《A Vampire's Dilemma》
Chapter 1
A black-haired woman grimaced as she held her swollen stomach with both hands. The humans around her gave her a wide berth, cold glares plentiful amongst those hostile eyes.
Normally, the woman wouldn''t give a rat''s shit about how these inferior humans thought of her, but she couldn''t help but worry a bit. The lord of this town had promised her a safe refuge until she gave birth, and his oath had been trustworthy, but she was still worried.
This was, after all, her third and final year of gestation. It''d been a long and painful process, but now, she just wanted to get this damn thing out of her already.
She hurried her steps, giving wide berth to the drunk and rowdy adventurers that walked brazenly on the streets. Her status as an honored guest of the mayor wouldn''t protect her from those who couldn''t even tell the difference between a rat and a tiger.
Upon reaching her home, she swiftly entered and locked the door. Heaving a sigh of relief, she sat her heavy ass down on the hard couch, her eyes traveling once more down to her swollen stomach. She wasn''t sure how to feel about this, to be honest. Anxiety, anticipation, a bit of regret, and even joy mixed together to form a strange sentiment.
She''d always considered and carried herself as an independent woman, and those who would claim otherwise had all been turned into corpses a long time ago. Still, she couldn''t help but wished that damnable bastard would at least take responsibility.
Sighing in annoyance, she idly rubbed her stomach. Feeling a weak but painful kick coming from within her, she grimaced. She knew very well she was almost due, and she knew the filthy manlings wouldn''t hesitate to attack at her weakest, with no allies in sight.
Getting up, she summoned a black book with a skull as a cover out of her Spacial Storage and resigned herself to having to risk injuring her baby by using magic.
When she''d gotten pregnant, her dear mother had told her all the tips and tricks for vampire gestation. No magic, no poisonous blood, and no getting hit. More or less what she already knew, but it was still helpful.
Now, however, she was forced to break the first rule. Sighing, she called upon her vast magic reserves and got to work.
By nightfall, dozens of invisible and intangible barriers surrounded her home, acting as silent protectors for herself and her unborn child.
Laying on her bed, the woman tried her best to regulate her erratic breathing. She was sweating profusely and also deadly tired, having had to manage three things at once while casting those complicated spells: Not alerting the humans, actually casting the spells, and also not damaging her baby.
Then, she felt something bleeding from between her legs. She froze for a second before her many, many years of experience came to rescue her. She immediately activated an already-prepared spell, causing a small, dark circle of complicated runes to appear on the ground next to her.
After a couple of seconds of, shadows burst out of the circle, forming into a humanoid figure after gathering together. The shadow bowed deeply, red eyes glowing in the dark room.
The woman owns red eyes stared back, unabashed and unafraid of the strange creature. With a mental tug, she brought the shadow next to her and had it help her.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Hours later, the woman was gritting her teeth, eyes wide as saucers as she pushed with all her might. The shadow puppet stood next to her, it''s dark limbs carefully helping her extract the damned baby from her.
The woman was used to pain. Thrived in it, even, as all of her kin did. However, this kind of pain was simply on another level. Even losing her head wasn''t as bad as this.
She suppressed another scream as yet another painful contraction tore through her body. She could feel the mana of hundreds of peasant-class humans standing around her home, and although she couldn''t tell what they were doing, based on the fact that the shields had already activated, she could make an educated guess.
She''d teach those filthy humans a lesson they''d never forget... later.
Finally, twenty minutes of the worst pain imaginable later, she finally felt the damned baby get out. The shadow puppet''s nimble limb''s carefully held the blood-covered baby as it took its first breath. A moment later, shrill screams came out from the little thing.
The exhausted woman grimaced from the sound. She immediately cast several regeneration spells on herself, immediately feeling better. Looking down at her now flat stomach, she was secretly happy for this painful pregnancy to be finally over.
With trembling arms, she took back her baby from the shadow puppet, she observed it with great curiosity.
Although its father was a filthy bastard, his genes were quite good, and her own were obviously superb. Indeed, although it looked like a potato now, the crying babywas still beautiful.
''My little girl...'' The woman thought, her old and cynical heart feeling overwhelmed. She hugged the little baby tight, bringing its face next to her neck.
She felt little pain when two underdeveloped but still plenty sharp fangs sunk into her neck. The feeling of blood flowing out of her, though, was a bit strange. Usually, it was she who did the sucking, not others. Except maybe the father of her baby, but he did a... different... kind of sucking.
She didn''t feel like thinking about it, so instead, she concentrated on the shadow puppet, ordering it to stand guard at the door, and to make sure the filthy and rowdy manlings didn''t actually break her barrier.
Still, even if they did, she could simply smite them now. However, feeling the warm potato happily stealing away her blood, she decided that those filthy manlings could receive their punishment later.
After a couple of minutes, the baby let go of her neck, burping grossly afterward. The woman grimaced at all the dried blood that now stained both herself and her baby, but a quick cleaning spellsolved that particular problem. Picking up a towel she''d prepared beforehand, she wrapped the potato up, looking into its blood-red eyes as they slowly closed.
The woman now hesitated. She knew very little how to bring up a baby, her own memories very, very faint about this particular stage of her own childhood. Still, it would probably be best to let the baby get its sleep.
Her kind didn''t need sleep, per se, but perhaps she did. After all, her father wasn''t exactly her kin... far from it, actually. It was a miracle her baby looked so beautiful, and not an abomination.
She examined her very own potato with various spells, determining her magic to be both stable, and very much plentiful. That was to be expected, though, considering her lineage.
Her smile slowly vanished as she turned away from her baby. Casting a silencing spell on the room, she marched out to the door where her puppet waited. She mercilessly banished it and smashed the door open.
Half an hour later, she returned. Her clothes and body were just as perfect as before, but her belly was definitely much fuller than it had before. She licked her lips, enjoying the aftertaste of noble blood.
A broken promise was not something she would tolerate. The mayor learned that the hard way.
Tip-toeing over to her baby, she watched its peaceful sleeping face. Her motherly instincts were definitely roused, as she wanted to pinch those pinchable cheeks, but she restrained herself.
She settled on the hard couch, legs finally able to swing over one another, and summoned her dark book once again. Instead of using it for casting, though, she simply read it this time.
Next morning, she''d have to leave before the other filthy manlings once again found her out. She was less vulnerable now, but with her little man-puppet gone, she''d lost yet another safe haven.
She mused over her next destination, eventually settling for doing as she always had. To simply go where the wind took her.
Vampires were known to be nomadic, after all.
Chapter 2
He opened his eyes, harsh light swiftly forcing his newborn pupils to close once more. Taking a deep breath, he wailed loudly, attempting to get his new mother''s attention.
