There is Beauty in Darkness

Chapter 9: Hidden Ruins and The Cunning Carmilla

Dracula's Castle

Hector walks into his forge preparing to get some work down when he suddenly feels a tug on his sash. He looks down and smiles warmly. Greeting him was a toddler with tanned skin and greyish-purple hair and eyes, and Cezar, one of his pets. A black zombie pug with one eye missing and the other glowing a faint blue colour. "Silvanus, little Cezar. What are you doing?" He says as he picks up the child and puppy, cuddling with them.

"It's not really doing much, Hector. It's dead." Godbrand says as enters the silver-grey haired man's forge. He narrows his eyes at the red-head Vampire and lets out a sigh. "You really don't understand the act of forging, do you? He's not dead. We make life from death here." He told him.

"And you make soldiers for Dracula. Which is one reason why he invests so much in you despite your, uh, humanity." Godbrand says. From the sounds of it, he was trying very, very hard to be nice to Hector.

"Is there anything you might want here, Sir Godbrand? If what you are seeking is a tedious brawl then I must request you take it somewhere else. Somewhere that my child is not present." A woman's voice said. The two men turned to look behind them and saw a young woman walking towards them. She had long, wavy, raven-black hair that falls to her waist and medium-brown skin. She has an hourglass figure and striking golden green eyes. She wore a white top with a teal and blue bodice, along with an indigo sarong and white petticoat, is barefoot and wears a golden hoop earrings.

Godbrand gave her a grimace expression as he makes a grudging apology. "I actually came to apologize for my outburst in the War Hall."

"Excellent apology." Hector says.

"At least he's trying." The woman says as she walks up to him, taking her child into her arms.

"Dracula brought us all here to fight his war, Hector. All the vampires under his reign." Godbrand says, accepting that they are on the same side, and their shared loyalty to Dracula demands that they work together.

"The war. Not his war." Hector clarifies as he snaps a rib bone from the corpse that laid on the table and presented it to Cezar. He sets him down and tosses the bone, letting the little pug give chase.

"It's just somewhat galling to have him look to the two humans in the room first. I should have held my tongue. So I apologize."

"Accepted." Hector says as he picks up his hammer, accepting Godbrand's apology graciously.

Yet, he still keeps talking.

"But the other generals and my subordinates have some questions." Godbrand says.

"Oh?"

"Hector, do you think this war is going well?" He asks.

"We're hardly losing." Hector says.

"No, of course not. But it seems chaotic, undirected. As if we were lashing out at humanity without any real plan beyond wild destruction." Godbrand said. That...was surprise thoughtful of him. But he's right. So far, their war on humanity has been less of a military campaign than just lashing out in the bloodiest manner possible.

Hector blows on his hammer and cleans it a bit, saying, "I think wild destruction is what he wants."

"There should be order, right? Even in the removal of a species from a place. Wars have order. Plans and maps and lines. It could be done in less of a-." Godbrand began to say. He feels that any war, even a genocidal one, should be conducted with a bit more order and a bit less chaos. However, he was silenced by the cold, blank stare that Hector gave him. Godbrand steps back as he raises his arms defensively and he says, "It could be done more carefully."