Chapter 2: Beau-père

My sister and I were not the only ones unfortunate enough to suffer under Catarina's rule.

Of course, he was roped into her ways, rather than being born into it, as was Francisca and I.

Renauld was not my true father...but he was kind enough, I thought of him as if he was.

Countless times, he stood witness to Catarina's tirades. However, he was powerless to stop it. Whenever he and I were alone, his words were sympathetic.

I held no ill will against him. It was not his fault his wife was an obsessive, self-centered woman.

Chapter 1: Échapper

(As with Rötterdämmerung, edited photos are used to indicate the past. I'm not sure what compelled me to do so, given you won't see much of the present. Storytelling purposes, possibly.)

I suppose you wish to have an explanation for who I am. Well...

You may not believe this, but I was once like you. A human, that is.

Indeed, I was not always the fanged monstrosity that is before you. I once had blood flowing within my veins, and a beating heart.

I was one of the very race I despise now. A man by the name of Sebastian.

My life way, to say the least, privileged. Whatever I desired, I was given.

Well, not everything, but within the realm of possibility. I will admit, I appreciated where my place was.

Though, I worried for my dear sister Francisca, and did my best to learn of her whereabouts. I promised myself that I would take every chance I was presented with to find her.

There was but one dark stain upon this, however.

Prologue

(Unlike Rötterdämmerung, I'm still in the process of getting screenshots for this new story.)

(I suppose this story came to be in part due to that Halloween will be here in roughly two months, so I felt this was somewhat fitting.)

(That, and out of this and three other ideas, this was the one I had most developed so far. Also, there won't be as many flashes to the present of the main character as there were of Sinbad. And this blog is of a different template, so the story pictures and title picture are a little wonky.)

(With that, happy reading.)

...

...I know you are there.

You think that if you were quiet enough, you could take one such as me by surprise?

I was aware of your arrival, long before you came.

Under normal circumstances, trespassing upon my territory could very well have ended in your swift and immediate death.

However...

It would appear that you have encountered me in the most ideal of time. My appetites are satiated, so no need to protect your neck.

As it would seem, it has been forever since I had one come upon my estate. As a matter of fact, I am unsure if you are here because of a friendly game of dares, or if you came out of your own curiosity.

Do take care, however, as the power of illusion in this place appears to...flicker of its own free will.

It is but a trifle. And it would be inconvenient to simply turn you away, human or no.

Though I am not of your kind, I am aware of them.

As was...as was he! He and I both, and he...he...!

Ohhh...Do forgive me. Even now, I am driven to tears and mourning at even the merest thought of him.

His fate was an untimely, and unkind one.

...They killed him, you know. Not with weapons, or blades. No, they killed him with something far worse.

He died from their words, their scorn, their hatred! Their vitriol drove the poor man to madness.

Would you kindly lend me your ear, as I tell you a tale? One that will surely be worth your trek to this place?

I can't possibly know at least some peace, if I do not tell anyone how it had come to this.

(End of the prologue. The whole "power of illusion" line was to explain the continuity error between screenshots.)