An Idea of Melancholy

"We were following a man named Comte de Vaublanc." Edouard told the group from the living room. "He's a vampire slaver who's committed grave atrocities in Saint Dominique. From what we've gathered of his letters, he was sailing to France to meet with a mysterious sorceress whom we can assume is Sabrina le Fay."

"Comte de Vaublanc?" Annette recounted. "Well, a stranger came by into the Marquis's chateau not long ago. Does he happen to have long black hair and a bright cloak of many colors?"

"That's the one. If there's one thing Vaublanc is known for, it's that he always dressed with style." Layla replied, seemingly repulsed having said so.

"Why exactly is he sought after by someone like Sabrina?" Richter asked. "What is so special about Vaublanc that Ruthven would need his services?"

"Vaublanc is a master swordsman who's lived for nearly three hundred years." Layla answered. "There was no one that could survive a duel with him. He's fought and killed countless warriors from the East. That alone would at least gain some recognition from the Messiah himself."

Annette carefully listened to each of their claims. "So it boils down to the conclusion that Vaublanc is invited as an esteemed guest for the Marquis le Guin, who's in cohorts with Sabrina le Fay in an attempt to convince him to side with Ruthven."

"Then all we have to do is infiltrate the Chateau and gather more information about them," Richter deduced. "Which is next to impossible since the Marquis has his goons on high alert in preparation for his party."

"Now we know why he's squeezing money from the poor town, eh?" Maria remarked, playing catch with the black turtle she summoned. "Sebastian will not like this at all."

"Who's Sebastian?" Edouard asked.

"That would be our dear friend who lives at the town." Richter answered. "He's been rallying the citizens to raid the Chateau in a week's time in defiance against the Marquis's recent taxations."

Annette sighed in disappointment. "Is he now? Well, it's pointless anyway. If those are the kind of vampires lounging at the Chateau, it'll be a massacre."

"Maybe if we sneak in at night, we can go in undetected." Maria suggested. "We'll have the element of surprise and-"

"Not a chance!" Annette snapped. "What a stupid idea would be to wander into enemy territory at night... when vampires could chase after you without the protection of the sun. You couldn't possibly be any dumber, Maria."

Maria pouted, clutching her turtle. "I just wanted to be useful..."

Annette sighed and quickly stood up from her seat. "Wait here. I need to grab something from the library."

Everyone was silent before Annette left the room, to which Maria crawled a little closer to Richter. "How is it that the both of you know a little too much about this Vaublanc?" He asked. "Was he an enemy of yours?"

"Well..." Edouard smacked his lips and looked at Layla uncomfortably. "... I would say it's far worse than that."

Layla leaned closer to him. "It's okay," she whispered. "They deserve to know, don't they?" She then turned to Richter and Maria with eyes that seen horrific nightmares in the past. "You see, Vaublanc was my former master. He slaughtered my parents and claimed me as an infant when it was clear that I inherited their magical powers. Since then, he molded me into a killing machine and was forced to commit unspeakable crimes in his name. And when I did try to escape, he basically swept the whole colony searching for me..."

Edouard swooped in by her side. "Until I found her. Well, more like she stumbled into my opera house by accident. Since I was a famous singer there, my wealth and status among the high class was enough to conceal her from him."

"Then he begged me to join the slaves' revolt and the rest was history..." Layla chuckled. "Ah, good times. The day I settled to be a pirate is when I realized that I actually felt... well, free. That feeling was truly sweeter than blood, that's for sure."

"So, it's revenge. Against Vaublanc for stealing away the life you could've had." Richter surmised. "Not that I'm against it for I've been wanting to kill Sabrina the moment I see her again too. Those kind of monsters, who snatch away people's lives and feel no remorse from them... they don't deserve any kind of mercy."

Layla grinned at the gesture. "Then we're both on the same page, Richter. Even in small doses, you always seem to amaze me."

