Chapter Text
Shelby was looking for some new clothes to dress up in the crypt, when she heard a tomb opening in the distance. She put the outfits inside her bundle before speeding down the dark hallways.
Thats when she saw something very weird. There was a tomb next to Scott's, except it was much smaller. Although that wasn't the weird part, the weird part was what emerged from the tomb.
A child.
Shelby gasped unnecessarily at the sight, she rushed over to the seemingly little girl before assessing her.
The girl was clearly a vampire; she had an unbeating heart along with small baby fangs that poked out from under her bottom lip. Her hair was a dark ginger, with long, straight lockes that shifted into curls towards the end. Her eyes were also a dark cerulean blue. The girls outfit was fancy, but it was slightly burnt at the edges.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?! How long were you asleep for?!" Shelby rambled endlessly, trying to discern how the hell a random child came to be in the trapped land of Oakhurst.
"Huh? Where am I???" The child asked. Shelby froze, looking down at the child she realized she looked like wanted to cry. Where was her parents? Theres no way it was any of theirs.
As Shelby was about to comfort be child, she noticed a locket around her neck. She tried to check if it had anything important in it. But as her hand reached down, the little girl hissed. It's not the hiss you would expect from a child, being much darker pitch then her voice from earlier.
"Relax! I just want to check something," Shelby started, she knew she had to be gentle in order to convince the kid, so she tried to talk softly, "I promise I won't do anything you don't like, can I please just see?" She pleaded.
Eventually the child gave in and unwrapped her hands from the locket, at the silent permission, she opened it. There was a small note inside. Taking it, Shelby opened said note. It was in a language she didn't understand, but there was one distinct thing she saw.
It had scotts signature.
It was absolutely scotts signature, there was no doubt about it. The curves and arches scattered about his name was something he did even when writing regular letters.
"Is this scott?" She asked the girl, she hoped she was smart enough t to understand her, she looked around 6 years old, so she should at least know or remember something.
The girls face lit up hearing scotts name, she nodded perfusely, almost loosing her balance. Shelby held back a giggle at her cute antics, she needed to be serious. This was a very serious situation.
"I know where he is, you wante to take him to you?" Shelby asked again, the girl somehow managed to start shaking her head up and down even harder, this time having to stop do to a wince. Shelby noticed the girls hunger and wondered if it would even be ethical to feed a child blood.
"I will give you something to eat and drink when we go up okay?" Shelby reassured.
And with that, the pair made their way towards the inner castle.
~~~
Scott was talking to Cleo about the information she managed to get from the town and their whereabouts. They have been getting more and more bold, especially because of their rising number of beacons as of late.
Cleo was telling him about how apo is still refusing blood, despite her clear struggle to control herself around the townsfolk. They were also saying the town was starting to get suspicious, seemingly catching on to apos vampirism.
Thankfully, they have yet to discover Cleo, but they were slowly working their way up to tier three, despite controlling themselves.
They ended the conversations with a small wave, saying something about having to hunt, but Scott couldn't pay attention to it.
Especially with the odd feeling in his chest.
Ever since about a quarter of an hour ago, Scott felt like something was off. His instincts were practically screaming, saying something has or was about to happen, and based off experience, Scott knew to trust those insticts very well.
He sat at the head chair of the long table, putting one foot on top of the other whilst one of his hands were sat on top of the armrest, his head resting on top of it.
He became lost in thought, trying to put together the all-too-knowinf ache in his chest. Well, it wasn't really and ache. If anything, it felt more like a positive feeling, as if a part of the immortal void in his chest was filled. He recognised the feeling, but he didn't remember where.
That was the issue with immortality, you either remember something too clearly or not clearly enough.
He was so lost in thought, he didn't hear one of the doors behind him open, two pairs of footsteps walking towards him with caution. He paused at the words he heard.
"Papa?"
He shot up from his seat, snapping his head around him to see a very shocked expression on Shelby's face. And holding her hand was a child.
His child.
"Irene?"
Scott stood there, his face unreadable. Tried to process how the hell his child was still alive. How she was here, walking, as if he didn't see her body down in they crypt.
Before he could even begin to theorize, the child ran to him with speed that a normal child shouldn't have. Vampiric speed. The sobbing little girl hugged scotts legs, he instinctively put a had in her hair in an almost soothing motion.
Scott glanced at Shelby, who wavered under his questioning gaze. "I was getting some new clothes from the crypt, when I heard stone being moved, and then out of nowhere this child popped out of a freaking tomb! So I tried to ask her things but she didn't know how to answer I guess. Then I saw a locket and checked it and saw there was a note with your signature" she continued rambling, "also, what does she mean 'papa', are you her father?! Hell are you a father?!"
Scott laughed as he put the crying child, his child, in his arms. "I'm sorry Shelby, Ill answer your questions later, but for now, can you please leave?" Scotts voice had a softness she wasn't very used to coming from the overconfident count.
"Of course! But you better explain everything later!" She demanded, already starting to leave.
Scott started to walk to the table, placing the girl on one of the chairs. He crouched down uncharacteristically, running one of his clawed fingers in Irenes hair. His smile almost broken as she leaned into his touch.
"Irene please..." He pleaded, bloody tears in his eyes, "how are you alive? You're supposed to be human"