A loud thump, an even louder curse, and then the sound of running followed his scream. Bursting into his little room was a beautiful woman with hair as dark as the night and eyes the color of blood. Had he still been his past self, he would have drooled over her. Now, he''d be forced to drool on her, when he''d much rather keep his distance.
By the act of some higher power, he''d been reborn. It was almost funny, really. All he had ever wanted from life was to simply get his doctorate''s degree and then spend the rest of his life as a normal person. Perhaps he''d have gotten a girlfriend, explored the world, parachuted off of a plane...
But that wasn''t what happened. No, rather, a damnable bastard that was probably rotting in hell at this point decided that, yes, school shootings sounded fun.
He was brought out of his reverie by the pretty woman who now was his mother. She looked at him with a complicated expression on her face as she caressed his cheek with one hand, while the other removed her jacket and shit, and then the bra was also taken off.
Honestly, despite how well-endowed the woman might have been, he wasn''t sexually aroused at the sight at all. It made sense, in away.
He remembered sinking his little baby teeth into her neck just last night. He''d acted purely through instincts, his conscious mind not in the least involved in his actions. And, judging by the sheer deliciousness of her blood and just how satisfied it had left him, he could assume he or she was some sort of deviant, or they weren''t humans.
The fact didn''t really bother him, to be honest. It was still just an assumption, after all.
The woman gently picked him up and cradled him to her breast, where his body once again went into auto-pilot, automatically latching onto her. It wasn''t a pretty thing, but unfortunately, his body needed the sustenance and anti-bodies only a mother could provide.
After a dozen or so minutes, his body decided enough was enough, and let go of the woman''s breast. A wave of sleepiness hit him like a truck, quickly forcing his conscious mind to abandon ship and hop over to the land of dreams.
The woman, meanwhile, stared down at the little potato in her arms with a slight grin. She was a pretty thing, and now that both she and her baby had recovered from the exhaustion that was childbirth, it was even more evident than it had been before.
Planting a small kiss on her little potato''s cheek, she carefully put her back into the crib. Her mind still couldn''t believe that this little potato was her potato. It was hard to comprehend, and she had little idea of how to successfully raise a child.
When she''d consulted her mother over it, she''d laughed and said that there was no correct way, otherwise, vampirekind would have gone extinct a long time ago. Vampires were known to be both solitary and... peculiar... after all.
She snickered slightly in her mind before quickly tip-toeing her way out of the door. Once out of the room, she quickly got back to work with packing up everything that needed to be taken and erasing any and all traces of her stay in this city.
Yesterday''s massacre had provided her with an ample supply of high and medium-quality blood, which would last her at least a year or two, if she used it very sparingly, which she had little intention of doing.
Her potato was quite a heavy drinker, and she needed enough blood to produce the required milk. However, the ruckus she caused yesterday would surely not go unnoticed. She wasn''t keen on having the dogs of the guild biting at her heel, hence, she needed to move out, and fast.
Quickly casting and reinforcing a number of barrier spells on her home, she quickly got to work erasing any and all traces of their existence in this city, which included the entire human population of this place.Stolen novel; please report.
She didn''t consider herself a slaughterer, at least not compared to some of her kin. Had she been alone, she would''ve been happy to simply leave this place.
However, it was as the saying goes. There is no greater fury than that of a woman whose child is in danger.
Although she still hadn''t fully sorted out al her feelings for the little potato that had come out of her stomach, she would never allow any threats to her child go unanswered.
As the pretty vampire rampaged through the city, the cause of said rampage was just now waking up. He sneezed slightly, feeling a little sliver of milk having crusted near his lip. Rubbing it off absentmindedly, he attempted to get up on his knees.
However, being barely a day old, much less get up, he could barely move his arms and legs. After ten minutes of struggling, he was forced to abandon his little attempt, much to his irritation.
Crawling over to the bars of his crib, he satisfied himself by observing the room he was in. It was rather plain and small, with only a table and chair as furniture. Still, plenty of toys, ranging from plushies to what appeared to be toy swords, were neatly lined up on one of the walls. The walls were dyed a ''girlish'' pink, with seemingly little care put into decoration.
Overall, it was obviously a plain and temporary room. He highly doubted his mother, who appeared to be, if not rich, at least well-off, would be satisfied with living in such a room.
He briefly wondered about his previous life. He''d had a very long time to think about it in-between the short bouts of consciousness while he was in his mom''s womb, but he still couldn''t help but wonder how his family was faring.
Were they mourning for him? Had they moved on? He sure hoped so. He didn''t want his unfortunate death to trouble them too much. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing, hence, he had no option but to force himself to think of other, more pleasant, things.
As his body was about to doze off again, he heard the door opening. From it, his mom''s pretty face peeked out, looking directly at him. Seeing that he was awake, she entered the room and headed over to him.
He didn''t know how to feel about this woman, and he likely wouldn''t for still some time. However, she deserved the happiness of having a cute little baby, hence, regardless of how humiliating it might feel, he would give her this happiness.
He showed a wide grin as he babbled out random noises, putting up his arms for her to pick him up. Her lips crooked upwards while her eyes gained a soft shade to their usual coldness. She picked him up with little trouble and held him in her arms.
"Who''s a cute little potato, eh? Ooh, yes, you are..." She playfully said as she poked him in his sensitive spots, making him giggle and cry out as he flailed in her arms. He couldn''t understand what she was saying, but he didn''t care. He was ticklish, damn it.
After ten minutes of this sort of playing, he felt his body''s demand for sleep begin to win against his desire to bond with his mom. His mom must have had quite the sharp eye because she immediately noticed and gently deposited him back into his crib, where he fell asleep faster than one could count from one to five.
She watched as her baby began to quietly sleep, not making any noise. It was a stark contrast to what her mom had told her she herself had been as a baby, always crying and making noise.
Vampire children, and more accurately, babies, needed sleep just as much, if not more, than humans. While vampires were effectively immortal to time and most normal deaths, that did come with certain prices. For example, children took a very, very long time to grow up physically. It made sense since their bodies needed much more time and resources to grow up into proper vampires.
However, she was a bit concerned. While she firmly believed in the purity of her child''s vampiric blood, her potato''s father was definitely not a vampire.
Her genes had definitely taken priority in the creation of her potato over those of her father, but still... She was a tad bit worried.
Casting a silencing spell around the baby''s crib, she got out of the room and over to her own. There, she summoned her black book once more, using it to cast a very advanced spell.
A mirror appeared in the air in front of her, showcasing a birds-eye-view of the city she was currently residing in, along with a lot of its surroundings.
The city now looked like a ghost town, no inhabitants left in it. The ashes of recent fires were being dispersed by the gentle winds of this region, and the smoldering ruins of what had once been a noble''s estate stood in stark contrast to the perfectly maintained buildings of the commoners.
