The son of the devil

Anguish

The night was long while he was twirling around in his bed, his thoughts buzzing inside his head. He didn’t know what to do with the information he overheard. He wasn’t expecting to find out something like that. Even though he knew deep down he had no right to feel like that, he still felt betrayed by everyone. He felt betrayed in the most bizarre way. He felt like he had been cuckolded by himself, even though he reached the conclusion he was the one to betray their trust, him not being the person the others thought he was. His ego was still hurting by the thought his future wife was already expecting a baby with him, even if it wasn’t him who did it at the time. The previous owner of his body was responsible and he was there now to collect the pieces and live with the consequences.

When morning finally arrived, he got out of bed without being able to close an eye all night. He felt his head throbbing in pain and it was heavy on his shoulders. His feet were moving in slow motion while he was trudging through the room in search of his clothes. A knock at his door made him jump. He plastered a smile on his lips trying to hide his twisted feeling. He opened the door while still holding his shirt in hand. His pants and boots were on.

Tanase followed by the others entered the room. He tried not to frown while passing his eyes over the one he thought was a man and the real Dan. He still couldn’t stop his heart rate from going up.

He turned his back to them while ignoring the angry look thrown his way by the real Dan. He started buttoning his shirt in silence.

The puppy finally made his presence known in the room with a bark. He crouched while wincing from the combined headache and chest pain. He passed his palm over his head and bed and a real smile appeared on his face seeing the real show of affection Mutt was revealing. Its tail never stopped moving while its body pressed against him.

Finally he stood back up, finishing to button up his shirt. When he put on the red gambeson, the others looked at him in surprise. When he reached for the chainmail, Tanase helped him in silence under the others alarmed eyes. The silence continued while he turned and lifted his arms away from his body to make it easier to put the belt holding his sword around his hips. The chainmail was hanging heavy on his shoulders, but once it was tied around his midsection, it was better. He checked his sword by drawing it a bit out of the scabbard and then letting it slide back in. At that moment the others couldn’t stand the silence anymore. The first one to break the silence was the real Dan.

“Your highness, what do you intend to do by wearing that equipment?”

His tone was meek, but Vlad felt his anger rise. Who was he to ask about his choice in clothes? He closed his eyes and tried to get his emotions under control. By doing so, he missed the worried exchange of looks between Tanase and Diana. When he finally opened his eyes, his feelings were mainly under control. He muttered through his gritted teeth. But some anger was still palpable.

“I have my own intentions about what I intend to do. If you don’t like me keeping some of my secrets, you are free to leave.”

With that, he turned around and took a pouch which he hanged by the belt. A knife followed it. Then he bent and took the puppy in his arms. Without another word he walked out the door ignoring the others.

The three of them exchanged alarmed looks between each other, caught by surprise by the abrupt manner in which he behaved this morning. Tanase felt his face, trailing with his fingers the lines while he looked at the door. Diana was frowning while she looked around the room. Dan was seething inside. The earlier words felt like slaps to his own cheeks and that fueled the earlier anger.

Finally the three left the room while Tanase locked it behind them. When they went to look for him, he was nowhere in sight. When they went to the stables, they found his horse missing.

Asking around, they finally learned he left riding towards the end of the village on the road leading towards the manor. Dan and Diana hurried back to their own rooms and ten minutes later they returned wearing similar equipment as Vlad did. Tanase was waiting impatiently for them while holding their horses prepared. They immediately jumped in the saddle and took off in a hurry to reach him quickly.

Vlad was riding at a trot while Mutt on the saddle in front of him was whimpering. His thoughts were twisting around in his head and didn't know what he should do with what he knew. Should he confront them or just ignore them? But if he was going to confront them, what could he tell them? Tell them that he heard that his fiancee dressed as a man to be close to the father of her child? That the father died in battle and another one took his place in the same body? How would they react to something like that?

The puppy barked, waking him from his daze, making him look around to see where he was at the moment. His eyes looked up and saw a procession moving slowly in front of him.

Nobody noticed him, as everyone was looking forward at the girl dressed in white following the cart carrying a heavy coffin. Their whispers reached his ears while he slowed down, descending from the back of his horse and holding it by the rein, started walking alongside them. His presence was finally acknowledged when his puppy barked being unhappy remaining alone on the horse.

The people from his vecinity turned their heads looking at him and measuring him up. They seemed to be put off by his gear, but not enough to stop their curiosity and will to gossip. He dodged their questions about who he was, but told them he heard about what was going to happen and intended to witness it with his own eyes. His eyes darted around, but they returned invariably to the girl leading the procession and saw her slumped shoulders and lowered head. He looked and saw her shoulders rising and falling and realized she was crying. Probably for the dead one or for her own fate, he wasn't sure yet.

They walked like this for about half an hour until they reached a slow slope up a hill on top of which he could see a white church. And close to the church were people waiting for them. He looked more carefully and saw metallic glints shining in the sun that started rising from the mist that was dispersing. He felt his heart starting to beat faster and felt butterflies in his stomach. Then the bladder made itself felt and he slowed down to relieve himself. He never understood why he always had the urge to pee when he was about to do something stupid, like he was sure about to do next.

He had some trouble after a tree trying to do it without pissing all over himself. The chainmail kept sliding down while his breeches were as difficult as possible to be undone. He finally caught the down side of the chainmail and propped it up by sliding it inside his belt.

He pulled at the cords that were holding his breeches up and when he finally succeeded in loosening them up, he sighed with his eyes closed while letting out the steaming stream of liquid that hit the base of the tree. He was concentrating on his relief, so he didn't notice the three riders stopping beside his horse. His eyes snapped open when he heard a yelp close to him.

He turned his head and looked at Diana staring open mouthed at him, her face glowing red. He turned around and tried to cover himself up but ended up pissing on his own hand in the process. It started dripping on the tip of his boots while he shook his hand in embarrassment while cursing under his breath. What a perfect way to get (re)acquainted with each other. He barely heard her whispered apologies. He only nodded while trying not to scream in shame.

Ten minutes later, when he gathered enough courage and after wiping himself off with some leafs, he walked back to face the embarrassment head on.

Her face was crimson red while averting her eyes. His face was the same color when he mumbles what could be considered a greeting. While he went back into his saddle, he noticed all three were wearing gear meant for war. Their chainmails were glinting in the sun and their swords were clanking against their saddles as they rode in silence.

He was ashamed by the earlier incident, but he started to put it behind him when he remembered why he was there. Slowly, his shame started to give way to anger and anguish that he lost precious time while a girl's life stood in balance.