Augur 10th, 223 

Transylvania

Before the war 

The dry summer finally gave way to a cool Autumn. The scorching heat was so damn hot that I nearly drained all my servants dry to slake my thirst. If it weren't for the shortages of thralls, I would have, but this among many other issues brings me to where I am today. 

The queen's palace. A magnificent and horrific sight to behold. The black stone was so dark as if charred by fire and intricately carved like a painter's masterpiece. It made men tremble in their boots, and all the wealthy envious. I, on the other hand, saw a prison. A fortress in which one day I would surely rot. This was the reason my father brought me here after all.

The large black iron gates guarded by two gargoyles, one on each side as still as a statue, swung open at our approach. I gazed into the ruby-red windows of the palace, dreaming of my next meal as my father went on and on with his rambles. Oh, how I wished the old fool would shut up.

"You really should revel in this opportunity. You have a chance to sit in with some of the most elite members of our society. Make acquaintances and rub elbows with them. After all, this will be your life in a few short years. Use this moment to learn and soak in all that you can."

I sighed, "This is not the life I want to live father. Being in a room full of stuck-up lords and counts, it just isn't me."

"No, you'd rather spend all your time in the brothels with the mortal whores or going on some adventure to gods only knows where," he paused to let out an exasperated breath, "I understand you aren't one for theatrics and politics, but the queen approved you sitting in on this council meeting herself so do not mess it up. Just put on a smile and go with it. Do you understand?"

He wasn't wrong about my extracurricular activities, but I wouldn't admit that one out loud. 

Rolling  my eyes I said, "Yes sir."

He nodded and sat back in his seat. The carriage rattled on across the cobblestone path. Coming to a slow halt in front of the black stone staircase. Two servants stood at the bottom waiting to greet us. The coach hopped down, moving to open the door. 

He bowed as he spoke, "Count Lornik, we have arrived."

My father exited first then motioned for me to follow. I got out and stood behind him as he talked to the coach. 

"Thank you, Amon. Please take the horses to the stables and have them fed and watered. One of the servants will fetch you when we are ready to leave."

"Yes, Count Lornik," he said with another bow. 

Amon closed the door and then turned to return to his seat up front, his long white hair flowing in the wind. The old bastard had been our chauffeur for the last forty years. I watched him from the moment he was sent to us to pay a debt, growing from a young man to an old, frail geezer. He would surely turn to dust any day now. 

Amon cracked the reins and said, "Hiyah!"

The horses began to trot, pulling the carriage away to reveal a large dark gray fountain that had the depiction of a woman in the center holding a vase. From the opening of the stone jar spewed dark red water that looked like blood. My stomach growled, and I couldn't help but to place my hand over it to try and calm the pains.

My father coughed to get my attention and I said, "Coming."

I turned and followed him up the stairs. The servants greeted us as they led the way up to the giant black doors and opened them, bowing as they gestured for us to enter the castle. Our boots tapped against the oak wood floor as we passed the threshold, the servants closing the doors behind us. 

The large open atrium was furnished with suits of armor along the wall, like knights waiting to strike. The walls held paintings of all the battles from our past. Our queen had quite an interest in remembering bloodshed. The sight was more on the unsettling side. Even though I am a vampire, war and bloodshed are far from being on my to do list. Unless, the bloodshed involves feeding. If anything I try to find commonality between the races, but I'll take a life if I must. 

Red velvet banners dawning the royal family crest hung from the four columns in the center of the room. All this red made my stomach ache even more with hunger. I could feel my fangs poking through my gums, and my mouth watered.

"Son, let's go. We are the last to arrive and we don't want to keep them waiting any longer. You can marvel at the beauty of the castle after the meeting," my father said. 

Marvel at it? Is that what he thought I was doing? No, I was learning more about the queen's personality which was more than distasteful, but I wouldn't tell him that. 

"Yes sir," I responded. 

We headed straight for the large staircase in the center of the atrium which split in two, one side going left and one going right. My father led me up the left side and we followed the balcony around, walking on top of more oak wood floor covered with dark red carpet. Our boots gave off muffled thumps as we walked along turning right down a hallway. Similar decor filled the hallway with added tables and plants that held anything but life. 

I shivered at the thought of meeting the Queen because if her personality reflected her looks, she would be worse than a decaying body. 

We kept going deeper into the castle until we reached another large black door. Two men stood outside wearing pitch-black armor with swords strapped to their hips. 

They came to attention and the one on the left spoke, "Good day gentlemen. The queen is eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"Thank you. At ease," my father said to them. 

