Chiya waited for a long time before she felt the presence of her knight enter her chamber. Another moment and she would have been upset and, like her sister Laura, she had a foul temper that no one wanted to experience.

The knight appeared kneeling before her as she sat on the edge of her bed. He smelled of sewage and the fact that he was ruining her room with how he smelled made her want to chastise him.

Yet it was what he held in his aloft hand that made her forget about that. At least for now.

"What did you bring me?"

The piece of chain the knight held had some rust on it, but something wet as well. "The woman's blood, my lady. With it, you can see into her mind."

Blood memories. It was something all vampires, at least in Chiya's family, could do. Lies could be told, but the blood never lies. Even the darkest, most personal memories could be unlocked with this special key.

Taking one finger Chiya ran it across the metal, picking up a smidge of the blood like it was jelly before raising it to her eyes.

"Hmm...this is better than going to the dungeons to look for her-" she gave her knight a discerning look. "Where did you get this?"

"The chain is from Scylla, my lady."

It didn't take much for Chiya to figure out what it could be. "Then I assume the monster is dead?"

"Yes, my lady," said the knight, his head down low.

Chiya blinked in genuine surprise. "Huh...that blows my expectations." She eyed the blood on her fingertip. 'Let's see what this woman is like..' She put the tip of her finger in her mouth and placed the blood on her tongue. Immediately her lips pursed, like she had tasted something sour. "Bleh!"

Yet she swallowed, very hard, and as soon as she did that new images began to pop into the woman's mind. Memories of the blood's owner. Images that were as vivid like she herself had seen them, flashing in her mind in quick succession-

A face in a mirror, similar to her own, but with red eyes instead of purple...

An imperial court in Russia...

Snow covered landscapes...

A room made entirely of stone, with a lone person sitting beneath a window...

The murder of US soldiers with a sword in a jungle...

A couple of boys and an older man happily smiling at her...

Various other people being met with smiles...

A handsome man with an unnaturally clawed hand...

Another face of a woman disturbingly similar to her own, but with bright blue eyes and a devilish smile...

That last memory sent a shot of pain through Chiya's head, and it felt like it was going to explode. Chiya groaned in pain and grabbed both sides of her head before falling forward.

"Lady Chiya!" Her knight grabbed onto her the moment she started to move towards him.

Seconds later, after heaving and gasping for air, Chiya vomited the entirety of her stomach onto her knight and the floor. She couldn't have known it, but the blood she had digested had been like poison to her system, but because of her mother's blood naturally rejecting foreign matter, it had been forced out. It saved her from even more pain and possibly death, but it left her lethargic and extremely weak as a result. Yet the dull pain remained in her mind.

Who was that woman? She asked herself. The one with the blue eyes...and why did she seem so familiar?

"I'm fine...*gulp* Maybe not..."

Despite the fact he was covered in gunk, the knight ignored his own plight to see that his mistress laid on her bed. "You need to rest."

"Ugh..." She couldn't have seen it for herself, but Chiya's eyes flickered from purple to red and then to blue before going back to their natural purple. This effect wasn't natural, but the knight hadn't seen it. "You...keep an eye on those two..."

The knight returned to kneeling at her bedside, "As you wish." Then he vanished to continue his task.

He left her to her own personal demons, with memories that were not her own.

The forest wasn't anything special, at least not to the inhabitants of the castle which grounds it grew on. Once upon a time, in a more peaceful era, there had been villages filled with people and life.

Then the vampires came and over time the humans that were smart fled for their lives, never to return. Those that remained were wiped out by Carmilla's underlings. Now, the overgrowth covered the ruins of homes, and various beasts made it their den.

Having fought chiropterans most of her 173 year existence, Saya wasn't at all worried about the wolves and large insects that fled from her presence.

In fact for the first few minutes of her walk she hadn't even used her sword. At least until the rain started to pour down on her. While the rain wasn't something she was excited about, the bigger problem made itself known very quickly.

The only path that she and Hagi could find on their way to the castle was made entirely of mud, and when the amount of mud in the path began to get thicker, humanoids began to climb out of it.

