- 3 hours ago
When I’m Gone - Full
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Short filmTranscript
00:08I died this morning. They haven't noticed.
00:16Good night, sister. I had been dead for hours. The last thing I remembered was the white ash
00:22stick splitting my chest open. The battle on the snowfield was over. Vampire remains lay
00:28scattered everywhere. Father, mother, and Damien stood around Isabella. Isabella sat in the corner
00:35with a blanket dripped over her shoulders. She was trembling. Mother was checking her wrist.
00:40The blob bond opened on Damien's end. Where did you go? Isabella is this family's future.
00:47You abandoned your post. Isabella was left to face too much alone tonight. Get back here,
00:52kneel, and apologize. Otherwise, your blood right ends tonight. If I'd still been in my body,
00:57I would have thrown the ink bottle at him. Doubt he did not know I was dead.
01:02A red mark sat on the map at the western pass. That was where I died. No one in the
01:09room knew it.
01:11She still hasn't shown herself. She's not responding.
01:15Father did not look up at the report. Of course not. The attack was aimed at Isabella.
01:21Isabella. She left her post out of spite. Mother gently wiped Isabella's tears away.
01:28In the middle of Isabella's battle, after everything we've done for her,
01:34she couldn't even do this much. It was laughable. Making myself into a shield protecting Isabella
01:42forever. That was a small thing. But mom, I was your real daughter. The one used as a shield.
01:52Send men to the western watch post. If she's hiding there, drag her back.
01:57Isabella walked over to her father's chair and knocked down.
02:03Father, please don't be upset with her tonight. Maybe she was just scared.
02:08It all happened so fast. Let me speak to her. She's always listened to me most.
02:21I flow above the table. Whispers come from the channel. Soft and faint.
02:28Serafina. An hour ago, House Valeris sent me your finger. I burned it. This is just a small lesson.
02:36Just stay quiet tonight. Don't come back. House Valeris will take very good care of you.
02:43She choked out.
02:46Serafina said she said she was safe. She said she was sorry for running from the battlefield.
02:53She said, please tell father not to wait for her.
03:03My poor child. I know that's not what she really said. She's jealous of you.
03:10She's jealous of you. And yet you're still covering for her.
03:13That coward. After 300 years, her thin blood is still tainted. She deserves no forgiveness.
03:23This is the last time.
03:25Tainted? Coward? Deserter?
03:29A trace of silent smile rose from the depths of my soul.
03:34It had taken me seven years to win that council seat. The first woman in centuries.
03:40I had thought father might finally look at me the way he looked at her.
03:46This afternoon, I went to ask for reinforcements. Only a sitting council member could do that.
03:52Before I left, I told only Isabella and asked her to tell father to wait for me. She promised.
04:00Then she sold my root to House Valerius. All the love in this family belonged to her.
04:05I had never once thought of fighting her for it. That included Leander.
04:10House Feldren had not produced an heir of noble bloodline in 200 years.
04:15Year by year, father's seat at the round table had become more precarious and more marginal.
04:20Leander was the heir to House Valerius of third generation pure blood. A marriage to him would
04:27keep House Valerius at the table for another 50 years. But father, mother, and Damien Jinn all knew it.
04:35His bloodline was too exalted. I was not worthy of him. So when Isabella began sitting beside him,
04:41resting her head on her shoulder, no one said anything. I witnessed all of it, and I said nothing.
04:48This afternoon, I went alone to seek help from the other vampire houses. Fire riders from House Valerius
04:56were already waiting at the Western Pass. The moment I saw them, I triggered the emergency blood oath.
05:02Father, they're lying in wait for me. Save me.
05:06Enough. Three hundred years, and still you never stop. Isabella wins one battle, and you fake an ambush
05:13just to drag this family back to your side. Do you know what I prayed for the night you were
05:17born?
05:17I prayed wrong. I should have prayed for you to be born dead. A clean grave would have suited me
05:24far
05:24better than three hundred years of you. If you crave that much attention, then stay out there and die.
05:30Do not come back! Then the thought cut off. The blood bond faded, then vanished.
05:35Look at this thin-blooded trash. A mongrel masquerading as a Valdron noble. You're just a dog someone bit by
05:41mistake.
05:42No fangs. No pride. No right to walk among us. Die in the mud where you belong.
05:47He put holy water over my face. The skin on my cheeks split open. Black smoke rose from my jaw.
05:53Wash her first. Then let's see whether there is even a shred of purity underneath.
05:59Then powers did not bleed to death. So they took me apart. Bit by bit, I was torn from myself.
06:05And I stayed awake through it all.
06:07Until a sharpened white ash stick pierced my chest and pinned me into the mud at the bottom of the
06:14ditch.
06:15At last, I died. In ten hours, the sun would rise. There would be nothing left of me.
06:22Below me was the underground hall at the bottom of the Valdron castle.
06:27Tonight, the entire family was holding a victory celebration.
06:36Sepathina did not appear before the council to receive her seal. Where is she?
