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| Selena Valtierri (275588) | "I seek answers, and I will have them." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Name: Selena Valtierri
Born: June 21st, 1802 Died: April 23rd, 1823 On a warm summer eve outside Sicily, a baby with hair as black as night was born to a couple in a very small village. Like the shining moon, the infant brightened the lives of these two individuals. So, they gave her the name Selena. Born to Isabella and Vicente Valtierri, Selena grew up in the village with little to no friends besides her mother. The child adored her mother above all else, and Isabella gratefully returned that affection. Selena was everything she could have ever wanted in a daughter. However, Vicente had other opinions of his daughter. In a way, he despised her. He had wanted a son. A young woman was only useful for lustful enjoyment, bringing up children, and accessories at parties. All Selena was useful for was a bargaining tool. Vicente had managed to squeeze himself in with the nobility around Sicily, but he could never truly make something of himself in the class he was born in. He needed an opportunity to rise in the ranks and gain greater wealth and status. This opportunity came in the form of his dying uncle. Vicente’s oldest uncle, Antonio, was suffering from a terminal illness and wished to not only have his family there in his final moments, but he also wished to bequeath his fortune and estate to Vicente. Truthfully, he had wished for Selena, his grandniece, to inherit it from him, but he knew her father would never have it. It was all he could do in his state of dire sickness. 
When Selena was nineteen-years-old, she and her family boarded the Presagio to the new world where Selena’s great uncle was meeting his end. It took many months to reach America, and Selena’s younger brother, Luca, had been born on the voyage over. This left Selena’s mother in a greatly weakened state. Shortly after arriving to the states and reaching Antonio’s manner, Isabella passed away from a combination of the birth and the sickness plaguing the area. She was buried in the family cemetery in a beautifully ornate tomb.
Selena was not allotted much time to grieve for her beloved mother’s passing. Her father, now lathered in the bliss that came with newly-acclaimed wealth, was attempting to marry Selena off in hopes of gaining status in this foreign land. With his uncle now dying, Vicente could take full advantage of the grounds and the family home for parties and balls to bring the neighboring nobles to kiss his boot heels. However, Selena was not so easily manipulated. With her mother gone and her great uncle not far behind, she had ample reasons to rush around or even shun the suitors that were brought forward to her. During formal affairs, Selena would hide from the endless sorts of guests within her great uncle’s chambers. She enjoyed Antonio’s company more than anything. He was cultured, knowledgeable, poetic, and compassionate. He had traveled all over Europe before settling in North America, so he had many stories to tell his niece. Enraging her jaded tyrant of a father was only a bonus when it came to the care that Selena gave him every day. She would sit with him, read him stories from his favorite books, and feed him the meals the servants would bring. 
Vicente knew that his status would never be secured if Selena was still a free woman. For him to marry the young woman off, Antonio would have to be dealt with. The old man needed to meet his end at a quicker pace so Selena would have no sanctuary. He knew what he had to do. Things took a turn for the worse. Selena’s beloved Antonio was becoming weaker. The light Selena had brought into his eyes and the color in his cheeks she gave were now diminishing. The woman had no idea what was happening. The physician said that Antonio would begin to recoperate since he had started to regain his strength. Why was he fading now? It all became clear when Selena saw her father switching out the vials of medicine the servants left for Antonio. Selena’s father was poisoning Antonio to bring his demise. She became frantic and ran to Antonio. She knew none of the servants would believe her, so she had to try and convince her great uncle that Vicente was trying to end his life. She was too late. His eyes had been closed, and his face was frozen in a sickly gray. His breath and heartbeat were no longer audible through the silence. A single servant was by his bedside with a rosary in hand, her eyes shut tight in a mumbling prayer. There was nothing more she could do beyond falling at his bedside and weeping into his now still and frigid hand. The funeral was a long and drawn out process. There were many details that needed to be dealt with, and Selena wanted no part of them. Her memory was still fuzzy after she saw Antonio’s body. She remembered a few muffled whispers as someone gently pulled her from her incessant crying near the corpse. She was led away into her room, and the servant who had been muttering the prayer had wrapped her shawl around the girl in hopes of comforting her. The servant had stayed with the weeping woman for a few hours before her duties called her away, leaving Selena alone in her room. And that was where she stayed for three days, her sorrow never allowing her to move from the edge of her bed. Her great uncle who had brought her light after her own mother’s passing was now gone. The man who was like a father to her was gone. The man who had brought light and warmth to the dark and cold hatred she felt from her father was now dead. 
