I stand with an expression of annoyance as the one who wounded me leaves with nothing but a scratch. His cloak blows furiously in the wind as he fearfully rides with his horse away continuously keeping his left hand carrying his sword pointing it backward to hinder my vision.
I learned a valuable lesson today, someplace very, very deep completely buried by my overwhelming desire to smash his life into pieces and then smash the remaining pieces.
Ah... if only that disgusting sword weren't in my way, I could have time to enjoy them a little more and I would like to ask some questions regarding his sword, perhaps another time, our paths shall most likely cross again in Orleans.
Disregarding the fact that I was severely wounded earlier, im partially satisfied with this outcome. Playing with humans is certainly amusing and much more rewarding than hunting rabbits in the wild. Bah, they are too boring and taste half as good.
Speaking of which, I almost forgot about my interesting new acquaintance who is seemingly trying to sneak out behind my back, a futile effort, none can escape my senses but at least she tried.
My body morphs into a swan of bats that swiftly dash appearing in her way. The woman fails to recognize what I did ending up bumping into me and falling shamefully on her butt letting out a little shriek of fear as she look up to see me towering over her.
I look at her with an expression of curiosity while crouching to match her eye level, we lock eyes but the difference in our types of stare is notorious. I stare at her for an instant before my index finger claw reveals itself which I use to gently cut off the rope wrapped around both of her wrists. A gesture that fills the fearful woman with confusion rather than relief.
"Greetings, my name is Carmilla"
... Silence.
I believed my intentions were made clear as I had not touched her in any harmful way before but judging by her expression and uneasy heartbeats I was wrong. Strange, Sophia taught me to not hurt who im trying to befriend but it is not working, I wonder why. I rescued her, I did not hurt her, and even introduced myself properly, what could have gone wrong?
Hmm... what exactly do I do now? I did not think about this part, my mind was really set on drinking human blood. Maybe... just maybe, I should bless her, she seems good enough not exactly a good friend like Revgnir but I thought about it while traveling, if I become too afraid of bestowing the blessing to the wrong person then I might as well never do it. The blessing is to be passed, and who am I to say who is right and who is wrong, only Lucifer can decide, im merely his loyal bridge.
And perhaps, im feeling a little lonely these nights, I want someone to... chat, and share experiences with, however, this type of connection is almost impossible for someone with my appearance, not only that but I feel somewhat out of place around humans, I simply can not care sufficiently about them to create a proper bond, I wonder, is it because of the blessing? Or maybe, is it because of my life before the blessing?
It might be a little confusing for her in the beginning but I shall be here to guide her through the basics. This might also help in finding more answers about the blessing, as it did in Toulouse. At that time, I was... too much of everything to properly understand what I was feeling.
Just when I was preparing myself to cut my own wrist, her voice surprisingly came out, a trembling and hesitant voice full of fear and confusion.
"My name is Marie, if I may ask, what is going to happen to me?"
For a moment, my eyes slightly widened in surprise as I was sure she would be too afraid to speak but after an instant, my normal expression returned.
"Fear not for I intend no harm, with that said, could thou open thy mouth for a brief moment?"
Her confusion seems to increase even further after my request and she freezes. Probably her mind is trying very hard to process what is happening in her surroundings to react properly, so much so that suddenly, tears begin to fall from her eyes.
What? Why? For Lucifer's sake! I just said im not going to hurt her. My expression turned into confusion as Marie proceeded to cry, sobbing while looking down. She strongly grabs the grass with her bare hands in a sign of anguish.
"Why *sob* Why me... Fuck! Why me? After everything *sob* I did, everything I sacrificed, why am I the only one who is not allowed to be happy? I did everything correctly... so why, even in the end nothing works *sob* Why am I not allowed to win?"
She must have passed through a lot, and she seems very convinced that im going to kill her sigh... in a way im about to but she shall not die. Now that I think about it, im being somewhat selfish however I firmly believe this is for the best, and if her concern is about winning, the blessing shall be a very useful ally.
This makes me remember times when I was sad back in my old village. Anna would sit by my side and hug me in silence, a simple act, but kinder than anyone has ever cared to do for me. Perhaps I should do something similar, however...
I swiftly do a light cut on my wrist and with my left hand, I grab the crying Marie by her cheeks raising lightly her head and applying a small amount of force to make her open her mouth. With tears still falling from her face, she does not try to fight back accepting with teary eyes her seemingly cruel end, but, as soon as the first drip of blood gently falls on her tongue Marie's eyes widen showing a beautiful pair of brown eyes with dilated pupils and she proceeds to suck on my wrist with pleasure.
