Author's Note: What's this? Another update? So soon? I got too excited haha I want to say I'm no expert in superpowers/ability/scientific terms for certain abilities, I get all my information from my best friend google as I look through all the links that can help me better understand the terms I'm using as well as corroborate the terms I do want to use to make sure it's accurate to what I'm trying to describe. (We're almost to 500 views! That is insane! Thank you so much for giving my story a chance! I appreciate all the love and support you've given my story, no words can truly describe how happy I am!)
Thank you Auburn4000 TwT I always worry about the summary's to my stories but with your reassurance I shall keep it as it! *w* You're so sweet! I'm happy I've kept your interest with my story ToT (For those who haven't, again I urge everyone to check out her page and read her Heisenberg story too!)
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!
"It is unfortunate what you had to go through." Mother Miranda said as she graciously accepted the refreshments that Selena offered, having learned from Alcina and Donna that whenever Mother Miranda decides to visit she should always be respectful and offer their Mother something to drink. Selena had just told Mother Miranda what happened the night before with the barn fire as well as the sudden attack from the lone 'lycan'. "It's a relief to know that you weren't harmed after such a nightmare."
"I must ask Mother Miranda." Selena said as she went to sit across from the woman, the jar holding the cadou placed just between the two women in the center of the modest kitchen table. "Those creatures, lycans as the villagers called them, I thought they were disposed of. Why allow such a pitiful creature to continue to exist when you had considered them failures? What are they still doing here?"
Mother Miranda seemed to be debating her next words carefully as she took a sip from the floral porcelain cup. "When concerning subjects that rejected the cadou, their transformation resulted in multiple creations, those lycans being the most common result out of the many tests that I as well as your siblings have done. They serve as a reminder of how far I've come in my research." Mother Miranda's facial expression remained unchanging as she continued to speak as if those creatures weren't a threat. "To protect the remaining townsfolk, to keep them alive for my research I had cast the failures out of the village. It is peculiar that only one had attacked when they tended to hunt in packs, hence why the name lycan was given to them, with characteristics being that of a wolf…wolves tend to hunt together."
"Why would they attack my village?" Selena curiously asked.
"They prey on mostly livestock, but there have been instances where I've heard of villagers being attacked. The reason that thing attacked your village is quite possibly due to having made a den in the ruins of a stronghold not far from here." Mother Miranda had produced a world map of the large region they occupied, placing it onto the table between the two as she pointed to a specific location on the top right-hand corner of the map. "The Old Mill South West of here, just between yours and Dimitrescu's castle."
"That's so close to here…" Selena pointed out with concern. "you expect me to use the people here to further your experimental notes, yet what would happen if more of those things were to attack our defenseless village?"
"I hadn't taken that into account, but I have faith that you will think of something Sinclair. I know how incredibly smart you are, a solution will come to you." Mother Miranda plainly stated. "I do not believe you or this village, however, is in danger. Those failures tend to target mostly livestock, and dear Ianto was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Mother Miranda shook her head. "What happened to the man is regrettable, but you should think of it as a blessing."
"A blessing?" Selena asked, trying her best to hold back the bite in her words at hearing such a ridiculous statement from the woman across from her.
"But of course, Ianto is already destined to perish." Mother Miranda revealed. "You see Sinclair, there have been rare occurrences where those that were attacked by those failures injected with the parasite become infected as well, turning into a monster themselves. It is still unknown to me why such a thing spreads, but I have seen it with my own eyes where the host attacked a villager, and the injured villager transformed without being implanted with a parasite of their own. I suspect that it's as simple as the unfortunate villager having zero affinity for the mold resulting in them turning into monsters themselves."
"So…are you saying that there may be no hope that Ianto will recover? And even if there was a chance, he could turn into one of those…things." Selena concluded as Mother Miranda nodded.
"Best to put it out of its misery and protect the rest of your test subjects then allow Ianto to suffer throughout the night. It's what I have done, and what you must do for the greater good." Mother Miranda concluded. "I'm expecting results Sinclair, do not allow mortal sentiment to get in the way of progress."
Mother Miranda gracefully got up from her seat and excused herself to return to wherever she went during the day when she wasn't visiting the others, leaving Selena alone to think about all that she learned today. If it is true that Ianto could turn, was there anything that she could do to prevent it?
Selena looked at the jar that was placed in the center of the table, watching as the parasite inside pulsed and twitched like a baby fetus before a thought crossed her mind.
