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November-16-1832
1:28PM
Outskirts of Romani Seaport, The Church of the Father.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sky was a cloudy dark gray. A slight drizzle had begun to fall. The air was cool and the windy breeze was still present. Autumn was here and the grass had begun to turn a light brown and the leaves of the tress began to change to the usual shades of red they had always did.
Willow had always loved the colors of the Autumn tree's leaves. They soothed her and had always reminded her of her dear sister. She looked at the trees she was passing by and pondered there beauty. It would be a shame when winter came to rid the land of the rich color and replace it with a depressing gray color and a cold white blanket. She would miss the leaves when they vanish for three whole seasons. She shook her head left and right. Willow had been day dreaming. She found it amazing that she could day dream about autumn colors even in the situation that she was in. The wind breezed by and she felt the chill on her pale skin. She shivered slightly and managed to snap out of her daze. She remembered now. She was half naked and tied to what appeared to be a cross made out of large branches that once belonged to her beautiful trees. There were people around her that seemed angry but when she looked at them, they seemed more frightened then they did angry. She heard them shout cruel words and scream at her. " Heathen witch! You'll go to hell!" seemed to be the most popular phrase among the group of people. She turned her head around attempting to see where they were taking her. She couldn't see but the sound of the iron church bell ringing made it clear where they were going. Only now did Willow feel afraid. For the first time in her life she was afraid of the people she once knew. Her own friends had turned on her when the villagers of Romani Seaport burst through her door, stripped her of her clothes and tied her to a cross. She began to panic and shout. " You don't know what your doing! Stop this is a mistake, i did nothing wrong!!" She screamed to the crowd. The screams fell on deaf ears. " Hurry! to the church!" one man shouted. When they finally reached the church, they placed the cross in the front. They shouted, screamed and even threw stones and dirt clods at her. The stones hurt and the dirt clods dirtied her skin. Willow's eyes raced. She screamed and burst into tears. The scream once again was ignored by the villagers but traveled far from the church on the hill. The scream began to fade until Virgil Mercury heard the sound and picked up her stench. He looked towards Derrich, Salem and Dieter. " Do you hear that? Someones screaming for help...." He inhaled deeply. " A woman....shes young..." He continued to inhale the air. Derrich rubbed his hair covered chin. " Hmmmm.....could this be her...?" Dieter began to bear a look of concern (which he rarely did). " Is it her or not? We cannot delay our travel any longer." He said. Salem glanced at Dieter. " Derrich, you swore that we would storm the gates of Castlevania soon! All we've been doing is wandering around Transylvania! I must agree with Dieter when i say we continue on our travels!" Derrich scoffed. " Heh. So eager to plunge to your death are you? Watch your tongue and lets investigate." Virgil raised his face to the clouds and again, inhaled deeply. " Fire...." he muttered. He raised his arm and gestured in the direction of the cry for help. " After you." Virgil said in a sarcastic manner to Dieter and Salem. Dieter rolled his eyes and walked past Virgil, cursing under his breath. The churchyard was littered with people, all screaming in anger and fear at the young woman tied to the cross. They had begun to burn some wood at her feet. Tears rolled down Willow's face as they burned the wood from the trees she had once loved. On a small crate near the fire stood a man dressed in a priests uniform chanting prayers. He looked over at Willow. " Do not worry my child! Soon the glory of the father and son will cleanse your soul of Lucifer!" The crowd cheered as they heard the words. Willow could feel the heat rising up towards her feat and began to shout back. " You don't know what you're doing! Your making a mistake!" The priest grinned. " My dear, i am afraid it is you who know not of what you've done. Witchcraft is a sin punishable by death as it is one of the many tools of the devil himself!" Once again the crowd roared in cheers and laughter. They began pelting her with stones and dirt clods again. At that moment, Willow had stopped shouting and crying. The skies had darkened and thunder clapped. The drizzle had intensified and turned into a full blown storm. The fire had been put out by the rain