“Most of the Empire hasn’t gone to war and it shows. Oh, the other duchies pay their toll to Smrtka, but when was the last time you heard of a Mar?olesci c?pitani? When have you even heard of a Carphopoulan who chose to fight in the north without doing so due to the draft? They all lounge away and reap the rewards while we’re the ones to pay the price.”

  -?shild Haugen, the Late Sp?tar during her notorious court marshal regarding beating a Carphopulan noble to death

  ‘Valentina Amarei’, that’s what she said. Dahlia heard her correctly —she knew she did— but even still she couldn’t help but have some doubts. The woman certainly had the presence for it and the crowd seemed to give her more than enough space and respect for her being an archduchess to make sense, but even so…

  “I thought— You… you’re not a grandma?” The words came out before she could think it through and immediately the girl could feel her cheeks heating up, blushing even harder than she already had been. “I mean—”

  “Pffhahahaha,” In an instant, all the propriety from moments earlier left the vampiress as she burst out laughing. Her eyes were still dilated and fixated on the girl —that hadn’t changed— but where previously the Archduchess had an air of nobility, it had since been replaced by something far less composed and far more real. The corner of her eyes crinkled even as she struggled to restrain her smile. “Oh, you are precious. I already expected as much but this is even better than I thought.”

  Her eyes darted over Dahlia, both analytical and considering, before continuing a moment later.

  “This really is your first time out in the world, isn’t it?”

  “Uhm…” Dahlia struggled under the woman’s gaze, thrown off by everything that had just happened as well as by the vampiress’ mere presence. The fact that the Archduchess was already informed on her hardly even registered compared to everything else. Even after gaining enough composure to speak, her words were hardly above a whisper. “Y-yes, Your Grace. I’ve only been out once before and it was for my awakening. I’m sorry for any mistake I might make and apologise for pulling you into my mess.”

  The woman scoffed, prepared to say something but, after a quick glance at the girl, seemed to think better of it. Instead her tone became just a tad softer and again Dahlia had to suppress a shiver as the woman’s voice almost seemed to caress her. “You don’t need to apologise for anything, you’ve done nothing wrong. And I doubt you can tell but I’m trying to be on my best behaviour at the moment; even if you completely discard etiquette, I wouldn’t be bothered. I'm not about to go and judge you for how you experience the larger world for the first time.

  “As for me stepping in to help…” The Archduchess’ eyes flickered back to the boy on the ground, still screaming and swarmed by worried nobles and opportunistic sycophants, and Dahlia could hear a growl in the woman’s tone as she spoke.

  “The entire thing was an embarrassment. I should have interfered even sooner.”

  Dahlia listened intently but, more than that, she watched. She could see the Archduchess’ anger simmering, just barely restrained as she spoke. She could see something else as well, something protective, possessive, and almost primal in the vampiress and the girl tried to ignore how her own body seemed to naturally react to that. With each passing moment, she was progressively struggling to make sense of everything and the vampiress in front of her was proving to complicate things so much more than she ever could have expected. Even now she could feel her attention being drawn to the woman time and time again and she was almost thankful when a distraction arrived and a man's voice snapped both of their focus away.

  “What is the meaning of this? Who’s the blight who dared to harm my son!?”

  Not a single onlooker dared to speak out of fear of drawing attention to themselves, but the whole room answered in unison as gazes shifted and landed on the Archduchess. It took only a moment then for Dahlia to put a face to the voice: wearing the same colours as his son, the Duke’s skin was pale and flecked like birch bark, and his eyes were gold like wheat. Despite his appearance reflecting his more pacifistic meliades bloodline however, the man looked ready to commit murder.

  “Amarei,” he practically spat the name, “you’re here under my roof, and this is how you treat my own child? Do you have even an ounce of self control?”

  “Calm down Etienne, I just taught the kid a lesson. He was getting carried away so I stepped in, real peaceful like, yeah? I hardly even scratched him at first. The real damage only came after he threatened me so, really, you might even owe me a thank you for my restraint.”

  Dahlia watched, far too close to the confrontation to be remotely comfortable, but too transfixed to step away. She took the Archduchess in: her tone lax and almost drawling as she wore a rakish grin, however… despite the relaxed demeanor, Dahlia could see the underlying tension. Like a beast with its hackles raised and fangs bared, the vampiress felt one step away from tearing into the man.

