No one in the area actually knew what happened to the century bride after the tribute observance was complete. Rumors and discussions came and went, but no one in Dalmar actually really knew what happened to the new bride chosen by Count August. Growing up, Catherine often wondered about that too. She never understood how this tribute was of any benefit to the lord. It was a fact that he would always outlive every bride he chose. In fact, he’d be lucky if she even lasted until the next was chosen but that had never happened as far as Catherine knew.
Moreover, Dalmarn families couldn’t be anything but distraught to lose their beloved daughters if theirs was the one chosen, never to see or hear from them again. “What a strange feeling it must be to have a loved one there with you one day, then gone the next”, she thought to herself.
Of course, she acknowledged, the Count protected them fiercely and held dominion over their lands, but what precedent ordained the sacrifices? Or was this merely a price demanded of them by a madman? Catherine’s questions and objections on the tribute bride subject were endless. She had been wondering about this for most of her life. She had just turned 23 a few months back so it already felt a lifetime to her that she had been wondering about every fact concerning the festival.
Just a few years back, about four or five actually, she had started to gather support not only from the younger members of the principality, but a few of the elders as well in her underground battle against the entire festival and the custom of the tribute bride. Eventually she stopped convening meetings in the dead of night and publicly made it known how she felt about these centennial tribute sacrifices. Over time many others joined in to champion her cause, discussing strategies for how they might bring forth the change they sought.
Finally after much deliberation, it seemed the principality might actually reject the tradition and petition Count August to accept a different offering. Many of the elders, however, vehemently opposed changing the tradition. Then the tragedies in Valfrid and Sylvan happened. People were slaughtered, villages destroyed, and the people of Dalmar suddenly realized just how lucky it was to have a lord and protector as kind and protective as Cornelius was watching over them. Support for Catherine wavered as fast the leaves on autumn trees. While Catherine continued to reject the offering, most others accepted that one woman’s sacrifice was well worth the protection of their entire town.
Tale of the Century Bride Book One: Chapter 5
When the royal officer of Dalmar opened up the volunteer list six months prior to the official selection ceremony, Catherine had stomped out of the village in a huff, disgusted at the entire process and the thought of the festival proceeding on as though nothing would happen to at least one girl. Grabbing her crossbow and a quiver full of bolts before she left her house, she sought refuge in the forest just outside of town, in a series of hills and valleys that she knew like the back of her hand. She figured that so long as she remained far away from the village, that the chances of other girls stepping up and volunteering to fill the quota of seven were more an actuality.
No one was allowed to petition the ceremony. In the event that no one volunteered to become the Counts wife, or not enough women signed up as a tribute, then the royal officer would use his discretion in observation of the most attractive single women the village had to offer that fit into the strict requirements. The quota of seven would be filled one way or another, she knew that as sure as she knew her own name. And if the girls on the list refused to leave their homes on the day of the selection for any reason, then the royal officer was permitted, upon report to Count August, to infiltrate the homes of the selected tribute bride candidates, forcing them out into the town square against their will. And even if that failed, Count August would simply make a home visitation, observing each girl in her home before making his choice.
As far as Catherine was concerned, the only way to escape the selection process was to remove herself from the entire pool of candidates. So she justified the outing this day by needing to hunt and possibly even gather medicinal herbs for her mother’s apothecary. It was not uncommon for her to make these hunting trips since her father was no longer alive. On more than one occasion she would leave home and be gone for several hours or most of the day. But she knew that if she spent much more time that her mother might worry.
On this particular excursion she spent a historic two days by herself out in the forested wilderness. The first day passed uneventfully. She knew how to survive off the vegetation and find water and shelter, and her crossbow was for more than show; she could kill a number of animals if hunger took a grip on her. But as it turned out, she spent most of the day simply walking, moving in no particular direction and just enjoying the scenery. So long as she had maintained enough time away from the village, where she ended her voyage mattered not to her. And before the sun fell below the horizon, she managed to find a clearing where she established a resting place with branches and leaves.
When the second day came, she continued her voyage through the forest. As expected, hunger took its toll on her long before the day finished and she turned her talents to finding a suitable meal – and maybe even enough to take back to her family if all went well. With a smart eye and dose of luck, Catherine just happened upon an elderly female wild hog around mid-day. After hours of tracking the hog, waiting for the most opportune moment to make her move, she tracked it to an overhang near the border of Dalmar. The sun was beginning to drop low in the sky and she guessed to herself that it must be around supper time back home. Should fortune favor her, the hog just might walk close enough to the edge for her to trick it off the side of the gorge. That would definitely make a normally hard to hunt kill exponentially easier for her.
Just as she was about to make her final move, Catherine was startled from her hunt by the sound of a number of unfamiliar male voices echoing upwards from the ravine below. She slowly lowered herself to the ground and froze in her tracks, listening for more.
“Surely you can’t be suggesting we attempt to take Dalmar, Santu. No one has ever bested Cornelius in the entirety of his rule for over nine centuries!” A man’s deep voice floated to Catherine’s ears.
