TO Rewrite: B2 — 22. A Tortured Soul (Patreon)

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1. Scarlet Park (Our Fanged Girl Will Fight!)

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A stillness fell over Scarlet’s typically sporadic and frantic mind as she walked along the crimson hallway of the blood castle. Illa and Cássia were beside her, with the pumpkin-dressed ginger latched onto her arm as usual. She felt invincible. She felt powerful. No one had been able to so much as get near her throughout their journey.

Shimmering red liquid floated around them, crystallizing at times and forming points where she instinctively felt an attack—not that she felt threatened; if anything, she felt on top of the world. It didn’t take long for the other vampires to realize how outclassed they were.

The morbid paintings and sculptures that lined the corridors showed what kind of place this was before Elizabeth took control of the barony. Artwork of yearly cullings and the servant selection ceremony, where a certain unlucky set of children would be taken and groomed to oversee the care of the barony, was bone-chilling.

Then again, they passed dozens upon dozens of trapped vampires and humans, condemned to their fate by the Queen of Blood herself. In their winding path, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for the sentenced individuals trapped in the castle to act as blood donors for refusing to recognize the land’s new rule. Every one of them either had a dead look on their faces or struggled frantically upon seeing them, begging for help.

Cássia mournfully led the way through the sobering sight of her mother’s handiwork, taking them to her mother’s office in the northernmost wing of the colossal fortress. Music filled the spires, resonating through the walls as a frightened host of vampires trailed after them, unsure what to make of the prisoners and unwilling to incur Elizabeth’s wrath by feasting on the vulnerable humans.

The 13-year-old spoke softly as they went, and Scarlet sensed that the girl had total faith in her ability to keep her safe. Something deeper was brewing within the sad teenage girl, though; festering negativity clawed its way up the brunette’s chest the closer they got to her mother.

“What is it like here? Hmm. There are no heroes in this world. No hope by any standard we would use of Earth…this is their reality.”

Illa smiled at one of the vampire maids posted outside a random room, who curtsied as they passed. “That’s sad. They look so happy.”

“I…suppose they are,” Cássia unemotionally commented, nodding at the girl as the prowling vampires behind them eyed her suspiciously.  “I’ve made peace with many of the young girls that flocked to the castle when the Countess took her throne…

“I’ve heard what it was like through them… Natives, who told me much about how horrific their lives were here…at least, as I said, by Earth standards. They do not have the same perspective as we would. What the Countess offers is heaven to the hell that they experienced…even offering them immortality by her side.”

Illa perked up at the conversation as they stepped up their fourth set of stairs; it seemed to resonate with her. Scarlet glanced back at the nervous night stalkers, but none of them wanted to test her defenses after the first thirty met their end. She wanted them to remember the pain the others felt from her attacks—the weird corruption that came from the seeds her blood left within them.

“She sounds a lot more reasonable and tame compared to the stories I’ve heard about, ahem, the most prolific female serial killer in history!” the ginger giggled. “From everything I’ve seen, she’s more like a slave liberator. All the girls here are cute and seem to love working here. Although…I don’t like how some of them treat you, Cássia. What’s their deal? Do they just hate the boss’ daughter or something stupid?”

Cássia’s frame shook with gentle laughter. “Perhaps I overstep my bounds from time to time, and they see me as ungrateful. I do not blame them, though it can hurt… That being said, yes, the Countess does have a generous and benevolent side to her…and also a cruel and disgusting side that few get to witness…”

Scarlet rubbed her arm at the blunt comment. With her focused emotional senses, she could feel the conflicted odium swirling within the girl’s core. It was confusing to separate, though, and she had to wonder if Cássia had been forced to become a vampire, along with her mother.

Her blue eyes transformed into their enhanced pupilless crimson, bypassing Cássia’s clothes and penetrating her skin to see the mass of blood continuing to be pumped into the girl’s failing body, where her liquid organs fought to keep herself from totally collapsing.

