Chapter 63

Chapter 63
A few minutes later.




"My lord, I have news about the wolf; he was brought to the Wetland pack," the leader of the troll announced as he bowed his head, acknowledging Andrew’s superiority. "I suggest rescuing him before dawn because I believe they'll execute him as soon as possible."




Diana’s eyes widened as she stood up immediately. "What? They'll kill Tommy?” She hissed. “We can let him die, Andrew! No! We need to rescue him, Andrew!" Diana paced in a panic, took her sword, and looked at the small stone-like creature. "Troll, I mean, I'm sorry I don't know your name. Um, where is my tunic? I need it. I couldn't stand a day with this bloodied petticoat anymore," said Diana. After all, the petticoat was uncomfortable, and she was having a hard time battling her inner demon when she was covered in blood.

The troll looked at Andrew for approval.

He nodded his head.

The troll leader looked around and shouted at the female troll behind them.

A few seconds later, a three-foot stone-like female creature appeared from behind them. "Follow me, my lady. We have it in the makeshift camp."




Diana followed her, still complaining about how she smelled like death.




After an hour of freshening up, a glass of animal blood, a bowl of hot porridge, and meat jerky. The two vampires bid their goodbyes and started their journey to the Wetland boundary in a blur, their sword hidden under their overcoat.




Reaching the mainland in no time. They started walking as they surveyed the terrain, and with their new tunic and scent cloaked, they strolled their way inside the town.




As they made their way across the courtyard to the small noble building at the distant end of the mansion area, Andrew could hear the screams outside in the streets. He could not imagine why the feral werewolves had not breached the mansion gates, or maybe they already had and were helping the Wetland pack already; after all, it was not a new thing for the wolves to gather new allies even from the humans. “We must be careful; we can't afford for them to notice us; we are outnumbered," he mumbled softly.

Diana nodded her head.

Andrew glanced over his shoulder. The glow over the walls of the mansion told of buildings burning throughout the town. It was as horrible as he had expected. The town was coarse and foul.




Scanning the niche of the town and the surrounding houses and buildings. He unhurriedly explained to Diana how horrendous this era was compared to the 21st century. After all, the main culprit of the disgusting smells was mostly from all the chamber pots from houses being dumped out haphazardly anywhere. The flushing toilet was invented way back in 1596, but it wasn't commonplace until 1851, and the alternatives for waste disposal during this era were still relatively primitive, as most people used chamber pots, outhouses, or a simple hole in the ground, and tempting a chamber pot usually entailed just dumping it out of the window, which could be impromptu dang dosing to any passerby below while walking through a courtyard. However, the common people of this century did not bathe often; in fact, for most of the century, the vast majority of people had no access to clean water. Even if they did, it might not have mattered because it was widely believed that bathing was unhealthy.




“Jesus, no wonder they smell so bad.”

Andrew smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “Most believe that the opening pores of the skin with hot water invite all manners of disease into the body.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, bodily filth was even believed to serve as a protective outer layer that insulated one from illness like a smelly suit of armour.”

“Ew!”

“When they cleaned it all, most people would usually just take a sponge bath or dry baths that use as little water as possible to rinse the face, hands, and private parts, and people doused themselves with perfume all the time to cover the smell. Most people didn't care about bathing, and of the few who did, almost none had access to clean water.”

“I don't think I can survive the smell.”




After telling her this, Diana almost cringed at the idea of not bathing properly. After all, her earlier cleansing was melted ice with only a single bucket of water. But a girl could dream.




When the two reached the prisoners' building, after asking a passerby, they dashed into the private, small chambers covered in a haystack. Pretending to be a human lord and buying slaves. Andrew walked inside the old stone building covered in grime and mud. Even with the moonlight, some of the walls had been covered in blood and human excrement.




Inside, they were looked upon by the young maidens, who were beautifying themselves and trying on their dresses for tomorrow’s sacred marriage rite for the Alpha’s son. Shrieks, screams, and embarrassed modesty rose as Andrew and Diana looked around wildly looking for Tommy. But he was obviously not around. A minute later, they decided to split up and agreed to meet at the private chamber connected to the stone building.




Thirty minutes passed without any luck finding Tommy. Losing his way amidst the clamour and buzz around him, Andrew stumbled upon a girl in an intricate red and silver dress, flattening out its wrinkles.




“Excuse me," mumbled Andrew.




The woman twirled, and he lost his breath. He beheld a vision of remarkable young beauty with flowing locks of golden spun hair. It bothered him that the lords of Wetland got the choice of this beautiful woman.




“Um, excuse me, my lady, have you seen my companion earlier?” asked Andrew.




The beauty scowled at him with disbelief, her strange makeup emphasising her every breathtaking feature. “Are you kidding me, Andrew?”

“I am sorry?” Andrew replied.

“It’s me!” said Diana.




It hit him like a ton of dirt bricks. This stunning vision of feminine greatness frowning at him was none other than the transformed presentation of his immature, annoying little boyish woman-with-silly-manly-tunic. His Diana. How could he have never seen her this way before? Well, he did in the 21st century in his mansion guest room, but this beauty in front of him now was stunning in an old-fashioned kind of sense. “Wow! I did not recognise you! ”




She rolled her eyes. “Obviously!”




Andrew stumbled back a step and almost went limp. He knew at that very minute that he would never be happy in this life again until he mated this darling. This was the very first time he had really completely and ultimately caught a glimpse of her one-in-a million elegance. And his entire life changed in that instant. “Your amazing—”




“What is wrong with you?” Diana giggled.




Andrew shook it off. He would have to deal with this later. Right now, he had to look for her best friend, or she would kill him, beauty or not.




“Diana, do you trust me?” he whispered.

“Yes, of course.”

“Then trust me this once completely, and do exactly as I say. This town is in danger.”

She frowned. “For what?”

“I will tell you on the way. Take off this outer petticoat. We must leave now. No questions asked.”

"How about Tommy?"

"We will take him with us. Later. Trust me."

“But—”

“You said you trusted me,” Andrew hissed.

“I do trust you!”

“Good.”

She obeyed and pulled off the colourful petticoat. Her tunic underneath was better suited for running. His eyes found it quite agreeable. Diana did trust him with all her heart and soul. She let him lead her out of the building towards the square. He told her about his plan; he told her about how they needed the troll's help in reaching Tommy.

On cue, the leader of the troll appeared on their side, surprised by the sudden appearance, but Diana held her face in understanding. She trusted Andrew to have a plan on his own, so she doesn't ask anymore.




Andrew, the trolls, and Diana talked about their rescue mission as they ran. It was all terrible, but she was a strong seer, and she trusted him.

As they ran, he looked at her, and Andrew realised she was the kind of person you wanted on your side when all hell broke loose. She would not scream in fear and shake like a brittle woman. She would want to join the fight.




A while later, they stopped. “I want you to stay here,” mumbled Andrew.

She looked him square in the eye. “You will not be able to find your way out,” she said. “You do not know the town streets, and you certainly do not know the shortcuts. You will get lost, plain and simple. I am not letting you go alone. I want to be with you; at least we have two brains working while looking for a way out.”




Andrew stared back into her eyes. He sometimes challenged whether he should have taught her how to argue so well. But she was right, so it was a good thing he had done it.

For the first time in Diana's short existence in this era, she saw the expression of a man who would give his life for her without a thought.




In her eyes, Andrew saw the look of a seer who would die by his side rather than be alone. That is, after all, what she had trained for all those months.

He grinned. “Fine, let us rescue your dog.”

"He is not a dog, Andrew."

"Of course he is. He smells like one."

"Jerk!"