VLAD

Vlad heard nothing but buzzing in his ears. That, and the muffled sounds Codrin made trying to get his attention. But he was fixated on the terrible sight in front of him, which he watched from the tower. The former beautiful, radiant day turned into the darkest shade of grey. Vlad watched the steep cliffs under the castle and the fields that collided with dark forest, as he heard multiple voices trying to reach out to him.

All he thought about was how many of them were going to die in the days to come.

His steady heartbeat joined the buzzing and his already overwhelmed mind could barely take it any more. Vlad tried taking a deep breath focusing on his raging counsellors, but he couldn't. His mind kept on counting every single mistake he had ever made that led to this moment. 

The Border was an invisible line and Vlad never thought he would actually see it fall, but he did. Veil of dirt and dust swirled in the air where the Border used to stand.

"Vlad!" Finally, a voice managed to find its way to Vlad's ears. It was Codrin, but he wasn't alone. Vlad turned around slowly and looked at his outraged counsellors standing behind him.

"Scouts returned," Andryj began, once Vlad focused on them, "the Unknowns are coming."

"Of course they would strike right away, I would, too." Vlad murmured.

"What do we do, Voivode?" Codrin asked.

With one final glance to the darkened fields, Vlad switched into his general mode, the calm and ruthless. He gestured with his finger for his counsellors to follow him as he exited the tower room.

"Petre, find Sergey, tell him to get his soldiers ready. They will wait within the castle until I say otherwise." Vlad said, not sparing him a glance. He moved forward, his steps determined.

"Yes, Voivode." Petre said and disappeared quickly.

"Voivode, Bran Castle is filled with blood. We can wait out a siege." Anton said and Vlad simply nodded.

"I doubt there will be a siege. The Unknowns don't seem like the patient kind. But do me a favour, get every single disciple within the walls. If I see anyone outside, I will murder them myself." Vlad commanded and soon, only Codrin and Andryj walked down the hallways with him.

Vlad proceeded to the great hall of Bran Castle, where dozens of disciples waited for the next command. He was delighted to find them all armoured and ready to fight. Perhaps, he was making a change in this world after all. Vlad noticed a bulked man running towards him and he recognised him as one of the scouts. More bad news, Vlad guessed.

"Voivode..." The man began.

"Tell me." Vlad cut him off. Oh, how he hated when people stalled.

"There's... so many of them. And we didn't even see the entire army!"

Vlad walked past as if the man said nothing. There was no time to be frightened by numbers right now, they had a strategy to plan and they had to do it fast. They reached the balcony above the great hall and Vlad noticed everyone he needed there. He pointed his finger towards Lerra and the wolf and called them over.

"Defence or offence?" Vlad asked.

"Offence every day." Lerra said immediately.

"There's thousands of them." Devan reminded them. "We have a shy of three thousand."

"Defence, then offence?" Lerra suggested.

Vlad pulled a table from the corner and put it between all of them. Codrin took out the map he most likely carried with him at all times.

"They are coming from the forest." Codrin said.

"We can't assume that. They might be coming from all directions, we don't even know the exact number." Devan countered.

"Panic." Vlad said. "We want them to panic, we want them to think we are prepared. Someone get the witch!" He shouted. Codrin nodded and looked at the squire next to them, the boy ran away.

"If we start creating panic, we can't stop. If they realise we have nothing after the show we put on, they are going to get cocky." Lerra said and Vlad nodded in agreement.

"Our plan is still to close them in, right?" Vlad put his hands on the map. "We wait for them to come here, we use Devan's cousins as a distraction, make them wonder why the wolves are on our side. Maybe they'll think there's more of them." Vlad kept on talking.

"What then?" Codrin asked.

Vlad removed his hands from the map and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure, he didn't know how to lead this war. Partly because it's been ages since he actually fought and partly because he suddenly realised how much he had to lose. They came to his home, the home of all his counsellors, his friends, disciples.

"We can't assume that the only thing they have are numbers. We can't underestimate them, Vlad." Devan said and Vlad looked at the wolf, noticing his scarred face for the first time.

"You are right. I want their exact location now, I want every person within the walls, I want the witch and the wolves here right now!" Vlad shouted and men around him simply dispersed. Only Lerra stayed.

"Maybe they will underestimate us." She suggested.

"Lucien knows who I am. I foolishly told him my name after he killed my counsellor, Dinu." Vlad said and sighed when he saw Lerra's eyes widen in surprise.

"I find it funny how you still believe your name is your downfall." She said.

"It brought me nothing good." Vlad murmured.