What happened between her and her mother? She was so defensive of her when the barons and baronesses showed up, and she’s so respectful of her mom, yet…there’s this disconnect. I can get that, though… What am I supposed to do about my own mother? There’s rage, hurt, and guilt buried within Cássia. Am I the same?

Her hand pressed against her chest, trying to feel her heartbeat, yet nothing met her searching fingers. Illa huffed upon seeing the glaring Noble Vampires at the foot of the stairs, pulling Scarlet’s mind away from the topic.

“Talk about chickens more than bats! Do you like watching our asses that much? Gross! Haha. They talked a big game until the first wave got demolished! I expected Mythickin and Legendkin to come after us, but…all these guys are weak. Where are they?”

Cássia paused a few steps away from the top, her liquid-like ruby eyes drifting to the small crowd of mumbling vampires below, waiting to find an opportunity to attack.

“The Mythickin and Legendkin? Dead… Most of them are dead. They can feel their masters are gone. No one will save them now, so they’re trying to figure out what to do next… Some died the moment their master did. Others can survive without them…yet these are destined to die. Let’s continue.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Illa jumped in, releasing Scarlet’s arm to chase after the teenager. “You know something! C’mon, spill.”

Scarlet shivered at the 13-year-old’s somber words. Since they left the room and started this slow journey, the girl had gone through a gradual change. Cássia didn’t want to rush their path, for some reason, as if she was walking into the depths of her own nightmare with every step toward their destination, yet she pressed on.

“How do you know that?” Scarlet asked, shocking herself with how calm she was with the insanity that this mission was. “Can you tell what is happening with Rachel and Maria’s groups?”

Illa giggled while flipping around to wink at her, finding her hands behind her back. “I bet the hare and charming fae lady have found a nice room to share an intimate, eh-heh, discussion by this time. What do you think, Scarlet? They totally have a connection! I can sense these things.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet mumbled, “if by sense these things, you mean she’s a manipulative succubus that uses her powers to control people. Sure…”

“Aww. C’mon!” the ginger urged, hopping forward to take her arm in hers again. She shook them both back and forth a little through their linked arms as she squealed and blushed, her body heat rising. “Can’t you see it after they were sooo close to kissing? There’s total chemistry there. Hundred percent! Uh, how long until we’re there, Cássia? I’m getting thirsty. Anyone want to offer a little blood?” she innocently chimed.

The brunette’s elegant red dress shifted a little as they reached a branch, and she turned to study the ginger. Silence stretched as she stared the girl down.

“Uh…what’s up, Cass? Eh-hehehe. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Cássia smiled, but it wasn’t the child-like charm she had shown before. A short hum rumbled in her throat before she turned and continued their path. Her fingers now slid across the wall, a pained expression on her face, and the reflective blood crystal showed her small fangs as she spoke.

“Vampires…life’s breath in the vein. Souls sacrificed to revive us…or we rot away. Want for the weary, and death for the sane. We’re cursed, yet nonetheless, we cling on to the darkness as if we are the chosen…born from the graves. How long can our fading light linger before it is snuffed out while we dream of looking at the sun or cities of gold? Our debt is yet to be paid.”

Illa forced a laugh, glancing at her for support. “Okay. Creepy much? What are you saying, Cássia?”

“I can feel it sung through the walls…” the teenager said, fingernails tapping against the wall as they increased their pace. “The other girls talk through it, the music hiding their voices. An old song…an ancient song sung by the natives. It won’t be long now, Illa. What do you want out of this quest?”

Scarlet’s head tilted to the side, and her eyes returned to their blue color as a desperate-looking vampire jumped out of a shadowy corner. Her blood struck before he even had the chance to form fully, allowing only a gurgle from him. She sighed as they kept walking, leaving the wounded vampire to scramble away, pleading for help from his trailing companions.

They gave him a large breadth as her curse activated. Scarlet wasn’t sure when she’d gained it, but it had grown more powerful since affecting the sand toad weeks earlier. The man screamed as thorns and red vines crawled out of his body, and Scarlet lifted her hand to her breast again, now feeling the beating of her heart—the very essence of the crying man being sent to her through the aether. It wasn’t long until the vampire was dust on the carpet.