  The Duke was having none of it. “Do you think this is a game? Do you think that coming into your title gives you the right to trample on—”

  “Yes.” Valentina spoke over him, her tone still calm but carrying an underlying sharpness. “I don’t think you understand Etienne, but I absolutely do have the right to do whatever the fuck I want, especially in response to that kid of yours. Look, I get that giving your little debuting boy a public beating isn’t exactly good manners, but neither was forcing himself on a woman. If you wanted to avoid something like this, maybe you should have taught him better than assuming his peerage would keep him safe; this is just what you get for having your kid debut when he's still a spoiled brat.”

  Dahlia could see the Duke's eye twitching and, as the man spoke, he practically spat his words. “Ah, so it’s my son’s fault he’s beaten and bloody on the floor? He was hardly forcing himself on her, that girl you’re protecting is rightfully his. I’ll tell the Empress about this Amarei: she’ll have your head.”

  “Oh?” The grin that split the woman’s face was nearly feral, “Have my head, huh? Nah, the big girl might not be my biggest fan but she hardly loves you either. But you know… if you keep this up and really want her to take your side, I can always give her a good reason.”

  The Duke sneered but —just for a moment— there was a beat of hesitation. He glanced only briefly to his son still on the floor before turning his attention back forward.

  “No, perhaps you’re right. Why bother getting Her Majesty involved when I can just discipline those on my land as I see fit. Well Amarei? Why don’t I take that girl beside you back as a proper apology and then maybe it’s time someone put you in your place for everyone to see, what do you—”

  Again it happened in a flash, beside Dahlia at one moment, clawed hand on the Duke’s throat in the next. His words cut off only just before the vampiress slammed him head-first into the marble floor, interrupting with the visceral sound of bone shattering on the impact. It was more than enough to kill and yet… already Dahlia could see him grimacing as flesh began to knit itself together. And then the Archduchess kicked him in the stomach, shattering ribs like it was nothing. Then another kick landed, and another, yet the woman seemed almost nonchalant as she went through the motions.

  “What was that about putting me in my place, Etienne? I feel like this should have been obvious, but if I've already taught your kid a lesson for threatening me, I have no idea how you figured that you doing it would turn out any better.” Another kick landed, the sound of shattering bones filling the hall as the vampiress’ expression grew to almost be manic. Nevertheless, she kept speaking like it was just an ordinary conversation. “That bloodline of yours is a pain in the ass to kill, huh? High survivability like that is always prized, so I can see why you lot came into power the way you did. But you know… It sure makes it nice and easy to humble you as well, don’t you think?” Her grin grew just a little wider — a little more predatory, “So why don’t we loop back to what I was trying to get at before, now that you’re predisposed. Both you and your son were disgusting“—another kick hit, a wetter crunch followed— “privileged, pieces of trash who thought that claiming that young lady like property and threatening me was the smart option. So let me correct that notion, hmm?

  “You threaten me and, I don’t care who you are, I’ll ruin you. You threaten my people and —if anything— that’s even worse. I don’t give a shit what you do politically, Carphopoulos, just so long as you keep me and mine out of it, got it?”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  With a click of her tongue, the Archduchess finally stopped her assault on the man, grimacing at the mess she made as she took a step back. The floor was like a painting of vibrant sanguine on a pale marble canvas; the man's blood had spattered far along with chunks of flesh Dahlia struggled to recognise. Even with the Duke’s own flesh knitting back into place as if made from vines, moss, and bark, the sight left behind was no less gruesome for it, and the girl couldn’t help but feel nauseous at the sight. He was magically healing, true, but the Duke remained little more than a bloody and mangled mess that barely remained conscious.

  Finally, after taking something of a calming breath, the Archduchess leaned forward and spoke low enough that only those closest could overhear. “This was a kindness, Etienne. Were circumstances different, I’d have your son leaving in a casket, so let’s consider the debts paid, yeah? I know it’s not quite what you had in mind, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to make do.”

  And with a long sigh, the Vampiress finally let herself glance back to Dahlia, her expression almost sheepish as she went to approach the girl.

  “Hey, I uh…” The woman grimaced, eyes flickering back to the mess she caused before returning to the girl before her. “Sorry, you shouldn’t have had to see all that. Are you feeling ok though? I know the kid touched you, are you hurt?”

