“Yes. It is the wisest course of action,” Dracula agreed.
Murad waved his clenched fist. “It means you can crush that cockroach. Our armies can help consolidate your position in Wallachia. Then we can move north and remove Hunyadi.”
That idea did not appeal to Dracula. He wanted no soldiers in his country other than his own. And he did not want the Turks in control of the territory to the north of him.
“We do not expect him to move before the autumn,” Hazar said. “That should allow you enough time to prepare.”
Dracula nodded again and then turned to Murad. “With permission, Sire. I would like to go to my rooms. I need to wash away all this grime from being in the saddle for so long, and to get some rest.”
“By all means yes,” Murad accepted, waving him away with the back of his hand. “Go and do what you must.”
“It was an honour to meet you, Commander,” Dracula said to Hassan.
“The honour is all mine,” Hassan replied, offering a slight bow.
Dracula bowed to Murad and the others before exiting the room.
“And he is not yet seventeen?” Hassan said, after he had left.
“That is correct,” Hazar confirmed.
“It amazes me. He has all the airs of a ruler already, and of a general. I am not sure I have seen the like before. He is arrogant, yet he knows humility; and he is strong and believes absolutely in his own ability.”
“He is a remarkable young man,” Murad declared.
“I must agree, Sire. But we shall need to keep a careful eye on him.”
“Why do you say that?” Murad asked him.
“There goes a man who shall be a mighty ruler.”
“Yes,” Murad smiled. “I think we are all agreed on that point.”
Hassan smiled, though serious. “He may be a great ally to have on our side. But he would prove a deadly enemy if he is not.”
ANATOLIA.
THE ROYAL PALACE OF SULTAN MURAD II
AT ADRIANOPLE.
JUNE, 1448.
Dracula’s time away left Natalia with a lot of time alone to consider her current situation. She realised her previous life was gone forever and that she might never see Wallachia again. She had become Dracula’s ward, despite the difference in their ages. What might become of her now had much to do with how he looked on her.
In time, she put her daughter’s death behind her. After the last time she cried over it, she knew she would have to try and erase it from her mind, as painful as it was. It was the way of the world, she decided, for men like Dracula to do the things they did. You either accepted it, or withered away with the past. She had to focus now on herself and her own survival in this brutal world. It was either that or take a knife to her own throat. She had no one left that might care about her welfare, except for the young Dracula. Without him, there was no knowing what could happen to her. She could end up in the seraglio or suffer an even worse fate.
Before he left for Persia, she had grown to like him. They had spent a good deal of time together and enjoyed each other’s company. She did not divulge much about her thoughts and feelings, but she liked him. He always treated her well and showed her kindness and respect. And not once had he tried to take advantage of her, when he could have any time he chose.
If she was to get on, she realised she needed to develop her relationship with him. It was true she could be his mother with the difference in their ages, but she was still a real beauty. Few men could, or would, turn her away if she gave herself to them. As for her own feelings, she could not deny she had missed him.
Hearing of his return to the palace, she took a hot bath. She applied her nicest scents and dressed seductively in a see-through dress. A woman from the seraglio made a gift of it to her.
Dracula caught a whiff of her perfume the moment he entered his rooms. He walked across his main living area and removed his clothes. She waited in the next room. When he saw her, his breath caught in his throat.
“Your bath is ready,” she said, smiling and pointing to it.
He turned away and climbed straight in. It worried him that he might become erect in front of her.
“Welcome back, Vlad. I have missed you.”
These days, he did not like anyone to call him by his first name. The people he loved, that used to, had all perished. But then he did not want to be unkind to her on his return. He decided it did not bother him if she used his old name. Easing down into the hot water, he offered her a faint smile.
She knelt behind him and began to gently massage his shoulders. He groaned lightly and closed his eyes. The tension in his body slowly began to drift away.
“Did you not miss me too?” she asked, after a time.
“I try not to think of such things when I am in the field. One needs to keep a clear focus on the enemy.”
He had missed her. In six months, he had not seen Lucy either. There were times when he felt so alone. The men he had served with were loyal to him and protected him well, but he had never felt like he was one of them.
She construed his answer as a snub of sorts. Still, it did not deter her. Picking up a bar of soap, she lathered his chest and shoulders. He allowed her to do so, enjoying the feel of her soft hands on his skin.
He thought again of Ayshe and remembered their time together. There were many nights in Persia that he had thought of her. They had enjoyed three of the most wonderful of days. He still looked on them as the best three days of his life. They had never seen each other again and he had never returned to the seraglio. So many times he had longed again for her touch. He missed her every day.
“Raise your leg,” she said, bathing it when he did so.
She slowly bathed his entire body. His most sensitive area she left until last. When she touched his manhood in the water to wash him, he held her wrist firm.
“Do you not want to be clean?” she asked.
“I can do it for myself.”
