All's Fair in Love and War - Chapt. 3

The floor creaked under the weight of their steps. Dirk and Indrick arrived to then knock on the door.

"Come in." Commanded a voice from within.

Dirk opened the door and crossed in with Indrick. Inside in the small room stood a figure with his back turned and his hands together behind him, staring out the window to the staging grounds below.

"You're early." He said.

"It's Fellsreach, sire." Said Dirk. "Variland has armed dullahans now."

"We'd not have been able to do anything with them already expecting us." Added Indrick. "That's even assuming we weren't caught."

A deep, lengthy sigh escaped the man's nose.

It was not just any man. His ornate breastplate along with dark cape betrayed what his modest crown would have not already. Vandire Castellan, the Master-Commander. The Lord of all Nostrum.

"Call off the raids and rest." He said. "In a few days, you'll be briefed on what to do."

"Sire." Saluted the two before departing.

The door creaked shut. Within the room, Vandire remained watching below, seeing the rest of the paladins chatting with each other and the men after their early arrival. In Vandire's expression, a grim frown refused to subside. Thoughts of the future haunted him.

Thoughts of uncertainty and doubt.

---

"And you walked all the way here, from Helmsreach?" Asked Victoria in the late hours of the night. Opposite to her by the inn's table sat Melanie, the first dullahan to have arrived. "Even before Jeremiah had gone around telling everyone of the recruiting?"

Melanie kept quiet and gloomy for a moment, before a chuckle brought her to smile. "Yeah." She answered. "My legs ached so much..."

"You didn't even have any gold on you."

"I suppose I'd have slept on the streets then. I mean, it's not like I had a place to sleep in after... that happened. That's in the past now, anyway. What matters now is that I have a place to sleep in and something to do."

"Admirable." Lightly laughed Victoria. "How are you liking your new job?"

"Could be better." Said Melania, nudging the spear she left resting against her. "I've never used one of these before."

"You'll learn in due time, don't worry."

A mug was put in front of Victoria, filled with ale.

"Lady Victoria?" Asked the cheerful dullahan who left it, pulling herself a chair and sitting down. Just like Melanie, she also had spear, helmet, and mailed shirt. "This is the first time I ever see you in person."

Though a smile popped at the greeting, it waned as her eyes fell on the mug.

"Not gonna drink?" Asked the dullahan.

"I uh... Don't drink."

"What? Seriously?"

"I don't like the taste, that's all."

"...Fair enough." Said the dullahan, taking the mug to herself. "What brings you here to our little home away from home?"

She couldn't help but snicker at the comment. "I wanted to see how you were all faring. I'm not going to pretend the war's going to end if we just stay here as we are. Those spears will have to be used, regrettably."

The door slammed open. All turned their heads, just to stare in stupefaction as a man in armor ran in with no interest in subtlety nor calm. A mastodon of steel, of plates and mail and longsword in hand. He was running towards the lilim.

Took them a second to react, to break from the shock. The two dullahans rushed to their spears and the three stood up in haste, but to the dullahans' thrusts, the armored man effortlessly parried and ignored the blows as he shoved the two away. Victoria, on the other hand, still stared in disbelief. She reacted last, quickly reaching for the rapier on her waist. But, what was she about to do? It was a mere rapier against full armor. Hits would not penetrate. Where should she even aim? The eyes? As ridiculously small a target it was, it still was her only choice in her panic.

Thrust. It did connect. The man had glanced down, hitting the steel of his armor and effortlessly glancing off right as he swung his longsword.

It struck. A downward swing connecting against the union of her neck and shoulder. Numbness immediately set in, the familiar sensation of demon realm silver, sapping her strength and leaving her to fall down despite no bloody injury. Against her back, she fell on the ground. At the same time, the man brought one hand to his belt and took out his dagger, thrusting it downward towards the lilim.

Again. It was happening again, thought the lilim. They were trying to kill her again.

But why? What could bring a man to want someone's death? Someone he had barely even met?

It did not connect, however. Just as it was about to, the shaft of a spear intercepted it. Melanie had gotten up, putting herself almost between the armored one and the lilim. As the man pushed on and the dullahan held her ground, a deadlock followed where both stared at each other dead in the eyes.

The other dullahan had gotten up as well. With her own spear, she snuck up to the man and attempted to lock his neck. The man realized, to which he shoved Melanie away with a kick and a movement of his dagger; Melanie broke into a scream, for the dagger had slicen the skin of her cheer just by chance. He then backed off considerably, leaving the two dullahans to recover.

"They're coming!" Shouted a voice from the door. Another armored man, voice raspy and coarse like sandpaper.

"We're never gonna get another chance like this!" Shouted the first. There, Victoria recognized it.

Indrick's voice.

"Don't be an idiot! Leg it!"

Indecisive. He glanced at the lilim, to then glance at the man, then back at the lilim. The dullahans remained where they were, protecting the one he had sought to kill.

But an eerie sensation of crippling, petrifying hollowness took him over. As if his soul had been hooked and tugged at, watching Victoria's face of sorrow and betrayal. For him, it was happening again. What had left him to fail the first time.

It was useless to push it. He'd fail everyone again. Now decided, he broke running out the inn with the other.

