AN: So this is it, the last chapter. It's taken me a little under a year to write this novel and I am rather proud of myself. It is currently being edited so I will begin the process of uploading edited chapters in the new year. Enjoy ~ Hannah

Twenty-One

Sam’s P.O.V.

Sam always imagined that when he entered the vampire world he would be blown away by the beauty of it. However as he looked at it now, all he saw was a world that was in desperate need of help. All its beauty had been taken away and here stood a mere memory of what was once a great place. He looked over a Mercy and saw the pain flash across her eyes. He hazard a guess that she didn’t think she’d return to find her world in this much pain. She had left to find help to save her people and instead it seemed she had left them to fend for themselves. Sam could see she felt guilty and it was an old look to see in her eyes.

Looking around Sam could see various emotions shining on the faces of the others in the group. They were no longer mere acquaintances; they were now comrades, friends and companions. Fear, worry and hope shone out and Sam wondered if it was hard for the returning vampires to see their home in such despair. They looked like a group sharing their last few moments alive, or sharing their last meal together. The mood was somber and there were a lot of hugs going on.

Mercy began to move around issuing orders. Surprisingly it wasn’t Laurence or Astrid that helped her (considering one was head guards and the other head strategist, you’d think they’d be helping) but rather Nikolai and Pietr that were helping her organize people.

End of Sam P.O.V

Together they instructed where people should go, what to look out for and how to attack to the best advantage. They went in groups of threes or fours. The largest group was that of Mercy, the Guardian’s and Sam. Everyone knew the possible outcomes of the battle and everyone was prepared, all they had to do now was begin.

[BREAK]

The first two groups headed out to the areas where they knew vampires would be stationed, the groups Mercy sent out were a mixture of bitten and born vampires but were ones that had no extra gift. She knew they would be meeting vampires of various skill and wanted them to be fully prepared. Thanks to Eiji and Candice they had a rather large supply of weapons to combat their enemies. Mercy had guessed that Thayer would station vampires at the entrance to the castle and entrance and exit of the surrounding town. It was the group’s job to eradicate the threat and guide the civilians out of the town and into a safe place that was far from all the action. Mercy didn’t have to wait long before she heard the cries of battle begin to sound. Once she felt enough time had passed she sent out the second group. This group was led by Nikolai and Dominick had gone with them along with Florence.

This group went to fight the ice giants that had been placed strategically around the areas containing important information. Obviously fighting ice giants can be quite difficult if you don’t have a ready supply of fire. So that was why Mercy sent Dominick with them, his gift of fire would come in handy. She also sent Florence, having learnt that she had a gift for wind manipulation, Mercy hopped that she would be able to help in some way.

The last group that set out was the one Mercy joined, this was the biggest group. They were intending to fight the nightcrawlers but no doubt would get pulled into other fights as well. Nightcrawlers were something to be feared and if Mercy didn’t have bigger things to fear she might have become scared. However, she knew that there was no room for feeling scared in a situation like this, time was short and you had to act quickly if you wanted to survive. They all carried weapons on them, for the nightcrawlers they had a host of silver darts, arrows and chains. They were perhaps harder to kill than the vampires purely because they never gave up.

It wasn’t long before everyone was involved in battle. Mercy couldn’t hear her own thoughts above the noise of violence and the cries of pain and death. Those few moments when she looked around at others cost her as she felt a stinging pain slide down her cheek followed by a trail of blood. She turned her head back to the nightcrawler in vengeance and shot a silver arrow straight through its heart. It fell to the ground dead and Mercy moved on to the next enemy.

She lost sense of all else as she fought her way through the enemies. She had believed her brother had bought together an army but hadn’t imagined one on this scale. Where there were thirty in her group there had to be at least one hundred enemies. Each time one was cut down another took its place. It was never-ending, it was bloody, but it was war.

Mercy had lost sight of Sam and that worried her but a couple of the Guardians were also missing so that gave her hope. She could pick out Afina and Candice nearby and felt them occasionally look at her, checking that she was still alive and well.

