Hi there. New chappy for your consideration. This one tries to cover more of a longer period of time to move things along faster; the previous ones have focused on individual days at a time but there's no need for that anymore.

Lyrics property of 30H!3, Bad Guy. (From the Iron Man 3 soundtrack, AJADGHDFGJHDG)

Now there once was a man, Who was tall and handsome

The best shot in the land, Not to mention good at dancing

A hit with the ladies, A heartthrob with the daughters

Cool with the guys, A regular Roy Rogers

He was a man of his word, And he did what he said

That is, until an outlaw shot him dead

The trek back to Vampire Mountain was a slow-motion nightmare. We were moving at a fraction of the pace we'd done before, and doubled up on our rest time. I normally wouldn't have complained about that, but I just wanted to get back safely. Everyone was either carrying a person, a corpse, or supplies. It wasn't fun anymore. I would've given anything for Gavner to pull another stupid prank to lighten the mood but judging by the dull frown his face had adopted full-time, I doubted he'd try that again for the rest of the century. Nobody laughed, we barely even spoke. When there was conversation, it consisted of terse musings about how our betrayal had come about, and more importantly who was behind it. We still had our Vampaneze prisoners, kept sedated and chained. We didn't communicate with them, or vice-versa. They were fed the minimal of what they needed to survive. All of us were hungry and weak, our supply of fresh blood was gone and a feeding detour would've added a week to our ETA at Vampire Mountain.

But even worse, Arrow was right: the Vampaneze had fought dirty and a lot of us had been poisoned during the fight, with a disease passed by blood. It had been agreed upon that the only way the Vampaneze would've had time to prepare it if they had warning that we were coming; even minutes would've been enough. It became apparent in the days after the attack as men started feeling the effects of what appeared to be a terrible flu. But it was more than that. The senior Generals told us how there'd been rumours that the Vampaneze had isolated a strain of Vampire flu and made it even more potent. What the Vampires didn't know was that their experimentation had already been weaponized. We didn't know how they'd managed it, but there was speculation they'd forced the hand of human scientists to do their bidding. But that was an issue to tackle on another raid. At least a dozen of our company was feeling the effects. Two had died. Most were still able to walk, but some were barely clinging to life and they had to be carried. Every night I sent a prayer of thanks to the Vampire gods that none of my close friends, or myself for that matter, had been afflicted.

Mika was in the worst shape; he'd sustained a formidable head injury in the battle, as well four broken ribs and a lacerated chest. And now deadly sickness on top of that. He ran a brutally high fever and had become too weak to stand. A human would've been long dead. Even for one of the toughest Vampires in the world, this was critical. A shaken, paranoid, but physically unharmed Arrow allowed nobody else to tend to his colleague until the traitor was revealed. The turmoil had seemingly flipped a switch in the tattooed prince, turning him into an entirely different person than the gentle-natured man who'd befriended me in the mountain. He did nothing to mask his mistrust; he snapped at anyone who set a toe out of line and glared us down as though expecting us to spontaneously turn into Vampaneze. His anxiety was fuelled by lack of sleep. Every time we tried to find an abandoned building in which to rest for the day, he insisted it had to have only one entrance. Once inside, he guarded that entrance fiercely.

"Why doesn't he get one of the Generals to stand guard?" I whispered to Gavner one night as we got ready for bed. "He looks like he's going to fall over any second."

"He only really trusted Grayson. They say he was on the verge of nomination." Gavner shrugged sadly. "And Mika obviously, but he's kind of… indisposed at the moment."

"Arrow doesn't trust. Anyone. Ever." Arra hissed, hearing our conversation.

"We might as well all be Vampaneze to him right now." Larten contributed.

"Then why hasn't he decapitated us in our sleep?" Kurda sniffed.

"Whoever the traitor is, has got it coming." Adrien Black added ominously. "They're not going to let him go quickly or honourably. Especially if Mika dies."

"If?" Nero Varland snorted. "When. He's not going to make it back to the mountain."

"Don't you ever fucking say that again." Arra reacted before anyone else could process the conversation. She punched him in the gut so hard his wheezing was the last thing I heard before I finally dropped into an uneasy but well-appreciated slumber.

###

There was no jubilation in the mountain when we returned. Arrow had relayed the details of the misfired raid to Paris through their mental link and the entire mountain knew we'd been devastated. We didn't get a party -not like we wanted one- but we did get a feast and a hero's welcome. Vampires lined the main hall as we trooped in, making the Death's Touch sign. A group headed by Seba Nile immediately surged forward to whisk Mika off to the hall of recovery, despite the dark prince's feeble protests. Our prisoners were put in lockup, and our dead were turned over to the Guardians of the Blood to be prepared for burial. Once that had been attended to, the remainder of us congregated briefly in the Hall of Princes.