Only on the day of the funeral did she finally stir when one of the servants came to prepare her. She had opened the windows to allow a small bit of sunlight inside. Even the sky was deep within a dismal despair. The heavens themselves were torn to see such a kind and compassionate man taken from a world that truly needed him. The servant helped Selena from her old clothing into her black attire before wiping the girl’s puffy red eyes and forcing her to blow her stuffy nose into the white handkerchief. After cleaning her face with a bowl of warm water the kitchen had prepared, Selena sauntered down the steps to the mourners waiting at the carriage that would take her to the family graveyard. Hands grasped at her to comfort, console, and reassure her, but each disgusting finger felt like a judgmental taunt at her pervading sadness. None of these noblemen cared about Antonio. They all simply wanted something to do. There was only one hand she grabbed with a sincere gratitude. That was the hand of the carriage driver who hoisted the woman inside with a somber look.
There was a looming silence over the manor for several weeks following the death of Antonio. Selena refused to see anyone, only leaving to eat dinner and spend some time with her younger brother. Though he was a comfort in this difficult time, he was only a balm over the wound in her heart. She did what she could to try and be with the boy, but her father would normally lock him away with his teachers. There was no way she could help him. Soon after, Vicente began his search for a man who could bring him even higher status if he married Selena. One after another, suitors came to gain the favor of the maiden, but each one was turned away when she refused to leave her room. Vicente tried to demand that the woman leave, but nothing would rouse her from her chambers. Only after the threat of starvation did the woman finally leave her room. It was the night of another party that her father was throwing that she was forced to attend. Her heart still full of rage, she begrudgingly made her way to the party. It wasn’t long until the woman found someone she could actually tolerate. 
He was like a gift sent from the heavens. Ebony hair hung low beneath his shoulders, contouring the chiseled features of his face. His eyes were golden suns resonating in the lights of the chandelier above their heads. Honeyed words spoke of adventures all over the world. The pair spent the entirety of the night in the garden while the others danced away inside.
This man was Malacai Le’Morte. He had left his home many years ago to travel the world and explore what it had to offer. Selena was smitten with him. He was warmhearted, composed, knowledgeable, and eccentric. He was unlike she had ever seen. As their relationship thrived through the continuous meetings spanning the six months after the party, Selena started to divulge more and more of her father’s transgressions. She felt as though she could trust him. He was different from the others who merely wanted her as a symbol of status. He saw her as a living, breathing person with the same dreams and desires as him. She was in love. Winter came and went, and Malacai began keeping his company scarce with Selena as spring came about. This concerned her, but Malacai assured her that it was due to a death in the family. When invitations were sent out regarding Vicente’s next party, Malacai stated in a letter to her that he would attend. He also stated that he would have a surprise for the woman to apologize for his absence. The day of the party came, and Selena was anxious to see Malacai. It did not take long for the man to amble up the stairs into the manor. After a dance among the other guests, Malacai led Selena to one of the parlors in the manor. The two were completely alone. Something wasn’t right. Her pulse was starting to race, and the room seemed far too cold for the warm spring air. The man locked the door behind them and approached the woman, a sly smirk on his face. He told Selena how much he truly loved her. Her father and the other suitors did not understand how special she truly was. He said he could take her away from the agony of her normal life. For once in a long time, she could feel wanted. She could feel loved. Selena felt something uneasy in her stomach as he spoke. There was something different about him, but she could not see what it was. She was certain this was not the man she had fallen for. She tried again and again to have him return her to the party before her father started to wonder where she was. 
Like a wild cat, the man lunged and bit the woman’s neck, fangs sharper than steel now piercing her flesh. She tried to fight, but he had superior strength and held her down. She could hear faint hissing as blood dripped from the wound in her neck. Malacai was gripping the woman tightly as he began to drain her of every drop of blood she had. Like a fawn to a lion, she was powerless. There was nothing she could do to stop him. There wasn’t even a scream for help.
