Lady Dhampir
Chapter 189

My Beloved Queen,

I'm writing this letter from the depth of night, my hand still sore from all the others I had to write before yours. Most were to inform families about their loved ones' passing, and I don't think there is a harder task a Commander can do. I can't believe my own words in the shallow lines I try to bring them some comfort with, swearing they brought honor to their families and fought valiantly. The truth is, I barely witnessed any of those deaths myself, and I have no idea how most of those brave young men actually found their end. I can only remember the sight of their expressions as we retrieved the bodies, identified them and quickly moved on to the next. All I pray is that you'll never have to read a shallow letter written by another to tell you of your husband's passing, my Queen. The war we are facing here and now is nothing like the admirable, brilliant and chivalry-full battles of history we read about in our childhood, Milena. Our enemy is savage, beastly and has no conceptions of honor. They will finish a man down, drag his body and toy with it until there's truly nothing left. They seem to have no consideration for life, or perhaps no more than we ourselves show towards vermin. I wish I could at least have any idea of when this War will end, when we will get to the bottom of this. Each day I pray for a sign that they have returned to the mountains and crawled away in fear. However, we always end up finding more of them, or they find us. They move in groups like animals, hunting us down as much as we hunt them, and every day, I fear one group of those nightmarish creatures will find their way past our lines and down to our Kingdom. I thought I knew the reason for this war before I left, my Queen, but now, I have found another one. I believe it was time we remind those Giants of our existence, and that anything south of the Mountains is still our land to live. I am glad vampires cannot dream, for I am sure I would be haunted by visions of them rushing down our city otherwise. They probably see us like some strange vermin that's trying to fight back what's much taller and larger than us, but they have no idea each of my men is desperate to save their loved ones from what we have to face each day.

We still have no idea what f****d them to come down their mountains, but while we spotted some Giants going back up, my belief is that their kind is divided in tribes, each with a mind and plan of their own. We have seen some fights amongst themselves, and while we observed from afar, we realized they don't even have much feelings for their own kind. They eat their own, Milena, and I hope my beloved wife won't be sick from reading those lines, but this just shows how bestial and devoid of humanity those creatures are. Although we do see some sort of tribal patterns between them, most of the time, they only seem to use their most basic need as a way to think and guide their actions. How such ominous creatures ever came to be could be the baseline of a long debate, but we have no time to study them further. All that matters to our intelligence unit is to find how many more there are, and how to make sure they all fall back into the mountains.

You know I am unwilling to spill blood more than necessary, Milena, but I do wish to come home with the certainty that this war is over, and there won't be a need for another for several centuries. We are working out ways to make sure to keep the Giants contained to their mountains, but once again, I have to fear how many more men will be lost in this process. The unknown is more terrifying than the battle itself; how long will we stay out here, fighting to protect our Kingdom? We will not run out of food supplies thanks to our daily hunts, but what about the rest? Our clothes, weapons, shelters? The Giants even eat the horses they can grab, and some of my men have to walk or run for their lives each day, until their feet bleed. If this war goes on, will we empty Solaris of its resources to protect it?

Forgive me for being so pessimistic tonight, my beloved Milena. I miss you more than ever, and it makes me sick to know some of our letters were stolen, robbed by some greedy bastards. I fear your precious companion will be the one hurt next if she keeps travelling between us to keep good guard of our most precious mail, but how grateful I am to have the certainty to receive, at least, some of those letters written by your hand. Even your decoy letters are kept as my most precious treasure now, tightly packed in a chest, the latest ones kept near my heart with that precious gift you left me. I hope you're keeping good guard of the one I left you with, my dear Queen.

My cold blood boils to the thought that, although I am here on the battlefield, you are also bravely fighting demons of your own in that large Castle. As I know my Queen, you're probably shouldering most of our Kingdom's politics by yourself, and leaving my brother to the shallow delights of his new position... Please don't let his venom get to your heart, my Queen. I have no fear your bravery will withstand any challenges those dogs will throw at you, and you'll remain implacable and untouchable, like a Goddess shining in the darkest of shadows, to reign over Solaris and my heart alike. Spare no means to get what you deserve and what your heart wants. Do not be afraid to wield the power you have, for you are also the one barrier between greediness and those who have no other to protect them.

