Battle of Grunwald (1410)

Battle.

They told us we were dieing for our honour.

I lay on the hard, wet ground .I drifted in and out of consciousness. Bodies of bloodstained soldiers lay dead around me. In the distance I heard clashing of swords, but it came and went every so often. When I tried to open my eyes they were stung by heavy raindrops. Memories of my last moments on the field flashed behind my eyelids like lightning. I could feel the steel of my sword once again. I heard the screams of agony and victory around me. We would die for our beloved country. We would die for our freedom, that's what I thought.

My body ached for the days of the fight but my mind pushed my forward with every once of strength I had. I loved the battle, I loved the feel of my sword as I drove it into the nearest man. The flashes of memory brought back the memory of pain. The pain had numbed to an annoying throb by now but it made me scared. I knew I was going to die, I could feel my life slipping away. I wasn't ready though, I had so much left to give to this world.

I could still see the look of shock on the young boys face when his sword had made contact with my flesh. His eyes were wide as me looked at the damage he'd made. I wanted to react but my body couldn't handle the foreign object, it began to shut down. My strength left me in a flash and I was falling into a pit of darkness.

As I lay on the hard, wet ground I prayed to St. Anne. I asked her to send me an angel to save me. I promised her nothing new in return just my faith and continued service as an angel of death with a sword in my hand. Consciousness started to slip away and I thought I was gone. Thats when I say her. She illuminated the prevailing darkness in my mind but I could see nothing but her. The sun and broken through the clouds and her skin sparkled like a million diamonds. She had a mane of flowing copper hair. Her ruby eyes pierced into me from across the battle field and she started to move towards me at alarming speed. She wore a long white dress which billowed behind her as she ran. It was splattered with vivid red blood. When she got to my side her face was a vision of love and mercy. She bent down, her warm breath tickling my cold cheek.

"I have come to save your life." She softly spoke.

It was then that I knew she was my angel from Saint Anne. I thanked heaven. She lifted my up in her arms. We began our flight to heaven. The wind sped past my face. I closed my eyes resting in her arms and I was happy.

****

I knew I was in a dream. Flashes of images passed me. I could see myself as if I was a separate person. I saw the look of confusion and wonder on my face as the speeding images flew past. They were like large paintings being pulled on strings. I saw my father in a portrait, a saw myself looking at his face with longing and misery. Hundreds of images passed by. Riches and money, Royal feasts in grand halls, a sea of thick red blood, swords and shield and the dying eyes of the men I'd killed. Endless faces. Before I knew it the dream was gone, it was replaced by pain. This pain wasn't like the deadly blow I was inflicted on the battlefield, I was on fire. I wondered if there had been a mistake and I had been taken to hell instead. Those haunting faces in my dream made me think there was no mistake. I would be burned by the eternal flames of Lucifer for eternity. I couldn't feel anything but the flames. I couldn't breath or move. I internally cursed myself for wishing to be saved. I wanted to stop thinking. I wanted to stop feeling.

I had been feeling the flames around me for a lifetime by now. Often I drifted in and out of sleep, but even my dreams were haunted by the pain. When I awaked I wished for death, trying to scream out. Slowly my senses returned. I could hear a strong wind blowing in the distance. There was even, shallow breathing coming from somewhere near by. Slowly other senses came back. I began to smell moist rock and my breathing became harsher as I prepared to move. By now I wouldn't have been surprised if I had been more than a pile of ashes. Suddenly there was a gasp and quick footsteps towards me. I felt a movement in the air and a familiar voice whispered in my ear.

Don't move it will only make the change harder. Please.

It felt like a lifetime ago but I would know that angelic voice anywhere. I did what she said. The fire began to lessen. My fingertips were released and the calm spread slowly up my arms. Unfortunately the fire in my chest got worse, if that were possible. It built up and pushed down like my heart had burned into a gigantic fireball. I couldn't take it anymore. I sat up in a flash and catapulted into the air. I let out a bone shaking scream of pain and collapsed on the floor. The blackness once again took me and I welcomed it like an old friend. The last thing I remember was her feet walking towards me. She was barefoot. Hmm, I wonder why?.......