Her limbs began to shake beneath the weight of her body, her skin now freezing cold from the attack. Death was closing in on her. The heartbeat that pressed on at the start of the assault now was waning into a slumber. Her lungs were gasping for air they could barely attain. Her arms reached to try and grip the man, but her muscles were as frail as paper now. Eyes glazing over, she begged God for her last sight to be something besides her own blood. Silent prayers rang loud in her mind, her head swaying in and out of consciousness. Malacai took the last sip of blood before giving his wrist a sharp bite. Blood darker than normal seeped from the mark. With a grin that could frighten Lucifer himself, he held the wound over the woman’s mouth to let a few drops fall into her now deathly pale lips. It was finally over. She belonged to him now. She awoke in sheer icy terror, her breath loud and foreboding as she rose form the cold stone floor beneath her. Selena could not recognize where she was, but it was not her home. She tried to recount the preceding events and how she ended up where she was, but only darkness clouded her thoughts. The only thing she could remember was intense agony spreading through her body like venom. Her hand found her neck, two fresh puncture wounds still present for her to feel. The darkness of the room cleared, and that was when she saw him. It was Malacai, but he was was completely different. The once compassionate features she had seen were now sinister and malevolent. His attentive smile was now a menacing smirk, and his hair was messy and unkempt. His eyes which shined brighter than the sun were now narrowed irises of scarlet. Malacai kneeled down, his talon-like fingers grasping her chin. The trembling woman tried to retreat, but his presence kept her bound in place. His voice stung her like hot iron. “You now belong to me. God has turned his back on you.” She found herself out of the hands of a tyrant and into the grasp of the devil. Malacai spent his days tormenting the woman by foregoing her feeding. The pain was unbearable. When she was finally brought victims, she lost control. Flesh was ripped and blood covered the room when she was finished. It was never enough to regain her strength. Victim after victim fell to her hunger for her captor’s amusement. 
Rarely did she have reprieve from Malacai and his abuse. When sleep would deny her, she often thought of her father and younger brother. Did they know she had been taken? Did her father even care she was gone? She knew she could not return to her home the way she was. With her windows barred, there was no way she could simply jump. With any luck, to her death. Malacai never gave her the opportunity to open the windows and even try.
One day, Malacai stopped coming to her chambers with victims for her to feast on. Days went by, and Selena was getting weaker. She would receive an occasional glass of extracted blood, but it only prolonged her suffering. This was unusual for him. He always came to her chambers every few days to bring her a victim for her to attack. Where on earth could he have gone? Night was coming, and clamor was quietly slithering from the halls downstairs. She glanced a few times through the keyhole of her door, but she saw nothing. Normally, the hall was full of servants both day and night. Only one servant came to her room. It was a young girl with blonde curls tied back by a pure white ribbon. Icy blue eyes peered at the woman with a smile. She must have been a new hire. Selena had never seen her face beforehand. Something was amiss in the house. Malacai and the servants all were not present anywhere near her room. It had been this way for four days now. Selena was wobbling as she stood, the young girl placing the fresh linens on the side table and stripping the bed. Selena inquired where the lord of the manor had gone. The girl was definitely new because she actually spoke to Selena. She replied, telling Selena that the lord of the house had been out to visit a family member and that he would be back tomorrow night. Selena could see the chance she was being given. It was obvious that this would be her escape attempt. Malacai was gone, and all the servants were downstairs consorting in their festivities. She hated herself for the idea, but the girl’s blood would be able to satiate her enough to find her way out. Panic welling up in her, Selena grabbed the girl and covered her mouth before she could scream. The bite was quick, and the blood began to flow. The girl’s blood was divine, the vampire’s vitality and power finally returning to her body. 
Selena released the girl, her eyes now shut in death’s approaching embrace. The woman had never felt so alive. Her senses were heightened to unimaginable levels. Her surroundings were in vastly brighter colors like a painted portrait. She could hear every voice downstairs as if they were in the next room. The aromas of the wine and food the servants were indulging in wafted through the air with immense clarity. Was this the way a vampire was truly meant to be? What had the girl’s blood done to her?
