Vlad Dracula was a powerful warrior. As a Wallachia prince, Vlad defended his country from the invading Turks. His armies seemed unstoppable. But, like every man, he had a weakness. He loved his wife more than anything else in the world.

Elisabeta was a beautiful noblewoman who was handpicked by Vlad's father to become the next Princess. She gave birth to a son, and the Dracul dynasty was secured for another generation.

But the Turks were getting restless and the losses only angered them more. And when Vlad II died they saw their chance. They mustered their forces and began an assault that was unlike anything the young prince had ever seen.

They pressed upon the land and drew near to the castle to where the princess was staying, praying for the return of her lord.

But the Turks had a plan. They knew of the love between Vlad and his bride, and they were counting on it. They shot a single arrow into the courtyard, telling of Dracula's death on the battlefield. Elisabeta was devastated. She retreated into mourning and refused to eat. She began to wither and was intent on joining her lost husband.

Not trusting the news, a servant ran out to meet the army and see if the message was true. He found Vlad alive and the prince knew his wife would not believe anything short of seeing him herself. So at twilight, when the fighting had ceased, he rode for his beloved.

He found Elisabeta wandering the halls like a wraith. She was pale and gaunt from the lack of sustenance and she was unkempt. Her hair was loose and she was wandering around barefoot in her mourning dress.

Vlad ran to embrace her. "Elisabeta, my darling…. I have returned. I am here with you."

"My love," the woman whispered. "Why are you haunting me?"

"I'm alive," he said. "They cannot kill me."

The delusional woman backed away. "You are a spirit. All those horrible things they said you did…"

"I am not the monster my enemies would have you think," he told her.

"Your soul was denied access to Haven because it was true. You are damned."

"Elisabeta…"

"We will be together again, I promise," she whispered. "I will walk with you always my love."

And with that she turned and ran. Her feet carried her to a turret overlooking the river. She could see fires burning in the soldiers' camps. The Turks would be upon them in short order and then everything would be lost.

"Elisa…"

"I won't let them have me," she vowed, cutting him off. "I will be yours always."

And with those words she flung herself off the castle wall.

"But my lord she committed suicide," the priest said gently. "She cannot have a proper burial and her soul is forever damned."

"I have fought for the betterment of my country and for god all my life," Vlad argued, "and this is my reward?" He knelt on the floor of the chapel next to the broken body of his wife.

"It is the law of the church," the priest replied. "And the will of God."

"Then I will renounce God and all he stands for," Vlad said as he stood. "I will rail against him and I will be damned. As long as she is forced out of Heaven, so will I be. They called me a monster and so shall I be. I will haunt mankind and drink their blood. It will be my substance and the peasants will no longer be lying about me."

"My lord…"

"I have no use for you," Vlad said, turning to the priest.

The holy man's death would be the first innocent blood on Dracula's hands, but not the last.

When Vlad was killed in battle a few months later, God wouldn't let him enter paradise. As his men built their lord a coffin, the dead man rose from his pallet and walked into the light of day as if nothing happened.

His men were stunned, but were relieved that they had been wrong about his death. But then, a hunger descended over Dracula. And, as he had in the past days, he filled his chalice with human blood. But now the life blood sustained him and it was out of necessity, and not spite, that he drank.

It seemed that Elisabeta's words had damned Dracula, and, in the aftermath of his death and rebirth, he realized that eternal life without his beloved would be a worse fate than Hell. But he hoped, as childish as it was, that one day his one, true love would come back to him.