……………….. 16 Years ago……………………

“Hold on, little zaichik,” Drac shifted underneath her before wrapping his arms around her once more. They were lying down on the hay stacked up in the stables, staring up at the stars. He was telling her about star patterns but her mind was somewhere else. “-And those ones over there…what is on your mind, Navi?”

“Mm? Nothing much…” how could she tell him? He had told her not to let her weird healing show but she did, she let everyone in that room see all because she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings. When she’d run out of there she could already hear them talking about it. They’d seen and soon everyone will know. Anna had seen.

How will he react when he finds out? Will he be angry? Will he not hug her anymore? What will they do? Will they leave? No, she won’t tell him. She could fix this on her own. Yeah, she could tell them not to tell anyone or make up a story about the food they ate and the things they saw, Kobitz said the food tasted funny so that could work too.

“I think I know what’s bothering you,” uncle said, tightening his arms around her.

Does he know? No he can’t know. Did Anna tell him? Did anyone else?-“Your thinking about your mother”-yes!

“Did I ever tell you about how, before she met your father, your mother and I chased a cat through the whole house for the whole day? That thing was quicker than even these horses, yeah yeah go to sleep you ugly beasts,” he said, slapping a mare who’d stuck her head in their room to chew some hay. “In the end I was able to catch it and it made her soo made that she screamed her lungs out, saying; ‘I did all the work, Mr. Fluffy’s my prize.’ Hahaha, like I didn’t chase after her the whole day too.”

“Mmmhmm, you did tell me, many times actually.”

“Well that was the only time I won over her so that’s why it’s my favourite story to tell.”

“Why am I not like her?” She felt him stiffen beneath her so she hurriedly explained. “I mean all the stories about her tell me that she was always playing or chasing after things, sneaking out of classes or sparing with you and other uncles. I don’t do those things, why?”

“I sometimes wish you wouldn’t grow up so fast,” he said deeply. “You are smart Navi, too smart for me to tell you are like her. But I swear if you could see her face, you are an exact copy of her’s. Everything from those brown eyes to your arched nose to those pinchable cheeks, all remind me of her.”

“What about my colour?”

“What?” he stiffened.

“I mean, I have a different skin colour than Kobitz or Anna, just like you,” She turned around and looked at him where his eyes might be in the shadows. “Is my skin like mother’s?”

“…Hold on,” Drac shifted once again moving his arm to it was next to hers. “Natravi, why do we speak in this tongue?”

“So other can’t understand us?”

“Are we different from others by speaking to them in our own language?”

“I think so.”

“We are different too. The difference between me and you is…well-uh…”

“What we carry between our legs?” she supplied.

“WHAT!” He shouted. Drac pulled her around and stared into her eyes before whispering. “Where did you hear that?”

“Uh…Kobitz said that’s why he and I can’t play in the bath together,” she’d never seen him pale so much.

“Natravi, you are to never even think about playing with a boy in the bath. Understand?” After she reluctantly nodded he continued. “Never repeat what you told me to anyone else, ever. Okay?”

“I understand.”

“Good,” he sighed deeply, laying down once more. “Anyway, so are we really all that different…do you understand what I am trying to say?”

“I think so, you said we have a lot of things in common with others. But I looked at what was different between us and picked on those little things like my language that divided me from the rest. Right?”

“…Ri~ght.”

“Just like how I don’t think you and I, a male and female, are very different from each other when we share the same color I shouldn’t pick on the little things between me and the others and think them the same as myself, right?”

“Yes, yes, good,” he relaxed beneath her and she snuggled closer. After a few minutes of simply staring at the sky she asked; “But just…was she the same as me.”

“…*Sigh* No, she was different than all of us. She had the same skin colour as a chamomile; smooth and fair.”

“Was there anyone else like her in our family?”

“Yes, for the short time I knew mother, your grandmother, she was also like your sister but only in beauty and fairness of skin and like you I adored her greatly.”