Following the acuteness of her senses, the trail of sounds and smells led her down the now unlocked door of her room. The hallways bended and twisted, every corridor like a haunting maze. More than likely it was to keep her trapped in case she had managed to escape. Somehow, she began to navigate the halls with little effort, the smells and sounds acting as her guides. There was no journey. There was only a destination in her mind. Her body knew exactly where to go, so she resigned herself to her instincts so she could find the exit to the manor. Eventually, her body found the main lobby of the mansion. Her mind reclaimed control long enough to look around for the servants. From the sounds of the party that now blared in her ears, they were far too drunk to notice anything was wrong. Even the security was missing from their posts. It was too easy. Making her way down the stairs, she found the large wooden door that led outside. With a harsh tug, she opened the door to the outside world. The warm evening air beckoned her from the doorway and down the steps of the manor. Her senses were ecstatic from the smells and sounds around her. Every rock, tree, and flower danced in the winding breeze, the colors a vibrant display of beauty. The moon and stars illuminated her way into the forests. The trees touched the sky, blocking any view she had of the path before her. It didn’t matter much to her. She had no home to return to, so all she could do was run. Selena ran through the forests all through the night. She couldn’t believe how fast she could move and how effortlessly she could dodge any obstacles. The air whipped at her sides, but she pressed on. Only when the adrenaline from her escape and the girl’s blood started to fade did she realize that the moon was disappearing over the horizon, and the sun was beginning to peak ever so slightly in its place. She needed to find a place to stay for the night so she wouldn’t be harmed by the rays of the morning. After a few more minutes of running, the woman found a large stone building. It was similar to a guard tower of a medieval castle with smaller buildings branching off at a right angle. The ashen gray stone was dotted with pieces of green moss and other plant life, nature trying to reclaim the abandoned structure. With no one around in sight, Selena charged forward to stay there for the night. The area seemed deserted. Besides a few deer and rodents, no one appeared to live in the tower. No one had even laid eyes on it in years. Assuring herself she was safe, she ventured forward into one of the buildings. What she found appeared to be an old grain house, but the grain did not appear to be old at all. It was fresh, the permeating odor of new sod present in the air. With morning approaching, however, she had no time to find a new place. An old crate had to operate as a temporary coffin for her. It was large enough to hold her body with ease, and it was off to the side in case there was something or someone living in the area. 
Frigid water shocked her from the deep slumber the day had brought on. Selena jolted up, wiping the water from her face onto her sleeve. Her eyes still partly closed from exhaustion, she looked around for the source of the water. Standing next to her was an old man holding a wooden bucket. His face was filled with arduous wrinkles and thin scars. The man had the harshest hazel eyes and a square, pointed nose. Hair as white as fresh winter snow hung in long thick strands, reaching down to the man’s upper back. A beard of the same shade of white covered the man’s mouth, chin and neck. He wore ivory robes and a strange talisman around his neck. He spoke with a deep and clear voice. “Who are you? Explain why I found you hiding in my home, monster.”
There was something strange about the old man. Even though he was clearly an elder, he seemed young. The way he stood, the clarity of his voice, and even the glow he had about him made him look as though time itself could never bring him down. It may have withered him, but it could not kill him. The color in his eyes seemed to stir and move as he addressed her. The woman watched intently to make sure she wasn’t just going insane. As he barked at her, the swirling browns and golden hues continued their whirlpool within the white of his eyes. Selena began to explain to the old man what had happened to her. Her mind was still dazed from exhaustion and hunger, but she was able to describe to him all the events that led up to him finding her. She explained she had fled from her sire and his endless torture. She had nowhere to go, and she only sought refuge during the day. She gave her word that she had not intended to harm the old man, nor did she know he was even there. She thought the area had been abandoned. The old man was resigned from his anger towards the vampire. After hearing what she had to say, he began to take pity on her. The girl had been taken from her family and forced to live with a man who abused her beyond belief. How could he turn her away? Finally, the old man gave her his name. He was called Martin Galavir. After a while of talking, Martin offered to show Selena around. Although the woman could see that he was still wary of her, she accepted the offer. She didn’t enjoy cowering on the cold stone floor. He hoisted her from the floor and pointed out the door of the grain house. He started out the door with Selena in tow. The sun had begun to set which meant Selena had nothing to fear from the sun’s embrace. The two reached the tower’s entrance as Martin pulled a key from behind his ear. It was a slightly rusted iron key was far too big to fit behind his ear without jutting out. With a turn, the latch released and the door opened to them. Martin motioned Selena ahead of him so he could close the door while keeping an eye on her. The room extended far more than the walls of the tower’s exterior could reach. The walls were lined with colossal book shelves, each one filled with tomes, papers, and texts like a tempest of literature. Tables were situated in front of the shelves, books and scraps filling them up as well. A few chairs were strewn about, a small black cat nestled in comfortably on one. The parts of wall not occupied by books were home to old paintings. Some held the faces of older men like Martin, while others had the visages of young men and women. All wore attire of the medieval period, yet the paintings appeared as if they had been done quite recently. The ceiling reached to the heavens, a large crystal chandelier dangling from the very top. 
