Souls Divided-Chapter 3
By Moiraine
	Reinhardt shifted on the hard stone floor while he kept his watch. He had
heard and seen nothing so far, which was just as well. His mind swirled with
thoughts to the point where he would not have noticed anything less than a
large commotion.
	He had been watching Celeste and Carrie sleep for about three hours, since
his watch had started. He found himself trusting both of them completely,
even after knowing them for so short a time. He had to keep his mind on the
challenges ahead, Dracula and the other demons and traps of Castlevania, and
it was good to know that he could trust his companions and their abilities
completely.
	Just then, Celeste tried to turn over and got tangled up in her cloak. As
she struggled to get free, Reinhardt began to laugh. He couldn't help it; she
just looked so funny thrashing around like that. Reinhardt began to laugh
harder, rocking back and forth.
	Celeste sat up, her cloak finally falling off her shoulders. She ran a
distracted hand through her hair and leveled a calm, cool stare at Reinhardt.
	"You look funny when you get tangled up," Reinhardt chuckled,"Maybe we
won't have to fight Dracula. Maybe we could just let him watch you sleep. He
could laugh himself back into oblivion."
	Celeste's lips twitched for a moment, then she laughed quietly and glanced
at Carrie. She moved closer to Reinhardt so as not to wake her.
	"You need to sleep, Reinhardt. I'll keep my watch now."
	"In a while. I think you and I need to talk." Celeste stopped laughing and
looked at Reinhardt. 	        
	"About what?"
	"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be here?" As Celeste's eyesbegan
to flash, Reinhardt continued quickly, "Dracula will use your familyagainst
you, I'm sure. I have a personal grudge against Dracula, but I don't have my
family mixed up in this." He did not mention that he believed her family to
be dead or worse already; as much as he trusted her ability to cope, he
wanted to spare her that much.
	"Why didn't you ask me this in the first place?" She glared at him,"I will
defend my family. And your family is mixed up in this, whether you deny it or
not, Belmont."
	"Our families are 'mixed up in this' in different ways. This is thedestiny
and curse of my bloodline. Your family is being held hostage."
	"Have you ever lost everything you hold dearest to you, Reinhardt?" Her eyes
grew far away and misty as she continued. "When I became an adult, I wanted
to travel. So I did. A few weeks ago, while I was travelling, word came to me
that my village had been attack. I rushed home, only to find my parents had
both been butchered and my brother and sister abducted. My home had been
burned flat and many of our possesions had been taken. I only found one of my
mother's necklaces and my father's flute." She fished a necklace out of her
shirt. It was a golden chain, with stars connected at regular intervals. At
the very center, a small crecent moon dangled. "My mother loved the night
sky," Celeste murmured, "It's why my name is Celeste, short for Celestial."
	Reinhardt looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Celeste....Celestial. I had noidea."
	"I know. I'm not really angry at you; you're just trying to protect me. I
want revenge on Dracula and his minions." She paused. "Please don'task me
this again. I'm going. That's final."
	"I never meant to offend you by asking you this. You're right; I don'twant
to see you get hurt." Hoping to get Celeste's mind off of the loss of her
family and not being able to think of anything else, he asked, "You have a
flute? May I hear you play it?"
	"Mmm-hmm." Celeste sounded like she knew what he was trying to do,but she
did take the flute out of her pack. It was made of white metal, long and
slender, and was worked into a spiral at the end. She started to play a low,
haunting tune and Reinhardt began to feel sleepy. He pulled out his own cloak
and lay down. As his mind began to drift, he thought of something and asked:
	"Do you trust me, Celeste?"
	She paused in her song, her pale eyes searching his face.
	"Yes. Yes I do, Reinhardt." Then she resumed playing, and Reinhardtwent to
sleep staring up at the shadows, wondering if they would ever be out of
Castlevania.
End Chapter 3

Okay, you know the drill. Questions or comments, email me at
moiraine@apexmail.com. Hope you enjoyed it!