Andor.
I heard screaming late into the night from King Isaac's castle. I grabbed my sword and ran outside to see his great hall, where we had just had celebrations on fire.
I ran towards the guards who were stunned by the flames and screamed at them. "Get water, now!"
They ran to get water. Edmund and Ivar joined me in front of the burning hall.
"My lord. We heard all the noise." Edmund said.
"Yes. Their hall is on fire." I replied.
I walked away from them. The whole situation seemed very strange. There was no reason for the halls to be on fire; no accident could have spread the Flames around so quickly; that would only happen if someone set the roof on fire.
That was when all hell broke loose. People were trying to breach the main gate. The thundering noise from the entrance being forced to open filled the air.
More of the guards ran towards the main gate to try and repel the attack. I ran towards the entrance and observed Kings Isaac's guards making headway with the defence. They shot arrows at the men trying to slam the gate open with a giant wooden wood, the arrows pierced through their courtship, and some went through their heads.
The men cheered excitedly as they were successfully defending their homes.
I heard noise from the direction of king Isaac's castle; I focused my hearing and listened to the footsteps and panting of a guard as he came into view.
"This is a distraction." The guards yelled. "The castle is being attacked. It's a slaughter out there. They have taken princess Jennifer."
I ran away from the gates and towards the castle; Edmund and Ivar ran after me. There was fighting in the court when we arrived; King Isaac's men had difficulty defeating their foe, so I joined in.
I cut the first man from behind, and the other ran toward me with the hope of avenging his fallen comrade. He blocked my strike from above, but I pushed him down, and he clattered to the floor; before he had a chance to move, I pierced my sword into his heart.
Another one ran toward me, and Edmund, who had just defeated his man, struck him down from behind.
The rest of the attackers were the men who joined us from the gate. Satisfied that no more men were trying to enter the castle, we put our swords down.
"Where is king Isaac?" I asked one of the guards. "How has he not come out in all this commotion."
"In his chambers. When the assault started, some guards barricaded him inside and guarded him."
"Let us go to him."
The guards at kings Isaac's door paved the way for me to pass immediately.
"They waited for the guards to be drunk and asleep before attacking." King Isaac said in disbelief.
"They have your daughter," I replied.
"My late wife will be rolling in her grave that I let this happen."
He jumped from his bed and stormed past his guards. "Gather everyone. We would hunt these bastards down."
"Do you know who could have done this?
"I have a lot of enemies." King Isaac replied.
"Raise a hundred men. Tell them that they are to go and find my daughter now. Andor, I want you to lead them and bring my daughter back to me alive. I would forever be in your debt."
"I do not need the men," I said.
"Why?"
"We have wasted enough time talking already; I'll find your daughter and bring her back," I replied. "I can track her faster; I already have Edmund and Ivar; I do not need a hundred men."
"Very well." King Isaac replied.
"I would need something that her scent would be on."
A guard ran away to fetch the princess's belonging. He returned later with a scarf filled with her scent.
"How did they get in?" I asked. "They did not use the main gate."
"They dug their way through the north wall, the wall has weakened, and repair was scheduled for next week. Someone must have given them information that we would be drunk and asleep. No one heard the digging." A guard explained.
"Take me there," I replied.
"Please find my daughter." King Isaac said. "The safety of our kind depends on it."
It felt like I needed a better explanation of what that meant, but there was no time.
Edmund and Ivar trailed behind me as we went to the part of the walls that the assailants got in from. We got on horses and rode around the wall; I saw the prints of at least ten men. A couple probably stayed outside to keep the horses ready when they ran out with the princess.
"My lord. The King just banished his beta not too long; he was the one who oversaw the rebuilding of infrastructure,"
"Why was he banished?"
"The beta made untoward advances towards his daughter."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"I don't know, my lord." He answered. "But please, you did not hear this from me."
I climbed back on my horse and pursued the assailants; the scent of the princes was very faint, but I had a lock on it.
They were a few hours ahead of us, at least. So we rode the horses hard and gave her chase.
I was able to follow the scent for hours until we got to a small village. It was a settlement north of king Isaac's kingdom. We stayed in the bush and observed the occupants that strolled around the small town.
"She is here," I said.
"Why are we not storming in then?" Asked Ivar.
"I smell something else, Death. This town is filled with death." I replied.
"Keep the horses ready," I said. "I'll go on alone."
"My lord." Said, Edmund. "Are you sure that is a wise idea?"
"Yes. I'll tear anything apart that stands in my way." I growled.
I walked away from them and into the open view of the village. Princess Jennifer's scent leads me into a hut. I slammed my foot into the door and saw her tied and gagged on the floor.
My left foot was about to enter the door when I heard a voice call out from behind me.
"She is not yours."
I turned back and saw a pale-skinned man eyeballing me.
"I am to assume that she belongs to you then?"
"Yes. I just bought her. It was quite expensive. She cost a lot of silver." He snickered.
"Who did you buy her from?"
"One of your kind. He heard that providing king Isaac's daughter for my master would provide him with a fair price. He got the job done, and I paid."
"Who is your master?" I growled.
"Only the oldest and most powerful vampire in the world."
I grunted.
"Now that I have proved my ownership, could you please step away from my merchandise?"
His words caused me to boil. So I pulled out my sword and swung at him.
He moved away from my sword very quickly, with a superhuman speed.
My mother had told me stories about several creatures that existed along with us; she spoke about how witches cast spells and vampires were undead humans who had pale skin, sucked blood and moved as fast as wolves did when it was a full moon. I was confident that the man in front of me was a vampire.
Suddenly, the air shifted. I held out my sword, ready for an attack.
He ran towards me and hurled me to the ground; I knew my silver sword would be useless against him, so I transformed with him still on top of me. I grew huge and threw him away from my body.
He landed on his feet, and I bared my fangs at him; upon seeing my proper werewolf form, he was paralysed by fear. Before I could grab him, he ran away. His vampire speed carried him away from my sight, but I gave chase; I pursued him and caught him before he entered the forest.
Another thing that my mother told me was that I would need a wooden stake if I wanted to kill a vampire. I dragged the vampire with its hair into the forest; I broke a branch from a tree, and I was about to place it inside his chest.
"I'm not the only one. My master will send more; they will not stop coming for her."
I ignored him and pierced his heart with the stake. He screamed and burned until he turned to ash.
I turned back into a human and walked back inside the village. The people looked at my naked form but said nothing to me. An older man, in particular, could not remove his eyes from me, so I barked at him, "would you just give me some clothes instead?" And he did.
I went to the place I found the princes, untied her and removed the gag from her mouth. She was passed out from what I assumed to be sedative but very much alive. I picked her up and rejoined Ivar and Edmund.
"My lord, we were worried that something happened to you," Edmund said. "We were about to break your order and come look for you."
"I am okay, Edmund, and so is the princess. We should leave this place and find a safe place to rest. I have much to share with you two."
I put Princess Jennifer on my horse, and we rode away.