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A storm was brewing over the horizon, things had been quiet the last few days in the villa. Dorina's pregnancy progressed and our baby was soon kicking much to our joy. That joy was short-lived once the messenger from my father arrived.
Breaking the wax seal I unfolded the parchment and began to read. Heart beating out of my chest as Dorina entered the room and stood behind me placing her hands on my shoulders.
Casimir,
I tried to fight their ruling, I insisted that they had been mistaken. The monks found tell-tale signs of a vampire attack on Mehmed's body. I did what I could to stay the church's hand but when the monks informed them they wished for me to act immediately. With a heavy heart I inform you that effective at the month's end, you are to be exiled and excommunicated from the church. They ordered me to strike your name from the family's records and to renounce all relations to you. Dorina, your wife was not safe from this judgment. They deemed her to have consorted with the devil and bearing his child with you. Her family has also been ordered to strike her from their history. They are bound to send hunters to kill you and your wife, I will lead them away from your trail for as long as I can. My son, know that I do this not of my own free will as they have threatened your mother and brother along with the rest of our family with death should we disobey their order. My son I can only hope that once you read this letter you take all the necessary actions to keep you and your family safe. Deep in the woods by the foot of Broken Tooth mountain lies a small cottage, your mother and I built that together when we were younger. We give this to you now in hope that you can use it until the baby is born and you can travel further away, safe from the church's grasp. I pray for your well being and the safety of your wife.
Vlad
I swallowed the lump in my throat and handed the letter to Dorina. The room was silent as she read the letter, I heard her sigh behind me.
"Well, it was a matter of time before you and I were exiled."
"Dori, you and our baby." I felt her arms wrap around me from behind.
"We are going to get through this together Cas. I know you'll protect us."
I began to formulate a plan in my head. My father had helped in the end, chances of that cottage in the wood being a trap were relatively low. However, another reason made me hesitate.
This was all starting to line up with the vision I had years ago. Was that being that showed Dorina and I those visions been Stan Lee? I wouldn't doubt it, it was not above all powerful beings to screw with people. Then there was the possibility that it had just been Stan screwing with me.
Getting up from my seat I turned to face Dorina, even pregnant she was still as beautiful as the day we met. She looked at me with a question in her eyes.
"What are you thinking love? I know that look on your face."
"Cas, what if we stay in that cottage until-"
I raised a hand to stop her. "We are not going to that cottage, we will find another place to hide until the baby is born."
Her face scrunched. "Cas, I refuse to be carried around like luggage. I doubt it's a trap, our daughter is due in a month or so. Let's just stay there until she is born. Then we can go anywhere in the world."
She kissed me before I could open my mouth and argue. Leaning her forehead to mine she smiles as she puts her hands on her belly.
"After all, we'll be safe won't we Mina? Your daddy will protect us."
I laid a hand over hers as she ran her fingers over her stomach. Shoving down all the fear I had deep into my subconscious, I kissed her one more time.
"I will, the both of you. My princesses."
I helped Dorina pack her belongings, I dismissed the servants earlier giving them each a years wages. They looked at me in confusion at first, then I lied and told them it was bonuses for a job well done. I could not have them knowing that Dorina and I were leaving, but I also couldn't leave them without money.
Storing her stuff in my rift I made off to the treasury and loaded in the rest of the silver and chests filled with valuables. I also made my way over to our room and stored the painting Da Vinci had done of Dorina and I. We packed a bag of clothes each and changed into dark traveling clothes. I put a cloak over Dorina's shoulders and we went out to the stables. I untied Roach and whispered for her to head to Broken Tooth. All the strange roof climbing behavior aside, Roach was a smart mare. I loaded our bags onto her saddle and watched as she galloped away towards the mountain.
Sighing, I looked at Dorina. Who was as calm and collected. Taking her hand I led her to the rear of the castle and lifted her up into my arms. Before she could protest I channeled power into my eyes and legs, in a burst of speed I blurred away.
Minutes later I skidded to a halt in a clearing, the cottage in view just at the edge of the trees. Dorina slapped my arm and got off. Hands on her knees she held her breath hiccuped fighting back nausea.
"Never do that again," she said with a groan. "I feel like my heart is in my throat."
"Sorry," helping her straighten up. "I wasn't going to risk traveling on the road."
"A warning would have been nice."
"I said sorry, didn't I?"
She glared at me before straightening out her hair and ruffled clothes. As she recovered from the impromptu trip I made my way over to the cottage. Drawing my sword I slowly opened the door. The cottage was bare, a light layer of dust on the floor. Using my speed I set up the cottage pulling the furniture I had stored out of the rift and arranging it around the decently sized cottage. After a while I led Dorina into our new home and she collapsed on the newly placed bed.
