Warning: Gory details/Decapitation/Implications of non-consensual acts/Child's death. You have been warned. This will be a very heavy chapter, at least for me while I was writing it.
Yasinya, Ukraine, 2020
Little Sofiya Bathory was born the winter solstice of 1600 to Stephen Bathory and Priscina Miklos. Stephen Bathory was Stefan and Elizabeth's older brother, and was the royal judge of Hungary before his death in 1605.
Little Sofiya had been loved by everyone that had met her, endeared by her kind and sweet nature. She was incredibly down to Earth, never asking for anything aside from what she needs. She was quiet, but she was blunt, ready to speak her mind whenever necessary. Her eyes shone with intelligence as she observed people around her.
Until her sudden passing on the last month of 1610, rumored to be from the hands of her beloved Aunt and Godmother, Elizabeth Bathory, just a few days before she was to turn ten.
Eliza remembers that day as if it had occurred just minutes ago. She had been the one to discover her niece's remains and had not even realised that the agony-filled scream that she heard had come from her own mouth as she stared at the scene in front of her in horror.
She had decided to walk into the ballroom to inspect the decorations for the ball she had been planning for her niece's 10th year. It was an incredibly exciting time for both Sofiya and Elizabeth. For little Sofiya, it was due to the fact that she can now finally ask her aunt* to approve a betrothal contract** for her, while Elizabeth was more excited of being able to decorate the ball with her niece's favourite colours of amethyst violet, cloud grey and emerald green, rather than the Bathory Family colours of forest green, coal black and sapphire blue that was customary when she had celebrated hers.
The decorations were lovely as she had hoped, if it wasn't for the dark ruby red splatters that caught her attention when she walked in. Splatters that she realised had come from the headless body of her niece that was hanging from the crystal chandelier. Her right arm had been raised in a wave while her right arm hung limply at her side. Her legs were bent at angles that were not possible unless they had been broken. Her dress was ripped in multiple areas as blood dripped down from numerous gaping wounds, including one on her stomach that was deep enough to show a glimpse of her intestinal tract.
Her head was on the middle table, her long brunette hair moved to the side, making it seem as if she was staring at Elizabeth with a tilt of head.
Elizabeth fell on her knees in devastation with a scream and a sob. She had no idea how long she sat on the floor. Next thing she knows, she was picked up and thrown into an isolated cell, her dress dripping with the blood of her niece.
A month had passed after she had seen the death of her niece and she had not said a thing.
A month after she was incarcerated and she had not said a thing.
All she did was stare at the wall, the memories of her beloved niece flitting through her mind. She knew, she should've convinced her sister-in-law to leave. She should've convinced her brother to resign and leave the country.
How she survived until a month before the spring equinox when Stefan broke her out, she had no idea.
A week later and she had gone on rampage, hunting those responsible for her incarceration. She hunted for answers. She hunted for information.
But when she found nothing, she decided to sit back and observe instead.
Stefan had come and gone on his own volition, torn between wanting to help his sister by finding his niece's murderer or making sure Elizabeth is okay.
It was nearly three centuries later that she had finally found her killer, only for her mind to be even broken once more.
Little Sofiya's killer, the one who had orchestrated her death, was the man she had nearly fallen in love with.
And now said man has in front of her, acting as if his actions had deserved her affections rather than her hate.
Said man is now in front of her was supposed to make her happy.
He was able to run away once.
Her head will have to be rolling on the floor before she let's him run away again this time.
---------------------------------------------
Aro walked near the man, unafraid of the dangers he may face, despite the fact that Alec has had him frozen in a numb state.
The man had clearly gotten Eliza worked up about something and knew that his ability can help her.
He wants to help Eliza because of her abilities, how he knows she will be a queen, ruling along with him and his brothers even of she doesn't want the venom.
Yes, that's the reason. The reason is definitely not because he grew fond of the lady.
Taking advantage of the man's distracted nature, he placed his hand on the man's nape, making sure to touch the skin to connect with the mind.
It had taken all of the control he had learned for over three millennia to not kill the man. But he couldn't control the violent retching that he had wanted to do. And so he did. He ran to the kitchen and retched on the sink, all the blood he had consumed just hours prior leaving his body.
Vampires couldn't get sick. But it was just impossible not to feel sick after what he saw.
The man is a monster. Aro is by no means a saint, but he wasn't a monster like this Valentin.
Aro is greedy, he knows that. He has done his fair share of murders of his kind, but never, in his mortal and immortal life had he done the monstrous acts that Valentin had done.
"Aro? What is it?" Sulpicia said as she raced after him.
"People have called me a monster. But if there is ever one that deserves that title, it's that bastard. He defiled children, Sulpicia. Mutilated them and defiled them both before and after he killed them. I need to show the twins what I had seen. He defiled their niece and they need to know that." Aro said to his wife, trying to reassure her that he's alright.
They both walked into the living room and approached Feronia.
"Feronia, would you be able to project to only the twins?" Aro asked, taking a deep breath when she said yes.
As it turns out, showing the memories to the twins were the catalysts of Valentin's demise.
Unfortunately, the man doesn't know it yet.
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Well... Sorry for the delay and let me know what you think?
Social distancing, please.
And stay safe.
Love you all!
Roannieeeee
EDIT: I forgot these oops
*- Eliza is, by 1605, the new head of the Bathory Family. Anything that relates to Sofiya's future, such as education and marriage, has to be approved by her.
**- please keep in mind that this is the 1600s, and betrothals between children of ages under 10 are extremely common, especially among those born of nobility. From what I've researched, the real Elizabeth Bathory herself was engaged to Ferenc at aged 10 and married him 5 years later.
I have always tried to incorporate as much truth as I can about the real Elizabeth, so long as it's not clashing with my story line. For example, Elizabeth did marry Ferenc and had Katalin with him, but no one knows when she had passed, so I was able to play around with that. She did have an older brother, Stephen who became a royal judge of Hungary, though not much is known of him aside from his date of death.
Thank you for reading!
Roannieeeee
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