So another Symphony of the Night sequel show theory:
Instead of Alucard being the one who needs help with his trauma and loneliness its Maria who needs and gets it because oh my god is that girl traumatised and probably also has survivor's guilt.
And probably wants to be a hero and acts recklessly because she doesn't want to watch helplessly while someone, especially people that she cares about, dies again.
And Alucard would realise this and try to help her heal, move on and develop a sense of self preservation.
With each love I cut loose
I was never the same
Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame
I was fixed on your hand of gold
Laying waste to my lovin' long ago
If any of my fellow MariaxAlucard fans/shippers are looking for something to read I'd like to recommend The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
It's a Supernatural/Urban fantasy trilogy and 1 standalone which focuses on a witch called Diana Bishop who is trying to live asa regular human as her parents were murdered because of their powers.
She's a Doctorwho studies the history of science and alchemy and is working and living at Oxford University when she unintentionally finds a book that holds the key to the survival of the 3 races of supernatural beings.
After this discovery she meets Professor Matthew De Clairmont, 1500 year old vampire who also works at Oxford who tries to protect her from all the other supernatural beings who are now watching and following in the hope that she finds the book again.
While she'd resistant to his efforts in the beginning Diana very quickly finds herself being drawn to and trusting him and as they fall on love they set off a chain of events that will change their world forever.
It could make for a great Maricard/Maria/Alucard au fic.
Other details:
Interesting lore.
Scientific studies of supernatural beings by supernatural beings in order to discover their origins and a solution to their current crisis.
Diana is incredibly powerful.
Both characters are in their 30s ( or in Matthew's case appear to be)
Sexy and passionate love scenes.
The author is a former academic so the trilogy is filled with alot of indepth and complex scientific and historical concepts, theories etc.
Magical creatures.
A great found family story.
It does have a tv show, the first season came out in 2018 and I believe they started filming season 2 at the end of last year.
castlevania show was a mistake i cant have maricard haters up on my dick cus "shes 17 when she meets him!" we rly dgaf the radio show & later games said they were inlove now move ugly
A good ship. OTP. Alucard deserves some love and tenderness after everything that he’s been through. And Maria is so sweet and she can kick ass. But she genuinely cares about him and no one is going to convince me otherwise that he didn’t feel for her too.
I hope we see them together in the show. They’d be beautiful. 💚💛
Yup here is part 2/the final part of this drabble series as promised! Once again thank to the Maricard Discord for encouraging this and push me to write this as well. This time it’s from Alucard’s POV. Once again, these are my own HCs for my own AU with nothing to do with the games. Enjoy! 💚💛
Summary: She was strange but he was still drawn to her. Her presence was a warmth, like the embrace of the dawning sun. It was against his better judgment, but he wants her to stay...
Maricard. 1,755 words. Rated T.
—
Now, whenever they bathed at the same time, he did not mind.
His back remained turned of course, but whenever he went to wash his back, he caught a glimpse of Maria’s strawberry blonde tresses. It covered the whole of her back, hiding everything. He always found his eyes lingering for a brief moment before looking away.
It was strange, all the things that he was experiencing with this woman. Things that he had not experienced before. And in a way, it frightened him. He had sworn to himself, to never let anyone near. Yet here she was.
This strange, yet sweet girl. He couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. There was a warmth in her presence, like the embrace of the sun at dawn.
And he hadn’t meant to, but there was the faintest of smiles on his lips. He couldn’t help it. And once again, it frightened him.
It had been a week, but Maria diligently tended to his burns. She would do it quietly, ask no questions. And she left him be after. She didn’t force her place into his life, but she had carved out her place there.
And soon, his bandages would need changing. Again. It was easily the part of the day that he most looked forward to.
His wounds no longer hurt, for which he was grateful. But soon, he wouldn’t need to be tended to. And that…
He waded out of the stream. He knew, he supposed, that she could hear the splashes or feel the waves. She never turned though. And he was grateful. For many reasons and one of them was painfully, painfully obvious.
Perhaps it was a natural response, but he was feeling shame for it and he couldn’t bear to look at it. And he did not want to think about it, especially not with her.
“All done?” she asked, her voice gentle. A little playful too, did he dare think?
“I am,” he said, trying to keep his tone as even as ever. She wouldn’t see his struggle if he could help it.
Maria hummed, “Alright. Let me finish and we can walk back together.”
As they always did. He had to admit, the silent walk through the trees was one of Alucard’s favorite things now. He felt a weird, tingly sensation each time. And it was a welcome thing as well.
He slowly put on his clothes, giving her time to finish up. He’d learned in the past week to time it so that they could be ready to walk back at the same time.
Perhaps he was slow but it wasn’t very long at all when he heard the splashes that indicated that she was getting out of the stream. He never looked. He could never think about it. But he had learned the sounds well to know when he could.
Maria was a creature of habit, she always did everything in a particular way. And everything had a sound. He knew when she exited the stream, when she picked up her dress, and the sound it made when she put it on. It felt wrong, in a way, to memorize these sounds. But it was almost like a song that he had memorized, one that could make him smile in quieter moments.
He could tell that her dress was on before he turned to cross the stream. He could feel her eyes turn to him as he hopped the stones on the stream. He tried to keep his lips from twitching upward.
There seemed to be satisfaction as he made it to the opposite bank. He wondered if she’d noticed. If she did, she didn’t say anything. And he was oddly thankful for that.
What he didn’t expect was for her to grab his hand. Even more shocking, he didn’t slap her hand away or retreat. He let her hold it.