“Yikes,” Illa gulped, waving at the white-faced vampires; it wasn’t the first time seeing the experience, and whatever thorn bush infecting the man vanished along with him. “You really are crazy strong and scary, Scarlet… You’re so cool!”

Cool? How can Illa think it’s cool? I guess…it’s convenient, if nothing else. It feels like I devour everything they are…everything.

The attempts were becoming more rare. Honestly, she’d expected a lot more in this game of cat and mouse…but she was more like a dragon. It was fair to conclude by now that the majority weren’t after Cássia, and that confused her. Why go for this big game if you were going to let the prize escape? Unless Cássia wasn’t the big prize.

Illa met the teenager’s sober gaze and reluctantly pulled away from Scarlet to grip her elbow. Her pigtails weaved a little with her shaking head as she stared at another set of citizens and enemy soldiers trapped in the wall. Cássia’s question seemed to bug the 16-year-old ginger.

“Me? Oh, yeah, heh…stupid dude—they’re really just committing suicide at this point,” she redirected. “Uh, what do I want from this quest? Hard question. Well…I just wanted to meet Scarlet—my hero—and tell her about this big gathering with your mom.”

“Is that right?” Cássia whispered, the haunting rhythm echoing through the walls giving the impression that they walked through a dying world of blood and bone. “When did you become such a fan of Scarlet?”

“When?” Illa’s cheeks sucked in, fidgeting with her broken bra strap again. “Umm.  I…don’t know.  Hehe. Weird. I…don’t know. This party just…sounded like a place we wouldn’t be judged, I guess,” she weakly shrugged. “I didn’t expect all of this, though! No way. It’s been a little…hard the last few weeks.”

“It’s been hard?” Cássia repeated, her lips lifting into a sorrowful, reflective smile. “I suppose you could say that… It has been far more than a few weeks for us… For me,” she mumbled, stopping in front of a large double-sized door, glowing a dull red hue. “It’s been nearly two months without breath in my lungs…Two agonizing months of torture, questions, and bleeding hearts.”

Scarlet’s vision narrowed when a light fog drifted past them, gradually thickening. Behind them, all sound died—a powerful enemy was coming. Spinning around, she no longer saw the tailing vampires. An ominous hum reverberated through Scarlet’s senses as her blood closed in tighter, and the door forward became obscured.

“Scarlet?” Illa cried, pressing in as the instruments and vampire chatter faded, replaced by the haunting whistle of the wind. The breeze gently pressed their gowns against their frames, circling them like sharks. “Okay, this has to be a big player! Is it the Nosferatu—maybe a Hunter that uses magic?!”

Scarlet’s eyes widened, turning crimson to pierce the veil. Caution was in her chest—these were a threat to her—yet, just like the walls, her vision didn’t penetrate far. This strange world was the first time her powers seemed dampened, and an edge of doubt crept into her heart. Fortunately, it didn’t waver due to Cássia’s elixir.

I’m not weak! I’m empowered by this elixir. Rachel wouldn’t be scared, and neither am I!

Cássia held her hands at her front, remaining totally still while standing beside them, studying the vortex of silent fog; she named who hunted them. “…House Melchiott.”

A shape in the mist snatched Scarlet’s attention, and the shadow burst through the haze. It was one of the Noble Vampires that had been stalking them; he was practically human with a few extra strength and speed Feats—maybe a little magic—he didn’t stand a chance.

“T-They’re everywhere! I can’t…I can’t hear,” he wept, tiny cuts covering his tattered clothes. “Where are they?! Where are they—the voices—can’t you hear the voices?! I can’t teleport. My magic…I—ugh…”

A fireball sparked at his fingertips, and he launched it, yet the flames fizzled out centimeters upon leaving his hand. Lightning followed, and it dissipated into nothing before making it a meter, and his wild swipes met empty space. Scarlet frowned as he stumbled too close, finding his end at the point of her spike through his back. Maybe that was more merciful.

