Keshi: Welcome to , where you will rarely find something owned by the author of the story. Technically, I don't even completely own my own characters in this story, as they are made specifically for the Warcraft world.

Master and Servant – 3, A Burned Field

Outside, the sun burned brightly. It was another beautiful day in Gensokyo... which Remilia was of course spending asleep. Why would she be up and about at such an hour? What a preposterous idea.

She lay snug in her bed, wrapped warmly in her blankets. Her doors were closed and locked as to prevent any sun from shining in to harm her. Her dreams were very active, spurred on by the high amount of reminiscing she had been doing last night.

For her, the empty forests of Lordaeron were as real as anything.

The sun once again shined brightly overhead through the canopy of tree limbs, much to Remilia's discomfort. They had been lucky when they awoke that morning that the crows had gotten hungry and left for fresh and vulnerable food. That had been a worry of hers before going to sleep. She was afraid that they would have opened the door just to find a swarm of undead crows cawing for their flesh. It would have made sacrificing the night completely useless.

Sakuya once again led the way, Remilia watching from under a different colored hood. She had changed into a different one of her outfits that morning. She still wore the same boots and gloves, but she now wore a hooded dress with a deep shade of violet. The dress had an interesting floral pattern dyed from the bottom of the dress and winding up to the knee that she found pleasant, making it her first choice for the day.

They were once again in a forest with heavily overgrown plants surrounding them, but they actually traveled on a path now. Sakuya said that there was a large town a few hours away from the last that could serve as another area to wait for night, but that still wasn't enough to comfort Remilia. She hated any time that they were forced to move during the day, but they couldn't afford to waste any more time.

It was still quiet, and Remilia was starting to come to the conclusion that all of Lordaeron had been abandoned by animal life. There were a few exceptions, such as those crows (even though they were undead now), but they were so far and in between that they were of no consequence.

The two walked in relative silence, which suited Remilia just fine. It made it easier to hear any undead that should approach them, even if her hearing would reveal them long before they would come upon them.

An hour passed in that same silence, both focused on walking. Sakuya had to know where they were going. She said there was another town on their way east by the name of Brill. It would be safe to stop at.

Remilia raised her head slightly (as to not expose it to sun) to look at Sakuya. The woman apparently felt her gaze, as she turned her head to look at her mistress. Maybe they should strike up some conversation.

"My lady, what do you suppose we will do once we are finally free from the undead?" the servant asked, turning her head back forward.

Remilia put a finger to her chin. She hadn't really given it thought. She supposed she would have a large mansion built for her to live in. She could live there quietly, servants caring for her with Sakuya as their head.

Remilia told these ideas to Sakuya, who nodded and said, "That would be a grand future." She gave a small bow while still walking. "I shall do everything in my power to ensure that it is so."

Remilia smiled and continued following her servant. They couldn't be more than an hour from Brill, now. Maybe she should look into getting some sort of carriage, too. If she had to walk everywhere all the time, she would go insane.

Silence settled yet again. There was no sound save the crunching of their footsteps, no smell save that of Sakuya and the plants. Remilia kicked through the short grass that had grown over the formerly dirt path.

Ksh, ksh, ksh.

Remilia's sharp ears perked at the sound. It sounded like footsteps on dry leaves, but not theirs. She searched around, but there was nothing to see through the thick foliage.

With that option obviously useless, the vampire decided to instead try and catch a scent. Luckily, the wind was blowing her way from the source of the sound. Over the smell of the flora, she could also pick out the odor of unwashed human men.

Whoever they were were still some distance away to the right of the group, but they were on a collision course with one another.

"Sakuya, I want to stop at the next intersection," she commanded. 'Maybe I can get a look at living humans other than a Sakuya this time,' she thought. She didn't want to fight these men, though, instead wanting to just watch them.

Sakuya nodded and affirmed that they would stop as soon as they found one.

Only a few minutes passed before a crosspath came into sight. Remilia approached and whispered to Sakuya that they would be going into the brush instead of crossing the path.

Sakuya, who could now hear the men talking, found no reason to offer another suggestion.

Remilia moved with the grace of a vampire, making absolutely no sound as she did so. Sakuya's training showed as she kept beside her mistress, just barely louder (but still inaudible to a human's ears).

The two peeked carefully through the leaves, catching sight of the other group. It just so happened to be a group of eight men.

Eight men wearing scarlet red tabards.

They were just idly chatting, but Remilia noticed that they kept a very close watch on everything around them at once. The sign of highly trained, highly experienced men. These couldn't be some simple zealots then.

One of the men stood slightly apart from the group. His dark hair was rather short, letting his strong face be revealed. The man moved with more power than any of the others. The spear he carried in a sling on his waist seemed to be as much a part of him as his own arm. He might be the group's leader.