  Dahlia struggled to process the words, attempting to recover from the whiplash of the change from violence to such a gentle and caring tone, but also struggling with something else: her entire body felt overwhelmed. The shaking wouldn’t stop, her heart was pounding, and her mouth felt dry. All she could do was swallow and try to hide the reaction.

  “I… yes. I mean no. I mean…” She took another breath, slower this time, “I’m ok. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it but, honestly, I might be better than ever.”

  At that the Archduchess’ softer smile grew back into a grin, her eyes dancing as she took in the girl’s appearance. The blush, the heavy breathing, the trembling — she couldn’t help but find it adorable. She tried to ignore the image of a frightened little bunny that came to mind and chose to avoid pointing out the girl’s obvious dishevelment. The fact that it had only gotten more pronounced after she witnessed Valentina’s brutality was something that could be unpacked at a later time.

  “Right, better than ever, whatever you say.” The vampiress tried to school her expression into something a little less teasing as she glanced briefly back at the chaos occurring behind them, “You know, I’d love to keep talking but maybe… would you be alright taking things outside? It seems like I kicked a bit of a hornets nest.”

  Having been so distracted she had stopped even noticing the throng of yelling nobles, Dahlia couldn’t help but snort. There was something so relieving that came from seeing two future sources of torment dismantled that the screaming masses hardly even registered to her. Nonetheless, all the shouting certainly was interfering with the ambiance and, frankly, she’d be happy with any excuse to leave the room. With only a nod, the Archduchess gently took her hand and led her away, the sound quickly dimming as Dahlia found herself led into the cold night’s air.

  It was odd, all things considered, how calm and comfortable she felt at that moment. By all means the Archduchess should have left her feeling threatened or nervous —she had just shown how violent she could be— and yet Dahlia was getting drawn in all the same. She was almost upset by how easily she was slipping into the Archduchess’ rhythm but she couldn’t help herself. Valentina was dangerous, sure, but she had already proven to be dangerous to Dahlia’s benefit. And yes the woman was hardly trying to hide the lingering glances she cast the girl’s way but, even still, Dahlia couldn’t bring herself to hate it. If anything… well, she wasn't quite ready to look at those thoughts too closely and was quick to nip that line of thought in the bud.

  Denial had always been a long-time specialty of hers and, regardless of how much her body and mind were screaming for the vampiress’ attention, she refused to acknowledge the woman’s affect on her — not yet. And so Dahlia compartmentalised, set it aside, and took a deep breath. She focussed on the night sky up above, on the stone pavers beneath her feet, on the crisp air, and the scent of fresh cut grass. Anything to centre herself and keep her thoughts away from all those irrational things that she never learned to cope with before.

  And then she finally looked up to address the smirking vampiress and all that effort fell apart in an instant.

  “Got something on your mind?”

  “Pfft, who? M-me? Pfft, no, I…” Dahlia averted her eyes, cheeks burning. It turned out that being good at reading expressions could be a double edged sword when a gorgeous archduchess happened to be unrepentantly interested in you. Continuing to avoid unpacking what that implied as well as her own uncontrollable emotions, the girl instead let her gaze wander once again, this time finally finding comfort in the gorgeous —likely centuries old— garden that surrounded them as they continued walking further in. With that calming scenery, questions that had been restrained finally bubbled up to the surface.

  “So, about the grandma thing…”

  The Archduchess seemed to almost choke for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Of all the places to start— Yeah, you mentioned something like that, huh? Not entirely sure how I should take that…”

  She trailed off, tone questioning, and the girl almost grunted her response.

  “Dahlia. You can just call me Dahlia. The whole ‘My Lady’ thing you said earlier wasn’t even correct in the first place, so if you’re going to disregard etiquette then you may as well use my name. And as for the whole grandma thing… well, I might have been a tad misinformed. I saw you on the guest list and just figured… I don’t know. I was wrong, obviously, sorry about that.”

  That was only met with a cocked brow as the vampiress watched the girl fidget and nervously avert her eyes.

  “Hmmm, well if you’re operating off outdated information the way you seem then I can’t exactly blame you. My mother would have been… fuck, I don’t even know, in her late four-hundreds I guess? That’d probably qualify her for grandma status I suppose.” Again she smirked and gave the girl a side-eye, “So sorry if you’re disappointed about getting her daughter but I assure you that I’m the better option of the two. It does make me wonder why you were looking for me in the first place though…”

  Again she trailed off but Dahlia smiled at the implied question, taking a moment to admire a small flower before finally answering.

