The Stags Head
After getting settled into her new temporary home, Vana put out the fire and slid into the small single bed. Pulling the covers up to her cheeks, she remembered what it was like when she used to live with her mother, many centuries ago. They had lived in a similar hut, yet it was more of a small cottage, even though Kain had offered to house her mother in a more luxurious home. Her mother had never wanted to leave her home, where she had grown up with her parents and lived her whole life. It was larger than the one Vana found herself in now, and was separated into three rooms; her mothers room, the main room with the kitchen and fireplace, and a small room for Vana. She had had a single bed just like this as a child, and it humbled her to think how simple her life had been back then. Thoughts of her childhood filled her head, and she slowly sank into a deep sleep.
The next day, the sun shone brightly through the thin curtains and onto Vanas bed. Sitting up in bed, she yawned and stretched before swinging her legs over the egde and standing up. She ran her fingers through her ever soft hair and opened the case containing the hunters garments. Then a thought occured to her. She had no weapon. No cross bow, no sword. Just her daggers, and she couldn't carry them with her as they were covered in archaic vampire symbols. She sighed. This problem would have to wait.
Vana then proceeded to get into her new clothes, which fit almost perfectly, save for the chain mail vest which was a little too long, but over all, she looked very convincing. After that she stepped outside, and allowed her horse to wander about and drink from the stream as she got used to the bright sunlight. Looking at the saddle that she had removed whilst with her father, she realised that it looked far too costly to belong to a vampire hunter. So she took it inside and decided that she would have to ride without it. She attached the pouch containing the vampire teeth, and a purse with money to buy drinks and food to her belt, and strolled outside to get her horse. She was thankful now for her ability to jump quite high, as she would have otherwise been unable to get onto the creatures back. Checking that she had everything, Vana sqeezed the horses sides gently to get it off to a steady walk.
As Kain had said, she found the dirt path half a mile upstream, then turned east and followed it over a bridge and towards the village. She was suprised when after half an hour of travelling down the road, the sun began to set behind her. She realised that she had not properly adjusted to her new time regime, and that tonight, she would have to go to bed earlier.
Lights in the distance indicated that she was nearing the village, so she sqeezed the horses sides harder now to get it to trot down the road. The first thing that struck her as odd about the village was that there were people outside. Even though it was night time. Usually everyone was inside at dusk, kids in bed and men in the ale house. Doors locked, window shutters on and guards patrolling the outskirts. But this was the exact opposite. Groups of people were gathered in the streets talking and laughing loudly, there were even children there!
Barely anyone noticed as Vana entered the village, which was larger than she had imagined it to be. Many of the houses looked the same, and she couldn't see the ale house anywhere. As she passed a group of people she leaned down on her horse as asked, "Excuse me, I'm new to this place, can you direct me to the Stags Head please?" A rotund woman with a mass of curly brown hair and rosy cheeks stepped forward smiling. "You see that large house at the bottom of the street?" Vana looked up and nodded. "That's the Stags Head." Vana looked confused, as it looked nothing like an ale house, and had no sign to show it. It just looked like a house. "Thank you very much." Said Vana smiling, but before she could move on, a group of children surrounded her horse.
"Are you a vampire hunter?" One asked hopefully. She smiled, knowing they meant no harm. "I am indeed." Another one ran round to her side, "Really!" Vana laughed. "Really." She took a set of teeth from the pouch and presented it to the children. "Vampire teeth!" They exclaimed. She handed it to one of the children, and grinned "Keep it, I've got plenty." Knowing that she had proved herself enough to the children, Vana waved goodbye and rode towards the ale house.
Once there, she dismounted her horse, tied it to a closeby fence, and walked confidently into the house. Inside there was a healthy mixture of both men and women, all laughing and shouting to one another, the sounds of clinking cups and creaking chairs rang in her ears. It was wonderful. Looking round, it was easy to tell who the vampire hunters were, yet suprisingly, each was only armed with a sword, which was unusual, and most vampire hunters were heavily armed with daggers, cross-bows and whatever else they could use as a weapon. She no longer felt uncomfortable about having no weapon. She walked towards the bar and waited patiently to be served. A burly man with a plush beard worked behind the bar, along with what Vana presumed was his wife. The woman came to her first. "What would you like my love?"
"Just a pint of ale please." The woman nodded and scurried to the other end of the bar and began to pour the ale into a pint sized dinted tin. After she handed it over and Vana had paid, the woman came back. "So what's your name love? I haven't seen you in here before, and we don't usually see many new people."