It was still interesting for Remilia to see living men. Everyone she had seen before had been dead, trying to kill her, or a Sakuya. Remilia wondered what it would be like to meet some of the races she had read about before in her books; dwarves, elves, orcs, gnomes, maybe even others.

Remilia noticed her servant's muscles tighten in anticipation. She hoped that Sakuya wouldn't react badly to seeing some of her old comrades. Remilia started to think that Sakuya might be psychic, as she looked at her and smiled in assurance.

The men were soon safely out of sight. Remilia stepped out of the brush first, gesturing for Sakuya to follow. The woman stared down the path after the men.

"Friends of yours?" Remilia asked.

"Apprentices," the former chief assassin replied.

"Is that so?"

Sakuya shut her eyes tight. "Each one was trained by me. They are the future of the Scarlet Crusade's assassins. Especially the man with the spear."

"How so?" Remilia wondered now if they would eventually have to deal with Sakuya's past.

"I was training him to eventually take my place as chief assassin. He was... is ruthless, heartless, unforgiving, bloodthirsty. The most dangerous man I have ever met. He is perfect for the title." She looked back up. "The Crusade would not send him out to patrol for just any reason. He is searching for me."

Remilia turned down the path they were to continue along. "Then we'll have to put as much distance between us as possible."

Sakuya nodded with a slight bow and took the lead, her attention only slightly lingering on the other path.

The next hour was spent walking in relative silence. Remilia was getting tired of all this walking. Maybe there would be a day where she could just have other people take her places instead of having to go there herself.

Eventually she noticed the landscape start to change. The ground was becoming more grass-covered and clear of trees. Looking up, she saw the reason. They were finally approaching Brill.

Remilia peered past Sakuya to the nearby town. It was of decent size – far larger than the small village they encountered the day before. Remilia began breathing through her nose to search for the scent of any scourgelings in the town. Nose in the air, all she caught was the smell of Sakuya and leaves. She found the lack of any other smell strange.

Since she was relatively sure that the town was free of anything that might be a danger, Remilia allowed Sakuya to continue leading her.

The town really was as abandoned as it smelled, Remilia noted as they stepped into the town square. Now that they were actually in the town, she could very faintly smell the rodents living in the buildings. No humans had lived here for a long time.

There were some signs of combat; a bolt imbedded in a wall, ruptured areas in the road, long-dried blood on the ground, among others.

Sakuya looked up to the sky with one hand shielding her eyes. "We still have several hours of daylight left yet, my lady. Is there anywhere you would like to rest?"

Remilia considered the buildings on their street. Most were small houses that would have once been inhabited by families. Now she could stay in whichever one she wanted. "Let's stay there," she said, pointing to a decently sized house. It seemed the most welcoming building on the street.

Sakuya nodded and approached the door so that she could hold it open for her lady. The house was simple yet cozy. It reminded Remilia vaguely of their old house in the forest, comforting her. She set her bag of a table in the middle of the room and took the protection charm from within it. She handed this to Sakuya, who set it on the ledge above the door to give it its best area of effect.

Remilia walked around the room closing and locking the shutters to prevent sunlight from reaching her. Sakuya found a lamp to light so that she could see in the darkness.

Finishing her sealing of the house, Remilia sat down at the table and began removing her gloves. Sakuya set the lamp on the table and took a knee in front of her lady to remove her boots.

"This town is awfully quiet, Sakuya. It's strange," Remilia observed, setting her gloves on the table.

"The Crusade has already been through here, my lady," her servant explained.

"Oh?" Remilia's interest was piqued.

"Yes, my lady. I was a member of the force sent to p... remove the undead infesting this town."

One month had passed since the Battle of Lordaeron. Yana Bloodspear lay prone on a hill overlooking the town of Brill. She had a gnomish looking-scope pressed to her open eye, scanning the below settlement. Satisfied, she spoke to her apprentices, "There are well over one hundred of them down there. No sign of any commander or greater undead, but we must be prepared for the chance."

The chief assassin looked over her shoulder. The first she noticed was Rohan. The man wasn't the best choice for an assassin. Yana once caught him behind behind the Monestary dancing.

The others: Jorg, Aren, Marek, Irfod, Faern, Folkrik... Lauc. She was proud of his progress and skill, but he was frightening. He was the paragon of Crusader mentality.

Lauc was Yana's focused apprentice, no matter her thoughts on him. The Crusade saw his kind of cruelty as an admirable trait and wished for him to succeed her as Chief Assassin.

