GISELLE

An exceptionally warm day destroyed the white cover of snow and allowed the green grass to appear. Sun shone in the clear, blue sky, attracting the birds and flies that have gone into hiding when winter began. Giselle stood on a field beneath Bran Castle, watching disciples train. When the weather got better, disciples left their philosophy books and began training for the inevitable war.

Two weeks have passed since the ball and since the word of the Border falling in Edinburgh reached Bran Castle. Once Vlad learnt this, he pressured Andryj to train disciples harder.

Ever since the ball, Giselle has been feeling better. Luciana taught her magic, but they hadn't practiced yet. Giselle first had to learn the basics of sorcery theory, she had to learn the spells and what they do, how to evoke magic, how to harness it. She read thirteen books exactly, reading all through the nights. Finally, she felt the benefits of being a vampire and never being tired. During the days, she trained with Vlad. He taught her the basics of battle tactics and how to swing a sword. She wasn't any good at it, but she was strong and it gave her certain confidence.

Strangely, all this work made her feel better. She emerged in the world of magic and knowledge during nights and physically trained during days. Now, the energy she usually put into overthinking her life was better spent.

Giselle instinctively wanted to go through her hair with her hand and smiled when she found it braided tightly to her head. She even wore pants, which she thought she never would.

"Ready for the day?" Alacaris ran towards Giselle, she was covered in sweat and her skin shone in the sun, reflecting it like the remains of the snow that still lingered.

"Luciana will finally let me practice magic." Giselle smiled.

"Where?" Ala seemed excited.

Giselle nodded towards the field and all the disciples practicing. Exercises were interesting, Giselle thought as she watched them.

Vampires carried rocks, bigger than themselves, from one side of the field to the other repeatedly until Andryj told them to stop. She watched thirty or so vampires, with huge rocks in their hands threatening to crush them if they let go for a moment.

"Why are they carrying them around?" Giselle asked Ala.

"Vlad is teaching them stoicism. Well, one aspect of stoicism. It's an exercise between the fighting, it's meant to teach them self-control, discipline and modesty. You may be a powerful, immortal vampire, but a rock will kill if you if you become too arrogant and think you can carry it with ease." Alacaris explained.

"I wonder what I will do." Giselle mumbled and Luciana approached her in that moment. Her black hair fell loosely over her beige dress with flaxen shapes embroidered in the fabric. She had a thick, dark red robe over her. Giselle remembered she was a mere witch and cold bothered her.

"You will make it harder for them. You will make rocks appear heavier or lighter, you will shatter them into little pieces with your mind." Luciana said.

"Shouldn't I practice this with smaller rocks?" Giselle asked, feeling her heart beat. This would be the first time she actually got to use magic and she was nervous.

"No, that would take all the pressure away. If a war is coming, you need to learn how to use magic under pressure, while your life and the life of others is depending on it. So you will practice on them, while they're carrying rocks, knowing full well that if you make a mistake, one of these rocks might crush a vampire." Luciana said.

"That's really risky." Alacaris commented.

"We want it to be risky." Luciana looked them dead in the eye and Giselle couldn't stop her loud heartbeats from deafening her. "Come on." Luciana turned around and walked away from Giselle towards the middle of the field.

"How do you know this will work? I mean, I am a dark a trickster and your magic is white." Giselle remembered.

"Principles of magic are the same, but unlike me, you have magic within you. I need to draw it out of nature." Luciana explained.

She stood next to Giselle and they faced the vampires carrying rocks.

"You need to find the power within yourself and shape it in your mind. Bend it to your will." Luciana began murmuring unclear words and Giselle watched as her face twitched. She used so much of her power to simply show Giselle how to make a rock heavier.

It was Alacaris' rock that was affected and Ala began sweating under the weight of the massive rock, her hands shaking while trying to keep it up. Soon Giselle realised Luciana wasn't going to stop, this wasn't a demonstration.

"Stop! It's too heavy on her!" Giselle yelled while she watched Ala's face redden, she fell on her knees with the huge rock still above her head. Giselle tried to jump for her, but she couldn't move. She looked at Luciana and noticed one of her hands pointing towards Giselle. She kept her in place with magic.