She dearly hoped the dogs of the guild would assume this to be the work of the Republicans. Though, even if they assumed otherwise, the chances of her being discovered were very slim. She''d made sure of that.
She grimaced slightly at the sight, but still inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. There didn''t seem to be any sneaky survivors trying to escape and bring news of what she''d done to the human authorities.
Closing the spell, she de-summoned her book and threw herself onto her bed. Her mom, being an old-styled bat of a woman, still insisted coffins were the appropriate bed for vampires, but she couldn''t care less what her mom thought right now. She didn''t really need sleep, but she was happy to indulge in it anyways.
And so, both mom and child slept as the ghost town around them kept its silence.
Chapter 3
The next morning, a certain raven-headed vampire left the ghost town she herself created. In her arms was a little bundle of towels, with a certain little reincarnate inside.
He looked around curiously, the ruined architecture new and strange to him. His mother was silent, and so was he, having already been fed in the morning.
The pair made their way out of the city, soon getting on a road heading off to somewhere far away. There, his mom looked conflicted for a moment, staring at him, the road, back at him, and then the road again.
Finally, she sighed. She pointed at the ground in front of them, and murmured, "Summon - Night Carriage"
He wouldn''t have heard it had he not been straining his ears. His eyes went wide, and he eagerly looked at where she was pointing. He wasn''t disappointed, as a black carriage made rose up from the ground as though it was intangible. Two black horses that had teeth far too sharp for normal horses stood in front of the carriage, reins connecting them to the vehicle.
His eyes were wide as saucers now, and he silently confirmed to himself that, yes, this might just be a different world from his own.
His mother quickly brought him into the carriage, and he was even more astonished at its insides. Instead of being a cramped, small space, it was more akin to a small room. It was definitely bigger than what he saw from the outside.
It had a large bed, several tables filled neatly stacked sheets of paper, a kitchen sink, a stove, a large wardrobe that was filled with beautiful clothing for women. Overall, it was more akin to a house than a carriage room.
His mom gently put him in a crib that he could''ve sworn wasn''t there before, and after planting a small kiss on his forehead, she went out. He guessed she must''ve gone to pilot the carriage, which for some reason, made his little baby heart tremble. However, he was proven wrong when, not even a minute later, she returned.
She smiled brightly at him, and despite the blood-red eyes that gave her face a terrifying look, he immediately felt a kinship with the woman who happened to be his new mother.
He hadn''t been very close to his original mother. They loved each other, yes, but they fought a lot. When his end came, it was after a particularly brutal dispute, meaning that he''d left his mother with her last memory of him being them fighting.
He regretted it. This time, it''d be different, he promised himself as he put on a dumb baby smile and gurgled at her, as it was impossible to make any meaningful noises with this body.
His mother put on the ''mother smile'', even if it was a bit awkward, and she immediately got to work torturing (playing) with him.
To be completely honest with himself, he didn''t really mind the way she baby-talked or played around with him. He was a bit humiliated, but what use did humiliation have when he had literally been born a couple of days ago?
Hence, he did what babies did.Which consisted of screaming, shitting and peeing. And also playing with a far too tickle-happy mother.
His body still needed a ton of sleep, hence, he usually would only stay awake for one or two hours at most, which often consisted of getting breastfed, having his diapers changed (which his mother quickly learned to put on 24/7), or simply playing with his mom.
Weeks began to quickly pass. He never left his carriage, although he did see his mom do so a number of times. Once, he felt the room shake a little, along with some faint screaming noises.
And when his mother came back in half an hour later, with a couple of bloodstains on her clothes, he could guess what happened.
This event sobered him up by quite a bit. He was already a cynical person by nature, and also quite the pessimist. Hence, his mind did quite a wonderful job of showing him all the horrors this world may have.
... Or at least it did during the few hours it was conscious. Babies don''t really do much...
When he was around 3 months old, if his internal clock was to be believed, something relevant finally happened. He was, at long last, given his own name.
It happened on a rather random day as he was crawling around in his little playpen that his mother had set up, with little blocks, stuffed toys, and dolls. It has to be said that most of those dolls were creatures stereotypically associated with evil, like bats, scary-looking wolves, and even some others he couldn''t recognize but looked scary anyway.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
His mom burst into the room, a proud smile on her face. She directly walked over to him, picked him up by his armpits, and holstered him into the air. Then, with an even prouder smile, sheexclaimed something. It was a bit of a shame he couldn''t understand 99% of what she said, but he wasn''t dumb. When he heard the word "Rose" be repeated again and again, he quickly understood that the word was probably his name.
... And it sounded suspiciously feminine.
He wasn''t stupid, but even he was stunned. After his mom finished with the usual daily diaper-change and feeding, he awkwardly stuck his little hand into his diapers.
Sure enough, there was no penis.
Little quiet potato suddenly became a very, very loud potato. His/her mom rushed into the room a couple of moments later, eyes wide. She tried to console him or distract him, but she had no idea what to do. She''d done everything right, right!?
She quickly went over her daily tasks. Feeding, check. Diapers, check. Playtime? Check. She was at a complete loss.
A light bulb went off in her head. Perhaps her little potato needed blood feeding? But her mom had said it was only once a year...
She awkwardly tried to stick her baby to her neck, but she didn''t bite. Nope, wasn''t that. Awkwardly, she cradled the baby to her chest, trying to calm her down.
Calm Rose down, she reminded herself. She''d put off giving her a name for so long because she wanted to mull it over. Now that she''d finally decided on it, she needed to stick to it.
Finally, half an hour later, the loud wails turned into small sniffles, and then into silence as little potato Rose fell asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief and gently deposited the potato back into her crib before silently leaving the room.
Outside of the carriage, the two Nightmares that carried the carriage, upon seeing her leaving it, resumed their endless march. She quickly hopped on top of the carriage, scouting out the lands around them.
They''d traveled thousands of miles away from that now ghost town, traveling through 4 different kingdoms. Naturally, she was forced to travel away from the main roads in order to avoid attention.
If it was just her back before she got a little surprise, she would have never feared attention. She still didn''t, but she didn''t want to risk endangering her child with her recklessness.
Besides, the Nightmares were extremely adaptable. Currently, they were traveling across an incredibly large and flat grassland, filled to the brim with all kinds of creatures. 500 years ago, she remembered traveling through this place, and she distinctly remembered this being one of the main kingdoms for the beastmen.
It seemed as though their namesake hadn''t spared them. She''d seen a couple of ruins here and there, but the claws of time had already erased most of their traces. It was a bit nostalgic, to be honest, and it made her wonder just how many things her dear mother had seen rise and fall.
In vampire terms, she was barely out of her teenage years. For her to already be out and about the world, with a child no less, was extremely shocking in cultural terms.
Still, she liked this life. Her mother had given to her a lot of things, a love of travel being one of them.
