Army of the Damned

VOLUME 6 Chapter 10

Alana arrives at the balcony of her Manor with a weak man in a chair overlooking the vast meadows around her estate. "How's the sight M'Lord?"

"Still looks as dazzling as ever but now, with a bit of flowery flair to it." Looking out, a massive field full of flowers in full bloom takes away her entire field of view. Paradise was all she could think of as the old man next to her sips coffee. "What's Bahamut and the Queen up to now?"

"You shouldn't trouble yourself with that, M'Lord. You've already grown too old."

"Eh? As if I'm just gonna stand here. My hair might be white and my body frail as a wet twig but I'll continue taking care of you all. Now, help me up." Reaching for his arms, the aged man stood up as Alana was taken away by his wrinkled smile. A once handsome and good looking man, now an aged and dying warrior who is on the last of his footing in the mortal realm. "Countess!"

Waking up from her sleep, she's shocked to see Her Majesty carrying a pile of paperwork. The stack was so high it covered her torso and chin. "This came from a Courier. He told the guard on the base that this is meant for you."

Massaging her forehead, the blonde lady lowered the pile to get a better look of her. Seemingly more pale than her usual look. "Bloods, I've forgotten about that. I apologize, Your Majesty." Elizabeth then drops the pile of paper on the table inside the makeshift barracks. "What dream were you having? I've never seen someone sleep with such mobility."

"Oh, it's a weird one, your Majesty. I was just minding my own business when suddenly, our Lord turned old and wrinkled. I didn't know what to do, it only felt like a few moments had passed for me but he was already having a hard time walking and unable to stand straight up." Alana then touched her cheeks as she pinched her arms.

"Seems that you do not know how to deal with mortal life. I can understand, your entire life, you've been a Vampire and never had to worry yourself with something as trivial as a lifespan." Elizabeth then laid her hand on the table as she shifted her weight towards it. Her golden hair draped over her mountainous paperwork.

"Though I've forgotten what it's like to know I'd die someday, as the Goddess Forrus dictated it to humans, Elves, Dwarves and even the Beastmen. I still fondly remember the memories I made." As elegant as ever, the Queen then turns around. "Mortality... I always have to remind myself every time I wake up that I do not have the pleasure of time in my hand now."

Her finger then traced the finely carved table's edge as her eyes solemnly stared at it sliding across the marble top. "As our Lord is a mortal man, we must make the best of this fleeting moment with him." As Alana combed her hair, she then placed her hands on top of her thighs, all prim and proper. "Your Majesty, you treat mortality as if it's a disease."

"Then what is it then? To us, it doesn't matter. We'll never die as long as we never fall to our own folly. But mortals? They've long been avoiding it. I found it harrowing how even in another world, in another land far from ours, they still try to prolong their short lived lives." Elizabeth observed the stacks of paper in a familiar language. "Our Lord has said it himself, even with all their technology and mastering of the ways of life, they could never fully live forever. Unlike us, they treat the time they have as a virus, one that's eating them from beneath."

Alana's eyes looked down as she dejectedly turned her gaze away from her. "Already, it's only been a year and we're already faced with his mortality. Isn't it amazing Your Majesty? How could these feeble creatures do so much?" her finger then began to play with a lock of her hair as she looked to the window overlooking the Medical Tent.

"I only got used to this very fast paced life thanks to him. I never knew this is what it felt like to be a human, it's fun, it's beautiful, they live their life as if they could go at any moment. If it weren't from him, I would've been living for ten more decades doing nothing but paperwork and talking to nobles." As she turned her face back to the Queen, Elizabeth was herself looking out of the same window.