The Making of Vampires Ch. 05

Approximately, one hundred years have passed.

Aruku had joined August and his brothers on their travels. Aruku's sons had established a fort in the mountains a couple of miles near the village where Gabriel found Sophia. It wasn't long before the surviving villagers asked to live around the fort for protection offering the vampires their blood in exchange. Therefore, a mutual accommodation ensued. The vampires protected the humans from all manner of attacks and the humans offered the vampires their blood.

Aruku lived among the younger vampires allowing his sons to establish their own clan. Strangely, he felt more akin to August's group than he did his own sons. He enjoyed watching the young vampires establish laws aimed at helping them thrive safely among the humans. He enjoyed watching the way the younger vampires tried to blend with instead of dominate the humans they met. And most of all, he greatly enjoyed watching the younger vampires find love. As vampires, it was a rarity to find love and eternal companionship, yet, more and more of this young band found their true loves and this amazed him.

Currently, part of the group traveled east as mercenaries. They answered the call of a wealthy Asian Master who worked hard at establishing his own territory and protecting the lands he believed to be rightfully his.

Martinelli lead the group. They traveled skirting established lands and avoiding hostilities as best as they could. Their group consisted of their male vampire warriors and the wives that they had met along the way. Even some humans traveled with the group to decrease the need for the vampires to hunt strange humans. They didn't have time to discover which humans could be made to forget and they didn't want to create panic.

After nearly two months of travel, they neared the lands of the Asian Master who had hired them. They approached the Evergreen forest cautiously, hearing the heartbeats of many men, concealed in the dense, gently curved branches. The vampires, as always, gave the impression they couldn't hear the drumming sounds calling to them to feed.

Martinelli raised a hand and said, "Halt men! I shall check the forest for footprints before any of you are placed in peril." They played dumb, but they weren't. Martinelli was an excellent strategist. His plans had kept their small band of vampires alive much longer than most would have expected. Their warrior numbers had decreased through the years, but were replaced by lovers making their clan larger than it had started out.

Martinelli, as well as the rest of his men, heard nearly a dozen heartbeats among the trees. Two of the hidden appeared to be women or adolescent boys. It was difficult to determine as women and adolescent boys tended to be similar in a great many ways. He assumed boys since he could smell the metal of swords wafting through the wind.

He bent over pretending to check for footprints. He listened carefully. One of the heartbeats moved and slowly lowered from the tree. If it wasn't for the rhythmic sound, he would not have known anyone was moving; there were no foot falls or breaking of bark or twigs.

Martinelli knew the boy was mere feet from his position, but he had not gotten the warning sound from his men who listened for the obvious sound of someone moving through the pine needle littered ground. A few of the men gave off some nervous coughs, but they would do little else to reveal that they detected the boy's movements.

First Martinelli felt the cold metal against his neck. Then he heard the softest voice speak and knew it was no boy. His captor was a woman.

"Yobosayo," said a warm soft alto voice.

Martinelli could not help, but to look up. He saw the darkest brown eyes he had ever seen. Those dark eyes rimmed with long black lashes blinked lazily at him. Her porcelain face was framed with straight black curtains of hair, very thick. Her petite nose centered her heart shaped face and rich purple hued, full, pouty lips invitingly taunted him to kiss her. He almost did.

He almost did until Martinelli felt the beast of someone behind him trying to break free at her presence. He kept his smile from showing as he heard Marcus slap his hands over his mouth to hide the growing fangs. Chuckles erupted from some of the men who had already found their wives. They knew what Marcus was feeling.

Martinelli respected their established laws. The most important law was never interfere with a vampire's beast claiming a mate, a wife. Martinelli would not kiss those inviting lips for the sake of his nephew. He would behave himself.

The woman's mysterious eyes had moved to the commotion caused by the one soldier who foolishly slapped himself. She wondered if he had the curse of madness. If this was the group to help her father, she would ensure to keep the mad ones far from her people.

She dropped the tip of her sword, turned, and spoke over her shoulder too rapidly for Martinelli to follow even had he known the language. The fact that he still didn't understand her meant that Gabriel was unable to cast discreetly the spell that would allow all the vampires to comprehend the foreign language.

