22. "Have you met the voivode Vlad?"
Alucard poured himself another cup of tea. "Once we got to the end of the tunnel, literally, I knocked him out and left. It took me weeks to get through the forests and back to Wallachia. Corvinus set hunters with dogs after me. I had to waddle through streams and rivers most of the times to shake them off. One night, they got so close I had to swim across a lake. It was nearly freezing." He shook as if feeling the cold again.
"All the time I was running, I thought about who could still be called my ally, who would be crazy enough to stand with me after all these years of my exile. There weren't that many. Most of my loyal vassals were killed after my imprisonment and those that weren't couldn't be trusted."
"The good thing was, people generally forgot what I looked like, and I did spent years in dungeon. I looked like an exceptionally filthy and poor beggar. Besides, most of the commoners never saw me even when I was ruling. So I spent few days on the streets and listened to the rumours and gossip. After few days, I washed up, stole some clothes and a little money, and went to the next town. I've spent couple days in a tavern. During the days I roamed the town, during the nights I drank with locals."
"Have you heard?" A travelling merchant has just sat down at the table beside the one Vlad sat at.
A particularly large logger answered him. "Yeah." An old farmer with two of his sons just nodded. There were others at the table. Everybody huddled together and whispered to each other.
Vlad had to strain his ears to catch at least most of their conversation.
The merchant started recounting what he learned during his travels through the northern regions. "Corvinus has been locked in his rooms for weeks. He's sending hunters in all directions but mostly towards us. He's searching for him, I am telling you!" He looked at the gathered men importantly. "He can't say that he's been holding him for all this time and neither he can admit that he got away!"
Vlad's breath caught in his throat. He didn't dare to move a muscle as he listened to the three at the table beside them. They were talking about him; he was sure of it.
Some men grunted and shook their heads. A young-looking stable boy asked timidly. "Has she helped him?"
Nobody answered and Vlad furrowed his brow. Somebody did help him, but he never saw their face nor heard their voice. He couldn't know for sure whether the person was a woman or a man. Not that it mattered at the end of the day. But the men gathered here have obviously known this mysterious person. A woman, apparently.
"She said she would…" The young stable boy continued seeing that nobody rushed to answer him. "She…"
"Enough about her!" The logger cut him off. He seemed on edge and looked around quickly. The boy looked a little puzzled. The old farmer put a hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly. "We don't talk about her here."
The boy looked down and quickly nodded. It was apparent he was new to the group of… Vlad thought for a moment. A group of whom exactly? Has he stumbled upon people that were still loyal to him? Maybe. But then, the tavern was nearly full and there were only a handful of these men sitting at the furthest corner, whispering. They were afraid of anyone overhearing them. He contemplated revealing himself to them but decided against it. He had to find out more about this mysterious woman and what was her goal.
The group fell silent after that and soon they dispersed completely. Vlad thought about what he should do. He desperately wanted to find his son, but he had no leads, no support, no money. He decided the best way to find the woman was through one of the men in the group from tavern. His best bet, the young stable boy. Young people are easily impressionable, and this one seemed overly eager too.
For the next few days, he was looking for the boy around the town. He finally found him in the stables of a run-down old manor. He watched him work whole day and came to a conclusion. The boy was completely, utterly, hopelessly useless. At least when it came to the work. Vlad wasn't a stranger to the work in stables and seeing the young man struggle with the simplest tasks made his head spin. He wondered why the boy was even given all those tasks. He hasn't seen any other person around.
After two days of watching the stables, the master of the household appeared. He inspected the stables, shook his head with resigned expression and looked at the boy who stood there biting his lip and eyes burning holes into the ground. The master took a deep breath to say something, then just waved his hand, sighed heavily and turned to leave. Vlad knew this was his chance. He quickly pulled his hood closer over his face and caught up with the man as he was about to disappear into the main house.
"Good day, sir! Would there be any work for an old soldier?"
The man turned quickly with reflexes surprisingly sharp for a man of his years. He sized Vlad up and down, trying to get a good look at his face. "A soldier, huh? I have no need for soldiers."
"I can do other labour. I know my way around stables, too." The old man raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Saw that, did you?"
"Hard to miss, sir." Vlad nodded.
"What army did you say you were serving in?"
Vlad smiled. "I didn't. It was Voivode's Vlad's army."
The man's expression saddened for a moment, then he sighed, shook his head once and said. "You have three days. If I see you slacking off or do a poor job, you're out. You work for food and roof over your head. If you work well, you get few coins at the end of every week. You sleep in the stables for now."
"Thank you, sir. You won't regret it."
