Author's Note: Wanna know an interesting little tidbit? Selena has a character sheet that I made before I started writing the story! Just as Karl Heisenberg has the stunning Joel Hicks and amazing Neil Newbon as Face Model and Voice Actor I had one for Selena as well! Sorry if it kinda goes against what you imagined Selena to be lol but when I write I always try to keep this image of her in my mind xD

Face Model: Amanda Seyfried
Voice Actor: Briana White (voice of Aerith in FF7 Remake)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Resident Evil Franchise, all rights belong to Capcom! Any grammatical errors that you find I do apologize and hope you can forgive me. Happy reading everyone!

"Sinclair, I'm sure you remember Ianto." Mother Miranda had introduced Selena to what many in this domain considered the head of their quaint little village. "Ianto, starting today, I'm leaving Sinclair in your capable hands. Treat her with the same respect as you would do me."

"I understand Mother Miranda." Ianto said with a bow of respect before beady blue eyes stared judgmentally down at Selena who flinched at such a harsh reaction before quickly masking his previous disdain with a welcoming smile. "Lady Sinclair, welcome to our humble little village. It pales in comparison to the main village, and we don't have much to offer, but should you ever need some assistance you can always rely on me as well as your loyal subjects."

Mother Miranda nodded her head before looking back to Selena. "I will be off, Sinclair. Should I require your presence in the future I shall call upon you."

"Understood Mother Miranda." Selena responded as she and Ianto watched the woman vanish before their eyes leaving a flurry of raven feathers in her wake.

Selena never moved from her spot, choosing to remain quiet and wait for the man beside her to make the first move. When Selena took a chance to peak toward the man she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Ianto stood a foot taller than Selena and was built like an ox, and the silence that settled around the two was suffocating as the man continued to stare in the spot that Mother Miranda had previously occupied.

When Selena finally built up the courage to speak the man was already turning to leave.

"Come." One word was all the man had to say to cause Selena to jump into action as she quickly tried to keep up with the large man. Her arms were folded together in front of her as she stayed just a few steps behind the man instead of walking just beside him.

"She's one of them, one of the Lords?"

Just as they passed a few of the villagers, Selena heard the hushed whispers coming from two women who were huddled together to catch a glimpse of the newcomer. Dull eyes watched with disgust as Selena passed, but when Selena's eyes met theirs the two women quickly went back to doing their chores as if the awkward eye contact never happened.

"I heard that it's not just her, there is another who now occupies that scary factory to the North of the ceremony site."

It wasn't just the two women that came to catch of glimpse of the new Lord. When Selena and Ianto walked further into the village she had noticed that the men and children had briefly stopped their work and play to watch as they passed by. Selena felt self-conscious at the sudden stares she was getting, she felt like she was on display once more for all those present to judge and laugh at. Though, in this case, instead of laughter it was more like they wanted to throw something at her.

"What'll happen to us?"

"She'll do to us just as the others have…will we…like the others?"

"Our way of life…what should we do? I thought…safe here."

"Suppose it was…to happen. We can only hope…painless."

Selena couldn't hear much, but her ears caught little snippets of words as she passed, and she could sense the fear that was emitting from all the villagers that began to scurry away the moment Selena turned to look in their direction. Selena had wanted to ask Ianto if there was something that the villagers were worried about, but before she could utter a single word, Ianto had come to an abrupt halt causing Selena to bump into the man from behind.

"We're here." Ianto said, unfazed by the accidental collision, as he stepped to the side to show Selena her newly built home.

It wasn't anything special, a simple two-story house that would provide the basics that a house should, but to Selena it was perfect…it was hers. The land around it was bare with just empty fields of dirt surrounding the building which Selena noted that she would ask Ianto about adding some type of color to the barren land around the house. She wanted the house to look as welcoming as it felt to her, and she couldn't wait to show Karl her new home…if she could convince the man to leave that factory of his once in a while.