Lauc himself seemed to idolize Yana. When he and the other assassins were introduced to her, he was already trained as a fencer. Instead of improving upon the style he already knew, he abandoned the sword and took up the weapon of his mentor: the spear. He trained almost constantly in its use. He watched Yana's movement closely during their lessons so that he could visualize the muscle movements for when he performed the same maneuvers.

At present, Lauc was observing the town along with Yana, though it was unlikely he could make out any details.

Yana put her eye back against her scope and peered towards the small road on the northern side of Brill. She could see the red banner of an advancing Crusader force steadily approaching the town. It was time.

"We proceed as planned," she said, collapsing the looking-scope (which she slid into a pocket on the inside of her coat) and standing. She unlatched her spear and led the assassins to the southern side of the town.

The plan was a simple one. They were to wait there undetected until the main force hit from the north, at which point they would take advantage of the distraction, enter from behind and eliminate any possible spellcasters. After that was completed, they would then cut down the horde of undead from behind.

It wasn't long before a chorus of battlecries rose from the north. Yana peered from her hiding place under some falled brush, twigs, and stones. As planned, the undead were milling to meet the assault.

The assassins carefully pulled themselves from their improvised hiding places. They crept towards the town, tryig to not draw attention to themselves. There was no sound to indicate the presence of spellcasters. This was shaping to be a much easier engagement than they thought it was going to be.

Yana led the assassins into the town. They didn't worry about being attacked the horde, so they set about searching the buildings for any targets that were lingering behind.

Sword in hand, Rohan approached the door of the largest house in town. He slowly pushed the door open, ready to impale any undead that hid inside upon his blade. This was unnecessary asno corpse was waiting for him. However, he was met with the sight of a robe-weaing gray-haired man stepping down from a staircase to his left. As soon as Rohan was a step through the door, the necromancer's hands shot up in front of him

A wave of magical force pushed Rohan back out the door, causing him to trip on an uneven paving stone.

"Necromancer!" he called as he shot to his feet. The rest of the assassins converged towards him.

The necromancer strode through the door, an air of power about him. Irfod raised his crossbow and fired off his readied bolt. The necromancer simply waved his hand and a gust of energy blew the bolt away, imbedding itself uselessly in the house's wall.

The necromancer seemed to be more of a threat than they had expected. This would require some skill.

The necromancer extended both arms towards the assassins. He began reciting words of dark power, amassing energy in his hands.

"Move!" Yana commanded. The assassins sprang away from the center of the road just as two bolts of a sickly green and black color flew from the necromancer's hands. The bolts collided with the paving, causing broken stones to be thrown in every direction.

Marek charged, sword raised for a strike. The necromancer made a pulling up motion from the ground. The rotting skeleton of someone long dead emerged from the ground in front of Marek, creating a small hole in the road.

Marek adjusted his attack at the newly risen creature. However, the skeleton was feeding from the considerable power well of the necromancer, so the sword simply glanced off the bone. The skeleton wrapped its arms around the man, holding him in place with an unnatural strength.

Lauc took advantage of the necromancer's distraction and hurled his spear like a javelin. Yana saw that as a foolish move, as someone of this necromancer's power couldn't possibly-

Thrt.

The spear tore straight through the necromancer's back. With his spine severed and his blood quickly pooling, the necromancer collapsed. The skeleton fell apart into a useless pile of bones at Marek's feet.

"Very well done, Lauc," Yana congratulated, still suspicious over their quick victory. She kept an eye on the corpse, expecting it to stand back up and unleash a volley of unholy magic, but it never did.

Lauc retrieved his spear from the corpse and turned to Yana, who nodded. The assassins turned to the undead horde. Their battle with the necromancer attracted the attention of some of the readmost undead, who were advancing towards them with hungry moans.

The assassins prepared themselves and charged into battle. They cut a bloody swath through the undead, and with the help of the Crusader soldiers, they made short work of the monsters.

Yana stood with the surviving Crusaders after the battle. The men were hunting for shovels to dig a mass grave for burning the corpses. She watched the blaze that was made with her fellow assassins, still watching the necromancer's corpse.

As she turned away from the fire, she noticed a messager boy approaching her. "Orders from the Inquisitor, lady Chief Assassin!"

Without a word, Yana took the letter and opened it. A solo assignment west. There was a small area where strange happenings were being reported. She was to send the assassins back to Tyr's Hand and head out immediately.

"So you and your apprentices killed everything in town. Quite a bit of story just to say that."

Sakuya bowed her head in apology. "I do apologize, my lady, but I felt that you should know what happened here. Even if my memory is unclear."

