The Unforgivable War

“Vincent?”

“Vincent?”

“Vincent I know you’re awake because you just moved your nose!”

He heard his name ring in his ears followed by the flicking of his nose.
‘Aren’t I supposed to be dead? Was I not just shot but that dirty son of a--?’

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt an ocean of water, what seemed like, dunked onto his face. He awoke and sat up promptly as he choked the water out of his lungs; which only made him choke harder as to the fresh wound in the center of his abdomen. He moaned out loud, hoping to cease some of the pain that so brutally entered his body.

As he regained his composure, he sucked in a few breaths so he could manage to say, “Alright, I demand to know who just drowned me in water!”

“Well you would not wake dear, so I resorted to the last thing! I apologize but I thought you were dead.”

Isie managed to suck every bit of love from him as she said this. He could never resist her, and he was starting to regret it. He reached out for her, as the previous day’s events began to settle in. She came by his side and carefully bestowed a kiss on his warm lips. He still couldn’t believe what Thomas did to her, and as long as he lived he would make Thomas regret it fully. As the moment was savored, he realized that William was in their presence and didn’t want to be rude so he kindly broke away.

“Oh … well I’m sorry Isie, but you know how much I hate being drowned first thing in the morning.”

He said this as sarcastically as he could as to lighten the mood up a bit. Still holding his stomach, he took a quick glance at the room he was in, and he realized that he was in his bedroom. Yet, something else was in the room as well. Although it was only Isie and William what was among them astonished him further. Some families from the plantation must’ve wanted to see if he was alright, so they dropped by with...food! He hadn’t seen so many bowls and tubs of food before in his life. He was near tears at the thought of all this warm hospitality from his fellow co-workers.

“Isie, why --?”

Before he could finish his sentence, Isie had already prepared a speech for him so as to tell him as soon as he woke.

“Well my dear.” It seemed she couldn’t hide her excitement either. “A few folks that also work down at the plantation were amazed at your words of defense towards me. They were deeply hurt at what happened so they thought that this would help you heal faster!”

“But why is it --?”

Yet another question, it seemed that Isie wanted to answer.

“Well some food had to be stored in here for a while because there isn’t any more room in the kitchen.”

“There’s more?”

He was astounded at how much food was given to them, all for a few words of defense. He was deeply honored, and grateful at what was displayed before him. Realizing then that he was passed out, he wondered what day it was or how long he was unconscious.

“Umm, do you know how long I was out?”

“You were out for quite a while, mate… a week to be exact.”

William had finally made his presence known to Vincent. At looking upon him, Vincent couldn’t turn away from him. His skin appeared illumine in the dim-light of the room, and he looked as though he lost so much weight without appearing skeleton-like. His hair was slicked back, presenting a mysterious aura about him, and he must have grown 5 inches. His eyes, oh his eyes! They were like caramel, yet with a tint of black, all of it adding to the inexplicable presence. William was a handsome man before, but now he was… stunning it was almost chilling.

“Wi-William… what’s happened to you?”

He couldn’t keep from sputtering how his name. It was astonishing at how much he had changed since that day at the plantation. What else could have happened while he out cold?
William then looked over at Isabella, where it seemed they conversed silently. She then looked toward him, blew him a kiss, which caused him to flush in the face madly, and leaving the room. William closed the door behind her and brought up a chair next to Vincent soon after. Now he could have a perfect view at his changed friend. He hoped it wouldn’t be too hard not to stare.

“Vincent, not all is the same from that day at the plantation. This might be hard to believe, but you must accept it. I’ve told Isie and she has no problem with it, so long as she is one of us in the end.”

He was confused. What the bloody hell was he talking about? Wait… maybe William will finally tell him the truth.

“William, how much could change within in a week? If you’re going to tell me, tell me from the start. I’m already confused as it is.”

They both laughed off his comment and the tone was serious once more. William began again.

“Well, after you were shot that day in the field. I had got there seconds after and believe me, I was infuriated. To think that Thomas could have such order over my plantation, it shocked me. So I did what I had to do. I sent him to be hung.”

He was about to applaud William for what he did, but was hushed. Obviously, William had a lot to say so he would save the gratitude for some other time.

“After he was hung, I received a letter from an anonymous person who claimed to be from the sacred castle in the town of Transylvania. It seemed that they were peeved at the death of Thomas so they claimed war with us and Rome. It turns out that Thomas was born to be a peace treaty between Transylvania and us. Apparently, the government arranged which is why we never knew about it. It was said, that if the peace treaty was harmed in any way or killed, war would be brought upon everyone, but this isn’t your typical war with pistols and cannons.”

“Vincent, The Unforgivable War, is the most lethal of all wars. The immortals are called upon, and sent out to fight for their country. Whoever wins the battle is rewarded with a free pass to roam… and eat wherever they desire. So now we’re taking action. We have decided to “change” our strongest men and prepare them for what is to come. If we lose this war, we face losing everything we have come to love and know. Vincent… I was changed so I could help fight in this war. Now it’s your turn.”