It's all well and good for characters in novels to get reincarnated in books and shit, but it's totally different for such a thing to happen in reality. There are laws of physics that say this is impossible. You can't just move a brain to someone else's body and it be ok, hell, not to mention how complex memories are. I can't just, have all of the knowledge of my world here. That's not how it works.
Sweat is running down my face, and I can feel my body heaving deep breaths as I work myself into a fit.
A figure across from me on the carriage raises an eyebrow. "Er, young Poe?"
Poe? I knew that name. I grab my own face, holding a hand outwards, palm facing the figure. "Just, hold on a second." I just died, a couple of seconds to process that would be great.
I took a few deep breaths. Adrenalin was thrumming through my veins like a stampede, and I sorta needed it to stop. With a few more seconds, the beating of my heart receded enough I could hear my own thoughts.
Alright, can't worry about how all of the impossible shit is happening. I just have to worry about what's going on. He called me Poe, my name is Poe. Poe, that sucks. Whatever, where did I know that from? Given that I was most likely in a novel I had read, which one?
Well, I had died reading IRAAS, so WN logic dictates that's probably the one I was in. Am I a web novel protagonist? Is someone reading these thoughts and feelings right now? I let out another shaky sigh. Existential dread to the back of the mind please. Poe. Right, there was someone by that name in the novel.
The background of background characters. Mentioned in a flashback by name once, meaninglessly. Lilith's flashback. About people who would abuse or fear her.
I was her blood bag, a slave imported to act as her food source. In her flashback, she recalls how Poe, my, look of terror, was a breaking point for her. She had sworn off blood from that point on, even though she had to live like a starving animal thanks to it. Always hungry, but never able to feed.
Again, she was a villain who gets mercilessly killed by the "hero" of the story. Bastard.
Alright. I Let myself settle a little, adrenaline and shock slowly warring with each other even as they died down. I was Poe, I was probably en route to Lilith, and I had to decide what to do.
Well…I did say I wanted to throttle all of those people, most soon to be handily in throttling range. I should address the root cause instead though shouldn't I? As long as I didn't fear her, she'd probably…
Latch onto me the way she did the big bad. Not a perfect solution, but, for the moment, it was a hotfix. We could work on the separation anxiety and attachment issues undoubtedly to come later.
I lower my hand, taking a final deep breath to steady myself. "Sorry." I look up at the man. "Just needed a second."
The man nodded with sympathetic eyes. "I understand, you have my condolences young man." The carriage came to a stop, and the man hesitated. "I-If you beg for the mercy of the lord and lady, they may-"
"Unnecessary." I pull at the collar of my ragged clothes, finding an actual metal collar. Right, slave. That's…More emotions to unpack later. Goodie. I'll look into getting that off when convenient. "Well?" I look at the man. "Lead the way."
He blinks at me a few times. Something swimming in his eyes as he comes to his own conclusion about things. "R-Right."
He leads me out of the carriage. A real typical evil castle looms over, dark stone soaking in the sunlight as we pass through a large door opened by a guard in full plate mail armor.
The man speaks as we walk. "As you know, I am the head butler of this, the home of the Lord and Lady Edgar. You will be…attending to their daughter, for the next couple of days. If it's any consolation my boy, yo-."
"I don't care." He grimaced at my response, but he led me to a large room, the doors locked from the outside with a large plank of wood that covered both doors. The worst part was that it probably wouldn't have even stopped her if she really wanted to get out. It was like it was just there so she knew they all were scared of her.
The butler reached out with trembling hands towards the lock. It pissed me off. I stepped in front of him and flung it off, it swung around and hit the floor with a clunky noise. Without any hesitation, I opened the door.
The butler was panicking, his eyes wide as he turned, clearly considering fleeing. Pathetic.
I marched in, taking in the sight. It did finally stop me in my tracks for a moment. She was small for her age. Our age? I was around her height in whatever body I was in. That was going to take getting used to. Her hair was less like silver and more like liquid metal, flowing and long, shining almost, like it was reflecting the sun hitting her body.
She was sitting in a chair by the window of her room, looking longingly out at the sun soaked land which rejected her. There was a table in front of her, though it was closer to splinters now, most of it broken or snapped as she lacked control over her strength.
She turned remorsefully to me, but, despite her lacking noble education, the movement was graceful and eloquent in a way. Her pale face looked at mine, guilt washing over it. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it not wanting to say anything. She looked straight down, pain etched on her features.
She had all of the features of beauty that was described in the novel, but it was all offset by her baby fat cheeks and tiny stature that made her more cute than beautiful, she looked a little like a rabbit in my eyes.
Alright, time to undo a tragedy before it could begin.
I marched forwards, my stone expression affixed to my face. I can't show even an inkling of fear, or else it would mess with her. She might even hate me if she thought I was giving her sympathy or pity, while still being afraid of her.
Luckily, my stone face was a feature of mine I actually quite liked. My one big talent was always being able to remain outwardly emotionless, even if I was swearing and boiling with rage inside.