“Did she die?”

“No, she left willingly. After your mother turned of 16 years, grandmother was never seen again.” Drac squeezed her tighter. It slightly hurt to move about but she knew not to voice her concerns, for if she did then he would scold and punish himself for potentially hurting her just like how he did in the forests after the fire. Whenever he thought she wasn’t sleeping; he would talk to the winds, maybe they were spirits that haunted him, she remembered reading about hauntings in some book in she’d found. They fed off of the flow through people; they took them away and sucked off their flows till they died. Will he leave if she told him what she did?

“Drac, I-I will never leave you. I promise, ” She wanted him to return her feelings.

“Mmmhmm,” he said.

“If you leave me,” she snuggled closer. “I’ll find you and make you come back. If you leave me I won’t forgive you-”

“Hey, hey, shhhh shhhh. It’s alright Natravi,” she held back her tears, she needed him to say it.

“We are family, we stick together.”

“I won’t have it anyother way.”

“Thank you.”

“Sleep”

………………Present ……………………..

Natravi woke up feeling nauseous, it felt like her insides were wiggling around which, considering what happened to her, wouldn’t be too far from the truth. She turned her head where she could hear Strompf rambling about execution and other grotesque…‘penalties’ to Mina. Deciding that the paintings he described wasn’t worth the little comfort she felt lying there, Natravi tried sitting up.

“-What if she never wakes up? I shouldn’t have drunk that, god save me, mistakes were made Mina, and don’t you wrap it under lies; she may never wake up…Tell Karl it’s been an honour serving him.”

“Strompf your worried for nothing-see she’s waking up right now. How do you feel Natravi?”

“...,” She looked herself over and then the bloody tools to her side. “Any complications? Strompf?”

“Oh dear god, uh-well during the surgery we were, um, interrupted, I was startled and I may have uh…”

“Please be direct.”

“I may have cut something in there,” Strompf paled as Natravi began squeezing and prodding her stomach. Her skin had healed up pretty quickly and after she had removed the stitches, no scar was there. The pain had lessened and moving it around didn’t create anything new so she let it go.

“How long was I out?” Natravi began re-dressing. Fortunately, the robe was stitched up.

“Uh, half an hour. Um, by the way, Karl wants to see you at the wall.”

“Thank you for this and your hospitality,” Natravi said, clasping the sword around her hips. “But I can’t talk to him right now, I will but only after the upcoming battle.”

“Upcoming Battle?”

“The duke has a plan to stop this by killing the flow reader that controls those undead, they’re moving at the cemetery.”

“Then I think it’s all the more important for us to talk,” Karl spoke as he walked in through the side door behind Strompf. He fixed her with a look and motioned for her to follow. She obeyed. “I know some of the people William keep close to him, all better fighters than you and some even better than me.”

“I am more than just a sword user.”

“A flow reader needs time to read their ‘strings’, time in which I can thrust my sword through your throat. Or shoot an arrow and stop for chants,” He took her through the rooms untill he walked out to the balcony. In each room were a few men, either getting treated or sitting in wait. “You guys need concentration to read those things, with a sword or an arrow I will be your better, noble.”

Eventually they reached the top of the wall where she could see two neat rows of bowmen standing at her sides. Karl came to a stop in the middle and began speaking what she ignored. Her attention was caught on the men. Finally she voiced;

“I’m surprised there are so many that survived, warden, you plan to join the fight anytime soon.”

“…We’ve already joined the fight,” the warden frowned and came forward. “Every moment my men stay alive, we are fighting against the undeads.”

“…So…you are fighting this by hiding in your house,” she said with venom in her voice, though her expression remained contricted. “I’ve been through the city warden, the undead are hiding. They are besieging you.”

“Weren’t you attacked by the a an undead? Isn’t that how you got here?”