Selena had gone over to the windowsill in the kitchen where she kept one of her bundles of flowers in a vase that was already in the process of wilting due to having lived past its expected date. Selena then opened one of the cabinet drawers, rummaging through some of the kitchen appliances that she kept inside before producing a paring knife.
The gleam of the sun caught the steel of the blade, the sharpness noticeable when Selena had plucked a stray piece of her blonde hair, allowing it to hang as she bought it down on the blade, watching as the hair had split instantaneously. It was perfect for what she was intending to do to test her theory as she brought the sharp edge to the pointer finger on her left hand. In one swift motion, Selena had cut a diagonal line across her finger, flinching at the sudden pain, and watched as blood began to bead and drip from the small wound. Selena then turned toward the vase of wilted flowers and with the hand that still held the paring knife she reached out to touch a few of the crinkling flower petals.
The wound on her hand wasn't severe, there wasn't any hurry to take care of the cut, so Selena took her time and concentrated on the pain as well as the flowers. It wasn't an instant reaction, it took quite a bit of time as she felt the drip of her blood seep into the palm of her hand, and that spurred her to concentrate just a bit harder to will her wound to mend itself.
There! Selena felt a slight warm sensation run up her arm that was connected to the flower, the feeling of something being sucked out of the wilted flowers, traveling throughout her body and fixating on the shallow cut on her finger. The flowers in the vase had shriveled up, brown and crisp as a chip, and when she looked at her other hand she saw that the small wound had closed up. The only sign that there was ever a wound was the blood on her hand.
'Interesting…' Selena thought as she went over to run her hand under the faucet water from her kitchen sink. '…I should talk to Karl…'
There were a few things I learned that day, thinking about it now I will never understand why that wasn't the tipping point for me to doubt the woman who we called our 'Mother'. To doubt that what we were doing, what we've been told to do, was the right choice.
Mother Miranda held her research above all else, she cherished the parasite. At that time we never knew about Eva, we never knew why Mother Miranda was so dead set on experimenting on the mold as well as the cadou, to see how far she can go with this parasite. Human life meant nothing to her, any life meant nothing to her, I don't even think we meant anything to her. She kept us around for convenience as well as using us to keep order in a region she ruled over, tried to brainwash us to feel indebted to her, and manipulated our emotions to obtain our unconditional loyalty.
Mother Miranda lacked compassion, part of me already knew that after seeing so many villagers come and go in the laboratory. After all that she put Karl and me through, when she spoke of my village…it solidified that the mortals in the village didn't matter. I thought at the time that she only cared about us, but now I knew that wasn't the case. The moment she spoke that way about Ianto I remember needing to bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying anything I'd regret. She spoke of Ianto as if he was a wounded animal that needed to be put down.
The woman wasn't even concerned that those monsters were close to my village! All she simply said was that I was a smart girl and would come up with a solution. I was enraged at how insensitive she was at the time…yet all I could do at that moment was silently agree so that she could leave me alone to stew in my thoughts.
After cutting my finger, I quickly left to go and find Karl at his factory. I wanted to tell him what I discovered as well as ask for some advice on what I could do to protect my region. Maybe by talking to Karl I could kill two birds with one stone, that if hypothetically my newly discovered gift could help Ianto as well as construct some type of fortress to protect my village.
"That's quite an interesting development." Karl said as the two of them sat in front of his workshop desk, the two facing each other on rolling chairs as Karl held Selena's hands in his own. "I wonder…could that have been what happened in Mother Miranda's laboratory." Karl's blue-gray eyes, which seemed bluer today than they did the other, turned to look back into Selena's eyes. "And you said that you killed one of those monsters last night with your ability?"
Selena nodded her head. "The creature exploded in a burst of bright light leaving nothing behind but floating particles that my body had absorbed. I watched as the chunk in my arm began to heal itself…it was kind of gross."
"Intriguing. Was there any pain when your arm was healing itself?" Karl asked and when Selena shook her head he pulled her body closer to him, the rolling chair she was seated on moved closer with ease as he began to inspect her body further. "Are you sure you're fine? Did that thing lay its hand anywhere else?" Karl sneered at the mention of the creature, concerned for Selena's health which caused her to smile and shook her head.
"I feel the best that I've ever felt in a long time." Selena confessed.