"We can never catch a break, it seems," Said Hagi, readying his coffin-shield.

"Least the trip through the forest is done. Just need to get past the village and we should be at the castle's back door." Saya raised her sword and was about to swing it when she felt a presence behind her. Seh spun around with her sword and sliced a mud man in half. Despite its gooey exterior, it bled crimson from its torso after falling to the ground.

But that wasn't the end of them, obviously, as a whole mob of mud men began to close in around them. Saya weighed her options as she sliced and diced a few more of her foes. Yet as soon as she killed one, two more would rise up from the sea of mud and come after her. 'They aren't very strong so we could just power through them...but I don't like that idea...'

Saya felt Hagi tap her shoulder. Seh turned and saw through her wet bangs of hair that Hagi was pointing at the buildings. Well, more specifically, their mostly solid roofs. Definitely a better option than staying at ground level. In fact there was another advantage. Most of the buildings leading closer to the castle were mostly intact.

They could traverse the roofs and neglect to fight at all.

That was a better idea in Saya's mind. "Got it. Let's go."

Hagi slammed a mud man into a cluster of others before putting his shield on his back. He then spun around with the gracefulness a man like him should not have had and picked up Saya in his arms. While she gave out a cry of surprise she calmed down enough to let him do what he had to do. Being a Chevalier Hagi had more than enough strength and agility to carry a woman of Saya's size and weight around without easily. That included leaping up onto the nearest roof.

The mud men began to shamble after them like the zombies from earlier, but because they couldn't climb anything to reach the two, they were out of reach.

The rain wasn't letting up, and not only that but Saya could feel the roof starting to sink under her feet. "We need to move, and fast."

Hagi gave her a look that said he understood but was also asking for permission.

Saya gave him a coy smile. "Alright, this is the last time okay?"

Hagi flashed a smile before he picked up Saya once again in his arms and he began to run closer to the castle.

After her knight had left her Chiya had gone and changed into her day clothes. To a vampire such as her that was a night dress colored lavender. Seh tried to get comfortable in her bed, but neither the soft sheets and pillows nor the deafening silence and darkness could make her head stop hurting. Seh writhed in pain on her bed, rolling back and forth from one side of the bed to the other.

She tried her best not to scream as it was that painful. Her pride as Carmilla's daughter wouldn't allow her. Still, seeing what she did, mindlessly killing everything from animals to people in such crude fashion didn't set well with her. Then came the voices. Voices of people she didn't recognize but did at the same time. Her mind was at war with itself.

A boy calling her 'sister'.

An older boy saying that 'big brother will protect her'.

That's preposterous! I do not have any brothers! I have a sister! That's it!

A handsome man with a stoic expression kneeling before her, promising to be by her side until the end of time.

That same man then ended up kissing her, calling her Saya.

Multiple voices calling her by that name.

Saya.

Saya.

Saya!

Chiya's eyes shot open, the pain becoming too much for her now. Seh called out to the darkness, pleading for the only one who could help her. "Mother! Help me, please! Make it stop!" Seh cried out, pushing her palms against her eyes, her fangs extending like she was about to feed-

She passed out, the images and voices defeated by her going unconscious.

Moments after that, something sweet touched her lips and tongue, and her eyes shot open. Though her vision was blurry at first, she soon realized that she was being held by a pair of gentle arms. Once her eyes had adjusted she saw that her mother was peering down at her with a soft gaze rarely seen by anyone else. The sweet taste that Chiya was experiencing was her mother's precious blood, dripping from an open wound in her wrist.

The blood was proving to be an antidote to the poisonous things she had bene experiencing. Hungrily Chiya grabbed the wrist and began to ingest as much as she could before Carmilla pulled her arm away.

"Out of breath, Chiya struggled to form words of gratitude to her mother.

"My daughter. My dear daughter. What happened?"

Chiya relaxed into her mother's arms, being held in such a way that reminded her of her childhood. While she should have tried to protect her pride as a young lady, being in Carmilla's presence after she helped her through terrible blood memories made her extremely scared.