"It's nothing fancy, but it's very warm and inviting. It's perfect, I can't wait to bring Karl here." Selena smiled up at Ianto taking the stoic man by surprise. "In one of Sister Donna's books, I saw large fields of flowers that seemed to stretch on for eternity, if I can just add some color here…" Selena walked forward, past the gaping man who continued to watch the blonde woman as she began to mutter about having big plans for this cozy house of hers. When Selena suddenly pivoted on her heels, Ianto's eyes widened even more as bright and hopeful eyes bore into his own, that genuine smile still plastered on Selena's face. "Thank you, Ianto."

That one glimmer of pure innocence, watching as the woman was making a big deal out of something so simple made Ianto rethink what he originally thought of the girl.

You see, when Mother Miranda first came to pay an unexpected visit to the village and introduced the young woman, he began to incessantly worry. As the designated head of this tiny region, his first thought was not for himself, but of the villagers that resided here. Concerned for the men and women that he grew up with as well as their spouses and children. Growing up, he wasn't ignorant to the strange ongoings that were taking place in the main village, the maids of the castle…women that he knew and some he grew up with going off to serve the lady of the house and never being seen again as well as the monsters that lurked around their land. He also had an inkling that the missing villagers, adults and children alike, were because of Mother Miranda and those she deemed her 'children'.

They were fortunate enough that the prophet of the Black God left them alone for so long, but to have her finally visit them and inform Ianto that this Sinclair would govern over their land…he knew what that meant. One by one people in their village would go missing and it would be all thanks to this Selena Sinclair.

Just that moment, however, caused Ianto to think that it could be possible that he misjudged the woman. He'd never seen the previous Lords act so kindly to their subjects, but that didn't mean that he was going to completely accept this woman. It could be a trap to lure him into a false sense of security, and then he would be the first to go for trusting so easily. He'd only start trusting her when the number of villagers in this domain remains the same. Though, if this woman was indeed different from her other siblings as well as Mother Miranda, then he should at least give some type of warm welcome, at least something to ease her mind.

"Don't mind the others, Miss Sinclair. Just as those in the main village, change isn't something we're used to and we've been told to be wary of strangers." Ianto said as Selena's brows furrowed in confusion. "Give them time, I'm sure you'll receive a more..welcoming reaction compared to what you experienced today." Ianto nodded his head. "Forgive me for my rudeness, but I must be off. I have some chores to take care of before the day ends. Should you need some help you can find me in the stables."

Selena waited, watching as Ianto left toward the direction of the big barn that was located on the far side of the village, and when she knew no one was watching she eagerly jumped into action and ran to her house.

Just as her hand reached out for the handle of her front door a loud voice welcomed her: "Welcome!"

Selena let out a loud yelp in surprise, startled, as to her left a large hand was waving, beckoning for her to come closer. Out of curiosity, Selena had followed the hand to what seemed like another part of her house, and when she made it to the extended room of her house she was met by a large, smiling man who waved before giving his best attempt at a curt bow.

"I've been waiting for you, Lady Sinclair." The man smiled. "I've heard a lot about you from Mother Miranda."

"Please, I'm far from being called a 'Lady'." Selena was indeed uncomfortable being called such a title since it was just today that she was given the area to look after.

"Then…Miss Sinclair." The man concluded with a smile.

Selena nodded her head as she peered into the man's little alcove to see a bunch of strange yet enticing items that she's never seen before. "Who are you?"

"Ah! Forgive my manners, call me the Duke." The Duke smiled. "And this is Duke's emporium! Whatever the need, no matter how big or small, I alone supply." The Duke lowered his voice. "So! Would you care to make a purchase?"

"Purchase?" Selena had heard that word before. Alcina had taught her that in this world there is an exchange in lei when you want something in return, lei being this village's currency. The issue was…she didn't have any or hadn't an inkling on how to get any. "I'm sorry, I don't have—"

"Coins? That's not a problem, consider this an investment. I know you will someday return the favor should the time come." The Duke welcomed. "Just looking at you, I can already tell that this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership."

