After some decisive editing and complete change in direction from where the story was previously, I have decided to repost the Bronze Viper. I know that I have previously had a sort of love hate relationship with this story, but I'm the sort of person who is very critical of her own writing and if I don't like something, I can't just leave it there. I have to take it down and work on it before I put it up again. But I know that I have jerked you guys around a lot with this story and so for that I apologize. This is the final finished version with a second chapter coming tonight which will illustrate where the story is going to go. Again, I am so sorry for all the teasing and playing chicken with the Bronze Viper, but now that I am finally satisfied with it, I hope to finish it completely and not have to change my mind all over again. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Because of her family's ancient Hindu roots, Padma Patil was no stranger to the idea of reincarnation. She had read all the manuscripts of her ancestors and people they knew being reborn into different lives as different people and all about karma and how it affected one's energies.

If someone had good karma and had done good deeds in their previous life, they might be reborn as the son of a king live in wealth and luxury all of that life.

But if they squandered the chance they had been given in the life of luxury and comfort, than they might be reborn as an animal, cursed to wander the streets or the lands around until someone inevitably killed them.

It was a rather galling prospect when one thought of it.

And perhaps that was why the elder of the Patil twins had invested so much time in simply being the best she could at everything she did.

After all, her intelligence and ambition had earned her a spot and Ravenclaw house as well as tying every single year she had been in school for top spot in grades next to Hermione Granger.

She was far more driven to be the best than her twin was her had gone to Gryffindor and cared more about boys and fashion than she ever did. Parvati cared little for academics and spent more time admiring the opposite sex in Hogwarts than she ever did about opening a book.

Padma thought her sister incredibly foolish for wasting her time as she had but there was no talking Parvati out of it as she was incredibly stubborn.

After a while, Padma had simply given up trying to teach her anything and left her twin well enough alone.

Soon Parvati would see the error of her ways.

When she was sixteen, her parents had told her about the ancient roots of their family and how reincarnation was a part of magic that they could learn if they wanted to. It involved a great deal of study and training as well as raw power and will but learning how to reincarnate oneself was something the twins could learn if they were interested.

Because it was such a delicate branch of magic, one could not learn it until they had reached their majority, which for girls was eighteen and boys was twenty one.

Because the twins were nearing that year, they could now be told about the idea and given the option to study it when they were older.

Parvati had been horrified by the idea, but Padma had been fascinated and had dived right into the study as soon as she had been allowed to do so.

She had learned that when one was reincarnated into a different life, they would retain the strongest memories of their old one and that those memories would be the things that would guide them in the new.

That was somewhat comforting as she couldn't yet fathom not being Padma Patil anymore and the idea that she would still have some of her memories of her old life was a relieving thought.

At least she wouldn't forget who she was when it was all over.

So throughout her last few years of school, Padma studied reincarnation, only determining that she would try something like it when she had lived a good long life and was ready to go on to the next great adventure as Professor Dumbledore often called it.

After all, what was death but another doorway to what lay beyond.

Once one began the cycle of reincarnation, it was difficult to stop. Padma learned that someone could live life after life and essentially achieve immortality through non indestructibly means.

But someone she had a feeling that this wasn't what the Dark Lord had had in his mad quest for eternal life.

And then the war had happened….and all thoughts of reincarnation were put aside as Padma did everything to help her family and friends along with Harry Potter fight back against the tide of evil that had come to Hogwarts.

But it hadn't been enough.

The battle had been lost when Harry had fallen during the battle of Hogwarts to a formidable Lord Voldemort.

Padma remembered being shocked as she never actually thought that Harry would die. She had known there was a prophecy about him being destined to kill Voldemort.

That was one thing she hadn't been able to get Parvati to shut up about.

Her sister had been beside herself when Harry had asked her to the Yule Ball, but had been vastly disappointed with the end result of the evening.

Padma supposed she was even more disappointed now.

It was all for nothing,she thought numbly as she fired spell after spell at her enemies throughout the hall.

It was only a matter of time until she joined the pile of bodies on the ground as well.

Her sister had already died a few hours earlier during the first battle and Padma had been too numb to cry or grieve or even shed a tear.