"I'm going to go set some traps around the perimeter of the place, just shout if you need me. I'll hear you and come running."
She pulls me in for a kiss before laying back down on the bed. I brushed a finger on her cheek before walking through the door. I had a few bear traps and quite a bit of rope. Walking around the cottage I began to set a thirty foot perimeter around my home. Marking trees with slashes to outline where the traps lay hidden. I made short work of it, digging pitfalls with stakes in the bottom, bear traps hidden under piles of leaves, a few human sized snares here and there. Once I was done I made my way back to the cottage satisfied with the basic defensive perimeter I had set.
Dorina was fast asleep when I entered our humble new home. Silently walking to her I planted a kiss on her forehead and walked over to the hearth to begin making a meal for her.
As the days passed I upped the defensive perimeter much to Dorina's entertainment. I had cut down a few trees and created a wall around the cottage, just a few feet away from the traps. This was going to be the second line of defense. I sharpened hundreds of stakes and placed them around the wall, which would have to do since I did not have access to barbed wire.
I would have dug a moat around the wall but Dorina talked me out of it, pointing out that we would have a daughter here with us soon. I silently grumbled in defeat and stuck with placing more traps outside of the walls.
There was no news from Vlad in the weeks that came, spying on the villa as a cloud of bats. I observed the townsfolk locking the gates in our absence. Either word had not reached them of our exile or they simply did not care. Flying back to the cottage I reformed just outside the door and went straight to Dorina's side. She had given up trying to move around, the baby was due any day now.
She went into labor that night, her screams echoing in the cottage into the forest that surrounded us. I held her hand as she pushed. Minutes turned into hours and I began to feel concern at the amount of pain she was feeling. She screamed on more time and with one final push, Mina Tepes was born into the world.
Dorina had tears of joy as she clutched our crying daughter to her heart. I carefully tied off the umbilical cord with some twine that I had boiled to sterilize. Mina's cries soon turned to adorable coos as she nursed. I quietly cleaned the blood and the mess left behind from the birth, Dorina stood on shaky legs holding our daughter as I replaced the sheets on the bed. When she handed our daughter over to me so she could wash up and change I almost cried at the sight of Mina. She had my dark hair and Dorina's bright green eyes. Once Dorina was back in bed I handed Mina back to her and went outside. I dug a joke to burn the ruined blankets and afterbirth, but also to give myself a break from the overload of cuteness.
Once the fire died down I covered the hole and washed up before waking back into the cottage. Dorina was slowly rocking Mina while she hummed a lullaby. She looked up at me and smiled while she continued to hum. I walked over to the bed and lay next to her pulling her close as I watched our daughter peacefully sleep.
One Year Later
Before I knew it nearly a year had passed, Mina began walking a month ago. I smiled as I watched her waddle over to me with a stuffed rabbit that I had made for her.
"Da- Dada."
I rushed over and scooped her into my arms. She giggled in joy and threw her arms around my neck.
"I'm so proud of you sweetheart, you said your first word."
I felt Dorina walk up behind me and spin me around so she could take Mina from me. Pouting, I reluctantly handed our daughter over.
"You know, she called me Mama last week. So she already said her first word."
Mina smiled her cheeky little smile at us and my heart melted.
"It doesn't matter what her first word is, she's my little princess."
Dorina pushed me away as I moved to take Mina from her.
"Well, your little princess needs a bath and we're out of water."
Grumbling, I kissed them both as I grabbed several buckets and made my way to the river. Over the year I had shorn up the defenses around the cottage. Dorina finally folded and let me dig a moat around the wall after we had taught Mina to swim in the river. A few minutes later I reached the flowing water and started to fill the buckets. Opening a rift I stored the buckets and stared off towards the mountain. The animals never returned even as years passed and the vampire there was long dead. My only complaint was having to travel further and further to hunt for food.
We had stayed in the cottage for much longer than expected. Dorina still refused to be turned again, pointing out that she didn't know if we would be the same, and she didn't want to endanger Mina. We had a big fight after that, but made up when Mina's cries woke us from our angry conversation. Eventually we decided that we would wait until Mina turns four. Then we would move France, or some other country far from conflict.
Walking back to the cottage I looked around at the trees. They blocked out most of the sun, not that it mattered. I hoped that Dorina would agree to being turned soon. My vision was slowly becoming more and more of a possibility and I didn't want to take any chances. My daughter greeted me at the door by hugging my leg as Dorina glared.