The servant woman unlatched her spear and set it to the side of the room. "Now, I believe it is time for your supper, my lady." She sat on the bed next to Remilia (who had already taken a seat there). After her lady fed enough to feel comfortable, Sakuya cleaned the excess blood from her arm and mistress' mouth with a cloth. "You should rest, my lady. We still have quite a bit of ground to cover tonight."

Remilia nodded and lay down. Sleeping during the day felt much better, much more natural, than at night. This one would be the most restful sleep she had had since they had left the old house.

When she awoke, Sakuya, was already up with a boiling pot of tea. The early night was quite boring – they only ate and left the house. Remilia decided that they would keep heading east away from Lordaeron.

It had been three hours since they started again. Remilia walked ahead of Sakuya, leading the way into the unknown (for her, at any rate). The land was as lifeless here as the rest that she had seen. She was starting to wonder whether there was any life to be found in the world at all.

She observed the land around her, taking in the sights of the dying trees and ground. The clouds above were thick, meaning she would still be safe even during the daylight. She only hoped that it didn't rain. That was one of the things she had been warned about.

Looking ahead, she was stopped. In the distance, she saw a building, and although she had never been here before, it was familiar to her. Remilia stared at it, trying to remember where she had seen it, drawn towards it...

Remilia yelped as she was suddenly knocked forward. She watched with wide eyes as the ground rushed to meet her. Luckily, her reflexes were her savior. Both of her arms shot out in front of her timely to catch her from completely hitting the ground. A stray rock bit into her palm uncomfortably, but at least her face had been spared. Angrily, she jumped her feet under herself and stood. Remilia turned and hissed, "Watch where you're going!"

Sakuya bowed in apology, a completely serene expression resting on her face. "My deepest apologies, my lady." Straightening, she continued. "May I ask what caused you to halt so suddenly?"

Remilia turned back and looked at the burned out farmhouse in the distance. "I felt something familiar about that building," she said, indicating the ruined structure. "I... I think we need to go there."

"As you wish, my lady," Sakuya agreed, completely unable to see the farm for herself in the night's darkness.

They arrived on the property within a few minutes, passing a broken wagon as they entered the grounds. The farmhouse was interiorly burned with a mostly intact exterior. Across a stretching empty field lay a dark forest, too thick for Remilia to make out any images besides the foliage.

It appeared that a battle had been fought here. The smell of rotten flesh was strong in the air, hanging about in stagnancy. There were four partially armored corpses scattered around the property, all in varying stages of destruction and decay. Whatever had killed these men would have had to be fiercely powerful (and she sure was, wasn't she?). Very little armor actually remained on the corpses, having been torn away by scavengers and undead to grant access to the flesh beneath.

There was something terribly familiar about the entire scene, but Remilia couldn't quite grasp what that something was.

The vampire examined the house more closely. It was small-ish, seeming to have been built with a small family in mind. The roof had collapsed in the middle, assumedly during the fire. A porch stretched out from the back, facing the field. The field itself was completely empty, the grain that should have been growing cleared out. There was a barn on the other side of the house, where Remilia believed the inhabitants would have kept their livestock. A stream flowed past the side of the house. Outside of the field's edge was a hill with an old tree next to it. Under the tree, Remilia could see a simple gravestone.

"My lady?"

Remilia looked at her servant. "Wait out here," she said, setting her pack down and turning to the porch. The wood creaked under her as she stepped onto it as if it had not dealt with strain since the fire. The door to the inside was missing, probably destroyed during the fire. Inside of the house wasn't much better. The entire interior had been charred. A large pile of blackened timber under a hole in the roof separated the house into two. Pieces of furniture were scattered around, fallen over if not burned to uselessness.

Remilia walked into the house, raising ash into the air with each step. She examined the house thoroughly as she approached the timber pile. The roof had collapsed against the pile, leaving only a small gap between the two.

Looking at the pile, she found a sturdy path to crawl over without collapsing it. She reached and grabbed on to the first board of her path. It was hard to keep a hold on the wood despite her strength and balance. The wood had warped from rain and exposure and had developed a kind of film over the surface, making it hard to grip. Carefully, she felt her way to the top, trying to choose her grips carefully. Remilia reached up, almost to the last board...

Suddenly, she was clinging to the pile, pulse racing... well, if she had one, it would be. Her foot had slipped on one of the boards below her, causing it to fall while she had stood on it. She had misjudged its security in the pile, but it was luckily a small one and didn't have an effect on the pile.

"My lady, are you well?!" came Sakuya's worried voice from outside.

"Just a slip! Nothing to worry about," Remilia replied. This seemed to satisfy Sakuya, as she didn't continue.