She flinched as I approached, her eyes scanning all over my face as I moved. How was I supposed to do this whole blood bag thing? I stopped right at her little table. She spoke with a thick swallow. "U-Um, I-I'm so sorry that y-you have to do this, b-but, u-uhm-"
Fuck it, I'd just do what I want. "Don't apologize. You'll be giving me food and shelter right?" I rolled my shoulders, loosening my muscles. Then, so she could reach my shoulder from her seated position, I kneeled down.
I didn't care about the food or shelter. Well, I cared a little. Not having to worry about base survival would be great, but I mainly wanted her not to have a shitty ending. However, no one would exactly trust someone who rolled up to you and went. "Hey girl, I know all your deepest insecurities and seek to help you grow and mature as a person for my own gratification." You'd probably beat them up. While there were some people out there that were just naturally good, the vast majority weren't. So it's normal and smart to be concerned about someone offering something for nothing in return.
Lilith in the novel was one of those naturally good kinds of people. It was a bit odd in hindsight, how much effort the author put into a character like her just to kill her off. She was shown helping people out with no reason multiple times, and her main character arc was a build up to her drinking blood, which was subverted when she didn't, and chose to die instead.
I absolutely hate when those kinds of people get screwed over the way Lilith had been in the novel. A character that only wants love, that would swear off blood, her food, just to not scare anyone.
She deserved better. And, well, even if this was some weird death based dream, or if I was in a coma, I'd like to enjoy it.
I felt a relatively small hand grab my arm. "Y-You don't-! You!" She sputtered for a moment, caught off guard. It was a cute expression for a little kid. I guess that's a bit weird to say given I was now also a kid.
My mind idles as I wait for her to compose herself. Being reincarnated into a younger body actually really sucks. For one, I may as well kiss my love life goodbye for a while. If I'm in a kids body, and I romance a kid, it's fucked up. But if I'm in a kids body, and I romance an adult, it's fucked up as well. It's a lose-lose for me.
I was only 18 in the past, and, it seems like now I'm like, 9 at the lowest. So romance won't be too weird once I'm in my thirties-ish, but that's a long term thing. Oh god, I was going to have to do puberty again. Man, I just got past all of that.
She was still trying and failing to figure out what she wanted to say, so I cut off the girl's sputtering, moving my exposed neck and shoulder closer to her. "I know what I'm offering. You need blood, right? I've got plenty."
She flushed, her small hand gripping tight on my arm. And, alright that hurt a little more than it probably should've. I hold back from flinching thanks to a lifetime of training my stone expression. She releases the grip quickly, speaking almost breathlessly to me. "You…do you know what I am?" She said it like she couldn't believe me.
"[Vampiran]" I thought it was dumb to use a fancy name for what is basically a one-to-one vampire, but it only showed up once for Lilith in the novel, so the author must not have put much thought into it.
She nodded slowly. "I-I could kill you…"
I shrugged; and nodded my head back towards the dumbstruck butler standing by the open door. "So could he. So could any full grown adult. A determined enough carrier pidgin could probably get me in my throat." My face broke as I gave her a small smirk. "I'm real fragile, you aren't special."
I let out a small exhale of air as I'm tackled to the ground. I can feel wetness where her eyes are, her arms locked around my back.
Where did all that noble grace go?
She rubs her face against the ratty clothes I'm wearing, and sniffles. "Y-Y-You mean that?" She looked up at me, her eyes teary as she clutched my shirt desperately, her long claw-like nails piercing through the fabric.
Impulsively, my hand goes to the back of her head, rubbing it gently. "Yeah. Now, you're hungry right?" She nodded slowly. I flexed my neck aside, giving her ample room to chow down. "Just try not to run me dry."
She looked tentatively at me, but moved her mouth to my shoulder. I expected pain as she bit down, but felt no stinging. There was the alien sensation of something moving down through my skin. There was a likewise alien feeling of my blood being drained, still painlessly. The best description I can give is like the feeling of sucking down on a thick milkshake, and feeling that resistance but not getting any of the liquid. Just, I was the milkshake in this case, and she was definitely getting some liquid from me.
Her long hair fell over her body and mine, and I felt myself ache a little from the sensation, small reverberations of pain finally coming. After a few more moments, she pulled away with a gasp, blood on her fanged teeth. She was looking up at me with doey eyes, like I was a god that had suddenly descended down from the heavens.
It made me a little uncomfortable to be looked at so fondly. I'm just a dude, and we don't know each other that well yet. Plus, again, she was like, 9.
My 9 year old body thought she was pretty, but the 18 year old consciousness grabbed that part of my subconscious and shoved it deep, deep down.
Romance would have to wait 10-20 years. Hell, maybe more. Actually, would it even be ethical in this situation to have a relationship with Lilith specifically in the future? Was that practically grooming? Maybe I'm worrying too much about the logic of everything.
I just got my blood drunk by a vampire, in the world of a novel I had read. Weird shit was happening.
Lots of weird stuff is going to happen in the near future. I'd have time to ponder the ethics of relationships later. For now, the little girl on top of me buried her bloody face in my chest again. I hope I get more than the one shirt, because this one was totally ruined. Her grip on me tightened, and I almost winced as her nails dug into my chest, probably leaving a few scratches.
This was a new experience for me. I awkwardly gave her a pat on her back. Life sure was strange.