A man approached from the forest, heavy footed and not with any form of stealth at all. He wore fine robes and carried no weapons. The man in the robes bowed slightly to the woman and then walked to stand in front of Martinelli.

The man coughed to clear his throat and then with a heavy accent spoke slowly. "This is Suwon, third daughter of Master Cho. Are you August, Gabriel, and Martinelli?"

Gabriel stood. He had to think a moment for the stranger's words to sink in. Then he realized that the man spoke his name and those of his brothers. The man couldn't seem to make the "L" sound, but Martinelli was sure he couldn't make half of the sounds of the foreign language and wished that Gabriel would cast that stupid spell.

Gabriel answered, "Yes, I am Gabriel. I am my brother's general and third in birth. My eldest brother is August." He pointed to August who gave a quick nod. "The one beside him is my brother, Gabriel." Gabriel smiled and lifted a hand for a quick wave.

The man bowed to both men before continuing. He motioned to Suwon. "She is to be your gift. Each of your men will be able to pick unclaimed women from the land to keep instead of payment for their fighting. Then Master Cho will honor you all with riches when his enemy is defeated."

Martinelli froze. He felt more than heard the growl emanate from Marcus. The beast within his nephew would fight to the death to gain his mate. Martinelli shook his head, but before he could speak, chaos broke out.

Men dropped from the trees brandishing weapons and shouting. The man in robes gasped and stumbled back. It appeared that fighting would ensure at the tree line until Suwon intervened.

During the middle of her shouting, her words were understandable indicating Gabriel had finally unleashed his magic.

"...before we kill the only men to come to my father's aid, let us see why he finds me repulsive. Perhaps, my hair is too dark. Perhaps, he prefers properly cowed women. Perhaps, I am too tall."

Martinelli almost laughed at all her examples. Her exotic looks nearly made him kiss her forgetting her blade at his throat. He admired women with courage. And her comment about being too tall puzzled him greatly. She was nearly a head shorter than Sophia who stood a few yards behind Gabriel.

The robed man approached and asked, "Why do you not wish to have Suwon?"

Martinelli cleared his throat buying for time, but he was interrupted by August, the ultimate negotiator. "My brother, Martinelli, is a widower. He cannot claim another wife until he has lived through the mourning rituals of our custom. It would be a great insult for him to take Suwon as he is now."

Martinelli almost gasped and gave his brother a look of thanks as the robed man turned to interpret for Suwon and her men. The group discussed the situation.

Suwon asked, "Then how can we cement the agreement if we cannot create a union? They can always betray us without a stake in the outcome. Give me to another brother."

The robed man turned and translated. Thankfully due to Gabriel's spell, August already knew the message to come, he knew how to answer, and he said, "I am married, as is Gabriel. However, my son, my eldest and only son, is unmarried and he can take her as his bride."

The robed man nervously turned to Suwon and explained the message. She threw up her hands and let them fall noisily to her thighs. Her men placed their hands on their weapons and waited. She marched over to Marcus and looked him up and down. Then she walked around him, lifting an arm as if judging livestock.

Some of the vampires chuckled until Suwon's glare caught their eyes. Then they silenced and shuffled their feet pretending to be embarrassed. Marcus stood nervously. His desired woman was judging his worth. She could reject him.

Suwon returned to stand in front of him and made a scoffing sound as if disgusted and mumbled, "He is but a baby, no older than me. He had no idea of sacrifice or what this union represents." She moved closer and unbuttoned his shirt stunning almost everyone. She pulled open his shirt and looked at his smooth, muscular, chest.

She turned away in fury and said to the man in robes, "He is too pretty. He has not scars on his body and knows nothing of conflict. He will not be able to appreciate me. This is a disaster." Again, she threw up her hands allowing them to fall loudly against her thighs and marched into the forest nearly disappearing in the tree line.

The robed man bowed to her as she passed. Then he bowed to Martinelli and their group as he said, "Please, follow us. You need food and rest after your travels."