"Hm…your gift could have a rejuvenating effect as well, any woes and damages healed instantaneously. Ultimate regeneration but how?" Karl said as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Let's look at what we know: back in Mother Miranda's lab when I was in excruciating pain we saw that one of Mother's failures had been drained after I had begun to feel better. In the barn, your arm was healed after you destroyed a lycan…burst of bright light and absorbed into your body?" Selena nodded her head as Karl continued. "Then you purposely cut your finger…with the help from your dead flowers the wound is now nonexistent." Karl let out a hum. "It could be…maybe…but we'd need to do more tests to see if that's true."
"What is true?" Selena asked as she carefully listened to Karl.
"Hear me out. Hypothetically, with what we know and have seen so far, I'm speculating that your body could be a conductor. Think of it as a give and take ability." Karl held out his hands and instinctively Selena copied his movement. "Imagine that in the space between us there's a living thing. It can be anything: from an animal, a plant, or even a person you dislike."
"I don't dislike anyone, but alright." Selena said as she imagined a vase of fully bloomed fresh flowers.
"I can't do anything with it. My body doesn't gain anything from the living thing. But with you, as the conductor, you can gain something from it." Karl pointed out. "How long will you say that the living thing you imagined can live for?"
"If taken care of properly, fresh flowers can last roughly between a week to twelve days." Selena responded, causing Karl to laugh.
"I'll never understand your fascination with flowers. They're just plants with a limited amount of time to live." Karl chuckled before shaking his head in disbelief, out of all the things Selena could have imagined it would be a plant…yet it was such a fitting thing for Selena to come up with.
"What about your fascination with metal!" Selena puffed her cheeks at seeing Karl laughing at her hobby.
"Touche." Karl said, and when Selena kept pouting Karl reached out and squeezed her cheeks. "Stop pouting and let me get back on track, buttercup." Karl playfully glared before getting back to business while Selena nursed her cheeks. "Now, you said the flowers wilted before your eyes, and the cut on your finger vanished?" Karl looked around before looking at Selena expectantly. "Where do you think the days it still had to live went?"
"It went to repair my wound." Selena mumbled.
"Yes, so now let's try it with the imaginary flower between us, let us say that it can last a week. With your body acting as the conductor, the pathway between. If your body is at its healthiest, the energy has nowhere to go, you can still take the life of the flowers—" Karl looked down at Selena's hands before placing his own into hers. "and transfer it over to me. While before my body wouldn't gain anything from the flower, with your help, now it can."
"So, it's almost like whatever life the living thing can offer, I can shape it to do something else such as healing a small cut on you?" Selena asked as Karl nodded his head. "What exactly would you gain if it's something that lives longer than a flower?"
"Anything my body needs, but it might also depend on what exactly you're taking from." Karl hypothetically deduced. "A dying flower healed your cut, taking from a living creature you've healed your arm and possibly saved my life…the possibility could be endless. By taking a life you could save a life, healing a devastating wound, maybe…"
Selena waited with bated breath on what Karl was about to say next, and when he failed to answer quick enough Selena grew impatient. "Maybe what?"
"…maybe even bring someone back from the brink of death…and more." Karl whispered with wide, concerned eyes, as he turned back to Selena. "Selena, if that is the extent of your power, if that is something you can do with practice? Then it is truly a gift and something that anyone would want to take control of."
"Something else that we should probably keep from Mother Miranda." Selena realized that if she could accomplish such a thing, such a power would be exploited in the hands of Mother Miranda.
"Mother Miranda had come to visit me, and said that I would be making reports on my own experiments." Karl shook his head. "In your reports, you must never reveal to Mother Miranda what it is we found today."
"She's expecting results from me, from us, Karl." Selena let out a frustrated sigh. "What am I supposed to do?"
"…you cover it with half-truths." Karl concluded. "Whatever experiments you think of doing, if your gift is helping the progress, never reveal it no matter what. We'll even make some fake tests to cover it up so it looks like you're getting more failures than successes."
Selena and Karl allowed such information to settle, coming to terms that Selena's gift could be bigger than anything they could have ever expected. Selena reached over to Karl's work desk and grabbed a rusty scalpel.
"Should we give it another test? Maybe with something bigger to take from?" Selena asked before the scalpel was immediately taken away from her, the dull object floating out of Selena's hands and back to Karl's who looked at the woman in disapproval.
"Not with you we're not." Karl argued. "I forbid you from experimenting on yourself to test the extent of your gift and putting yourself in harm's way."