"Your name is your greatest weapon. Everything you've ever done exists in that name. And even the man that holds his sword against your neck will tremble before it." Lerra said and Vlad let those words sink in.

All his life he wanted to be a good man, he wanted the world to remember him that way. Then why did he find this woman, that brought out the worst in him, so alluring? Perhaps the world didn't need a good man, perhaps it needed a villain.

"Go get ready for the war." Vlad simply told her and leaned onto the table again. Lerra walked away from him.

Vlad listened to his steady heartbeat and wondered why didn't it beat louder. He always felt unnaturally calm during the time of war. Maybe war did that to people, maybe they forgot how to function when they weren't fighting.

He watched the scared disciples run around the castle from the balcony he stood on. This is what he chose to spend his life doing. Of course, he used to be the king. He used to rule the Monarchy and it felt so, so good. Now, he was nothing but a teacher, he taught his disciples how to be vampires, he taught Giselle how to swing a sword, he walked around and spread wisdom onto the younger ones. He might have been immortal, but he has gotten old nonetheless.

He noticed Giselle amongst the vampires in the great hall and she glanced up at him. She had her armour on. Maybe he was trying to get her to the throne because she knew she didn't know how to rule. Maybe he simply wanted to rule in her stead. He wanted to be the king once again.

She climbed up the stairs and approached him.

"What do I do?" She asked.

"You wait. They need to come as close as possible for us to close them in. When they're here, you will restore the Border, it will weaken them." Vlad said.

Right in that moment, a hoard of counsellors, vampires, wolves and all others that found interest in his battle plans marched onto that small balcony above the great hall. They all came to him for advice. Perhaps he wasn't that irrelevant after all.

"What do we do, Voivode?" Sergey asked.

So Vlad told them. He laid every piece of the plan before them and hoped they would stick to it. They listened closely, because every person had a role they needed to play perfectly in order for this to work. Vlad didn't know how much time passed but when he was done, a scout returned with a horrified look on his face.

"Voivode, they are here." He said, so obviously trying to keep his voice still. Vlad nodded and encouraged him to go on. "There's roughly around seven thousand of them. Four thousand more men than we have."

Vlad poured a cup of blood in his throat.

"Let's go win a war." He said and exchanged glances with both Devan and Luciana, it was their turn first. They disappeared immediately and Vlad got down to the great hall, his men following him.

In the garden of Bran Castle, hundreds of soldiers stood awaiting for Vlad's next command. They weren't like a typical human army, no cavalry. Vampires mostly relied on their ability to move quickly, so they weren't heavily armoured. But they had small patches of armour around their chest and their neck. Some had swords and some had stakes. They had their tactic, they would usually work in teams where one soldier would attack the enemy with a sword and the other would be waiting with a stake. But they wouldn't be able to use that tactic now, not when the enemy had so much more men.

It was awfully quiet and the forests before the Bran Castle were calm, the trees stood still. Vlad climbed up the outer wall and joined the archers. He watched the empty, grey fields when the memories of dead bodies he witnessed in his life found their way into his mind again. All the people that died by his hand.

As Vlad thought about his victims, five wolves exited the gates of Bran Castle and stood in the middle of the field. Vlad hasn't seen them in ages and he forgot how magnificent they were. Five huge beasts stood on all four legs and faced the forest. They weren't entirely shaped like the regular wolves, they had the ability to stand on two legs and climb. They were also heavily armoured and practically invincible on the field. If a vampire army had something to be afraid of, it was the wolves.

Their teeth were much longer than those of regular wolves and they had this look in their yellow eyes, one simply knew this was a much more evolved life than that of a regular wolf. Vlad recognised Devan because of his light brown fur, he was bigger than any man. Almost as if he felt Vlad's gaze, Devan his head around and held Vlad's eye contact for a few moments. Vlad nodded.

No one was making a sound. Vlad watched the dark forests and pricked up his ears, waiting for any sign of the enemy coming to his doorstep. Instead, he heard hearts of his soldiers and all other vampires in his castle.

Giselle climbed up to his level and joined him in staring at the field. Loose strands of her hair danced around her face in the cold, calm wind and she looked so much like Leona. She held onto the brick wall and Vlad saw the reflection of grey clouds in her eyes. He could hear her heart beat, but her face gave nothing away. Finally, she looked at him.

"I have never felt anything like this." She said and smiled lightly. "I don't know why it took to stare at the upcoming war, but I finally feel like I want to live."

"I understand," Vlad nodded, "war is contagious. I hate it, but it's like I'm addicted to it."