She forced her pride to the side and told Carmilla what had been going on for some time. Seh expected her to be angry, but instead it turned out she wasn't.

"Blood memories are a terrible thing at times, but you shouldn't have to worry about it now. My blood is more powerful than yours. It should be cleansing your system at this very moment."

Chiya felt her fingers twitch, like electricity was soaring through her. The blood of a vampire as powerful as Carmilla was like a microscopic weapon that could cure disease-or cause them, depending on her will. It would take a few hours, but the amount she drain would rid her of what was causing her pain.

Feeling her strength begin to return, Chiya slowly got to her feet. Her mother held her hand to balance her until her legs stopped wobbling.

"Thank you, mother..." she walked over to her vanity, and to her relief she saw a pain of lavender eyes looking back at her in the reflection. "I've never had memories like that before when drinking blood. Yet that woman...Saya, hers felt stranger."

Then a thought dawned on her. Her knight and Laura had said the same thing when describing Saya. "Mother. Why does she look like me?"

At first Carmilla didn't answer, but she smiled. "I suppose I should explain now. Just before you were born I had been visiting Vietnam, and something happened in the jungles there. Your father insisted I see for myself. He fought some creature there, managing to nearly kill it, but he ended up getting some blood on his blade. So, in my efforts to create a superior child, I ingested the blood. A few days later, you were born."

Chiya listened, and though she couldn't see her mother's reflection she looked right at her. "That doesn't answer my question..."

"I imagine the reason that woman looks like you...is because the blood I drank all those years ago was indeed hers."

Chiya looked like she had a stake driven through her heart. Only that could have forced the woman to feel anything in that moment. Soon though, her shocked expression began to dissolve, and an eerie smile appeared in its place.

"I understand now. I always wondered why, between myself and Laura, that I should look nothing like you."

"I didn't want to tell you because I believed that monster had died that night. Had I known it had lived I would have slaughtered it myself. It would have saved you this pain." Carmilla's words, unlike most vampires, were genuinely caring. She was known in the vampire world not just for how powerful she was but also because of how she treated her daughters. With the exception of one other person, she viewed her daughters as the most invaluable people in her life. Seh spoiled them when they were young, and doted on them as they grew into fine women with their own identities. Even after they reached adulthood she would keep them close, for if she ever lost them...

Chiya nodded once. "That's alright, mother. For now is my chance to finish what my father couldn't. I will slay Saya with my own sword."

The situation had changed drastically in the last few minutes, but now, to the female vampires everything had returned to something resembling normalcy.

Carmilla stood up. "I am glad. Now, I will return to the ritual. It will soon be time for it to begin. The moon is the last ingredient."

After bidding her mother farewell and Carmilla left the room, the still heavy hearted Chiya had her remaining thoughts to sort out. Though she had appeared to take the news of the connection between herself and Saya well, deep in her soul she was troubled. Yet she had her pride to decide her next course of action for her.

"I will see to Saya. Seh will not be an issue after tonight." Chiya returned her gaze to her reflection. While her words were true to what she had planned, she also had other thoughts. 'What is hers shall be mine, for her life is forfeit while I am breathing. Afterall, there can't be two of the same person.'

Then a sharp pain racked her brain and she grimaced. "I must inform my knight of my plan..."

The moment Hagi landed on the opposite side of a stone bridge, Saya gasped before bringing a hand to her temple.

"Saya?"

'Where did that come from?' Saya shook her head, and as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. Seh gave a friendly smile to her lover. "I'm fine. Let's walk from here, Hagi."

He obliged and set her down. The heels of her boots clicked on solid ground. Turns out the ground from the bridge to the iron gate ahead was made of cobblestone. No need to worry about mud men. Instead there weren't any houses and a large tree in the distance that was dead as the surrounding area. The rain still came down hard, but at this point it didn't bother either of them.

They ran up to the wrought iron gate and tried to pull it open, but it was held tightly in place by brown dead vines. A lush green garden lay beyond, and the castle itself was almost within reach.

"So damn close." Saya tried to pull off the vines, but they were surprisingly stout considering they almost turned to dust when she grabbed them. "Think we can just jump over?"