"You'd think she'd be more appreciative of her mother and show me more love but nope, apparently she loves you more."
Picking up Mina I walked over to my wife and kissed her before handing her our daughter who grumbled in protest.
"See! She's even grumbling like you."
Laughing I went over to the tub and started emptying the buckets of water that I pulled from my rift. Laying the last bucket by the fire to warm it up I gave Dorina another kiss before stepping back out to butcher the deer that I had caught that morning.
Sounds of splashing and laughter brought a smile to my face as I went about my work. I heard Dorina curse as Mina started giggling, there had been a louder splash earlier. After I processed the deer I placed a majority of the meat in a barrel and stored it in my rift. I had figured out that anything I stored in the rift was left in the state it was in no matter how long it was stored. I had discovered this when I pulled out a fresh loaf of bread that I did not remember storing in the rift, Dorina pointed out that it was a loaf from Italy.
Carrying the rest of the meat over to the smoke house I built the year before I hung the 'hams' up on the hooks and stoked the fire. Shutting the door I went back over to the cottage quickly washing off the blood from my hands before greeting Roach. She had the tendency to wander around the woods and return hours later. Back inside the cottage Dorina and Mina had changed into different clothes. Mina was happily eating a bowl of porridge, her legs swinging beneath the table. Making myself bowl I sat down next to Dorina who mumbled something about 'misbehaving children'.
A few more months, then we would be far away from the church. Who no doubt would want to hunt us down. I cleaned up after our meal as Dorina walked Mina over to the bed to let her get her nap. A familiar smell wafted into the cottage. Setting down the cleaned bowls I looked around and growled. Dorina looked up just as Mina had fallen asleep.
"Someone has fallen into one of the traps."
Her eyes widen, walking over to her I hand her a dagger and she nods. We still had the bladed gauntlets but those were stored somewhere in the trunk full of other weapons.
"Be careful ," she whispered. "There could be more than one of them."
Kissing her I stepped out of the cottage and looked around smelling the air. Following the scent of blood I snuck my way over to whoever had triggered one of my traps.
Moments later I heard shouts for help, there with his leg caught in a bear trap was a man I did not recognize. I weighed the odds in my head, if I killed the man the chances that people would come looks were relatively low and the risk of him revealing my location was zero. If I saved the man no one would come looking but the chances of him giving away the location would skyrocket. He shouted for help again and I watched as a girl about fourteen years old came running over to the man.
"Father!" The girl cried out as she attempted to free the man from the trap
Cursing my morality I pulled the hood of my cloak over my face and silently made my way over to the man and his daughter. Drawing attention to myself by coughing the man tried to scramble away and screamed in pain as the trap tore up his leg some more. His daughter drew her bow and stood protectively in front of him. Taking another step forward I snatched the arrow the girl fired at me out of the air. Her eyes widen and her father tells her to run. Raising a hand I took another step forward.
"I mean you both no harm," I crouched down and released the man from the trap. "Take your father and leave these woods."
"What is your name stranger?" His daughter asked.
"My name matters not, leave this place and never come back."
His daughter took a step forward and drew her bow again. Her father cried out in alarm as I disappeared in a blur only to appear behind the girl dagger held to her throat.
"Leave this place."
She drops her bow tenses up. I could hear her heart beating faster and the blood rushing through her veins. Had I been a normal vampire I would have drained her dry then and there. But I wasn't, pushing her away I sheathed the dagger.
"Leav-" she stopped me before I could finish.
"Please! Help my father, he is wounded and our people have left us behind in this land."
Contemplating whether I should kill the both of them now, I was shaken from my thoughts as I heard another set heartbeat drawing closer. Turning towards the sound I watched as Dorina emerged from the woods carrying Mina.
"Casimir, what the fuck is wrong with you. Help these people out."
"They could fucking sell us out Dori, I will not take that risk." I growled out in English.
Dorina glared at me before walking over and handing me Mina.
"Then I will take that risk!"
I held Mina as she helped the man to his feet, she led them to the cottage and started to clean the man's wounds. The man's daughter thanked Dorina profusely and I sat with Mina who looked at Dorina and then back to me. She got down from my lap and walked over to the girl, she offered the girl her stuffed rabbit and smiled.
Sighing I picked up my sword and walked out of the house. Dorina said something as the door closed but I ignored it as I burst into a cloud of bats and flew up into the cave. I reformed and sat on the edge of the cave taking slow breaths. I knew it was the right thing to do, helping these people. The risks were still too great, and I didn't know what I would do if the vampire hunters my father had mentioned found us.