Selena wasn't sure what the Duke was implying, how could he know what the future would hold when it didn't even happen yet? Or even if she would return the favor one day? Selena was skeptical about doing such a suspicious transaction with the man, but for some reason, the Duke seemed…trustworthy enough to request this one little favor from him.

"I wonder if it's possible…" Selena began to mumble to herself, jumping once more when the Duke surprisingly had very good hearing.

"If it is something you desire, Miss Sinclair, no matter how impossible or strange it may sound, I assure you I can provide it to you." The Duke assured.

Selena debated with herself before walking closer to his shop, the man lowered himself to hear what she had to ask. "I was reading this book about gardening in Sister Donna's house, she had this book that showed a wide variety of flowers ranging in all different colors and sizes."

"Are you asking me to find a book holding similar information that you can read?" The Duke asked causing Selena to shake her head from side to side.

"No, I want to be able to grow them." Selena smiled as she motioned toward the empty field around her house. "Sister Donna only has these strange yellow flowers planted in the graveyard, but I want to plant a variety of all different kinds." Selena proclaimed before looking up to the Duke pleadingly. "Do you think you can help me with that?"

The Duke let out a bellowing laugh that caught Selena off guard, his belly jiggling the more he laughed, and it took him quite a while to finally settle down. "A simple request my dear, one that I can easily supply and I will even throw in a book on how to properly care for your very own garden." Content, Selena was about to leave before the Duke quickly reached out to stop her. "In return, as payment, I would like to make a request from you."

Selena hesitated before replying. "If it's something I can do, then okay."

"When you grow your first patch of flowers, pick your favorites and supply them to me." The Duke nodded his head. "I'd like to see the fruits of your labors. Gardening is quite difficult, but once you get the hang of it the results are quite beautiful."

It was a simple demand for a simple request. Selena made a show of carefully thinking over his offer before extending her hand out toward the Duke. "You've got yourself a deal, Duke."

"Then we have an accord." The Duke smiled and extended his own, large chubby hands encompassing Selena's own, sealing their agreement. "I shall go in search of your supplies and will deliver them to you tomorrow."

"That's…rather quick." Selena's eyes widened in shock.

"But of course, it's part of my first-class customer service." The Duke smiled before nodding back to the front door of the house. "Now, weren't you in the middle of something before I so rudely interrupted?"

It took Selena a second to remember what exactly she was doing in the first place, but when it all came back to her, with the same amount of enthusiasm she bid the Duke a good day before running off into the house to do some exploring.

It was the start of an unlikely friendship. What started as a business proposal and relationship developed into a close familial type bond. He took care of me and my villagers, as well as our needs, and kept us updated on the ongoings of the outside world. The Duke never changed in appearance, which caused me to suspect that he was similar to my siblings and myself, but if my memory serves me right I don't recall Mother Miranda ever mentioning that there were other successful experiments outside of our little circle. The Duke was a mystery, but I never asked questions about his past as he never delved into mine or lack thereof. I was just happy that he's been around for so long, surprisingly he was there for me at my lowest without asking for anything in return.

I did, however, speculate that at one point his family reigned over the region just as the other four families did when I by chance caught a glimpse of his family crest inside his workshop. I didn't have the heart to ask what happened, but knowing what I know now? It's highly plausible that Mother Miranda was responsible for the demise of his family. A remnant of a family long gone, just like the rest of us were.

And it was thanks to this give and receive relationship that I was able to get the seeds for the plants that, in Duke's words, were the easiest to take care of and were indigenous to the area.

Sadly, as easy as the Duke made it sound, it wasn't easy for me at the beginning of my journey to becoming the gardener I am today. For starters, I killed my first flower bed and the second time? The flowers were in their first stages of sprouting, and then I overwatered them. Too much sun, too little water, the wrong place to plant them, the soil wasn't good enough, these were all the things I had to consider before I could get my first success.

When I finally grew my first successful flower bed, I followed the book and picked the flowers carefully, bundling them up to make them presentable before handing the messy bouquet over to the Duke. In return, he had given me many more seeds to try and plant as well as more books to read with the promise that I would liven up the house more.