Quickly, she flattened herself against the ground, and then crawled over to the edge of the overhang to see if she could actually see the speaker. She looked all about, trying to be as quiet as possible while at the same time finding the sources of the voices in the fading sunlight. Finally, farther down in the gorge, she spotted them – a group of seven armored figures sat on the other side of the river that marked Dalmar’s southern border about 200 yards from her current hiding place. The remaining three stood off to the side of the group; those were her speakers. A second man immediately answered the protest of the first.
“That is exactly what I am suggesting. August Cornelius is but one man,” said the man named Mattis. He was a tall figure with long dark hair and dark eyes but that was about all Catherine could make out from her view point.
“And one old man at that,” Mattis continued. He may be a competent warrior, but time has surely taken its toll on him. So many years of being trapped in that castle without training his body, it can not help his strength or stamina. My father tells me he doesn’t even feed anymore. And not even one heir of blood or womb to aid him. We will over power him and take Dalmar for ourselves. The lands here are rich and fertile, and the people simple and weak. It will not be a problem for us at all.”
The third standing man, with long, yet lighter hair, braided at the bottom, offered his input next. “Come, Mattis. You know that your father sent us here only to claim brides and nothing more. I myself, Barius of Hedeby, have always wondered why should Cornelius have exclusive rights to these women? He makes no important use of the women here. So far, he has only taken ten brides, and to my knowledge not a single one has stayed with him long enough to give him a heir.”
“Except one,” the one named Mattis quickly interjected.
“Yes,” Santu agreed, as he rubbed his full beard. “The one
your father managed to make did die in childbirth – that is true. But you know the laws of the overlords. And if Cornelius has not engendered an heir after all this time, well, he simply does not deserve his lordship. Do you all agree? So why not kill two birds with one stone? It is high time someone relieved him of his rule and lands.”
“Enough of this idle chatter.” A fourth figure named Alrik interrupted, emerging from the seated group of men. His hair was shorn close to his scalp and looked as though he might have done it himself.
“The night is still young,” Alrik stated, “and the time for action is now. If we move quickly enough we can have the entirety of Dalmar under our control by dawn. And while we are at it we will make certain that Cornelius has no bride to choose from or no land to rule as well.”
After that statement the rest of the vampires began to speak excitedly among themselves and all at the same time about their next sequence of actions needed to carry out such a raid – each one trying to talk louder than the other – all except Mattis. Still frozen in her hiding spot, Catherine couldn’t believe what she had just heard! If these violent vampires were truly going to attack her village, then there was nothing she could do to protect them; there was nothing anyone could do.
She continued to lay there, her body pressed tight against the moist soil, envisioning the feasting that had previously decimated Sylvan’s population. That very same fate, soon, would befall her own precious town of Dalmar. Her mind was still reeling as she began to slowly and quietly back up from the lip of the gorge and away from the group gathered below.
Tale of the Century Bride Book One: Chapter 6
“Wait. Quiet all… Listen!” The fourth speaker, Alrik, the one with the skinned head said, raising a hand to silence all his companions. He drew in a long, deep breath. “Does anyone else smell that?” He looked around the gorge and inhaled deeply again. The other vampires followed suit. “That smells like…”
“An unclaimed maiden – and my new wife!” Mattis finished his companion’s sentence. “This one is mine! You have three brides at home, Santu, and Laurence already has his first heir.”
Just then Catherine heard the vampire’s voice rise in tone, taking on a seductive, almost siren-like quality.“Come here sweet girl, come here to me.” And in one jump, Mattis was across the river, now firmly standing on Dalmarn land. He took in another series of deep breaths, all in several directions before turning towards where Catherine still lay on the overhang, frozen in the growing darkness. The other vampires swiftly followed him, crossing the river and fanning out on either side of Mattis.
“Come here to me, my beloved. Come out. I will not harm you.” The vampire called out to Catherine through the darkness. As he got closer to her, his voice became harder to resist. An enflamed, terrifying heat surged through Catherine as Mattis steadily approached her hiding place, one step at a time.
Life and death seemed to be her two choices though, as she crouched there in the darkness, one seemed more probable than the other. What mere human had ever managed their ground against the onslaught of a single vampire, let alone a seasoned group hell bent on destruction? Still, Catherine refused to let them have her without a fight. She managed to slowly move her crossbow into position as he continued to call for her. She clutched the trigger of her crossbow, slowly aiming the weapon for his heart.
“Do not be afraid, my darling,” Mattis cooed to her again.
The voice came again and again, the one calm object inside a terrible storm. Something about his voice soothed her, lulling her deeper into submission. Against her will and all reason, she could simply not bring herself to pull the trigger, try as she may. All she wanted now was to be close to him, to touch him, to be his lover.
Mattis continued to slowly draw closer to Catherine’s hiding spot, a mystical quality about him that Catherine couldn’t resist. The tender glow of his dark eyes, soft features of his face, and soothing rhythm of his voice – all of it suggested that she might find a paradise with him – some place far away where women were not sacrificed to reigning lords. Everything was beginning to make sense to her now. And going away with the vampire named Mattis seemed the most logical choice she might ever make.