“Scarlet?!” Illa whimpered, her blazing hot shoulder and arm pressing against hers. “House Melchiott isn’t supposed to take part in the hunt; it’s against the rules! Cheaters! What do we do, Cássia? Isn’t your mom going to stop them?”

“Rule one, there are no rules…only customs,” Cássia calmly stated as two more shapes emerged through the fog.

It revealed a pair of quaking female lesser vampires; from what she’d heard, they were practically human at that level without constant blood. Gagged, blindfolded, and bound by twined hair—their own cut locks—their fancy clothes were ripped and in tatters. Black blood ran out of their mouths and down their chins, staining their white and yellow dresses.

“Shhhhhhh.”

Mist collected behind the two women, and Scarlet could sense their terror, along with the laughter of the mist vampires circling them. Her chest was filled with confidence, though. Did Rachel feel this way all the time?

“What do you want, Baroness Belleza?” she boldly asked, her blood thinning and creating an extremely thin cocoon to isolate them from the fog. “I’m not intimidated, so quit playing games.”

The hazy shapes of the Melchiott family came and went behind the two trembling vampires, the rest of their party no doubt already dead. Silently whispering into their ears, the brunette and blonde women repeated what they were told.

Scarlet’s vision tightened as the blindfolds fell away, showing empty sockets and the gag came free, showing gaps where their vampiric teeth had been. The whole group of vampires tailing them had been taken out by the smoky creatures in mere seconds.

“The mist remembers you, Cássia…”

“Secrets pass through the veil.”

Scarlet’s gaze shifted to their right as the words echoed through the mist as if bouncing off cave walls. With her vampiric sight, she saw the lingering outlines of the family—four in total—but she wasn’t sure how to fight them in that state yet. She needed to wait until they solidified.

“No one will save you now…”

“P-Please, I—ack… Something watches from the skies.”

“Please, stop… But this facade is ending soon…”

“Ahhhh!”

The blonde shrieked as a force yanked her into the void, causing the brunette to hyperventilate. “I said everything you wanted me to say! I did what you asked! Don’t—please, save me… Save me! W-Who are you?”

A thin young man materialized in front of her, smearing the black blood dripping down her hollow eyes, his words reverberating in the mist. “Shhh. Pets should be quiet. No one will save you. You are to speak what is not spoken…”

Scarlet’s blood launched forward like a lance, passing straight through the misty man, yet he didn’t flinch. The baroness’ son leaned forward to draw a lingering kiss on the brunette’s trembling lips. The woman turned to dust with the man’s mouth still locked with hers. For the first time, goosebumps crawled up Scarlet’s arm as the man’s body half-destabilized into mist. He turned, smiled, and vanished into smoke—her spears were useless against these fiends.

Well, this sucks! If my blood doesn’t work, how can I beat them?

Illa started to shake when the silence encircled them again, stealing away the music. “Okay, how can we fight that OP ability?! They’re freaking mist! He ate Scarlet’s spear—he ate it like it was nothing! Do you have any other powers, Scarlet—like a whirlwind of blood or something?! Anything?! Because I’m totally useless here unless I can get my fangs into him. Uh…I probably shouldn’t have said that aloud. I talk when I get nervous!”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Cássia coolly stated. “The Barons and Baronesses expand their spirit outward to affect their environment… This fog isn’t some elemental effect but a spiritual one, which is far more dangerous and difficult to escape than anything physical.”

Clapping came from within the mist, and it parted to reveal four noble vampires from this world—the House of Melchiott—yet, the man standing behind them made Scarlet’s brain freeze.

Illa gasped. “Oh, no! They’ve got Lord Leopold, Cass! Scarlet, we gotta save the handsome blond side character! He’s probably Countess Elizabeth’s secret lover or something! We’d get bonus points! Bonus points, Scarlet!”

“And what are you babbling about?” a thin young woman giggled from beside her mother, hazing to appear on a throne that materialized by the wall. “Is this really the best place for us to be, Mother? Baroness Audrey Morgan and her children are ripe to be drained of their precious blood. I’m sure the handsome redhead would join us in their eradication. Piper is too clingy and inelegant to hold onto a man like him. Her cousin will steal him away in any case.”

