It was well into the following morning when Deirdre heard the stomping feet of the adventuring party which included her beloved Faust. ‘Faust is back! Faust is back! Faust is back! He’ll look at me again with those big, beautiful, adoring eyes, so puppy-like and full of devotion…I don’t know how I lasted the night with him away!’

Thankfully because of the echo, she had time to fix her face a little. She checked the mirror, put a smile on that was radiant and full of light, tilted up just the right way at the corners of her lips, her eyes blinked like those of an innocent doe, and her mask was complete.

The knock rang out on the door, “Princess Deirdre, may I come in?”

“Come right in, Faust.” She said in the cheery way she always did, and began her stately gliding stride over to the table where she had tea already prepared and still piping hot.

“Please, Freydis, sit.” She gestured, but when she said this, it wasn’t Freydis she looked at, it was Faust.

The woman of noble birth took the verbal, if not visual invitation, and approached to seat herself. The rest took standing places on the outside of the table, and Deirdre asked, “So you found it, tell me everything.”

She sipped quietly while she listened to the story of how they ‘cleverly’ found the exit, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. ‘I was half worried I’d need to ‘find’ more hints for them.’ Deirdre thought to herself as she listened to the story, it was a genuine laugh hearing how Brunwaeld had to crouch and walk like a duck for almost the entire time, the image was far too absurd.

Brunwaeld had the grace to laugh at herself. It was one of the things Deirdre appreciated, such as it was. ‘She’s not very smart, she’s persistently ravenous for young men, she eats like a pig and is far too loud… but at least she’s self aware about it.’ The Princess thought it was a cut above those who were far more prim, proper, and refined on the outside at least.

In a way, when she looked at the laughing behemoth, the Princess was envious, the woman never had to hide who she was, and didn’t even know how.

“So you encountered vampires? How scary!” Deirdre gasped dramatically and held her hands over her mouth, “Are you all okay? They didn’t bite any of you, did they?!” As she asked, she glanced up at Faust, and he reflexively took a step closer to her.

“No, they were no trouble, they weren’t particularly old or powerful, they’ve probably only been there for a few years, their ghouls hadn’t even regained their intelligence yet.” Freydis explained, “Which is a lucky break for us, and for whoever else came that way eventually.”

“How so?” Deirdre asked and quietly added two cubes of sugar to her tea before stirring it again.

“When those mongrel creatures ‘turn’ things, they have two choices. A ‘ghoul’ servant, or a lesser vampire. Turning a person into a lesser vampire takes a lot out of them, it can even take years to fully recover, it’s why those things are so rare. Lesser vampires remain weaker than their master until their master dies, lacking even fangs, after which the ‘lesser’ becomes a ‘common’ vampire, and can grow power on its own by way of feeding over time. The lesser vampire can blend in with normal society as well as a common one can if they’re careful and nobody is casting any detection magic, or if they have an item that can block or trick such spells. But they’re also bound to obey the master from the day of their making, on. Ghouls though, take a fraction of that strength.”

“Is that so?” Deirdre asked, “So why not just use all ghouls?”

“Lesser vampires are useful aides and keep the intelligence they had while alive. Ghouls are obviously undead filth, undergo decay, have the stink of corpses, and are dumber than Brunwaeld when she gets drunk.”

Brunwaeld gave a big, goofy grin, “It’s not dumb, it’s a strategic absence of intelligence.”

Nazari looked up at the brute, “The last time you did that, you slept with her oldest brother and then called him by the wrong name.” She jerked her thumb toward Princess Deirdre, and both the Princess, as well as Faust, dropped their jaws in brief shock.

“You what?!” Faust asked.

“Like I said, strategic. He never came back, which was fine, because despite being as big as he was, he had no idea what he was doing.” Brunwaeld defended herself with a snort. “I’d have gotten his name right if he’d been worth remembering.”

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“I think it best that I never heard this.” Deirdre said with a shudder, and Belladonna bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your discretion, Your Majesty.” Belladonna said and looked up at their brute, “Something you could learn something about.”

Freydis pinched the bridge of her nose, “Gods preserve us…forgive me, Princess. As I was saying, ghouls are not that smart. Some mages have suggested that’s part of why they’re easier for vampires to make. Because keeping functioning minds and intact undecayed bodies is costly to someone’s life energy, or ‘unlife’ energy if that’s what it is. It takes them at least ten or twenty years to start to regain their minds, and even then it may be another twenty before they have the intelligence of a child, thirty or forty for an adult. If they aren’t killed for a hundred years or so, they might rise to a lesser vampire status. Most of them don’t, in part because most vampires don’t live all that long.”