Martinelli followed stealing a glance behind him. Marcus looked crestfallen as Sophia, his aunt, buttoned up his shirt whispering words of encouragement to him. Yes, he was young, but older than Suwon. Yes, he had no scars, but vampires healed in ways that didn't leave any. She was sure that Marcus would have plenty of opportunity to prove himself to his future bride.

***

Marcus sat uncomfortably on the floor in front of a low table. He sat on a flat pillow, but it didn't really offer him any comfort. He tried not to stare at the woman, Suwon who sat across from him purposely ignoring his presence. She had made it abundantly clear that an insult had been served upon her.

Marcus felt a nudge and looked to his left to see his father picking up a bowl and encouraging him to eat. He sighed. He should do his best to eat the offered food and reduce the risk of any further insult to their host.

That is when he noticed the utensils were strange. He recognized the spoon, though it was rounder than what he was used to. Unfortunately, there were no forks. Instead, there were a couple of tapering sticks a little longer than his hands. Looking around, he saw the host and his family using the sticks to pick up bits of food to move to their mouths.

Looking back to his father, he saw that August struggled with the sticks dropping the bits of meat before they got to his own mouth. When he tried to use the sticks to pick up bits of rice, the result was even worse.

The robed man approached with two young and very beautiful women. They hair was long and loose down their backs. They kept their eyes lowered and their hands in their sleeves.

The robed man spoke. "Excuse me, Master August. Master Cho offers his unwed daughters to teach your party how to eat at our tables. They will offer to teach your women first who can teach their husbands. Then the daughter will teach your unwed men."

August smiled, "You do not have to call me 'Master'. I still do not know how to address you."

The robed man bowed and answered, "I'm known as the precept, Precept Park."

August nodded. "Nice to finally know how to address you, Precept Park. How many children does Master Cho have?" He was curious as to Suwon's place among her siblings.

Precept Park answered, "Master Cho has three sons. The first son sits by his father's side and will protect his father with his life if need be. The second and third sons are standing at the doors. The second son, Son of the North, guards the door at the north of the hall. The third son, Son of the West, guards the west door." He nodded as if finished.

August was stunned that the daughters were forgotten and purposely asked, "He also has daughters. We met one of them."

As if the matter were hardly worth mentioning, Precept Park continued, "Ah, yes. The Master has five daughters. The first two are married off to his top generals and dining in their husbands' houses. The third daughter, Suwon of the South, is one of his generals. His other two daughters are here, willing to teach your people how we eat." He stopped as if he were inconvenienced by the mention of the women.

Marcus, annoyed at the disrespect he felt that Suwon had been given asked, "Why do you dismiss the women so quickly? Are they not worthy of more than a passing thought?"

Precept Park sighed loudly. "Suwon is already considered dead by her family. She dedicated herself to the art of war to help protect her father and his lands because he did not have many sons. She is a fine warrior, but her goal is nothing more than death. We hoped she would be spared such an end by your arrival, but she finds her rejection a grievous insult. She spoke with her father to spare her and permit her to regain her position in his army. So he has relented."

Marcus was stunned. The love of his heart preferred death to his company. He sat motionless and felt a strange coldness settle in his stomach.

August read his son's face and continued the conversation to draw the precept's attention away from his mortified son. "What of these two daughters?"

The precept looked at the girls and shook his head. "These are daughters four and five. They are worthless fighters and would die quickly if forced to battle. They may find some solace as wives of a couple of your men, but they will not be considered human until they birth sons."

Sophia choked on her cup tea as she heard the man's words.

August asked, "Can you explain that to me? I don't understand. Obviously, they are human. There are here."

The precept shook his head. "They have not proven their worth which they can do by giving their husbands sons." He bowed, turned, and left.

August sighed and spoke quietly to those sitting near him. "I can't really criticize. We may not be as verbal as declaring the rank of women within our culture, but look how we treat our own. If a girl is raped, we make her marry her rapist to protect the reputation of the father and his family in case she becomes pregnant from the encounter. My Marienta cannot travel with us, but has to be hidden and guarded because she is a woman with a darker skin than what we have."