Of course, there were risks to exploring the world like this. Risks like the pack of elephant-crocodiles currently charging in the direction of her carriage.
They were beautiful beasts, she inwardly commented to herself. A shame they chose to commit suicide like this, she also thought as she sent a powerful 7th tier spell their way: Abyssal Flames.
The beasts screeched as the seemingly alive and dark flames rushed towards them like giant snakes, enveloping the giant monsters and, within moments, returning them to nothingness.
She quickly checked her mana, her lips going up slightly when she noted that the mana spent for this spell had decreased by quite a bit compared to the last time she cast it.
Coincidentally, another thing her dear mother had given her was a love for magic, which was quite convenient, since basically every single vampire in existence could easily be considered genius-grade for most ''dark'' types of magic. Sort of like how almost every tree-hugging elf had ungodly amounts of talent for druidic and nature magic.
Comparatively, humans had no single talent, much more suited to being jack-of-all-trades. There was the exception here and there, but again, they were the exceptions and not the norm.
She idly filed her nails and fangs as she sat on the carriage, watching the sun slowly reach the middle of the sky, and then fall to the side. She''d seen this scene so many times, and yet, it was still beautiful each one.
A small electrical shock alerted her to her motherly duties. Jumping off the top of the carriage, she mentally ordered the Nightmares to stop moving. Then, she entered the carriage.
Her little potato Rose was crawling around in her crib, attempting to escape again as she tried to climb up, only to fall down, only to once more try to climb the bars of the crib.
She marched over to the potato, picked her up, and after talking some nonsense to her in order to get her used to what would become her first language, Vampiric, she took off her shirt and bra, preparing to feed the little potato.
As for said potato, he/she was a bit apologetic to his/her mother. He/s-... SHE''d been a bit clingy after the sad realization that his penis was gone. Looking back at it, though, she''d made a bit of an exaggerated scene.
There were worse things that could have happened. She''d gladly do much worse than switch genders if it meant being able to get a second chance, which she got.
... Breastfeeding was still awkward as hell, regardless of gender, she decided as she was shoved to her mother''s breast. Mentally sighing, she allowed her body''s instincts to take over.
Chapter 4
"Come on Rose, you can do it!" She cheered loudly as she waited at one side of the room on her knees, arms spread out in a waiting hug.
Wobbling unsteadily, a certain reincarnated vampiric child unsteadily got to her feet, using the bars of her crib as support. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as she let go of the bars, slowly wobbling her way towards her mother.
As she reached halfway, she stumbled slightly, which caused her mother''s breath to pause, only for her to regain her balance and continue on her wobbly way. Finally, she reached her mom, who quickly picked her up and spun her around.
"Good job, Rosie! Who''s a good girl, huh?" Her mom laughed. Rose still had some trouble completely understanding the language, but she could now get at least a little hang of it, which was impressive considering she was only 10 months old.
"Mama!" She squeaked. She''d already spoken her first word around a month before, which was obviously ''mama''. Now, she was already starting to speak other words.
Said mama smiled widely, spending the rest of the evening playing with her cute little potato that was still a potato but already showed signs of growing up.
By the time the sun went down, Rose was snoring silently in her crib. After giving her little potato a quick kiss on the cheek, she left the room and went up on the roof of the carriage.
The night passed by silently, and she spent the time silently meditating, gathering mana into her pool and slowly expanding and strengthening it.
However, she was soon awoken from her trance by the feeling of a spell being cast. Her eyes quickly landed on a large door that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
She ordered the Nightmares to stop, recognizing the door''s appearance. She excitedly got off the carriage and half-walked, half-ran over to the opening door.
A woman in her twenties with an appearance that closely resembled that to her own squeezed herself out of the door, which quickly shut close and disappeared when she exited it.
"Mother!" She yelled out,launching herself at the older woman. Said woman gave her a smile with both lips and eyes, returning the strong hug with an equally powerful one.
"Hello, little Yukio. Long time no see." She murmured in her daughter''s ear as they embraced each other. Yukio nodded, feeling a bit depressed at her mother''s words.
For the first 500 years of her life, she''d been inseparable from her mother. However, after that time, she''d decided that she wanted to go off to explore the world alone. Her mom had approved and financed her travels, but it did come at the cost of only seeing her mother a couple of times per year if she was lucky, much less if she wasn''t.
"Anyway, enough of this stuff. Let me see my cute little grandchild." The older woman commanded. Yukio finally separated herself from their hug, and after a moment of thought, shook her head.
"She''s sleeping right now. Let''s wait till morning for when she wakes up." She counteroffered. The older woman showed a large grin, long and sharp canines peeking out dangerously.
"Of course, of course. I still remember when you were but a crawling little baby, always waking up at the strangest hours..." She reminisced. Yukio''s face turned scarlet as she screamed at her mom, "S-shut up!"
"Hehehe..." Said mother laughed before grabbing her daughter''s hand. "Come, let me see how far you''ve advanced in the time I was gone."
"O-okay." Yukio agreed, allowing herself to be dragged off by her eager mother away from the carriage.
~~~
Rose slowly opened hi-... Her eyes as the gentle veil of sleep slowly lifted itself off of her. Stretching her little body as much she could, she crawled out from under the small covers. Looking at the bars of her cage, she thought for a moment if it was worth it to humiliate himself and scream in order to get attention, or if she should simply crawl out by herself.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
In the end, the choice was taken away from her as her mum entered the room. However, something was wrong, Rose noticed, alarmed. Her face that had already always been pale was now basically as white as paper, and she looked unsteady on her feet.
After she entered, another woman came in too, shocking Rose.She looked older than her mother, but other than that, the two were almost identical.
The new woman spoke a couple of words that Rose couldn''t understand and then laughed. Her mom''s pale cheeks reddened as she put her face in her hands. "Mom, please..."
Rose''s little eyes jumped back to the older woman, understanding dawning in her not-so-young mind. So, this woman was her grandmother?
Holding her little baby arms out, she called out. "Up!" She said. "Up! Up!" She repeated, trying to get the duo''s attention. Her beautiful mother quickly noticed and came to pick her up, holding her up by her armpits.
She said something that Rose couldn''t understand to the not-so-old-looking grandma before handing little Rose off to said grandma, who quickly and happily picked her up the same way her mum had done.
She held Rose so that the two faced each other, a large grin on her face. Then, she let go of Rose, who was still in the air.
Rose screamed in surprise and a bit of fear but quickly found that she wasn''t falling. Rather, she was floating in the air, somehow.
Rose flailed for a bit, trying to reposition herself. The grandma laughed and gave her a gentle push, sending her slowly drifting towards her mum, who had a concerned look on her face.
When she reached her mum, Rose quickly latched onto her and refused to let go. Shedid not enjoy the sensation of floating and being completely helpless.