06:40She rode out this afternoon. She has not returned.
06:43By law, if more than six hours pass, the head of the house may name a successor on the spot.
06:50Isabella. She held the western pass through the final wave tonight. That honor belongs to her.
06:59Mother, this should be Serafina's. A bloodline like hers deserves it. In 300 years,
07:07Serafina's. Has she ever once made this family hold its head high at the round table?
07:12That seal would be wasted in her hands.
07:17Then, I'll keep it for her for now. When she returns, I'll give it back to her.
07:24My poor child. You are this family's only hope.
07:30All of this should have been yours. Seven years. I won that seat. The first held by a woman in
07:36centuries. And all it took was one sentence. A bloodline like hers deserves it. Not one person
07:43in that entire hall spoke for me. The doors were thrown open. Leander had arrived. He crossed the
07:49hall and dropped to one knee directly before Isabella. This was the gift I had prepared.
07:53Tonight, I give it to you. No one fought more beautifully in this battle than you did.
07:58Leander, this should go to Serafina. No. She will have other gifts. But this night
08:02belongs to you alone. He's lead the ring onto her finger. Mother clapped her hands.
08:08Isabella has already received more gifts tonight than she can carry. Serafina's resting chamber is
08:13standing empty anyway. Burn those mildy old records and clear it out for her as a second private room.
08:18Serafina still hasn't returned. Do you think she could have been hurt out there?
08:23Sosos wept too. Only then did the three of them seem to remember there was another daughter named
08:29Serafina. If she were truly hurt, the blood bond would have sounded by now. It didn't.
08:35That means she ran. She is nothing but a spoiled child. Mother, please don't say that. Serafina worked
08:42so hard for that seat. And in the end, the honor still came to me. The crimson eyes gleamed with
08:47barely hidden triumph. The servants were moving things. My records were carried out bundle by bundle.
09:00My wardrobe stood open. The robes inside folded one by one into wooden chests.
09:14Mother, Serafina's room is this large. It is wasted on her. Anything that can be moved,
09:18move it. Anything that cannot, burn it. Clear it out for storage.
09:24Isabella turned in a slow circle, then went to my bedside table and pulled open the bottom drawer.
09:29She took out a palm-sized wooden box. Inside was a lock of silver-white hair,
09:36coiled into a ring. The hunter's silver hair ring passed down through generations.
09:41Every strand was cut from a beheaded pure-blood noble and steeped in sacred fire for a hundred years.
09:48Any vampire who touched it would have their flesh rot at once. Article 7 of the Old Covenant.
09:55To secretly keep such an object is punishable by eternal sleep. I had taken it 200 years ago from the
10:02body of a dead hunter in the hunting grounds. I never turned it in. I kept it. I wanted to
10:07know
10:08whether, if that day ever came, I would have the courage to use it on myself.
10:15Mom, look at this! At the very instant they exchanged it, Isabella let go.
10:23The ring of silver hair just happened to graze the back of mother's hand,
10:29then bounced back into Isabella's own palm. Black smoke burst from her entire palm,
10:34and her flesh began rotting inward, inch by inch. Mother, it hurts!
10:46What is that? A hunter's silver hair ring.
10:51Serafina! She hid this in her room!
10:55Article 7 of the Old Covenant. To secretly keep such an object is punishable by eternal sleep.
11:02Damien slammed his fist onto my desk. The corner slid open, and my journal fell to the floor,
11:08exposing the number 99. Damien glanced at it once, then kicked it away.
11:14Three centuries of Valdron purebloods, only to spawn a walking stain like her.
11:26Father, please don't speak of Seraphine that way. She was probably only curious. She's always had a
11:30fascination with things like this, and I'm sure she never meant to hurt me.
11:36Being thin bloodlined is no excuse for harming her family.
11:39I drifted beneath the ceiling, hearing once again my family's disgust for my bloodline.
11:46My mind went back to the bloodline awakening rite, 300 years ago. That was the day that determined the
11:53rank each child of House Valdron would hold. Damien stepped onto the platform first,
11:58and awakened crimson dominion. The pride in father's eyes was not concealed in the slightest.
12:04When Isabella's turn came, she awakened the rare blessing of holy blood, soothing the bloodlust of
12:10every low-ranking bloodthrow around her. Mother held her and wept through the night,
12:14calling her a treasure not seen in a hundred years. Then I stepped onto the ritual platform,
12:20full of hope. I wanted so badly to make father smile. But the instant my bloodline revealed itself,
12:26the entire ritual hall fell into deftly silence. At the time, no one told me, and no one knew,
12:43which ancestor, that so-called atavism, had returned to. Deanda arrived at two in the morning.
12:49He did not look at anyone else. He went straight to Isabella, half-kneeled before her, and took her
12:55bandaged hand into his own. How is your hand? Leomin, please don't blame Seraphina. She probably
13:04didn't realize it was a hunter's relic, with a bloodline like hers. She wouldn't even be able
13:11to sense anything holy. Seraphina, I didn't think you could be this vicious. Are you so jealous of her?
