Of Princes and Dragons: Book 2 (Lords and Commoners)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  Isabella and Vlad joined in the circle dance. They held hands and Vlad gave her a warm smile.

  Her cheeks flushed and she looked away.

  She is perfect — young and naive. This would be as easy as drinking blood, Vlad thought. “Tell me, are you betrothed to someone?”

  Isabella looked at him in disbelief. “Of course not. Father would never allow me to dance with you if I were promised to another.”

  “Yes, of course. I simply wanted to be sure that you are not spoken for.”

  She smiled and looked away, too shy to hold his stare. “And why is that, kind sir?”

  It was a good thing Vlad could hear well for she spoke softly.

  When Vlad did not answer, Isabella looked up at him. He gave her a sensual and mischievous grin. He had to steady her by releasing her hand and placing his arm around her waist, as her knees gave way.

  This is too easy, he thought. She will be begging her father for permission to marry me. “Where is your mother?”

  This brought a scowl to Isabella’s small face and her gaze moved to the Empress Helena. “My mother was falsely accused of treason and banished to a faraway convent. I have not seen her since.”

  “How can you be sure the charges were false?”

  Isabella’s frown deepened. “Mother loved my father more than anything. She never would have betrayed him and Father knows this. I am sure of it.”

  Already knowing the answer, Vlad asked, “Who would dare to make false accusations against your mother?”

  “It was Helena,” Isabella said the name with disdain. “She was always fiercely jealous of my mother and me. Even after Father married Helena, he continued to see my mother. He loves us dearly and spent time with us whenever possible. Such affections he never shows toward Helena. I know that Helena had my mother wrongly accused but I cannot prove it.”

  “Have you spoken to your father about your suspicions?”

  “Yes. He dismisses them. He does not think Helena is capable of such malice. He thinks of their relationship as a business venture. Though it is not that simple for Helena.”

  “I should think not. They have several children together. For women such affairs are never simple.”

  Isabella laughed. “That is true.” She leaned into Vlad and whispered, “You know, my father still visits my mother from time to time — when he can.”

  Vlad gave her a warm smile, as if he was entertained by her love story, though be it a sad and twisted one. “Your father does not believe the allegations of treachery against your mother then?”

  “I’d like to think not. Sometimes I wish he would revoke the charges so that my mother could return to us.”

  Vlad studied the ruler and his wife. Helena appeared uninterested in what was going on around her. Yet Vlad knew better; it was a ruse. She was carefully watching all that happened in the room. Helena’s eyes were sharp and cunning. She was dignified in her aging, as most royalty were. Vlad was more attracted to Helena than to her stepdaughter. Rather than the young and foolish Isabella, Vlad preferred the intelligent and ambitious type. For a brief moment he thought that Helena was the one he should be charming. He could kill Manuel and marry the empress. No. Helena is smart, she would see through me. Vlad shook his head. Stay with the plan. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted. So he turned his smile back to Isabella who blushed and averted her gaze.

  Chapter 36 Constantinople 1416 A.D

  One advantage of being a vampire was that one can easily spy on humans. They could move unseen in the shadows and listen to others' conversations from afar. After the feast that night Vlad followed Isabella to her chambers. From a dark corner outside her room he listened to her and her chambermaid.

  “Did you see him? He is so handsome.” Isabella’s voice was wistful.

  This resulted in an eye-roll from Vlad.

  “Who, my dear?” replied the chambermaid.

  “Vlad of course. He asked me to dance. He was a perfect gentleman.”

  “They always are — at first. Don’t you go gettin’ too attached to that boy now. You know your father will have you marry a prince when the time is right.”

  “I will not be forced to marry as my father was!”

  “I’m afraid that is the way it works for you lot, you know — you bein’ royalty and all.”

  “No! I will convince my father to let me marry whom I choose.”

  “Of course, my dear, then he will name you and your husband the heirs to his throne and you will be empress.” The chambermaid was being utterly sarcastic.