Just then, an enraged shriek from up river broke the spell that Mattis’ voice had on her. Regaining control of her will, Catherine now loosed the crossbow bolt straight toward the chest of the vampire Mattis. In an instant she heard the familiar sound of a bolt tearing through flesh, but reeled backwards ever so slightly to see that she had missed her mark. Unfortunately the bolt barely missed his heart, being several inches too low.
“You will surely pay for that”, he growled and lunged in Catherine’s direction. However, he took no more than a single step before a huge dark figure in shining chain mail fell downwards out of the sky and directly in the path between both Catherine and Mattis, in fact, blocking the trail between all the vampires and Catherine.
“Cornelius!” Santu yelled as he pulled his sword from its sheath. “Your dominion over your precious Dalmar ends now! We are here to take control from you this very night!”
Santu rushed forward, slashing rapidly in what Catherine could only discern as every direction as once. Count August’s body moved like wildfire, so fast all she could comprehend was a shimmering light, yet seemingly impenetrable by Santu’s wayward blade. Santu never made contact with the new figure even once. In no time at all, Cornelius grew weary of the game he was playing and extended an arm so fast it was almost as if it had always been that way, tightening his muscular fingers around his adversary’s throat.
“Farewell, sir,” Cornelius whispered sympathetically and then squeezed until the entirety of Santu’s head dislodged from his shoulders. The guardian of Dalmar flung what was left of the decapitated head off the ridge’s overhang and into the river flowing below. Realizing that not one of them could single-handedly kill Cornelius, those who remained of the group attacked all at once. All except for Mattis, who used the sudden conflict as a cloak for his continued approach. The lustful vampire hung about the girl like a plague, bearing down on her with burning eyes, Mattis pulled his sword from its sheath and engaged the mailed figure from behind.
“Oh, my dear, I hope you did not think I would forget about you,” Mattis said. Catherine screamed as soon as he spoke, so much closer to her now than he was before. “But you’re beautiful enough that I may forget your show of rebellion.” He laughed awkwardly. “ Provided you can behave yourself from now on.”
Bending over her now and staring directly into her eyes for a quick moment, Mattis immediately scooped Catherine up from where she lay, and threw her over his shoulder. His touch, cold as it was, still instantly made Catherine shiver with a heat and a terrifying lust that she had never encountered before in her life. In less than a instant, Mattis had carried her down the side of the gorge, and far, far away from the raging battle above between his band of vampire brothers and the stranger.
“Let the others carry on the fight against Cornelius for his land, I do not care for it. But I now have exactly what I came here for,” Mattis muttered, more to himself than her. He looked about, still carrying her over his shoulder, then he changed direction, fully intending to carry her across the river and back to his lair, and completely abandoning his fellow vampires.
Things changed again in an instant from Catherine’s point of view. Before Mattis completely landed on the riverbank, while still in mid-air, Catherine found herself torn free from Mattis’ grasp and being held close to the stranger, completely cradled in his strong arms. She instantly got a whiff of his odor, that is just how close she was to him – he smelled of pipes, and wood and smoke. It was a wonderful combination.
“You above all should know that the people of Dalmar are untouchable, Mattis, son of Ellis,” the stranger said to Catherine’s abductor. “I will not condone encroachment of any type onto any of my lands, and especially not the plunder of even one of my citizens – man, woman or child.”
&nbs
p; Count August quickly glanced at Catherine, even smiling at her for an instant, before he gently placed her on the ground directly behind him. That one gesture put him directly between her and her abductor, just as an added measure. Now this gesture alone should have been enough to get the message across to Mattis that he should stop his plans before they went any further – but Mattis was young and stubborn and did not take the threat at full value.
“I have already killed all of your companions while you attempted to sneak away you unscrupulous, filthy creature,” Count August yelled at Mattis. “Go now, return to your father’s land, you cowardly, duplicitous thief. And give him this message for me when you get there – in six months, my bride is due. The heir I beget will own these lands one day, should ever I perish. My claim is accredited by the council of Overlords. Any attempt of any kind to wrestle these lands away from the house of August Cornelius shall be met with the full force of my wrath. Now go, cowardly cur! Go, quickly, before I change my mind.”
Exactly as he was instructed, Mattis gave not a single objection to August’s declaration and immediately disappeared from their sight. It all happened so fast Catherine was not quite sure exactly if this were real or if she might be dreaming. She kept waiting to wake up from her dream.
Tale of the Century Bride Book One: Chapter 7
Count August, happy that the matter was over, sighed at the affair then turned all his attention to Catherine. Now smiling, he spoke to her, “You were really, very brave, my maiden of Dalmar. There are very few amongst the living with the gift of such a strong will, a will capable enough to break the hold of a vampire’s glamour. You, my dear maiden, were as fierce… as an eagle in flight. Yes, that is it exactly. Come now, before any other carnage happens. I must now take you safely back to the village, little eagle.” He then held out his hand to beckon her to join him in the trip back to Dalmar.
Tale of the Century Bride Complete: Historical Vampire Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 2