But he did blink.
And that she did seem to notice.
“I’m sorry if-”
Alucard shook his head, “It’s alright. I don’t mind…”
I like it…
She searched his face for any discomfort, “Are you sure? I only want for you to be comfortable around me…”
He gave a small, reassuring smile.
“I’m quite fine, I promise. Shall we go back to the castle, then?”
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before gently tugging him along.
This would be a rather...interesting walk back to the castle at the very least…
---
Alucard closed his eyes as he felt her fingers glide down the scorched skin. He couldn't tell what was more soothing, the balm or the touch of her fingers.
The rational part of his mind was screaming at him to stop and think. The last time he had let someone so close, they had burned him. Quite literally. But that part of his mind was silenced by the part that was now easing into her touch.
If his resolve had been stronger, he would've left her out for the buzzards. But he couldn't. That wasn't his way. He nursed her back to health and still he did not ask her to leave. She stayed. She didn't bother him. Occasionally, he would hear her sing outside. And sometimes he would sit at his window listening to it. But she never came to him for anything. She never asked for anything. Even the dinners he found himself making, that was on him. She'd never asked. Nor did she expect.
She was quite different. But in the way his mother had been. Was this how his father had felt when she'd come knocking?
No. He didn't dare go that far.
"Hmmm," she looked at his scars once more before looking back at his face. "I think these are just about healed. I think perhaps one more day and you won't be needing bandages anymore."
This would've been wonderful news. But he found his mood dampening. He didn't want this to stop, that would mean his excuse to spend time with her would end. He wouldn't be able to feel the calming effect of her fingers against his wounded skin anymore.
And in any other circumstance, he couldn't just ask her to touch him. And he wasn't sure if in any other context he could bear it.
But her touch was so healing...
"I see. Thank you," he sounded so hoarse. She didn't seem to mind.
She washed her hands in the nearby basin and he watched her as he always did. She was objectively beautiful, he'd say. He had refrained from thinking such thoughts, but now he let his mind wander a bit.
Maria wiped her hands with a nearby towel before turning back to him.
"I will be back tomorrow," she said, bowing her head. She turned on her heel.
He would have let her go and he would've watched as she went. He would've watched her strawberry blonde curls bounce as she walked away. He would've committed it to memory. He wasn't sure why. And he should be fighting this.
But he didn't want to.
"Maria," he called out, his voice as loud as he could muster.
She turned a little, looking over her shoulder.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Please. Stay a while..."
She seemed surprised by his request. Alucard couldn’t say it surprised him all that much. Until today, he kept Maria at arm’s length. He didn’t throw her out of the castle but he’d never made any attempt to talk or get to know her. He only knew what she’d been asked when she first arrived.
“Very well, Adrian,” she answered. She pulled up a spare chair from a forgotten corner in the room and sat on it. And for a few seconds, neither of them said anything.
Mainly because he was still getting used to being called Adrian. She didn’t call him Alucard anymore, but Adrian.
"You are not your father. You are not Alucard, son of and foil to Dracula. You are Adrian Tepes, your own man..."
The words still struck him no matter how many times he repeated them. Only his mother had insisted on calling him Adrian. The vampire community and even his own father just called him Alucard. And he officially took up the name after his mother’s death. But he had to admit, he never much liked the name either. It just reminded him that he was in his father’s shadow. And now he was cursed to remain there forever, it seemed.
But this woman didn’t seem to believe that at all. And she made sure to remind him of that every time she spoke his name.
He was curious about her to say the least. And he wanted to know.
“You’ve been here for months and I’m afraid I know almost nothing about you…” he started off and immediately she shifted uncomfortably. He instantly regretted his words.
“I’m sorry I just…”
She shook her head, “It’s alright, Adrian. I’m afraid I’ve told you most about me. I am all that’s left of my family. I was lucky enough to flee. My family’s powers will live through me and the daughters I have. But it is not a certainty and entirely possible that my line will end with me. I’m not sure a life on the run is something I would wish on anyone, let alone potential children.”
She looked sad as she said it, but her eyes were downcast. She didn’t say anything else. And he felt a little guilty about asking.
“Forgive me, I should’ve been more tactful,” he apologized once more.
She smiled up at him then, “No need for apologies. We’re friends after all. You didn’t mean it that way...”
Friends…
He looked at her. Is that what they were? Friends?
He’d had them before but...it seemed different in this instance, in a way that he couldn’t describe.
“I’m sorry did I overstep…?” she asked.
He looked at her long and hard. He had the perfect response for that.
“No need for apologies. We’re friends after all…”
And she gave him the most dazzling smile he’d ever seen on anyone. He had thought that her presence was the embrace of the rising sun but her smile was as bright as the sun at its zenith.
It felt sappy to think about, but it was true. He felt warm around her. Safe. A feeling he had not felt in so long. And there was peace. Peace he hadn’t felt since he had a home with his family.
She moved closer and his breath hitched ever so slightly. But it wasn’t uncomfortable, even a little bit.
“May I take your hand?” she asked.
He nodded, “You may…”
Her hand was warm as she curled her fingers around his hand. Warm, healing. A feeling that he didn’t want to go away.
Words didn’t need to be said. They remained sitting like that, enjoying each other’s presence.
Yes, this is the peace that he had been seeking. He didn’t have to be miserable anymore. Maria was a strange girl, nothing could deter her. A sweet, determined girl.
He hoped to stay like this, even for a little while…
