Three years ago on September 5, 2020, I promised to rewrite my BloodRayne stories, and now, on the tenth anniversary of the publication of my very first fanfic, BloodRayne: Chronicles of Blood - Origins, I am publishing that story's remake. I tried to rewrite the whole story by August 4th but wasn't able to. However, I am almost done with the first arc's chapters, and I will publish the completed chapters today. The chapters from my original story were quite short, had lots of grammar errors, and a few historical inaccuracies; this remake will see those errors corrected. I will list the differences between the original and the remake in the footnotes.

I will also publish the remake on Archives Our Own. Thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy BloodRayne Rebirth: Chronicles of Blood - Origins!

Author's Note: Brief mention of a sexual assault.

Arc I: Dhampir

St. Monica's Catholic Hospital

New York City

July 11, 1915

Gray clouds rolled in from the mainland and blotted out the summer sun that had been beating down on the Big Apple without mercy for the duration of its ascent. Sporadic drops of rain were followed seconds later by a deluge that drenched the city's great skyscrapers and dirty sidewalks. New Yorkers responded to the rainfall in different ways. Those who saw the approaching clouds from the windows of their homes left prepared, and they opened their umbrellas and parasols soon after the first raindrops fell, turning the busy streets into moving flowerbeds of canvas and fabric blooms. The unprepared girded themselves with newspapers, their hands, or simply made a mad dash for the nearest business or awning to avoid getting soaked to the bone.

The rain provided a refreshing respite from the summer heat, and people continued with their business as usual. It was no different for the staff and patients at St. Monica's Catholic Hospital in Manhattan. With St. Monica's being a Catholic hospital, doctors and nurses traversed the halls alongside priests and nuns who all attended to the medical and spiritual needs of their predominantly Irish-American patients. Nurses redressed wounds or changed out bedpans, nuns comforted the dying, doctors listened to heartbeats through stethoscopes, and priests prayed with patients who were about to go into surgery or administered last rites. Rain or shine, St. Monica's Catholic Hospital was a busy place.

The waiting rooms were just as busy with people crammed onto benches or chairs like books on a shelf waiting to receive news about the outcome of a surgery or childbirth. Three of the family members of one patient, nineteen year old Eliza Malloye, were waiting anxiously in St. Monica's maternity ward to hear that she had delivered her baby and that both mother and child were doing well. Those relatives were Eliza's mother, forty-five year old Sarah, Eliza's older sister, twenty-one year old Theresa, and Theresa's husband, Eliza's brother-in-law, twenty-six year old Harold Humphrey. The Humphrey's first wedding anniversary was in two weeks, yet it was the younger and unmarried Eliza, who had served as Theresa's maid-of-honor at her wedding, who got pregnant first and was having the firstborn grandchild and great-grandchild of their family. Eliza being pregnant out of wedlock was already a serious affront to her family's Catholic beliefs, but worser still, she had been impregnated through... nonconsensual means.

The Malloye's and Humphrey's did not dare dwell on the unsettling nature of how Eliza became pregnant. Today, like they had been since Eliza made her decision to keep her child over half a year ago, the family was going to stand by her and her baby. To keep the stigma of unmarried motherhood off Eliza, Theresa had bought her sister a fake wedding ring from a thrift shop for her to wear. Theresa and Harold had even let Eliza move into their apartment in Manhattan's Garment District. This move was done to help Eliza get away from the judgmental people of Longhouse Bend, the Malloye Sisters' hometown in Van Buren County, NY, who held the pregnant single mother in contempt.

The maternity ward door opened, and a nurse dressed in periwinkle blue with a bleached white apron and cap entered the waiting room. Sarah, Theresa, and Harold, along with the other occupants of the waiting room, perked up when they saw the nurse enter. The nurse immediately addressed a man who was sitting on a chair by the door, telling him the good news that his wife had given birth to a baby boy, and that they were both in good health. Sarah, the most anxious of the trio, called out to the nurse as she was instructing the overjoyed new father that he would be taken to see his wife and newborn son in a few minutes.

"Excuse me, nurse? Nurse?"

The nurse turned to face Sarah. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I am Eliza Malloye's mother. She has been in labor since around eight o'clock last night. Have you seen her? Is she doing well? Has her baby arrived yet?"

The nurse furrowed her brow in thought before answering. "I saw Dr. Norris enter our second delivery room just as I was making my way here. There are only two women in labor today so far and Mr. Clancy's wife here has just had a baby. Doctors only enter a delivery room when a birth is imminent."