"What do you have in mind then?" Selena asked as Karl leaned back into his chair in thought.
"Your caretaker…you said that he might not have long to live. You can try something with him. We can test your ability out and if it's a success you can write it down as one of your experiments. If we want to successfully test out your gift…to save a man we should get a similar living being." Karl mumbled. "You said the monster's den is in a stronghold South West of the village? I'll go there and retrieve one of them, you just talk to your villagers to let them know you're bringing a pet of yours around."
"You can't go there by yourself!" Selena panicked before Karl held up his hand and brushed her concern away.
"You said the monster disregarded you, so why would it attack me?" Karl said to Selena, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Don't worry about me, Selena. Any problems we have, we'll work through them together…we'll tackle it together." When Selena still didn't say anything Karl sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll take some restraints with me to capture the creature."
Selena smiled at the reassurance, grateful for the safety net that Karl always provided even when they were older now, as she reached out to nudge Karl in the ribs. "When did you get so wise."
"I've always been wise, buttercup." Karl laughed. "Reading helps, maybe you should try it out sometime."
"I read!" Selena argued before Karl lightly flicked her forehead.
"Books on gardening don't count." Karl argued. "Though, while that takes care of one of your problems, what's more concerning now as you pointed out is how close that stronghold is to your home."
"I was actually hoping you could help me fortify, you know, help me do the heavy lifting." Selena bashfully asked. "Maybe come together and formulate what I can do?"
"We can come up with some ideas, the main point is to make sure it's a livable and safe place to rest." Karl nodded his head before his whole body seemed to pop up when he had a sudden thought. "You know what we should do? We should ask the Duke. He has a vast knowledge of potential structures that could work, and he can provide us with the necessary supplies."
"Oh! So you've met him too!" Selena asked in excitement.
"Hard to miss a guy as big as him, especially when he pitched up his shop inside the factory elevator." Karl dramatically sighed. "One day the man just…suddenly appeared and offered to sell me things."
"Strange," Selena tilted her head to the side. "he's also set up his shop inside the extension of my house."
The two let out a simultaneous, quizzical hum as they tried to piece together how such a big man could get from place to place as quickly as he could. "…how do you think he gets around?"
"Should we go and ask him?" Karl asked as he got to his feet and offered his hand to Selena. "I think I heard the man's coughing fit not too long ago."
"Wouldn't that be rude?" Selena asked as she placed her hand in Karl's, the man gently pulling her to her feet.
"Knowing the jolly giant, he'd probably brush off our question and ask what he can do for us." Karl said as the two made their way to the elevator shaft hand in hand.
Karl's a genius, he's always been a genius, and the obnoxious metal man always made it his mission to continuously flaunt it whenever he could. The big show off…but his mind always came in handy, though he'd much rather put his genius mind toward physically creating things and getting his hands dirty than sitting and thinking things through. Karl was a man marching to the beat of his own drum, and he always took the time to make sure I was marching right beside him.
With the combined efforts of the Duke, Karl, and myself, we had come up with multiple ideas on how to fortify my village. Karl wanted to build a metal fortress, obviously, while I wanted something more classy. Something pleasing to the eye but inconspicuous at the same time. The Duke had to settle our little disagreement by offering something we could both benefit from, and from both, he meant something that Karl could contribute to while satisfying my taste: a greenhouse.
The Duke had produced several pamphlets on greenhouses around the world, and it amazed me how big they could get. How much flora could fit inside one of them, how the environment prospered as well as the agriculture inside that I could already picture all the possibilities that we could do with the help of the farmers in my territory.
The Duke would provide us with the materials, and Karl would help with the heavy lifting and schematics. He protested, saying he wasn't going to be my workhorse while I pointed out that I would come around his factory every day to help him clean so he owed me. I won, by the way, but that didn't stop him from incessantly mumbling complaints under his breath as he begrudgingly did what I asked of him.
I was left with the hardest part of this whole operation: talking to the villagers that still seemed wary of me. To convince them that fortifying was the best option as well as show them proof that in order to save Ianto I would need to implant a parasite that could potentially kill an already dying man.
