Chapter Text
I wake up in my bedroom, the curtains drawn. They've been drawn for years; they may as well be nailed to the wall.
As I changed into my white gown and put on my headpiece, I gazed coldly at my reflection—a reflection that hasn't truly belonged to me for decades. It didn't matter that I didn't want to be a vampire; my bone cancer was terminal, and Mother always knows best.
I continued to stare emotionlessly at my visage.
It had been a week, 2 days, and 15 hours since Mother had fed me last. My stomach roars like an untamed beast, and my entire body tremors.
Blinking it away, I reset my appearance into a demure smile, and I gracefully make my way downstairs, into the hall where hapless bugs were led to be turned into spawn or brutally devoured.
Mother has been hungrier and hungrier lately, so I wasn't surprised to see 1 newborn vampire spawn cowering in a chair as the rest of his party lay unconscious. Out of the 4 captives, only 2 still looked good to eat; the other 2 were not. One was nothing but a pile of bones and sinew, the other was limp as Mother ate at what little remained of his intestines, before moving onto the next.
The entire time, I sat down next to her and watched emptily. It had been more than seven days since any of it was set aside for me; no matter how big her cult grew, she only seemed to want more and more.
As the next one was bitten into, I began to feel hope. She was slowing down; maybe she was finally satisfied? But that hope fizzled out like a poorly brewed beer when Mother merely picked a flake of bone from between her teeth before picking up again.
Every drop of blood was devoured in that room, and I again went hungry, but this time, I had broken my previous record by 36 hours, so I unintentionally let out a few tears of hunger and misery.
Almost any other time, Mother would ignore me when I cried, but this time, she froze.
Hands still steeped in gore, she walked around the table and to my chair, where she hugged me, and in her raspy and hoarse voice, began to whisper in my ear.
"...I just couldn't-"
She became distracted. There was a breakout in the slab.
Without completing her sentence, Mother released me and sped away.
....
Mother had many children, and I am one of them, but I am the only one whom Mother decided to raise into a true vampire.
When I was "created", Mother imbued me with rules, which I must follow to this day, not by obligation, my body compels me to obey.
1. You may never consume the flesh and blood of any living being without my permission and presence.
2. You may never stray from my castle unless commanded otherwise.
3. You may never speak disrespectfully to me.
4. You may never harm me in any way, mentally, physically, in arms, or in secret.
5. You love me more than any other creature in this world.
6. You may never raise another into a vampire spawn.
I live by those rules, and live because of them.
But there was once a time when I broke rule 6, and it is the source of much shame in my heart.
Her name was Linen; she was a mortal thrall in the underworks. I felt bad about seeing a delicate and fair woman confined to dirty labor, scrubbing filth and ash, so I snuck her into the high halls of the citadel.
It was meant to be fun for both of us, but it wasn't as much fun for her when my stomach growled in protest. Mother hadn't fed me for a week, and I lashed out, burying my fangs in her neck.
When I came to my senses and pulled away, Linen was my child now.
I tried to palm Linen off as the spawn that was sired in a recent feast; it was an easy lie. Mother loses control of herself entirely during the bigger feasts, so she remembers little of the intricacies of those arrangements.
For a while, Linen lived with me as a vampire spawn happy in the choral chambers of the citadel, but it happened one night. Mother was on her way to the forum to meet with the Conductors when she crossed paths with Linen.
Mother sniffed Linen and hissed in disapproval. Both Linen and I were detained within minutes, and Linen was exiled into the mist, and her record of living in the citadel expunged, leaving her a legal Phantom.
I wish I could see that girl again, but Mother's anger is the greatest torment she has ever inflicted upon me; it makes me feel horrible, like my very blood has turned to ice.
Just today, Mother came to be and gave me a mission; a half-goddess was being brought to Pharloom by her vampire spawn, but failed to take her all the way to the citadel, so I had to capture her. Alive.
My stomach growled... what if I wanted to be the one to feed on the demigoddess?
Chapter 2
Summary:
Get used to the lack of adjectives. It's for a reason.
Chapter Text
I needed to make my way to the Bellway in the deep docks before Hornet did; I know these lands better than her, so I took a shortcut through Greymoor.
After running through the city streets, oddly unopposed, I was stopped by a group of 4. Crawhunters.
