Vampire and the Dayspring Star

Lycoris was taken back to her room for rest, where a troubled Athena paced back and forth while making worried sounds. Even though she was fretting over how best to cheer up Lycoris, she was only making things worse with all the anxious energy she filled the room with.

"Athena…" Lycoris began, only to run out of steam before she could tell Athena off.

While she avoided passing out, collapsing in the middle of Court was quite obviously not a good look for the future ruler of the Empire. Her mother had deftly smoothed things over, but that wasn't what mattered. Not to Lycoris, at least.
 The reminder that her mother was a tyrant—the Tyrant—at the top of the world. That was why she was so despondent.
 She knew all along, she had lived under the tall shadow of the Empire for forty five years. But being treated so kindly by her dulled the fear that perpetually lurked within Lycoris's heart. But what did she have to fear? She was Heir-Signficate, daughter to the Exaltare, and… it felt like truly nothing she could do would make Lilianna ever hate her.
 A strange difference from the one who gave birth to her.
 Of course, that was exactly why she had forgotten the sort of person her mother was, the sort of person who would bury an entire city just to… to prove a point? Lycoris wasn't even sure what reason she'd done it for. Not that there could be a good reason. War was one thing, but she'd slaughtered innocents, and it wasn't even like the Geolle had declared war. It was just… dissatisfied people, ones desperate enough to confide in a random pack of Humans.
 Humans that promised a better future… …
 …

"Is all this… our fault…?"

The pit of Lycoris's stomach plummeted.

"Your Highness has done nothing wrong! Fatigue is nothing to be ashamed of, and just as Her Majesty said, you were unaware you'd be attending Court until that afternoon. I'm sure the excitement of meeting His Grace the Archduke must have been too much after everything else. I heard it was you who made the initial proposal on how to divvy up the Vaaah…a-assets left over. You should feel proud of such an accomplishment!"
 "That isn't… …thanks, Athena," sighed Lycoris.
 "But of course, Lyco… ris."

As she rested on her side with her eyes closed, having been changed out of the formal garment and into much more casual silks, Lycoris felt a tender hand upon her head as her handmaiden fumbled over her name.
 In spite of her twisting guts, a small smile came to Lycoris's lips as her maid comforted her. Any time she was reminded how much Athena had changed since their first encounter, it was heartening.
 Although, from Athena's perspective it was likely just the blink of an eye. Did she even think that she had changed at all from her own perspective? Or did she not register it because she had gone through so many hundreds of years of growth… How old even was Athena? The realization she had a grandparent—albeit a rather… Human-detesting one—made Lycoris begin to think about the concept of mortality as it applied to Vampires once more.

"Agave certainly looked old. I wonder how long Vampires even live for…? Hard to imagine…" she mumbled to herself.

After all, she'd already considered herself to be over the hill before this whole mess began. She had thought she only had another decade or two at most. Probably less, with how often she drank.

"What was that?"
 "O-Oh, um," Lycoris sat up and scratched her cheek as she failed to meet Athena's eyes, "I was kind of wondering… how old other people are. Like, you basically look the same as my mom… e-er, aging-wise, I mean. But the Archduke obviously looked way older so…"
 "Ahaha, I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not… Or for whom it would be, even. I'm closer to your age than I am your mother's, Princess."
 "Huh?!" She stared directly at Athena, every concern evaporating from her mind.
 "I am eight hundred and twenty-seven. Your mother is three thousand six hundred and eighty-three. His Highness the Archduke is another few millenia older than that."
 "E-Eight hundred… closer to my age…"

Lycoris stared into the middle distance, her arms feeling numb as she thought about how many lifetimes over her mother had lived compared to her.
 And, additionally…

"When in the world am I going to be an adult again…?"
 "Hmm? You mean like, when you'll legally be of age? Around a hundred forty or so. Though how long it takes to physically mature varies from person to person, that… is probably a conversation best had with Her Majesty. Did your day in Court have you thinking about when you'll formally take up your mother's position? I suppose it is true most Heir-Significates are already considered adults by the time they take up the position…"
 "A hund—?!"