  “That is it! I must convince my father that my future husband and I are best suited to rule this kingdom. Once I am empress I can banish Helena to a convent.” This brought about a chorus of girlish laughter from Isabella.

  Vlad had heard enough and was annoyed with the young girl so he retreated. However, this is perfect! Isabella has more influence over the emperor than I could ever have. She will be able to convince her father to let her marry me. Then perhaps she can persuade her father to name her as his heir to the throne — this would make my ascension to power even more legitimate. All I would need to do is ask for her hand in marriage when the time is right. Then she will do the work for me.

  Vlad did not want to seem overly anxious to marry into the royal family, so he waited to approach the emperor about marrying Isabella. It would be best to make it seem as if he were truly falling in love with her. This way when they married it would appear that it was for love — nothing more. He would work to make the public, the emperor and Isabella, believe that he was simply a love-struck young man. He did not want them to suspect his plans to usurp the throne. After all, vampires could afford to be patient.

  In the months that followed, Vlad did nothing but exchange the occasional longing glance with Isabella. When Sergiu and Vlad deemed that the time was right, Vlad approached the Emperor about his daughter’s hand.

  “Oh, no. My baby girl is not ready to marry. She is only a child,” Manuel said.

  The emperor chuckled and Vlad followed his lead, even though nothing funny had been said.

  “I’m afraid that as her father you are unable to see the fine young lady she has grown into,” Vlad said. “She is approaching her sixteenth birthday. That is when many a princess is married. If you were to wait much longer, she would be an old maid.”

  The emperor frowned. “I suppose my little girl is growing up. She will have to marry someday.” Manuel sighed, clearly not liking the idea. “You are a fine young man; intelligent, strong and brave. Yet, I am afraid she will have to be betrothed to a prince, not a minor noble such as yourself. She will have to marry for a good reason, you know, for a political reason.”

  Obviously, the emperor has not spent much time thinking about his daughter’s marriage. His ambivalence is exactly what I need. “If I may, Sire. It is obvious that you love your daughter entirely too much to use her as a political pawn. Surely you will not force her to marry someone she does not wish to be with. Give her the chance to be happy in marriage, a chance you did not have.” Vlad was not sure if he had overstepped his bounds with this last statement. But the emperor did not appear upset.

  Manuel remained thoughtful.

  This is my chance, go for the gold. “Of course, Your Majesty, you are correct. She should marry for a reason and what better reason is there than love?”

  The emperor’s shoulders sagged, as if Vlad had placed a heavy weight upon them. “I do want her happiness.”

  Vlad smiled. Soon the throne will be mine. “Then ask her what she wishes. If she does not want to marry me then I will never speak of this again.”

  The emperor slowly nodded. “I suppose it is time I deal with this ... matter.”

  “Thank you, My Lord.” With that Vlad swiftly exited the room.

  That was it — a bit of convincing was all it took. Isabella was overjoyed by the news of Vlad’s proposal and begged her father to allow the marriage. Manuel could not resist his beloved princess’s reques
ts. He had never denied her anything, so of course he could not deny her this. The wedding was scheduled for one month after her sixteenth birthdate. This was an arrangement that even Helena was content with. At the engagement celebration Vlad overheard the empress state that it was best for Isabella to marry the likes of Vlad — an insignificant soldier boy. This was an ideal arrangement compared to a powerful prince who might have his eyes on the throne. Helena wanted her firstborn son, John VIII, to rise to power, although John was still a small child.

  From afar Vlad narrowed his eyes at Helena and took comfort in the thought that soon he would be ruling in her place. He could almost taste it. His dream was close — within reach. By the years’ end I will become the Emperor of the Roman Empire. I will make this kingdom great once again under my rule.

  Chapter 37 Constantinople 1416 A.D

  Now that Vlad and Isabella were betrothed, he was at least allowed to see her, chaperoned of course. This time was spent charming her and fine-tuning their plans. They were both in agreement that she should work to convince her father to name her as his heir. She was only concerned with revenge against her evil stepmother. Vlad doubted she had any interest in running the state. She was highly educated, as all nobility were but she did not think beyond her petty grievances with Helena.