I secretly think that he pressed my first flowers to preserve them as I've seen some type of bouquet now hanging above his workspace. Which would be such a sweet thing for the gentle giant to do in my opinion.

That was how I spent most of my days during the first few weeks living in the house, by trial and error I was slowly mastering at least planting the flowers that the Duke had given me. There were a few times that I did try to help out around the village, offering to help with the chores toward any villagers that I came across, but they insisted that they didn't need my help. They would tell me that someone of my stature shouldn't need to get my hands dirty. I took the hint after my few attempts to pick up a shovel or to help take care of the barn animals: they feared me and didn't want me around.

I figured, the best call to make at that time that would benefit both sides was to stick to my own home. If I stayed out of their way and out of sight they would feel comfortable enough to leave their homes once they saw that I wasn't around.

It wasn't an instant welcome, believe it or not, my villagers didn't look to me for protection like they do now. I wasn't as revered by Ianto as I am today. It was a rough start that would soon take a one-eighty after a call from Mother Miranda.

*Ring Ring* *Ring Ring*

"How did this thing work again…" Selena mumbled as she walked toward her living room where the telephone was located.

*Ring Ring* *Ring Ring*

Selena reached out for the handset on her newly gifted black and gold antique rotary telephone, taking it off the hook switch to answer the person on the other line while being cautious about the curled cord connecting the handset and the machine. "Hello?"

"Sinclair." Mother Miranda's voice came through clear as day. It fascinated Selena how such a contraption could work and allow Mother Miranda's voice to travel so far and to hear her so clearly even when she wasn't physically in the same room as Selena. "I trust you've settled nicely into your new home?"

"Mother Miranda," Selena greeted as she gingerly held the receiver close to her ear. "yes, the villagers are so welcoming. I love it here."

"That's good to hear, Sinclair." Mother Miranda hummed. "I apologize for calling you at such an hour."

"It's alright, Mother Miranda, I was just reading one of my books." Selena informed.

"Good, since you're awake there is something I must discuss with you." Mother Miranda said. "Tomorrow, I will deliver a jar that holds a parasite you're quite familiar with."

"The Cadou?" Selena asked.

"Indeed, along with the parasite, I shall hand over a copy of my notes on what the parasite is capable of. I've given you enough time to settle, now it is time for you to fulfill the duties expected of you." Mother Miranda said. "I've already given Heisenberg his own parasite to experiment with, expect me tomorrow around noon."

"Mother Miranda, if I may ask." Selena cut in before Mother Miranda could hang up. "What exactly are the duties you expect me to do?"

"I'm sure you haven't forgotten my laboratory, Sinclair." Mother Miranda sounded slightly disappointed with Selena's question. "I expect you to help me broaden my knowledge, to expand on my research with your own work. That entails conducting similar experimentations that I have done with your own subjects."

"And my own subjects being…" At first, it started almost as a question, but partway through Selena's sentence, she had realized where Mother Miranda expected her to get her test subjects. "…the people in my village."

"Exactly. The people in this village, Sinclair, are nothing more than guinea pigs prepped and ready to be chosen. They should consider it an honor to be chosen by you, an honor to contribute toward something greater than themselves." Mother Miranda pointed out. "I trust that this won't be an issue with you, Sinclair."

At the tone of Mother Miranda's voice, Selena knew Mother Miranda was expecting the answer that she wanted to hear, not how Selena felt or what she thought of her duties. "No issue at all Mother Miranda." Sinclair mumbled, hoping that it was convincing enough so that Mother Miranda would consider her response adequate.

"Tomorrow, when I stop by, I will explain in more detail what it is you must do. Good night Sinclair." With that, Mother Miranda's line went silent.

Selena reached out to place the handset on the hook switch before standing in front of the phone for a solid minute without breathing. Her hand lowered and rested at her side as she continued to stare in shock at nothing in particular.

