The Vampire & Her Witch

The night following Heila’s victory, Captain Lennart roused himself from an afternoon nap and prepared to greet the setting sun before a long night of work began. Last night’s events at the arena had left the men from the Vale of Mists on edge, each of them recalling the suicidal madness in the eyes of the cultists who willingly sacrificed themselves for the chance that one of their members could defeat Heila and bring her under their control.

The High Fen had always been welcoming for Lady Nyrielle and after the grand welcome they received on their first night, both he and his men had begun to relax. After months of travel, fighting, and assembling Nyrielle’s ragtag army of defeated zealots and cryptic devotees, they were just weeks away from home.

Tonight, according to the agenda that Heila had provided him with, he hoped that things would be quieter. Nyrielle and Ashlynn were due to dine with High Lady Erna and several lord mayors of the High Fen in what should be an evening far removed from the danger of places where powerful champions gathered.

Still, he wasn’t comfortable until he’d donned a light coat of mail and secured his fighting gauntlets in place at his hips. He hoped that he wouldn’t need either, but if violence broke out at what was supposed to be a dinnertime negotiation, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened on this trip.

When he presented himself at Nyrielle’s chambers, however, he was surprised to find Zedya waiting outside Nyrielle’s door wearing an elegant fur coat over a modestly cut dress in deep, rich purple silk and crimson lace, looking like she was prepared for a night outdoors.

”Hello, Lenny,” the amethyst eyed vampire said. Her voice was warm and gentle and her pale skin held the healthy glow that said she’d fed the night before, but even a recent feeding couldn’t account for the... softness he felt from her tonight.

”Has there been a change in plans tonight, Madame Zedya?”

”There has,” Zedya teased, placing a finger underneath the bearish man’s chin and leading him back the way he’d come. ”You won’t need your armor tonight, or your weapons. Tonight, you’ll accompany me. Come,” she said with a smile that lit up her plain features as though the moon had appeared from behind clouds just to shine on her. ”You should get changed.”

”Where are we going, Madame Zedya?” Lennart asked as he fell in comfortably behind and to Zedya’s left side, taking a position to protect her vulnerable side even if she had little need of his protection. ”Should I dress for the cold?” he added, hoping to get some details from her.

”A warm coat would be a good idea,” she acknowledged. ”But please, Mistress Nyrielle isn’t here. It’s fine if it’s just ’Zedya’ tonight. Unless you’d prefer I call you ’Captain’ all night long?”

”Zedya then,” he said, still puzzled by what she was up to this evening. If Lady Nyrielle had sent Madame Zedya on an important errand tonight, he could understand why he was being sent with her, especially if they would be retrieving something valuable from one of the merchants that Nyrielle had met with the night before. But if that was the case, why tell him to change out of his armor?

Fifteen minutes later, as Zedya led him into one of the small carriages reserved for guests of the palace, he was no closer to understanding her intentions. She’d nodded approvingly at his choice of midnight blue tunic and the long-waisted, fur-trimmed coat he wore over it, but she’d given him no other hints about where they were going or why.

”You can relax, Lenny,” Zedya said as she relaxed into the cushions of her seat in the carriage, watching the flicker of warm golden lamplight and cooler moonlight spill across Lennart’s features as the carriage navigated its way through the busy nightlife of High Fen City.

”Lady Ashlynn and the Thistle Witch are taking turns watching over little Heila,” Zedya explained. ”Brother Ignatious is watching over Lady Nyrielle tonight and Captain Virve agreed to take your place since Lady Ashlynn has no need of her while she’s tending to Heila. Tonight, you and I have been given the evening off to enjoy ourselves in High Fen City.”

As their carriage turned onto one of the broad avenues leading away from the palace, they passed a smaller arena that catered to those patrons who were wealthy enough to recruit champions from outside of High Fen City. At the moment, several members of the Black Wolf Brigade surrounded two of their companions, egging them on and all but shoving them toward the reception counter to register themselves as fighters for the evening.

”Do it, do it! Coward! Show these city folk that Master Savis isn’t the only strength the Black Wolf Brigade possesses,” one man said, poking his companion’s large, muscular arms. ”Didn’t you say that you were the strongest in the squad? Prove it!”

”Come on, boss,” another Golden Eyed soldier said, his tail standing straight up as he joined the dogpile on his nominal superior. ”Show us young bloods how it’s done!”

”But, we’ve only just arrived,” Lennart protested as the carriage rolled far enough away that the boisterous soldiers were no longer in earshot. Some people might be able to enjoy a night off so soon after arriving, but when he thought of the number of things that Lady Nyrielle needed to accomplish during their short stay, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at rushing off to some kind of recreation while others were still working so hard. ”There are still so many things that need doing, even if we’re not tending to Lady Nyrielle then...”

”Lenny,” Zedya interrupted, leaning across the gap between the carriage seets to place a hand on his shoulder as her amethyst eyes softened. ”How long have you served Lady Nyrielle now? How long have you gone wherever she goes, barely sleeping so you can protect us while we sleep and then standing by all through the night.”