The Bewitching Countess of the Villa Ersandmyne

Pg. 60

The girls knew that the guards needed to be at their best but at the same time they were told not to leave them so they talked to their grandfather if it were alright to let the guards sleep in the lower quarters of their house and they would give them sustenance that way they would be in good shape for the battle otherwise they would not be able to fight.

Their grandfather knew that was the best way for them to get rest and at the same time nourishment without leaving the girls alone so he conceded to the idea and one by one the guards took rest and Isabella brought out a drink for each of them.

When the guards saw the bottles of specially made 'wine' they all looked at each other. Because they knew that the girls had led a normal upbringing for most of their moroi life but they weren't sure about their diet. When they saw her come out with the 'wine' bottle and the symbol on the front all misconceptions were gone as now they knew that during all this time the girls had been on the same diet as every moroi had, the delicacy of sanguine fluid, or simply blood.

The guards were happy that Valentina and Isabella although being different and royal weren't disdainful and treated them with respect, and kindness sharing with them what they had and taking into consideration their needs. No one else they knew would do that except some of the council members one being their grandfather.

Now they were happy because not only would they have the strength to fight but would also be rested and they owed that to the girls. If they only knew that many of the moroian guards that were watching over them were sons of members of their father's coven who were killed by Bartholomew and his coven.

They were also in this for revenge. To see the ashes of Bartholomew and his followers and all those who helped him as there was already a gathering of men from different towns and or villages to capture these goods for nothing as soon as Bartholomew was taken down in Rioja. No one wanted to give him a reason to run but let him continue to fall in the mousetrap that was waiting for him especially since most of the land knew that Valentina and Isabella were there.

He would not be able to resist knowing they were there. He always said he wanted them just as their parents were and that was dead and he would not stop until he killed them. Continually he talked about how he would kill them, the ways he would personally torture them for what they did to his coven but he never mentioned what HE did to their parents, what HE did to his brother, and what HE did to the feelings of his father and he finding out that his most loved son was killed at the hands of his other son as a repeat of a Cain and Abel story.

No, everything was always about how he was going to do something to something but never what he had done to anyone, no, never did he say what wrong he had done and he had done so evil. Killings, robbing, betraying those closest to him, especially his father.