  “Would wishful thinking be a good enough answer?” She glanced black, meeting eyes with the vampiress’ own amused glint, “I was just looking for help, Your Grace, that’s all. I’ve been in a bad spot and I just happened to believe that a grandmotherly archduchess would be my best bet to make a difference. I never would have expected you to just… jump in the way you did though. I— Thank you for that… genuinely.”

  “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, don’t you worry about that.” The Archduchess’ response was almost instantaneous, “Carphopoulos needed humbling for a long time now so you could even argue it was my civic duty as one of his few superiors to teach him that lesson. And beyond that…”

  “Hmm?” Dahlia couldn’t help herself as she watched the Archduchess’ expression, taking in every part of it as the woman emoted and expressed herself almost unreservedly, pulling the girl deeper into her rhythm.

  “Humbling him was nice, but I’ll admit I might have had some ulterior motives.” She bit her lip without thinking, “I was already interested in you, even before everything went wrong. Seeing you wander around, clueless but with such determination… it was cute.”

  She chuckled as Dahlia made a small sound of denial and continued.

  “It wasn’t just the adorable mannerisms, though they certainly helped and I'll add that you denying them does nothing to help your case there. But it was also your… how should I even put it? Your isolation from high society gave me hope. I can’t imagine saying that puts me in a good light, but it’s the truth. From those two things alone, I was intending to speak with you at least once throughout the night. But seeing you cornered like that? Frightened?” Her tongue flicked, wetting her lips as her eyes dilated at the memory. “Let's just say you have a way of drawing me in.”

  Now that was something Dahlia wanted to make better sense of. Already the vampiress had worn her interest on her sleeve, but there was an undercurrent of her still restraining herself that baffled the girl. It was like the Archduchess was a walking oxymoron, naturally unrestrained and open yet at the same time very clearly holding back. Still, there was so much for Dahlia to make sense of that she figured she could at least tackle one thing at a time.

  “You know, you really are doing a bad job at selling me on this. So far you've proven to enjoy violence just a tad too much, and then shown an interest in me specifically when I seem isolated and predated. Do I really need to explain why that should be concerning?”

  To her surprise, the Archduchess didn't backpedal in the slightest, instead taking a deep breath, running a hand through her hair, and cracking a wide grin.

  “Concerning? Sure, but I know I'm not the only one who enjoyed myself back there.” Her eyes continued to dance as they watched Dahlia, enjoying every moment and each expression she made. “I'm not going to deny who I am — that's no way to live. Even simply restraining my impulses is more than I'd like, but, well, I'd hate to leave too poor of a first impression. Given your reactions though…” Her grin grew wider and, between the hungry eyes and the now fully revealed fangs, Dahlia couldn't tear her eyes away. “I have a feeling we'll get along just fine, don't you think? ”

  Dahlia tried to ignore the heat building up inside her. She tried to ignore how a part of her screamed to abandon all reason. One part of her still-rational mind even told her she was well in over her head and needed to escape as fast as she could.

  Dahlia froze and the Archduchess only raised an eyebrow. It would have almost felt nonchalant had her eyes not remained locked on the girl.

  “If you're uncomfortable or unsure, I won't blame you if you choose to go back to the debutante but… personally, I'd much rather keep you to myself for the rest of the evening. What do you say?”

  Somehow Dahlia managed to ignore every single part of her trying to still be reasonable and instead met the vampiress’ grin with one of her own.

  “Screw it, what's the worst that could happen.”

  Now, as for word-smithing: Carphopoulos.

  Using Greek as the originating inspiration, we're taking the combination of Carpho (the anglicised version of the goddess Karpo or Καρπ?) and -opoulos, which is a patronymic suffix. Something you'll find fairly regularly in my naming conventions is that while for specific bloodlines I try to avoid using the names of famous singular monster/ deity names (barring a very specific exception which y'all have yet to see), I will use those specific names in reference to individuals and family names. For example, the Carphopolans have a meliades bloodline which is more of a general all term for a type of nymph, in my novel's case mostly referring to epimelides, which act as protectors of herds and orchards. As opposed to actual Greek mythology however, Carpho isn't a goddess. Rather, it is just a name of a powerful and noteworthy meliades who acted as the progenitor of the Carphopoulan line. Now, as for pronunciation, we're looking at something like "Kar-foh-poo-lohs"

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