Chapter 11: Clementine

Clementine stared at the naked man sprawled on the bed in front of her. This was not what she'd expected when she'd decided to explore the castle.

Thank God he's asleep, thought Clementine as her eyes wandered over his supine form. She'd never seen a naked man before, and this one appeared to be a prime specimen.

Suddenly he stirred. His eyes flew open and landed on Clementine.

"Mon Dieu..." he exclaimed in a voice that tugged at Clementine's memory.

She backed away towards the door. Before she could escape, the man was standing in front of her. She hadn't seen him move.

 Clementine gasped when she saw his face. "Alucard!"

His name seemed to give him pause. He gave her a puzzled look as he examined her. Finally comprehension dawned.

"C'est un rève," he said softly to himself.

"No, Alucard..." Clementine protested, catching the French word for dream. But it was too late. Apparently being deemed a figment of his imagination made her fair game to the vampire.

Before she could make another sound, he'd sunk his fangs into the flesh of her neck.

Clementine gasped as endorphins from his bite flooded her system. She felt so warm and at peace. When Alucard finally pulled away she made a small sound of protest.

"Shh, mon ange," he whispered as he stroked her hair.

 Clementine's mind was fuzzy. She'd never been held like this before. All she could think of was how right it felt. She struggled to remember why she'd thought this was wrong.

Her eyes flew open. Her mother!

But just then Alucard's mouth descended upon hers and all rational thoughts fled. As Clementine's mind clouded again, she lost herself to the deluge of sensations.

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Clementine snuggled into the strong arms that surrounded her. Then realization dawned and her eyes snapped open.

"Mother fucker!" she swore as she scrambled out of bed and grabbed her underwear.

Alucard's eyes fluttered as he regained consciousness. "Mon ange!" he called after her as she fled in nothing but her bra and panties.

And ran right into her three younger sisters who stood looking at her with their mouths hanging open.

"What are you three doing here?!" Clementine yelled at them.

"We thought something went wrong with the time machine and followed you to make sure you were okay," Eliana explained.

Clementine ground her teeth. This was just what she didn't need. She paused as she noticed the look of shock on her sisters' faces.

Alucard stood behind her in all his glory, not embarrassed in the least.

She turned to her sisters. "You three dowstairs!" she ordered. "Now!" she added when they still stood rooted to the floor. "And stay put! I'll deal with you in a minute," she told their retreating backs.

"And you," she said looking at Alucard. "Put some clothes on."

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Clementine refused to talk to Alucard half-naked, and there was no way she was going back into his room to get her clothes. So, she'd scoured the other bedrooms and had found a beautiful gown she'd immediately fallen in love with.

No longer feeling quite as vulnerable, she knocked on Alucard's door.

"Entrez," came a muffled voice from inside.

Upon seeing him, Clementine rolled her eyes. While he had finally put on some clothes, the way he was sprawled on the bed brought to mind the cover of a cheesy romance novel.

He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move.

"So..." she said eloquently. Clementine didn't know where to start.

When it was apparent she wasn't sure what to say, Alucard spoke, "I enjoyed your company last night, mon ange, but perhaps you would like to explain what you and les jeunes demoiselles are doing in my home?" he quirked an eyebrow at her as he slid off the bed.

This comment irritated Clementine. "Enjoyed my company?!" She had given him her virginity. Not only that, but before last night, she hadn't even been sure how she felt about the male species. Faye had been the only person she'd ever been romantically involved with.

Alucard, sensing he'd said the wrong thing, tried to calm her.

But Clementine would have none of it. "You bit me against me will! And you took my virginity!"

Alucard tried to say something, but Clementine was on a roll. "Not to mention the fact that you're my mother's former lover!" she accused him.

"Your mother?" he asked.

"Of course she hasn't even been born yet..." Clementine continued. 

Alucard just looked puzzled.

Suddenly Clementine broke into sobs. "I'm such a horrible person. My parents just died and my sisters traveled back in time because they were worried about me and here I am fucking my mother's ex."