She and Parvati were identical twins and it was often said that twins, either identical or fraternal were closer than regular siblings.

While she and Parvati had argued a lot and been different in many ways, Padma had still loved her sister fiercely and watching her die was like watching a part of herself die as well.

After that a red haze had descended over her vision and she no longer cared whether they won or lost. The only thing she cared about was killing as many of the bastards as possible.

Along with the help of Hermione, Luna and Ginny, Padma had succeeded in putting down Riddle's mad dog Bellatrix Lestrange.

But she had no time to relish her victory when the insane witch fell because in that moment the spell she hadn't noticed had hit her and she was knocked off her feet.

As she lay there on the floor, a fatal hole in her stomach with her blood draining out onto the cold stones of the Great Hall all around her, Padma suddenly remembered what she had been studying for the last two years.

If there was ever a time to try and save herself….this was it.

She might never see her family again, but if she didn't do this, she would die anyway.

And really all she was thinking about was….I'm not ready to die. I'm only seventeen. I haven't even begun to live yet.

So the elder of the Patil twins summoned the last of her strength and began chanting the words to the spell that would send her mind and soul into a different body and a different life.

She wasn't sure if she would have the strength to perform such a spell, but at the moment, she didn't really care.

As the light began to fade all around her, Padma was astonished when she felt a surge of power race through her…..and then the magic took hold.

Her last sensation was one of flying through the air at an incredible velocity before her strength gave out and everything went black.

Ω

When Padma opened her eyes again, she was shocked at how sensitive her eyes were to the light.

Granted it felt like she had been in the dark for a while but it shouldn't have taken her eyes this long to adjust to the illumination.

She was in a bright warm room that was being illuminated by the light of a midday sun with a warm breeze blowing through it. There was a fireplace in the far corner even though it wasn't necessary and for a moment, Padma wondered if she was back in her room in Revenclaw Tower.

She felt hot too, as if she had spent a good deal of time baking in the sun and was just now coming out of it. Her skin felt hot as well and as she reached down to touch it, Padma was astonished to see something she hadn't been expecting.

Her hands were tiny.

They were literally baby like hands running tiny fingers up and down her arms.

And in that moment, Padma realized that it had worked…

She had successfully completed her first reincarnation.

The emotions that came over her then were immediately excitement and fear because she was in a new place and fear because she had successfully made the transition and now was longer Padma Patil.

She would have a new name, a new body, a new face, new parents, new siblings…..

The amount of new things she would have to learn and do suddenly overwhelmed her and she felt tears well in her eyes for everything that she had left behind to enter this new life.

The moment the tears slid down her cheeks however, a hand appeared out of nowhere and wiped them away.

"Don't cry my love. I don't want to ever see your beautiful face so sad."

Shocked out of her grief at the sound of the beautiful voice, Padma looked up and felt her eyes widen in surprise.

She had been so busy mentally analyzing her new life and the fact that she was once more a baby that she hadn't even looked around.

Now as Padma looked upward, she was amazed to find herself looking at one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

She had long dark lustrous curls and deep brown eyes. Her skin was a lovely olive tone as if she had spent just enough time in the sun to turn it a dull gold and there was a lovely flowery scent about her. She was gazing down at Padma with love in her eyes and the newly reincarnated child knew without a doubt that this woman was her new mother.

Happiness and sadness tussled within her as she was delighted with the sight of the woman, but also sad for the mother she had left behind.

Padma took a deep breath then and forced her grief aside. She had the mentality of a seventeen year old in the mind of a child, surely she would have the presence of mind to control her emotions.

"That's better," the woman said softly. "I don't ever want to see you with tears in your eyes my life. My first born daughter should never look sad."

So, she was the first born again like she had been born before Parvati in her first life. That hadn't changed at least.

"She's beautiful my love."

At the sound of the deep voice that was beautifully accented, Padma turned and felt the breath hitch in her throat when she saw a new person come into focus and stand next to the woman who was her new mother.

