The northern watchtower stood tall against the silver mist, ancient stones groaning under the endless pressure of time. Within its core, hidden beneath layers of history, lay the Great Oak Library — a colossal, circular chamber where the towering shelves seemed to spiral into the very heavens. Books, heavy with dust and secrets, filled every inch of space, breathing an air of quiet reverence into the otherwise cold stone heart of the fortress.
Here, beneath the gentle glow of enchanted lanterns, Ruby sat curled up in a grand armchair carved from dark mahogany, a heavy tome resting in her lap. Since the day she had awoken in this strange, dark world, books had become her sanctuary. Their faded pages spoke to her, whispering strategies of ancient wars, forgotten magics, and the slow, meticulous art of vengeance. She consumed them with a voracious hunger, each word another brick in the fortress of her mind, each paragraph a stepping stone toward the inevitable fate she planned for those who had betrayed her.
Her murderer would not find a swift end. No, she vowed they would taste a death as slow and excruciating as the betrayal she carried in her blood.
The library's heavy silence was broken only by the gentle scratch of parchment and the occasional creak of old wood. The rest of the fortress, especially the vampires that inhabited it, kept a wide berth from the human girl hidden among the tomes. They seemed almost... wary. It was curious, but Ruby did not question it much — their absence was a gift. Alone, she could think. Alone, she could build her empire of revenge.
A subtle shift in the air, the faintest disturbance — and Ruby felt a presence nearby. She snapped the book shut instinctively, her eyes narrowing as she peered over the thick cover. But she already knew who it was before she even turned.
"Ah, Lord Reevan!" Ruby said, placing the book aside with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "When did you enter the library?"
She chided herself inwardly for forgetting — vampires moved like cats, soundless and unseen. She had learned that lesson her first day here. It was not only their physical strength that made them dangerous but also the way they could slip through the world without leaving a trace.
Reevan, a tall figure clad in a cloak of muted midnight blue, stepped further into the lantern light. His silver hair gleamed against the dimness, and his crimson eyes, though sharp, carried no immediate threat. For months now, he had been her only consistent link to the world outside this library. Even then, his presence was rare — and strangely... gentle.
"I came to check on how you were doing," Lord Reevan answered, his voice deep and strangely warm, like velvet brushing across cold skin. He offered a slight bow of respect. "So... I heard you've been spending a lot of time here?"
Ruby leaned back into the worn cushions of the chair, allowing herself a small sigh. "Yes. I found this library to be my... soothing place," she admitted. Her gaze drifted toward the nearest bookshelf, fingers twitching with the memory of turning pages. "And the books... especially the old ones... I've become addicted to them."
Reevan allowed himself a small, rare smile — a brief flicker of amusement crossing his otherwise stoic face. "I'm glad you like it here. The Great Oak Library has been untouched for decades. Few of us have the patience for mortal words anymore."
Ruby laughed softly — a delicate, brittle sound. "Mortal words," she echoed. "Maybe that's why they still speak to me."
She studied Reevan for a moment longer. He was different from the others — different from the bloodthirsty monsters she had been raised to fear. Despite his vampire blood, there was a certain restraint in him, a certain... sadness perhaps. She couldn't tell. Nor did she try to.
"And the others?" Reevan asked after a pause, his tone careful. "The vampires... do they disturb you?"
Ruby shook her head. "Not really," she replied honestly. "In fact... they avoid me. For some reason, they act like I'm some sort of cursed relic best left untouched." Her voice twisted slightly with dry humor.
"Rarely do I get visitors," she continued, voice growing softer. "No one here to talk to. So this place... these books... they've become my companions."
The faintest shadow crossed Reevan's expression, but it was gone before Ruby could decipher it.
"It is better this way," he said finally, his voice low. "You are safer when they keep their distance."
Ruby tilted her head curiously. "Safer from what, Lord Reevan? Aren't they under the Dark Emperor's command?"
A heavy silence settled between them, thick as the dust motes that danced in the shaft of light above. Reevan stepped closer, his boots making no sound against the ancient stones.
"Even under command, instincts are difficult to tame," he said finally. "And some... resent the Emperor's protection over you."
Ruby swallowed but kept her face composed. It didn't frighten her — not really. After all, hadn't death already claimed her once? What more could they do? She was here for a reason, and her mind burned with purpose too fierce to be extinguished by fear.
"I appreciate your honesty," she said softly. "And your concern."
Reevan inclined his head. "You are different, Lady Ruby. It would be unwise for you to forget that."
"I haven't," she murmured, fingers idly tracing the carved armrest of her chair. "Every day I spend in this tower... I remember exactly who I am. And what I must do."
The lanterns flickered slightly, casting long shadows across the room. Reevan studied her for a moment longer — perhaps weighing some decision — before he turned his gaze to the sprawling shelves.
"If you wish," he said after a pause, "I could bring you more books from the forbidden archives."
Ruby's heart quickened slightly. "Forbidden archives?"
A faint smirk ghosted across Reevan's lips. "Texts even the Emperor does not freely share. Knowledge that has been... deemed dangerous."
Her eyes gleamed. "Then that is precisely the kind of knowledge I need."
Reevan chuckled softly — a sound like distant thunder rolling across forgotten mountains. "Very well. But be warned, Lady Ruby... the path you seek is not easily walked."
"I am already walking it," she said fiercely. "There is no turning back."
The vampire lord studied her again, perhaps seeing something in her that the others feared — a glimmer of something darker, more determined than mere human fragility. Something that even the ancient beings of this world instinctively recoiled from.
Without another word, Reevan bowed and turned, disappearing into the swirling shadows of the library. Ruby watched him leave, then reached once more for the book she had abandoned. She opened it slowly, fingers lingering on the delicate pages.
She smiled to herself, a slow, dangerous smile.
Yes, she would read every forbidden text. She would carve every secret into her bones. And when the time came, those who had betrayed her — Arthro, Shithal, all of them — would not simply die.
They would beg for death.
And she would deny them.
The books whispered around her, their ancient knowledge curling into her veins like smoke.
And Ruby read on, deep into the night, as the northern watchtower slumbered beneath the blood-red moon.
---