“That’s enough, Kastilla,” the matriarch whispered. “My throat is becoming parched from how often we are speaking aloud… Do your part, Leopold.”

Pain filled Cássia’s face as she motioned for Scarlet to move to the side of the wall, but there was a smile on her lips. “So…you were the traitor who was working with the House of Bruhl? How long have you sought to destroy the woman you pledged to keep safe, Lord Leopold? When did you betray the promise you gave to your mistress’ husband? It must have been before your change into the Legend of Palatine György Thurzó.”

Illa gasped a second time, hands clasped to her mouth as she shuffled back, following Cássia’s decision to let him pass. “No way! Like, I totally saw that coming, by the way—I did, but like…wow, wow, wow…wow. Wait, wait, wait…he’s the legend of that guy?! No way! You just had to figure that out. Crazy! It makes sense, though.”

Scarlet let him by, keeping her blood close to Cássia as the mists parted, and he produced a glowing key to open the sealed doors. The man ignored the drama-loving ginger, but Scarlet knew the significance of the Legend of Palatine—the man who was supposed to support and help the widowed countess, only to lead the witch hunt against her in history.

“I do not owe you any response, Cássia… I fear your mother’s influence on you has been too great… She turned you, after all. It may be too late to save you from her deceptive claws…her power. You may think I am the monster, working with these…fiends, maybe after the business and her lands, but she has become the monster… You should know better than most.” 

“Cássia?” Scarlet asked, watching the man closely as the grinning mist vampires waited for the barrier to be removed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stop him? He’s totally been after your family long before The Oscillation—it’s obvious.”

“Super obvious!” Illa swiftly nodded.

Kastilla’s chair faded away with the woman as she reappeared across from them, a hand held to her lips and slowly shaking her head. “Shhhhhh.”

Cássia simply shook her head, her emotions a maelstrom that was so mixed that Scarlet couldn’t zero in on it. “There is nothing left to prove, and Scarlet, as powerful as you are, you cannot fight the House of Melchiot… Not as you are… Let the Red Tides rise to you.”

Her words gripped Scarlet’s heart, her mind flashing back to her chat with Twilight…to the crack in the glass of the sanctuary within her internal world. Her gaze darted to the somber thirteen-year-old, and Scarlet was sure.

She knows. She must be working with Twilight! It wasn’t Elizabeth. It was Cássia. She chose to be our serving lady. She found me. Should I do it, though? Her focus shifted to the powerful House of Melchiott. My blood can’t kill these mist creatures… Do I have a choice?

Leopold inserted the key and twisted it; the red barrier fell, and he pushed the double doors open. The dreaded noise of violins resonated, and all eyes locked on the interior. Pale-blue moonlight flooded the hall, casting the interior in a sapphire glimmer, and the Countess of Blood stole all eyes.

Standing at the massive, wall-length window, Elizabeth waited, her back facing them. Her fancy dress fluttered, a cold wind blowing Leopold’s cape back in its passing, dispersing part of the mist and putting the House of Melchiott on edge.

The whole room was ruined; papers were scattered about, bottles were broken, and blood stained everything, wet and dry. Chains hung off the ceiling, shattered links littering the ripped-up carpet, yet one place drew Scarlet’s attention the most—a white sheet draped over something human-shaped on the long, cleared desk.

A lump dropped down Leopold’s throat as he summoned a glowing silver sword. “Countess… No, Elizabeth. Let’s not make this worse than it has to be. The horrors you’ve committed—this nightmare—this prison you’ve built. It ends here. You know your crimes… God knows your crimes!”

The Countess unlocked her fingers, linked at her back. She lifted one hand and cupped a floating crystal glass full of blood. She brought it close, breathed in the fragrance, and held it out before tipping it upside down, letting the liquid spill across the rug.

“Crimes? Mmm. Yes, my crimes are grave, my former friend. What do you know of my crimes, though?”

“All of them, Elizabeth…all of them.”