When he finished, he climbed out of the bath. She stood behind him and draped a towel around his body. When he turned around, he could not take his eyes from her. But any time she met his gaze, he lowered his head. She allowed herself a faint smile. It was easy to see he felt an attraction for her.
He was attracted to her. The light dress she wore hid very little of her form. She had a perfectly rounded body that did not bear true witness to her age. Her heavy but firm breasts strained against the light material. Only a clip at the front held them in place. As hard as he fought it, he could not stop imagining taking one of her nipples in his mouth.
She dried him slowly. Dropping to her knees to rub the towel over his thighs, she planted a first kiss on his belly.
“You should not do that,” he told her.
“Why not? Do you not like to be kissed?”
“Of course,” he stammered. “But you are my prisoner.”
“Vlad, am I really? I am sure if I truly wanted to leave, you would allow me to do so. I have no desire to go anywhere.”
“You are also my aunt. I cannot become involved with you.”
She looked confused. “How did you come to think that?”
“My grandfather sired my father and your brothers. That makes you my aunt.”
“I share the same mother as Basarab. I am not related to you by blood, or by his other brothers.”
Dracula thought about this for a moment, and his error left him feeling a little foolish. He pushed her away and walked into the other room to his cot. She followed, her breasts bouncing as she moved.
“Do you not find me pleasant on the eye?” she asked, lying on the bed beside him.
His face turned red. “I am not oblivious to the woman in you.”
“Oh, well I do oft wonder.”
“What do you wonder?”
“About your interest in women. Or a lack of one.”
“What is it you are suggesting? I am not my brother.”
“There are few as pleasant on the eye as I. I know this to be true.
Yet you have never expressed an interest. All the times you could have had me, you made no move towards me at all.”
“I am not such a brute that I would take advantage of such occasion. You are a noblewoman. You have your dignity.”
“I thank you for that, yet I am still a woman.”
He tried to look away, but she held his chin to prevent him from doing so.
“I need affection and I need love. My body has not felt a man’s touch in so long. It is not right that I am so frustrated.”
“I am sure there are many in the palace who would satisfy your needs.”
The remark hurt her feelings and she fell silent for a moment. “I do not want any of them. I prefer my own kind.”
“You have prejudices?”
“Why would I not?” she said, indignantly. “I am a refined woman.”
“I s not dispute that.”
“I would rather die than let a man touch me who was not a true Romanian of distinction.”
“Then you limit your prospects. There are few such men here.”
“There is one that I know of.”
He turned over and tried to ignore the hint.
“Are you so green behind the ears?” she asked, becoming annoyed. “Have you ever known the touch of a real woman?”
He turned to face her, the image of Ayshe flashing before his eyes again. “I am not innocent, if that is what you mean.”
“I was not asking if you had bent some wench over a table. I asked if you had ever known a real woman.”
His silence indicated to her that he was not so experienced. He did not want to mention Ayshe. She was his secret treasure and not one he wanted to talk about with anyone.
“I thought not,” she sighed.
“Insulting me should not get you what you desire.”
“There is one lesson you must learn in your life, Vlad. It is rare for a beautiful woman to offer herself. When she does, you do not turn her away.”
“That would depend on the motive behind her advances.”
The remark cut deeper than any he had before administered. She drew her arm back and swung at him. He caught her wrist and held it firm. “That would not be the cleverest of moves,” he warned.
She winced at the pain in her wrist. “You are implying what exactly?”
“I am implying there is a reason why you would do this.”
“Perhaps I need to be touched; to be wanted. Have you considered that?”
He released her arm.
“My life in Wallachia is over. I have to adapt to my new one. I have nothing. I have no one, other than you.”
For the first time her words got through to him. He brushed her hair gently with his fingers. She climbed up the bed and kissed him deep on the mouth. Her lips felt soft and warm and triggered a deep ache in him. He responded to her kiss and pulled her closer, his hands clasping the backs of her thighs.
He was erect in a moment. As she skilfully ran her tongue over his neck and chest, he surrendered to her completely. She loved the firmness of his body, toned and solid with muscle.
She removed her light dress and traced a trail with her lips down his body. Teasing him by running the tip of her tongue along his groin, she knew he ached for her. She glanced up at him, watching him groan with his eyes closed. Then she took him fully in her mouth.
His body tensed at the intricacy of her touch. Their hands clasped together while she delicately ran her tongue up and down his length. She sensed that if she did not stop it might all be over before it had even started. That was a moment she wanted to be special. She wanted him to remember it.
She inched back up his body and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He loved the feel of her mouth and kissed her with a need he had not felt in a long time. At the same time, he allowed her to continue to initiate the act. She reached down and took him in her hand. Once she had guided him into position, she eased herself down onto him.
They found a gentle rhythm. He groaned louder than at any time before, pushing against her each time she lowered herself back down onto him. She too groaned out loud, loving the sensation as he filled her inside. It was a feeling she had really missed. Now she rested her head against his chest as they moved slowly together.