When Selena returned to the village, the first thing she needed to do was request that whoever was considered the closest to Ianto meet at her house as well as those that were supposed to make the decisions in Ianto's place should the man be unable to do so. When asked for a reason, Selena had informed them that she had something important to discuss in regards to the man in her home, and that response got the villagers on edge. Selena had to try her best to convince them that it was a discussion to talk about what could be done to save Ianto's life. Instead of acting on her own, she felt that it would be best to discuss with the people closest to Ianto to come to a decision that everyone agreed to and could be happy about.
That is where Selena found herself, sitting in the living room with several men ranging around Ianto's age as well as a woman who was designated Ianto's keeper until their meeting was done. They all sat on all sides of the square table in the living room, surprisingly the three that were present were the very people that had helped Selena and Ianto out of the burning barn the night before.
Selena had tried her best to provide the necessary refreshments to allow for a more comfortable environment for the men, but it seemed to only make her feel more uncomfortable since none of them had touched their drinks. The men simply took to staring at her with their arms crossed over their chest, resting on the backs of the seats with their legs crossed, or resting firmly in their laps.
"If no one is going to speak first, then allow me." The man across from Selena spoke, the man she recognized who had carried Ianto on his back. "Sinclair,"
"Y-yes!" Selena straightened in her seat from being addressed so suddenly, the seriousness in the man's voice caused her to stutter nervously over the word that came out of her mouth which caused her to inwardly curse in embarrassment.
"Please enlighten us as to why you invited the three of us to your home." The man spoke with an icy edge.
"Yes, of course." Selena took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "There are a couple of things I wish to discuss with you all regarding Ianto as well as the safety of this village."
"The couple things being?" The man asked with a quirk of his brow, already having decided that he wouldn't like anything Selena would say no matter what it was.
"When Mother Miranda had visited…she said that Ianto wouldn't last through the night-" This news caused an uproar among the men in Selena's living room. "What are you saying?" "Are you expecting us to just give up on him?" "That's not what I'm saying at all-" "Can you trust Mother Miranda's words?" "I…" "Ianto's a fighter, you can't just expect us to sit back and allow him to die!"
"Silence!"
One man, another that Selena had recognized as the man who had come to Selena's side to place a cloth over her mouth, yelled, and instantly by his command the whole room went silent.
"But Damien-"
"No but's Alfrid," Damien, as Selena now knew him to be, shook his head, his words being absolute as it instantly shut Alfrid up, the latter not daring to try and challenge Damien. "before being quick to judge, let us allow Miss Sinclair to speak." Damien said before sending an encouraging smile Selena's way. "Please, Miss Sinclair, continue."
"…I would first like to apologize for suddenly calling you three to my house, the information that I found out today couldn't wait." Selena said. "I hope to remain transparent with you all in hopes that you can at least place a small amount of trust in my words." Selena steeled herself as she looked across the room. "The information that was revealed to me today from Mother Miranda was that those lycans that have been terrorizing the village have a potential to infect those that it injures."
"Meaning?" Alfrid urged Selena to continue.
"Ianto may suffer throughout the night, his body could fail him…or he could turn into one of those creatures due to his body rejecting this parasite." Selena brought forth the jar that held the cadou, presenting it to the men that were present.
"…what is that?" The third man, through his stutter, asked.
"It is the parasite we call the cadou, given to me by Mother Miranda. Those lycans are the result of implanting this parasite into the body of the host, and the host rejecting it." Selena then placed a hand on the center of her chest. "I, as well as my siblings, are the result of the host having a high affinity for the parasite while the hosts that reject the parasite result in what you call a lycan or worse…it leads to death."
"…Mother Miranda has this thing in her possession." Alfrid growled as his fist clenched against the leather upholstery of Selena's armchair. "Is that the reason for all those missing people from the village?" Selena bit the bottom of her lip before nodding her head, this silent confirmation caused Alfrid to stand to his feet in anger. "Are we so insignificant that we are nothing but cattle waiting to be slaughtered! That…prophet as she proclaims herself needs to be dealt with immediately!"
"Don't be absurd. Sit down, Alfrid." Damien glared at the man, the two staring each other down before Alfrid finally submitted to Damien. The man averted his eyes to the ground before obliging with Damien's command to sit. "Think before you go galavanting off to challenge someone who many consider a God, who has the power of a God! Do you want to condemn us all?" "You can't tell me that you are willing to accept such a fate, Damien!" "I do not accept this, but I'm sure Miss Sinclair wouldn't have gathered us here to tell us this information without having a solution to our problem."