As guarded as the villagers were toward Selena, she wasn't sure if she could do to them as Mother Miranda had done to her. Selena had wanted to tell Mother Miranda that she wasn't capable of doing such a thing, profusely refused to do it, but when Mother Miranda had asked if that was going to be an issue it sounded like Mother Miranda wouldn't settle for a response other than 'yes, Mother Miranda'. Selena even felt like Mother Miranda wasn't going to even give her a chance to deny her request or hear her out, and that thought made Selena shiver. What would Mother Miranda do to Selena if she were to disappoint the woman who nominated herself as her mother? What would happen if she couldn't do what Mother Miranda expected of her?

While Selena was inwardly struggling with a solution to her problem, in her peripheral vision, from her window she saw a ball of orange appear. A stark contrast against the blanket of black that settled around the village. Selena had thought it strange that someone would be out at this time of the night but then assumed that the light was coming from a villager on patrol who had lit their torch to guide their way.

That is…until the ball began to grow in size at an alarming rate.

"Wait…" Selena stood up from her chair, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she went over to grab her lantern before running out of her house toward the direction of the ball of fire. "that's the direction of the barn!"

By the time Selena made it to the barn, there were already many of the village men gathered around attempting to control the barn fire.

"Is everyone alright?" Selena called out in concern, her breathing coming out in short huffs due to the distance she had run to get there. As she took a glance around she saw that the women who were startled awake by the sound of the men were also gathering due to being concerned for the men and the livestock that could still be inside the barn.

"Miss Sinclair, please stand back." One of the villagers advised, but not daring to reach out to stop Selena from stepping any closer.

"Please, tell me what happened." Selena was honestly worried, this was her home no matter how unwelcoming the villagers seemed. Selena felt that this region, as well as the villagers residing in it, was her responsibility as well.

"…it's possible that a lit lantern might have fallen on one of the straw bales." Responded a woman who was carrying over a bucket of water, passing it on to one of the men who was closest to them.

"Was anyone hurt?" Selena asked.

"As far as we know," Another man came up to stand behind Selena, wiping the sweat off the brow of his forehead that had accumulated due to the strenuous work as well as the heat from the fire, and shook his head. "all the livestock are accounted for, but…"

"But what?" Selena asked and when the man didn't answer she reached out to grab the sleeve of his shirt. "Please, if someone is hurt, maybe I can help."

The man hesitated, apprehensive about answering the young woman who, from the moment she entered their territory, was the talk of the whole village. The woman who a lot of them shared the same opinion that she would bring about their demise. But Selena was insistent and he couldn't help but want to answer the woman.

The man averted his eyes, turning his attention to where the barn was. The fire had died down just a bit due to the combined effort of the villagers, but there was no sign of it going out just yet. "Ianto had been going in and out of the burning barn to save our animals, he had gone in one last time and hasn't come back out."

Selena looked toward the barn, Ianto, he was the man that was considered the 'head' of this village. The man who didn't mind talking to her, even if it was just out of obligation when he dropped her off at her house or answered her silly questions the past few weeks.

Without giving it a second thought, Selena took off in the direction of the barn's entrance. There was no plan, her feet just moved when she thought of the possibility that someone was injured and still inside the building.

"Miss Sinclair, it's not safe!" Selena heard different variations of that sentence when she passed by some of the village men, but it wasn't going to deter her from running inside to look for the man who everyone depended on. Just as Selena was about to enter the barn, a horse had darted past her, braying in fright as it ran. The horse would've trampled over her if she didn't see it in time to dodge out of the way, but that only urged her to continue forward.

Though the fire had died down, it was still dangerous to be inside, Selena realized as some of the beams in the barn that were affected by the fire had creaked and groaned under the weight of the roof.

"Ianto!" Selena called out, coughing when she had inhaled the smoke from the fire as she made her way further into the barn. Selena bought her hand up and held the sleeve of her nightgown up to her nose in a feeble attempt to keep from inhaling any more smoke as she called out for the missing man. "Ianto! It's me, Selena! Please say something to let me know that you're in here!"