In a dark corner of the room Lucy stood and watched them. She did not like what she saw. After a time she turned away, feeling it should be her straddling him on the cot. For Dracula to develop an interest again in another, it diminished her hold over him.
When Natalia sensed he was close to orgasm, she sat upright on him. She pushed down on his chest with her palms, digging her long nails into his flesh. Their movements gained momentum and she ground herself hard against his every thrust.
He opened his eyes wide when she squeezed her muscles tightly around him, her actions inducing her own orgasm. The first ripples washed over her in the same moment that he came inside her.
She collapsed against him while he remained inside her, her chest heaving. Kissing his neck softly, she nestled into him. In that moment, she felt content with her life. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
From then on they spent every night asleep in each other’s arms. Lucy observed them from a quiet corner each time. It did not please her to see this. She decided to bide her time and began concocting a plan to remove Natalia from the scene.
WALLACHIA.
THE FORTRESS AT GIURGIU.
SEPTEMBER, 1448.
Dracula and Natalia made the trek to Giurgiu in late August. They travelled with Hassan and his army through Bulgaria. From there, the entire army crossed the Danube by boat and entered the city fortress from the river.
Kazic rode at his side once again. Dracula had lodged a special request to Murad and Hazar. “He is the finest soldier I have ridden with. It would be good to have him at my side once more.”
Murad granted the request and sent him on his way. He did so with his best wishes for Dracula in his quest to win back the throne of his father.
Dracula could not leave Natalia behind. She was his responsibility, so it meant he had to take her with him. He felt awkward having her ride at the front of Hassan’s army. Such things did not happen. Women had no place near or with the military. The only occasion that women were near an army was when they were a part of the entourage that cooked or helped surgeons tend to the wounded.
Hassan was a man who was rigid in keeping with tradition. Yet he found the situation rather amusing. Dracula’s relationship with the woman was common knowledge to everyone who knew him, even though he went to great pains to conceal it from the majority.
They settled well in Giurgiu. She had fallen deeply for the young prince by this time. Her passion knew no bounds. Any moment they could find alone in the fortress they had sex, taking up where they had left off in Anatolia.
Dracula enjoyed his time with her more than he had ever imagined possible. He did not care that he was so much younger than her. She was an amazing lover and satisfied his every need, whim and desire. At times her energy levels equalled his; an incredible feat in itself. He was the envy of every man that knew them. There was not one in Giurgiu that did not desire her. The renewed passion in her life made her look more radiant than ever.
She loved it in Giurgiu and so did he. This was a part of his country he did not know that well. He had only ever passed near to it before now. It was a small city that bustled with merchants and military life. As an Ottoman fort in an enemy territory, a strong guard remained on alert at all times. Despite this, Dracula found it a welcome change from the dusty plains in Persia. He tried to enjoy every moment of his stay. For hours, he would ride around and explore the countryside, even though his hosts at Giurgiu advised him against it.
Tensions reached a new height near the end of the month. Hunyadi and his allies had crossed the Danube into Serbia. It rested with Hassan to deal with the invading force, and he was more than happy to meet the challenge. Other news reached them too. Skanderbeg was busy raising a new army in Albani
a to join up with the White Knight as part of a new coalition to fight the Turks.
Hassan called a meeting of his officers when he had established all the facts.
“Our enemies have crossed the river into Serbia,” he told them. “I am advised they are joining with Skanderbeg to attack our interests there.”
“My Lord,” Tariq Hazim said. “Our army is ready to march. We could be there in less than two weeks, to apprehend them.”
“It is the course of action we must pursue. The Sultan has tired of Hunyadi and his designs on our territories. We must finish this once and for all.” He then turned to Dracula. “There is a strange irony here.”
“What is that, Commander?”
“Were it not for the amazing courage of your brother, Hunyadi would be long dead. Still, that is not your fault.”
“It cost my family their lives.”
Hassan nodded. He knew the price Dracula’s family had paid.
“I would gladly atone and kill him myself. I cannot rest while he still breathes.”
“I wanted you here to offer you a choice.”
Dracula met his gaze to show his curiosity had been piqued.
“Basarab is in Serbia with the bulk of his army. It means you can do one of two things. You can march to his capital and seize the throne. Or you can march with me to Serbia and attack his army there.”
He thought it over for a moment. “What would you advise me to do?”
“Should you choose the first option, he might return with his army and drive you out. But, if you were to defeat him in Serbia, then he would have no hope of coming back. With you at my side, he will fall. Hunyadi has many victories over our side, but he has not yet faced an army of mine.”
They all looked to him for his answer.
“Do you need my decision right away?”
“No,” Hassan said. “But give me an answer by dusk. I want to plan for the coming campaign. It is good to be sure of my numbers before going into battle.”
He adjourned the meeting until dusk. All the talk in the fortress was of the coming war. Natalia heard it for much of the day. She tired of it and went in search of her young lover. A guard let her know he had gone out riding.
The Dracula Chronicles: The Path To Decay Page 13
