Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Chapter 6
By Aujang Abadi
Simon didn't understand why everyone looked so concerned. All of the Belmonts were gathered around a large, oak table, quietly discussing something he couldn't quite hear. Not that anyone cared to hear the opinion of a seven-year old, but still, he reasoned that he should be allowed to listen. When he scuttled close enough to overhear their conversation, his father left the table briefly to pick him up and haul him to where the other children were, half-heartedly chiding him for straying from his playmates. Simon didn't like the look in his father's eyes. Something was wrong.
"Hiyas Simon." Sarah giggled and plopped down next to him on the ground, her pretty blue floral dress fluttering slightly. He rolled his eyes; girls were so stupid. Why was she always bugging him?
"Hey Sarah." He looked around desperately for some sort of male support, but Lucas, Derrick, and Jonas were all sick. Apparently some sort of cold was going around, hitting all of his playmates. He hadn't been struck by it yet, but it was only a matter of time. Besides, he didn't want to hang around with all of these... girls. They were so annoying.
"What's wrong? You miss alla your friends?" She put her head against his shoulder playfully. "Aww... Simon misses his friends! I can be your friend, Simon!" Simon roughly pushed her off and stood up.
"Ewwww! That's so gross, Sarah! Geez, can't you not act all icky for a second?" He exclaimed, thoroughly disgusted. "What the heck's wrong with you?"
"Nothing's wrong with me, silly!" She stuck her tongue out. "You should be glad I wanna be your friend! We gotta be friends, cuz Mommy and Daddy say me an' you are gonna get married!" She nodded for effect. Simon stopped squirming for a second, his little eyes widening.
"You're lying! When did they say that?" Simon squeaked.
"I am not! Just this morning! I heard um talkin, loud as can be, and they said they'd talked to your parents, and we were gunna be married!"
"No! I don't wanna be married, especially not to a girl!" Simon whined. He wanted to go scream at his parents, but he knew they were in the middle of something serious, and they'd get really mad if he did.
"S'not your choice, silly. Besides, you can ONLY be married to a girl." She stuck her tongue out again. "Shows how much you know."
Simon sat back down heavily. "I ain't gonna get married. I'll run away."
"No you won't!" Her eyes watered up. "I dun want to have my husband run away! Promise you won't run away!"
"I ain't gonna promise! Why should I promise? I don't wanna get married!" Simon protested.
"Simon!" She started crying. "Promise you won't leave! Promise me!" She started to hit him, weakly, as all girls did. "Promise! Promise!"
"Hey! Hey! Stoppit! Fine, fine, I promise, just stop hitting me!" Simon grabbed her arms, so she'd stop flailing about. "Geez! I promise already!"
"Oh, thank you Simon!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him.
That was how it all started.
* * * * *
Seven years had passed since then. Simon sat, along with the rest of his peers, in the Great Hall of the Belmont keep, waiting for the warriors of the clan to return. Nearly all of the Belmonts, save the under aged, had left for Castlevania. It had been over a week. Earlier today, Lucas had spotted the mists clearing around the dreaded castle. Their mothers and fathers had won. Ever since then, they'd all been huddled in the Hall, awaiting their return.
The first shouts of joy erupted from the mouths of the children as their sorely missed parents stumbled back into the Great Hall. Bloodied and battered, the Belmont clan stood unified in their victory over evil, once more. When the happy cries settled down, Simon scratched the back of his head. He cleared his throat and loudly proclaimed to his brethren:
"Excuse me... has anyone seen my parents?" A sudden hush fell over the returning Belmonts. Simon continued to visually examine the crowd, wondering if he'd missed them. One of the older men coughed loudly, ducking his head and excusing himself from the room. "Are they lagging behind? Where are they?" He'd never seen his clan act so quiet, or so strange. What was going on?
"Simon..." One of the clan elders, Edward Belmont, stepped out from the rest. His clothing was particularly bloody, and his spindly white beard looked as though it had been forcefully shorn off. The deep wounds lining his body looked uncomfortably new. "We all fought, this time... Dracula was more powerful than we'd ever expected." The other clan members turned to him, all nodding their assent.
"In fact, brethren, this was not a complete banishment. We did not defeat Dracula. We were only able to fight back enough of his minions so that he was forced to exit this plane. He won't soon be able to return, but he will be back before the end of the century.
"We must all train harder, now that we know what to expect. When he comes back, we must truly banish his evil soul to the hell it was created in. Next time, brothers and sisters, we will all go." Some scattered clapping accompanied that final statement. But Simon's question still remained unanswered, and he voiced his concern.
"So did my parents stay back, to guard Castlevania?" It was a rare occurrence, but in the event of an incomplete banishment, some Belmonts would stay another week, at Castlevania, to be sure of its dissipation.
"We all stayed back. That is why we were late. Your parents were the bravest of our entire entourage, Simon. When we thought we were doomed, the two of them single-handedly fought back at least ten vampires, and then spoke the words that would banish Dracula from this realm." Edward sighed, placing his hand on Simon's shoulder. "Simon... when we finished off the last of the enemy, I found them..." He struggled with the words, his eyes filling with tears. "They... they died, Simon. On the altar, surrounded by a dozen of the demons they had killed. In their frenzy, they suffered grievous wounds." Edward's voice cracked with grief. "We stayed back to bury them." Simon stumbled back, his vision and his knees suddenly failing him.
He couldn't breathe. Someone tried to steady him, but he lurched out of the grasp and fled the room, his chest and throat collapsing. Unbelievable pain overwhelmed him, as he burst into the cold night air, uncontrollable tears freezing upon his face. He fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands and screaming his protest to the silent moon.
Sarah found him curled into a ball, rocking back and forth. She stopped a few feet away from his form, unsure of what to do next. He was humming an old nursery rhyme, one his parents used to sing. The tattered remnants of his clothing lay in ragged heaps around him, and his breath misted in the air, coiling over his naked flesh. Her hand flew to her mouth, as she flooded with sympathy for her betrothed. He heard the gasp, and sprang up, whirling around to meet her. His face was blood red, from tears and from the cold. His body relaxed when he saw her, but he turned again, and sat back down.
"Simon... I'm so sorry..." She sat down in front of him. He didn't look at her. His eyes were dry now; it looked as though he'd stopped crying a while ago. He never did have many tears to shed. He was silent, staring dully at the ground. "Please, Simon, talk to me. It kills me to see you like this." She extended a hand and ran it along his rough cheek. It was deathly cold, and trembling very, very slightly. He inhaled a bit at her touch, but didn't draw back. His eyes slowly rose to meet hers.
She'd always thought he'd had beautiful eyes. Even when lined with agony and grief, their icy grey interior spoke of rugged intelligence and a surprising compassion. Suddenly, she was kissing him, wrapping her arms around his freezing body. He fell back slightly, in shock, but caught himself, and brought his arms up. Soon enough, Sarah tasted the bitter salt of his tears on her lips. She broke the kiss gingerly, and looked into his watering eyes, biting her lower lip. He was crying again, and closed his eyes, exhaling a shuddering sigh.
He began to weep in earnest, a quiet, deep grief that would leave him utterly empty. Sarah wrapped her arms around him again and held his head to her shoulder as he cried, rocking him back and forth. His body shook in slow spasms, and he clutched her tighter. She whispered soothingly into his ear, covering his form with hers, shielding him.
She was all he had left.