19. "It's politics, nothing personal."

Vlad found the journal in a small alcove behind Mihail's favourite painting. He wanted to sit down and open it, read about the secrets that obviously surrounded him. But his son was still missing and right now, Mira was his top priority. He took the journal and disappeared back in the hidden passageways, closing the entrance behind him.

He returned to the intersection and quickly followed the footprints of his wife. After few turns and bends, he arrived to yet another intersection. He looked at the prints. Alina has stopped there and was turning, clearly unsure which way to go. She even started down one path only to turn back. Eventually, she chose the path that he himself would have avoided at all costs. The path led to the throne room. If she stayed on the smaller path to the left, she would have eventually emerged outside of the castle's walls. Mihail must have given her instructions where to go and he would not have sent her into the throne room. Not in the event of an attack…

Vlad frowned and studied the footprints again. He made sure that Alina didn't leave the castle after all, then turned to the path that led to the throne room. He stopped again few paces down the path and felt for a loose stone he knew there was. He pushed it aside and placed Mihail's journal and his dagger in the space behind the stone before pushing it back in place.

There was light at the end of the tunnel. The slab of stone that hid the entrance was standing ajar and light from the throne room poured into the tunnel. The voices were clearer with every step Vlad took. He took another step closer, stopped, listened, took a deep breath, and then he strode out with his head high and his broadsword ready in his hand.

Alucard stopped, slightly smiling. He remembered the moment he came out of the tunnel as if it was yesterday. He remembered the faces that stood there. He remembered how they looked at him then and how they looked at him years later…

Anderson listened, caught up in the story. He could almost see it happening. There was one thing he had to admit, the vampire was a hell of a storyteller.

Alucard stood up and prodded the fire again. He looked at the bottle of whiskey and drank deeply from it. "You know, we didn't have whiskey back then. It was wine here and beer there, mostly wine though." He took another sip and sat the bottle down. "Damn shame. Could have used some back then…" He mused.

"I knew at that moment, that I was walking into a trap. I was sure I wasn't going to make it out alive. But I was determined to take as many of them with me as I possibly could."

He looked in the fire, the bright flames reminded him of the scene from so long ago.

The throne room was illuminated by dozens of torches. A large fire was crackling in the middle of the room. They were burning many of his possessions, many of which he had from his father and his father before him. His blood boiled at the sight but his mind was set and clear.

He surprised the two guards that were placed at the tunnel's entrance. They haven't had the time to reach for their weapons before they were lying on the floor with their heads rolling on the ground. Vlad walked seemingly uninterrupted, stepping over the corpses without so much as glance. His eyes saw everything in the room but he focused them on Alina and Mira.

His wife was standing near the throne clutching Mira in her arms. She was arguing with a large older man. As Vlad came closer to them, he could make out the conversation more clearly. "I will NOT give him over! He's MY son too! He's no threat to anybody!" She was screaming now. It was obvious that this argument was going on for a while.

The man stood opposite her, his arms crossed over his chest. He was a burly man with sad but resolute eyes. "It has to be done. Alina, my dear, you have to let go. I know it is hard, but…"

"You know nothing!" Alina screamed into his face.

Vlad approached them. "You should have known what will happen when you decided to stab me in the back, my dear wife." He sounded almost sad. In a way, he was. "And you… Do you think she would just give up her only child? Would you?" He bore his eyes into the older man. "Say, would you sacrifice your only son, knowing that you have only your daughter left? Daughter, that can no longer bear children and thus cannot provide any heirs for your line?"

He looked at Alina again and winked at her. "I mean, you don't really have to make that decision anymore." His gaze returned to the old man. "You shouldn't have sent him for Mihail…"

The man that Vlad recognized in Mihail's room was Alina's younger brother and the only other child their parents had before their mother passed. He knew then that Alina's family finally gathered the courage to challenge him. He wasn't sure whether Alina herself was part of the plot, though the moment he saw the footprints leading to the throne room, he knew. What he didn't know yet, was how her father mustered the courage and the men needed for this push.

The man now looked at him. "You're lying!" He roared, his face gaining an angry shade of purple. Vlad just raised an eyebrow defiantly. "Am I?"