Damien was the voice of reason it would seem as the tension in the room instantly died down, no one wanted to put everyone in this village in danger, or be the cause of the total annihilation of the place that they all called home.
"I apologize for his behavior, Miss, Alfrid was always one to act first before thinking…ever since we were children." Damien apologized. "Continue Miss Sinclair."
"Thank you…" Selena sent a regretful smile toward Damien, feeling bad for putting such pressure on the man to keep everything in order. "I have also found that their den is located close to our village."
"How close?" Damien inquired.
"South West of here. Close to the Old Mill." Selena responded.
"How many?" The third man that was included in this discussion spoke up.
"From what I've seen back when I, myself, was a subject? It's hard to say…there were too many coming and going to count." Selena responded with complete honesty. "I truly thought that once Mother Miranda was finished with them that they would be destroyed, but that was not the case."
"…you were a test subject yourself." Damien empathized, being the closest to Selena, he had reached out to gently pat her hands that were securely resting in her lap before returning to his previous seated position. "So, what shall we do about the issues presented to us?"
"You three are here, chosen by the villagers residing in this region because you three are the best option to speak in Ianto's absence…to make the decision when he can't." Selena spoke. "In regards to the safety of the village, I have spoken to the Duke who is willing to offer us supplies to help fortify the village. I have also spoken to a dear friend of mine, another who suffered just as I have, who is willing to help us with the manual labor and to speed up the process."
"What do you have in mind?" The third man questioned.
"Because we are simple farming folks, the Duke had proposed that we build a large greenhouse." Selena produced a roughly drawn-out plan of what she imagined the place to look like. "It'll be a large dome-like structure, one way in and out. Large trees will be planted on the edges of the dome, so thick that it would create the illusion that no village existed, the trees will conceal us."
"And this circle around the village?" The third man asked.
"A moat, our water source to continue keeping the flora and fauna thriving. A single wide bridge connecting the village to the opposite plot of land on the same path as the entrance of the dome." Selena responded. "With this, we can hope to control how many visitors come across. Potential threats can be dealt with as they come instead of being ambushed from all sides."
"This is quite an elaborate plan," The third man said before smiling at Selena. "one that I am quite excited to work on."
"Miss Sinclair, Marco is a man who knows the land." Damien introduced Marco who sent a lopsided smile in Selena's direction. "He handles the agriculture for our village along with Ianto."
"Glass?" Alfrid growled. "You expect us to trust glass to keep those monsters out?"
"We've already worked out that we would use tempered glass. The strongest we could think of using that would accomplish what needs to be done, to satisfy our needs." Selena responded, having an answer already prepared after having predicted that a question like this would pop up if any opposed her idea. "With the combined help of us all, we can make this place the safest place to be in this region. We can protect the people here, they can finally sleep peacefully in their beds at night without wondering if tomorrow their source of food would be killed…or if they would be killed taking a walk in the middle of the night."
"Sinclair." Alfrid spoke up to bring Selena's attention back to him, back to the man who remained silent as his companions did most of the talking. "You've been in our village for less than a month? Maybe a little more? What is it to you if we're safe or not? Is it because of your obligation to Mother Miranda to keep us alive only to kill us off in the end?"
Selena knew that that wasn't the reason why she was worried for the people here, but he did make a point. What was driving her to take such drastic measures to make sure that this was the safest place in the region?
"Because this village was my first taste of freedom." Selena answered. "I didn't wake up to pitch blackness with the stench of blood violating my senses. I didn't wake up wondering why my body hurt, or if today's experiments would be more painful than yesterday. There weren't the painful howls coming from the cell beside me because the recent host was rejecting the parasite." Selena stared at Alfrid seated across from her. "I woke up to fresh air, wondering what kind of flowers I should plant today, and the sound of chirping birds and children playing out in the fields." Selena then turned to look at Damien. "I want to protect those moments…both present and future."
Alfrid couldn't say anything to rebuke Selena's answer, he was stumped and at a loss for words which caused Damien to laugh.
"Well, Alfrid?" Damien turned to the man who spoke with his actions rather than his words, a smug smile on his face. "Does that answer suffice?"
"It better suffice else I'd make you regret making Selena relive such a nightmare."
Karl's voice interrupted the meeting before Alfrid could respond and Selena couldn't help but smile as she saw the man casually leaning against the archway leading into the living room with a permanent scowl on his face directed at the back of Alfrid's head.