“The city was overridden with undead only a few hourse ago, they swarmed everywhere and kept on coming. The piles of burnt bodies are evidence for that. However, in the last hour alone, while I was travelling through the city over the rooftops I only saw a few small groups of undead patrolling the city and was attacked only twice, by small groups of no more than seven. Before I even came close to this place not a single undead attacked. They’re hiding warden, biding their time until you’re tired, then they will attack and kill us all, kill you all.”

“My men are protected behind the walls; they keep what lurks at night out,” the warden insisted.

“The only danger is that of death and it comes to us all,” Natravi said. “It all depends on how you treat it, hide and cower like a spinless and gutless man or fight it with all your anger and will. The duke knows this and at least he’s chosen the latter with his men. He’s leading the best mercenary teams out to fight the monsters at their origin, where the flow reader is. I plan on helping; even I may not do much, I can at least help which is more than what you are doing. Will you help him or betray him? Like what you did the last war.”

“I’m sorry,” Karl had a dangerous look on his face as he leaned forward. “Could you repeat that?”

“Volvo likes to share stories with his team, lucky for me I slept with one of them before all this started,” Natravi smirked slightly. “Your home, these walls, they aren’t for your protection. They are your cage, your prison. You’re bound to your castle of sin because of what you happened last war and you owe Volvo for saving you from him. I am not that greedy suka…but I think he would want you to honor what you owe him, considering everything.”

“I’ve paid my debts, in full.” He returned to look at the dark skyline. “…Drac, is he yours?”

“…Yes he is family, but I do not own him.”

“Well Drac, he saved my lassie’s life and brought her to me. For that I was indebted to him,” Karl turned towards her, “I repayed that debt by granting his request. I allowed children to torture spies in my dungeon that was their request, not safety from the undead. I paid my debt and now went beyond that by protecting them while they mooch off of me. I’ve even healed his woman and protected her. Now tell me, who is indebted to whom?”

“…We aren’t rich, nor are we resourceful,” Natravi frowned. “What would you gain by indebting us to you?”

“You’re strong, well he is anyway,” Karl smiled as he stepped closer. “I’ve seen him kill off three of those things that attacked you all by himself and I don’t think that’s all he has to offer. I want his strength in exchange for my help and all that I’ve done for you.”

“What will you have him do?”

“That will be something between us; messengers don’t need to concern themselves with it.”

‘He is definitely quoting someone,’ she thought.

“Thank you for that.”

“Huh?”

“Now that I know what you want I can remind you that I’ve already given you information of what is happening outside. Meaning, I am no longer indebted to you Mr. Warden and if you try to force me…well I believe you and Mina can have a nice chat about it later. For now, I bid you farwell,” Natravi said as she turned, leaving the way she came.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” Karl shouted behind her. “You’re in my castle, sinful or not, you will not do as you please! I control what happens in this prison and I’m hereby declaring you my prisoner as a person of interest. Guards sieze her at once!”

Before either line of guards could reach Natravi, she twisted around and delivered a strong kick to the man to her right. As he was sent stumbling into his colleagues she used the opportunity to jump over the wall. For a moment she felt the fingers of the soldiers’ graze of leg, but then gravity took over and fell. Natravi took out her sword, still in its sheath and stuck it a window on her way down. A jerking motion upset her fall, slowing it a good bit, but she was still a good 10 meters off the ground.

Natravi rolled a few times on the ground before pushing herself up with a cry and wobbled her way off into the maze of empty, destroyed houses beyond the small clearing.

“Boss, should we shoot ‘er.” The idiot who shot Mina spoke up.

“Idiot we need her to go there, she’ll weaken the enemy so we can make our move,” Karl said. “YOU HEAR ME! You won’t survive a single moment out there. You’ll die before you even reach him at the CEMETARY!”

“Karl! What’s going on here?” asked as she climbed the steps.

“…Ah Fuck,” he whispered. He felt his strength escape as he prepared for their ‘chat’.