Annette suddenly burst into the room with a scroll in her hands. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Would any of you be so kind as to clear the coffee table?"

Richter and Maria nodded and they quickly scoured the empty cups off the table. Once cleared, Annette carefully unrolled the scroll for the rest of the group to see. It smelled of old canvas and candle wax. Richter's eyes widened as he came upon the realization that he was looking at the printed layout of the Chateau.

"It's the Chateau. How did you come across this?" Richter asked.

"Father was a man of many talents. Did I mention that he built that place for the Marquis?" Annette replied. "He had it built for him and ensured that he'll be the only one that knows all of its secrets."

"Gosh, it's a labyrinth of a building. It could be easy to get lost in..." Edouard muttered until something caught his eye. "Wait, there are secret passages all around the Chateau, hidden between the walls. Your father built this? For what?"

Annette smirked. "Well, he wanted to make sure he's always ten steps ahead of his enemies. Father never liked the Marquis at all, so this is one of things he created just to spite him. This is one of the easier ways you could extract information without detection."

Richter nodded along, joined by Maria who understood very little of what's happening. "This is amazing, Annette. Is there a way in, I gather?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." Annette replied. "There's a tunnel down at the wine cellar that leads straight to it. But the catch is that, like Edouard said, it's a labyrinth. It's easy to get lost if you don't know the way in or out."

"If this was already the case, why only now did you decide to reveal this to us?" Layla raised an eyebrow.

As everyone turned to Annette, she lowered her head to avoid eye contact. "I... couldn't find any much use of it until now. It's not like I have any purpose nor gain any pleasure sneaking through the walls of an old man's house now, would I?"

The group nodded with all former suspicions subsided. "But even if we sneak in undetected, don't you think we stand out a bit too much?" Edouard noted. "I mean Richter and the both of you would certainly fit in, but me and Layla stick out like a sore thumb."

"You don't have to," Annette said. "I will attend the party myself alone. I blend in with the nobility as easy as a glove. That way, you don't have to put yourselves in the line of fire and I can also question the other guests for answers at my own leisure."

"Nonsense," Richter quickly objected. "Going in alone is out of the question! What if something happens in there and you get hurt because of it? I won't allow that, Annette. I'm coming with you."

"But what about you, Richter?" Annette looked at him as if it was already obvious from his looks alone. "You're a Belmont, for God's sakes. Your mere existence is a laxative to vampires. You'll blow our cover more than I could."

"That may be true, Annette, but let's face facts." Richter told her. "If you head into the party alone, you are dealing with two powerful vampires there. One is supposedly a gifted swordsman, and the other being Sabrina. And I know her like the back of my mind. She's too powerful a magician and an army of night creatures at her disposal. I say wholeheartedly that you will not stand a chance, but even she cowers at the sight of a fully-realized Belmont. You need my muscle, my protection, and that's final."

Annette sighed defeatedly. "Alright. We will have to dress the part. Father has a collection of old suits that might fit you."

"Neat," Richter simply replied.

"But what about us?" Layla asked. "What are we supposed to do?"

"You and Edouard will be backing us up nearby." Richter proposed. "In the unlikely event that Vaublanc and Sabrina caught us and has the upper hand, we will need all the help we can get."

"That's true. Knowing Vaublanc, I know that he might see through your cover and will butcher you as easily as knife through butter." Layla remarked. "But even then, my power couldn't even come close to his full strength and Edouard would be dead immediately if he faced him. Are there any other suggestions?"

Richter rubbed his chin and when something flashed in his head, he smirked and then turned to Annette. "Annette, do you still know how to make those flash bombs?"

"Flash bombs?" Layla asked. "Haven't heard of those before. Are they your inventions?"

"It's a grenade able to produce a great deal of light, as a way to stun or burn a vampire's skin though only for a moment..." Annette's face brightened. "My word, why haven't I thought of this before. This is exactly what we need. Richter, you're a goddamn genius! How many?"