The most extraordinary thing was the very center of the room. An orrery of immense size moved of its own accord, the different planets moving about the center sun like it was a dance. Runes and inscriptions were scrawled on each planet, the moon glowing brighter than all the others. The base was solid sandy marble with crystals representing the stars and gold trip separating the small counter protruding from it.
Martin sauntered around the woman and placed his hand on the base of the orrery. Silver light erupted from the device, extending the reach of the orrery to all corners of the room. The planets became more visible, the stars of the solar system glittering in the now darkened space around them. Martin allowed the formations of light to spin until a small blue sphere appeared in his hand. He zoomed in on the planet until nothing but forest was present, the trees now visible through the spectrum. It was a bird’s view above the tower, the massive structure now a tiny smudge on the landscape. “This is where you are, and this,” he said, moving the view quickly to the right until another abnormal structure separated the foliage of the trees, “must be where you escape from. It’s quite the ways from here, Ms. Valtierri. I’m surprised you ran all the way here in a single night. Even with the powers of the undead…” Selena approached the projection in front of Martin and attempted to reach for it. It merely passed through her hand. She turned to the old man. “How did you know-“ “Do you truly believe I did not see it with my orrery? I saw you darting across the forest like a rabid animal. I’m just curious as to how you ran that quickly.” Selena, still in awe at the otherworldly device before her, spoke of the girl she had to drink from so she could escape. She described the heightening of her senses as best she could. The way she could see the colors with a clarity that she had never seen as a mortal. How the sounds were almost intolerable to her sensitive ears. She could have taken her own life and spared the ones he had captured for her. She could never return to her family how she was. “Martin…you haven’t told me who you are. This device…are you some kind of sorcerer?” “In a manner of speaking,” he replied, “I am. I have lived a long, immortal life, and I have spent most of the centuries studying and practicing the arcane.” “If you are truly a wizard, then is there any way you can reverse what Malacai has done to me?” Selena wasn’t prepared to live life as a vampire. The thought of killing innocent people to survive like she did in Malacai’s home teared at her heart. She wasn’t a violent and malicious person. She never had been. The way she was, she could never return home. The fear of attacking her family or their absolute hatred of her was too much for her to risk. “I’m afraid not. Once the the blood of the vampire is taken in, there is no saving the body. You are a vampire, my child. A human forced to drink the ichor of the undead can never go back to being the way they once were. At least, no method has been discovered yet.” His tone seemed disinterested of the last phrase. Martin was aware a search for a cure had gone one for centuries. No one had the slightest idea how to remove the curse and restore the body to a mortal state. 
Selena sighed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Whatever hope she had was now gone. Would she be forced to wander the earth for all eternity as a blood sucking monster? “I’ve taken up enough of your time, sir. I will see myself out. With the night now here, I can try to find the path Malacai brought me here on. That will hopefully lead me to town.”
Martin watched the woman turn and move towards the door, but his hand caught her by the shoulder. He seemed stunned by his own action, a groan forming in his throat. “If you’d like, you can stay here for a few days. I know you’ve been through a great ordeal, so you should have a few days of peace.” A warmth of happiness filled her, a smile finally tugging at her lips after so long. “Thank you.” The few days went by, and Martin allowed the young vampire to stay a bit longer. Selena spent her nights reading the many books Martin had within his library. She would occasionally check on her younger brother with the orrery, but her disappearance did not phase the boy as he frolicked about the grounds of her home. Selena knew it was for the best. It made letting go much easier. Martin began to show the vampire the ways of magic. He taught her how it flowed like an endless river in things both alive and dead. He told her the soul was the tether that bound magic to the world of the mortals, and the will of a sorcerer could control it. Selena spent the time there avidly learning and practicing with the wizard, honing her skills with each passing day. Since both were immortal, time flowed on while they trained and learned together. The vampire would feast on the neighboring wildlife for her strength. At first, it was difficult, but she adapted to it in time. She helped Martin in the upkeep of the tower and the farming land nearby, even hunting down food for the wizard while he planned their next lessons. The two became absolved in each other’s company, their friendship growing more and more each day. For once in her life, Selena was happy. Her life finally had purpose. 
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