The battle raged around Mercy as she tore down countless enemies. She could feed off a person and kill them straight away and not feel anything but this battle was weighing heavily on her heart and she felt every kill she made and shattered a little more at every cry she heard. However, they were at least making progress, there seemed to be fewer enemies and less cries of pain. Mercy hoped that this meant the worst of the battle had passed.

As Mercy began to see more of the battle around her she noticed a rather familiar figure dodge away and run back towards the castle. Mercy swung her head around and caught sight of Candice, a nod passed between the two and Mercy headed off in the same direction as the stranger.

Mercy left the sounds of the battle behind her as she went in search of her brother. Blood covered her hands and face but luckily it wasn’t her own. She’s seen her brother run into the castle so she had followed his trail. It seemed he was either injured or sporting someone else blood like she was for he was leaving a trail behind him. Mercy followed the trail at a distance and it led her all the way to the grand hall. This was the room where Thayer sat carrying out punishments and trials for other vampires.

Mercy was getting tired, the battle had been raging for several hours and she didn’t know the state of her army. She’d seen Sam earlier being shadowed by members of the Guardians of Six and that warmed her heart. She needed Sam to be safe.

When she entered the room it was empty but she wasn’t that naïve little girl anymore and she knew he was here somewhere, probably lurking in the shadows as he was so prone to doing.

‘Well well well looks like the disobedient Princess has returned’ he called.

‘Your time is running out Thayer’ she replied.

‘No one here to hold your hand, you didn’t bring anyone with you did you. Was it because you didn’t want them to see you fail?’ he taunted.

‘I will not fail in this challenge, you taught me well’ she replied.

‘Too well, I thought you were stupid and spoilt. You were supposed to be the perfect assassin until I had no more use for you but you just had to go and get some independence. You had to ruin the plans I had didn’t you’ he snarled.

‘I didn’t ruin anything; your plans were never going to last forever. There is no place for you here Thayer. The Kingdom despises you, the people hate you and your allies are crumbling before your eyes. Give up now’ she said.

‘I will never admit defeat for as long as I am alive I am in control!’ he roared ‘what I wouldn’t give for you to have died the day the others did. It was my fault I should have remembered you were going to be away that day’ he said.

Mercy resisted the urge to gasp, he was actually admitting to his crimes.

‘You have no hope of killing me, I trained you up, I know your every move’ he said while advancing towards her.

They shared a few blows with each other before retreating to a safe distance again; his form of combat seemed to be words this time round. If he thought talking would have him, he was wrong.

‘No, you knew my every move, I’ve changed since I last saw you’ she said.

‘Yes, changed. You have feeling in your eyes now. You opened yourself up to emotions and that has made you weak!’ he said.

‘No, you made me weak, your view on life is so twisted. You have no respect here, people only fear you and fear has no loyalty’ said Mercy.

‘You’re pathetic’ he said lunging at her.

Mercy dodged his attack but barely, and she felt a new trickle of blood run down her arm.

‘I am strong, better, greater than you sister’ he sneered.

She roared at him, charged and luckily succeeded in taking his arm off. He now stood away from her panting, one arm missing, and blood pouring from the wound. The stench was unpleasant.

‘Did you think I would not have the power to harm you?’ she asked.

‘It does not matter, they will come for you soon and I will be victorious’ he said.

She laughed ‘no one is coming; my guess is they’ve all abandoned you. What did you offer them anyway? Free range to pillage and plunder?’

‘Well…there was a nice big ransom on your head’ he replied.

‘Still want me dead’ she said.

‘Without you there is no one to contest the crown’ he replied.

She nodded.

‘Too bad you’re about to lose your right’ she said.

‘Ever wondered what happened to our family?’ he asked snidely.

She glared at him already knowing what he was trying to do.

‘Remember the red room I never let you in’ he said.

She nodded.

‘It contains all that haunts me’ he replied.

She looked confused.

‘Why are you not scared?’ he growled.

‘Because you are nothing to be scared of. If you were hoping your words would scare me you were wrong, so if you have a big  secret you have to get off your chest, say it now and save us all some trouble’ she said calmly.

‘I killed our parents’ he said evilly.