The thought that she'd have to live her life thrice-over before she'd be back to being an adult made Lycoris's head spin. At least it would be time enough to catch up on all of the learning she missed out on by willfully orphaning herself as a Human. But the idea it would take that long to be a height where she'd no longer have to look up at people… No, more troublingly, it was soberingly horrific to think just how much things would change in Dauwen during that time.
 Nevermind the people, would she even recognize the buildings and towns if she were to return then? Would she see Fawaris as an old lady, while looking younger than she did on the day Lycoris tried to free her? Or would it be her children, or their children? The Church… would probably be the same as ever, steadfast and eternal as the Goddess's devouts were.
 But what Lycoris feared most was if she would even feel the same about the Kingdom in a hundred years. One lifetime there, and two apart, it seemed obvious where she would grow more attached to. Would she end up just as callous towards Humans that she had never met before? Would she also think nothing of razing a city?
 A fresh shiver of terror ran up her spine, and the girl clung to her locket for solace.

"Th-That won't happen, right Mizar? I still have you after all. You'll always be here with me… a-and maybe since I'll live so long, I can find a way to turn you back!"
 "Your Highness," muttered Athena with a tender frown. "I… don't think it would behoove you to continue thinking positively of that Human. Your relationship to this Hero's Party is complicated, I can tell that much, but… well… oh! You know how dangerous that woman is, after all, yes? There's no reason you should trust that Hero any more than—"
 "He's different! I trained him!"

 "…do you mean trained with—"
 "And he pulled me out of a very dark place, too. I'd trust him with my life."

Athena sighed and sat down on the bed beside her, wrapped an arm around and pulled Lycoris in for a hug.

"Be that as it may, I've no doubt that he had some nefarious purpose for keeping you alive, Your Highness. Have you never thought about why both of you were spared by the Witch?"
 "We escaped from their ambush. And it was Vampires that attacked us!"
 "Traitors to the Empire, yes. But think on what she has done all throughout the Empire, the discord sown. Do you really think her leaving you and him together was a mistake? Or, perhaps I should say… Who was her real target, and who was she working alongside?"
 "I…"
 "I know I speak out of turn, but this unhealthy attachment to the Hero will only hurt you. That is the nature of those cruel Humans and their wicked champions. They're masters of manipulation and deception, the sort that selfishly sway any with enough desperation to their cause. And… f-forgive me Your Highness, but your situation seemed extremely desperate."

Lycoris fell speechless, her skin clammy and her mind buzzing as though she'd tripped into a hive of hornets. A venomous ache coursed through her heart, and she launched up to her feet. Why would Mizar lie to her? But also, why would he invite her along? How did the Witch know to find them? What about Elham, was he in on it too? Were all three of them conspiring against her? But that made no sense, Elham died for her. Did he have a change of conscience? And, Mizar sacrificed himself to reunite her with her mother. No, not reunite but…
 Lycoris clutched at her head. All the bizarre thoughts jumbled together in her mind, and nearly clouded her from the bitter and savage truth presented to her once more. There was only one person she could genuinely rely on, but…
 There had to be a discussion. She needed to know why. And, in the worst case…

Gripping her locket with white knuckles, Lycoris ignored the somber Athena and briskly marched out of her room.

＊　＊　＊

Lycoris didn't bother to knock on the study door before opening it. It was already, and Lilianna sat at her desk clattering away on a keyboard. Her eyes snapped to attention at the sudden entrance, and both her head and ears visibly drooped when she saw Lycoris. It seemed that this time, she was the one who didn't want to have the inevitable discussion that marched in with locket in hand.
 Unfortunately, Lycoris wasn't going to let it slide. She had already turned a blind eye for long enough.

"Mother,"
 "A moment, Dear. We need just a moment to finish this. Then we shall permit you the discussion you're owed."

Lycoris frowned and closed the door behind her. She was incensed, but not impatient. That said, she still refused the offered seat, even when Lilianna nudged it a little closer with a wisp of magic.
 To keep herself from growing restless, she forced herself to stare around the familiar study.
 Tomes and relics sat upon the shelves, their purpose and origin just as alien to the girl as they were on her first arrival. In a wine cabinet sat several bottles. A small steel rack held freshly chopped rosewood logs, and above the currently cold fireplace sat a photo of a pair of nearly identical Vampires—mother and daughter.
 Lycoris felt the edges of the locket dig into her palm as she squeezed it.

A few moments later, a resolute clack marked the end of her mother's typing, and she swept aside the contents of her desk to stare directly at her child. To anyone else, her posture and calm demeanor would probably have been chilling, but Lycoris was accustomed enough with Lilianna to know it just meant she was giving her full attention.

