Memoirs of Helena (2021 Preview)

Hey Guys! I thought about this one just recently. I plan to do short 20-50K word novellas detailing parts of Helena's life.  I have some fun and well dark ideas for this but have only really start thinking about it so not sure how far it will go.

The first and second will likely show how she became a vampire. I am thinking of also showing the Hero that changed the world through this story, but I have some ideas on how to do that. 

Also, I have a friend that is selling art. Feel free to browse.

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/kristingcrafts 

Chapter 1: Beginning 

I sensed when the young Alessa finally woke. I had never seen such an extreme vampiric transformation. The young girl was less than a quarter of my level and she still managed to push me when she was in her new form. I finally managed to calm her down when I laid myself vulnerable and told her I would tell her of my past.

It didn’t take long before I felt her call for me with her telepathy. With a deep sigh, I moved through the shadows until I made it to her location. I could tell she didn’t know how to breach the subject and I considered letting it lie until she mustered the courage to ask me to tell her my tale but decided that would be a bit cruel to the girl.

I grabbed her hand and led her to her quarters. I was going to tell her and only her. I didn’t want half the castle to be listening in. Once we were in her room, I cast a thorough concealment spell. There were only a handful of people that could break through it. I made sure to add a special lock to keep that meddlesome undead Oberon out in case he came back while I was telling her my tale.

