom. Never had I experianced such a dream. What was it? Prophetic vision? Madness overtaking me? Perhaps it was the latent evil threatening to consume this place seeping its way into my brain that brought this about.

Fortunately even the most memorable dreams fade from the mind quickly after the sleeper awakens and this was no exception. I brought my mind to more urgent matters and after pulling my boots back on I exited the guest room and took a look around.

The blue haired servant child was quick to sight me and aproach inquiring if I needed anything.

"Could you direct me to the master of the house?" I asked.

She nodded and began to guide me down the hallway. While she did she took a moment to make small talk, her childish nature aparently taking dominance over her work. But it was excuesable as, she had aroused my curiosity, and left me with questions to be asked.

"Mr. Shneider, is it true that you fight demons?" She asked me.

"You could say that. I'm a super-natural investigator. It's an unusual occupation I know but what I'm here to do is find the power be it ghostly, magical, or what have you, that is threatening this place. And please call me Reinhardt. I've been called Mr. Shneider enough today. And might I ask your name young lady?" I responded.

"It's Carrie Fernandez."

"Fernandez. So you aren't part of the familly; but why is someone as young as yourself already working aparently independant of any familly. I haven't seen any other servants around here after all."

"The D'Rais are very kind people. I'm just a gypsie but they didn't hold that against me. They took me in, and gave me an education. They tought me how to read and write, and about history, and math. I'm very greatful to the Mister and Misses."

"I see. But why are you a servant here?"

"Well I wanted to repay them somehow but I didn't really have a means to. I decided to work for them, but even though I owe them so much they still insist on paying me. The Misses said some people have old ways of thinking and it might not be easy for a gypsie to get married, so I should have a head start in making my own way in the world."

"Ah I see. That's a very modern way of thinking."

"Yes Mrs. D'Rais sometimes jokes that she proposed to Mr. Oldrey."

I chuckled at the thought. I supose when you live in the middle of nowhere, you're free to develope your own ways of thinking. I've visited Lonon and even there things aren't so advanced in thinking, so it was surprising to find such concepts here in the old country. These D'Rais were admirable folk. I resolved to save them from the darkness by any and all means at my disposal.

Carrie opened another doorway which I entered finding myself in a dining room with a lengthy table filling most of the room. On one end of the room was a massive mirror which clearly reflected the entire room. Cut roses were aranged in vases about it.

Either the D'Rais had a lot of spare time or there was someone I'd not yet seen spending hours upon hours tending those rose bushes.

Across the room from the door I entered via were two more doors. One clearly lead to a kitchen and the other, Carrie was aproaching. taking a key from a pocket in her apron she unlocked the door leading me in. Around I saw countless books, rows upon rows, almost an entire library. I assume from the arrangement that Oldrey must preffer to go straight to his books after a meal.

Carrie walked down a short all lined with book shelves and opened yet another door, leading to a room filled with yet more books, this room I speculated was an expansion made later, as the architecture was much newer, perhaps the old study wasn't large enough to fit a well read man's taste for literature.

Carrie spoke up calling through the room. "Mr. D'Rais, Your guest is here." I followed her round a corner but saw at the end of the room no one. Only a desk, a chair pulled away from it and a large book still laying open.

"Mr. D'Rais?" Carrie said again seemingly confused.

"I'm sorry I was sure he was here."

It was confusing. I saw no obvious exits on this side of the room. Though through my hair I felt a chill breeze pass noticing a window was left open above. However I we were on the third floor and the window too high from the floor to reach normally. What kind of man would choose such an exit?

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Author's note: At this point you're noticing a major divergence from the Legacy of Darkness storyline. While my original plan didn't involve the dream sequence, I had so many requests to use the asylum scene that I figured I'd throw a little something to the readers. Enjoy the insanity.