Selena strained her ears, listening closely to see if she could hear something aside from the crackling of the fire going on around her, and it was when she ventured further in did she faintly hear a painful groan. "…Miss Sinclair?"

Selena located where Ianto's voice had come from, and when she went over to where she heard his voice she saw the man slumped against the side of the wall inside one of the stalls.

"Ianto!" Selena rushed over to his side, and when she was close to the man, Ianto let out a groan as he used his arms to push himself further into a sitting position. When Selena knelt beside Ianto he reached out to grab both of Selena's shoulders, his eyes for the first time showing a sense of desperation at seeing the woman suddenly appear before him.

"What are you doing!" Ianto scolded. "It's dangerous here! If something were to happen to you, Miss Sinclair, Mother Miranda would hold the whole village responsible! They would all be punished!"

"One of the men outside said you hadn't returned!" Selena coughed. "I came to get you out!"

"What can you do, Miss Sinclair?" Ianto growled. "My body is battered, my leg crushed, you can't support my weight long enough for the both of us to get out of here alive."

Selena was about to reach out to prove the man wrong, but just as he was built like an ox he was just as stubborn as one. Selena looked over to assess his body and began to panic. There was blood soaking into the scattered hay beneath him, one of his legs lay limp, and when she looked back up at the man she saw that the front of his shirt was ripped with blood dripping from the wound on his chest. "What happened?"

"One of the support beams fell as I was helping one of the horses escape…" Ianto responded, not answering how he got the wound on his chest, before letting out a defeated sigh as his voice began to tremble. "You shouldn't have come in here, Miss Sinclair…you should've taken into consideration what would happen to the villagers if something were to happen to you. You should protect the village from Mother Miranda."

"Aren't you part of this village?" Selena asked with a glare. "Don't you fall into the category of people I should protect?" Selena let out a meek shriek when a small part of the room fell and hit the ground. This caused Selena to huddle closer to Ianto while being cautious of the wound on his chest. "What happened, Ianto…where did this wound come from?" When Ianto didn't respond she began to worry. "They said one of the lanterns was what ignited the fire…"

Ianto shook his head. "I came to investigate the sudden noise that was coming from inside the barn that startled the animals." Selena felt Ianto's body go rigid. "It was one of those so-called lycans that's been terrorizing the villagers for months. It got to one of the livestock, but I don't think I killed it." Ianto groaned before pushing against Selena. "There's still time Miss Sinclair, please leave me here and go back to the others."

'Lycans?' Selena was confused, she'd never heard of such a thing, what the hell was a lycan! "Don't be absurd, we can make it out of here. You just gotta lean on me."

Selena got her stubbornness by learning from Karl, she was going to get this man out of here alive. She saddled up to the side of Ianto's injured leg, careful not to agitate it as she slung his arm over her shoulder, using her legs to push the both of them up with Ianto leaning his weight into her. The two of them were only able to take a few steps toward the exit before they heard a low growl coming from one of the stalls. A growl that was familiar to Selena and struck fear into Ianto's heart.

"Fucker just won't die…" Ianto growled as from one of the stalls a body of a creature had emerged. Its back was hunched over and its body moved sluggishly as its head turned in their direction. The creature's hair was a mangled mess and its distorted jaw was dripping with blood from recently devouring deceased livestock, from attacking Ianto, or a combination of both.

"You call them lycans…?" Selena mumbled as the two took hesitant steps backward to put some distance between them and the monster.

Selena hadn't dealt with these creatures before without the protection of the cell bars, and that thought scared her. Selena was scared of what it would do to her and what it would do to Ianto and the village with how aggressive she knew them to be.

The creature, lycans as Ianto called them, let out a jarring howl, the sound piercing Ianto and Selena's eardrums causing Selena to slightly sway off balance at the sudden shriek before the creature lunged at them. In an attempt to protect Selena, Ianto had pushed her out of the way just as the lycan took a swipe with its razor-sharp claws. The attack caused Ianto's body to be sent flying as Selena saw his body collide with one of the support beams. Selena clamped her hands over her mouth and let out a muffled scream at the sudden attack. The thought that part of the roof was about to cave in on top of Ianto caused Selena to involuntarily hold her breath. It was only when Selena saw that Ianto was safe from being crushed did she let out a momentary sigh of relief.

