Heirot

"Get away beast," the stranger muttered, kicking his leg out towards Stalker as he followed them towards the entrance to the dungeons. "We are going to take good care of your mistress, have no worries. Guards, bar the door as we pass through to keep this mutt from following us."

"Why is Lady Dracul... What's going on?" the guard asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Lady Dracul has been entrusted to me by Doctor Borat. We are taking her down here for safe keeping," the man muttered. "Now, please, open the door and be sure not to let this beast through."

"Doctor Borat?" the guard asked. "Is something wrong?"

"These are orders from the King. Do you dare to act against his wishes? Open the door!"

The guard hurried to the metal door, and opened it for them. He muttered, "Who is this guy?" to the guard next to him as he did. The strange doctor and the man carrying Tenele rushed through, and the guard attempted to shut the door before Stalker could get through.

Realizing he was going to be separated, the hound muscled forward, snapping at their ankles as he jammed the door wide and squeezed through. He got some distance in front of them and then wheeled on the men in their path, snarling.

"That's fine," the man called back to the guard. "Close the door, we'll deal with him." When the door was closed the man looked down at Stalker. "You're going to be a good dog," he whispered to the hell hound, his voice changed to a darker raspy tone. He stepped forward, along with the soldier carrying Tenele. "We'll let you come along, but you have to be good."

Stalker sized up the man, confused by the contrast between his gentle tone and his violent actions. He remembered his master's commands, and dropped his aggressive stance. With a passive yawn, he turned to follow the men.

The men continued on further down into the dungeon, and deeper down the halls. The prisoners grew curious as they passed, hooting and calling out to them as they passed. Some of them reached through the bars towards them, but were too far away to grasp them.

Finally they came to a metal door at the back a hall. The man opened it and allowed them to enter. The room was circular, with empty prison cells surrounding the edges. The bedding looked better and more comfortable here. But, it was dark and windowless and damp.

"Lay Lady Dracul down, will you, Lindo?" he asked the soldier. He complied quietly, taking Tenele into one of the cells and flopped her back onto the bed.

"What are you doing letting that thing stay with us?" the soldier asked as he glanced down at Stalker, removing his helmet.

"Its a hell hound," the man muttered. "So if we want it to go away we'll need to rip its gut open, separate its head from its body, and burn it..." He put his hands on his hips with a smile. "Else, we won't be able to treat Lady Dracul for her unfortunate illness."

When lunchtime finally came, Vlad headed down the halls at a brisk pace, having managed to extract himself from Atul's advisors for long enough to check on the infirmary. He got to the ward in good time and passed through the well guarded door to find Atul still resting.

The vampire walked to Atul's side and sat on a stool next to the bed. Brushing his fingers through the man's hair, he called out "Atul," and waited for the king to recognize him.

"Vlad?" Atul asked, his words slurred and heavily drugged. His eyes lulled open, but they were so heavy that they couldn't stay open. "Tenele..." he murmured tiredly. His lips fluttered wit the effort to open. "Tenele... I'm sorry."

Tenara started crying from a short distance away, on the other side of the curtain, where Merida had been rocking her.

Vlad narrowed his eyes on the king. "Atul? What about Tenele?" he asked, worried that the man seemed worse than he had the day before. It was like he could barely speak. He touched the man's forehead to check for a fever.

Atul blinked his eyes open again. "I'm sorry." A tear leaked from his eye. "I didn't believe her. I was...." He started to fade out again, and Tenara's sobbing turned into high-pitched wail. "I'm a monster. She wants her mother..."

"Shhh, child," Merida hushed, rocking her. "Don't cry."

* * *

The doctor stepped towards the cell door. "Lure him out," he told the soldier. Lindo stepped forward. "Get out. Go. Shoo. We've got work to do you, you stupid mutt." He kicked Stalker in the side. "Go!"

"Atul?" Vlad felt more alarmed as he spotted the tears in the man's eyes. He'd never seen the king like this before. The vampire turned toward Merida and his sobbing daughter. "Merida, what's happened?" he demanded. "Why can't he move?"

"Doctor Borat gave him medicine," she muttered. "They took Lady Tenele away. They said she was sick and she needed help and they took her away. The king fought with her, and then he must have changed his mind. He protested it, and they gave him medicine." Merida looked frightened. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do. They said she imagined things and that she needed help and I was afraid. I'm sorry."

The vampire's eyes slowly brightened to an ember glow as he absorbed her words. No...no, this was all his fault. Why couldn't he have chosen a different lie? "Did they say where they took her?"

Merida shook her head. "No sire," she whispered, lowering her gaze. "They gave me the baby to take care of..."

* * *

Stalker snapped at the man's leg when Lindo kicked him. Lindo jumped back and kicked at Stalker's head. "Get out of there." Stalker growled at him, snapping his jaws.

"You're going to get killed doing that," the doctor muttered, kneeling next to Tenele. "Wake up," he muttered, nudging the woman. When she didn't rise he slapped her across the face.

That was the last straw for Stalker. He wheeled on the doctor and lunged for his throat, tackling him to the ground. He wasn't wrestling or warning. He was going to rip his lungs out.

Vlad stiffened as a burst of fury passed through the telepathic link between he and Stalker. Something was wrong. Completely wrong.

"Listen to me, Merida. I'm not the king. Atul is. Nobody drugs him without permission, upon penalty of treason. He's weak, and in danger." The man cast a pointed look at his daughter in the woman's arms. "You understand what that means."

He stood up and went to the infirmary doors, looking out into the hall. "You and the King need to come with me," he muttered, making his way back to her and swinging her up into his arms, ready or not. He moved to Atul's bedside and pulled the man's limp body up against him. "I'm sorry for this, Atul," he murmured and he braced himself to teleport all of them.

They reappeared in a small, dim-lit room downtown. The house was empty for the time being. Vlad knew this because he'd eaten the owner a few weeks back. He'd deserved it. "We're outside the castle," Vlad said as if they'd merely changed rooms. "No one will look for you here." He laid the king down with immense care upon a straw mattress in the corner of the room. "Lock the door. Let no one in. Let no one hear you. I will return when it is safe."

The soldier lunged in on Stalker, stabbing into the hound repeatedly with his sword to get him off the doctor. The doctor, gurgling blood, kicked wildly. His leg kicked out and the jail cell door slammed shut, locking all of them inside.

"Shit!" the soldier cursed, laying into Stalker. "Just die!"