The Heart of Everything

The skies were gray with ashes, smoke sheltered the earth. Destruction surrounded our campsite, death lingering around. Corpses and limbs, bodies in whole and in pieces, covered the battleground, as if the ground was made of those disgusting intestines. Blood had recently washed the grounds brutally, as it would in the near future; perhaps a day later, perhaps an hour later. I wasn’t certain, but I knew it would be soon.

Our enemies’ goal was simple---my people’s downfall. As the princess of vampires, I could not, and would not allow it to happen; hence I was leading a part of the army, to defend ourselves. We’d battled for years, yet now, we were cornered by the mutts, fallen prey into their pathetic tricks. Our vanity had blinded us, ruling us over caution and logic, leading us into the trap like a moth to a flame. The very mistake might cost us our lives.

I heard claws scratching the soil, feet stomping toward my army, getting closer and closer. Each step brought fear and excitement into my heart, as they represented both the milestone of getting nearer to victory, or to our doom. The werewolves howled, sending chills down my spine. There was no time to waste, no time to lose. The enemies were coming down the hills from behind, advancing in waves.

‘Ready yourselves,’ I shouted, baring my fangs along with my bodyguards. My riders readied their swords while archers prepared the arrows. I took a deep breath to calm myself, though it was useless for me to do so for I did not need air as the livings did, a mere habit of the remaining human side of me before the transformation.

‘Three, two, one,’ I counted down, dashing towards the werewolves as they ran towards us. Archers fired the arrows, falling like the light rain which was showering us and our opponents alike, failing to wash away our sins and guilt. Weapons---ancient as the spears, to the modern guns---dealt immeasurable damage to both sides.

The killing had started.

‘Continue searching!’

‘Yes, your highness,’ the soldier gave me salute before executing the order.

‘Damn it,’ I cursed, a new thing I’d learnt since I began to join the army. ‘What do the mutts have in their sleeves this time?’ Pacing around, I thought of everything that was possible.

The werewolves suddenly retreated during the battle. Surely, it wasn’t because we had overwhelmed them. Our forces were equal; none was getting close to victory. We were evenly matched. We had been searching all night long but there was no trace to be found. It was like they had vanished, but I knew they were around.

They are coming closer, my mind warned me, yet there was no physical proof. I could not even smell their foul scent in the air.

Time is running out now, a whisper echoed. From the hills behind.

‘What…?’ The warning made no sense to me. There was nothing near my army, not even a single soul. But I couldn’t relax, not when time was fleeting, when a second was too much to lose. I needed a plan, and I knew exactly what it was.

I had to take down the leader.

If I still had a heartbeat, it would be lightning-fast. I had dreaded the day to see him again, ever since the incident, or the misunderstanding of the faithful day. Nothing was the same, everything was broken between us, and no amends could be made.

If only…

‘The werewolves!’

I sprinted to the direction of the alarm, scared and shaken. I had not come up with a plan yet, and the werewolves appeared abruptly. What were they aiming? If their plan was to confuse us, they were doing a pretty good job of it. I pulled myself together.

‘Archers, fire!’ I delivered the order as soon as the werewolves came into view.

Second time.

They had disappeared again. Their strategy was strange, which gave me more reasons to be wary of them.

The sun was rising. Its glaring light prickled our skins, though we would not burst into flames as myths and legends spoke of. The sunlight merely brought us irritation and disturbance.

The screams had gone. No more screams of pain, or shouts of triumph. We were too tired to do anything, too weak, yet we must press on. Too many had fallen, only few still stood tall. A few of them lost some of their limbs, most were intact. The weapons were abandoned during the course of battle for they proved to be no better than our fangs or spells. Humans’ inventions were of no use.

I glanced at the remaining forces. Was this the ending of what we had begun? We had waged war at the cost of millions’ lives. This was not the first time our races had fought each other. Would we learn from our mistakes and remember what we had done wrong?
The leader. They had lost a leader back then.

It became clear to me. There were slim to none chances for us to carry on any longer, yet if I could make it to their leader and assassinate him…

I shuddered at the mental image of blood dripping down from his neck, pooling on the marble floor. It made me hesitant, and made me reconsider the choice, to find an alternative solution. Despite my unwillingness, I knew there wasn’t another answer for this.

It must be done.

Listen to me! I reached out to my soldiers telepathically, informing them my plan to assassinate the leader.

The plan of desperation.

I slipped through the defense skillfully, dodging every attack. I could not misuse any energy I had inside of me, I needed to spare as much as possible. It would be a difficult task to kill him, yet I must accomplish it. I must not fail my people.

And those who were sacrificing themselves now.

My plan was perfect for assassination, but suicidal for those who covered me. They all trusted me, believed in me, so they weren’t afraid to die for the mission. I regretted immediately when I told them the plan, I was wrecked with guilt and sorrow. I wondered would it be better to lie to them. It was cruel for me to let them know they were not going to see the next dusk, but I only saw determination in their eyes. No remorse, no pain.

It was all coming down right now. From the nightmare we had created, I wished this was not real and be awaken somehow. This was Hell for us, as if this was the eternal torment. None of us were going to make it out, none would survive.

Not even me.

I slashed through the werewolves who were guarding the door, and kicked it open. The werewolf---in his human form---sat at the back of the room, gazing at me with puzzlement and detestation, which soon changed into glee.

‘I’ve come to kill you,’ I announced, my voice strong and firm.

‘Have you now, Princess Sophia?’ He looked at me with amused eyes, a smirk tugged lightly on his lips.

Glaring, I headed to him slowly. He made no acknowledgement to my approach, sitting lazily on his throne with a hand supporting his left cheek. My ruby orbs drank the sight of him, from his messy brown hair, to his amber eyes, and muscular body.

He had aged since I last saw him. He grew more matured, older. His face was not the flawless sculpture I memorized by heart, there were dark rings around his eyes, and wrinkles too. His garments was an average commander’s armor, consisting of a helmet, chest plate, arm and shin guards, along with a sword strapped to his back and a shield by his side. They were of plain silver color---quite ironic as the humans thought silver could hurt the werewolves---without any fancy designs, unlike mine.

I stopped a few yards away from him, staring at him with an unreadable expression. I had also learnt how to mask my emotions in these years. Showing any emotions could be a fatal mistake for anyone.

The battle outside continued, as well as the massacre, stirring the sadness I had buried. Howling mixed with snarling filled the room, coming from the opened window. The white curtains were stained with blood, tainting the innocence.

‘The end has come, Max,’ I said.

When we started killing…