"Make it easier for her." Luciana said through her teeth.

With nothing else to do, Giselle began searching her mind for the source of her magic. She knew it was there but she couldn't find it. Alacaris began to cry, veins on her forehead and arms jumping out, betraying the true extent of her pain.

Giselle dug deeper, searching her mind for that awful, dark place where all the evil thoughts lay buried. Watching Alacaris barely holding the rock above her head, Giselle dived into that place. A bundle of power waited for her there.

Disciples of Bran Castle put down their rocks and gathered around them, their faces worried.

"I can't do it, Luciana, let her go, please!" Giselle shouted, fear creeping into her heart. Helplessness washed over her as she tried to use that bundle of power rumbling beneath her skin, but she couldn't call it to her.

"Yes, you can. Because you have no other choice." Luciana's voice was strained, she couldn't use the magic for much longer, which meant the rock might fall down on Alacaris whether Luciana intends it to or not.

"Isn't this... a bit... too much for the first fucking day?!" Alacaris managed to say through the pain and her voice shook Giselle out of the passiveness.

Letting the fear for Alacaris and rage towards Luciana guide her, Giselle poked the bundle of power, trying to move it, trying to use it in any way she could.

Vampires around them got closer to Alacaris, ready to catch the huge rock if Ala couldn't hold it anymore. That gave Giselle some comfort and she managed to close her eyes, using her entire strength to move the bundle of power within her, to do anything with it.

The bundle of power moved. Giselle grabbed it with her mind. She focused on Alacaris and the rock above her. She was certain her heart would jump straight out of her chest. Giselle opened her eyes, ready to lift the weight of Alacaris' shoulders.

Ala's hand slipped.

"No!" Giselle yelled, vampires ran for the rock. Giselle could feel the wave of energy leaving her body and she watched it crash into the rock. The rock disintegrated into little pieces of dust, raining down on Ala and all other vampires that came to her rescue.

Giselle collapsed on the ground, but she didn't lose the power. It roared through her veins wanting to claim, to destroy. She looked at Ala who lay on the ground, panting.

"Oh, my God." A redheaded vampire nearest to Giselle said, looking around herself startled.

Giselle lifted her gaze and looked around. All the rocks lay disintegrated on the grass, covering the greenness with shades of grey.

Luciana was also on the ground and she looked completely drained.

"Are you fucking insane?!" Giselle got up as soon as she remembered Luciana. She marched towards her, ready to break her neck.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, this is the best way to train!" Luciana got up quickly and moved a few steps away from Giselle.

"She could've died!" Giselle insisted.

"Yes! She could've! Just like she might die on the battlefield!" Luciana defended herself and it made Giselle stop in place. But she could not calm the power rumbling beneath her skin, it wanted out, it wanted to prove the point. Almost like it had a life of its own.

"It was too soon! I have never done magic in my entire life and you put me through..."

"It is never the right time!" Luciana interrupted Giselle abruptly. "Just like it is never the right time to face a war, it will always be too soon. But it is our job to be ready and whether I like it or not, you are our best bet. You called me here to train you and as God is my witness, I will train you! Now look around!"

On pure impulse, Giselle looked around, noticing all the vampires staring at her horrified. She saw Andryj, a look of pure shock on his face. She saw all the rocks completely destroyed.

"I did that." Giselle whispered, finally feeling the whole weight of it.

"Yes, you did that." Luciana nodded.

Giselle calmed her breathing down. This was it, she thought, she would have to learn to be what her mother intended. They would face a war and she was going to have to fight like she had never fought before.

"What do you want me to do?" Giselle asked.

"First, I want you to clean this mess. I want you to use your magic to remove all the remains of the rocks from the grass." Luciana pointed towards the destroyed rocks.

"Seriously?" Giselle frowned.

"Yes, seriously. If you're done before sundown, I will teach you the basics of reviving magic. Let us see whether dark magic can be used for something good for a change." She turned around and walked away, leaving Giselle and Alacaris behind.