Im not my sister.
*Crack*
I easily twist her neck in a swift and smooth movement of my left hand resulting in her falling lifeless in my embrace. As gently as possible, I lay her down in the grass facing up, and a little giggle escapes my mouth while I rise.
Pfft, her neck is in a strange position for someone who is lying facing up.
The crackling noises of torches left behind by those humans fill my surroundings, slightly unsettling for me as fire is bright and hurtful although not half as much as that sword, im really curious to understand why is that.
I look at the man sneakily dragging himself away, unable to stand up after my failed attempt to throw the sword at his leader ended up with I accidentally hitting him, if I remember correctly at that time my ears did pick up the sound of bones cracking.
So breaking human spines renders them unable to stand, this information might be useful at some point.
I reach for my leather purse located at my right hip, it is slightly dirt with blood but the insides are in perfect condition. Let me see, where is it? ... Oh found it! Revgnir's parting gift, a drinking horn. This is definitely the first and most useless gift someone ever gave me, however as someone who never received anything from anyone before this makes me oddly happy.
With it in my hands, I proceed to walk toward the soldier, as he hears my steps approaching he begins to breathe heavily and let out light shrinks of fear. If only his legs still worked, he could have some use as a thrall.
"Please no!" He pleads
I crouch close to him while he desperately throws an infinite number of pleas in a futile attempt to appeal to my mercy, unfortunately for him, im quite indifferent regarding human lives. My claws get out which I use to swiftly open a finger-sized hole in his neck, more precisely exactly at his vein, creating an opening so his blood spills directly at my drinking horn like a gentle flow of red water, needless to say, he died.
After filling the horn, I carefully walk back to the resting woman on the grass, she lays with her stomach up and her head which was supposed to be pointing up is slightly twisted to the left. Her skin is slightly paler, which I take as a sign of her close awakening. I then proceed to sit down at her side, eagerly waiting to meet my new friend, at least I hope so. Well, I did what I could, If she wakes up and decides to follow her own way it's up to her however I would be somewhat disappointed.
...
After a few minutes, her neck begins to come back to its original place in between cracks and grotesque noises.
Marie's eyes open wide anxiously looking around while she tries to get up confused and feeble, after setting eyes on me her confusion grew even more. She tries to stand up but her body is too weak and probably craving for blood.
I gently use my free hand to hold behind her head while putting the drinking horn close to her mouth, she smells its wonderous scent and instantly opens her mouth showcasing two fangs. I proceed to kindly throw the drinking horn red nectar gently into her mouth, she gulps it down without problem.
While Marie is probably lost in the taste of her delightful meal, I analyze her with curious eyes to see if I can find more answers.
This makes me somewhat proud of myself, with Revgnir I had the same feeling but didn't quite grasp what it was at that time. Maybe this is the kind of pride a mother experiences after successfully giving birth, it is certainly a peculiar feeling to have... not exactly good but not bad either.
Im feeling a little tired too... tired is not quite the word, something inside me is getting weary like it is trying to warn me of something, maybe passing the blessing has a price on me that I have yet to see. In any case, there is nothing I can do but theorize.
Marie, with her head still resting on my embrace and lips painted in blood red, finishes her drink. A drop fails to enter her mouth and drips from her mouth's corner, which she calmly licks.
Soon after, she perceives my presence again and freezes in my embrace while staring at me with trembling eyes but something else is warning me about her fear.
Her 'aura', is trembling like a tree in the middle of a storm very different from Revgnir who was calm after his awakening. Given the way she received the blessing, this is most likely normal. This aura thing is definitely odd, I can not perceive it with my eyes but somehow I know it is there, surrounding her like an invisible cloak.
Marie full of fear, finally summons courage enough to speak, waking me up from my thoughts.
"What... thou did to me? I feel, different" Marie asked hesitantly
I calmly let go of her head and get up, with a small gesture of good faith I stand my hand to help her rise which she hesitates for a moment but ends up accepting.
Now with both of us standing, I speak trying to appear harmless and respectable.
"As I said before, I mean no harm" I say
"If I remember correctly... thou just broke my neck"
She does have a point...