"Hoot! Father orders your prosecution, you must come with us!"
An obstacle.
I drew my pin and hissed
"He's going to be disappointed."
My nose twitched; I could smell the blood under their skin.
Mother wasn't paying attention, she was busy, I can practically feel the savory blood on my tongue already, I-
I could not.
Not with the lash of Mother's gaze cracking against my back.
Combat was torture; one of the feeble creatures almost managed to stake me because I was distracted by the smell of their companion's blood pooling on the floor.
As soon as the last man fell, I took no trophy or celebration; I sprinted away from the tantalizing blood before I could even blink.
Hunter's march was next. I could take another shortcut in the marrow to get to the docks, but this posed yet another barrier of meat and shell, the skarrs.
They used to be hunters, like the Craws, but Mother decided to give her gift to their leader one night, and their loyalty remained even after she demanded their blood as proof of their loyalty. Now they are all Spawn.
The protective song, which once guarded this place from vampires, now not only welcomes them, but condemns the living. Mother is never in direct contact with Karmelitta after that day; nothing could stop the Skarrs from hunting me just as they hunt the inferiors.
For the first year after their leader was turned along with them, some of the spawn resisted becoming vampires and refused to drink blood, some hoping this might cure them.
There was a time, too, when, despite having been offered, I would not eat.
I was... early... into becoming a vampire, I was... 8? 16? 25? 50?
I don't know when it happened, nor how old I was at the time.
I came into the feasting hall. In both prior instances in which Mother had brought in pilgrims to eat, I would hide in my room. However, this time, Mother took my hand and guided me there; I could not, and did not, resist.
Mother, kind and generous and loving, showed me the biggest meal she had ever offered. Three grown pilgrims lay in cages, and she unlocked one of them and brought them, paralyzed, to me.
Wetness beaded at my eyes, and I pleaded, pleaded something, What did I say?
Mother stared blankly at me, and I expected to be slapped, or spanked, or pulled into my room.
No such thing happened; Mother instead grabbed me by the back of my head and shoved my sharp mouth into the man's exposed neck. I stopped resisting as soon as I tasted blood.
I could never go back, and Mother nodded in approval as I tore out his throat and fed.
In the real world, I saw a trail of saliva falling from my lips and onto the floor. I wiped it quickly and looked around.
Mother would have had me beaten for that.
I made my way past whatever hunters were patrolling this road today and navigated the darkness of the Marrow.
The light of the deep docks was bright and bothered my skin, but not to the extent of the light of the surface, so I endured, as always.
I could hear footsteps in the distance, a gate being opened, but I was distracted; some laceflies had gathered in this room.
Mother told me that Laceflies can bring you good luck if you appease them with prayer.
I had just begun humming to them when the door opened, and I turned around.
The spider I had to capture alive entered.
I breathed in through my nose slowly, and again, I could smell the blood under Hornet's skin, again.
And again, I was distracted from my task, but this time...
I didn't know if I would snap out of it.
Chapter Text
"How delightful. A little lamb has found herself lost; she jumped the fence and ran away from slaughter- into the woods, where she now falls into the maw of a much more dangerous predator."
"Devious little vampire, your older kin proved not my equal; your mockery amounts to nothing. Flee, or meet your end."
"Oh, fight me, little lamb! Your fear makes the blood taste sweeter."
Hornet fought harder than any before her ever had. I could have put up more of a fight, but Mother's neglect saps the strength from my being. It makes me shiver, tremble, and the hand that clutches my pin shakes and grows stiff at the same time, and the battle ended entirely when I made a decisive strike. Hornet was bleeding badly I could smell her blood it was overpoweringmy every-
When I regained my senses, I was lying on the floor. Hornet had counter-attacked with full force; my frenzied pounce was easy to outmaneuver, and I had to retreat; I would be staked in my weakened state.
As I retreated, Mother hissed in my head, speaking more lovingly of Hornet than she ever had of me.
"How dare you, Lace?"
It was like she was speaking through gritted fangs.
"I said I wanted you to capture her alive, but you ignored me in your bloodlust. I'm happy Hornet drove that needle into your chest; you would have killed her, killed my soon-to-be child. And I would have flayed you alive for it."