  Things were working out impeccably; better than if Vlad had planned all these details himself, such as a favored daughter of marrying age, who held the heart and ear of the emperor.

  It was not long after their engagement party when Emperor Manuel announced that his beloved daughter and Vlad would be the ones to carry the crown of Constantinople upon his death. He declared to all in the Great Hall that he had never seen a finer warrior than Vlad and that Vlad would make a strong and worthy emperor someday. Helena quickly rose from her throne after hearing this news. Her cheeks reddened with anger. She glared at her husband for a moment and then stormed out of the Hall in a show of protest.

  The days and months crawled by. Vlad could not wait for his wedding day. He had worked hard for this for far too long. He would finally be crowned prince and it could not happen soon enough.

  It was the night before the wedding that Vlad received a formal invite to take wine and refreshments in the Great Hall. He arrived to find that the Hall was empty. A servant scurried in with a serving platter. With shaky hands he placed it on the table. The gold tray contained two chalices of wine. Grapes and figs had been elegantly arranged on the platter.

  It was not long before Isabella came in with her eunuch escort.

  “Is it only us?” she asked as she looked around for others.

  “Apparently.” Vlad gestured to the two wine cups. “Do you know why we were summoned here?”

  “No. I assumed it was something father concocted. I’m not sure why — perhaps to celebrate my last day of childhood.” She then turned to her eunuch guard and demanded that he wait just outside the Great Hall. “Leave the doors open if you must. What could happen? We are to wed tomorrow. Then you will have to leave us alone.” She gave the eunuch a playful shove but the large man remained unmoving.

  The eunuch glared at Vlad. Vlad put his hands up as if surrendering. He gave the eunuch a look that said he would behave himself. The large man reluctantly left but Vlad knew he would never venture out of earshot. There was no such thing as privacy within these walls.

  “Your last day of childhood, eh? Does that mean you are ready for womanhood?” Vlad gave her a playful smile.

  Isabella looked away with blushed cheeks. She picked up one of the goblets and raised it, “To womanhood.”

  Vlad did the same. Tapping his chalice to hers, they drank. The wine tasted odd. Vlad almost spat it out. He studied the substance for a moment — everything fell into place. The mysterious invite, only two goblets of wine. They were poisoned! He looked at Isabella with wide eyes. Then panic overtook him when he saw that she had drunk most of the cup. He knocked the chalice from her hand and the metal clanked noisily on the marble floor. The small bit of wine that was left in her cup looked like blood on the floor.

  “What —” Isabella tried to protest.

  “It is poisoned! Someone is trying to kill us.”

  She smiled. “Don’t be silly, My Love. The wine tasted fine to me.”

  “Of course it did; you are a human. You could not smell or taste it with your dull senses.”

  “What are you talking about — a human?”

  Isabella’s concerned escort approached. He must have been alarmed by Vlad’s raised voice and the noise of the chalice hitting the floor. “What is going on?”

  “Someone has poisoned her ... us.” Vlad knew what little he had drunk would not affect him in the slightest. It would take flagons of human poison to kill a vampire and that might not be enough.

  Isabella grabbed her stomach and doubled over. Whatever poison was in the wine, it was quick to take effect. She gazed at Vlad, pleading for help and her eyes were full of pain. He caught her before she fell.

  “No, no! Go get help! Fetch the royal doctor.” Vlad looked to the stunned eunuch. “Now, you fool!”

  With that, the eunuch ran.

  Isabella reached for Vlad’s hand and looked into his eyes. “Helena,” she whispered. This was her last word. Vlad could see the life leave her as her heart slowed until it stopped beating altogether.

  With her, Vlad’s dreams vanished. He slowly lowered her body to the floor, as the rage took over. “Helena,” Vlad whispered through gritted teeth.

