Cassandra Pendragon

She fell silent, red, puffy eyes focused on me with a burning intensity. I, on the other hand, had gone very still, even the light from eyes had dimmed.

“Why,” I asked, my tone level and distant. “I’ve read the description. You tried to summon and bind a powerful spirit. You’re not looking to run, you want to resist your future. Tell me, did you want me to slay your enemies and place you on the throne?” She held my gaze for longer than I had expected but finally she glanced away, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.

“Yes,” she stated, her eyes cast downwards.

“That’s… that’s… you never told us,” the black haired boy, Bob, he still hadn’t told me his real, name, blurted out. “You can’t, we… I thought you wanted to become someone else! Live out your life in peace! We never talked about revenge, about regicide!”

“What did you expect,” Zara hissed. “They killed them and for what? Money? Power? Of course I’ll see them all dead, if I get the chance! Don’t tell me you didn’t know where this was going when I used my blood to strengthen the runes!”

“But… you said… no, do you have any idea what’ll happen, even if you’re successful? Especially if you are? The grand houses will fight tooth and nail for the throne! Our nation will be ripped apart! You can’t want that, not now. The fey will devour us alive!” How very intriguing…

“I… we helped you, we were prepared to take you in… a new life, but this… I won’t let you!”

“And how are you going to stop me? If she agrees…”

“I won’t,” I said calmly and the two of them froze mid sentence, mainly because my wings were crackling with power behind me again and filled the room with an eerie, silver light. “I’m nobody’s hangman. You don’t need one, either way. Did you really expect me to fight my way through the palace, storm the throne room and publicly take the heads of the royal family? And then what? I vanish and you waltz in to sit on the throne? For how long? No, your friend is right. You still have two weeks you say? Use them.”

“How,” she asked. “I’m a child, still stuck in the academy. No one takes me seriously. I don’t even have a chance to act on my own. Every time I try to leave the grounds, there are several guards from the palace trailing me. I’m a prisoner!”

“Oh, I can easily enough play the messenger for you. And… do you know why people don’t listen to children? Because they have nothing to offer, their words aren’t worth much and they don’t have any real power. You could be different. Not as a prospective queen or the heir to a powerful house. Your people are at war with the fey? That could be your way out.” All three of them stared at me in disbelieve.

“What do you mean,” Zara finally asked. “Would you fight for us? In my name?” I rolled my eyes.

“You’re so fixated on me saving you… maybe, but that’s not what I’m getting at. I’m…” my ears twitched, the faint thumping of boots and the even fainter sound of raised voices flowed through the barricaded door. With a gesture I bade them to remain quiet and pushed a trickle of power from my core to my ears.

“…got to be there. She’s been missing for a few hours and suddenly there’s a failed summoning in the basement?” The voice was smooth and deep, I pictured a man in his thirties but I could’ve been wrong. “I swear, I’ll put her in chains! I’m so done with chasing after that little brat.”

“Calm yourself,” a female responded stately. “Wait for the wedding, afterwards you can do as you wish, but until then, you’d better remain the loving, grieving gentleman, worried about the well-being of his future wife. Don’t screw this up! I think the girl is already suspicious as it is, there’s no reason to fuel the fire. Your father wants the dust to settle and no complications until you’re wed!”

“Dismiss me,” I hissed. “Now! Your nemesis is coming, if he finds me here, the jig will be up! Send me back, now!”

“But…,” Zara stammered. “I… how?”

“I won’t leave you hanging, but if he sees me here I won’t be able to do much. I know you can’t summon me again, but I’ll find my way back within a week. I promise!” Light and silvery flames followed my words, a burning circle that visibly settled in around my heart. Her eyes became huge again and I felt her weariness, her reluctance but before I could prod her further, she nodded.

“Then go,” she breathed. “And hurry back, please.” She hadn’t even demanded that I hand over the book. The runes lit up, walls of light flashed into existence around me and I was whisked away, leaving behind nothing but the charred remains of strange looking glyphs on the floor. Just before I disappeared into sparks and memory, my magic flared and a tiny, barely perceptible silvery flame ignited in a corner of the room. And then it petered out, as if it had never existed.

The return trip felt much more like my own form of teleportation. Space was folding around me and form one moment to the next, the scenery had changed from a dusty storeroom to an opulent hall turned battlefield. To my chagrin I reappeared in the exact same spot where I had been summoned from, but it was considerably quieter by now and only one occupant was still standing amidst a sea of blood and ash. And even though her scent didn’t reach me across the miasma of death and carnage, I knew who she was.