Sarah nodded her head, tears welling up in her eyes. All five of Sarah's children had been born at home with only her mother and a midwife in attendance, and Sarah was grateful for the information this nurse was giving her. Theresa took her husband's hand and squeezed it, which Harold reciprocated. The nurse reached for the doorknob behind her to return to the ward.

"I am sorry, ma'am, but I must go back now to get Mrs. Clancy and her baby ready to see her husband. Whoever's attending to your daughter should be out soon to inform you of the birth. Have a good day."

The nurse reentered the ward and shut the door behind her too quickly for her to hear Sarah say thank you. Inside the ward in Delivery Room 2, Eliza was nearing the end of her labor. She was lying on a table with her legs propped up on stirrups, her left hand was clutching the metal frame, and her right hand was being held by a young nurse. Eliza's skin was nearly as red as her hair, which was usually a vibrant crimson but was now dark as blood from being damp with sweat, and her forehead was beaded with perspiration just like the delivery room's frosted windows were beaded with raindrops. The movements of Eliza's mouth alternated between panting and grimacing; the latter being accompanied with pained, tired groaning.

One other nurse, a doctor, and a nun were all in the delivery room with Eliza and the young nurse who was holding her hand. That young nurse, the second youngest person in the room after Eliza, Bridget, offered words of encouragement and sips of water from a glass as she held her patient's hand. The second nurse, a middle-aged Romanian woman named Angelica was standing next to a small table where laid a tray containing a pair of forceps, a scalpel, and other medical instruments. Angelica stood between the table and on Dr. Norris's right, who was seated on a stool between his patient's spread-out legs. Standing on the doctor's left was the nun, Angelica and Bridget's supervisor, Sister Raymond, who was holding a clean white towel to wrap the baby in after he or she was born.

"All right, Ms. Eliza, one more push should do it." said Dr. Norris, who then looked up at the laboring woman. "Are you ready?"

Eliza nodded after accepting another sip of water from Bridget. Dr. Norris nodded back and returned his attention to the soon-to-be born child. "Good. One big, strong push now, my dear. Take a deep breath."

Eliza, whose strength was all but sapped after over sixteen hours of labor, followed Dr. Norris's orders. She inhaled, and with Nurse Bridget's help, leaned forward and pushed when Dr. Norris told her to, letting out a great cry of pain and exasperation. And just like that, it was over. The baby came out of their mother and into the awaiting hands of Dr. Norris; neither the forceps nor scalpel were needed in this case. Within seconds of entering the world at 12:04 pm sharp, the newborn's cries filled the dull, immaculate room.

"It's a girl!" announced Dr. Norris over the din of a new life heralding her arrival.

"And a big one at that." remarked Sister Raymond as she approached to take the baby girl after Dr. Norris had cut the umbilical cord.

"Ahhh!"

Everyone in the room jumped at the sound of Angelica's shriek and they all looked at her. Angelica's eyes were as wide as saucers, her skin had blanched considerably, nearly as white as her apron and cap, and she pointed fearfully at the newborn. "Dhampir! Dhampir! Nesfant!"*

Angelica backed away from the birthing table, her right hip bumping into the table that the medical instruments sat on, and she took off like a monster was after her. Sister Raymond called out after the nurse in Romanian. "Angelica! Unde te duci? Ce s-a întâmplat?"*

Sister Raymond's words went unheeded as the nurse fled, leaving everyone else who was left in the room bewildered. The baby cried louder now from fear, and Dr. Norris, who had held her protectively close to his chest, relaxed his hold on the little one.

"What the devil was all that about?!"

Sister Raymond herself looked pale, but she shook her head as if trying to shake away her surprised demeanor, and she moved in again to take the baby girl from the doctor. "Never mind Angelica, Dr. Norris. I will give her a stern talking to later. Bridget, stay by Mrs. Malloye's side. Don't go anywhere until I say so."

"Yes, Sister," Bridget, the young nurse, replied meekly. She helped the exhausted Eliza recline back on the folded table, wiping her sweaty forehead with a dry cloth. Tired from the childbirth and rattled by Nurse Angelica's behavior, Eliza was now daunted by the prospect of finally meeting the child that had been conceived on the worst night of her life. But just as she was determined to keep her baby, Eliza resolved to look that same infant in the eye despite her reluctance. Sister Raymond cleaned Eliza's newborn daughter, letting Dr. Norris examine and weigh her first before swaddling her and presenting her to her mother.