and the villagers grew silent. The priest stared up at Astrid in horror as she began to radiate a dark energy. Dieter, Salem, Virgil and Derrich had reached the top of the hill and began to witness the chaos that was befalling the group of people. Lightning struck down from the heavens and landed in front of the villagers. They were not harmed but most of them had ran in fear. After all the villagers had fled, Willow focused enough energy to shatter her bonds and float to the ground. She had already been weak when they captured her and the conjuring she had just done wore her out. She fell to her knees and panted. All of the villagers had fled except for the priest who clutched a bible in his hands and shouted prayers as he shivered in fear. Salem walked in front of him and opened his mouth, showing his fangs and said " Boo". to the priest. He screamed and ran along with the fleeing group,shouting " Lucifer is upon us!!!". Virgil, Dieter and Derrich chuckled. As the others laughed, Salem walked over to Willow, whom was still on her knees worn out. He knelt down in front of her and lifted her chin. She looked up at him and was suddenly soothed at his green eyes. They were a vivid color and she nearly felt as if she could fall into them. " Are you alright..?" He asked. She was silent but then shook her head. " Huh? Oh! I'm sorry....I-i'm fine..." She stuttered. She and Salem shared a smile and he held out his hand which he used to help her to her feet. Derrich walked over with the others, clapping. " Bravo, Salem, bravo! And i see your already getting to know our final member." Derrich walked over to her and sized her up. He chuckled again. " I'm sorry m' lady but wouldn't you rather get dressed? Its raining." Willow's eyes widened. She had forgotten she was only wearing her undergarments. Salem removed his cape, placed it on her shoulders and raised the hood over her head. She covered herself and Derrich gestured for her to lead the way. She lead them to her house where she dressed. She wore her usual black regal shirt and black corset that went over it. On her arms she wore black and white striped sleeves like the stockings she wore. She wore black gloves and her tattered Black boots. She even wore her sister's black wide brimmed witch hat. Her auburn red hair flowed down her back. Her eyes were blue and she wore a smile as she spoke to the men who had saved her. " And to whom i owe my thanks to?" She questioned. Derrich stepped forward and bowed. " I am Derrich Howellcrow, head of the Howellcrow clan of vampires." He gestured towards Dieter. " That is Dieter Belmont, bearer of the Belmont coat of arms, one of the few remaining in the famous Belmont clan of vampire hunters." Dieter closed his eyes and nodded. Derrich glanced over at Virgil. " He is Virgil Mercury the son of the famous and infamous Johnathon Mercury, a pure blood wherewolf." Finally he looked in Salem's direction. " I believe you owe thanks to him. He is Salem Grayhardt, son of Samuel Grayhardt and heir to the Grayhardt family of vampires." Willow looked towards Salem. "You have my thanks." She said. He smiled. At that moment, Nytani flew from Salem's pocket and fluttered in front of Willow. "Oh!" Exclaimed Astrid. "And who is this?". Salem shooed Nytani from in front of Willow and she fluttered around and landed on his shoulder. " This is Nytani, she is an old friend." Nytani smiled and laid back on his shoulder with her arms behind her head. " She is beautiful..." Willow said. She had only seen Faerie in books, never in person. She turned to Derrich. " You've rescued me so i can presume you need me for something." Derrich turned to her. " Ah yes. We have been assembling a team. We plan to storm the gates of the dreaded Castlevania and destroy Count Dracula once and for all." Willow's eyes widened. She remembered how her sister, Astrid, had tried to defend her from Dracula when he had attacked her hometown fifteen years ago. He had been searching for something and the town had only gotten in his way. Willow was five at the time and remembered clutching Astrid's hat as she witnessed her die at the hands of the vile count. Dracula had ignored the child and continued his search, leaving Willow to her fate just as he had did with Dieter. She looked over at Derrich who had his hand stretched out towards her. " We've all been wronged by the dreaded count and we seek nothing more then revenge." Derrich said. She hesitated but finally grasped his hand firmly. " He will pay for what he's done to us...." She said coldly. Derrich wore a determined smile.
" Good and now we can finally slay that vile fiend Count Dracula. We make our departure soon, take only what you need." He said, still wearing his smile.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~