"By the sound of it, plenty," Edouard suggested. "Other than that, we need to plant lots of it around the area. That way, we can lure Vaublanc into a wild goose chase, igniting those bombs along the way will weaken him until he's unable to defend himself."

"Bingo," Layla clicked her tongue in response. "That's one way to deal with Vaublanc. Wear out his strength for the killing blow. Clever strategy if I've ever seen one. But what about Sabrina? Didn't you say she's a powerful sorceress?"

"Yes, but even she knows to keep her distance and let her night creatures do the fighting for her." Richter replied. "At best, I have a chance of killing her but her night creatures will try their best to keep me at bay and weaken me for her to take the final blow. We have to take her guards down before we get her."

The group nodded along as their plan began to take proper form. Annette was the first to leave the living room to create the tools they needed. Richter returned to his training out in the fields, leaving Maria with Edouard and Layla who promptly feel asleep on the couch.

"And this is a chair laced with a death curse." The child said to Edouard, pointing at the small red chair topped with a dozen talismans. "But as you can see, these protection charms are meant to stall the curse. See?" Maria jumped on the chair to prove the point.

"What is it that your parents do for a living, Maria, for them to receive such artifacts?" Edouard asked.

"My mama's a magician! A powerful one at that!" Maria answered. "And my papa's an explorer. He received them as gifts from other lands. Like this one!"

It was a tapesty written from what seemed like China, held upon the wall. Edouard couldn't quite understand the language from which the calligraphy was written on, but he remembered the illustrations of the four beasts drawn upon the canvas.

"It's the Four Cardinal Beasts of the Han dynasty." Maria explained. "On the top is the Black Tortoise of the North, the Azure Dragon on the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the White Tiger of the West. It was a gift from the Emperor for my papa."

"Aren't these the creatures you've been summoning when you fight?" Edouard asked, realizing the resemblance.

"Yes they are," Maria replied. "From what I've heard, creatures from the Otherworld tend to choose the avatar that summons them into this world. I was so sure that these four only chooses a powerful magician, but in an unexpected way... they chose me when I was born."

"When you think about it, Maria, you already have the capabilities of a powerful magician." Edouard told her. "I mean, you had the likes of Richter and your sister to teach you and you have magic in your veins. Those four beasts chose you for a reason, and I believe this might be the case."

Maria turned to him. "I don't really know. My sister was always so strict and uptight whenever I would hunt vampires with Richter. The other night, I've never seen her so angry with him after we snuck into a Revolutionary meeting..."

"That must mean that she and Richter care about you... even if they go about it in other ways. You made it sound like they were the ones that raised you themselves over..."

Edouard saw Maria looking at him as if it was already obvious. "Were they actually...?"

Maria could only nod. "Papa died when I was still a baby. When Richter came into our family, he was more of a father to me than a brother. When Mama died in Paris, Annette became sort of like my mother."

They left the house and onto a bridge connecting toward a gazebo at the lake. It was empty, except for vines full of beautiful dandelions and two graves set next to each other. With the last two slices from the pie earlier, Maria gave each to both graves. Edouard didn't need to know whom the graves were for. Judging by Maria's mournful look, the answer he was looking for was right there.

"I'll sing a song for them both. But not just them... for Richter's family as well." Edouard held her shoulder. "If you'd allow me to..."

Maria smiled so sweetly as she nodded. "I want to hear you sing. Maybe my parents would love that."

With her encouragement, Edouard stood tall in front of the graves and with a deep breath, an angel's voice would sing.

"When I am laid... am laid in earth. May my wrongs create no trouble... No trouble... In thy breast..."

His song echoed throughout the woods, carried by the whispering wind. To the meadow where Richter trained. To the tower where Annette fashioned her tools. And from the house itself where Layla awoke and listened from afar. They heard, and they felt.

"Remember me... Remember me... But... Forget my fate.

Remember me... But... forget my fate..."