13:24You'd put a hunter's relic in her hands?
13:29On the other side of the crystal, I had already been dead for hours. Our engagement had not yet
13:35been sealed by blood oath, so there was no death bond between us. He did not know. I had planned
13:41to
13:41give you the Valerius family heirloom ring tonight, but I've already placed it on Isabella's finger. I
13:48walked up to Isabella, dot his eyes, which had just turned cold, soften at once. Don't cry. I'll stay
13:56with you. He had never once half-kneeled and held my hand that way. He had never even remembered that
14:02I could not drink high concentration pure blood. Every time he came, he had the servants bring Isabella a
14:08cup of blood warm to the perfect temperature, and me a goblet of pure blood I could not absorb. I've
14:15argued with him time and again. Every single time, he'd say the exact same words.
14:22Seraphina, you're overthinking it. I only see Isabella as a younger sister who deserves respect.
14:27And back then, I believed him. Leander really does care for her.
14:33Such a shame the Valerius bloodline is too exalted. He and Isabella are the true perfect match.
14:41Once Isabella's affairs are settled, we'll find an excuse to break off Seraphia's engagement.
14:47And what about Seraphia?
14:50With blood like hers, some mid-ranking outsider will do. Damien, she has been running wild all night.
14:58Enough. Take two blood thralls and go to the Western watch post. If she is hiding in the tower,
15:04bind her and bring her back. If she has crossed the border and fled, then she has cast herself out
15:09of
15:09this house. That was the road I had to take when I rode out this afternoon to seek reinforcements.
15:16Just a little farther west, from the watch post, was the ditch. If he went that way, he would find
15:23my body.
15:24Father! Father, please don't send him!
15:33Why?
15:34Seraphina has always been like this. For 300 years, she lowered her head. She always comes back once
15:40she's done making a scene. Tonight will be no different. Damien has just returned from the
15:45battlefield. Let him rest tonight. And besides, Seraphina has always been proud.
15:54If Damien finds her hiding there, she'll only resent me more for it.
15:59Let her come back on her own. Give her a little grace.
16:05This child... Seraphina has harmed her this badly, and still she speaks for her.
16:12Forget it. Tomorrow then.
16:15Damien looked at Isabella. He said nothing. Something flickered across his face. But he sat back down.
16:25My poor child. For House Valdren to have a daughter like you is the greatest blessing this generation has been
16:33given.
16:34At half past three in the morning, Isabella finally cried herself to sleep. Only then did
16:41father's blood bond come crashing into place. He called for me three times in a row. I gave him
16:47nothing back. But he had forgotten. When I begged him for help, he had blocked me completely. His face
16:52darkened as he kicked the table over in one violent motion. Damien! Come with me to the Western Watch Post.
16:59Wherever she is, drag her back. Mother started to stop him, but father cut her off with a single look.
17:06She swallowed her words and followed behind him. Leander came out of the healer's chamber,
17:13said nothing, snatched up his cloak, and followed as well. When they reached the watch post,
17:19there was no sign of me anywhere. On the wind lingered a scorched trace of holy water,
17:25mixed with a blood stench, sharp as rust. Who was careless enough to leave a blood thrall's body
17:35lying out here? He pushed through the brush. A ditch opened before him, and in it lay a torso,
17:41with only its back exposed. Its face was submerged in the filthy water. The dark crimson robe. It was the
17:49one I had worn when I went out this afternoon. Enough. Get up. You'd even pull something like
18:00this? To lie and play the victim? You even dared use a stake? A sharpened white ash stick had been
18:07driven through from the back, pinning the body to the bottom of the ditch. It sweared gently with a
18:14current. He crouched and grabbed the stake in my chest. The instant his hand touched it, he stopped.
18:22It was a vampire hunter's stake soaked in holy water.
18:29Get up. Stop this. He turned the body over. Half my face had been burnt by holy water. The flesh
18:40charred black. My limbs had been torn off at the roots. At the edge of the ditch, mother let out
18:47a
18:47short scream and covered her mouth. Leander stood, nailed where he was. Her blood. There's no echo.
18:57Damien staggered backward against the ditch wall. Mother dropped in the mud by the ditch.
19:02Leander's knees struck the earth without a sound. Father collapsed into the ditch,
19:08water rising to his waist. He crawled toward my body on hands and knees,
19:13as though he could not believe what his own eyes were seeing.
19:17Serapufina really has met final death. Father would not let anyone touch my body.
19:26He carried me back to my resting chamber, his movements clumsy. A man who had held a scepter for
19:33300 years was lifting his own daughter for the first time. He did not even know where to place his
19:38hands. He laid me on the velvet chaise I had hardly ever slept on. When I was alive,
19:45I preferred sleeping in my coffin. He had never known that. There, beneath a paperweight, lay a black
19:54leather-bound journal. On the cover, in my own blood, I have written two words. The Crimson Ledger.
20:02There, beneath a paperweight, lay a black hat away.
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