Author's Notes: This fanfic takes place in modern times. Its an AU obviously and I'm not quite sure of the coupling yet ^^; I'll continue it if I get some uplifting reviews! ^^V

Italics can either be dreams or memories. 'x' indicates thoughts.

Of Black Chains and Scarlet Letters

Teaser:

Valterria Ul Copt sat on the windowsill of his room. It was the first night since he was born that he felt like a child. Filia was his mother. He knew that very well, and yet his dreams were telling him different. On every full moon since he turned eighteen he was having disturbing dreams and visons. Dreams where he felt massive hatred towards his mother and saw her dress in robes like a preistess.

His mother wasn't the only subject in this dream. Most of the time it was a thin girl with firey red hair. The girl was always surrounded by a red glowing light and he couldn't see her face. He would be towering above her, almost like he was flying. A darker version of his voice would be talking to this girl and his mother. The voice was grabled and he could not make out any words but dragon. Then his body would jump down and this mass of darkness with many eyes would consume him. The dream always ended in darkness.

This dream always repeated itself in the same way. It never felt like a dream though. "It couldn't be a memory... it couldn't be..." he muttered into the darkness of the night. A few bats flew by his window and he watched them as the passed by the moon. It was full again and he was afraid to go to sleep.

"Val?" His mother's gentel voice called up to him. "You better get to sleep or you'll miss your own graduation. He sighed and realized that she could see the light from underneither the door. He normally slept with the shades drawn. After he heard her wakl off into her room, he slid off the sill and climbed into bed quietly. 'Finally! Graduation!'

+++

Filia sighed as she sat down upon her bed. It had taken her a few weeks to get used to the fact that Val was graduating. She knew it would come sooner than anybody would have imagined. After all.... his 'birth defect' cause him to age extremely fast....

"Are you sure you want to take care of this child?" the cloaked man said and looked down at the baby with teal hair and cat-like eyes.

"Yes, why would you ask that?" A younger Filia had asked while the rain poured down on her shoulders.

"He will age faster and act differently than any other child you have ever seen. This child is very special and is also a curse to itself," the man's lips quirked up into a smiled as Filia considered this. He took her silence as a yes and said, "He will reveal many things to you that should have been forgotten."

Filia looked up at the man but he was already gone.

'I can believe he aged this fast.... Only four years....' Filia thought and climbed under the covers. Just as she closed her eyes, she sensed a dark presence in the room. "Who.... who's there?" A man in a brown cloak was floating outside her window. She could only see half of his face. "Did you come... to see Valterria?"

The man's face was half covered in shadow as his lips quirked into a smirk. "That my dear... is a secret!" Filia shrieked as the man opened one eye before disappearing. A sudden rise of hatred and anger had caused her to scream. She dashed to the window but found no trace of the man.

Valterria had heard Filia's cry and ran down the stairs. "Mother! What's wrong!" He asked protectively and rushed over to her. His eyes were wild and his hair was disheveled, it showed his had been dreaming.

She hugged him for a moment and calmed down as he stroked her back. "I'm... ok now... just a bad dream. I'm sorry to worry you Val. Please go back to sleep," she said and slowly pushed him out the door before he could ask questions. 'I have a very bad feeling....'