Elizabeth’s frame shook with weak laughter. “All of them? Oh…how ambitious and foolish you are, Leopold. I am a ghost inside your head…but wouldn’t you say my crimes are the greatest…my dear Cássia? Nothing works… This nightmare…this prison. I am trapped in my dreams…but sweet dreams are overrated.”

She shook her head, a threatening vibe lingering in her words. Now that they were in person, her smoothed-back, shoulder-length hair showed a brown hue similar to her daughter’s.

“You’ll never know the hell I’ve seen. You’re all afraid…you should be. Mmm. Such an uncomfortably bright night, and there are no heroes in this tale.”

Elizabeth half turned and held her hands at her front; her swirling, liquid-like ruby eyes shifted between the five enemies that had come to take her life, moving into the room.

“Don’t fear your fate that soon arrives. No one will hear you screaming. It’s a deadly lullaby. It’s dark, and I see you’re all afraid. You'll hear it very soon. Isn’t that right, Scarlet?”

Scarlet blinked, keeping the barrier between them and the vampires, yet her focus went to the sheet. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to give her hopes up. Was it her father? Vision rising to the woman, The Countess of Blood’s eyes settled on her, despite the threatening opponents.

“Huh?” However, one detail made Scarlet’s chest hurt, and her mind swam in sharp realization; she’d missed it, but now, with the Countess in front of her, it was crystal clear. “It’s not possible. What? What is happening?”

Illa stiffened, pulled with her as Scarlet jumped away from Cássia, eyes wide while glancing between them. “W-What? What’s going on?! What am I missing?!”

“Cássia and Elizabeth…the same emotions! Both of them,” Scarlet choked. “Cássia and Elizabeth have the same—Cássia is the real one—Elizabeth is…a blood clone! Cássia, what is going on?! Where is your mother?”

Leopold’s brow furrowed, leaping back and swapping his sword to Cássia, looking as confused as them. “No… No, that’s impossible. You…killed your mother?!”

Belleza’s cackling laughter rolled through the thickening mists as she put a hand on her thin hip, staring at the lone 13-year-old brunette. The teen’s silent stare wasn’t on them; it was on the white sheet covering the table.

“Two months you’ve been playing your tricks… Oh, how clever you are, Countess of Blood. How…weak! And I thought you something special for killing the old baron.”

Scarlet’s gut cramped, panic starting to leak into her chest as everything she thought she knew flipped on its head, and Belleza strolled to the sheet.  Flicking her wrist toward the intense-eyed, fake Countess of Blood, Elizabeth’s body blew apart, converting to crimson, including her gown; the liquid splattered the white covering, staining it before the thin vampire yanked off the veil.

Belleza’s chuckles faded with her smile, and Scarlet clutched her turbulent belly.

“What…is this?”

Leopold stumbled back as his own ashen face was revealed. “What devilry is this, Cássia?! What have you done? Where is your mother?! Why am I…dead on that table?!”

All eyes went to the somber teenage girl, who had a sad smile on her cute face as she pushed into the room. Belleza and her children moved away, their curiosity prompting them more than fear or anger.

The matriarch giggled as she approached. “Is this the dream of a young girl, longing for her mother? I will say you have caught me…lacking an explanation. Impressive! Are you also Leopold, disguising your clone as him, or is your mother still alive and somewhere else? I am quite enthralled by this turn of events—the plots! Truly masterful.”

Illa was practically bouncing on her heels. “This is so sick! Leopold—the close friend and confidant—was the traitor who let the enemy in the gates...or is he?! Elizabeth turned out to be Cássia. The body turned out to be Leopold, so who is this Leopold?! Cássia may be hiding her mother somewhere else—is Leopold really Elizabeth?! Was this Elizabeth’s plan or Cássia’s? Ahhh! I can’t take it! Are you—are you the Countess of Blood in disguise, Leopold?! That would be wild!” 

A lump formed in Scarlet’s throat as Cássia made it to Leopold’s masqueraded corpse—it was a mask—reflecting the event Elizabeth had started. She knew the truth that was hidden underneath the layers of blood coating the true body—it wasn’t Leopold on the table—it was something far more bone-chilling.