They both relaxed and the one who spoke opened the door before stepping aside to allow us entry. We entered the council chamber, and on the inside sat a long black table with many men and women lining the sides. Three chairs remained empty, two opposite the large throne-like chair at the far end of the table. 

This room was void of windows, the only light coming from sconces spaced out along the wall. The flames cast a cool orange glow in the room, and the red eyes of the vampires shone bright, amplified by the shadows. They all look like ghosts with their pale faces except for a couple of darker-skinned members of the council. 

All eyes fell on us and my father quickly directed me to my seat and sat in the chair next to me. I could see the look of disgust on the others' faces as they looked at us. My father was at the bottom of the elite, which meant I was too, and I could tell I was not welcome here. Even with the queen's personal invitation. 

"About time you showed up Lornik, but what should we have expected from someone who shouldn't be a part of this council," said the man who sat closest to the throne on the right side. 

My father stood and bowed, "My apologies."

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He returned to his seat and even with his apology the air still felt full of unwelcome. Some rustling came from the back left of the room, and a door swung wide. A line of guards entered the room, lining it like the sets of armor in the atrium. Following behind them were two servants who accompanied one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Her long black hair framed her pale porcelain face. Her vibrant red eyes popped in the dim room, and the black silk dress clung to her frame bringing out all her curves. 

She walked over to the large throne and sat before crossing her legs. I almost wanted to look under the table to see if I could catch a glimpse of them, but that would be unbefitting of me as a gentleman and a lord. 

The realization of who she was kicked in when our eyes made contact. The aura of royalty and superiority hit me like a blast of harsh winter wind, and it was unnerving, to say the least. Her eyes continued to move as she scanned each individual, but something about the way she looked at me made an ounce of fear creep up my spine. It felt like I was her next meal and she was going to pounce any second to drain me dry. 

I looked down at my hands to avoid looking at her any further, but my mind kept trying to compel me to stare. Her presence is dominating and demanding. I could only imagine holding such power and status. 

A clap echoed in the chamber reverberating off the stone walls. Following the clap, a mellifluous voice touched my ears, "Thank you all for gathering here today. As the governing heads of our society, it is our job to ensure the life of our people stays up to par. We are all aware of the shortages of thralls and our people are suffering and starving. We are also losing money because our trade partners are dwindling. Now I confide in you, the council, to provide a solution to fix our broken land."

I looked up and found my eyes meeting her ruby-red gaze. She's staring me down like a vulture, but her face isn't screwed up in disgust. Her face was stoic but soft. She looked like an angel with a devilish side lurking underneath that perfect skin. Maybe she isn't as terrifying as I believed her to be. 

The man closest to her on her right spoke up first, "I say we wage war against the humans. Their tyrannical empire has been in power for far too long. They are willingly breaking their agreement to send us a portion of their slaves in return for our allegiance and peace, so we should storm their gates, and leave hell in our wake. If we can reign in the Empire, all other neighboring provinces are sure to fall in line putting us back at the top."

The room erupted in shouts, some agreeing with his statement while others expressed extreme disagreement. 

The queen held up her hand to silence the room and everyone fell quiet and still. Not breaking eye contact with me she said, "Thank you Count Sar for your input. Does anyone else have anything to add?"

This time a dark-skinned woman spoke up, her accent foreign, her hair as white as snow, "My queen, if we wage war against the humans that will undo centuries of hard work. They almost hunted us to extinction, and now Sar wants to return to the days of living in fear when we barely managed to bring the war to a stalemate."

"To add to Lady Seema's statement, with the state of our provinces if we wage war we will lose. Citizens are on edge and weak. They will not be willing to fight such a battle, nor any battle at that." the man to my right said. 

The queen nodded and Sar spoke again, "Then you force them to fight. We have the means to defeat them, we just have to rally our forces."

Something about her gaze compelled me to speak so I did, "Actually we don't."

All heads turned toward me and my father looked at me with fear in his eyes. I could tell he thought I was insane, and I probably was to do something so bold. 

He stood and bowed, "My apologies my queen. I specifically instructed him to stay quiet. I will…"

"Silence Lornik, let the young vampire speak. He is here to learn, is he not? So what better way for him too," she said as a small smile touched her plush red lips. The meaning of her expression still remained unknown, and this could go either really well or deep shit would be my future. 

"As you wish, my queen," my father sat back down. 

Sar then protested, "You can't possibly let him speak. He shouldn't even be here. Him or his father."

The queen finally broke her eye contact to glare at Sar with a repugnant look, "I can and I will Count Sar. This is my council, so  I do advise you to watch your tongue or I will rip it from your throat."

