Heirot

Vincent's fingers flexed at his side before he reached up and pushed the hood off his head. It revealed a narrow young face with high cheek bones, a man in his late thirties. He was scruffy around the jaw, and had neck length brown hair that hung in waves about his head. It was his eyes however. They were hauntingly familiar jade green. "Someone who has as much stake in her well-being as you... and if you want my blessing in this marriage I hear rumors of, I suggest you start listening to me."

Vlad studied those eyes for a few moments, letting it sink in...and yet not sink in. "Oh, I get it! You're her dad! No wonder!" he mocked the man, clearly not serious about the theory.

Vincent seemed surprised that he excepted it that fast, until he realized he was joking. He frowned darkly. His eyes flashed a bright green, and he growled. His claws grew a little, and he worked hard to control the wolf that wanted to break free. It was natural for him to want to rip a vampire in half anyway, and Vlad was making the impulse worst.

"This isn't anything to joke about," he snarled. "Is any of this serious to you?" He hadn't seen Tenele since she was seven in human years... which was more than a hundred and twenty years ago. It was natural for Vlad to be skeptical, and he wondered deep down if he honestly had any stake or say in her life. He hadn't been there... Even though he wanted to so badly.

His head cocked to towards the trees. "Useless," he muttered.

The vampire stopped smiling. "Wait. You're serious." He surveyed the man one more time with renewed interest. The suspicion that this person might actually be her father was suddenly bringing a sharp wave of anger to his mind. "You'd better be joking. Where the hell have you been? Where the hell were you yesterday!"

"I was on the battlefield," he told Vlad, his frown deepening. "I tried to help as much as I could when I realized she was there as well. I made a mistake a long time ago that has cost me my freedom, and because of that mistake I have served Shea for over a hundred years. That mistake also cost me the life of my wife... And I suppose that mistake can also be a blessing in two ways. I was dying, and I was a weak man to not be able to except death with dignity. And Shea tricked me into taking her curse. I was bit by her wolf, and she sent me home. She told me that if I could devour the thing I loved most before the rise of the first full moon she would set me free from serving her, but if I couldn't that I would be brought back. But, I couldn't eat my own children, and she knew that. And because of me Verin..."

Vincent paced, even after all these years it made him sick to think of it. "He used me against my own wife. But, the blessing being that when her mortal body died... the world knew Attara once more."

"I have not seen Tenele since she was small. I assume she was told I died, and I want to keep it that way. I don't want her to know about me, but I need you too. I need you to understand the gravity of your situation." Vincent stepped towards him. "I don't know what of Verin you have encountered, but he's obsessed with Attara and has been for centuries. Which makes things dangerous for her daughter. That is also something you probably want to keep to yourself."

Vlad's posture changed as the man spoke. It was a lot to take in. He was almost speechless as little things the man mentioned filled in missing pieces of all the chaos they'd faced fighting Verin over the past year.

"...How can you expect this to be kept from her?" he asked, seriously. "She needs to hear this. After this battle, you should talk to her properly. Verin can be defied. Shea as well. We've had more than enough experience with both of them."

Vincent frowned. "I can't," he muttered. "Its more complicated than that. I can't just enter her life like this, not after so long. There are some things that need to be left as is. You can protect her where I can't." Vincent looked back to the forest. "They're growing closer. There is no need to shatter what reality we have given her. Talon has agreed to keep this secret for me, I ask that you do the same. What Tenele doesn't know cannot hurt her."

Vlad's eyes narrowed. "Talon knows all of this? Have you spoken with him?"

"He found me... He's dying of the same disease I had, and he sought me out to see what I knew," Vincent told him softly. "Its hard to tell your son that he's going to die, even if you haven't seen him in a hundred years. I didn't tell him about their mother. I just warned him that Verin could not know about either of them, too which he informed me that he knew about Tenele. I know you don't understand..." Did he even get the guys name? "But, its for the best... at least for now. Maybe when their isn't a battle or a wedding and things have calmed down. But, not now. I can't do that to her now."

Vincent shifted back towards the forest. There was fear in him, and it wasn't towards the army or to Vlad, but facing the hurt that it would cause Tenele to know that he ignored her existence for so long.

Vlad reached out and caught his arm, pulling him back. "When the alternative is fighting on the side trying to hurt your daughter, it damn well better be now," he said sternly.

Vincent fought the urge to rip out the vampire's jaw, nothing personal but his kind had an ingrained hatred for vampires. He stared at the vampire's arm and then glanced back to the monastery. "I can't go in there," he told the vampire. "I don't know how you can, but I can't. Maybe Thar really has blessed you, and if that is the case I am thankful for Tenele's sake. But, werewolves don't belong in monasteries." He wanted to run, his powerful heart was beating with adrenaline. It was the first time he had been nervous in a very long time.

Vlad slowly let go of his arm, noticing his offbeat reaction. He took a step back, giving him a little more space. "Does Tenele know your name?"

"I would hope so... In the event she doesn't, its Vincent," he replied, looking at the vampire curiously now. "Can I have the name of the man my daughter wants to marry?"

The no-life king let the man's name rest on his mind for a moment. "Vladimir Dracul," he offered.

Vincent did the same with his name. "Well, Vladimir.... I suggest you make your decision on getting her now. They're coming for the monastery. I can hear them, they're nearly here. I sent my men away, so you won't need to deal with werewolves, but that's not all Artanin has up his sleeve. So I'd hurry."