"I will speak with each of you in the coming days." Paris addressed us collectively. "Until then, eat drink and rest. You have all performed admirably in a disadvantaged state, and I commend your courage."

"Not all of you." Arrow corrected with a snarl, voice hoarse and hollow. "One of you is a traitor. One of you is going to be executed; your death is as sure as that of your brothers-in-arms who you willingly betrayed to the Vampaneze."

"Arrow!" Paris hissed warningly. But his colleague seemed to not hear.

"We interrogate the prisoners tomorrow. And then we'll know." Arrow finished icily.

"That. Is. ENOUGH." Paris barked with surprising aggression. "You are dismissed from this hall. Sleep until your head is on straight, and do not speak to me till then!"

Arrow stared his fellow prince down mutinously, but apparently had enough sense not to argue with his senior. He stood abruptly and swept from the room without a backwards glance.

###

The funerals were held the next night. Every vampire in the mountain was in attendance; even most of our sick and injured had managed to appear.

The six dead bodies lay on individual pyres, and on one side stood a tall candle that I knew immediately had been placed in honour of the lost Serrano. Paris and Arrow stood behind the pyres, waiting for everyone to arrive and looking around sombrely. Mika was nowhere to be seen.

Standing in the crowd I saw Alexine for the first time since we returned, and I felt a twinge of guilt that I hadn't sought her out to give her my condolences. I had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, she was my friend. But she looked like a different person than the bratty, spoiled, self-obsessed mostly-human I'd met weeks ago. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she wasn't wearing a trace of makeup. Her hair looked unbrushed and unwashed, and she was wearing a simple black dress and plain shoes. And for the first time that I'd ever seen, she was standing alone.

"Hi Kade." she greeted my hoarsely, but not without a trace of a smile.

"How are you doing?" I asked her, a little hoarse myself.

"I don't know." she admitted, running a hand through her tangled hair. By the look of it, she'd been doing that a lot. "I've been better."

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, enfolding her in an awkward hug. I'm not a cuddly person by any means, but Alexine looked so miserable it made my heart stir sympathetically.

"I took him for granted." she croaked unexpectedly as I relinquished the embrace. "I was so awful to him and now he's dead."

I couldn't bring myself to agree with her, no matter how correct she was.

"I didn't know him well, but he was a great warrior. He just wanted you to be happy." I replied, carefully sidestepping her statement.

"He deserved better." she murmured, and I by the grace of the gods I was saved from replying by commencement of the funeral. Usually vampires prefer to die without a lot of fuss, but when a group falls together in battle the clan likes to gather and pay their respects collectively.

"As you know, we lost too many great men in the past weeks. Five respectable soldiers, a most noble General, and a student who had barely begun to carve an identity for himself." said Paris mournfully.

"This loss has dealt a crushing blow to our army, no doubt. But we will rise from the ashes of defeat like I know they would expect us to." Arrow added heavily, eyes just as cold as last I'd seen him. "Brannan Smith, Findlay Barness, Luke Ivor, Greer Wade, Brock Lohman, Grayson Hadley, and Serrano Fiera, rest in paradise knowing you will be avenged. Even in death may they be triumphant!"

We repeated the words and made the Death's Tough sign as the two princes carefully lit each of the pyres. As the bodies silently burned, I watched the white smoke rise to the ceiling like souls making their way to Paradise.

###

Alexine left the next day. She didn't tell anyone, just got up and joined a small group of vampires who were leaving the mountain for some city somewhere. We found out when tried coaxing her out of her cell to come get a meal and when we received no reply after 10 minutes Arra broke her door down in frustration. The biggest shocker was that everything had been left as it was. Her crates were still overflowing with all those luxurious clothes, and the makeup on her vanity was undisturbed. On her bed, there was a note:

Dear Arra, Kaydee, and whoever else,

I knew you'd break down my door eventually. You've probably figured out by now that I've left the mountain. Sorry I didn't come say goodbye. I'm going to the city, I need a different life for a while. I hope to see you again. Until then, help yourself to everything in this room.

And Arra: please make sure you wear a dress at least once a month. Larten's a sucker for them.