Hagi seemed to be thinking the same thing, and he pulled out a throwing dagger from within his coat. He threw it to above the iron fence. Something extraordinary happened. The knife hit an invisible wall and bounced off it, for a brief moment Saya could see hexagonal shaped panels where the knife had struck.

Saya knew that her idea was shot down. "Guess we need to find another way around-ow!"

Hagi's head snapped towards Saya, but the woman's eyes went to the spot of her pain.

It wasn't a good sign.

Wrapped around her boot, and slowly slithering up her leg, was a green vine laced with thorns. What she had felt was the thorns piercing her skin and drawing blood. She quickly hacked it off with her sword. "The hell was that?"

"Saya, over there."

Saya turned her red eyes in the direction that Hagi was pointing. The large tree, thought to be dead and a relic of history to this area, was now beaming with energy and lashing its various roots and limbs. It destroyed a wooden shack in its flailing, reducing it to splinters. Apparently Saya's cutting of its single vine caused it pain.

This was a Devil Tree, planted centuries ago and bewitched to protect the gate nearby, the witch that had cast the spell on it had gone by the name of Drolta, and her spirit had been infused into its bark. The tree had a grotesque face of a hag on its trunk, complete with eyes and a mouth though it could no longer speak. In the five hundred years it had grown it had skewed both man and animal in its duty to protect the gate.

Now, Saya and Hagi faced down the Demon Tree.

"Looks like it won't let us through without a fight." Saya raised her sword.

Saya didn't have time to wait for a response from him, as the two had to avoid incoming vines and roots. Turned out the tree's roots went farther and deeper than either of them could imagine. The vines shot out from nearby structures and under the ground. They grabbed Saya, wrapping around her arms and legs, and driving their sharp thorns into her exposed skin.

Her left arm and leg were caught, but her sword arm was free, and she put up a great deal of resistance, hacking away at them.

Hagi was already moving fast towards the tree itself. He three knives at it, but the face was protected by a thick root that intercepted them before they could strike home. That same root pulled itself up from the mud and struck him faster than he could move. He went sailing into the remains of the shack from before.

"Hagi!" Saya saw what happened and, her concern for her lover taking charge of her mind fueled her surge of rage. Her eyes went bright and changed shape to resemble a feline and she hacked and slashed her way through the vines and roots that came at her.

Forgetting everything else, including the immense amount of pain she was enduring, Saya charged at the tree. She didn't get close to it before being pulled away.

Pulled away by Hagi.

The man had a deep gash above his right eye but he seemed intent on getting Saya away in spite of his injuries. He did so just before five sharp pointed roots came down on where Saya had been standing just seconds prior. They had been moving around when Saya had gone beast mode, her rage blinding her to what had been going on her flanks. A careless mistake on her part that nearly got her killed.

Hagi brought Saya back to the gate, and they were both worse for wear. Unlike Scylla and the giant bat from before, fighting the Devil Tree was like fighting dozens of opponents at once. It wasn't something Saya was ideal to handling, even with Hagi's help.

Saya fell to one knee, her legs feeling numb from the bleeding, and her sword arm felt like it weighed a ton. Though the injuries she had sustained were minor at first glance, her limbs felt like they were made of stone. A poison perhaps? Something coated on the vines as a way to kill intruders?

Before the tree could launch its next attack, it was stopped in its roots.

A diagonal slash sliced its trunk, in a six foot circumference of six feet, clean in half. The face on the trunk had registered the initial strike and its visage changed to a mixture of stupefaction and pain. Then the top half slid off and it collapsed sideways and collapsed into the stream. Sap and blood mixed together through centuries poured form the now open trunk.

Saya and Hagi both wore expressions of amazement. What had been so strong to cut a tree like that in half?

The answer came in ominously. A shadowy figured appeared in a plume of ebony smoke. A tall humanoid clad from head to toe in black armor and a matching cape with a long sword held in the right hand. The blade of the sword was soaked in sap and blood.

"My mistress wants you dealt with. I will see to it you won't go any further."