The Dragomir Heir (Watty Award)

PINK!?!?!?

They were running through a dense forest. It was dark; darker than Lucius had ever imagined; even for a vampire. He could hear no birds or animals running; it was just them. There was a glow before him but he didn’t know whether it lead to safety or a trap. It was the only thing that seems to give him hope of safety for her.

“It’s so dark, my love”, Valentina said behind him as he dragged her towards the glow. He could hear a faint current of fear in her voice though he knew she was trying to be brave and calm; she was always trying just for him.

“I know, my love”, he said gently. “I will get us there. It is not far. Try to keep up with me”. At that, she sped up and he smiled at her persistence, and squeezed her hand to say many things that he wanted to say but the situation left him no time for it. Things like, ‘thank you for being brave’, ‘I love you’ and ‘it will be alright’.

They kept on running for what felt like hours, but the glow before Lucius never grew. Lucius panicked but remained physically in control; he didn’t want to worry Valentina. Suddenly, stomping behind them sounded and Valentina pulled Lucius to a stop and signalled for his silence. Turning her ear towards the sound, she closed her eyes to concentrate. Lucius did the same.

It was the sound of many feet on forest floor. Feet in weighty boots, tired from their load. The load was heavy with metal that clang in the dark against other metal: soldiers. At that, Lucius pulled at Valentina and they were sprinting as fast as they could. Wonderfully, the glow grew and they quickened their pace, making too much noise but Lucius didn’t care; he was close to safety or something close to it.

Then he heard strings being stretched and wood bending before a whoosh of many flying sticks.

“Get down!” Valentina ordered and she pushed him down behind a thick tree. He pulled her hard towards him but a sudden inhale from her told him that he was too late. Her face was in shock and they gasped as they looked down to her chest and saw an arrow sticking out from her heart. Looking at the arrow, his hands tightened at her shoulders and he was silent; in pain and anger. All the while, Valentina had a hand on his cheek, weakly stroking it softly as she jokily repeated, “It’s ok; it’s fine. It’s just a scratch”.

He looked into her eyes, though there were tears, he saw hope. Shaking himself out of his despair, he broke off the arrow tail at her back and laid her on the forest floor. With one hand around the arrow head and the other holding his beloved’s shaking hand, he looked into her eyes almost pleadingly and said, “You will live. We will marry. You will give me sons and daughters and we will live out our whole existence together and never detached”. He smiled to lighten the mood.

She smiled back and it was still so beautiful even when she was suffering. “I love you Lucius. Think of me always. I will see you in the next life-”

“WOMAN! YOU. WILL. LIVE.” He shouted but she shook her head at him. Ignoring her now, he quickly removed the arrow from her perfect body and quickly pressed down on the wound to hold down the blood. She was pale now and her eyes were closed.

“No Valentina…don’t leave me yet. Hold on…the wound will close”, he said desperately, but the blood kept pouring out of her wound. He lifted his hand to inspect it and saw a large hole through her heart not pierced by an arrow but by a stake. He quickly looked down. Instead of an arrow, a stake with a platinum tip was there.

###

Lucius abruptly woke up and was momentarily confused as to where he was until he saw her. Valentina was in deep slumber with her head over his chest and a hand across his abdomen. He relaxed then and stroked her back, which was perfect and smooth; no arrow punctures anywhere. Feeling suddenly chilling, he scowled at himself for allowing Valentina to sleep without the heat from her fireplace and gently got out of the bed to light it up.