Her mean old grandmother pouted slightly at the sight, sighing something that Rose could only assume went along the lines of "Kids these days..."
Yukio looked at her little potato with a trace of concern as she buried her face in her chest, refusing to look at her grandmother. She hugged her little potato, and with a dark look on her face, glared at her mom.
"Hehe... Sorry. I thought she''d enjoy it." Her mom said, rubbing her head nervously. Yukio just sighed at her mum''s antics, before calmly (anxiously) telling her, "Mom, children aren''t supposed to be exposed to magic this young. It''s dangerous, you said it yourself..."
"I know, I know. Sorry." Her mom grumbled unhappily. Finally, she sighed. "Ah, well. I suppose I''ll just have to wait a couple of years before I can show off how cool I am to my cute little granddaughter." She sniffed in false haughtiness, causing Yukio to giggle a bit.
"Mum..." The little potato in her arms suddenly murmured. "Hungry!" She said after a small pause. Yukio blinked before remembering that, yes, her little potato had not yet been fed.
Her mom watched curiously as Yukio carried little potato Rose over to the table, sitting her there. Then, she took out a large glass filled with a reddish-orange liquid from her spacial storage.
As she helped Rose drink the strange liquid, her mom butted in. "You''ve already stopped breastfeeding? Isn''t it a bit early?" She asked curiously. Yukio looked back in confusion. "Is it?" She asked.
"Well, a little. It''s probably fine since you''re still feeding her milk-blood, but be careful. She''s not supposed to drink real blood until she''s at least 3."
Yukio nodded, feeling a bit embarassed for her little slip-up. After helping little Rose finish up drinking her meal, she held her as she dozed off, both her and her mom staying silent as she did.
When the little potato was finally asleep, Yukio gently put her back in her crib. Then, she spent the next few hours catching up with her mother.
Apparently, her little ghost-town-making incident had caused quite the stir in the kingdom it was in. The king used it as an excuse to begin persecuting every republican and political dissident, which apparently eventually led to a civil war which was still raging on.
Yukio would have felt bad for that, but honestly, she didn''t care. She didn''t give a rat''s ass about whether a bunch of humans lived or died, and even if she hadn''t done anything, she was sure that kingdom would have erupted in civil war anyways.
Her mom agreed with her, sneering at the weakness and stupidity of humanity but also lamenting the wasted blood and resources.
When Rose woke up again, Yukio and her mom busied themselves with playing around with the child. Although Rose was a bit apprehensive about her grandmother, she quickly forgot the incident after she began to tickle and play with her, even if it was just children games.
Although she wanted to use magic to spice up the games, Yukio''s glare convinced a certain poor grandmother to think otherwise. For the next month, Rose enjoyed the unending spoiling and attention of two ancient vampires, and she loved it.
However, all good things must come to an end. At the end of the month, her not-so-mean grandmother kissed both Rose and Yukio goodbye before leaving, only pausing temporarily when Rose yelled "Granny!"
She showed a small smile before telling Yukio that she''d come back when she had the opportunity and then left the exact same way she came: Through a door that appeared out of nowhere.
Both Yukio and Rose were silent and a bit depressed the following days, but eventually, Yukio sobered up and decided that now was as good a time as any to bring her little potato to view the outside world.
Chapter 5
Yukio picked up little Rose with little effort, bringing her up so they could see eye-to-eye. She put on a serious expression, and in an authoritative voice, she said, "Rose, you will listen and do as I say now, okay?"
"''Kay!" Rose murmured, wiggling in her mother''s arms. Although it''d been over a year since she''d been reborn, being baby-handled still felt uncomfortable and weird.
"Do you want to go see the birds, Rose?" She asked. Rose looked up at her mom, big baby eyes going wide as she happily nodded.
Yukio smiled as she carried her little potato out of the room she''d been living in for more or less her entire life. Rose''s eyes were wide as saucers as she eagerly looked around, taking in her surroundings.
They were on a road surrounded on all sides by tall trees, and the sky was perfectly devoid of clouds. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and that reference sucked ass.
Feeling a bit nostalgic, she buried her face in the crook of her mother''s neck. Yukio caressed her back with slow twirls of her hand, eagerly telling her what everything was.
She brought Rose to the Nightmares, and let her pet the shadowy creatures, whom for their part seemed to enjoy their little master''s attention.
"Look, Rose. This here is a Bloody Rose, like your name. Humans use this to make a lot of medicines and potions." She explained. Rose was wobbling along on the ground, with Yukio holding her hand as she brought her daughter all around.
"Medicine?" Rose asked, looking up at her mom with big doe eyes. Misinterpreting the question, Yukio answered, "It''s the stuff that heals you. You get hurt and it helps heal. Of course, you don''t need medicine, my cute little potato."
"Why not?" Rose asked, furrowing her brows. She was acting childish, but in truth, this question had a bit more meaning behind it. A meaning that Yukio didn''t catch.
"Because you''re a vampire, sweety. Us vampires are very different from humans." Yukio patiently lectures, launching herself into a long explanation about why vampires were superior to humans.
Rose patiently listened, just nodding along as they strolled through the streets, the Nightmares carrying the carriage following a bit behind them.
"Humans are generally a violent and hateful race. Still, you should learn to respect your opponents, Rose, and never think yourself above everyone." Yukio rambled on before suddenly stopping and looking at her little potato that was looking at her, nodding along.
"You''re not understanding any of this, are you?" She bitterly said, feeling dumb for getting philosophical with a 1-year old. She''d gotten caught up with telling Rose about the world that she''d stumbled upon stuff too deep for her potato to understand.
Rose tilted her head slightly, saying, "Mama no like homan?". Her words were jumbled up and she scrunched her face up when Yukio laughed and rubbed her head. "No, Rose. I like humans, but I prefer vampires." She poked Rose''s nose. "Like you, cutie."
Rose giggled at Yukio''s touch, and soon enough, they''d abandoned any talk about humans, instead of exploring the forest as Rose eagerly poked and asked about everything, from the strange trees to the weird animals that sometimes popped up.
However, although they''d stopped talking about humans, humans hadn''t stopped talking about them. Three shadowy figures looked at the pair from some distance away, murmuring to each other.
"Look at those eyes and teeth... That''s a vampire right there." One of them said, keeping his voice as low as possible. "You sure? Double-check. If it really is a vampire, this might be the opportunity of a lifetime." Another one of the shadow figures answered.
"I''m sure. Must be a mother and daughter, and that brat''s so young too." The first figure said, his sharp eyes tearing themselves away from the retreating vampire pair.
The third figure spoke up. "If we can catch the little vampire brat and find a good buyer, we''ll never again have to work. And even if we can''t sell her, we can still train her to be our slave slut. Let''s go tell the boss."