Hair like molten gold, piercing blue eyes I had seen before, a willowy stature… “Alassara,” I said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person. There’s much we have to talk about.”

Two sparkling sapphires narrowed suspiciously and I felt a pulse of energy leave her while she studied me with the eyes of a predator. A red glow ignited in their depths but when her gaze followed my slithering wings, a smile broke her threatening posture.

“Cassandra Pendragon, it’s an honour.” She bowed from the hip. “I must thank you for returning my daughter to me and plead for your forgiveness. I’m sorry for misleading you, but I was running out of time. Please, if you’d wait for me outside until I’ve cleared out my brother’s cockroaches, I’d be happy to answer your questions. Or are you after my head?” She sounded curious. Not anxious, but curious. I just couldn’t figure out if it meant she wasn’t afraid of me or didn’t care either way. I had a hunch it was the latter. She was… at peace, I thought. But what had changed?

It couldn’t have been the return of her daughter alone. Otherwise, why would there even have been a conflict between her and her sibling in the first place. Despite the danger she clearly emitted, the woman who stood before me was… content. Right, we had rescued the other vampire as well. Was she that important? Stupid question, of course she was. I just didn’t know why. But I’d find out today, one way or the other.

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“No, I’m not. I’m vexed that you used me, angry at being thrown around like a toy and frustrated as hell that I still don’t know what’s actually going on here. And I hope to all the gods that you have some good explanations, but I don’t want you dead.” Yet, I added silently.

A mischievous smile entered her eyes when she replied: “oh, believe me, I do. In that case, would you excuse me? I still have a few rooms to clean. Unless… do you want to help?”

“I’ve seen enough bloodshed already,” I said and shook my head. “I’m not volunteering for more. Or do I need to make sure you won’t go overboard?”

“No, only the feral ones will die, I know what I’m doing. Well then, please wait outside, this won’t be pretty, especially if you’ve already had your fill of blood. Or you can head to the house you’re currently staying in. My daughter and your friends should have made their way there, by now. If you want to talk in private, though, you might want to linger. I imagine it’s going to be nigh impossible later on.” Without another word she swept past me and vanished down a tiled corridor. I was torn, half of me brimming with curiosity and the vague desire to make sure she wouldn’t kill indiscriminately, the other half longing to see the sun and close my eyes in the shade of a tree, even if only for a few minutes. The latter won. One might argue that I had some sort of obligation since I had been the one to turn the late patriarch into ash, but I just couldn’t get myself to care.

Once outside, I found a cherry tree in a well kept garden and quickly jumped onto one of the lower hanging branches. The oh so familiar smell calmed me down and before I knew it, I sat with my back against the trunk, my tails wrapped around the branch and closed my eyes. The sickening sounds the wind carried over from the mansion slowly melted into the rustling of leaves and the hectic activity in the city further away. It didn’t take too much imagination to picture myself back on Boseiju, dreaming the day away in a hidden spot behind our palace and for a few moments I let go. For a few moments I simply enjoyed the sun on my face and the wind in my fur.

My thoughts slowed down and any intention I had had of making plans and trying to understand what was happening to me… to us was blown away like a feather. My heartbeat was a soothing rhythm in my chest, the wind rustling in my fur felt like a caress and warmth slowly spread from my skin. My mind began to wander, memories and dreams slowly blurring until they were one and the same. Caught between the past and the future, the woes of the present weren’t crushing anymore. For as long as we could still imagine a brighter tomorrow, there would always be a way.

A song reached my ears, one I had heard under a different sun, in a different time. A song that had pulled me back from the brink and that had given me the strength to continue, even though I hadn’t known why. Even after the darkest night, the dawn will come.

Devastation and death had claimed the cosmos, darkness had reigned in the aftermath of the bloodiest war ever fought. A vibrant, beautiful reality had been reduced to no more than a few handful of planets that still supported life. It had been enough to break us, all of us. Ambition and greed had burned out, leaving behind nothing but sorrow and regret, but it had already been too late. The light had been gone and we hadn’t had the strength to pick ourselves up, not again. We had been spent, a powerful people brought to their knees by stupidity and hubris.

