Soul Eater - Harbinger

Gathering

Seren -

The next morning after broken sleep, Seren decided to explore. If Vlad said she could stay, she wanted to know where exactly she was staying.

She walked the corridors, admiring portraits and pictures, she couldn’t imagine Vlad standing still to be painted. She noticed the cobwebs on the chandelier, reminding her of the vines along the outside of the house.

As she walked she could hear Vlad speaking in his study, however she was in no mood to see him. Let alone, speak to him.

Continuing down the curved staircase into the living area, she noticed how many doors there really were, ones probably leading to many more corridors.

She noticed one door in particular, it didn’t match the rest, for starters it was metal, which had rusted ever so slightly around the edges. Small gaps in the door acted like peep holes, casting a light peaking through, flickering like a candle.

??? -

Storming through the hallways the figure marched angrily, he was furious, beyond angry. The corridors were dark and dimly lit, surrounded by stone and damp. The sound of water dripping onto the cold floors. He heard every single sound.

Two wooden doors stood in front of him, he used all of his force to slam them open, making a grand entrance.

At a desk in the centre of the room, sat the master, deep in thought and unbothered by the entrance.

“Silas, do I need to remind you of entering without knocking?” The Master replied in a dull, dead tone.

“Master, it appears the girl has found the Soul Eater to help her little coven” Silas scoffed, throwing himself into a nearby seat.

“Is that so? Maybe it’s time I paid a visit” The Master laughed to himself, flashing his sharp rows of teeth.

Seren -

Opening the door lead to a spiral staircase, made of stone. Small coves in the walls sat candles, flickering away and lighting the path. Seren decided to follow it, on her miniature adventure.

It lead down, deep into the house. Deeper than she anticipated. Questioning whether she was losing her mind, the sound of an organ played in the distance.

Eventually leading down to a hallway, flowers gathered neatly in the centre, statues of hooded figures stood in each corner. And scones lighting the way to another metal door. This one had emblems either side, chipped and faded, only an image of a sword could be made out.

Seren pushed on the metal door, unable to budge it. She inspected the bars in the door, wondering if she was slender enough to squeeze through. Putting her leg through first, she carefully pulled her body through, landing onto the hard floor.

It seemed that the organ music had stopped, as she rose to investigate further. Walking by urns and to her surprise, coffins. She had stumbled upon the crypt.

Flowers were laid at each other, as she walked further in. She came to a large room, with two coffins at the centre. Removing the dust with her hand, one read “Lady Thalia Hansen”. She frowned, pondering which relative she could have been to Vlad.

The other coffin read “Lord” but the rest was scribbled through. At the top of the room was an organ, the one she had heard being played.

She slowly made her way over, brushing her finger along the keys and perching in the stool. She began playing off key tunes, she admitted it wasn’t her forte, but when the opportunity is there, one must grab the bull by the horns.

Each key press sent dust into the air from the pipes, emitting a loud, booming sound. And the air felt cold as she played, like a breeze gushed past her, leaving her hairs standing on end.

Vlad -

The strangest sound echoed through the house as Vlad stood peering out of the window at the gardens. Each time he heard it, he recognised it more and more, but each time he had brushed it off, thinking he was mad.

His mind would trail off, thinking about Seren. Her hazel eyes and the dimples in her cheeks when she smiled, even relishing her addictive scent that filled his nose every time she was near. Although when he thought more about it, she hadn’t smiled much while being there and he wanted that to change.

The sound echoed again, causing him to come back to reality. He frowned, instantly considering what it could have been.

“No.. no, not now” he shot through the doors, heading down to the living area. Following the sound he was so certain it would be.

Seren -

As she played, the cold got worse, the air was thick and eery. She slowly took her hands away from the keys, placing them on her lap and turning around to face the room.

Nothing but an empty room. She frowned and shook her head, “I’m going mad”. Turning back to the organ she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

She slowly followed, seeing a creature that looked exactly the same as Vlad’s staring at her from the top of the organ. Instantly, she gasped.

The creature snarled as it prowled its victim, Seren kicked the stool from under herself and backed away, not taking her eyes off of the creature.

“WHO DARES TOUCH MY ORGAN?” Like a banshee it screeched, hauling itself towards her. Seren began to conjure her own power, between her palms and finger tips, a spell she had been taught by her mother to defend herself one day.

She tried to concentrate hard on the feeling, so much so that she didn’t notice the creature had vanished. As the spell disbursed from her hands, leaving her feeling panicked and disheartened in her own abilities, she span around the room in search for it.

In a moment, she felt sharp daggers pierce the skin at the slope of her neck, a scream leaving her mouth and she barged into the creature to escape.

Seren backed away from it, as it continued to prowl. She felt a solid wall against her back but soon noticed she was standing between the two coffins, and there was no wall.

Behind her, he stood. Towering over her in his creature form, his arm wrapping around her like a shield.

The creature roared, crouching before Vlad, angry at his defence.

“Mother, what woke you so early?” His voice boomed with sarcasm, the words making Seren’s eyes widen.

“Mother?” Her inner voice screamed.

“It’s good to see you again” he continued, as if he was taunting her.

“WHO IS SHE” his mother screeched again, snarling and grinding her jaws against eachother.

Vlad slowly moved Seren behind him, holding her tightly as they backed away to the metal gates. They stood about a foot away as his mother’s screams continued, he slowly turned his head to look at Seren.

“Go, now” he snapped, encouraging her with a shove.

She ran as fast as she could, squeezing back through the bars and onto the floor of the hallway. As she made it through his mother’s hand shot through the bars, her claws extending and screams pitched higher.

Seren sat bewildered and terrified as she watched Vlad drag his Mother back into the crypt. She took this opportunity to run, back up the staircase and to her room.

Vlad -

Vlad dragged his Mother back into the crypt, kicking and screaming. She had slept for hundreds of years, having not yet transformed into her human being.

“SHE DARED ENTER” she screamed, lashing out at Vlad.

“MOTHER, YOU WILL STOP THIS NOW” he towered over her, watching her cower at his demands.