“Wait, aren’t vampires immortal?” Faust asked, and this too, caught Deirdre’s attention as nothing else had.

“Yes. In name.” Belladonna spoke up, “But most vampires belonged to a mortal race before being turned. If they manage to avoid being killed, reaching a hundred years old isn’t that hard. However?” She shrugged, “After a while they just don’t want to keep going. They lose their will to live, even if that was what motivated them to be turned in the first place. They get tired of hiding in shadows, skulking in darkness, and sleeping in caves. When they get heartily sick of living, sick of being hated, feared, and despised?” She drew one finger across her throat and made a gurgling noise as if her neck were cut open. “It’s sad, really. Who wants to exist without reason for eternity? A few live for malice, but most live just to keep living, and when that gets old, they just stop.” She snapped her finger sharply and said…

“They just take their own lives, either by their own hand or they commit suicide by adventurer. Maybe putting out a bounty on themselves by making sure travelers see them, or by just going up to the nearest adventurer they can find and asking for their lives to be ended. My advice, Faust, as powerful as being one of those can make you, that’s no way to live. Don’t throw away who you are.” Belladonna said it gravely, “I wouldn’t wish that kind of existence on anyone. Who wants to live on as a thing despised?”

“Don’t any of them live a really long time?” Faust asked, his fingers twitched, he wasn’t sure if he should feel aghast or more ‘relieved’ by the prospect.

“Some try to form small ‘families’ or clans, made up of a few of their kind so that they have company. That makes the years less lonely and easier to bear, and those can potentially live a very long time if they’re left alone. That’s probably what we killed, a nascent vampire family.” Belladonna said it so deadpan it was almost horrific, a faint sick feeling came over Faust, and his face became faintly green.

“Forgive me again, for my companions… some are loud-mouthed, others are too sentimental over the feelings of abominations.” Freydis smiled ingratiatingly at the Princess and set her now empty cup down.

“Now that we’re finished, the area is clear, and Faust has a way out, what do you plan to do next?” Freydis asked, eager to distract from the brief and undignified disruption.

“Pay you, first. I’ll send money to the guild today.” Deirdre stopped and looked up at Faust. “I know you want to stay and protect me, but I’ll be going out with palace guards today. I have something I want you to do.”

“My Princess?” Faust snapped to attention, arms at his side, feet together, her formal air with him was less than common, and even after all this time, the prospect of getting to work her will had him eager to jump and carry it out. She smiled gently and put her hand on his arm, feeling the muscle beneath the metal, his warmth comforted her steady heart.

“I want you to go to the alchemist and buy up the entire stock of the patinya plant. Make sure you hurry.” Deirdre said, and for a moment the others all looked between herself and Nazari.

“Who you want to kill? I can take care of it for you.” Nazari answered, “To return the favor.” She calmly palmed her knife. When she saw the others’ expressions she added, “Patinya can be ground into a powerful concoction, useful as poison.”

“Or it can be diluted with milk and turned into a powerful sedative.” Deirdre said with a sweet smile on her angelic face, she tilted her head when she saw their surprised expressions. “Father had some use for himself after he was injured when I was six. I remember the name of the thing they used and saw the way they did it. They squeezed the liquid from the plant, ground the fibers down to powder to apply to his bandage, then diluted the plant juice with milk, and made him drink it. He slept for eighteen hours. We’ll need lots of it for the wounded when the time comes, and if we don’t buy it quickly, it will all be gone. Requisition everything you can and use my signet ring to gain approval. Do the same for any flammable plants or other useful potions.” Deirdre gave the order and fluttered her eyes.

“Please, hurry. Oh and… if it isn’t too much trouble, could the rest of you assist Faust in making sure he doesn’t miss anything useful?” Deirdre asked, and grave, reverential nods came from every member of the Thorns.

They moved to obey and Deirdre let out a sigh of relief as soon as the sound of footsteps faded out of hearing range. She put a hand to her breast, closed her eyes, and rose to her feet. Her steps were slow and deliberate, carrying her to the far window of her room where she could see out not only over the garden, but over much of the city.

It wouldn’t be long before it was burning, and while it was a shame about the garden… ‘Like the rest of the city, it can be rebuilt. As long as I have my Faust at my side… who cares what happens to the rest?!’ Thus far, everything was going according to plan.

And it was because of that, that she finally felt free to laugh as she dreamt of the days ahead.