Something Sweet, Something Sinister; The War Begins (A Vampire Novel)

Chapter 14

"You have no idea who it's from?" I persisted.

"No," the servant responded. "All I know is that it was sent to you, miss."

I thumbed at the blue colored Violet in my hands. Its petals were delicate and fragrant, but its origin remained a mystery.

After Pierce had returned home last night, we had gone straight to bed without much conversation. After a restful sleep, I recounted the conversation with Alex to him this morning. Pierce seemed relieved that I had made a friend other than himself here at the castle, but his worry over his father still weighed heavily on him. I never got a chance to ask him about the cage.

When I collected the flower, he was deep into work at his desk, going through more paperwork.

I broguht it over to him, hoping that he might've known who sent it.

"Maybe it's from Alex," he offered, still majoritively distracted by his work.

"Maybe," I agreed, walking away to let him finish. Behind me, he threw a stack of papers against the wall in frustration.

Pierce sighed deeply, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. I watched him for a moment, concern etching lines into my brow.

I watched him tentatively, unsure of how to approach the sudden outburst.

He looked up at me, weariness clouding his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that."

"It's okay," I reassured him, moving closer to his desk. "You've been under a lot of stress lately. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm trying to figure out how we're going to send a message to the humans in charge of these three towns."He showed me the map he had been looking at.

The map sprawled out before us, with intricate markings denoting the locations of the towns Pierce mentioned. His finger traced a route from our current position at the castle to the closest human settlement.

"I need to warn them about what's happening here," Pierce explained, his voice heavy with responsibility. "The King's influence is spreading. Vampires under his command have succesfully taken over more than half of the human villages. If we don't act soon, more innocent lives will be at risk. Especially if the King becomes my brother. He will not stop until every human is enslaved."

"I'll help you draft a message," I offered, determination shining in my eyes. "We can worry about how to get it there after we're done."

Pierce nodded gratefully, his shoulders relaxing slightly at my support. Together, we began crafting a letter detailing the dangers posed by the King and outlining steps for defense. After we created the first one, the both of us copied it down again, making for a total of three letters. We worked tirelessly, our minds focused on the task at hand and the lives that depended on our messages reaching their destinations.

"We should send a messenger who will carry the letters by hand," I proposed, pacing back and forth in front of the map. "Once they are within the town, they can rally support for you and be aware of what's going on in the kingdom. It will be risky, but it's our best chance at stopping him before it's too late."

"It's a bold move- they will be heavily guarded. It will be near impossible to sneak one of my people in. We need someone who has the best chance of being accepted by the people."

"Lucky for you, I have experience travelling between villages."

Pierce's eyes widened.

"You would do that?" he asked, a mixture of gratitude and concern in his voice. "I didn't realize you have already done something like that before."