Letting out her breath, Remilia reached through the hole and wiggled between the roof and ruin pile. The moon peaked through the clouds as she stood, careful to keep her balance. Remilia could see Sakuya standing outside the house. The servant was highly attentive and looked up to see her mistress' silhouette on the roof of the building.

"My lady?" she said, confused as to why her mistress had climbed her way up there.

The clouds had parted, allowing the moonlight to bathe Remilia. With her sensitive vampiric skin, the moon was to her like the sun was to a regular human. That is to say, she could feel heat from it and her skin would redden if she stayed exposed for too long. The advantage for her, however, was that the White Lady didn't put off as much light as the sun, making any effect slower to take hold and easier to avoid.

She looked down, seeing that the pile was easier to climb down from this side as the roof was far clear of the top. Still, Remilia tread carefully as she made her was into the blocked half of the building.

She scanned the room as her feet hit the floor. There wasn't any danger, as this isolated corner of the house was out of the way and difficult to enter. The burnt remains of what Remilia guessed was once a table lay broken against the wall. She saw a broken lamp, probably the cause of the fire that had ruined the house.

Remilia walked forward, covering her nose and mouth in order to protect from the newly risen ash. She might not need to breathe, but it was still uncomfortable to get ash in her throat.

The room had very little in it besides ruined furniture. Disappointed, Remilia climbed back out and down into the main house.

She was walking to leave the house when something laying on a side table near the door caught her eye. Please that she had found something, she grabbed the colorful object.

It was a small singed family painting. Remilia knew none of the four people in the painting. There were two young girls, one about the age she thought herself to be, and and older man and woman. It wasn't a very high quality painting and seemed a few years old past the burns. The painter had put happiness into their expressions, making it a rather warm picture.

Remilia felt some sort of familiarity with the girl with blonde hair. It was strange. She knew that she had never met the girl, but something drew Remilia to her. She had to find her. It was a need.

Remilia took the picture with her as she left the building. "Sakuya," she called, grabbing her servant's attention.

"Yes, my lady?" the woman responded, turning away from the woods.

Acting on her whim, Remilia ordered Sakuya to her side. "Do you know any of the people in this?" the vampire asked, handing the painting to Sakuya.

The woman took it and attempted to make out what was depicted. The moon was still uncovered, which provided enough light for Sakuya to effectively see the painting. "This one is you, my lady," Sakuya said, using her finger to indicate the older of the two girls.

Remilia took the painting back and stared at it. So that was what she looked like. Vampires had no reflections, making it impossible for Remilia to ever see herself. Here she had a painting of her before her transformation. She seemed very... innocent in the painting. Oblivious to the creature she would become. Oh, well. Remilia was quite fond of being a vampire, anyway.

"Would this be a family portrait, then?' she asked.

Sakuya nodded and affirmed that it would most likely be so.

Remilia looked back down at the painting in her hands. "Then I know what we are going to do next." She was going to find her family. Perhaps they would be okay with her being a vampire.

Sakuya bowed, having anticipated her mistress' decision. "As you wish."

Remilia placed the picture carefully into her pack and looked back to Sakuya. "Any idea where we should start looking?" she asked the far more traveled woman.

"Perhaps we could go south and take a boat across the Lordamere to Dalaran. There may be a mage who would be willing to help us, my lady," Sakuya suggested.

Remilia had read about Dalaran in her many books. The old woman had also taught her about it, saying that the magic worked there was unheard of anywhere else in the world. Yes, Dalaran would most likely hold someone with the ability to help.

And so Remilia looked about. "So, which way is south?" Remilia asked her servant.

Sakuya looked up to the night sky. "By the time of year, I suppose south is..." Sakuya followed the now-revealed stars with some method Remilia didn't know. "That way," the woman soon came to conclude, her hand extended to indicate the direction towards the forest on the edge of the field.

Remilia was not exactly happy with that. "We will go around," she announced, not at all willing to go on a tromp through that forest. They would go around until there was a clear path for them. She redonned her pack and placed the picture within it.

The two had started on their new path. They would go south to Dalaran, where someone would be able to tell her where the other girl in the painting could be found. They would find the girl, even if Remilia had to search the entirety of Azeroth for her.

They stepped out of the field when a change in the wind brought a new scent to Remilia's attention. "Wait," she said to stop Sakuya. The vampire raised her head slightly so as to better catch the scent. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the owner. "There's an undead nearby. In the forest," Remilia relayed to the silver-haired woman, who nodded and loosened her spear.

Remilia turned her attention fully to the darkened wood. Her eyes could make out the creature now, but she was certain that Sakuya wouldn't be able to see it from this distance. Remilia took a step forward. "Sakuya, I want to try this one. You stand back and be ready to help, should I need it."