Much love to you both,

xo, Alexine

"That bitch." Arra muttered under her breath. I looked up from the note; there were desolate tears streaming freely from her eyes.

"Yeah, I know." I whispered.

###

It was another 3 days before we resumed training. I'd never been more relieved to get to work. Anything to keep myself from focusing on the raid and it's aftermath.

"Alright, break off into pairs." Vanez ordered, striding briskly into the room minutes after we'd gathered. "The generals have reported to me that all of you fought well on the raid. But if we've learned anything, it is that well isn't good enough. When you're dealing with forces of such a nature, you must be relentless. Does everyone understand?"

There was a general murmur of assent, and Vanez's tough face broke into a smile.

"That being said, we are proud of you for making the best of unfavourable circumstances and I do say that on behalf of the Princes and the Generals who you are much less likely to ever squeeze a compliment from. Now I won't name names -Kayden- but I would like to remind all of you that castrating your opponent should probably be saved for situations of absolute emergency."

I felt my face go redder than Larten's shirt but I held my head high.

"He was a pervert, and that was unfortunately the highest place on his body I could reach or else I assure you my knife would've gone through his heart." I huffed.

"Easy, Kade." Vanez grinned. "I also heard you managed to hold off 3 Vampaneze at once. Very admirable."

"For like 30 seconds, at the most. And they were clumsy." I rebuffed awkwardly.

"Nevertheless, you did well. All of you. Which is not to say none of you have room for improvement! Now get to work."

###

Vanez worked us hard for 3 hours solid before allowing us to head up to the hall of Khledon Lurt for a refreshment break. I love training but I welcomed the break and I sure wasn't the only one. We were all sweaty, bruised, and generally gross. I'd sparred with Gavner, Arra, Nero, and Kurda over the course of the session. None of us were fighting to win, just going through the motions and allowing the one-eyed games master to correct and inspire us.

Gavner and I were the first to head back to the Hall of Games. We were talking about something irrelevant and I almost didn't hear the voices coming from within as I went to open the massive double doors. I paused to press my ear against the wood and motioned for Gav to do the same.

Two voices. Both familiar. Neither happy.

"So you're telling me Paris kicked you off the interrogation." I heard Vanez say with an exasperated sigh.

"Not kicked off." Arrow's voice growled back. "He told me to go... take a break"

"That sounds like kicked off to me."

"I was handling it!"

"Oh, were you now? Because killing someone who might hold valuable information doesn't sound like a situation handled."

"It was an accident."

"Really? It didn't occur to you that flinging someone headfirst into a wall might cause their neck to break and render them completely useless? I know forethought isn't your strong suit, but interrogation and punishment are not one in the same. It's a fine line, and when it comes to the Vampaneze I don't think you know the difference."

"You sound like Paris." Arrow grumbled after a tense pause.

"Good." Vanez snorted. "He's right."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually. It's your love for your clan that makes you a great prince, Arrow. Not your hatred for the Vampaneze."

This time the pause was so long that Vanez spoke again:

"Sarah wouldn't want-"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT SARAH! Don't you ever say her name." Arrow snarled. Judging by his reaction, Sarah had been the name of his wife. I wouldn't have wanted to be Vanez at that moment, but his voice remained calm as he took the outburst in stride.

"Alright then." the games master replied drily. "What is it about?"

"After everything they've done to us, one of our own has betrayed us to them. I want to kill him, but more than that I just want to understand why." The strength in the prince's voice had diminished to almost nothing.

"If there's a reason, you'll find it." Vanez's tone was comforting this time. "You don't know how to lose."

"I'm losing everything when I thought I already had." Arrow countered icily. "Three days ago we burned the corpse of my most trusted general. One of our Princes, my best friend, is dying."

This time it was Vanez who was silent. I felt awful for listening in on a moment so personal, so vulnerable… but I couldn't tear myself away.

"I'm going to destroy everyone who had a hand in this. The poisoning, the betrayal, everything. They'll all die. Vampaneze or otherwise." Arrow continued flatly.

Finally Vanez broke his silence:

"It must be exhausting to carry so much hatred for so many."

Arrow sighed; I don't think I'd ever heard a more miserable sound.

"You have no idea."

Now there's whiskey in the water, And blood in the creek

The outlaw has a glass eye and a scar on his cheek

The town hall's a saloon, And the women are whores

No house is allowed to put locks on the doors

He dreamt he was a king, safe in his bed

That's when another outlaw shot him dead

Please review. I haven't written DS in literally two years, and nice words keep me going :) thanks for reading.

rxx