Eliza held her arms out slowly and let the nun place her baby in them. She stared into the face of her firstborn, and all of Eliza's fears and anxiety melted away like snow under the spring sun. The baby girl had ruddy peach fuzz on her head, warm pink skin, and Eliza was delighted to see that her daughter had emerald green eyes; the fact that the baby's eyes were green at birth was amazing in itself, and Eliza's birth attendants commented on it, saying that babies aren't born with green eyes and that it usually takes up to six months or three years for a baby's irises to turn green. A warm, loving smile waxed on Eliza's face as she let love into her heart, a love whose endless depth and breadth is known only to parents. It was a love that promised to heal Eliza's scars from the past.

Noticing her daughter's perfect features made Eliza curious as to why Nurse Angelica ran out of the room in such a fright. "Why did that nurse become so hysterical? My daughter isn't deformed or anything."

Dr. Norris and Nurse Bridget shrugged. Sister Raymond had an answer. "Your baby was born with a caul over her head, Mrs. Malloye. Cauls are part of the afterbirth." Sister Raymond looked into the enamel basin (which sat on yet another table) that contained the thin, bloody, transparent film that had covered the baby's head at birth.

"In Angelica's home country, they believe that a baby born with a caul over their head is a sign that the little one is a vampire or dhampir."

"Dhampir? What's a dhampir?" asked Bridget.

"Something unchristian, no doubt." remarked Dr. Norris.

"You are correct, doctor." said Sister Raymond. "A dhampir is a creature that is half-human and half-vampire. Both vampires and dhampirs are demons. Devil's spawn."

"How do you know all this, Sister?" asked the intrigued doctor.

"I volunteer at a Catholic mission for women from time to time. Most of the women there are immigrants from Europe. I pick up a lot of different languages and folklore from them."

Eliza did not pay any attention to the rest of the conversation as she took in what Sister Raymond had said about vampires and dhampirs or "Devil's spawn" as the nun had called them. She became still, frozen almost as flashbacks from that horrible night nine months ago came back to her. That man, no, that monster. He was huge, cruel, and sadistic. His red eyes glowed as bright as the full moon that oversaw Eliza's degradation at the hands of that devil in the flesh, and the moonlight glinted off his pointy fangs as he voiced his obscene pleasure to the night sky above like a howling wolf.

"You shall bear my child, a demon child, and it will grow to become like me and destroy everything you know and love my dear, sweet Eliza."

The words that the Monster had said to her echoed in Eliza's ears. He had a deep voice that was menacingly "gentle", like a butcher coaxing a lamb to the slaughter. Gentle was a totally inappropriate word to use, for that Monster had taken glee in exerting his dominance over and hurting Eliza. So did the equally monstrous woman who had held Eliza down for the Monster, a woman whose eyes glowed a bright cornflower blue and who also had the same pointy, glinting fangs as Eliza's rapist did. Eliza had screamed and screamed as her rapist hurt her and as his accomplice restrained her with an unnatural strength, but the poor woman's screams were muffled by a gag that had been stuffed into her mouth...

"Mrs. Malloye? Mrs. Malloye? Are you alright?"

Bridget's voice snapped Eliza out of her trance. Her heart was pounding, and sweat was reappearing on her cold, clean, clammy skin. The baby whimpered and Eliza looked down in fear at her, not knowing what to do.

"Rock her in your arms, ma'am." Bridget instructed kindly, miming a rocking motion with her own arms. Eliza followed the nurse's example, and her daughter calmed down as she was being rocked. Eliza's old terror subsided slowly with her baby's fussiness, love and calm rising within the survivor and new mother again like the light of dawn illuminating the night sky. The baby's emerald eyes brimmed with innocence and sweetness, the total opposite of her father's, and Eliza's love for her daughter was reaffirmed by the sight of those two positive qualities.

Mother and daughter were going to have a life together, and Eliza was determined to give her baby the best life she could give her. Eliza spoke to her newborn in a soft, motherly voice that was nearly a whisper. "I will spend the rest of my life with you, sweetheart. I don't care how you were brought into this world, but I promise you that I will overcome that to become the mother you deserve." Eliza kissed her baby's forehead, the first kiss she gave her, and she finished off her sweet, loving speech with "I love you."

Bridget was soon sent to inform Eliza's family that she had given birth and that both she and her baby daughter were in good health. Dr. Norris charged Sister Raymond with collecting the afterbirth when it arrived so that he could check his patient's vital signs. Everything was fine, and the placenta eventually came out and was set aside for disposal. Eliza was cleaned up again and taken back to her bed in the maternity ward where she was propped up with pillows. When Eliza was presentable, her mother, sister, and brother-in-law were brought in by Bridget.

