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There is Beauty in Darkness

Summary:

The life of a gipsy has always been difficult. She knows this to be true. Every day is just another struggle for survival. The pain of losing one's entire family was unbearable. The fight to live against those who wished for her death was hellish nightmare. She had been thrown in darkness as punishment for being alive. If this was how she was meant to live...then so be it. But after she meets an infamous Belmont, her life had spiralled out of control, and she welcomes it. The chance to change her fate had come. She had found light in this dark world, gained a family and found the one thing she had not expected.

Notes:

*I do not own any of the Castlevania franchise and no profit of any kind is being made

*Castlevania, in its entirety, is owned by Konami. Eighting. MercurySteam. Kojima. Productions. And M2. The Netflix series belongs to Frederator.

Chapter 1: Silent Prayer from a lowly Gypsy

Chapter Text

The little child cried softly as she tried to sleep. She found it to be exceedingly difficult to do so. Despite being in a warm tent with her mother and father sleeping on both sides, despite them being protected, it did not waver the child's fear when the heard the unholy snarls, howls and clicks the creaturs of the night would make.

She let out a weak whimper as she continued to cry when various shadows flew overhead. The sound awoke her parents and they lovingly gazed down at their sweet child. The mother reached over and ran a gentle hand through her hair, soothing the child of her fears. "Little snowdrop, what ails you so? What has caused you so much distress?" Her father asked her.

The girl sniffled as she hides underneath her blanket. She looked up to her parents as she whispered, "The...the monsters of the night... I hear them. The monsters that live in darkness...I can hear them. I am frightened by them and the dark, father. Father, please rid me of those creatures." She cried as she wrapped her little arms around her father. Her child-like mind believed that maybe her father would make all the bad dreams disappear.

Her parents looked at each other for a moment before turning to their trembling daughter. Her father gently set her down on her pillow and her mother tucked her back in. "There, there. It'll be alright. We are safe and we are protected. The night won't hurt us." Her mother said. The small child wasn't convinced. "B-but...they're still out there...in the darkness... They're waiting..." She said.

Her father stroked her head and said, "Hush my child. Do not fear. The dark may be frightening and unforgiving...but you mustn't the fear of the unknown control you. The darkness cannot hurt you for you are stronger than it. Ease your mind and calm your heart. If you ever find yourself in total darkness then search for the light. For the light you'll find will show you that there is nothing to fear. Be strong and have faith."

It was dead of night. The atmosphere is still and silent, like a photograph. Cold. dark. And it was almost nearing winter. A time where people would be inside of their homes and be warm. Not one person is out this late, and those who dare roam the streets at this time usually hurry home before being seen – and caught – by the creature. One girl knew this fact better than anyone. She kept walking. She couldn't stop moving. She couldn't sleep. Not yet anyway. She couldn't let her guard down just yet. She didn't feel safe yet. Don't stop moving. Keep going. Just a bit longer.

They could still be following her. Watching her. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. While she was aware that it might be impossible at this hour, she didn't want to take any chances. Either one of the creatures might be stalking her right now. Either one is just as dangerous as they appear to be. She needed to find a safe place before she could think to get some sleep for the night. And she must do it quickly.

Why was she left on her own? Did she not have a family? Why was she left to fend for herself? Why her family was taken away? Why was she so hated? Just because she and her family were a little different...? And because of what they were, to the others, it made perfect sense and their actions were justified. It's not fair. The world is not fair.

'It never is.' She thought to herself. In the world and society, there are certain rules and expectations that people must abide. Find a partner, fall in love, get married, have children...and repeat the cycle to be happy. But what if this set pattern takes one or more detours...what if things don't go according to plan? What if one can't go down that route because you are not the same as those around you? What if you can't be a part of that cycle because nobody wants you to be a part of their world? Because you aren't even considered to be human in their eyes.

One tends to break when everything goes wrong or unexpected. In your lifetime, you can only see and feel through your perspective. What effects you. What charms you. What horrifies you. What disgust you. She has yet to find things that charmed her. But she has been affected by the horrid and disgusted eyes of those who would look at her. They hate her. They are terrified of her. They don't trust her. They wished she was dead. And it's all because she and her family have failed to meet their certain expectations of what is...normal.

But...why? Why would her family be taken away from her like that? Why would anyone hurt her people like this? Why was this allowed happen? How was she the only one to have survived? Why had she and her family go through such torment? Are they just undeserving to live? Had they done something wrong? These questions would ring through her head over and over again with each passing day.

The world is so wrong and painful. And even if she were to try, there was nothing she could do to change it. She can't do anything to fix it. How could she? She's still only one girl. A girl who's alone in this world without a friend. Painful memories flashed through her head as she gazes at the full moon above her.

"Mother! Father!" A fearful cry broke through. She dragged through the chaos by the wrist by her father as he and her mother ran away to get her, trying to get their only child to safety. Why...? Why was this happening? They were just having a small party...they weren't doing anything wrong. "My dearest! They're still behind us!" Her mother yelled out. "Keep running! Do not turn back!" She couldn't see the rest of the family anywhere and immediately thought the worst. She was scared that something had happened to them. Her father brought and held his daughter close to him as they ran faster through the woods, trying to outrun their pursuers long enough to find a way to escape. She gripped her father's shirt as she began to cry.

When they think they had lost them, her parents stopped running long enough for her father to say, "Miri, listen to me. We're going to be fine, I promise you. You've got to get out of here as fast as possible and we'll be right behind you. We'll be together soon enough."

"Father, no! Please don't leave me!" Miri cried as she held on to her father's arm and he tried to push towards the empty snowy trail. She didn't want to leave. She needed them. As far as she knew they were all she had. "It'll be alright. Run, my dear child. Run away as fast as you can. You must live." Her father said. "We love you Miri. Please live a long life." Her mother told her.