  Vlad had left the hall when Sergiu appeared in front of him. “Teller, wait. What are you going to do?” Sergiu only called Vlad by his human name when he was trying to remind Vlad of where he came from — when he wanted Vlad to remember his compassion.

  Vlad sidestepped Sergiu and continued toward the barracks. He would need some of his men to help with this one. “I’m going to kill that aristocratic bitch.” Vlad paused to look at Sergiu. “Don’t you dare try to stop me.”

  Sergiu shook his head with disapproval. “Teller, Please... ”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  Chapter 38 Constantinople 1416 A.D

  When Helena entered her private chambers that night, Vlad was waiting for her. Her dead chambermaid lay at his feet with fresh wounds oozing from her neck. He was half sitting and half leaning on a desktop with his arms crossed.

  Helena jumped when she saw him and gasped at the sight of her motionless servant sprawled across the floor. She took a step toward the door. Her mouth opened to yell for her guards.

  “You can scream all you want. Only my soldiers will hear you and they will not come to your aid.”

  Helena’s eyes shone with fear. She ran for the door but Vlad appeared in front of her.

  “You will not be able to outrun me either.”

  “What do you want?” Helena’s voice shook.

  “Your blood.”

  Her body began to tremble.

  “And I want to hear you admit that you killed Isabella.”

  “What! You have gone mad.”

  “Ad-mit it.” Vlad over-pronounced every syllable.

  “I would never do such a thing.”

  Vlad grabbed her by the throat but did not squeeze. He did not want her dead — yet.

  She clawed at his forearm but it was like scaping her nails against frozen marble.

  He added the slightest pressure around her throat.

  “Fine,” she conceded.

  Vlad gave Helena a slight shove as he released her. This caused her to fall to the floor.

  She sat on her hip and turned to view her maid. “I knew you were an ambitious young man but I did not think you were capable of this. I underestimated you. It appears we are more alike than either of us may have expected.”

  “To kill your own kin — for what?”

  “Isabella was not my kin! She was a bastard child with a commoner for a mother. My husband was blinded by the two of you. He was going to put that bastard and a minor noble on the throne. He is a
fool! I could not convince him that it was our son, born in purple, who has the right to the throne. I had to do something. I was born a Serbian princess. My father is Constantine Dragas. Therefore my son is of regal blood and the rightful heir.”

  “That name means nothing to me.” Vlad’s voice was full of disdain.

  “I watched the two of you. You only wanted the power that marrying her would give you. She was simply too stupid to see that. Do not try to deny it by claiming that you loved her. You can’t lie to me, boy. You cared nothing for that insignificant little girl.” Helen cautiously rose from the floor. Her fear had given way to anger. “Now you are here to avenge her death!”

  She glanced around the room for a way out of this impossible situation. Then she changed her approach. She stood to her full height — her dignified empress stance. “I think we can come to some sort of an agreement.” Her lips puckered as she reached to undo the silk threads that held her top together.

  Vlad smiled. “What are you proposing?”

  “You aspire to be the emperor, is that correct?”

  Vlad gave a slight nod.

  “Well then.” She stepped closer and ran her finger playfully down his chest. “Why don’t you marry me instead? All you would have to do is kill Manuel.”

  Helena’s scent overwhelmed Vlad. Her large breasts were mostly visible. He smelled a hint of sweet milk, as she was still breastfeeding her youngest child. He grabbed her waist and pressed her body to his. Inhaling deeply at the nape of her neck he fully took in her womanly scent — clean feminine flesh, delicious blood and sweet milk. An inadvertent moan left his lips.

  Where the neck met the shoulder was the best part of a female — as far as Vlad was concerned. It had been a long time since he had been with a woman. In fact, he did not remember the last time. A couple of years, maybe five, possibly ten ... he honestly didn’t know. Time moves differently for vampires. It seems to speed along quickly most of the time. Years can seem as if they were merely months.