Sarah covered her gaping mouth with her hands, which were originally crossed over her heart, when she saw her firstborn grandchild for the very first time. Theresa gasped softly, pressing her hand against her chest, leaning closer to Harold, who was smiling softly at the baby. Eliza returned her brother-in-law's expression, and she introduced the baby to them all. "Here she is. Her name is Rain. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is, darlin. She is." Sarah whispered as she drew closer to Eliza's bedside, her hands outstretched towards the baby. Jubilant as Sarah was, she froze halfway while reaching for her newborn granddaughter, remembering how she was conceived. Eliza's smile fell when she saw her mother's change in demeanor, and she soon noticed how Theresa and Harold now looked anxious and were looking away from her baby.

A sense of protectiveness welled up inside Eliza. "Please don't be cold to her. Rain didn't choose to be born, let alone choose how she came to be. Rain is my daughter, and I love her and want to keep her. Please don't reject Rain. Please..."

Eliza's eyes twinkled with tears, as did her mother's and sister's. Harold's eyes were dark. All three of Eliza's relatives were wracked with remorse over their initial reception of Baby Rain. Overwhelmed with emotion, Eliza held her daughter close and wept. Sarah immediately rushed to her daughter's side and comforted her, as did Theresa and Harold.

"Don't cry, honey. I'm so sorry. We're all so sorry, and we're all so proud of you." Sarah looked down into Rain's face, love bubbling up from her heart at the sight of her. "Let me see her."

Eliza let her mother take Rain from her arms, and the new grandmother gazed into her grandbaby's face, a smile like the one Eliza had in the delivery room taking shape on her own face. "She's beautiful, honey. Beautiful." Eliza nodded in gratitude for her mother's words. Sarah then presented Rain to her Aunt Theresa and Uncle Harold.

Theresa's lips trembled as she took her newborn niece into her arms. Remorse and auntly affection overtook Theresa, and she held Rain close to her chest and whispered, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry. I love you. I love you."

"Hello, little lady." Harold said as he greeted his wife's niece. "I'm sorry too for looking away from you. Welcome to the world."

"Does dad and everyone else know?" Eliza asked from her bed. Sarah nodded.

"Yes, they do, Lizzie. I had Harold call them from a payphone here. They'll stop by tomorrow to see you and the baby. So, you're calling her Rain?"

Eliza nodded. "Yes, mom."

"How did you come up with that name, Lizzie?" Theresa asked.

Eliza gestured towards the windows at the end of the ward by tilting her head to the left and pointing with her finger. Seeing the rainfall outside made Theresa feel foolish for asking that question. Sarah asked another Eliza question. "What's Rain's full name, honey?"

"I haven't come up with a middle name for her yet. What saint's feast day is it today?"

"St. Benedict's," was Sarah's immediate answer, "the patron saint of Europe and monks." Other than her Irish husband, the American born Sarah possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Roman Catholic be it feast days or the prayers of the rosary. Besides remembering religious subjects, Sarah was also the family's memory bank. She remembered all scheduled appointments and events, and what was said or promised to her, especially if her children promised to perform certain chores around the house and farm; none of the five Malloye children could fool their mother into forgetting about what chore they had promised to do for her.

Eliza made a face at the name Benedict. "Rain Benedicta Malloye?" Eliza uttered hesitantly. Even saying it out loud felt wrong. That name just didn't sound right, and Eliza's family members shared her sentiment and shook their heads.

Eliza then thought of last night when her water broke. "What was yesterday's feast day, mom?"

Sarah answered again without fail. "St. Amelia's. She is the patron saint of fisherman, farmers, and arm and shoulder pain."

Rain Amelia Malloye. That name sounded much, much better. Rolled off the tongue too. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement when Eliza shared her daughter's name. It was perfect.

The rest of the visit passed by blissfully as Eliza, Sarah, Theresa, and Harold fawned over baby Rain. With her mother and Nurse Bridget by her side, Eliza learned how to properly nurse Rain, helping the young mother to bond with her baby further. After a few hours, Eliza said good-bye to her mother, sister, and brother-in-law, who left to let Eliza rest so that they themselves could recuperate from their long stay at the hospital at the Humphrey's apartment. Little Rain was taken to a nursery so that Eliza could sleep and recover. She slept for a long time, and when Eliza awoke, it was nighttime, and the maternity ward was lit up with electric light from black painted chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling.

Nurse Bridget was still in the ward performing her duties when she noticed that Eliza had awakened. She brought Eliza supper, after which the nurse fetched Rain so she could be fed by her mother. As the baby nursed, Eliza became aware of how nervous Bridget was acting as she observed Rain's feeding.

"Nurse Bridget, what's the matter?"

Bridget's eyes darted around the room before she made her way to Eliza's bedside and leaned in to whisper into her patient's ear. "Something strange happened earlier this evening when I was giving Rain her first bath."