The man fell silent as he side-eyed me. He definitely has some serious anger issues, and if I knew anything about my kind, it's that betrayal was a common course of action. Best to watch my back around, Count Sar.

The queen returned her gaze to me, "Speak," she paused. 

I realized she wanted me to introduce myself, so I stood and bowed, "Lord Silus Bloodcroft, my queen."

"Lord Silus Bloodcroft, please enlighten the council with your knowledge," she said as she waved her hand gesturing at all the members. 

That tingling sensation returned in my spine, and my voice got caught in my throat. "O-our armies even with drafting more to fight would not even compare to the vast size of the humans. On top of that their advanced weaponry would tear through us in a heartbeat. Once our people see how far the humans have come. Along with being starved. This would incite deserters and rebellions and our provinces would crumble. As for the flow of income. If we merely begin sending diplomats to our trade partners we can begin to work on new treaties and have full time insight on the neighboring nations." 

"Preposterous!" Sar said, slamming his fist against the table, "We have the means all we need is fear. The humans are at war with Orcs to the south, which means their armies are thin and weak. Now is the time to strike. If we begin sending envoys they will surely be assassinated or captured and tortured for information."

"They can muster numbers faster and more efficiently without fear. Their weaponry will also still be more powerful than our own. And while it is no secret we are hated by all other factions, it is a damnation we've brought upon ourselves. Due to our nature as vampires and our seclusion, the other races view us an unnatural pest. We must show them the image they hold of our kind is false. " I retorted. 

"We have magic, and we don't need acceptance!" Sar spat. 

"And so do they. They learned it from the great mages of the High Elves around a hundred years ago. It is a time for diplomacy not a time for war."

Sar finally fell silent, and everyone looked at me with surprise. 

Lady Seema spoke again, "How do you know so much about the humans?"

I sighed as I answered, "I've done a lot of traveling as an act of rebellion against my father for giving me the curse of Sanguine, and the empire happened to be on my list."

"So you broke our laws as an act of defiance?" asked the woman next to Sar. 

"Yes, milady."

The queen began to tap her long dagger-like nails on the table, "So what do you suggest we should do, criminal."

I swallowed hard and I realized how much shit I've put me and my father in, "I uh. I suggest the council should consider aiding the human war efforts against the orcs in exchange for their advancements in weaponry. The council should also take my proposal to heart and dispatch diplomats immediately to our trade partners. This will also solve our food shortage because they won't have to draft as many slaves to fight their wars, and new agreements can be formed to bring in money." I took in a sharp breath before continuing, "I feel our race has been neutral and closed off for far too long. Our gates should be opened for travel both in and out. The world has long since outpaced us and we have lost the respect we once held."

Sar was completely dumbfounded by my suggestion and boldness, but everyone else seemed somewhat on board. The queen was the real issue. She learned of my transgression, and if my idea isn't to her liking I would surely be put to death. 

She stood and started beckoning me to her with one slender finger. I swallowed hard while trying to force my body to move. This was it. The day I meet death for real and get my wish. An eternity passed as I slowly walked around the long table, all eyes on me. If my heart still beat it would've pounded right through my chest. So many emotions flooded me at this moment, but I couldn't back down or show my discomfort and fear. It would only serve to make things worse on my behalf. 

I mustered up every ounce of resolve in my bones as I reached her highness. She turned to face me fully and stared deep into the shriveled-up husk that is my soul. I almost lost my composure as she raised her right hand. All I could imagine is the blood lingering in my body staining her chalk-white porcelain skin. Her hand moved and I couldn't help but to shut my eyes right as I waited for death. Then I felt it. Her soft cold hand was on my cheek as she caressed my face. 

I opened my eyes and found her red lips spread wide in a smile, revealing her pearly white teeth and sharp fangs. The rest of the council looked just as surprised, and some even had a hint of envy in their eyes. 

"In all the years of this council's existence, I have never met someone so bold, intelligent, and calm like yourself. You think things through and take the time to learn about other cultures, even if it means bending the rules. You have impressed me today with your bravery to speak in a place where you are unwelcome. For that you will be my new pet," she paused to look at the rest of the members, "Listen well, my fellow undead. This is my new personal advisor. You will listen to him. His word is the law and no one can override it except myself. Is that understood?"

Begrudgingly they all said, "Yes, my queen."

My heart sank with every word she spoke, and I could feel all the ugly stares directed at me. Sar's especially. I felt so anxious and different, like the first leaf to change color and drift from the tree.