Mira raised his head at the voice of his father. All the screaming before confused him and scared him but once he heard Vlad's voice, he felt safe. He pushed against his mother and managed to get away, running to his father. She ran after him but he was faster.

Vlad caught his son, lowering his sword. He watched as Alina approached him carefully. She was torn between the need to protect her son and the fear of Vlad. But he just kissed his son's hair and looked up at her. "I am willing to forget this ever happened. Call this off, make your father swear fealty to me and then send him home. It can still end well."

Alina bit her lip. Her eyes darted from him somewhere behind him, then quickly returned. She shook her head. "I cannot do that. You are a monster, you must die!"

Vlad noticed Alina's eyes and knew instantly that there was someone approaching from behind. He kissed his son again, then whispered to him urgently. "Run to your mother!" He let go of his son just as a sword pierced him. He was lucky though, whoever wielded it wasn't too good and while the wound was bleeding, it wasn't fatal. As a seasoned warrior, he knew that. He had far worse injuries on the battlefields before.

He spun around and faced his attacker. "Corvinus!"

Matthias Corvinus stood in front of him, bloodied sword in his hand.

Vlad understood now. "So that's why you didn't join us against the Ottomans." He pondered. "You collected the gold for a crusade, goaded us with a promise of help against common enemy and in the end, you let us deal with it. I even bet you hoped for them to kill me."

Corvinus shrugged. "It's politics, nothing personal."

Vlad nodded. "What I do not understand is why you are here." Vlad shifted his weight uneasily, the wound started to bother him. He looked down at it for a moment, frowning. It was still bleeding though not as much as it felt.

The other man sighed. "Oh, Vlad… You know, at first, I refused to meddle in the politics of this backend of nowhere you call home. I couldn't care less who sits on the throne. The crusade though… The gold I got for it was a substantial amount that my Hungary needed it desperately. I would have never gotten it on my own. Everybody knew your history with the Ottomans, you were necessary in securing the gold." He turned away from Vlad, walking few paces slowly towards the large fire in the middle of the room.

Vlad's breathing was more laboured now and he had to lean on his sword to stay on his feet. He started to understand why Corvinus wasn't wary of him and even turned his back on him. Poison. Corvinus' blade must have been poisoned which meant it didn't truly matter how well he struck him.

Corvinus turned back to him and saw his expression. He nodded. "Yes. But don't worry, it won't be long now. Where were we? Oh, yes! The gold… If you have died on the battlefields, I would have delivered a heartbroken letter to Rome informing them that while the Ottomans were pushed back, thus completing the crusade, you valiantly gave your life. I would of course go into detail about how my armies were essential in securing the borders and so on. But no, you had to survive…"

He looked at Vlad, his gaze piercing. "As soon as I received message of your victory, I knew I had to get rid of you. If you went to Rome and blabbed about my absence on the field, I would have to give the gold back, or worse, to you. Gold that I now longer have. So, I took your father-in-law's proposition and came to help here."

Corvinus looked at Alina's father. "After all, we do have a deal." The other man just nodded.

Vlad's vision started to blur. He felt as if something was fighting him for control over his body. He looked towards Mira. "Can I say goodbye to my son?" Alina looked at him, then at their son. Mira was crying now, he must have sensed something was wrong. She nodded and came back towards him. Mira clasped arms around his father's neck. Vlad whispered few soothing words to him, then beckoned his wife to come closer. She did.

"Keep him safe or I'll come back to haunt you."

She shuddered at the words. Then she quickly grabbed Mira again and retreated towards her father.

Vlad looked at them. "Old man, my son is the only legacy you have left. Think carefully before you do him any harm." His voice was strained but the words came out clear and full of hatred.

Before he lost his consciousness, Vlad cast one last glance at Corvinus. He wanted to burn his face into his mind, hoping that wherever he went after his death, he would find a way to haunt this man.

"You didn't really die, though, did you?" Anderson interrupted.

"Of course not. I woke up few weeks later in Corvinus' dungeon." Alucard sighed. "And it took me thirteen years to get out."