Vana took a sip of her mug and looked up to the woman, who was probably in her late forties, yet still had healthy long, curly blonde hair, and unlike a lot of women her age, she had maintained a good figure. She stood opposite Vana with one hand on her hip and a pleasant smile on her face. "Oh, well, yes I am new, I've just moved into a little hut in the forest, not far from here. My name is..." Then she remembered. She couldn't use the name Vana as too many people knew that she was the daughter of Kain, and although this isolated village may be oblivious to her existence, she didn't want to risk being caught out. "My name is Sephina." Her mothers name.
The woman bowed slightly, "And I'm Christine. Pleased to meet you Sephina, welcome to Coorhagen."
Vana nearly dropped her drink as the woman said that name. "Coorhagen?" Christine looked puzzled, "Yes, Coorhagen." Vana put down her drink and tried to speak calmly, "But, I thought that Coorhagens people all died years ago from the plague? I didn't know that it still existed." Christine looked even more puzzled, but she smiled kindly again and explained, "It is true that a plague killed many of our villages people, but that was over 900 years ago." Vana tried not to show her suprise, so she just nodded and smiled back at Christine. Thankfully, someone else needed to be served and the bartenders wife left.
900 years ago. Her father had grown up in Coorhagen, and she was born just months after the plague had apparently killed all who lived there. She had lost track of her age centuries ago, yet now that she knew that she was 900 years old, she suddenly felt very old. Kain had met Vanas mother on his travels across Nosgoth, as she lived to the north west of Steinchenchroe, in a forest near to the lake of tears. Kain had stayed with her a while there, and it wasn't until he left that his lover discovered she was pregnant. When he returned as a vampire, she barely recognised him. It was during a night of passion that he bit her, thus somehow afflicting only his unborn child with the vampiric curse. He left once more, desperate to finish his quest for revenge, and when he finally returned as the damned guardian of balance, his daughter had been born.
"Good evening." Said a smooth voice that interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see a hooded man smiling down at her. He was handsome with slightly tanned skin and flawless brown eyes. He removed his hood and at once Christine ran over. "Where have you been!" She snapped, folding her arms crossly. He raised a hand to calm her and replied, "Please mother, I have only just returned, won't you give me a drink before scolding me?" Vana couldn't take her eyes off this enchantingly handsome man, who with his messy dark hair and rough stubble appealed to her in some way. As Christine slammed his drink down, he sighed, "Forgive me mother, but I was held up--"
He was interrupted by the large man behind the bar, who stomped over and exclaimed, "Lucien! Good to see you back my lad, how was the city?" So that was his name.
Lucien seemed pleased to see his father and replied proudly, "It was wonderful dad. I had a truly magnificent time." Christine seemed more aggitated now. "Oh well I'm so glad you were having a good time while we were here worrying about you! You told us you would be back last week!" The large man patted her on the back, "Oh Christine leave him be. He's only just walked through the door. You can see he's unharmed, and he's had a good time, so be thankful for that. Go on Lucien, go sit yourself down."
Lucien nodded then turned to Vana, "Would you like to join me?" he asked. Smiling, she replied, "I'd love to."
Lucien strolled to a table situated in a dark corner, away from anyone else. "Ah, it's good to be back." He said, sounding relieved. "You said you've been to the city?" Said Vana as she sat down opposite him. "Yes, I have. But it was the journey home that tired me out." He took a long swig of the beer, undid the clasp on his cloak and threw it aside on the chair. He was a hunter. He took off his gloves, scarf and coat, which was similar to Vanas old waistcoat, except his had long sleeves, and looked even older. Instead of a chainmail shirt like Vanas, Lucien wore silver plated armour that covered the most part of his chest, but he removed that also, "I've been waiting to get that heap of scrap metal off my chest all day. That's much better." He said, taking in a deep breath, allowing his toned chest to rise without the extra weight. He now wore a plain black jumper, yet the collar of a thinner white shirt stuck out at his neck.
"Is the city far away?" Asked Vana curiously. Lucien looked up, first looking supirsed, but then excited. "You've never been to the city? Well, you're missing out, but I suppose you'll be going for the hunters gathering there next week."
It was next week? This caught her off guard, and she couldn't help but look a little shocked. But she had to stay calm and composed, this could be the man to take her there.
