Dracula Retold

The Protector

The convoy was readied: horses were loaded, carriages were packed. Prince Vlad was forced to say goodbye to his friend, possibly for a very long time.  The castle staff, the good ones, knew of Lupei's intentions, and prayed for the safe keeping of their little prince. He was even given his own horse, the one in the middle of the parade. They raced off towards the forest, shadows running right beside them; shadows that weren't necessarily theirs.

The forest neared and their pace slowed. Vlad began to look around his new home. Thick groups of trees, between which, different fauna skittered through. He saw deer, wolverines, Lynx, foxes. A bat fluttered from one tree to another and Vlad stopped his horse; bats lived in caves, not forests. Vlad stared between the trees, almost sure he'd seen something, or someone, when a guard came up and pushed the Prince to move along.

Dracula quickly turned away and pressed his back into the tree as he sighed, relieved and distraught.

Not an hour had gone by before the convoy reached the cabin in the woods. The soldiers disembarked and tied their horses to the trees before they went to unload the prince's luggage. The cabin door was opened by Vlad's tutors, who had already arrived the day before.

"Welcome to your new residence, Prince Vlad. May I suggest you disembark and come in for a rest? The earliest we can begin on you training, the better."

"No, I will ride through the forest more. Accustom myself to my new surrounding." He pulled the reigns

"Of course. Shall I ask the guards to accompany you?"

"No. I shall appreciate the solitude." Vlad stated to the tutor and tottered off without waiting for a reply.

Survival guide in mind, Vlad rode his stud in silence. He counted the trees he passed, noticed the natural landmarks that would take him back to the cottage. Among all this, his eyes and ears were keen on one target: the bat. If there'd been one, there would have been many others. Vlad trotted towards the two trees he'd seen the bat, and his horse spotted it first. The beast was scared, and whinnied and lifted his front legs, and it took all of Vlad's strength to reel the horse in.

When the horse calmed somewhat, the Prince looked around for the bat, but instead saw a shadow walking away in the hurdle of trees.

"You there! Stop!" The Prince shouted and the figure stopped.

Dracula stopped, curling his fingers in and cursed, then slowly approached the young prince, his hood still drawn over his face.

"Remove your cloak." Beckoned Vlad as the man neared, and again his horse whinnied in fright and moved back.

The older man hesitated for half a minute, then did just as he was told. He removed the hood from his head, but had to step back into the shadows to adjust to the sunlight.

"Do you have a name, sir?"

"My name is Alistair." Dracula lied, his face to the floor.

"Alistair? Did you know my father, Prince Miceah?"

"May he rest in peace. Yes, I was a companion of your father. He was a good man. A good Dracul."

"So you are real?" Vlad jumped off his horse, which didn't waste a second to run back to the cottage.

"As I stand before you in flesh and blood." Alistair moved out of the shadows, and smoke rose from his skin, then it stopped.

"My father told me stories of a man named as yourself. But no one believed them past stories, as no one had ever seen, or ever heard of you."

Alistair chuckled.

"I am not a very sociable person. But I help those who come to me with good intent, I watch over the innocent."

"Then you truly are an Alistair, a noble protector."

"Aye."

"If you are as you say, then why is that horse afraid of you? You know, they say that beasts can tell more of a man than another man."

"It is true. I was a bastard, cursed by the devil, but I have learned to be a friend to man, despite what they say about me."

"That's why you only come to the good?" Vlad noticed.

"A good man isn't quick to make a judgment. The horse, you did not give it a name?"

"It was not mine, the soldiers gave it to me for travel."

"If you like, I can teach you how to catch one for yourself."

"You can do that?" Vlad asked, amused.

"I have spent many ages in these forests. It has-" Alistair was cut off by the shouts of the guards, the horse going back empty seated wasn't a good thing for them.

The younger Vlad turned towards the noise while a new voice started behind him. He turned back to see Alistair gone, a lone bat following its colony away.

"There he is! Prince Vlad!" The guards shouted simultaneously, their speeches overlapping.

"I am fine! The beast crossed paths with a snake and ran back. You may take this one back, I will catch myself a horse."

"Do you know how, young prince?" The soldier, who returned him onto his horse, asked.

"I look forward to learning it," Vlad replied as he looked one last time to where Alistair had disappeared, then followed the soldiers back to his new home.

OoOoOoOoO

"Aha! My arrow split yours! I win!" Caterina cheered as she won the archery game.

"And by definition, I win." Prince Aurel proclaimed.

"No you don't! You didn't even get close!" Caterina stood in his face and thrust her hand towards his own target.

"You are mine, and therefore what is yours, is mine. And anyway, you will be mine when we're older, then you'll have to do as I say." Prince Aurel rudely reminded her, then flung his bow away before he ran out to his friends.

Prince Xander hung his own bow over his back and came up behind Caterina. She didn't jump when she turned, so skilled was she already.

"Must I marry that beast of a man!"

"I know no other who can tame a beast better than you." Xander complimented her to cheer her up.

"Exactly. Because I am good at fighting, at least I'm better than that buffoon!"

"Then prove it." Xander teased. He put off his bow to the side and unsheathed his sword. Caterina scoffed, then drew out her own and stood ready.

"Careful what you wish for, Prince Xander."

"Enough talk! En garde!"