The other two obediently nodded to the third figure, and they all quickly retreated. The first figure''s eyes landed on the woman one more time as he wondered just what the damned bloodsucker was thinking, walking around like this with nothing on her.
"Rose, do me a favor, and wait here for a bit, okay? Mama will be right back, don''t move."
The three figures ran at their best speed, quickly reaching a camp hidden within the deep forest. In it, people dressed in all kinds of clothes, going from rags to armor, walked around. Tents were thrown around without thought, and from them, moans and grunts could be heard, with the occasional woman branded by a slave collar walking out with shaking legs and tears falling from their eyes.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Obviously, these people were bandits. Thiefs, raiders, plunderers... Whatever the name. The three figures exited the forest, revealing themselves to be two rather plain-looking men with only one being dressed marginally better than the other two.
They made their way through the camp, arriving at the largest and most luxurious tent. Screams could be heard coming from within, and normally, no sane bandit would go in at this time. However, after looking at each other, they decided to go in anyway.
"Boss, we''ve got important news." One of the trio announced as they entered, quickly paling when the man inside the tent glared at him.
He was naked, and in front of him, a young girl no older than 13 was chained, blood flowing out from numerous cuts and from her genitals.
Obviously, she too was naked. The man gave her a glance, slapped her ass with a dark laugh and whispered something in her ear before walking over to his three subordinates with a dark glare on his face.
Putting on his clothes, he looked at the trembling men. "This better be good, or I''ll have your intestines strung out and fed to wild wolves."
"Y-yes boss, this is important..." The better-dressed man of the trio quickly said, face pale. "We were scouting the road like we always do when we saw a woman with a baby walking along the road..."
"That''s it? You disturbed me just for some woman?" The boss'' calm voice echoed in their ears, making their pale face go even whiter.
"N-no boss, it''s no woman. It was a vampire, and she had an extremely young child with her..."
The boss laughed. "A vampire? Don''t be stupid. Why would you encounter a vampire here, and one so stupid to stroll around with a child." His eyes darkened even more. "Do you take me for a fool?"
"B-but, boss, she had like, blood-red eyes, black hair, long fangs, and the brat did as well..." The subordinate quickly explained.
Hearing this, the boss scrunched up his face. "You''re... You''re sure that was a vampire?"
"Y-yeah!" The subordinate said. "Boss, if we can kidnap the brat, we could sell her and be set for life, you''d get so rich and powerf-..." The man was rudely interrupted when a fist landed squarely on his face, sending him slamming into the wall.
"YOU GOD DAMN FOOL!" The boss roared, his own face now deadly pale. "There''s no way a vampire would ever be undefended, especially a god damned mother!"
"B-boss?" The two remaining subordinates asked, frightened. He glared at the two, killing intent swirling in his eyes. "Go alert the camp, we''re leaving, and hope to the Gods that the bloodsucker didn''t see you idiots."
"No. You''re not going anywhere." A voice colder than ice drifted in the tent. The boss'' face went white as a sheet, furiously looking around for the source of the sound.
Ignoring his retarded subordinates, the bandit boss ran out of the tent, and the sight that greeted him was not a pretty sight.
Shadows that seemed to have come to life strung every bandit upside down, their mouths gagged, silent screams trying to come out from under the writhing shadows as their bodies slowly rotting away.
In the middle of this scene from hell was a woman with red eyes. Her hands were clasped behind her back, a look that promised pain and death to anyone that crossed her resting on her pretty face.
"Fuck!" The boss murmured. He wanted to plead, beg for his life, promise to never speak of this woman''s existence, but he wasn''t given the chance.
A large shadowy crocodile emerged from the ground, and faster than anyone could react, swallowed up the bandit boss, who didn''t even have time to scream. The crocodile chewed a bit, licked its lips, and then vanished back into the ground.
"Disgusting." Yukio murmured, watching as the criminals slowly had their life force drained from her summons, who for their part, seemed to be having a lot of fun in torturing the poor humans.
She wasn''t stupid. She''d run into multiple bandit groups over just this year alone, but this one was the first one to see little Rose. It was fine if they just saw her alone, and since most bandit bosses were clever, they''d know to get the fuck away as soon as possible upon seeing a vampire. However, it was different if they knew she had a child.
They would almost surely sell the information, and then who knew just who would come to hunt her down. No, she wasn''t willing to take this risk. Her growing motherly instincts wouldn''t allow this.
Yukio looked at the only remaining alive humans, which happened to be slaves. They looked... happy. They were all women and the look in their eyes as they watched their rapists slowly die a painful death couldn''t be described with anything but as pure sadistic/vengeful enjoyment.
Yukio hesitated. These slaves had no idea Rose existed, and she wasn''t one to fall as low as to kill beings that had already suffered so much. Plus, she could understand their plight.
She ordered the shadows that had finished their meals to round up the remaining slaves and bring them to the center of the camp. Once that was done, she observed the slaves, who all looked as though they had resigned themselves to die.
12 women, only one of whom was a child. She was bleeding and judging from the smell of the liquid coming from her legs, she''d just been raped.
Biting her lips slightly, Yukio considered her options while silently staring at the fidgeting group, who also looked at her, fear and hope in their eyes.
"Humans," Yukio announced, her voice a bit shaky. "I... I have a friend who can help you. He''s known as the Warrior for Freedom, and I''m sure he''ll help you out. Those willing to trust me, raise your hands."
The women looked at each other, confusion in their eyes. Yukio''s eyes widened, and she silently coughed into her hand, a bit embarrassed. She repeated what she''d just said, but this time, she said it in Common, the human language, instead of Vampiric.
The slaves murmured to each other, and soon enough, one of them timidly raised her hand. Then another, and then another.
Yukio smiled at them, summoned her book, and cast a spell. A portal opened up next to her, and she directed the women to enter it.
They did so, with not a little hesitation. Eventually, only one was left behind: The young child.
Yukio stopped her from entering the portal like the other women. The child looked at her with fear when she did so, but Yukio ignored it.
She carefully put her hand on the small and malnourished child''s shoulder, casting a regeneration spell. Her cuts quickly closed, and a bit of color returned to her cheeks, but that was it. She couldn''t heal the malnourishment caused by years of starvation.
She gave a silent hug to the young child, who quickly broke into a sobbing fit the moment she received even a hint of love.
Yukio''s mind raced as she held the child in her arms. She knew the child was vulnerable at the moment, and she could exploit that, but doing so like this felt wrong. Still, she''d already decided the child''s fate the moment her eyes landed on her.
"Little human, I have a proposal for you..."
Chapter 6
Rose patiently waited for her mother to return. She''d been surprised when she''d suddenly left, and she wasn''t sure as to the reason why.
Still, Rose wasn''t about to anger her mom over something as trivial as refusing to stay in place for a bit. She was a good potato, as her mother just loved to call her.