Sakuya glanced at her mistress warily, but did take a few steps back. She never took her hands from her weapon.

Remilia dropped her pack and walked fully back into the field to draw the monster's attention on herself. It worked, as the creature followed her visually until she was in the field. Remilia heard it let out a breath of excitement as it took its first step out of the forest.

The creature stood a little above six feet tall. Its skin was ripped in several places, showing the powerful muscles underneath. The thing moved with power and confidence. A twisted grin split its face in two. Literally. It was obvious that it believed itself too powerful for the young vampire. Remilia answered its smile with her own. She would have to correct the creature.

Remilia shuddered in her bed. A few tears made their way from her eyes. She did not like what was about to happen.

Remilia braced her legs for a charge as the monstrosity walked from the treeline. Her speed would definitely far outmatch it. With one strong push, the vampire was sprinting to the other undead. It didn't even take a second for her to reach her target. A quick strike would start this off-

Krk!

Surprise didn't even have time to register for Remilia as the massive undead whipped her from the ground. Even to her fast-adjusting eyes, the world was a blur as the monster picked her up, spun around, and threw her at an astounding speed back at the house. Splinters of wood were the least of the damage. As Remilia crashed into the house, the entire wall collapsed, sending massive chunks of half-burned wood flying out into the yard.

"Milady!" came Sakuya's worried cry from outside. Remilia barely heard the call. Her head was ringing from the impact. Well, she hadn't expected that. The creature was far faster than anticipated. Remilia pushed herself up slowly. She may have to approach this differently.

Dust and small pieces of broken wood dropped from her dress as she stood. She heard a cracking laugh come from the monster. "Is this all the 'chosen one' has to give? You aren't even worth having been given that gift!" it said. Remilia could swear that there were two voices coming from the creature's mouth.

Remilia tensed from the words. She turned slowly. "What do you mean, 'given'?"

"You are nowhere nearly as powerful as you should be, vampire. The Master should have found a better subject for transformation than a child like you."

Remilia wasn't particularly sure why, but that upset her. Saying she wasn't strong enough to be worthy of being a vampire? What an insult. She didn't even care that the creature knew what happened to her. It needed to die.

Remilia walked out of the now-obliterated house. "I'll be nice to the kid. Lay down now and I'll make sure that your death comes quickly," mocked the undead.

Remilia simply laughed in reply. "You think that a single surprise attack makes you more powerful than a vampire? You, better than a ruler of the night?" Remilia flexed her claws and braced her legs once more. "I will have to teach you to know better than that." Remilia lowered herself, but not for another sprint. Instead, she pushed up, sending her flying up. The force that would normally send her running at an incredible speed was now used to propel her into the air. With a jump like that, she could have just jumped on top of the building.

The other undead simply watched the young vampire sail into the air. No attention to anyone else in the vacinity.

Thrk!

Sakuya loosed her spear across the field. It found its mark in the monster's torso, biting deeply into rotten flesh.

The large creature slowly looked down at the spear protruding from its body. A rough laugh rose from its throat as it reached up to grab the shaft of the spear. A sharp snap was heard as the spear was broken into two. It pulled out the half still imbedded in its chest and let it clatter to the ground. "You should stay out of this, human. You may get youself hurt," the creature said, the twisted smile once again splitting its face.

Remilia used the double distraction to change her fall trajectory to the undead. With a thud, Remilia landed on and knocked over her target. With no time to be wasted, she imediately began tearing apart the creature's already half-rotten face.

Once again, the monstrosity showed its power. All it did in response to the fierce attack made by the vampire was stand up. Dark blood poured from gashes made on its face, but it didn't seem to have any effect on it. Remilia used the creature's chest as a springboard to jump away to a safe distance. She studied her opponent as she landed. It seemed more than normal attacks would work. Of course not. With this fact completely established, Remilia started looking for another method of attack. Before she could come up with another plan, however...

"You really have nothing. Let a true servant of the Lich King take your place." The monster of a former man strode casually towards his opponents, pure confidence emanating from him.

Remilia looked to her now-weaponless servant. Sakuya was desperately looking around for something else to defend herself with. The woman soon decided to use one of the fallen soldiers' weapons. Remilia turned her attention back to the approaching monster. It was both faster and stronger than her, but it seemed to be unable to focus on many targets at once. Sakuya and Remilia would have to coordinate their efforts to stand a chance.

The monster was only a few yards from her now. Remilia saw Sakuya grab one of the discarded swords and turn back to the two undead. The vampire decided she would be the one to grant the distraction.

The hulking creature raised its arm for a strike. Remilia was more prepared for it now, however. She watched as the muscular trunk of an arm swung towards her. Both of the smaller creature's arms flew up to grab the much larger creature's. She felt her legs slightly bend to help compensate for the strong blow.