However, I also want to beg you to get some of the good rest you most definitely deserve. My Dear Queen, even the mightiest of warriors need to lower their swords and rest at times. I hope you can find some quiet place, perhaps in your Father's manor, for my Queen to lay and put her mind at peace. Each time I find in your letters a hint about how busy you probably are, I feel sorry you don't get much more time with your beloved books, a nice cup of tea and one of those sweets you seem so fond of now. However, I am glad you manage to make arrangements to see the Duke once a week, for I am sure his good daughter will dedicate her time to her Father once she's back into her family house. Doesn't your husband sound so foolish, to be relieved once you're back at my in-laws? I am most glad to hear the House De Crescent is managing well, although I had barely any doubts. I am sure your sister-in-law, which your brother seems to miss as much as I miss you, is doing wonders in bringing some much-needed warmth to you all. How silly that I even find relief in the thought that your Ladies-in-waiting are also thriving around you. I guess our Kingdom should truly be thankful for its ladies, for women at work can do more than any man can dream of.

While talking about Ladies, I cannot feign not to be surprised about your new-found friendship with our sister-in-law. You are aware of my feelings about my brother's wife, and while I hope you're right as always about her, I also hope you carry a drop of doubt in your heart, enough to be wary of the possible underlines of that new-found friendship. If I shall put it more precisely, this curious character you can't fail to mention each time the Lady De Winter is brought up, intrigues me most. I have the most ominous thoughts about the one they call the Saint, given the history of his kind, and the implications behind that name. Beware that not all of our enemies will speak with ill words, sharp tongues and frank looks, my Milena. Some of the vilest snakes hide under the warmest coats, and hope to dupe us this way. I dare not underestimate my wife's kind eye for good character, but with the distance that separates us, I have to beg for you to be cautious about anything and anyone, for your safety is all that matters to my heart. However, just like you, I dare to see a glimmer of hope that lies in the strange reconciliation of the Houses. Could it be that the cold Winter will finally allow a Crescent moon to shine over? I know the strong power that already lies in your capable hands, my dear wife, but I also dare to envision and even better, never seen before cohesion between the most emblematic four pillars of our Nation. You have not mentioned much of the fourth House in your letters, but I see the younger brother of the Duke doing wonders on the battlefield each day, and I can only hope that this brotherly bond could work in our favor, to nourish our hope of peace. Have I become one of those helpless dreamers, my Milena, to envision that one day the nobles of Solaris could work together for the noble cause that is our Kingdom? As I lie in the fear and expectation of the next battle to come, I can't help but think that with victory, a new Era of harmony will come.

Alas, I shall not forget either that greater obstacles still wait for me at home once I return, obstacles that I have left my dear wife to face alone.

Once again, I am comforted by the thought that, if anything worth I have achieved in this light, it has been to put an incredible, highly capable and most deserving woman in an unprecedented position of power to help her people. Even better, the wife that happens to be mine can be a mother to this nation, without a crown to prove it, without a throne to support her, but by her merits alone and the strength she gathers from the brave souls who follow her. My dear, beloved Milena, at night, with my eyes closed or open, I can lie in the peaceful thinking that I have left the strongest woman of all to be the one that can lead and nurture our Kingdom. Shall I bleed in battle, I won't fear that I could have done better for the sake of our people. Like many other unfortunate souls, I have fallen to the heart of a Queen that needs no King, for her purple eyes can shine in the darkest hours of night.

Please, protect the tiniest lights that need you the most, my Milena. One way or another, I will come back home to you, my Queen. No matter how long, no matter how far. Each night and day that I miss you shall bring us closer than before. Whether I lie, whether I stand, my heart will find its way back to the hands of my Queen, for it is the only land it truly belongs.

Your King misses your love more than ever, my Queen.

Please, stay safe and well.

Your Husband.