Just then a loud shout come overhead and fire rained down from the skies. It scared Miri terrible and it caused her to scream in fright. Everything went black and all she heard was muffled screaming and anger-filled shouts. When she finally woke up, Miri quickly realized that she was alone in the forest. She wasn't anywhere near her camp and she couldn't find her parents anywhere. She looked down and saw that she was wearing her father's pendant.

How did she get here? And where is her family? Mother? Father? She tried calling out for them. Crying, begging for them to just come out. But no answer came to her. She ran all over the area to look for them but after two hours, she eventually gave up. Miri fell to her knees, fell to the ground and cried. She cried alone in the forest. And no one heard her.

What was once a small happy, peaceful clan of twenty was now reduced to one. Miri was the only remaining gipsy in all of Wallachia. Eventually, Miri had come to terms with the fact that she must've been knocked unconscious and her parents had somehow managed to get her away and that's how she ended up in those woods. Miri briefly thought about how long she's been surviving on her own. She assumed it to be at least six years. Then again, just surviving in general, she had been doing that for most of her life.

And seeing she was the only one around, wherever she was now, only meant that her parents and the rest of her family...were gone. Killed most likely. And the only home she's ever known is lost forever. Miri only wished that she could've just had a moment...just one small moment to say goodbye. Goodbye to her parents. Her best friends. Her people. One goodbye and she would've been content. But she can't. It was impossible now.

With time, it was getting a little easier to cope. The pain was numb but she still feels it in her heart. But despite having her family stolen from her, her suffering wasn't enough. People were still after her, wanting to kill her. She noticed that they were much more determined than usual. She wondered for so long as to why? Why would they want to hurt her so badly? What possible reason could they have that could justify their actions? Eventually, she had come to learn the reason why she was targeted throughout her travels.

She was searching for food scraps outside of a local bar when she overheard a group of men talking about the events that occurred in Targoviste, which had been recently destroyed. Curious, Miri stayed below the window as she heard them speak. A year ago, a woman had been killed. Burned alive at the stake by the order of some Bishop, who he had classified her as a witch. Found many tools of "witchcraft" in her home. On that same day, the demon known as Dracula, the very being that she had married, had revealed himself to the public in smoke and flames over the pyre.

Enraged, he had told the crowd that by taking her from him, he promised, they had signed their death warrants. He allows the people one year to make peace with their Lord, after which he will return with an army and purge all of humanity from Wallachia. And now that promise has been fulfilled and now the demon army of Dracula is roaming the lands looking for any human to devour and kill.

Now, it all made sense to her. Miri understood why the people of Wallachia were so focused on killing her. Of course, as human nature would want it, the people searched for someone else to place blame on their own mistakes. She listened in more closely and discovered that the Bishop, the very same who had ordered Dracula's wife to be killed, had learned of her people and had ordered for the massacer of her fellow gipsies. When word had got out that she was still alive, the Bishop had ordered for her to be killed as well. Like with her people, in his eyes he saw nothing but corruption and sin in her soul based on her appearance and especially her "demonic" eyes.

He told the people that she was the reason that Dracula had been sent to terrorize them. Told them that she, wanting revenge, had placed a curse on the land and summoned him. He told them that she was to blame and must be purge.

Miri almost pitied them for their actions. Almost. They had killed, what she believed, an innocent woman and they thought that the best way to end the demons' terror was to spill even more blood of the innocent. Now, Miri and her family did indeed practice magic, but they would never use it to hurt others. They refused to use their magic against humans. Which is why they could do so little when they attacked. They knew that, regardless if they were to defend themselves or not, they would still see the gipsies as servants of the devil.

Miri believed she had the worst luck imaginable. Not only was she trying to survive in a world that didn't want her, but she was also trying to survive with hordes of demons running around as well. Miri continued to walk along the trail, searching for a place to spend the night. She looked up and saw that a village up ahead. She thought about her luck of finding an empty house to sleep in. She knew that she had to leave before the people woke the next morning. She knew they wouldn't like to see her.

She spotted a church nearing the centre and decided that should be a safe enough place. She covered her face with the hood of her cloak and quietly made her way to the holy house of God. She carefully opens its great doors and stepped inside. It felt warm and welcoming. Miri removed her hood as she didn't sense any life inside. She looked up at the stained glass portrait of the Holy Jesus Christ and she immediately felt humble. "I'm so sorry. I hope you don't mind me being here. Forgive me, but I have nowhere else to go." Miri said softly as she walked down the aisle, her eyes focused on Heaven's son.

Miri clasped her hands together in prayer as went to her knees and bowed at Jesus's image. "I promise, I shall leave your home at first light. Just let me stay this one night. I'm not sure if you'll listen to a lowly gipsy's prayer. I'm not sure if I should even be speaking to you. But I still see your face in my dreams. And I still talk to you like I am now. Does that mean you were once an outcast too?" She asked. Only the silence answered back. She gave a sad sigh but continued with her prayer.

"I'm not sure how many of my family are out there, but could you please watch over them for me? Could you make sure they stay safe? That they can live in peace? I ask for nothing for myself. I'm doing okay. I can get by. But...for my family and all the children of God, protect them. Make their wishes come true. Let them know that you are there."

Miri finished her prayer and looked up at Jesus and the angels once more. She truly prayed that the Heavenly Father above would hear her wish. Even if it takes a while, she'll keep her faith that he will hear her.

Seeing how there wasn't anything else to say and since she was alone in the church, Miri walked over and laid herself on one of the pews. Making herself as comfortable as she can on the wooden bench. She gazed at the stained glass once more before falling asleep.