The 13-year-old looked as if she held the weight of an unimaginable sin as she ran her fingers over the corpse’s face, causing the blood to run down the desk to spread across the floor.

“When our world is crushed to splinters, we’ll snuff out the light and hide in the darkness, seeking refuge from the silence that haunts our nightmares. Can any of you understand how much of a monster I really am? What history and popular media have twisted me into? What they made me into…”

Cássia turned to give Scarlet a small smile, filled with heartache that could only come from one place as the true body underneath the blood was revealed. “Perhaps…only one. What kind of mother bathes in her own daughter’s blood to regain her youth? Who would manipulate a mother into doing such a thing? I remember. I remember it all like a horrific nightmare.”

Scarlet’s chest hurt, bloody tears coming to her eyes as she felt the self-hatred and disgust rolling through Elizabeth’s heart. Cássia, a mother’s daughter, lay on the desk, skin placid and throat cut—the entire time, Cássia had been the Countess of Blood, reverted to her youthful age of thirteen.

“Monster,” Leopold gasped, making a cross over his chest and retreating against the wall as he held up his sword. “I knew you were… You’re your own daughter! What a twisted creature you are!”

He’s so stupid, Scarlet internally cried. She didn’t want this—none of this… Everyone else forced this life onto her. She didn’t want this…

Scarlet could guess what Elizabeth truly meant, though. Her mother—her mother, a cult leader who had turned her own daughter into a monster—had manipulated Elizabeth into becoming the Countess of Blood.

Now, it made sense. Twilight had unraveled the Scarlet Hand’s plot in turning Elizabeth into their weapon. Her mother had ruined this woman’s whole life…had made her kill her own daughter when she turned during The Oscillation in an attempt to use her.

Belleza stepped forward, her son blocking Leopold with a grin as the matriarch moved to execute the mourning and depressed mother. Everything Cássia said and everything she’d seen from the other maids flooded back, and Scarlet’s breathing became ragged as the world collapsed upon her. Was her mother redeemable? How many other daughters and mothers had she devastated in the name of her greater good?

“Wait…” she whispered, claws digging into her chest.

Leopold growled at the interference. “We had a deal, Belleza!”

“And now it has changed,” she cooed, grabbing Elizabeth’s red dress’ front and lifting her off the ground. “She’s weak! I can’t believe I thought I needed to bring my children with me… You haven’t touched a drop of blood since draining Baron Morgan and your daughter, have you? So very weak. How did you kill him? I am so curious.”

Scarlet shook her head. “Wait! Stop!”

“Who said it was me?” Elizabeth said, her gaze flicking to her. “Don’t fear what is coming, Scarlet…we can’t fight off the urge inside forever, after all. You have made a grave mistake, Belleza. Now here she comes, now hear, she comes. Brace yourself, for all will pay…”

“Her?”

Belleza laughed, thick mists gathering in a vortex, and Scarlet felt a pressure weighing down on her; the matriarch flickered, the silence was deafening, and her blood was pushed against the wall, locking it in place. Kastilla’s thin, grinning face materializing in front of her.

“She is nothing!”

Not the whisper of the wind could pass through the silence, yet Elizabeth’s words managed to bleed through the stillness that took the atmosphere. Each lyric struck as if physical blows against Scarlet’s pounding heart, making each beat echo like a drum, and she knew the words—the words her parents often sang.

“The darkest night, the brightest light, history tainted by the twilight;

“Born of graves, left below;

“No time for rest, nowhere to go.

Time came to a pause, and Scarlet fell into darkness, the words oscillating within her.

“A storm was loosed, a foul wretch bound with tear-stained eyes;

“A nightmare born between dark and light, she became the blight;

“The Maiden of Death cannot tend to her fields, and silence falls on eternities’ end.”

Opening her eyes, Scarlet’s tongue lodged in her throat as she fell through crimson clouds, ruby lightning flashing around her, the bloody heavens crying their tears. Elizabeth’s voice was distant, and fear gripped Scarlet’s chest as a new voice repeated the Countess of Blood’s words—her voice.