Remilia was struggling to keep her ground, but she wasn't going to let her opponent know that. Instead, she gave a smile. "You call yourself a 'true servant'? I'd bet you haven't even killed a single person. Me? I've killed more than I can remember." (Technically, this was true)

"You think you've spread more death than such a prime weapon as me? You're amusing. Entire villages have fallen to me alone. All you've done is kill a few footmen and peasants. Hardly the stuff of pride."

Tch. It already knew about her kills. "I'll have you know that I killed a paladin, and would have done another in had I not been interfered with."

"How impressive, eliminating a member of a dying faction. I once stood against an entire banner of Scarlet Crusaders (about thirty crusaders, Sakuya had told Remilia). Not a single one of them made it out alive."

"I fought an entire horde walking corpses and wasn't even touched before they were all re-dead." She was lying now. She needed a little more time.

"You have the strangest idea of things that make you strong. All of your so-called 'exploits' are nothing but the idle playings of children. You are a disappointment."

"A disappointment to someone who holds no importance to me."

"You don't respect your own creator? You truly aren't fit for your title."

The creature lifted its other arm to deliver a finishing blow to the vampire. With a yell, Sakuya leaped onto the creature's back from behind. She held the sword in one hand and held on to the creature with the other. She hacked away at the creature's neck repeatedly with the sword she looted from one of the corpses.

The creature let out a roar of anger and pain as its neck muscles began to separate. It disengaged Remilia to try and remove the new attacker from its back, but its arms were too large to reach her. Remilia took advantage of this situation to tear at its stomach. Rotted entrails spilled out from the gaping wound now dominating its middle body.

Strike after strike Sakuya landed on the now barely-attached neck. The air became filled with the stench of rot and blood, but that wasn't enough to upset the two who were now devestating the massive creature.

The creature lifted one leg and kicked, hitting Remilia's front. The small vampire went flying into the forest from the collision, stopping only after coming into very quick and very violent contact with a tree. To get Sakuya from its back, it jumped so that it would land face up. Sakuya managed to push herself away from the creature before it landed, however, avoiding being smashed beneath it.

The woman sought to distance herself from the monster before it could stand. Remilia was once again pushing herself up from the ground. 'That is the second time today I have been thrown into something,' Remilia thought as she stood back to her feet. Sakuya was going to have to sew this dress up after all the abuse it had suffered in the past few minutes. She looked out into the field to see her opponent standing as well. She watched as its neck slowly grew back together. "Are you serious?!" she exclaimed.

The monstrosity turned its head, which was now returning to an upright position. "How many things are you going to try before you finally realize that it's no use?" It scanned the field, eyes settling on Sakuya. "Perhaps I should force you to surrender through your human ally." Sakuya tensed as she realized that she was the new target.

Remilia was sprinting instantly. The creature turned back to her, a wide swing of its arm just barely missing the short vampire. She answered by delivering a deep gash along its middle. Not to be still for the larger monster, she slid around its side and tore into the back of its leg.

With its leg damaged, the creature collapsed to one knee. Remilia continued by digging her claws into the thing's neck. A sickening rip filled the air. Remilia released her grip, letting the monster's head fall to the ground. Blood flowed as from a fountain from the torn neck. The body slowly slumped forward to make a re-dead lump.

"You do not threaten my employees." The vampire turned and walked to her stunned servant. "We had best continue on," she said.

Sakuya recovered slightly from her shock. "How did you turn that around so quickly, my lady?" she asked.

Remilia gave a grin. "I don't like people threatening to harm those I'm responsible for. Come on. We need to find somewhere to stay before morning."

And so the two started back off on their journey. Behind them the corpse of the monsterous undead lay silently, absolutely defeated.

"Ha!"

Remilia stopped and turned her head to the corpse. A rotten hand reached out and grabbed the severed head. Wet snapping sounds could be heard and it shoved the head onto the stump of a neck.

"That was more like it! You didn't do a good enough job here, though." Remilia watched as the creature's head slowly popped back into place. "I suppose you really aren't worth keeping."

Remilia was starting to become very annoyed. This creature dared taunt her after she literally tore its head off. It attacked her, belittled her, threatened her servant...

Remilia felt something warm bubbling up from within her. The scum thought it was better than her. It took pleasure in insults. The audacity of such a rotten beast.

A dark crimson magic circle appear behind Remilia. Her hearing started to fade out, replaced by the steady thump of a heart she no longer possessed. She no longer knew what she was doing, but she knew she could. She raised her arm and held her hand out towards the regenerating undead.