The lycan snapped its head to look at Selena, milky white eyes zeroing in on the woman, tilted its head to the side before turning back when Ianto let out a weak groan. Selena was confused at the action, why was it ignoring her when before it would try to attack both her and Karl relentlessly? Could it be that the parasite in the creature's body now recognized the parasite that was in her body?

The monster was slowly inching its way closer and closer to Ianto, it was foaming at the mouth as globs of drool dripped every time the creature would move. When the creature made to lunge, its mouth open, teeth bared and exposed, Selena was yelling at her body to move. There was no time for hesitation, no time to allow her fear to overwhelm her, as on shaky legs Selena had pushed herself to her feet. She ran as fast as she could to get to Ianto in time, skidding to a stop just in front of the man as she turned to face the monster head-on.

"Selena!" Ianto's weak voice called out in alarm when he saw the woman standing just between him and the lycan that was about to end his life.

Instead of gnawing on Ianto's neck, delivering a fatal wound, the lycan's jaw had snapped shut onto Selena's arm when she had bought both of them up crisscrossed in front of her face to form some type of protection.

"I didn't know…" Selena muttered to herself, tears prickling the corners of her eyes as she stared into the eyes of the monster that was latched onto her arm, red liquid dripping from the wound as it thrashed against her arm, teeth ripping at her flesh as she reached out with her free hand to grab a clump of the creature's hair to prevent it from doing any more damage. "I'm sorry…I thought she would've at least done the humane thing…"

Selena was overcome by a ton of emotions, all those villagers turned into monsters that she saw back in Mother Miranda's lab, she never gave it a second thought about what happened to them after being experimented on. She had blindly assumed that once they were considered a failure by Mother Miranda's standard she would be rid of them, putting an end to their suffering. Selena also realized that this creature, who had simply returned to its predatory state of blindly succumbing to its basic instincts to hunt and kill…was once someone like Ianto. They were once people who had lives, a family, like the people she saw in this little village…and Mother Miranda expected her to do to them what was done to her? To create more creatures like this? To risk losing countless lives because of their body rejecting the parasite?

With such conflicting emotions, of wanting to be a good daughter but not wanting to sacrifice the innocent, Selena's body began to shimmer. The temperature of her body was rising as from the point of connection between the creature and her arm a bright light began to glow. It was the same sensation that happened between Selena and Karl when they were children. The light from Selena's body branched out and consumed the lycan, and in a blink of an eye, the creature had disintegrated leaving nothing but bright particles that hovered in the space where the lycan once was. The particles hovered for just a second before being instantly absorbed into Selena's radiating body.

"Poor, lost soul…" Selena mumbled as she looked down at her injured arm that had a large chunk missing and slowly saw the tissues beginning to repair themselves at an exponential rate. It was the same thing that happened back in Mother Miranda's lab, Selena concluded, but instead of healing someone else, it was now healing her own body. Selena shook her head as she felt a heavy weight settle over her heart. "Your essence will not go to waste. You will be born anew, and put to better use to save others instead of having such a meaningless existence." Selena closed her eyes. "May you find peace in your next life…"

Selena immediately turned back around to where Ianto lay, expecting to answer any questions he may have for her if she could only to find that the man's eyes had closed. Horrified, Selena raced over to his side, watching the man carefully to see if there was any sign of life, and was relieved to see the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Selena looked around, seeing no chance to escape now with how gravely injured Ianto was, she turned down to look at her hands in curiosity. Could she help Ianto just as she did when she healed Karl and herself? Selena wasn't even sure how she accomplished such a feat or what triggered it to the surface, but a small part of her had a theory. Problem is, how would she go about testing such a theory without subjecting these innocent people to such potential life-threatening situations?