““Incinerate our shackles. Where do we land in the Red Sea?””

“Ahhh!”

Screaming, she lurched upright and fell off a couch, smacking her forehead on the table’s edge with a grunt. She groaned while scrambling up, rubbing the sore area as her lungs heaved. She cast her eyes about, and the air locked in her throat; through cracked glass, a raging blood sea battered against the floating house—she was back inside her internal world.

“Welcome home.”

Scarlet almost fell on her face again while diving over the couch, peeking over the edge to see a giggling, pretty blonde woman. “Twilight…”

“Sit. I didn’t expect to get this second chance to speak to you before everything changes. I guess that is the trouble with beings such as yourself… Hello, Scarlet. It’s about time you learned the ugly truth about what your parent was tricked into doing. Care to listen? I have hot chocolate! Blood mixed, naturally. My own personal recipe,” she boasted, sounding truly thrilled at the feat.

Scarlet puffed out the stress in her chest. “I feel like I don’t have a choice.”

“Hmm?” Twilight smiled as if dealing with a child and set her empty cup on the table. “You always have a choice, Scarlet. I may not be a perfect friend, but neither am I a perfect enemy.”

“And what options do I have?” Scarlet challenged, worry now catching up to her stumbling mind. “What about Illa and Cass—erm, Elizabeth? Are they okay?”

“No. No, I’m afraid they’re in grave danger. And only Rachel and you can save them…from yourself. Now, will you listen?”

Scarlet jumped as a loud crack sounded beside her, and she watched the fissure in the glass crawl up a full meter. Vision narrowing, she slowly walked around the couch and sat.

“I’m just a pawn for everyone in this game… You’re not my friend. I doubt you’re even Veronica anymore. I’m not afraid of you.”

Twilight sighed, brushed back her blonde bangs, and picked up her now full cup of hot chocolate, her tone patient; she was probably trying to connect with her using the beverage. “If you’re counting on that elixir, I’m happy to inform you that it didn’t work more than a few seconds before your body rejected it.”

“What? That…can’t be right.”

The woman gestured to her cup, more cracks appearing in the glass and spiking Scarlet’s nerves. “You are much stronger than you know… Far stronger. The First Seal is breaking. True Scarlet is rousing… If you do not stop her, Rachel and everyone you’ve come to care for will suffer a fate worse than death. Rachel will buy you time to decide, but she cannot win.”

Heat rose in Scarlet’s face. “You! It’s all your doing! You told Elizabeth what to do to trigger this! Why are you doing this to me? You’re no different from everyone else in the Scarlet Hand!”

Twilight clicked her tongue, a spoon appearing in her hand as she spun the liquid in her cup. “I am very different from those misguided fools, following Relica’s commands. No. I am here to help you through what they started. This was going to happen at some point. I’m merely providing a way for it to turn positive. You can take that help, or throw that cup in my face. What are you willing to do to—”

Picking up the steaming cup of hot chocolate, Scarlet flung it in the woman’s face, soaking her front. “Yeah! That’s my decision, alright,” she barked, next throwing the cup at the blonde’s forehead. It bounced off, skidding across the floor before she sat back down. “Okay, fine. Tell me how to save everyone.”

A pained laugh rolled through Twilight’s body, a twitch coming to her eye as she rubbed away the liquid and small cut on her forehead. “Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. Hopefully…this won’t become a habit, and you’ll learn to trust me…for the most part. Would you…haha, like another cup?”

Scarlet crossed her arms and huffed. “Sure. I’d love more ammunition to throw at you if I don’t like something you say.”

“…Perfect. By the way, I have your father in safekeeping, and I will return him to you through Elizabeth… I cannot come into contact with Rachel again, or everything might be ruined. I will not be with you forever…but so long as I am, I will shield you from the darkness and hold back all the monsters until my soul shatters and breaks.”

Mood sobering at the topic of her father, Scarlet settled in, not touching the cup as the storm raged outside and the walls quaked. It was her time to be strong. She wouldn’t be alone. Rachel was fighting tooth and nail.

“I’m listening.”

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