Although clearly confused, Alucard nevertheless wrapped her in his arms, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Clementine asked once her sobs had been reduced to hiccoughs.

Alucard sighed. "You are right, I should not have bitten you."

"Why did you?" she asked.

"Clearly this is not the first time you have encountered a vampire."

"No, my brother's a vampire." She didn't mention the fact that Devon was also his son, it was just too weird.

"Then you know we must feed regularly. When we do not...our control becomes weaker," he paused. "It has been much too long since I have sought a willing donor. When you came upon me, I was in a state of near delirium."

"You thought I was a hallucination," Clementine said slowly.

Alucard nodded. "You were dressed strangely and seemed to know me. I took you for an angel come to save me."

Clementine wasn't sure what to say. This Alucard seemed much less self-assured than the one she remembered meeting as a child. Much more vulnerable.

"Why did you go so long without feeding?" she asked after a moment.

Alucard made a face. "Unlike some of my brethren, I do not wish to feed from unwilling victims." He sighed. "And yet, it is forbidden to reveal our nature to anyone. The threat of discovery is simply to great."

"So you shut yourself in your castle and starve," she guessed.

"Yes."

Clementine hadn't thought about how hard it must have been for vampires before their existence was widely known and the option of drinking plasma was made available to them.

"You still have not answered my question regarding your presence though," said Alucard, changing topics.

"I'm from the twenty-first century. My parents were killed in a fire so I used a time-machine my sister built to travel back in time and try and prevent the fire from happening." Clementine paused. "Something's obviously gone wrong though." She sighed, "And the three girls you encountered earlier are my sisters. Apparently they decided I needed rescuing and followed me through time."

"And you cannot go back to your time?" asked Alucard.

"No, I tried. I'm not a genius like my sister, but I managed to figure out the time machine only works when travelling to the past," Clementine explained. Why hadn't Alucard accused her of being insane yet? She was used to it, and in this case he would have been justified.

"So you are stranded here?" he asked.

Clementine could have sworn he was fighting to hide a smile, though she couldn't imagine why. "I guess so," she said slowly. "Until Leila manages to fix the time machine at least."

"Then I insist you and your sisters stay with me."

Clementine was saved having to answer by a knock on the door.

It was Dawn.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but a messenger brought this letter for you," she said, handing Alucard a piece of paper. "He said it was urgent."

Upon reading the letter, Alucard frowned. He looked up at Clementine. "I am sorry, mon ange, but this is indeed urgent. I must leave at once." He didn't look too pleased about it. "I will return as soon as possible," he continued, "but you are welcome to stay here in my absence."

"But—" Clementine started.

Alucard cut her off, "If you need anything in town, simply mention my name and you will be taken care of." Upon seeing her look of confusion, Alucard sighed. "I will explain everything when I return."

Before Clementine could utter another word, he planted a quick kiss on her lips and disppeared in a blur of speed.

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After Alucard's sudden departure, Clementine had had a talk with her sisters. As mad as she was at their disobedience, she had to admit she was glad she wasn't stranded in the past alone.

"Don't worry," Leila had told her. "I'll have the time machine working properly in no time."

While her sisters continued their exploration of the castle, Clementine had decided to go into town to survey the lay of the land, so to speak. She'd always been fascinated by the Middle Ages, and now that she had a chance to experience them first hand, she wasn't going to remain cooped up in a castle.

On her way into town, Clementine noticed a large tavern. Figuring a stiff drink couldn't hurt, she wandered inside.

"Oh, thank God!" a man exclaimed as soon as she entered.

He rushed over to her and introduced himself. "My name is William," he said as he shook Clementine's hand. "You must be here to apply for the job."

"Job?" Clementine was confused.

"I'm sure your cooking skills are just fine. You'll start immediately!"

Clementine just nodded mutely. Her dream of becoming a chef had finally come true. Sort of...