"Mother, she... she was-"
"SILENCE! Return to the citadel, and we will discuss this further in my bedroom!"
I returned to the citadel; I was punished. My punishment began at 4:35 PM and ended at 4:55 PM.
Mother would always plead that she hates punishing me, but this time, no appeal was offered; she told me that as soon as Hornet became a vampire, she was moving into my room, and I would follow my only spawn into the mist.
Even as I lay on my bed, bruised, beaten, and battered, I balled my claws angrily. Mother's love was all that sustained me when SHE wouldn't. My stomach twisted and turned, an angry knot of hunger burning in my body as I lay ravenous in bed. I thought of her embrace, the only warmth I had left. I was the one and only vampire Mother had chosen as her child; the idea that this spinderous spiderling could replace me—not just take my room but also steal Mother's heart—sent a fire of rage through me that my emotionless, undead existence had never known.
I growled, baring my sharp fangs. I don't care what Mother wants; I want her to love me, and there is only one way to regain that love: I must see Hornet dead.
Chapter 4
Notes:
If you think this is Lacenet... well, it's so toxic that the toxic yuri levels are becoming hazardous.
Chapter Text
I am a failure to my mother; this needs no saying.
Despite my complete inability to satisfy her, I finally got to feed! My dull emptiness was filled with euphoria when Mother stood up from the dining hall and floated away without finishing a pilgrim and a half; her obsession with Hornet was growing to rival her obsession with blood; she was going to talk with the Conductors about arranging an ambush. I didn't even care; an uncommon smile crept onto my face. I finished what Mother started and fell upon the other.
It used to bother me that I could never make my own spawn, but those fears were at the back of my mind and tongue as I bathed in viscera.
Despite this, my biggest problem was still very present; I still must slay Hornet if I want to regain Mother's love, so I put on my adventuring equipment and set out again. This time, I have no idea where she is, but I don't let this sway me.
I started with Bellhart. Mother would sometimes take me there to learn social etiquette with the vampire that she installed as its Duchess. Miss Widow was a commoner who worshipped Mother with fervency that was unrivaled. Mother rewarded her with a Duke from the citadel to marry her; that title was earned when she became a widow immediately, sacrificing the Duke to her on the day of their wedding. Mother was so flattered that she made Miss Widow a vampire like me and allowed her to keep the royal title.
Miss Widow hasn't been seen for a few days now; apparently, none of the residents of that timid village have any idea why.
I froze, taking a moment with the face in the reflection of a pond to adjust myself, put on the mask, cast away the glimmer in my eyes, don't show my fangs, make sure my claws aren't out, smile. I told myself to smile.
And I knocked on the door of a bellhome, Pavo answered.
"Oh! Welcome to our humble town, Mi'lady. What brings you here?"
He was shaking. Trembling. My disguise was flawless. How could he tell?
"Hello, Mister Pavo. I'm here because I need to know the whereabouts of Hornet. Could you tell me if you've seen a woman, 30s roughly, darkish skin, distinct red cloak, wielding a needle, a warrior type."
"...Bellhart has seen no such visitor, Mi'lady. I'm so-"
The mask slipped. I growled in frustration. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar.
"You don't understand what is at stake, maggot."
I hissed.
"What does Mi'lady need H-Hornet f..for? Is it-"
"Yes."
I pounced on his question like a cat on a mouse.
"Hornet is invited to the royal ball in the citadel. It would be an awful pity if I could never find her and invite her to our citadel before the event comes to pass, would it not?"
"...Yes, we have seen such a character, now that I think of it. She... She was last seen going back down, said she wanted to visit some place called a Weavenest before she climbed onward."
If he was lying, I didn't stay long enough to figure it out; I immediately sped off.
An ambush was prepared. I went up to the blasted steps and spoke to a friend. Judge Squirr. Squirr was an inquisitor who once tried to purge my mother's presence from the citadel before it became absolute, but Mother turned her into a vampire, and her loyal soldiers were quick to follow.
For reasons I never discerned, she was the only other adult that Mother would trust me alone with. The sunlight faintly reaching into the moss grotto where this weavenest was proved an obstacle, but Squirr gave me one of their protective cloaks for the journey, and we arrived at the weavenest.