Marcus spoke, "But father, you do not treat Marienta badly. Nor would I treat Suwon badly. I would treasure her, but she finds death preferable to me."

Martinelli, who sat on the right side of Marcus cleared his throat and spoke in a lowered voice, "She does not prefer death to your company. Her heart speeds when she looks at the group of men near the west door. I think she has a lover. I think she used the fact that I would not take her to be mine as a way to break any type of unity with us. I am unsure of which man she is attracted to, but I am sure that is the real reason she didn't want you. She loves another."

Marcus' mouth dropped open. Then he smiled. He could not compete with death. He could compete with a human male. He could prove himself to Suwon if she believed that another man was truly her love.

He quickly glanced down toward the end of the room. He was trying to figure out which man had captured her heart. He tried to gage his competition. He tried to determine his next step.

Marcus was distracted from his plans as a gentle hand touched his. He almost jumped, as he had been so deep in thought. He looked into large dark brown eyes, so much like Suwon, but yet so different. She held the sticks in her right hand. There was food on the end of the stick and she offered the food to Marcus. He smiled and opened his mouth imagining Suwon feeding him instead. She dropped her eyes quickly, her cheeks flushing red and picked up more food.

Before he could take another bite, Marcus noticed Suwon stand and leave the table. He moved to stand, but Martinelli placed a hand on his thigh and shook his head. Marcus relaxed. He trusted Martinelli. He knew his uncle had a plan and would wait.

Martinelli spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, but addressed his comment to his brother. "Master August, I would like to leave the table and take a few men to prepare for what is to come."

August nodded, "Of course, Dear Brother. Please, do whatever you need to ensure our success in helping Master Cho."

Martinelli nodded and patted Marcus on the back, "Come, my brother's son. I will have you help me." Then together, the two men stood and left the table.

As Marcus stood, he smiled at the woman helping him eat. Then he quickly turned and followed Martinelli out of the building.

The courtyard was a square garden, surrounded by the house which was a connection of buildings or rooms that all exited to the courtyard. They grew beautiful flowers, colorful vegetables, and delicately aromatic fruit. There were no hallways. Each room had a door that opened to this colorful and bountiful square centered courtyard. Some of the buildings had a second door that exited to the other side.

Entering the darkened yard, Martinelli and Marcus strode casually to the other side of the building. They saw a larger part of the yard growing more food. The outer part of the yard contained fruit trees and fruit bushes. Thorny roses climbed up the rock wall that surrounded the outer yard. They knew there was a gate at the front that opened into the square courtyard and they expected to find at least one door in this part of the yard as well.

Marcus asked, "What will we say if anyone finds us?"

Martinelli, unconcerned, answered, "That we are taking in the lay of the land to help prepare for the upcoming battle." He paused and glanced around the darkened land. As he aged as a vampire, he had learned that tracking humans or vampires was a strong skill of his. He detected the path she walked very quickly and headed in that direction. Marcus followed.

Suwon had left the yard through the back gate. Marcus reached out to open the gate, but Martinelli caught his hand.

Looking around to ensure there were no humans present, Martinelli said, "We jump over so that no squeak of the gate gives our position away." He took a step back and made a run at the gate jumping at just the right time to clear the gate easily. He waited a moment as Marcus did the same.

He looked around. He saw no signs of humans out here, either, but found her path again. Marcus asked, "What if she is just out for a walk?"

Martinelli almost laughed. "No woman leaves the safety of her yard for a walk at the brink of war. She is not going into the darkened woods for anything chaste. She hides from her fathers and brothers to meet with a lover."

Marcus sighed, nearly growling.

Martinelli paused and asked, "Can you do this with me or do you need to go back?"

Marcus furrowed his brow. "Why would you ask such a thing? I need to go with you."

Martinelli nodded. "Okay, but let me remind you of our laws, laws that you helped create. You cannot harm a human for seducing your future bride if you haven't claimed her in any way. You have not. Remember that."

Marcus opened his mouth to challenge, but then realized the truth of his uncle's statement. "Crap. I can't do anything. Why didn't I make my claim?"