"I bestowed upon thy the blessing, feel it, the power that thou hold"
The confused woman looks around and then looks at her hands, clenching them, feeling her newfound powers. Suddenly, the veins on her hands begin to slightly pop under her skin leading to her claws coming out. Taken by surprise, Marie reacted with a light flinch followed by her voice.
"What is this? ... What am I now? And why thou did this?" Marie says confused and hesitant
That is a lot of questions sigh... well given how I blessed her this should be the obvious reaction.
"Firstly, feel free to name it but try to stick with something nice, if people start to call us 'bloodsuckers' or anything even remotely similar to this... ugh, I would prefer to bathe in sunlight than to hear humans screaming this at me"
Marie makes an expression of confusion, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Wait, I understand, I drank blood earlier but why bathe in sunlight? why would that be bad?" Marie speaks confused
Oh... forgot to tell her the rules. Hmm, this is fated to be bad after all, I did not ask for consent like before.
My body morphs into a cloud of bats that dash toward a tree branch, I appear sitting on it with a serious expression. Marie slightly flinched but lock eyes with me again shortly after.
"With great powers..."
My body morphs again, dashing toward the hesitant woman. She quickly turns around to face me standing behind her.
"Comes even greater weaknesses, and I possess a lot of powers some of which thou may or may not awaken, however, I firmly believe that given enough time thou are bound to awaken something"
Marie stands a little confused but she seems to be taking in fairly well, I was expecting an enraged outburst.
I then proceed to dash away in a cloud of bats to the place I was standing in the beginning of our conversation.
"To summarize, daylight kills us, we feed on blood any blood but humans are especially good, we are partially dead creatures but our hearts are still important, and we die if our heads come off, the last one is a theory but my instincts seems to always be right so do not risk it"
I look at Marie, expecting her approval to see if she understood. She is standing with a contemplative expression like she is thinking of something else or planning. She shortly snaps back to reality after a second.
Marie let out a soft giggle.
"I was certain that thou would plant seeds inside my mouth to create more pale creatures like thou" Marie says with a hint of humor
Ugh, 'pale creature' being called this by kin is especially hurtful. Kin? well in a way she is my kin as she came from my blood so it is appropriate.
"Nothing of sort no, however, I planted the ultimate seed of our lord and-" I was enthusiastically speaking when she suddenly cut me
"Please spare me this charade, im sick of hearing Christians screaming about their lord and savior Jesus Christ while they wiggle that little book at my face" Marie says with a fed-up tone
"If thou would just let me finish" I say slightly aggressive
I cough to clear my throat and proceed.
"Our lord, the great, the supreme, Lucifer"
Marie stares at me with pure disappointment in her eyes for long seconds while I stand with an enthusiastic big smile on my face.
"Uh... he seems great"
I furrow my eyebrow for a moment looking at her with a light stare of desaproval.
Humph, what a weak reaction, disappointing. I shan't judge her lack of faith, as in previous days Lucifer reached out to me even when I believed he was unholy, she too shall see his glorious light and restore her faith.
Now, I believe this is taking longer than expected, if possible I would like to reach Orleans this very night.
"So, where are thou headed now? Im planning on reaching Orleans shortly" I say
Marie let out a light laugh with various emotions behind it as she leans against a tree with a serious expression.
"Unless thy objective is to murder the whole town, I kindly suggest staying away from there" She says with a tone of bitter humor
Well, I would have to kill anyone who seeks to hurt me, however killing everyone would be an extreme waste of blood, besides my objective is to relax for some time maybe run into interesting people, sit on a proper chair, sleep in a comfortable coffin, of course, hunt down the bald human who just ran away, and if possible finding a carriage to take me to Vallis Aurea. I can not do any of that if I transform the whole city into a graveyard.
"That is my advice as the former duchess, a title that I lost in a political struggle against a heartless bastard who sought to use dark arts and now runs Orleans like it is his playground" Marie says angrily
Dark arts? Interesting. However, after seeing cats who turn into humans, a wendigo, a beast that steals appearance, and that swamp whore, I wouldnt be surprised if this dark arts thing is indeed real.
"Judging by thy tone, thou seek revenge? but as the duchess, the crown should help thy no?" I ask curiously
A sarcastic laugh escapes Marie's mouth.
"The crown could not care less, Clovis II is a fat old bastard besides they are too preoccupied with Austrasia continuously harassing Neustria in the form of petty schemes aiming to steal our lands" Marie speaks with a tone of disgust
She proceeds quickly after with a bitter sarcastic tone.
