Chapter Eight

It was late the next night. Vladislaus was sitting in his room looking at his sword. His sword meant everything to him. It was a sign that he was a champion for God. And ever since he was young all he remembered was that he fought for God. He commanded God's armies. Everything in his life he had fought for.

As he looked at the tip of the sword he noticed it was stained with blood. The blood of the beasts of the Underworld. The monsters which he had fought against his whole life. Battle after battle his men would fall. And yet they always continue to come back.

Then his mind wondered and thought about her. But he couldn't have her. She was another man's. When the snow melted enough he was to return back to Rome where he would fight time after time for God. Every time he saw her she looked so happy, but he could tell that she wasn't. Her sad eyes gave her away. She didn't love that man.

But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted her. So that night, Vladislaus prayed to God. He wanted God to let him go. He didn't want to be his champion. If he could not know love, then what use was it to fight. He made a decision that night. And he wasn't going to change his mind.