"Lord Heisenberg." Damien was about to get to his feet to greet the man who he'd only heard about through the gossip going around the village as Karl simply brushed his gesture aside.
"Do we have an issue here, Alfrid?" Karl threateningly growled.
"Karl, be nice." Selena scolded causing the man's facial expression to instantly relax as he held his hands up in surrender.
"You're calling the shots here buttercup. Anyway, I got your pet you requested." Karl flicked his wrist as a long chain floated to his side, the chain going taught for a split second before a body was being forcefully dragged out into the open. "I'm also a hundred percent sure that I scared your villagers."
At the sight of the muzzled lycan restrained from head to toe in metal, the men around the table had jumped back in fear as the creature let out a muffled growl, struggling against the metal chains that bound his limbs together as a last attempt to fight back. Clearly, before coming here, Karl had broken its spirit in some way somehow as the creature didn't struggle long before going slack on the ground.
"What are you doing with that thing here!" Alfrid yelled.
"You didn't tell them?" Karl asked incredulously with a glare causing Selena to glare right back.
"I was getting around to it until someone interrupted." Selena pointedly stated.
"Couldn't help myself, hate thinking about that stupid lab." Karl said with a huff.
"Miss Sinclair," Damien was shaking as he shuffled over to Selena's side. "why have you brought such a dangerous creature here to our village…wouldn't more come to investigate the noise? Is our village in danger?"
"Always so overdramatic…" Karl huffed.
"It was my second reason for this meeting…but first I needed to tell you everything before revealing a plan that could save Ianto's life." Selena said. "Please sit and relax, that thing is under control."
"Wrapped in metal, it's not going anywhere." Karl assured as he planted a foot on top of the creature and ground his shoe into the monster's back. "Wouldn't dare let it get any closer to Selena."
"What does this lycan have to do with saving Ianto?" Marco meekly spoke up, jumping just a bit when the creature began to lightly struggle once more under Karl's shoe.
"The likelihood of Ianto surviving without help is nonexistent, if implanted with the parasite there's a small chance he could survive." Selena listed the chances of survival to the men present. "but with my gift, there's a possibility that I can balance out Ianto's system so he can accept the parasite."
"Your gift?" Damien asked with his head tilted to the side in confusion.
"Observe." Karl spoke up as the creature began to float at his command, the metal bands encompassing the lycan tightened causing the creature to let out a muffled howl in pain. "Ferrokinesis, or in layman's term, to dumb things down for Alfrid here, metal manipulation." Karl then dropped the lycan back onto the ground. "Selena's gift? We suspect cytokinesis or cellular manipulation, we're not quite sure just yet. We're only going off what we've seen done only three times, two by accident and one on purpose. Basically, she'll take the life force this thing has…" Karl kicked the lycan instigating a response. "and use it to help activate and speed up the cellular functions of your dear friend, the dear caretaker, who is probably writhing in pain in his bed right about now as we speak."
"We're to trust a hunch." Damien said as he looked at Selena. "What if it doesn't work?"
"Whether it works or not doesn't matter. We've seen what happens to hosts that reject the parasite, seen what they can do, experienced our fair share up close, and just recently learned that normal people can turn into them by being mauled by one. Anyone would be screwed once exposed to the pulsating parasite." Karl interrupted once more in Selena's defense. "Without Selena's help: he dies. Place the parasite inside him without Selena's help: he dies. Best case? He will turn into one of them. Still alive, just not himself, and can never turn back to himself. But place Selena into the equation and he has a chance to pull through." Karl shrugged. "Either way, Ianto will die. Just one of those ways gives him a fighting chance to live."
"Can't you just…" Marco spoke up. "prevent him from turning?"
"Selena's not a cure." Karl grumbled. "She's a possible solution to an inevitable problem."
"But you're not even sure if it'll work." Alfrid looked at Selena. "What if your gift fails when we need it the most?"
"But if it does work, then Ianto will live." Selena pointed out. "That was the reason I asked those closest to Ianto to be here as well as the next designated head of the village when Ianto can't be around." Selena looked down at her hands. "I wasn't going to do anything without your approval."
"And if we don't approve?" Alfrid asked.
"…then the best we can do is make his last moments peaceful and painless…" Selena said, the gravity of the situation settling around the room and among the three men.
"He'll be like you…all of you." Damien pointed out.
"The parasite reacts differently, varying from host to host. At least from our own experience" Selena said. "I'm not sure what it will do to Ianto..."