"Well, she surprised me." Alacaris smiled. "I thought she had no spine."

"She is Lerra's witch, after all." Giselle shrugged her shoulders.

They walked together towards a first pile of destroyed rocks and Giselle tried to focus on gathering them. Ala grabbed a woollen bag and began collecting smaller rocks.

"I don't think you're supposed to help me." Giselle said while she desperately tried to make use of that annoying power. She lost the grip on it again.

"How does it feel?" Alacaris asked.

"Like a wave of energy is passing through my body. It feels alive." Giselle described and gasped when the first small rock moved. Ala frowned and Giselle stopped commanding the power.

"You're very strong." Ala noticed.

"It was the fear for your life, it moved something in me." Giselle confessed.

"I guess it's a good thing you'll have to use it on the battlefield. Plenty of fear there." Alacaris sat on the grass.

"Are you scared?" Giselle asked and sat down as well. She guessed it was alright to have a little break.

"I don't know." Ala shrugged her shoulders. "I've never been in a real fight before and being a vampire sort of makes you feel invincible."

Giselle smiled and focused on the little rocks again, playing with her power, trying to bend it to her will. Finally, the little rocks moved and Giselle gripped the power, not letting it go. Very slowly, she lifted the rocks off the ground with her mind and placed them in the woollen bag. It amazed her how tired she already was and there was still a whole field of this waiting for her.

"I'll learn how to control it." Giselle said, sounding more confident than she actually was.

"I hate to pressure you, but I think you really have to." Alacaris' laugh was bitter and Giselle realised it might have been the first time she saw Alacaris worried.

"If there's a rock hanging over your head, I will destroy it, you know that, right?" Giselle asked, feeling a lump in her throat.

"Yeah, yeah." Alacaris laughed, but it didn't sound real.

"I mean it, Ala. I will have your back, always." Giselle said.

They might have both began crying if it weren't for a commotion behind them. Giselle turned around only to see Vlad and his counsellors angrily striding through the field. She exchanged a glance with Ala and they both got up quickly and ran to Vlad.

Giselle swore she saw him roll his eyes when he noticed her and she did not appreciate it.

"What's going on?" She asked, surprised to see him so pale, huge dark circles under his eyes.

"Nothing. Go back to training." He dismissed her with his hand.

"What's going on, Vlad?" Giselle insisted.

"Must you know everything?" He looked exasperated. "You are not my general, you are not my counsellor. It does not concern you."

Giselle thought for a moment of what to say. That she was his daughter? She did not know that.

"I am your witch." Giselle said and perhaps her power heard, because she felt her grip on it tighten. "Now, I may not know everything about you, but I can tell something happened. And I assure you, it is in your interest to tell me what." The strength in her voice surprised her.

"Fine, you want to know? The Border around Constantinople fell. Queen Aksana and all the royal advisors, including the Monarchy's prisoners and the Royal Court are on their way to Vienna." Vlad sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"What does that mean for us?" Giselle asked. Vlad's laugh was brittle.

"It means that the House nearest to the throne are now the Habsburgs, but that is something we will have to deal with later. Our bigger concern is the fact that the goddamn Border in Constantinople fell. Do you have any idea how close Bran is to Constantinople? We are next." Vlad said and moved forward as if to tell her they are done here.

Giselle could do nothing but nod as she felt the fear within her growing. Vlad looked at her one more time.

"You need to train, night and day. Because we might need you in a matter of days." He said and left, Codrin and Anton loyally following him.

"Well, fuck." Alacaris commented, but Giselle was already marching to the rocks on the field. She kneeled in front of a small heap and stared at it angrily. She gathered all her strength and even pointed a finger towards the heap.

"I am the witch around here." She said out loud, not caring whether somebody heard. The power within her purred to the sound of her voice. "And if I say to get in the bag," rhythm of her voice steady, "you get in the fucking bag."

The rocks moved, one by one, hovering in the air. Giselle heard Alacaris gasp and she lifted her gaze off the heap. The air around her was full of rocks, all shapes and sizes. The entire field of rocks listened to her voice and kept on floating above ground, waiting for her next command.