He was one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. His black hair was in ringlets and as dark as his eyes. These two features stood out against his olive toned skin and as she took in the pale yellow robes he was wearing, she could tell that he was still young. His body was lean and hard no doubt from a life time of physical exercise.

But what struck Padma the most was the look in his eyes as he looked down at her. There was a sparkle in those dark orbs that she had remembered her first mother telling her that her own father had had when she and her twin were born.

Is….Is this my new father?Padma thought in awe.

"And she looks like you Oberyn," the woman purred. "It's fitting that our daughter should be as beautiful as her father. The Martell blood is in her after all."

These were indeed her parents and it warmed Padma to see the obvious love between them when her new father bent down and gave her mother a gentle kiss.

Oberyn,she thought. And odd name, although I must admit not the strangest that I've ever heard.

"Except for her golden eyes," her new father commented. "I have no idea where she inherited those. Her aunt's are a pale brown but not so gold as these ones."

"She will be special," her new mother said looking proud.

Padma had known that there would be side effects of her attempts at reincarnation but it struck her as odd that golden eyes was one of them.

Although as far as side effects went, this one was hardly a bad one.

"What would you like to name her my love?" her mother asked. "I suppose she's gone long enough without a name."

There was a moment where Padma experienced a sense of vertigo before she realized that her father had picked her up and was walking away from her mother.

Where is he taking me?She wondered.

It was then that an odd sound reached her ears and at once she recognized it as the sound of the ocean.

The room she was currently in had a balcony that looked out onto the ocean.

It reminded Padma a bit of a villa in Rome that looked out onto the Mediterranean Sea for how blue the water was and how they were so close to it.

The idea that she was going to be raised in a home by the water thrilled her as she had always loved to swim but it hadn't been always possible in rainy cold England.

The moment Padma's eyes adjusted to the light, she looked up towards the bright yellow sun and smiled at it.

She could see that her father's own eyes were alight with pleasure at the gesture.

All of a sudden he turned her so his hand was resting gently at the back of her head and the other was wrapped around her middle so she could see the ocean.

If she was able to gasp, Padma was sure she would have.

The ocean was the bluest she had ever seen and it went for miles when it met the white sandy beach. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze was blowing bringing with it the scent of exotic fruits and flowers that made Padma's stomach rumble.

"This is your new home little one," Oberyn whispered in her ear. "Sunspear in Dorne at the tip of Westeros. The water gardens are will you grow up."

Padma smiled again, both for the wonderful picture he was painting but also in confusion for she had no idea where Dorne was much less Westeros.

I suppose I'll figure it all out eventually. This sense of the unknown was something I did sign up for when I chose to reincarnate myself into a different life.

"And as such, you will bear the name of one of the ruling princesses of Dorne," her father whispered. "Aliandra. Aliandra Sand."

"It's a beautiful name my love," the woman who was her mother said. She had come out onto the balcony beside her father was leaning slightly against him. "But don't you think it's a bit too early for this sort of instruction? She's only a few hours old after all."

"It is never too early to begin learning new things Ellaria my love," her father said and Padma blinked at the hearing of her new mother's name for the first time. It was certainly a beautiful one. "My first daughter will be brought up in our ways."

"Very well then," Ellaria said gently as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Teach her…..this one will be special…..she's going to need it."

Padma smiled up at her new parents and then closed her eyes as she whispered goodbye to her old life and her old parents and her old sister.

She would miss them….but she didn't regret her choice. She would have died either way and she knew that they would want her to be happy.

Padma had a feeling that she would be happy here.

Her two new parents obviously loved her and each other and that would be enough for her right now.

She would learn all there was to know about this new world that she was living in as that part of her personality hadn't changed.

Padma wanted to learn it all but first of all she would have to begin becoming used to her new name.

It certainly was a beautiful one…..Aliandra.

Although Sand was an odd last name and one she was sure came from her mother just as the one of Martell came from her father, but she had a feeling she would get used to it.

It certainly seems that there are going to be a lot of things I will need to become used to. So here are the first steps in doing that. My name is Aliandra…..and I am the first born daughter of Ellaria Sand and Oberyn Martell. I do hope that this life will have less tragedy than the last.

Ω