A long time ago, this place was enchanted with holy runes that would turn us into dust upon entering. But the ones who made them are long gone, so that power has faded. Still, this one had some remnant within it, especially in the deeper chambers, so I made sure to keep the protective cloaks on even as we moved into position and waited.
And waited...
15 minutes later, in from the unlocked door strayed a figure, and just as Squirr's brazier ignited, it was revealed to be... Sherma.
Squirr froze in place, and I gawked in disbelief for the first time in decades.
Sherma became petrified at the sight of Squirr's flaming brazier, and quickly made himself scarce.
Squirr stared quietly at me, and I silently and emotionlessly anticipated beatings and beratement as Mother would have if I wasted her time.
But Squirr just let out a sigh, echoed by the emptiness of her mask.
"...Did you want to ambush somebody, or take a walk?"
I remained silent, and the judges quickly followed Sherma, and I was left alone in the weavenest.
I realized that Judge Squirr was supposed to be protecting the gate, but Judge was also the only form of reinforcements I could reliably call upon.
Hornet was playing me, and she got the peasant to play along.
Clever little lamb....
Chapter Text
Horrified of the lash of my mother's disappointment cracking against my back, I hurried back to the citadel, but despite her size, Squirr was always oddly faster than I, so by the time I got back to the final threshold, she lay dead, staked and mummified at the post she swore to protect. Squirr was my best friend, my only friend. The only person who was not afraid of me, the only other vampire who witnessed as many decades as I have. I remembered the day when Squirr and I were tracking an escaped human together, my happiest memory with her.
I should be bawling, I should be bending over and laying a hand on my friend's remains and mourning heartfully her death and the loss of someone so close to me, I should be inconsolable.
I stared at Squirr's remains, my face was dry and empty, almost as lifeless as the corpse I was staring at, the emptiness of undeath in my heart hurt more than ever now, if only because I was being reminded of its ultimate extent.
A single black teardrop fell onto Squirr's remains, and I left the room and pursued Hornet.
I stumbled upon Hornet when I descended deeper into the choral chambers. She had just gotten done dispatching a few vampire spawn.
"Oh, how delectable, the little lamb wanders into the slaughterhouse! Is her desperate climb one of masochism? Does she relish the misery that awaits her here?"
"You return, only to mock? The dark creatures wandering these caverns have not been able to claim me; what makes you think their mistress is any different?"
"So many have climbed your path, talked your words, what makes you any different from them? You are a sad, miserable lamb, destined for chains and agony."
"I have faced others as powerful as your mistress, and I let none of them cow me. Your threats bring me no fear."
The welcoming party was here. I could see a group of vampire spawn enter the chamber, and not wanting to be in their way, I left the room.
Hornet was again undeterred. Mother will run out of vampire spawn if she keeps at it like this. In a short time, she had the threefold song prepared, and I moved into position in the field of flowers leading to the cradle.
Hornet ascended, and I readied my pin to meet her needle, but now, I wasn't scared, wasn't starving.
But still, I lost. Hornet eventually managed to catch me in the middle of a high-commitment strike and sank her stake into my shoulder, grazing my heart.
Insides partially petrified, I lost all strength and fell.
"Finally, the little lamb grows her horns, and I feel their point."
"You know something funny, giggling child? I heard that you used to be a hunter like me. What changed?"
Hunter? Why would I hunt mother's.. her...
Suddenly, 3 years of memories came roaring back; it was a flash, a blur, like someone flipping through the pages of a book incredibly fast, but somehow, I recognized and understood every image.
I was turned into a vampire by Mother when I was 21, on my 24th, Mother finally forced me to eat flesh, and the 3 years between had been completely lost to me. But suddenly, I remembered 3 years of ferocious rebellion, me slaughtering every single spawn that came my way, the pilgrims trembled before my approach as I killed them and burned their bodies to ensure Mother couldn't get a single drop. Daily beatings that could never break me in the slightest, coming dangerously close to being able to weaken my creator towards the end, until finally, the pinstress who taught me how to duel and fence was captured, she was my first meal, giving into my hunger and killing her- it completely crushed my will to resist.
Unable to handle the memories that subverted everything my mother beat me into believing, I fell unconscious on the bed of red-stained roses.
Mister_Tangerine152 on Chapter 3 Sat 06 Dec 2025 01:33AM UTC
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