Five

Dark Ages, 1457.

Three months, three months of the hardest self-control I put myself into, and I lost it, right there, as soon as I got close to her, not only because I didn’t find a fragment of fear in her eyes, but also I saw the defiance in her face. She affronted me! I went for the kill; I wanted to snap that long sinful neck like a twig under my fingers. How dared she questioned my actions and how I treated my opponents? I was a ruler; I had a country to build and enemies to banish away by any means I chose. She would have to come to terms with that.

Everything I used against them, every means of torture, every piece of strategy I learned from the best teachers, my foes! They were no less cruel than me, and knowing your opponents well is the only chance you had to outsmart them. I fought hard every day, so we didn’t fall under their power again. Yet, my walls crumbled to the ground as I got closer to her body, inhaling her sweet floral perfume, unable to resist her. I believe neither did she.

My contingent stayed behind guarding Poenari, and I left by myself to meet my other contingent near Brașov, and for the first time, it was the hardest thing to do, leave that puny enchantress behind! I won’t tolerate a woman coming between me and my war. If I did, she would be my downfall. Focus, that what I needed, focus on the problems ahead of me; I didn’t need a weakness and a liability to the eyes of my enemies, but she had already enthralled me with her magic.

It’s been a month since I last saw her. It could have been less if we hadn’t suffered an attack by the Turk’s army that led to a hideous fight and a major setback. I wanted to go back home! Funny how this word had a different meaning now. I hated the situation of being torn between two worlds, one I knew so well and the other I’ve never dared to think about it.

Getting back to Poenari, I saw her from afar. The sun was setting, and she walked into the small garden. Just by seeing her, my pulse quickened, and every part of my body came alive. I needed some peace before I faced her, so I cleaned myself and went to the chapel. The tranquility those places brought to my tortured mind always helped clear my thoughts. I lit up the dark chapel with torches and sat there, staring at nothing, just letting my brain wander. But all my self-control faded the minute she stepped inside.

“How did you know I was here?” I was harsh and kept staring at the wall. She stopped at the entrance, not so sure of what to do.

“I saw you staring at me from afar when I was in the garden,” she said in a quiet tone.

“What do you want, Alizandra?” I wasn’t in the mood for chitchat. Control was slipping through my fingers, and I needed to calm my demons.

“Why are you here so alone? Are you hiding from me?” Her soft voice penetrated my ears, going straight down my spine and settling in my groin. I shut my eyes and sighed. As I opened them again, she was closer to me. What a beautiful view. I glued my eyes on her, and I realized my world would change forever.

“No, I’m not hiding from you. Just thinking, this is the best place to put your thoughts right again.”

“What happened? Why did it take you so long to return?” The genuine concern in her voice pierced my chest like a sword would do, and she tried a few more steps towards me. “You got hurt!” Her caring tone melted my heart, and her eyes widened, assessing my entire self.

“Don’t worry, I’ve had worse. They are just fighting wounds.” I wasn’t looking my best, a cut on my neck and scratches on my face and hands. “I had business to attend with the mayor of Brașov and some merchants, and on my way back here the sultan’s army ambushed us and a lot of my men lost their lives, but those bastards received the punishment they deserved.”

“And… What did you do to them?”

“You don’t need to know the nasty details, it’s none of your business.”

“Then, why are you so tormented?” She looked at me with those enormous lavender eyes, such a different and beautiful color, waiting for my answer. “I feel your exhaustion.”

“When I sleep, night terrors plague my dreams with my burdens, but since you came along, you chased them away. This entire month separated from you made them worse. I didn’t have one restful night.” I didn’t know why, but with her, I could be myself and talk to someone other than the priests, who were just behind a confession. They always told me what I wanted to hear from them out of fear. Her face lit up in surprise. “Do you believe there’s a place where all the damned souls are sent to?” She blinked with a little uncertainty and chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe trying to find the right answer.

“The church said so.” She calculated her answer, but it didn’t answer my question. “Why are you worried about your soul?”

“You didn’t answer my question. I asked if you believe it?” She sighed and those beautiful lavenders were upon me. She closed the remaining distance between us.

“Yes, but I also believe in salvation if you repent from your sins. God doesn’t punish anyone, He loves us and saddens with our sins.” I couldn’t look at her, not when she wore compassion on her face. “Vlad… Look at me… Why all this now?” Then I snapped my head up and stared at her. “What?” I could see confusion in her eyes, then her hand touched my face. The lightest of touches. I let my cheek rest in her soft palm.

“It’s the first time you said my name in all these months, and it sounded so perfect on your lips.”

“I’m so sorry it took me so long to do it.” She caressed my face. “I hate seeing you so tormented.”

I brought her closer to me, between my knees, and embraced her by the waist, nestling my head on her belly. She was my haven, and when she cradled me back, it made me wish to be there forever. I held her tight. Not only was I thirsty for her touch, but I also needed her warmth for my sake.

Her floral perfume surrounded me as I breathed her in, reveling in the softness of her skin against my rougher one. The comfort it brought to my tortured soul was liberating, and I had never felt such a feeling. She sent all my demons away, and I just let myself feel and bask in the refuge of her body.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

I gasped in surprise when she tipped my head to meet her shining eyes, and I found my lips possessed by Liz’s soft ones in a desperate, hungry kiss. Her fingers laced on the mass of my hair, pulling me to her, and it just added to the state of pain I was already living in. She rested her forehead on mine, and our gazes locked. We were both breathless.

“Say my name again?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

“Vlad…” She kissed the corner of my mouth. “Vlad…” And kept going on, showering my face with loving kisses and saying my name. I brought her to my lap and captured her soft lips again, tasting her sweetness, and her little breathy, keen sounds made me harder beneath her. Firebolts hit me, and my hands made their way under her clothes.

It was beyond me to wait for more. I needed her writhing beneath my body, and screaming my name, because her lips were the only sacred place in this world where my name didn’t sound like a blasphemy. The only place when said it carried love and passion, and not terror and fear on people. I kissed her nonsense while I walked us back to our room, part of our clothes already forgotten in the middle of the way. And then, only then, I parted from my beautiful Alizandra.