"What happened?" Eliza asked, her eyes wide and full of concern, her heartrate quickening. Bridget's eyes darkened, and she seemed to struggle over what to say next. "What happened to Rain?" Eliza asked demandingly.

A cowed Bridget sighed and revealed what had happened during Rain's first bath. "When I lowered Rain into the tub to get her body wet, steam came off her. Steam, like steam from a pot of boiling water!"

"Was the bathwater too hot?" anger radiated from Eliza's tone. Bridget shook her head vehemently.

"No, Mrs. Malloye, it wasn't! The bathwater was not hot at all. It was warm. Lukewarm. I drew it myself."

The flustered nurse gestured at the baby.

"Rain cried, and Dr. Norris examined her, but she wasn't burned in any way. The doctor dipped his fingers in the bathwater and said it was fine. He observed me as I was bathing Rain and saw the steam rise from her himself that time."

Eliza took in this news with wide, frightened eyes. She looked down at Rain, who had stopped suckling. Eliza carefully undid Rain's swaddling clothes and checked her for any signs of scalding burns. Nothing. Rain's pink skin had lightened since her birth, and there was not so much as a single red splotch anywhere on her from touching hot water.

Baffled and disturbed, Eliza swaddled Rain again and covered herself up. "Could it be some kind of disease?" Eliza asked fearfully after covering herself. Bridget shrugged.

"I don't know. Dr. Norris said he wanted to examine Rain further tomorrow and do some research. He's never seen anything like it before in his whole career. Other than that, he says Rain is a perfectly healthy baby."

"I was able to clean her in a separate tub with no water, just dipping the washcloth in the other tub to get it wet to clean Rain with. Apparently, water doesn't hurt her when it's not exposed directly to her."

Eliza was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to think. Her baby was healthy, yet tepid water burned Rain's skin? Something wasn't right, this didn't make sense. But as Eliza looked down at the face of her now sleeping daughter, she was thankful that Rain was not in pain and was calm.

Kissing her baby for the umpteenth time on her forehead, Eliza handed Raine back to Bridget to take back to the nursery for the night. Eliza turned in herself, exhaustion of both a physical and emotional nature weighing on her and encouraging her to sleep, but the nervous energy of motherly worry kept her awake. Sleep eventually overpowered Eliza, and she drifted off into a restful slumber. Little did she know that she was being watched from afar. Across from the hospital on the rooftop of the opposite building, a vampire, an agent of the Monster, was observing Eliza from afar with a large grin on his face, his eyes glowing red.

*Nesfant: Romanian for unholy.

* Unde te duci? Ce s-a întâmplat?: Romanian for "Where are you going? What's wrong?"

What has changed:

1. Name(s): McDougal (Origins) - Malloye (Rebirth) - McDougal is a Scottish surname, and Rayne and her mother and maternal relatives are of Irish descent.

Sara (Origins) - Sarah (Rebirth)

Tara (Origins) - Theresa (Rebirth)

Charles (Origins) - Harold (Rebirth)

Angyalka (Origins) - Anjelica (Rebirth) - Angyalka is a Hungarian name, so it was changed to Anjelica, which is Romanian. Names changed based on research done on the Behind the Name website.

Mrs. Smith (Origins) - Sister Raymond (Rebirth) - Homage to the Nonnatus House from BBC's "Call the Midwife". The saint's full name is St. Raymond Nonnatus.

2. Character(s): Veronica Vespa has been retconned as Bridget. Irish and Italian immigrants in America were at odds with each other during the first half of the 20th century, so Eliza being friends with an Italian-American would have been highly unlikely. Spoiler alert, Veronica will be the name of the human mother of Svetlana Lupescu from Nocturne. A reviewer named bob parley inspired me to incorporate Nocturne into the story. Stranger and Spookhouse will appear in future stories. ;)

One more thing regarding Veronica. The day after Rayne's birthday, July 12th, is the feast day of St. Veronica. It was quite a coincidence along with discovering that the day before Rayne's birthday on July 10th was the feast day of St. Amelia. No wonder why the names go so well together (other than the fact that St. Amelia specializes in healing arm and shoulder pain)!

3. The Clancy's take the place of the Italian immigrant who asked Veronica if he could have his newborn son baptized at the hospital instead of at his local church.

4. Rayne is the firstborn grandchild/great-grandchild now instead of her cousin, who was called Bentley in the original story.

5. St. Monica's Catholic Hospital was originally Bellevue Hospital, which is a real location in NYC. I changed the name prior to publishing the remake many years ago.

6. For other changes, check out BloodRayne - Origins to compare and contrast.