Her ears perked up, hearing footsteps from some distance away. Since having been reborn into a vampire, and despite only being a baby, all of her senses were far superior to those she held when she was but a human man. It was... strange.
Rose got up from next to the Nightmare, who was laying down with its head on its deadly hooves that looked more like claws. It opened one eye, snorted, and went back to sleep.
Ignoring it, Rose ran (wobbled) her way over to the coming sound, and as expected, her dear mother showed up. What wasn''t expected was that there was a little girl walking behind her, who stared at the ground uncomfortably.
"Mum!" Rose yelled, launching herself at Yukio, who for her part, laughed at her potato''s actions and caught her mid-air.
"Hello, little potato. I''m back. Have you been good?" She asked jokingly, with Rose nodding along for her mom''s sake. She turned to the girl, finding her looking away while fidgeting. "Who that?" She asked, pointing at the girl while staring at her mom.
"Dear, that''s Francis. She''s our new... friend." Yukio said, choosing her words carefully. Rose tilted her head in confusion while cynical thoughts ran through her mind.
"Friend?" She asked, wiggling in her mother''s arms. She got the hint and put her down, allowing for Rose to wobble her way over to the young girl. She stared up at the girl who''d taken a step back, putting on her best doe eyes.
Yukio secretly cast a translation spell behind her back while looking at her little potato.
"Helo. Are you friend?" Rose asked, utilizing both her baby eyes and voice to neutralize the girl. The girl looked hesitant, glancing at her and then at her mom, who nodded. Then, the girl looked back at Rose and nodded shily.
"Friends play?" She asked, reaching up to the girl''s sleeve. The poor girl looked so completely lost that it almost made Rose feel bad. Almost.
"Pick her up, Francis." Her mom jokingly said, but although she said that, she was looming over the duo, eyes trained on Francis like a hawk waiting for its prey to make a mistake.
Francis nodded frantically, trembling arms reaching out to pick little Rose up. "Oof..." Francis exhaled, arms still trembling, but now for a different reason.
She held Rose by the armpits, face scrunched up in concentration. Rose didn''t know whether to take her actions as her being fat, or Francis being weak. Probably both considering how much of that orange stuff her mom had her drink every day, and from how skinny the girl looked.
A couple of seconds later, Francis was forced to abandon the attempt and put Rose on the ground, trying not to directly drop her. Rose giggled evilly as Francis flushed with effort and embarrassment.
"Up?" She asked again. The poor tortured girl''s expression turned to that of pure horror, but she was rescued by the most boring mother ever.
"Come now, Rose. Francis is very tired, you see. She was with her... Friends... For some time, and she needs to rest. Follow me, girlie." Yukio said in her no-nonsense voice. Rose pouted slightly, and with a harrumph, she wobbled her way over to the Nightmares, who didn''t look all that unhappy receiving her attention.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Once both her mom and Francis had retreated into the carriage, Rose''s face fell as she leaned on the Nightmares for comfort. She wasn''t a genius, nor did she even consider herself particularly smart, but she could put together the pieces.
Judging from how thin the girl was, and from the whole ''I''m terrified of everything that moves'' attitude she carried, Rose could tell that the girl had either been a slave or worse. She was positively sure her mom had cast some cleaning spells to remove both bad smells and make her clean again.
This world truly was a brutal one, Rose thought to herself, burying her face in the soft but cold fur of the Nightmares.
Meanwhile, Francis was sitting awkwardly on a couch inside of Yukio''s own room, separated from that of Rose. Her eyes darted around, taking everything in as though she was a trapped mouse.
The door opened, and in came Yukio. In her hands were several sets of clean clothes, which she handed over to Francis.
"T-thank you..." The young girl murmured, hugging the clothing to her chest. Yukio simply shrugged. "It''s nothing. If you''re going to work for me, I naturally won''t allow you to live in squalor." She commented. "Tomorrow, I will begin instructing you. For now, just sleep. Your room is behind that door, I left some food there for you."
Francis nodded, body feeling heavy as she dragged herself over to her room, keeping her eyes firmly locked to her own feet. Yukio watched as she vanished behind the door before shaking her head and sighing.
She''d offered the girla deal she simply couldn''t refuse. While she hadn''t signed it with any magic, or with any paper, Yukio felt as though this was better since Francis had already admitted she was illiterate.
Truth be told, she''d already been thinking about finding a companion for little Rose. Someone she could play and be with that wasn''t her mother.
Francis came about at the right time, and although she was a bit traumatized, Yukio was sure she''d get over it eventually.
She''d also just gotten an endless blood-supply if managed right, which was quite convenient.
Yukio leaned back on the sofa, putting one leg over the other as she brought a glass filled with perfectly red blood up to her lips. Taking small and measured sips, she quickly drank the entire thing.
Yes. Convenient indeed.
When night came, Yukio brought a reluctant Rose back into the carriage for sleep time. Although she wanted to stay outside and be with the nightmares for a bit more, Rose didn''t make too much of a fuss when she was tucked in, and quickly fell asleep.
Then, Yukio went over to Francis'' room. It was quite a bit smaller than both her room and that of Rose, but it was still plenty spacious. It wasn''t very decorated, but it did have all the necessities she might need.
A funny-looking little bump was in the center of the bed. Yukio felt her lips twitching upwards at the sight, and she almost went over to poke at the bump.
She stopped herself, however. She had her own little potato to poke and play with, it wouldn''t be good if she got too comfortable with a human.
She retreated from the room, making no noise whatsoever. Then, she went to meditate.
The next day was a rather... chaotic one. The comfortable routine that Rose and Yukio had going was quickly thrown out the window as Yukio had Rose and Francis complete several small tasks together for fun. Simple things, like arranging some blocks or drawing some stupid image.
It was dumb, but it worked. Rose seemed to enjoy spending time with newcomer Francis, and Francis herself felt a lot more comfortable around the mother-daughter pair afterward.
After feeding both the human and her potato, the latter was sent back to her room for nap-time while Yukio took over Francis'' time. For the first day, she kept it simple, getting to know the girl and her life story.
Although she was reluctant to share, she eventually told Yukio that her parents had sold her into slavery, and she''d been eventually captured by the bandit boss during a transfer.
It was actually a pretty common story. Starving peasants selling their children into slavery was nothing new, and it likely would not stop existing as a practice for a long time, but that didn''t make it any less tragic for Francis.
After Francis finished explaining, Yukio shared her sympathies but didn''t say much else, instead launching herself into a lecture over reading and writing in Common, only stopping when she felt Rose stirring a couple of hours later.
"I have some homework prepared for you. It should help you get comfortable with the basics. Finish it by tomorrow, other than that, do whatever you want for the rest of the day. If you wish, you may come to Rose''s room to play with us." Yukio said with a small smile as she left, leaving behind a stunned-looking Francis.