"Well I want to go, but as I've never been, I have no idea where it is." She shrugged, then took another drink of her ale. Lucien laughed and sat back. "I'll be going, you can come with me if you like, um, miss...?" Vana looked up, confused for a moment, then realised that he did not have her name. "Oh forgive me," she laughed, "My name is Sephina." Luciens expression changed, and he suddenly looked serious. "Sephina?" He asked, lowering his voice and leaning forward. She nodded. "After Sephina, the mortal who gave birth to the bastard child of the vampire...Kain?"
How did he know of this? How was her mothers name passed on down through the centuries to hunters? She was stuck now. "Um, no I don't believe that's who I was named after. How do you know her name?"
Lucien smiled proudly, and folded his arms. "I am a descendant of the hunter Claudius, the one who led the hunters that killed her."
Vana looked at him blankly. For a split second, she felt as though she wanted to tear him apart. The next moment, her head was filled was questions. "I had no idea that she was murdered." And this was true. She was taken away from her mother because she had become ill. She still remembered the day that her father came into her room, sat beside her and told her that her mother had died. She had caught a disease and had died peacefully in her sleep. Kain must have known what had happened. They both must have known that Sephina was in danger. "How was she killed?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Lucien bit his lip, trying to remember the tale. "They found her hiding away in a hut in some god forsaken forest. She was taken, beaten and burnt alive. Not all hunters remember this, but it has stayed in our family since that day. It's just a pity they didn't find the child and kill that too."
It took a few moments for Vana to suppress the anger that she found herself suddenly overwhelmed with, and when it passed, she simply smiled and nodded, before finishing her drink. "Well, I'm not named after that Sephina." And with that, she stood, ready to leave. She had heard enough for one night. Lucien stood too. "You're not leaving are you? I'll have no-one else to talk to, at least no-one as sober and as beautiful as you." She looked back at him, with an expression on her face telling him that she was not impressed. "I have to get back, and flattery won't make me stay." She turned towards the door, yet he shot round and stood before her smiling. She glared up at him, not liking his cocky attitude. "Move." She ordered. He laughed, but it sounded cheerful, not mocking.
"At least let me get you another drink, perhaps then we can discuss more pleasant things, rather than executions and poor name sakes." Vana almost laughed, yet she was feeling too ill tempered to get any jokes now. She had to push that fury down and focus on the task at hand. "Fine." She sighed, then she turned to sit down again. Lucien smiled, and took the pint tins to be refilled. When he returned, Vana felt a lot calmer. "So, Sephina, where were you born?" She thought quick, then came up with an idea, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Vampires killed my parents when I was a child. I was found by a family of hunters, who travelled the land, so I've never really had a home. Since they've died, I just tracked down and killed vampires." Lucien looked sympathetic. "Such is the tale of many hunters. Families been torn apart by death, inflicted by those undead parasites. I've lost two brothers to them." Vana didn't know what to say. She had never spoke to a human in such a way, about such things, and she was not used to giving sympathy. For all she knew, she could have been the one to kill his brothers. "I'm sorry." Was all she could think of. Lucien smiled back at her, and swiftly changed the subject. "How many have you killed?" Vana smirked, and slid the pouch across the table to him. He opened it and gasped. "Father!" He called. Vana was startled, and worried that something was amiss. The man behind the bar hurriedly came over, and Lucien emptied the contents of the bag onto the table. "By the Gods!" exclaimed his father. By now, other people in the bar were looking over, and a few of the hunters approached. Each looked more shocked than the last.
"There must be at least thirty sets of vampire teeth here!" Said Lucien, looking up at Vana with awe in his eyes. She shrugged. "So?"
One of the old hunters sat beside her and patted her shoulder, "So my dear girl? So why aren't you at the city gathering your own squad? Like all the other elite hunters?"
"I am no elite..."
"Well, that's not what I think!" Said Luciens father. Lucien was busy examining all the different sets of teeth, when Vana decided to scoop them all up and put them back into the pouch. "Well, I didn't think I had killed that many..." She stood, tired of all the loud men surrounding her and simply wanting to go back to her hut and think about all that she had discovered. "I'm sorry, I really must be going. My travels have made me weary and I would like to get some sleep. I will come back tomorrow."
After having to explain why she was leaving to several other hunters, Vana finally left the Stags head, and felt relieved when she felt the cool night air, and the door closed shutting out all those irritating sounds. Right now, she just wanted to go home.