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 And, Lycoris was at least mostly confident the Exaltare wouldn't do anything cruel to her, at the very least. Not that it felt like much solace, in light of recent revelations.

"Thank you for your patience, Little Flower. You may speak your mind now."
 "Why?" Her voice sounded more choked and breathless than she'd meant it to.
 Lilianna frowned, laying her hands atop one another on her desk. "So open-ended a question is difficult to satisfy, Darling."
 "Don't call me that right now," she snapped back.
 "…Okay."

That seemed to bite deeper than anything Lycoris had seen before, as her mother clenched her hands tightly, her face remaining as serene and placid as it ever did in court. Though… Lycoris noticed her ears had drooped again.
 Lilianna spent several moments in thought, perhaps deciding what course to take in light of her daughter's anger.

"We initially intended to bury the city to send a message. To quell the rebellion on the spot, and strong-arm the rest of them back into line with the threat of similar. It is how our predecessors would have handled things," she began like she were explaining the definition of a word, a forced calm and patience in her tone. "Fear is a powerfully compelling force, one that reveals the true nature of a person's character."
 "It's more likely to turn away a hand, than invite parley."
 "But we… changed our mind, despite their wisdom," she continued, ignoring Lycoris's jab. "It rested ill in our heart. We still had to make a show of force, to make it clear just who was in charge and how rebellion would be met with death. Surely, the Humans that raised you held traitors accountable."
 "We don't raze towns to hunt down necromancers." A derisive chuckle slipped out of Lycoris's lips, "otherwise, there wouldn't be anything left for the Vampires to do."
 "…" Lilianna had no rebuttal for the remark. With her eyes closed, she resumed her explanation, "Either way, we changed tack to the mere threat of burying the town, in the hopes that the rebels would care more for the lives of their fellow Geolle than a vain and foolish dream."
 "Why should I believe that?!" Lycoris shouted back, finally losing her cool. "I spoke with some of them, you know. I stayed my tongue because it felt irrelevant, but they were already plotting while we… journeyed. All they wanted was a future for their people, free from oppressive laws imposed by your tyrannical yoke! There's no chance they would let their own perish like that!"
 "Our instructions were quite clear. Orderly extricate every citizen from the isolated city, place them under temporary arrest and release them after a background check and thorough examination. Or further detain them if they were an insurrectionist. If they attempted to stage a breakthrough and attack the checkpoint, only then would the order be sent to seal their fate. It was truly a last resort."
 "You… you're telling me they gambled with the lives of their people like that?! I don't believe it!"

 "We made this capitulation because we did not wish to… disappoint our daughter. There were other justifications we came up with to satisfy the others after, but you were always the foremost thought in our mind. And not just because your life was in peril. We foresaw this conversation happening, if we chose overt hostility. Perhaps 'twould have been better, for we lost several soldiers and won little in return."
 "Wh…at? You're saying you buried a city for my sake?! Why even leave destruction of the city on the table at all!? Why not just arrest them better! Why not just… send more soldiers!"
 "We could not send every soldier there. Your survival was more important. We needed to ensure that nothing happened to you. We were worried."
 "I'd rather die than hear a hundred-thousand were killed because of me!"
 "Lycoris!"

A peal of thunder echoed within Lycoris's head, though the room was almost troublingly quiet.
 Her mother had shot up from her desk, her hands splayed out across it as she glowered down at her child.

"Is it really so hard to believe that the Geolle you spoke to were not entirely truthful with you, that they might have been more reckless and callous than you thought? Do you not trust our word, even now? We find it hard to believe that any living under the Empire would so readily trust Humans, especially ones they barely knew, with so deep a secret."
 "You are a tyrant who throws away the lives of two hundred thousand strangers for one."