Francis looked at the closed door for a while, then, she looked around the room. With trembling hands, she pinched herself.
It hurt.
Chapter 7
The months following Francis'' entry into the vampire duo''s life were rather peaceful for Rose. Despite having the mind of a young adult, her body was still that of a baby, meaning that she slept for 3/4 of the day usually.
During the time she was awake, she would eat, or rather, drink the weird but delicious orange stuff, and play with her mom or occasionally Francis.
Also, diapers. She still couldn''t control her body functions, unfortunately.
The young girl had changed quite a bit during her time with the duo. She was now more akin to a perennially shy and nervous girl rather than a frightened, starving animal.
As for her mother, she hadn''t changed one bit. She still loved to tickle and poke Rose''s poor little body, and she was still the coolest mother ever, at least in Rose''s eyes.
Yukio had taken little potato Rose out multiple times, often showing her multiple biomes, ranging from the desert to a rainforest, and also often allowing her some time to play with Francis in these areas.
The only place that she did not take her little potato were cities. Yukio knew full well just how tempting and tantalizing the possibility of capturing a vampire baby were, and one as young as her little Rose. Hence, after the bandit incident, she made sure to never showcase Rose to any other humanoid.
Francis had made a lot of progress in her studies too. She wasn''t the most intelligent girl Yukio had ever seen, far from it, but she was certainly determined. She''d found the girl spending hours upon hours at night reviewing everything she''d given her during the day, trying to burn the information into her memory.
Thus, between having healthy food everyday, a comfortable bed to sleep on, and clean sets of clothes everyday, Francis'' body had regained much of its vitality, which was nice for Yukio, since it meant she could take just a bit more blood everyday.
Of course, she made sure Francis was never hurt during the process, and she always thanked the girl afterwards, which often caused the young girl to blush furiously.
After around 5 months since the young girl joined them, Yukio decided it was time.
"Francis, come here." She ordered the young girl, who''d been squatting next to Rose as the little baby was poking and prodding a weird four-headed bug.
"Y-yes..." Francis quickly got up, walking over to the adult vampire. Yukio gave her a small smile before taking out two wooden swords from her spacial storage.
Francis'' eyes went wide as she stared at the two objects. Yukio giggled slightly at the stunned girl''s look before throwing one of said swords at the young girl, who awkwardly caught it, letting out a weak ''oof'' when it landed on her.
"Now then, I think it''s time to get your sword skills up to par." She said. Francis looked at her with not a small amount of apprehension.
"W-why?" She murmured. Ears perking up, Yukio immediately answered. "I''d love for you to be a good sparring patner for when little Rose grows up. Furthermore, having some skill with a sword is always something good to have." She winked after her speech.
"B-bu-" Francis stammered, only to receive a weak whack on her exposed hand. "Come on now, Francis. Remember the postures I taught you? Put them into practice." Yukio ordered.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Little Rose had been too preoccupied with the strange and exotic bug to notice what was happening initially, but upon hearing the wood against wood sounds, she lifted her head and looked over, finding her mother repeatedly whacking poor little Francis.
She hesitated for a moment, debating whether to go save the girl from her evil mother''s clutches, but eventually chose not to.
Rose really liked the young girl. She was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise extremely monotous life, and she was also a very fun target to tease, unlike her mom, who was often the teaser rather than the teased.
Furthermore, Francis was a geniunely nice young girl. Whenever Rose was awake, Francis would spend her time with the young child, regardless of how boring it might have been for her. Rose could see that the young girl really was trying her best, and unlike a regular child, she could appreciate the effort for what it was, regardless of the results.
Hence, she chose to leave Francis to get whacked. She knew that, although Francis might suffer now, she would definetly benefit later from said suffering.
With little else to do, she busied herself with petting and snuggling the half-asleep Nightmares while occasionally glancing at her mother and the young girl.
A couple hours later, a certain vampire mother stood completely unruffled above a wheezing and sweating girl. Looking down at Francis, Yukio gave her a proud smile. "Good job. We''re done for today, do make sure you sleep a lot tonight and eat enough, otherwise you risk damaging yourself."
Nodding shakily, Francis got up to her feet, trying her best to still her trembling legs. She''d been full of bruises, but after a healing spell from Yukio, they all went away.
As Yukio observed the retreating girl, Rose wobbled her way over to her mum. Pulling at her sleeve, she stared up at her with her best doe eyes. "Yes, Rose?" Yukio answered after a moment, crouching down so she could be on the same level as her.
"Can try?" Rose asked, making her voice as sweet and childish as possible. However, she was firmly shut down. "No, Rose. You''re too young, and you risk hurting yourself. When you grow up, you can play with the sword with Francis." She lectured, however, Rose had ignored her mother''s boring lecture, instead picking up the sword.
It was strangely light, much lighter than what a wooden sword should have been, at least in her memories. "Rose!" Yukio half-yelled, yanking the sword out of little Rose''s grasp. "No! Bad Rose!" She said firmly. Rose just blinked up at her.
"Is not heavy." She said. "I can do now!" She said proudly, puffing up her cheeks. Yukio''s face suddenly turned much paler than usual at her words, confusing Rose.
Wordlessly, she handed the sword back to Rose, who took it. It indeed was quite light for her, and as she swung it around randomly, it almost slipped from her grasp. After a minute of this, Rose finally gave the sword back to an expressionless Yukio.
"Mum?" Rose asked, confused at her mother''s attitude. As if waking up from a trance, Yukio quickly said, "I-it''s nothing, Rose. Let''s go back inside, okay?"
"Okey!" Rose nodded cheerfully, and she was quickly ushered into the carriage-house by her mother.
That night, as both Rose and Francis were asleep, Yukio slipped out of the now moving carriage, sitting herself on it''s roof. There, she took long, deep breaths, then she cast a silencing spell.
Then, she screamed.
"BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" She roared as loudly as she could, forcing all the pent up anger within her out of her soul.
Sighing, she laid down on her back, staring up at the stars. It was only after a couple hours that she regained her bearings.
"Damn bastard..." She murmured again, mind going back to a certain hateful figure.
Feeling more vulnerable than she had ever been in a long time, Yukio made her way into the carriage and into Rose''s room, where her little potato was fast asleep in her crib.
Yukio silently kneeled next to her daughter''s bed, mentally reminding herself to give the now bigger potato a real bed soon. Then, she gently caressed her cheek, causing little potato Rose to stir from her sleep.
"Mum...?" She murmured, still heavy with sleep. "Shh..." Yukio murmured back, picking up her child from her little bed and hugging her to herself.
Soon enough, feeling more comfortable than even before, Rose fell asleep in her new mother''s embrace, even as said mom too fell asleep after a bit while leaning her back against the crib.
She hated the bastard who gave her a daughter, but she could never resent her little potato for it.