Clandestine Prequel Volume 2: The Silver Fang

Chapter 4: Refusal and Consequence

                 "It will be ok, I promise, someday the world will be different, we will not need to fear for the lives of our people and our loved ones." Vlad took the hand of the woman he laid with. Her head gently rested on his chest. "Sleep now....." He whispered. Moments later she had done just that, her eyes drifted closed, her tension lifted until she was completely at ease.

After a few moments, Vlad himself had begun to fall asleep. He sighed deeply as he relaxed and finally, fell into a deep sleep.

"A Debt to pay"

                    "Wha....." Vlad blinked a few times to get the clouds from his eyes. Instead of the room where he had been with his betrothed, he woke to find himself in the middle of a field. The grass was clear and long, the sky was blue and bright, it had appeared that this place had never seen war.

"Not true...." Came a voice, smooth as silk and sweet, kind and yet, there was a pain in Vlad's stomach, as though poison had entered his body.

"You believe that this place has not seen war, you are wrong child, this place, is at the very center of war itself." The voice continued.

Vlad stood up, his body felt light, as though there was nothing holding him to the earth itself. "This place, a separate realm though, I cannot bring your people here. But still, I have a debt to pay."

Vlad stepped forward, the woman stood, a white cloak around her body, her face covered by a long hood. She stretched out her hand towards him. "Come, accept my gift." She said.

                "No." Vlad said curtly. "Its a lie, it's all a lie. I will not be apart!" He growled.

The woman picked up her head stepping towards him. "I can end this wretched war, No more of your people will die." She said calmly.

"Listening to you would bring forth a forfeiture worse than the mortal thing we call death."

               "YOU FOOLISH CHILD!" The woman howled. "I will pay my debt, I will!"

"You can do nothing without approval!" The woman walked forward, right in front of vlad. He tried to swipe her hand away but she slammed it against his chest. She got in close, he could just barely see the sneer under her hood.

"You really don't understand what is in front of you, you are nothing but a child! The deed is done, A pact was made in your stead.... And now, your refusal means nothing but forfeiture upon you!"

Her voice suddenly lowered as the scene around them changed.

                  'This is.....'

"The place in which you met me as an infant and the place where I gained my freedom.... Pitty those souls had to pay for YOUR insolence!"

                   Vlad gasped as he saw the young men laid on the ground, eyes rolled, a few were missing arms and legs, only stumps remained, others missing their eyes, a flow of red surrounded by black of their sockets.

"What have you done?!" Vlad growled. The woman stepped back a bit.

"I have done nothing, the events that have transpired, are your doing child, your refusal was foretold. Despite your betrayal, a gift has been bestowed...."

She rose her hand slowly bringing her fingers together and snapped.... Vlad rocked on his legs, dropped to his knees, his eyes growing heavier with every second. He dropped to his knuckles, the grass seemed to transform, it swirled and spun into black, forming more and more solid and he began to sink down. Swallowed into the dark.
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                   Vlads eyes shot open as he gasped out loud, the woman nudged him. "What is wrong my love?" She asked. Vlad grabbed her shoulders letting her roll to her side.

"Take what you can and go, get as far from the city as you can. The walls of war are closing in my love, escape now!" He hissed. The woman's eyes were riddled with confusion and sadness.

"What about you my love, where will you go?" She asked.

"I must find Sivore. He has done something horrible, I must correct it!" She sighed and pulled the hood of her outfit over her head.

"Be careful...." She said as she left the room.

'How could he?'