"—clair! Miss Sinclair!" Sudden shouting snapped Selena out of her musing causing her to look around for where the voice had come from. "Ianto! Can anyone hear us!"

"Say something to let us know where you are!"

"Over here!" Selena yelled in hopes to bring the attention of whoever was calling for them.

After hearing Selena's call for help, several men from the village with rags covering the bottom half of their faces came over to their side, one of them immediately placing a spare rag over Selena's nose and mouth.

"Miss Sinclair, keep this over your mouth." One of the men advised as he gingerly helped Selena to her feet. "You've already inhaled a copious amount of smoke, but we can try and prevent you from inhaling anymore."

"Please be careful." Selena's muffled voice called as she watched one of the men kneel to the ground as the remaining two lifted Ianto's body onto his back. "A monster…a lycan was the cause for his injuries as well as the barn fire."

"Is it still here?" The man assisting Selena asked in alarm to which Selena shook her head.

"No…Ianto killed it, but he didn't come out of it unscathed." Selena said before her body convulsed in a fit of coughs.

"Let's get out of here before the roof caves in!" One of the men impatiently yelled.

"Lead the way!" The man beside Selena called back as he held his arm in front of Selena's face protecting her from floating particles of ember that were kicked up from falling pieces of wood that collapsed into the fire.

The group quickly, but carefully, started escorting both Selena and the battered body of Ianto out of the burning building with Selena and the man sticking close from behind.

None had looked back, but if they had they would've seen that with each step Selena took, in her footprints she left behind little sprouts of flora that sprouted from the ground. All evidence of such a phenomena would later be consumed by the fire leaving no trace that such power ever existed.

That was the day my power had first manifested itself without me having to wonder if it was a fluke or not. Now, seeing it happen with my own eyes, was proof enough and I couldn't deny the existence of my gift. I now faced the problem of how I was able to activate it.

After the barn incident, the villagers seemed more welcoming of my existence. They still made it a point to avoid me, but at least whenever they held eye contact with me they would smile and then scurry away. It wasn't much, but it was progress.

What was more concerning was that Ianto wasn't waking up. The local physician, with the villagers begging for me not to call for Moreau, was able to put his leg in a splint and patch up the near-fatal wound on his chest, but any internal damage that was done after being forcefully thrown back by the lycan was unfixable. Only time would tell if Ianto would get better and the whole village was wracked with worry over the recovery of the 'head' of their village. And quite frankly, so was I.

I was worried senseless because if one person's wellbeing could garner such a reaction, well…that type of reaction could only come about for a man they deeply respected and looked to for guidance. Ianto was truly remarkable, and the villagers didn't want to lose the one person who protected them and had put others before himself.

That night, I told the villagers to allow Ianto to rest in one of the beds in my home, it was the safest place to be in my opinion and surprisingly they all agreed, it was a unanimous decision that didn't need endless contemplation. I stayed up the whole night by Ianto's bedside, hoping that Ianto would wake as well as thinking if my gift could do something to speed up the process.

Surprisingly, our solution, Ianto's salvation, came in the form of the very parasite that was bringing misfortune to the village. Without Mother Miranda realizing, she had delivered to me a way that I could protect my village and test out my gift. I would soon turn this dark omen, this terror that's been haunting this whole region, into the villagers salvation for years to come.

Ta-da! We now get a better glimpse at Selena's "gift" =D still more flashbacks, but for now that is how it's going to be so we can get to know all the backstories of the characters (which would be nice to see if they ever release a DLC for the game lol even if it'll end up going against my story xD)

Question! Do you think I should rewrite the summary of my RE8 story? I'm starting to think I didn't write a good enough summary that embraces the story...does that make sense? What do you think?

Thank you for all the views, follow and favorite! If you are enjoying my story and looking forward to more chapters, leave a little review, favorite and follow to let me know =D though it's not mandatory it's greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone for reading! Sending lots of positive vibes and big hugs your way! See you in the next chapter!
-SO