A deafening silence then reigned, where none said a word, where none knew how to even react. At that moment, Melanie rushed over to Victoria, lowering herself to her.

"Lady Victoria, are you alright?" She asked.

Victoria returned no reply. She only stared, eyes unfocused and without expression, her gaze falling to Melanie's bleeding cheek. With what little strength the blow had not sapped of her, she lifted her hand and touched her cheek.

Blood. It was now on her hand. Not blood over a simple scrape or accident, but blood of an attempt that almost resulted in her murder. An attack.

Another set of steps entered the inn. Another man in armor, though an armor familiar enough. Catherine, followed by a few other dullahans as well.

"Victoria!" Called Valerian from within Catherine, taking off the helmet and rushing over to Victoria with the others. "Shit, they got here before we did. Is she fine?"

"Yeah." Said Melanie. "Just a demon silver wound, luckily."

"Valerian?" Asked Victoria. "What's going on?"

"The villa is hell right now. Like ten of those guys stormed in, and the rest must've been trying to find you in the city just in case."

"What?!" She asked in greater fervor, trying to stand up only to fail by her newfound weakness. Just as she was about to fall again, Melanie and the other dullahan caught her safely. "Jeremiah is in the villa! The others! Are they safe?!"

"Safe? That bastard somehow got the dullahans to trap a few of them in your house. We need to go there, now. It might be our only chance to catch at least one of them and figure this mess out."

Not needing the order, Melanie and the other helped Victoria up, each taking an arm over their shoulders. Valerian put his helmet back on, to then step outside with the others.

The sight, however, was all too unwelcoming. Smoke obscured parts of the starry sky, brighter the lower they were. All around them, several lines of smoke rose throughout the city.

"It's Helmsreach all over again..." Lamented Melanie.

"Doesn't have to be!" Said Valerian jumping on his horse. With the aid of Melanie and the other dullahan, they brought Victoria up behind him. "All of you, go! Deal with the fires in any way you can!"

"Yes!" Answered all in unison, to then rush off. His orders given, Valerian, Catherine, and Victoria departed towards the villa.

---

Her once peaceful villa now looked like the site of a campaign. Furious galloping over the roads granted Victoria a sight of far too many armed dullahans around, glancing at her arrival. Not long after, they arrived to Victoria's house, surrounded in its entirety by the spear-wielding dullahans. At the front, Jeremiah took notice, quickly walking their way.

"Tell me that's not her blood!" Said Jeremiah as he and Valerian arrived to each other, aghast at the first sight.

"It's not." Said Valerian as he jumped down, to then help Victoria descend. "Couldn't get to her in time, but she only got wounded by demonic silver. She'll be fine, thankfully."

Jeremiah let out a sigh of relief.

"What about the attackers?" Asked Valerian. "Are they still in there?"

"Most of them managed to break out, but one was still in. Figured we'd let the others go if we could get this one for sure, but..."

His silence gave no assurance to neither Valerian nor Victoria. Jeremiah remained without words, glancing back at the house as he pursed his lips.

"But...?"

"...He's dead. He took his own life."

A death. A suicide. In her own house, no less.

Victoria couldn't believe it. She couldn't comprehend it. Were people really dying, now? Not even Helmsreach had anyone die. This couldn't be happening, she thought. Almost a refusal to believe, rather than inability to understand. All of those around the house, however, seemed to reflect the fact with the gloomy atmosphere taking over. Silent. Still.

No, he couldn't have died. Even if he did try, wouldn't the demonic energies of this realm incubize and save him? Wouldn't he turn undead, at the very least? There was still a chance. There was still hope, she told herself. With quick steps, she made her way to her house's door, taking the handle only for someone to take her other arm. Turning her head, she saw Jeremiah.

"You won't like what you'll see." He said. A plea, almost, for her not to go in.

Though quiet, Victoria took a deep breath. "I know." She said, sorrowful as she was.

Seconds past, Jeremiah gently let go. Victoria's eyes returned to the handle, to then turn it. The door creaked open, darkness reigning within. In careful steps she entered, to see the silhouette of someone sitting against the wall.

Her heart came to her throat. It was no natural sitting position. There was no movement. No hints of breathing, past the deafening silence. Did it really happen? She walked closer, till she saw the details which gave it away.

The blood. A small pool, forming by his side and absorbed by the carpet. His gauntlet, taken aside. A dagger in hand, bloodied.

There was no use denying reality anymore.

He was dead.

But she could still not understand. Why? At one time, her greatest worry had been to simply not wake up too late.

Why were her cities now being torched? Why were people trying to kill her? Why were people dying?

Was the war her fault, somehow? Did she do something wrong? But, what?

Her breathing had hastened. Her heart had skipped a beat. She felt hollow. It was as if all ceased to exist, save for that in front of her. She had not even noticed Jeremiah's steps, until he placed a hand over her shoulder. At that, Victoria turned her eyes to him, already growing teary without her even knowing.

"We should go outside."

She couldn't say a word. It's as if nothing would come out. There wasn't even an attempt at all. All she did was slowly return her eyes to the dead man in front of him, to then lower them to the ground.

"...Yeah." She answered, to then depart with Jeremiah.

---

Index
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