Once my raging temper had calmed down I returned back to the cottage. I could hear the man and Dorina talking from behind the door. The man's daughter was playing with Mina. I stepped inside and everyone's eyes were on me.
"I was thanking your wife for her hospitality and kindness."
"He will warm up to you eventually, he does not trust people so often." Dorina answered for me.
I grumbled and walked over to my chair in the corner of the cottage. Sitting down I observed the people. They didn't seem like bad people, the furs they wore told me that they were either hunters or trappers.
I closed my eyes and leaned back into my chair listening to their conversations. Apparently the man and his daughter had been part of a group of traveling gypsies. Their names were Velkan and Verona Valerious. Something about the names seemed familiar to me. My father did mention a tribe of gypsies that specialized in hunting down the supernatural.
Velkan and his daughter had been cast out of their group after it was discovered that Velkan's wife came from a family of werewolves. Apparently she didn't carry the active trait that turned her into a furry beast once a month. The bloodline had apparently died with her when the group's witch doctor had Velkan's wife executed. The man seemed open to sharing his whole life story with us, Dorina gave him a small version of who we were and why the church was after us. The man understood our predicament surprisingly. He even promised to take the secret of our cottage's location to his grave. When he had recovered enough Dorina led him to the spare room we had off to the side out our cottage. When she returned she looked at me.
"I'm sorry for yelling." She said quietly, Mina had fallen asleep in her arms.
"No, I'm sorry for losing my temper."
I walked over to the two of them and pulled them into a hug. She sighed leaning into the hug before pulling away to set Mina down on the bed.
"It was the right thing, helping them I mean."
"I know, I- I just didn't want to take the risk of them giving our location away. I can't afford to put you and Mina in danger."
She pulled me into her arms and stroked my hair.
"Whatever comes, we will deal with it together."
Walking us over to bed we took our spots on either side of Mina. I looked at the two of them before closing my eyes.
"We're in this together." I whispered as I drifted off into sleep.
A week passed before Velkan was good enough to walk again, Verona played with Mina daily and Mina had cried when her 'friend' left with her father. The two had swore they would keep our location a secret after telling us that they were in our debt and their family would never forget that debt. I waved those ideas away as I sent them off with a week's worth of provisions. Dorina was inside the cottage comforting Mina. Verona gave me a necklace to give to Mina, she told me it had her family symbol on it. I nodded and waved goodbye as the two disappeared into the trees. Mina had been overjoyed when I gave her the trinket.
In a few months Mina would be turning four and we would finally get to leave. Dorina gave me a hug from behind as we watched our daughter play on the bed. Pulling myself free I turned to her, our ten year anniversary was less than a day away.
"If you could have one thing in this world, what would it be?"
"Well aside from you and Mina?" She put a finger on her chin. "I guess I'd want the paint brushes Da Vinci gave me, I accidentally left them in the Villa and I don't know if they're even still there."
"Really?" She nods. "I guess that's doable."
"Wait, you're not planning on going back to the villa are you?"
"Dori, it's not that big a deal, I can fly there and be back in five minutes. Besides, the town is bound to have information on my father and if anyone has been sent after us."
She sighs, "If you have to go back there, can you at least grab some more flour. We're running low."
I made a mental note on what to bring back and kissed her before donning my cloak and belting my sword onto my hip. Mina was still asleep and I gently kissed her forehead so as to not wake her.
"I love you my little princess," I whispered. Turning to Dorina I kissed her again. "I love you too, my beautiful wife."
Laughing, she pushed me away. "Go, and hurry back Mina and I have a gift for you when you come back."
Smiling, I walked out of the cottage and burst into a cloud of bats, flying in the direction of the villa. Love for my family filled my heart.
Moments later I reformed in the villa courtyard. It was dark, there were no fires burning in the empty home. Sneaking in through an open window I looked around. In the years we had been gone nothing had been moved. Everything was as we had left it. The servants had covered everything with sheets. Making my way over to the kitchens I checked the storage. All that was left was the large sacks of flour. I was shocked to see that in months that passed they had not gone bad. I stored the flour in my rift before sneaking back up the stairs. The paintings still hung on the walls, looking around for a bit I finally made my way over to our old room. I found the box of paint brushes in Dorina's dresser and carefully put it in my rift.