We hadn’t been better than the ones we had so naturally looked down upon. And the worst part: it had hurt. I had felt like my heart had been pierced with a burning lance, every breath had driven me to my knees, the memories of my failure heavier than I had been able to bear. Gone, all of them gone. In my arms I had held the last member of the family I had sworn to keep safe. Arete… perfection… a chance, one I had failed to keep alive. I hadn’t known how I had been supposed to tell Aurora. Her own life had been on the line, her and her stupid promises…

And then, I had heard it. Her voice, rising and falling in soft cadences that had reminded that there would always be a path, I just had had to find the courage to tread on it.

I smiled softly without opening my eyes. I didn’t know what had happened before or where we had gone from there, but every time I remembered Aurora’s voice in the dark, I knew that no matter how bad things got, somewhere, somewhen I’d hold her in my arms again while the sun would finally break through the clouds. It was just a question of getting there alive and keeping my sanity on the way. Which unfortunately also meant that I didn’t have the time to day dream, there was still so much to do. And I even had a timeline… well, it surely seemed like the elves would be the first people I was going to visit. I even had an idea of what I wanted to do, but…

“Lady Pendragon? Are you asleep?” There was still a vampire queen I had to deal with.

“You know,” I said while I nimbly dropped to the ground. “That’s one of those questions I simply don’t get. Even if I had been, I wouldn’t have been after you woke me up. But I wasn’t asleep, I was dreaming. Also, if you want to do me a favour, call me Cassandra. It’s a bit hypocritical that someone who used me as a weapon would suddenly refer to me as the “Lady Pendragon”, don’t you think? We’re well past that point.” While I walked up, I looked her over for any signs of her rampage, but apart from a nearly invisible sheen of red on her lips and few specks of blood beneath her trimmed fingernails, she seemed just as prim and proper as any noble lady would in the middle of the day.

“You are right, of course,” she replied calmly and bowed to me. “Cassandra, then. I can’t do much more than apologise for how I treated you, but rest assured, if there’s anything I can do to repay my debt, I most definitely will. You’re very much entitled to anything I have to offer.”

“Oh my, I’m sure I’ll find a way to make use of that. Maybe we could start with an explanation?”

“Surely. Should we take a seat? A few steps further down this path here’s a small pond with an old stone bench. I always thought it to be the best place for a bit of peace and quiet.” When I nodded, she leisurely strolled away from me and led me around a few strong cedars. In their shadow, a small spring burbled merrily, surrounded by lush greens and fragrant flowers.

Alassara gracefully sat, gesturing for me to join her. I gingerly lowered myself onto the cold marble and slowly breathed her in. Her scent was different from what I had imagined, much less domineering and somehow… lighter. She most definitely was Layla’s mother, but if it hadn’t been for the coppery tang of blood that still surrounded her like a blanket, I would never have guessed she was one of the most fearsome predators that stalked this city. Not even the faint smell of decay I had come to associate with vampires tickled my nose. She seemed utterly alive, except that no matter how closely I listened, there was no heartbeat. A rose with hidden thorns.

“Why are you so weary,” she asked me. “You have nothing to fear from me, do you now?”

“I’ve heard that before and more often than not, it turned out to be a lie. If we had met a few weeks ago, I would probably have taken your words at face value, but I’m not that naive anymore.” She chuckled, a soft, almost bashful sound.

“And you mean to say I’ve already shown myself to be more than prepared to mistreat you. But that’s not what I meant. Right here and right now, you could end me just as swiftly as I would end a human. All you have to fear are my words, or rather, what you make of them. But I can assure you, I have no intention of lying to you anymore. You’ve already given me more than I could have asked for and I’m content. Please, don’t treat me like a monster, Cassandra. I might have become one, but today I would like to pretend I’m still still alive and just met the woman who rescued my daughter and my family. Would that be too much to ask?”

“No… no, I don’t think it would. You’re welcome, by the way. You’ve got a great child and I’m happy she’s safe. What about the other vampire? Did she make it? You’re daughter was very insistent on keeping her alive. I hope she pulled through.”

“She did, as far as I know. I’ve only managed to talk to Layla briefly on my way here. Aurelia was still alive then and should wake quite soon. Our blood is still potent and what my daughter offered was more than enough to help her heal. Once you meet her, I’m sure she won’t mind answering your questions, either.”

“That’s good to know but I don’t think I’m entitled to her answers. Yours, on the other hand, I would very much like to hear. What’s your story, Alassara? Why were two powerful, related vampires waging war in the middle of a nest of pirates? Don’t you have better things to do?”