With an exasperated breath of air, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Where to start? I suppose to really make sense I need to start at the beginning.” I walked over to the window of the room and peered outside. “Just over five hundred years ago. Before the Hero changed the world. It was much the same, but very different. Our sins were calculated by numbers on a sheet for us to watch fluctuate daily.”

~~~ 504 Years Ago~~~

Today was my fifth birthday. I didn’t want to train, I wanted to go into town. I had trained since the day I could basically move. I knew how to read and write since I was three. I knew more about the human body then I cared to by the time I was four. I could go a day without learning something.  

I peeked around the corner of the hall to check if there were any of the guards, before I shot across to the window. With a check of the ground underneath the window, I hopped across the two-meter gap onto the tree branches that could still just barely hold my weight. 

I quickly closed the distance to the trunk and slid down to the ground. I crouched and looked around. A maid was walking in the distance but hadn’t seen me yet. Staying low to the ground, I quickly crossed the courtyard. Finally, I came to the biggest challenge to my freedom of exploring the town.

Two guards stood on either side of the open gate. They were personally trained by my father and were watching everyone so attentively it would be hard for a fly to sneak past them. Grabbing my slingshot, I aimed for a spot a few meters down the wall. With a steady breath, I launched the pellet down the way.

It struck true and a tree branch snapped off that was close to the wall. The guards snapped their heads around and rushed over to the spot to make sure someone hadn’t tried to sneak into the manor. I took that chance to rush out through the gate. I kept my pace until I was nearly two streets down and around a corner.

I leaned against the wall as I caught my breath. Father would regret teaching me so well. With a grin at my success, I started skipping down the street. It was the first time I had been out of the manor on my own. I was excited for what I was going to see and experience.

The city was celebrating something, and a small part of me imagined that they were celebrating my birthday. I walked with my nose in the air until I smelt something amazing. Running the direction it came, I wound up at a booth surrounded by other children. 

“Here you go. Candy for you troublemakers as long as you all promise to stay out of the way while we prepare for the festival.”

“Granny! We promise!” all the children chorused. I quickly joined in a half a second late.

“Very good! Here.” The elderly lady handed every kid a stick with something gooey on it. The others dug in instantly. When I was handed one, I made sure to thank the old woman. Father would smack me across the face if I didn’t and he found out. 

Looking at the gooey substance, I took a deep breath and bit down using my teeth to pull it off the stick. Sweet! I didn’t even have to chew as it seemed to melt in my mouth. I tried to savior it for as long as possible but eventually had to swallow it.

“Hey! We’ve never seen you before! Where you from?” a large boy demanded pulling me out of the sweet world I had been enjoying. 

“Around,” I replied not really paying him much mind. I was still trying to get every last bit of sweetness from my mouth onto my tongue.

“You sound like a girl! Are you a girl?!” the boy asked moving to shove my shoulder. Father’s training kicked in and I twisted to avoid it. I realized that was a mistake. The boy and his cohorts surrounded me. “You dancing? Girl?”

“I’m not a girl!” I shouted branching the stick at the boy.

One of his lackeys charged at me from behind but I dodged and smacked his hand with the stick leaving a red welt. Being on the delivering end for once cause me great satisfaction. I wanted to hurt these boys. The leader waved and they all charged at once. 

Dodging and weaving around I managed to smack two of them before they tackled me to the ground with sheer numbers. I curled into a ball as I was kicked and punched. It hurt so much. I could feel the tears start to well when there was shout and all the kicking stopped.

“Crap! A grown-up!” the boys shattered but not before the large one gave me one last kick.

I peeked out from between my arms and regretted doing so instantly. My father stood at the entrance to the little alley. A large man, he seemed to towered over everything. I heard a cough and instantly jumped to my feet before running to stand in front of him.

“If you’re going to sneak out. Make sure you win any fights you get into. It appears you need more training after all.” He turned on his heel then glanced back at me “Don’t worry. You won’t alone.”

I followed my father back to the manor. His shadow completely covering me. Needless to say, I spent the rest of that evening locked in my room without dinner. Since I had little choice, I went to sleep.

The next morning, the maid woke me with a bucket of water to my face. An ice spell had to have taken place as it was freezing. Shivering, I dressed before meeting my father in the foray. My father was standing in front of a large fire that he put out with a wave of his hand when he saw me approaching.  

“Good. You’re finally here.” He turned and started to pace, so I knew I was in for a lecture. “As a member of the proud Crim family, your duty would be to help fight the scourge that is the vampire race. Sadly, you were born a girl and I have not been graced with any more children.”

“Yes, father.” He never let me forget it. I couldn’t help wondering how father would have treated me if I was born a boy. 

I thought that would be it as usual, but father didn’t stop for long. “The only reason you are being trained is to increase you value as breeding material. When you reach the earliest age to bear children, I will bring in a man that I deem worthy of the Crim name and declare him my son. Your children will inherit the family and the family duty.”

Breeding material… My only purpose in life was to make children? Father couldn’t be serious! Mother had explained the process and the pain that went along with it. I didn’t want any part of that. 

I looked up at father to argue that I could fight as well as any boy but when I looked into his eyes I saw… nothing. No comprise, no love, no hate. I was tool to be used and discarded. I dropped my gaze. “Yes… father.”

“Good. Now.” He whistled and two training dummies were wheeled out. I blankly looked at the sword father handed me for a second when I realized it was real and not a wooden training sword. “Since you lost so horribly yesterday. These two are going to help you.” 

I looked up from the sword and saw the two guards from yesterday. They were bound like a straw dummy would be and it was hard to tell if they were still alive. “Father?”

“Well? What are you waiting for? Practice routine number four. Get to it!” A crack of his dreaded whip made me focus on the guards. I brought the sword, small and made for someone of my stature up into the correct stance. “Now!”

I screamed and lunged. The blade sank through the man’s stomach, but I had to continue the motion, bringing the blade back out so it didn’t get caught on any bones. Using the momentum, I brought the blade around like I had a hundred thousand times and it sank through the other man’s chest from the side. Blood sprayed over my face, some getting into my mouth. I dropped the sword and bent over and hurled suddenly thankful that I hadn’t eaten last night. 

“Pathetic.” Father paused then I heard. “Clean this mess up. When she decides to stop being an embarrassment, make her run twenty laps of the courtyard.”

“Yes, Lord Crim!”

People moved around me as they removed the corpses. One of the mages, used terra magic to clean up the blood. I knew I needed to stand up but the image of me plunging the blade into those two men kept playing over and over. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed there on my hands and knees.

“Lord Crim?”

“I got tired of waiting.” Was all I heard before a boot slammed into my face and black filled my vision.