Belmont Twins (OC x Alucard)

32

Elizabeth raced up the stairs, huffing as her lungs ached from the sudden cardio. She kept her breathing deep and long to ensure she didn't pass out from the running.

She could hear Trevor above, throwing benches and chairs at the main door, barricading them in. Elizabeth said a silent prayer, begging for some luck, any luck that they'd get through this. They couldn't survive a siege and they didn't have the numbers right now for an all-out battle. The enemy had the upper hand, whoever they were. 

The rumbling ceiling sent a beam flying down at Elizabeth, she barely managed to dodge it, hurling herself into a book pile to avoid being crushed. She cursed herself as she felt a familiar twinge in her shoulder. She knew she couldn't let it pop out again. She ripped her cloak up, tearing it with her teeth and binding her shoulder tightly - to the point of pain - so it wouldn't come loose. She could still move her arm, just, but she knew this was her only choice. 

Elizabeth got to her feet and moved along the large glass cabinets that lined the wall, most of the glass had been shattered and the herbs inside scattered across the floor. She cursed again, the three jars she needed were half empty and she wasn't sure how dry they needed to be for what she was planning.

She snatched the jars from the shelves sending other jars toppling over the edge of the railing, Alucard shouted something from below that she didn't catch. 

"Sorry!" she shouted, running back to a workbench nearby. She plopped the contents onto the table. Elizabeth feared they had grown mildew and mould but when she rubbed the tips of her fingers over the leaves and stems, they felt dry and cracked. Elizabeth's eyes blazed with joy, her plan would work.

"Foxhern, Cattleweed and Poppy petals," she checked the barely legible labels that had faded over the years. She took 4 Poppy leaves and ground them up with her thumb, trying not to waste any of the powder, "...Mix with 3 parts Foxhern," she took the small blue stems and crushed them too, mixing them in with the dried up flower petals, "...was it one or one and a half parts Cattleweed? " she couldn't remember the rest, she knew the base ingredients but not the warning she had been giving for making such a volatile poultice. She paused, her mouth moving as she recalled the memory of Peter's lessons. The memory went hazier the more she tried to focus on it like it was slipping from her fingers.

"Fuck it," she told herself, putting in two parts Cattleweed. She used the bottom of the jar to smoosh the darker leaves together, crushing the entire mixture together until it was a fine powder. She took two empty glass flasks that had survived the earthquake ploughing through the hold and scraped the tincture into both. Elizabeth fumbled for a cork or stopper but they had slipped through the thin slits in the wood and fallen to the floor below.

"Elizabeth!" Trevor hollered from above, his voice cutting through the rumbling. Trevor wouldn't be able to defend the barricade by himself and whatever was coming was about to break through the hold door.

"Fuck," she swore again, opting to place her thumb over the flasks as she half ran-half dodged debris to get up the next set of stairs.

She wobbled as a final thud boomed down on her. Her ears popped at the force of it.

"They're through!" Trevor shouted, the sound was muffled as she tried to move her jaw to pop her ears back in. Elizabeth leant forward and propelled herself faster up the stairs. She almost dropped one flask when she reached the top, believing there to be another step. Trevor caught her before she hit the floor, her arms held up straight in the air so she didn't break flasks.

"Change of plans, sister," he said getting her to her feet, "Alucard is going to use the mirror to find Dracula's castle, they think they can trap it. We just can't survive a siege like this," Elizabeth agreed, nodding at him. She was glad to see the fear in his eyes replaced with his steeled confidence.

He looked at the flasks, "Is that what I think it is?" he took one of the flasks from her, keeping his own thumb over the opening.

"I thought a hail mary wouldn't go amiss," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You thought this," he held up the flask, "Was a hail mary? This is-" he couldn't find the right word to describe how much of a hail mary it is, this powder was one of the most volatile concoctions they had, something that Peter shouldn't have shared with them as children. But today, it might just save their lives.

"Attiwen," she said, calling the powder by its alchemical name. The powder was unique in its chemistry, it wasn't flammable or dangerous to the touch but when mixed with metal and liquid, it could create a burst of light equivalent to the power of the sun. This is why the tincture was exceedingly rare and complicated to make, one wrong ingredient or one wrong component could result in a failed explosive. Trevor had tried to make it as a joke - thankfully Peter had stepped in - and almost blinded Elizabeth when they were 9.

"Attiwen," Trevor agreed, 

"If all else fails, we can use this. We will protect them for as long as we can," she said, clasping her brother's shoulder.

"For as long as we can," he agreed again, both of them exchanging a look that felt like goodbye before the doors were blown open by a large hulking beast.