****

I felt calm, at rest. The fire was gone and I thanked the heavens. I opened my eyes and looked around for the first time. I was in a cave. I lay on an animal skin and there was an open fire in a gap in the stone wall. My throat was sore and I felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks. I realised I had no shirt on, just my trousers and no shoes. I had lost my armor and I felt a twinge of sadness. It had taken me years to become a knight. My father had been one and I was eager to show him my courage and skill. He never acknowledged my achievements and left me unsatisfied and filled with hatred. Even so I had other reasons for wanting to be a knight. I had to satisfy the incredible blood lust my muscles felt all the time. I was born to kill and cause pain. I knew my days as a knight were over but I felt a new sort of strength building. I needed to run, to fly. I began to inch in my stillness and wanted to move when I heard soft footsteps. I froze. The beautiful woman enter, she had a full grown man dragging behind her. From the look of he he was a normal village person. He was newly dead, he smelt mouth-watering. I turned away in disgust with myself. What was wrong with me? Was I a cannibal now was well as a merciless killer. I was definitely going to hell. She dropped him in front of me and sat crossed legged in front of me.

"You need to eat, You're probably very hungry now."

I stared at her shocked at her bluntness on the matter of eating a person. How did she know what I was thinking? Was she a wizard or really an angel from god. She looked confused but she must have realised I wasn't getting a word she was saying.

"I'm sorry where are my manners?I'm Victoria."

"James,"

I replied with a nod of my head. I liked that she had a hint of east European to her accent, the way she spoke flowed well and sounded like the currents of the ocean.

"I know this must seem very strange, but I'm going to be straight with you here. On that battle field you were dieing. I saved you and brought you back here, but there's something you should know..."

I waited for her to continue impatiently.

"James, You died, and I made you come back as a Vampyre."

I know I should have been scared, everyone in our village had heard the tales of the cold one, the blood drinkers. I wasn't afraid. This made sense for me. I was a killer, I knew that. I looked at Victoria with a devilish smile, I silently challenged her with my eyes. She wanted me to be scared, she wanted it to be hard to adjust. In a flash of movement I was over the dead body. I started into his unfocused, glassy eyes and pretended in my mind he was alive. I could feel his still warm blood, it called to me. I found the main artery automatically and bit into his neck. The warm metallic taste filled my mouth. I moaned with relief as the silent urge for blood was satisfied. Victoria stood over me and watched in silence, evaluating my performance. When I had sucked the body dry I stood up and faced her. A trickle of blood started to run down my chin. Victoria reached up and wiped it away. When she touched my skin I felt an electric current through me. Feelings of hunger began to emerge within me, but they weren't for blood. When I was alive I had many women. Women and fame were just part of the job. I had been married, but I didn't love her. I didn't know her, it was arranged by my father and I had obliged to keep traditions happy. My wife was an extremely boring person, she was sixteen and never spoke. She was nothing to me. I looked into Victoria's ruby eyes and I saw excitement, I saw fire and passion.

Vic,why did you pick me. Out of all the people in the battle that day, Why me?

The question had been bugging me for a while and I wanted to know what she expected of me. Was I just her companion, I wanted her, I wanted her to be mine. Victoria looked into my eyes for a while. I don't know what she saw in them but she hesitated in her answer when she saw it.

I saw, I saw what I had been looking for. James, I've been a Vampyre for 129 years. I was looking for someone strong and exciting to spend my life with. When I saw you on that field, there was such spirit and strength in your face, it was just you. Always you.

Vic what am I to you?

I stared her so she couldn't escape my question. I had to know the answer. I had never believed in love at first sight but this was different, It was like we were two parts of the same object together at last. Victoria sighed and looked away.

Everything. She spoke in a whisper.

She had felt it too. I grabbed her and kissed her mouth with very emotion I felt. Passion, gratitude, lust, relief. She relaxed into my arms and I knew we would be together of eternity.