The trees moved. First in the far distance and then closer and closer. The silence was interrupted abruptly as the army exited the forest. A black sea of enemies appeared on the field and Vlad thought they might never stop appearing. Their fists in the air, Unknowns ran to the Bran Castle and Vlad couldn't help but stare in awe.

"So many of them..." Vlad whispered under his breath and shook his head, not letting fear enter his heart. "Luciana!" He shouted.

Luciana exited the front gates of Bran Castle and walked through the werewolves. Vlad watched her spread her arms widely as she began chanting. Shouting of the nearing army muffled out whatever words the witch was saying and Vlad stared at her intensively.

"Voivode... should I tell the archers..."

"Not yet." Vlad interrupted his soldier, not moving his eyes off Luciana. The witch chanted louder and louder as the army of Unknowns ran for the castle, and Vlad thought of this as one of the defining moments of war.

Luciana's scream deafened everyone for a moment as she fell on her knees and a huge fire broke out in front of her. Vlad's legs trembled as he watched the fire spread all around the Bran Castle, encircling them. The Unknowns reacted too slowly and crashed into the fire.

"Archers!" Vlad shouted and the soldier next to him repeated the words. As the archers drew the string attached to the bow, Vlad looked down from the wall, only to find Sergey already waiting for his next command. "Get your soldiers out, now! While the focus is on the fire!"

Sergey nodded and immediately ran away and Vlad returned his gaze to the battle.

"Loose!" The soldier next to Vlad shouted and all the archers fired at once at the confused Unknowns trying to get over the fire. Some of them were covering the fire with dirt and Vlad knew Luciana couldn't keep the fire up, not if they wanted her to be strong enough to rebuild the Border.

Werewolves were still on the castle side of the fire when Vlad climbed down the wall, Andryj already marching in his direction.

"Sergey is out, he will attack them from behind on your command." He said and Vlad nodded firmly. The plan was to distract them long enough for Sergey to lead his soldiers around the army.

"The fire won't keep them at bay much longer! Get the infantry ready, they will climb down the walls and meet them in the field!" Vlad barked out the command.

"Vlad!" He heard a female voice and turned around to face Giselle. She must have climbed down the wall just after him.

"The Border stays up until we have them all inside!" Vlad guessed her question and decided he had no time to explain anything else.

"Let me out there!" She demanded. "Luciana won't be able to do this! She's not strong enough, she can't keep the fire up!"

Vlad was utterly surprised by the sheer determination in her voice. If she was anyone else, he would let her go. But she was Giselle and Vlad couldn't even imagine the idea that she might die in the battlefield. He couldn't even fathom the possibility that if she used up all of her magic, she might be gone forever.

"No chance." He said.

"Just let me go! I can do it, I'm strong enough!" She cried out and Vlad was again surprised when he saw pure fear in her eyes. She wanted to help. She might even be able to help, but he would not allow.

"I let go of your mother when she jumped from that tower." Vlad pointed his finger towards the highest tower of Bran Castle. "I would sooner die than let go of you."

Giselle closed her eyes and Vlad thought she just up.

"Voivode, fire is gone! They are attacking!" Andryj interrupted them and Vlad turned to face him. His counsellor was scared out of his wits. When Vlad turned to face Giselle again, she was gone.

"God damn it!" Vlad cursed and ran for the walls again, only to climb on top of them with all the strength he had in him.

The fire was gone indeed. Swords, stakes and blood swirled in Vlad's field of vision as he barely recognised who was hurt and who wasn't. Cries of men on all sides overwhelmed Vlad's senses and he almost fell from the wall as memories flooded his mind again.

"Fuck!" Vlad shouted once again and hoped he could do something.

Werewolves tore at the vampires' arms and legs trying to make things easier for Vlad's soldiers. It was a bloodbath. Crimson red filled the fields until almost all of ground was completely covered in it. They were entirely outnumbered. What was worse, much more were coming.

"Where is Giselle?!" Somebody shouted from the garden and Vlad looked down at Luciana.

"Find her! It's time, get the Border up!" Vlad commanded very well aware this was much sooner that expected. If they didn't get the Border up again, they would lose. And every single one of them would die here tonight.

"Voivode!" Andryj called up to him and Vlad simply stared at him open-mouthed, he could not utter a single word anymore. "They attacked from the other side! They are climbing up the steep cliffs and the towers on the other side, we need men there!"

The whole world detached itself from Vlad as he watched his counsellor shout at him, sweat dripping off him. Disciples' scared gazes amongst themselves as they surely thought everything was over. Vlad heard his own heartbeat, filling the veins in his palms and ears and legs. All thoughts left his head and his vision became blurred. He saw nothing but Andryj's lips moving and the archers around him shooting arrows.

They were going to die.