Et tu, Brute?

With a squeak of the ancient hinges, the heavy oak door opened and Pandora turned to see one of her younger sons enter upon her invitation. The woman’s dislike for anything human was absolute and, to some of the other residents of her holiday home castle horror, this included electricity. So the large circular office, which sat at the base of one of three towers, was illuminated by flickering candlelight on this snowy night. A wrought iron chandelier, which was probably older than Pandora herself, hung from the ceiling with at least a dozen candles burning brightly.

To be back in the homeland among family and trusted ones quelled Pandora’s soul like nothing else. It was fabled that the first vampire child was born in the depths of Russia, an evolutionary fluke which enabled humans to deal with relentless cold and darkness. However Romania, Scotland, Bulgaria, Norway and Slovakia also claimed that in was in their territories that the first of their race emerged. No one could ever really know but Pandora liked to think it was here, in the land of her forefathers, that the guardians of the Earth were born.

“Ah Peter, are the men ready?” She leant against the large and impossibly organised desk to face one of her favourite progeny. Due to their difficulty in reproducing naturally, every one of Pandora’s children had been sacred and she knew them all and of course, all were loyal to their house. Peter was the fourteenth out of the total of eighteen whose father was husband number three. He had a tall, imposing figure he’d inherited from his father but had her thick blonde hair and stormy eyes.

Stepping forward, he nodded and said, “yes everything is ready mother. Can I ask what you’ll do with them?”

Peter still had so much to learn but was one of the very few she would trust with the details of such an important task. His father was the leader of the Drake’s dragon training operation by the name of Cristof Romanov had been killed when Peter was only three, the only one of her husbands not to be murdered but rather die in a tragic accident. In the subsequent years the young boy was always at her side, learning the craft of controlling vast amounts of power. With thirteen elder siblings she wondered how he would shape his future within their dynasty.

“Sometimes you have to go and face your enemy. My goal is to come sort of arrangement which’ll stop them organising this ridiculous uprising while not giving away anything detrimental to us. They want the lands north of here but I don’t know if I’m willing to give those up.”

Nodding his head, he replied, “the Panov’s cannot compete with us.”

“Exactly why it’ll be just me, Plato and a few guards. There’s no need to go all out for a simple matter which needs to be corrected.” She saw a flicker of something in her son’s eyes when she mentioned Plato. Their relationship was no secret and she never thought how it would affect her protective boy. On the eve of a mission, however, was not the time to delve into such matters.

“Talking of Plato, where is he?”

Russia was cold this time of year, well it is always cold in Russia, but despite his inability to feel the temperature the biting winds and heavy snow were never easy to get used to. As he trudged through the expansive grounds a new downfall of snow was already falling settling on top of the centimetres thick layer. His black boots crunched through the snow as he walked with the lake behind him, dressed completely in black he would have been invisible in the dead of night if it wasn’t for his deathly white skin. He pulled the hood of his fur lined coat over his head, which concealed him even further.

Slowly, Plato looked up from the snow ahead of him to the Castle in the near distance. It was an impressive piece of engineering and design, almost classical in its design. With three towers that rose high into the sky like overgrown tree connected by a series of roots it was easy to see why Pandora had acquired this keep for her personal residence. It had a beauty to it that so subtle it simply made him smile.

He continued to walk up the slight incline of the hill until he reached the edge of the castle territory before he dropped the cigarette out of his mouth and onto the snow covered ground. With a stamp of his boot the remaining few embers fizzled out leaving a black stain on the white surface. Without a second glance behind him he banged the massive oak doors three times with his fist. The doors opened almost instantly, held open by one of the servants that attended to Pandora and her guests.

The warmth from the numerous fires lit in the castle provided a change in the air, taking away the crisp clean air and filling his senses with the taste and smell of wood burning. Plato took in lungful of air as he shed his coat to the servant. Even though the man attending to him was another vampire he was barely acknowledge by Plato who saw the sired vampires as beneath his purebred status. It was not uncommon for those vampires descended from the noble houses to look down on those who were not born into the world but merely created. It had been that way for eons and it was unlikely to change as every vampire was indoctrinated to know their place in the world. Unfortunately for the servant he was several rungs on the ladder below Plato.

Plato continued into the castle knowing that Pandora would have straight to her office. It was where she spent most of her time reading reports on troop movements. Ever since the war with the human started she spent more of her time there, much to Plato chagrin when he preferred to do more pleasurable activities with her.

As he rounded the corner he walked straight through the open doors when he saw Pandora and her son Peter in conversation. Plato’s relationship with Pandora’s children was odd to say the least. With most of them older than him they only saw him as their mother’s new plaything, something that he found humorous considering his position as a council member. Not only did he outrank them on many key decisions, but he played the relationship with their mother to no end. He took great pleasure out of seeing reactions bubbling under their cold personalities when he mentioned their mother in passing or when he would spend considerable amounts of time with her. Something he doubted they had the pleasure of.