No one spoke a word, it was a decision that needed to be carefully thought through, it needed time…time that they didn't have. But it was Marco who had already decided without talking it through with his companions. "I think we should give Ianto a fighting chance."
"Are you insane?" Alfrid yelled, causing the meek man to flinch at the sudden volume of Alfrid's voice. "He'd be a monster!"
"But we've seen that not all of them are monsters." Marco defended, looking at both Karl and then Selena. "Miss Sinclair is offering us a chance. Offering to save Ianto's life. We need him to guide us."
"Yes, you're right, this is Ianto's life! We have no right to decide for him!" Alfrid argued.
"Ianto has done a lot for us, looked out for our wellbeing, and has kept us safe." Damien pipped in.
"You too, Damien?" Alfrid growled.
"What choice do we have, Alfrid?" Damien reasoned. "Either way, we lose Ianto. At least with one, we can have him still leading us if he so chooses."
"What if he hates the decision we made for him?" Alfrid asked, his hands clenched at his side as he looked down at the ground, biting the inside of his cheek, frustrated at the choice that was presented before them.
"Then we let him decide what to do if it's a success." Marco said. "Whether he wants his second chance to end, or adjust, we'll be there to support him."
"He's looked out for us since we've been children, it's time that we looked out for him." Damien went over to place a hand on Alfrid's shoulder, the two men exchanging a sad smile before Damien looked toward Selena. "Miss Sinclair, please save our friend."
With the permission of Ianto's friends, we worked through the night to try and give Ianto the second chance he deserves. Karl stayed beside me in the room as a safety precaution should the lycan suddenly escape its bonds. The metal man insisted that he be in the room as well as to make sure that nothing was to happen to me, which I was eternally grateful for. At that time, I didn't think that I could handle being in a room alone with that monster even if it was bound in chains.
The process took a toll on my body. It was my first time inserting the parasite into a human body the same way I had seen Mother Miranda do in her past procedures, but with Karl's guidance, we were able to successfully introduce the parasite to the host. It was time for my gift to do the rest of the work.
At first, it didn't seem like it would work, my ability wasn't reacting when I willed it to, but it was only when Ianto's bloodshot eyes flew open and his mouth dropped to let out a strained, spine-chilling, scream that echoed throughout my house did we begin to see results. Out of desperation to help the man in the bed, the lycan's body had vanished as I kept a firm hold on Ianto's arm, when the light entered my body and traveled into Ianto's, his body had ceased its trashing…finally relaxing as beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and soaking the sheets and pillows under him. Ianto's keeper would come to my side, doing all she could to wipe off the sweat, providing anything that could ease the man's suffering and make his stay in the bed a relaxing one.
Under constant supervision throughout the night, feeling the life force still circling throughout my body and entering Ianto's, I was able to keep the parasite from eating away at Ianto's body. When the sun peeked over the mountain, we were all finally able to let out a sigh of relief as Ianto's labored breathing evened out to a steady beat. For now, he was in the clear, and all we had to do was wait until he regained consciousness, see if something else would develop or if his body suddenly decided to reject the parasite once more.
My body was tired, I had never experienced something like that before that completely depleted my energy, it was the first time that I truly used my gift and I had overdid it. But even in my tired state, there was still much work that needed to be done. Now, with the three men convincing the villagers of our plan while keeping the dire information between our little group, we took the next step of fortifying our home. To do what was needed together to build the greenhouse, our safe house.
Ianto was my first success, with several more to come, and from that day with the help of the three men and Ianto, I was able to quickly gain the trust and respect of the villagers. I was being accepted as the Lady of this region. The Lady of this Greenhouse.
A small correction I made in chapter 7 that I didn't catch: the location of Selena's village. If you look at the map of the region Castle Dimitrescu is to the South, Moreau's Reservoir is to the North, Selena's village is to the West/South West (the space between Luiza's and the Old Mill), Heisenberg is more North East, while Beneviento's house is to the East/South East from the main village...roughly. If I'm reading the map correctly lol
Selena's powers isn't offensive, it can be considered more defensive, but she's not good in a physical fight. I imagined her to be more of a support in both in battle as well as her every day life. And here we get another glimpse of the beginning of her potential as well as what she possibly works toward in present time! Though, how much she has improved and practiced we'll never know until we stop seeing into Karl and Selena's past hehe
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