Having gotten what I came for I burst into a cloud of bats again and made my way over to the town. Reforming in a dark alley I pulled my hood over my face. Stepping out I wandered around the streets listening to bits and pieces of gossip. Vlad had been hit hard by my exile. Mirena was heartbroken. The church had indeed sent vampire hunters after me and they had yet to find me. Apparently all my old servants as well as Vlad either outright lied or pointed them in another direction. I smiled at my servant's display of loyalty. As I walked around some more I heard a familiar voice crying. I rounded the corner and spotted Verona in a house clutching an obscured body. From the smell of the blood I knew it was Velkan. I snuck into the house and Verona turned around with a dagger raised in the air once she felt my presence behind her. Noticing that it was me she threw herself into my arms and I held her as she cried.
"Verona, calm down. What happened?"
Fighting the tears she pulled away and furiously wiped her face with a sleeve.
"People from the church." My blood ran cold. "They heard my father and I talking. He had mentioned your name."
"What did he say?" The words came out slow and calculated.
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again. "They tortured him for hours. Th- They got what they wanted a-and"
"And?" My voice was dangerously low now.
"They left a few hours ago, Casimir I'm sorry I shoul-"
Rage boiled over in my system, before she could finish I burst into a cloud of bats with a roar. Blowing through the room of the abandoned house I flew into the air. I felt the cold grasps of dread clawing at my heart. Flying as fast as I could I tore through the wind clouds growing behind me blocking out the moon. I didn't care who saw me anymore. I just had to get back to Dorina and Mina. The cottage appeared in the distance and I felt anger shoot through my nerves. Men had gathered around it with torches in their hands. I shifted back high up in the air and went hurdling towards the closest Hunter.
The man's scream was lost into the night as a thunderstorm formed over the forest. I just saw red, forgetting my sword I tore through the men with my teeth and claws. Ignoring the stings of pain as arrows and swords found their mark on my flesh. A scream pulled me from my fury. My head snapped to the direction of the cottage door where a man held Dorina by her hair dragging her out of the house. Blood stained his knife, the smell made my vision blur with hatred. The man had hurt Mina. I continued my rampage tearing through as many men as I could. Lightning struck the thatch roof of the cottage, fire immediately ripped through the flammable material. I felt an arrow slam into my back, turning I ripped than Hunter who had shot it in half. Blood straining my already ruined clothing. I heard Dorina scream again and I saw the man holding her plunge the dagger into her chest twice. The man smiled and threw her to the floor. His smile disappeared as I tore his arm from his body and used the limb to stab him into the wall of the cottage. Bodies littered the forest floor, blood washed off my skin in the rain. I ran to Dorina as she crawled back into the burning cottage. I picked her up and started to cry when I saw the blood leaking from her wounds. I carried her over to the bed where Mina lay, lifeless eyes opened in a look of fear. I felt emotions burn through my heart as I held Dorina. Her heartbeats got slower. She weakly raised her hand and touched my face. I struggled to fight the tears, the smoke making it harder.
"I- It's going to be okay," she whispered. "It's not your fault."
Tears were now freely falling onto her bloodied face. I pulled her and Mina into my arms and cried. Hearing her heart stop caused a scream to tear itself from my lips. There was nothing I wanted more than to die with my family at that moment.
Crying as I held their bodies, their skin had gone cold by the time the fire was upon us. Mustering what little willpower I had left I carried them out of the burning building and into the forest. The rain had stopped once I lost focus on the weather. The bodies of the hunters lay scattered around the cottage. I stumbled away from the cottage walking deeper into the woods. My heart felt like it had been crushed. I laid Dorina down on the forest floor, Mina next to her. Drawing my sword I turned to the mountain face. Using my strength and the power of the sword I cut a tomb into the side of the mountain. Once I was done I carried Dorina and Mina into the tomb and sat by them as I let the rest of my tears fall.
Despite all that I had done, all the people I had killed, every choice that I made. The vision still came true, I looked at the sword that had started it all. Hatred filled my heart again.
"YOU are the caused this, so you WILL fix everything. You will be the instrument I use to wipe the church from the face of this world."
I turned to Dorina and Mina, opening the rift I pulled out the box of paint brushes and laid it on Dorina's chest. I brushed a strand of hair away and gave her one last kiss. Turning to Mina I took her necklace and put it on myself. Stroking her face I planted a kiss on her forehead before walking out of the tomb I had cut into the side of the mountain. Using the stones I had extracted from my endeavor I covered the entrance with the rocks before finding a large boulder and rolling over to cover the entrance even more. Using Excalibur I carved their names into the rock and knelt down to say my final goodbyes.
On this day I lost my wife and child, this day a monster had been born, and on this day I swore that the church would regret that they made an enemy out of the Son of the Devil.
_________________________
Did he really do that after promising not to kill them?
Yes hahahahaha (evil author noises)
Jk they aren't really dead… you'll see soon enough.