“I’m right here,” he said moving further into the office standing beside Pandora. “Good evening, Peter,” he said out of courtesy before moving on. “It seems that we’re all ready to depart, we wait on your command,” he said directly to Pandora.

Pandora watched with curious interest as Peter shifted his weight uncomfortably upon the appearance of Plato but didn’t utter a word. This was, however, a good thing. It meant that the young man cared and this is what she needed. Peter was always so protective of his mother and this was why she planned to give his own army in the near future. He, above most, deserved such a position.

“Excellent.” She replied with a slight smile. She grabbed a full length, fur lined coat from a hook and put it on as she approached her son. “You’re in charge while we’re gone. In the unlikely event something happens to us, I’ll send word and if we’re not back within a week then you have the whereabouts.”

Peter nodded solemnly. “Yes mother, I promise.” She then did something which very few people had ever seen her do and she stepped forward and hugged him. The man who she once held in her arms now towered above her and so she wrapped her arms around his waist while he hugged her shoulders, it was a small gesture but she hoped he understood.

“Right let’s go.” She announced and marched out of the room and into a small corridor. This was decorated with large, church style candles flickering in their ancient holders and created eerie moving shadows as she swept pass on the thickly woven blood red rug.

The cavernous entrance hall was more than big enough to hold the ten men and women who would accompany them with their gear which for the most part were various forms of weaponry. For Pandora this was a last resort but there was a good chance this would turn ugly. The Panov family were a proud people who, centuries ago, held a vast amount of power. This had dwindled over the years, much to their chagrin, and so it didn’t surprise her they were trying to reclaim some of their former glory. She wasn’t opposed to this on principle but the fact that this would encroach her lands was something to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

“Let’s get moving.” She said with an authoritative tone which came easily now.

The group moved through the large, thick oak doors and into the stone cobbled courtyard where two range rovers sat. The assigned drivers jumped into the front and Pandora went into the back of one while her people loaded the boots. It was only an hour’s drive to the Panov estate but the terrain was rough and she hoped that nothing would delay their journey. Luckily with these long, Russian winters it was only eleven pm and the sun wasn’t due to rise for at least another twelve hours.

Plato stood beside Pandora obediently as she conversed with her son. It wasn’t that he felt awkward around the family situation, but as an only child and his parent’s status he was always pushed off to nannies and tutors instead of being parented by his own parents. He was expected to live an early life that was not to involve his parents. It was the way the Vampires did things; tradition and standing were matters of extreme importance to the purebred so appearances were paramount. Plato didn’t feel malice toward his parents for this, he was ambivalent and understood that in the eyes of the other families on the council his parents had to behave like that.

So, when Pandora moved forward and hugged her son Plato was slightly taken aback. Never had he seen Pandora so show such emotion to anyone, not even her children, for he believed that anyone around her was something she could use to further herself. As the shock wore off Plato had to suppress a smile as he thought that Peter would be even more shocked at his mother’s actions than he was.

As the couple pulled apart from each other it was back to the business as usual Pandora as she called it time to leave. It was short work for the guards that were accompanying them to get into place because everyone knew that when Pandora was ready to go then you’re ready to go, even if you weren’t. It was a habit of Plato’s, a forced habit, but he always made sure he was ready to leave at a moment’s notice when he was around Pandora. An occupational hazard of sleeping with her.

The small group made their way out of the expansive castle to the range rovers, which he instantly climbed into next to Pandora. The two of them would be accompanied by a driver only with the rest of their group in the second range rover taking point in this small convoy. As the cars roared into life he leaned over to Pandora, “Which Panov will we be dealing with tonight?” he asked.

Pandora liked moving, it meant something was being accomplished even if it meant travelling from one place to another. It wasn’t going to be a particularly long drive to the Panov estate but it would be rough, desolate terrain. She leant back in the seat enjoyed the rumble of the tires on the gravel driveway.

“I aim to talk to Dmitri Panov tonight,” she replied while momentarily gazing out of the window before returning her attention back to her companion. “He’s the younger brother and so won’t have an exaggerated, exalted sense of his own importance... hopefully.”

The Panovs had enough heartache and disappointment while their family’s status dwindled to hopefully be desperate enough to accept any offer she laid on the table. It was unfortunate that the Panovs felt the need to rebel against them, to try and reclaim their former lands but that endeavour would only result in their own destruction.

“What do you think about Peter marrying Luka Panov’s daughter? As the eldest daughter of the current head of the family, it would help ensure their loyalty. I’m also thinking of giving him command of the Eastern Russian Army, it would in charge of thousands of soldiers, but I think he deserves it. What do you think?”

More and more she was relying on his opinion. If he suspected something she didn’t know. With paranoia and insecurities webbing itself way into her consciousness, she was beginning to doubt her own judgement and so needed clear mind to help her navigate the minefields. So far, Plato was proving himself but was this to last? She didn’t know, if it came down to it, if she could bring herself to drive a knife into his chest as well.