A flash of emotion crossed the creature's face. "Wait, what?" it said, taken off guard by its opponent. "You shouldn't be able to do that without the Master's blessing!"

The words barely registered with Remilia. All she could hear was the pounding of blood in her ears. Energy gathered around her hand, traveling back across her arm to connect with the circle of magic behind her.

The undead let its head down. "You really are his 'chosen one'. There's no hope for me, then." It raised its head again, a look of hostile resignation resting there. "What are you waiting for? Do it now!" it yelled.

At that moment, a burst of power exploded from behind Remilia. She felt an extreme heat and then a feeling of rushing. Her ears rang from the sudden outburst of energy. She watched as a large, solid beam of what seemed to be blood rushed past her, inches from her face. She could feel the heat radiating from it.

The creature screamed in pain as the beam came into contact with it. Remilia could smell the flesh burning to ash in the half a second after the beam first hit her target. The screams soon stopped.

Remilia felt all the energy released from the attack slam back into her. This caused her to wobble unsurely. However, just some disorientation wasn't a bad deal considering what happened to the monster. All that remained was a cauterized lower body. The rest had been completely obliterated by the heat. They shouldn't have to worry about that beast again.

Remilia felt quite weaker after expending so much energy. She wasn't unwell enough to not be able to walk, though. Sakuya just stared at the truly re-dead corpse, her thoughts kept to herself.

Remilia raised her hand and looked at it. The old woman never told her anything about that.

Deciding to let it fall to the side, Remilia lowered her arm and called her servant back to attention. "If it isn't dead now, nothing we do can kill it. Let's go."

Sakuya nodded, but first took a sheath for her new sword from one of the dead footmen. With her spear broken, she would have to settle for a different method of defense.

After having defeated that undead abomination, the two ran into little resistance. Only one thing of note happened during the next few hours on their way to Lordamere lake.

Remilia was once again leading her night-sightless servant through the dark. Sakuya was rather quiet. Maybe they should talk about what happened at the farm. Eventually.

The sound of cracking twigs caught Remilia's attention. Once again she signaled for her servant to stop. Remilia flexed her claws for possible combat. She searched around, searching for the source of the sound. The left.

Remilia turned to see a large figure step from behind a tree. It was astounding it had managed to get this close without her hearing. However, what was standing there was unexpected.

A large, green skinned creature stood there. Two small tusks peeked from its mouth. Its arms and legs were almost as large as tree branches. Without a doubt, this was the largest natural creature she had ever lain eyes on.

'An orc,' she thought. She had read much about them in her books, but had never actually seen one. In fact, this was the first time she had seen something other than undead or humans.

According to her books, orcs were high aggressive creatures who would go into a rage at the littlest provocation. Remilia kept her guard up.

The orc seemed just as wary as she. It slowly advanced, trying to keep a good distance from the two humans. There was no desire for conflict here, only continuing on their separate ways.

Remilia never once let herself relax until the orc was fully out of sight. "It has passed, my lady," came Sakuya's voice from behind her.

Remilia straightened her back and retracted her claws. She started without a word.

They soon came across another village. There was a major difference between this village and the others they had been in, however. It lay on the edge of a massive, mile-spanning lake. "This is the Lordamere lake, my lady."

Remilia stared with awe at the sight. The sound of water was one she was unaccustomed to. This was the most beautiful sight Remilia had ever beheld (until later in her life, that is).

The village itself was far less impressive. There were only a few shacks and a small dock. A path wound through the village and off into the distance. This must have been a fishing village. A few boats were still tied to the dock.

Remilia looked to the sky. A light blue had began to fade into the darkness, signaling a fast approaching morning. "Let's rest here for the day," she said, already picking out somewhere to stay. Unfortunately, every building was just as run down as the others.

She chose one at random. It was a small little home with very little furnishment. It wasn't much, but it was enough for them to stay in. Sakuya fed her lady before both slipped off to sleep.

Remilia's eyes slowly opened. She felt that the sun had retreated from the sky. Sakuya was already there to help her prepare for her night.

The vampire rose from her blankets. Her outfits were all lain out, awaiting her choice. She decided upon a pink dress and cap.

Her dreams had been quite eventful. The memory searching she had done yesterday was beginning to even follow her into sleep. She had a crawling feeling that it would continue to do so until she caught up to now. Sighing, she turned to Sakuya by the door. It was time to start the daily schedule.

Keshi: I'm probably way up there in the list of bad-update time keepers. Chapter 3's finally here, though! The fight against papa doesn't quite feel right. I wonder if I'm losing my bloody battle sense. I thank everyone who actually reads this. It makes me happy to entertain someone. Look forward to the (eventual) release of the next chapter!