"What is your name, soldier?"
Vlad thought about it. "Bela, sir."
The man nodded. "Good name that." He thought for a moment, then searched Vlad's face, his eyebrows furrowed. He was sure he knew that face from somewhere. After a moment, he just shook his head and called for the stable boy.
"Dan!" The young man came running as soon as he heard his name. "This is Bela, he'll be helping you from now on. Show him around and keep an eye on him." He turned to Bela and with a wary look added. "You shouldn't be saying his name casually, son. I don't know where you've been for the past fourteen years, but people here get the axe for just mentioning his name. Better to keep your past to yourself when you're out in the town."
Vlad nodded and stayed silent.
The young stable boy, Dan, looked a little bewildered but didn't ask any questions. After the old master departed, he showed Vlad place to sleep in the stables. It was over the stables and under the roof, it was clean and dry and filled with hay. Vlad put his little sack of, mostly stolen, clothes to a corner of the space, then climbed back down and grabbed a pitchfork, setting to work.
Dan watched him work for a little while, then started working as well, interrupting his sloppy work occasionally with questions.
"You were a soldier?"
Vlad nodded.
"When was that?"
"Long time ago."
The young man's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he prodded further. "Have you met the voivode Vlad?"
Vlad laughed inwardly but haven't answered him.
Dan hasn't really waited for him to answer anyway. "I wish I could have met him. My father talked about him often." He fell silent after that which made Vlad wonder. He shovelled some more manure, then asked the boy.
"Where's your father?"
Dan looked down sadly, then answered simply. "Dead." He stayed silent after that and Vlad didn't want to prod him. They worked in silence for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, Dan brought watered wine, bread and cheese and they ate together outside the stables. After a few cups of the wine, Dan started to be drunk. Vlad hesitated, then asked. "About your father…"
Dan nodded and gulped down some more wine. "Eight years tomorrow. He was telling in the tavern about his days in the army and how the voivode was a fair man. Someone told the soldiers and they dragged him and executed him right there. We didn't find him till the next day. His head was displayed outside the tavern for two weeks." He looked sick for a moment, then steeled himself.
"My father was lame on one leg after one of the large battles and so couldn't serve in the army anymore. He worked as the stable master here. The master's son was very weak and so he didn't serve at all. The old master did though. He was really high too from what I heard. And when the voivode was betrayed, he was thrown in the dungeon and was to be executed along with other loyal vassals. But the manor caught fire and both his wife and daughter died. Only his son was spared since he was at the healer's at the time."
Dan sighed and drank some more wine. "They let the old master go to take care of his family and household. Then, when my father was being executed, the master's son tried to stand up him. So they executed him too. He had no children and so the old master was left alone. I was alone too. My mother died in childbirth and since my father…" He trailed off, clearly not wanting to repeat the words that hurt him. "Anyway, the master kept me here and left me work for him. I would have been an orphan and a son of a traitor as they called my father. I would have been sold to the Ottomans or killed as well if the master didn't claim my father had a debt to him and I must repay it."
Vlad thought about it. Yes, the old man saved the boy's life by virtually claiming him as his possession in order to repay father's debt. It was a brilliant idea really. There was no one to dispute it. The more he heard about the old man and his story, the more respect he had for him. He couldn't recognize him when they met this afternoon but then, it has been too long and too much has happened.
"I worked in the stables for weeks. Me, a stable boy!" Alucard laughed. "Still, not the worst nor weirdest job I have ever had…" He laughed again. "After fourteen years in a small cell with nothing to do but stare at the walls, working in the stables was actually fantastic. It took me a while but I have eventually remembered him from his days in my army. The boy was right. He really was pretty high. One of my generals, actually. He served with my father before me and served me loyally to the very end. I have also learned that he recognised me the moment I spoke to him for the very first time." Alucard shook his head with a smile. "Sly old fox let me sleep in the stables for three weeks before allowing me to sleep in the house."
Alucard laughed at the memories and watched the flames in the fireplace. Those were the very few good memories he had of that time.
Anderson watched him, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he heard Alucard's laugh. This was one of the rare genuine laughs of mirth and happiness.
After a few moments, Alucard's eyes hardened again, and he continued his story.
"It was nearly two months later that I was finally invited in one of those secret meetings in the tavern… And after that, the life as I knew went to hell." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they shone bright red with fury.
"Gwynnever."
Note: Phew, it has been a crazy year! And I only now realized it really is going to be a year next week, that I have released the last chapter... Shame on me! Anyway, I'm uploading two new chapters as a form of (really lame) apology. I'd try to promise to that I am going to try to write a little more often but well... ;)