A dizzying realization struck Lycoris at that moment, as she realized she more or less had done the same. Just a few hours ago, she casually came up with a plan to re-allocate lives like they were resources, along with the rest of their territory and belongings. Of course her suggestion wasn't inhumane like what her mother had done, but it was still disconnected politics in a cloud-piercing tower thousands of miles away from the countless lives that would be affected by it.
 Not to mention how much of an impact the death of Margravine Vanas would cause. Something Lycoris explicitly, hungrily pushed for in her eagerness to see Tatyana dead. Two hundred thousand for one. Probably even more.
 It was probably a fool's errand to try and count how many livelihoods would be shaken up or destroyed in the aftermath, orphans made or harmed… and she knew very well what that sort of thing led to.
 If her worldview hadn't been jostled back out of the cozy nook it had slipped into… perhaps Lycoris really would have become the same sort of tyrant her mother was.
 That didn't mean she had to accept what her mother said, though; quite the opposite.

"And you're trying to eschew responsibility by claiming they were the ones who spelled their own doom! You buried the Empire's citizens! The people that we're supposed to be looking out for!"
 "Was that not the very reason that our poor little flower was entangled in the tragedy in Kranes? Prioritizing the lives of a few individual citizens over your own?"
 "Don't try to blame me now! A ruler exists for her people, not the other way around! Besides, you already know full well I had no intention to march on the town itself or throw my life away! You already agreed that what happened there was outside my control."
 "A ruler must look at the greater picture, Lycoris."
 "What greater picture has you burying an entire town just to save one princess a little faster?!"
 "That's a gross misunderstanding and oversimplification of what happened. Their recklessness and willingness to sacrifice a town and bury themselves along with their cause has painted us in quite a negative light with the remaining Geolle."
 "Gee, if only there was a way you could have avoided that."
 "And yet, even the Geolle understand that it was not our desire to see their city buried. Perhaps some think it was a ploy, but even President Halls understands the truth of the matter. And she lacks access to the privileged knowledge you have."
 "I don't care if you're telling the truth about what your true intentions were! Why even leave the option on the table at all?!"
 "Because without threat of the stick, they will not willingly approach the carrot."
 Lycoris gnashed her teeth in frustration. "Grrnn… Right, because you know best don't you? The egotistical, self-centered Exaltare who's ruled the continent for longer than most of it has been alive for. Of course you know what's best. What was even the point of letting me go to Kranes County to try and 'do better' if you were just going to act like this anyways?!"
 "We—"
 "It was certainly an eye-opening experience. Especially hearing what some of our own citizens thought of me. 'Devil' indeed, now I remember why they'd think that!"
 "Wait, what?! What did they—"
 "And did I not do a better job than you could have anyway? I heard what Lesath said, about your 'best course of action' being erasing the town and everything—everyone—with it, just to handle some pesky Whispers that left on their own after the fact! Wouldn't you say that my handling of Kranes went far, far better than how you handled the Geolle? Did you even actually quell their rebellion? The one that you were oh-so-desperate to solve before I take the throne or whatever!"
 "… … …"
 "How many centuries is it even going to be before you decide to sit me down on that throne of yours, anyway?! I can't imagine their uprising lasting even a fraction of that time!"
 "Lycoris…"
 "Have you even considered being… I dunno… nice to the 'lesser races?' Why not show them that carrot without the threat of the stick, and see how eagerly they chomp on it?!"
 "Because," Lilianna inhaled gravely, "Humans must be kept in check. They are dangerous, and will never seek peace with us. They will not rest until we are all eradicated, even if it means destroying the world again and again."
 "I know their doctrines state they won't accept technological innovations, but surely that can—wh…what?"
 "They are the reason we cannot walk beneath the sun anymore." Lilianna closed her eyes, before opening them with a far-away look. Though her voice was still her own, she spoke as she were no longer entirely present, "their hatred of us is baked into the core of their dogma. Their very belief runs counter to the notion that we can coexist." She blinked, a pained smile returning to her face. "Is that not how you felt, when we first met?"
 "I changed my mind!"
 "After having your true nature realized and several months of more or less being dragged by the ear into accepting the reality around you, yes. Regrettably, such a solution is untenable for the Human population at large, for a multitude of reasons," Lilianna retorted sardonically.

With the feeling that their argument was beginning to stall out, having run out of things to say but still full of frustration and bile, Lycoris fumbled. She had to say something, she couldn't let this affront go unchecked. She had to do something to stop the Tyrant from pointlessly slaughtering more people.
 But she was powerless before her mother, unable to even change her mind that what she had done was amoral.
 Her frustration boiled over, and clenching her hands and shutting her eyes, Lycoris shouted in a raspy, cracked voice,

"I… I HATE YOU, MAMA!"

…and fled her room.