"Besides, my poor excuse of a stupid husband or the former duke was murdered by the so-called heartless bastard, so why the crown would stand up for a woman right?"
True, I can easily see a scenery where they would just kill her for trying to ask for help.
I look at her with a bit of curiosity in my stare, a stare that she manages to catch proceeding with the same tone as before.
"A funny story actually, I was raped, used like a trophy and dog for Laurent's pleasure, for nine months I endured until the day of my childbirth came, more precisely today, the only day I could have a chance of escaping, I tried to save the baby but he died because the night was too cold for a newborn which led me to get captured and now im here, funny right? FUCK!"
At the end of her horrible and grotesque resume, she lets out a scream of sheer rage while trying very hard to maintain her smile, but tears soon start to form on her face she looks up and clean her tears quickly returning to stare at me with a normal expression.
This is... horrible and disgusting, why would someone even attempt such a thing? There is no meaning in doing that when thou already won, why go that far? if I was this man I would just kill both the duke and his wife and be done with it.
Other than utter disgust for this creature wearing a human face, I feel a little confused by something she said before.
"Hm? But Austrasia and Neustria are all part of the same kingdom, so why they are fighting over their own lands" I ask confused
Makes no sense at all, it is like fighting for a bed that has plenty of space for two.
Marie let out a light sigh and proceeded.
"Men are like this, their eyes are incapable of seeing more than petty things so they fight over them" Marie says with a light tone of rage
Well, this... is certainly an eccentric opinion, on the other hand, I believe that they do this because humans, in general, are imbeciles with a few exceptions of course. Im looking for those exceptions, they are quite interesting and I plan to prioritize blessings for those ones over others. Nothing seems more hellish than being stuck forever in eternal life with a bunch of boring people.
Marie proceeds to speak with a light-hearted tone, but her aura speaks otherwise.
"Well, Carmilla, Im delighted to be a part of this so-called blessing and thou have my thanks for saving me, however, I must ask, im planning on a big revenge against Laurent and thy presence would be wonderful"
When she says my presence she obviously means, my help. In any case, Orleans is out of the question right now and I have nothing as entertaining as this crusade so why not? It might lead me to discover this mysterious dark art and I was planning on hunting that bald with the strange blade anyway.
"It would be wonderful, im actually very interested in killing that man who just left" I say politely
"Oh, Simon, he is Laurent's housecarl we shall get to him eventually for now im planning to head to a small settlement east from here, it might take some hours to make it there even with my newfound speed"
Simon humph, I despise the name already.
"In the way, please explain more about the blessing and I shall explain what im planning too" Marie speaks politely
This woman... she speaks respectfully however I can not help but notice her aura, she is obviously trying to use me to achieve her revenge. Underestimating my intellect is quite rude but in the end, what matters is my safety and joy, the moment this crusade of hers starts to bore me, I leave.
I agree with her request and we part toward a small village, named Letusa, seems like Marie possesses an acquaintance there who might help. On the way, I explained a few additional things about our condition, like sleeping in coffins, and animal blood which she drank throughout our short travel, the image of her almost vomiting the first time made me laugh for minutes, she however was certainly not pleased with my laugh. I made sure to test a few of her basic powers too like her strength and speed, she is fairly close to me however im superior as is expected. We talked about many things and I finally wasn't feeling so alone anymore, I had someone to chat with along the boring way.
We are now very close to arriving and a sudden curiosity strikes me while we sprint through a dense forest, I then proceed to speak while we sprint, as someone like me, she could hear my mumbling and the both of us make a sudden stop.
"Apologies for the sudden stop, im curious to ask something, why exactly we are heading to Letusa" I ask
Marie turns to me with a little smug on her and begins to speak with an explanatory tone.
"Building wealth, the first step to overthrowing House De Castelorie and Laurent at the same time, they are protected by a very large sum of gold which they use to corrupt everyone they can not kill. With my knowledge of feudalism and the blessing strength combined it is only a matter of stepping on a few lords and ladies until we assemble a house as prominent as De Castelorie, with this not even the crown shall stand in our way, and..."
"Carmilla, if im guessing right thou wish is to expand the blessing correct?" Marie speaks with a smug
"Yes, that is my main mission assigned by Lucifer himself" I say calmly
"How a whole court full of us sounds? at thy service of course" Marie speaks with a sinister humourous tone
A grim smile forms on my face.
Oh my, this is getting even more entertaining.