‘I know’ she replied.

He looked at her curiously ‘how could you have known that?’

‘It is written on your face. It’s like you wish everyone to see what you have done yet I know your actions have haunted you ever since’ said Mercy.

‘You know nothing’ he spat.

‘I know enough’ she replied.

‘You think he will stay with you once the battle is over? How could he stay with someone as cold and heartless as you when here there are plenty of worthier women to fall for’ he said.

‘You have no idea what you are talking about’ replied Mercy.

‘Oh but I do. You may think you hide it well but you don’t, your feelings have corrupted your ability to hide things from me, you will never have his true love, just as you have never had a family’ he said.

Mercy couldn’t admit that his words had struck something deep inside her for she was always afraid that one day Sam would wake up and decide that he no longer wanted her. However this was a demon she had to battle alone and wasn’t one she was willing to let Thayer manipulate.

‘Even if it is cliché I would rather have loved and lost than to not have loved at all. At least I know whatever the outcome that I have given it a chance, that I have taken a leap. What have you done in your life that’s been so courageous? Nothing, you sit atop your throne barking orders and having other people do your dirty work. You’d have me believe that you enter the red glowing room to feel guilty about your past mistakes but that is not true for you have not one good bone in your body. You enter that room to hide when you feel weak and fearful. You are nothing but a common rat trying to be something that he isn’t. You wonder why our parents never offered you the crown, well look around, here is your answer!’ shouted Mercy.

‘I am going to kill you!’ roared Thayer.

The two entered into a fierce battle, for a while it seemed as though neither would come out on top, they were so evenly matched. Even without one arm, Thayer was an excellent fighter but Mercy was younger and faster. Still Thayer didn’t know that Mercy had been learning extra moves and tactics from others in her group and he was weak, his missing arm proved that.

After much fighting and struggling which ended in many injuries on both sides, Mercy managed to get Thayer into a headlock.

‘Going to kill me Mercy, have you no mercy’ he mocked.

‘I have plenty of Mercy but you have none to give. If I let you live you will not repent, you will not feel any guilt or remorse from your actions. You will just regroup and begin creating havoc once more. Our people have suffered enough from your hand’ said Mercy.

‘If you kill me I will live on inside you’ he said desperately.

‘No you won’t, I renounce any form of bond with you. You are nothing to me and will die as a tyrant should’ she said.

She looked into the eyes of her brother one final time and saw nothing but a monster as she pulled his head from his body. She watched his head fall to the ground and the body collapse. She pulled out a match from her pocket, lit it and watched as the broken body of her brother burned away into ashes. She allowed herself a moment of rest, as she felt her legs wobble beneath her, she sank to the ground and thought. She did not know if others could feel the absence of Thayer’s presence or if they would know that he was dead but before she returned she had one more job to do.

She ran down countless hallways searching for what she sought. Once she had found it she came to a stop before it, the door that had forever remained closed with the ominous red glow now stood open and the red haze drew her in. Maybe it was her own curiosity or the words of her brother but she knew she had to see what lay within. It was dark and fuzzy, distorted images burned through her eyes. She could see jars filled with unidentifiable objects, a fireplace, and two stuffed chairs beside it. Above the fireplace was a portrait. Mercy had to look really closely to identify the people in the picture as her family before everything went downhill. Her parents looked lovingly at each other, her first brother happy and her own self smiling. However, even looking at the portrait it was clear to see Thayer’s hidden glare behind his smile. Mercy wondered how long ago this was taken and whether the Thayer in the portrait had already began plotting the death of their family.

She heard a slight noise and turned around, she gasped. Preserved in perfect condition, laid in clear class coffins were the bodies of her parents and other brother. If she didn’t already know they were dead she would have thought they were merely sleeping. Mercy now understood her brother’s obsession with this room. As the second son he would have had to compete with his older brother and clearly the thought of being the middle child hadn’t settled well with him. He had wanted the crown for himself and so he had made arrangements for that to be so. However, he couldn’t part with his family, he wanted to be able to look upon them each day and gloat about his triumphs, - or at least that is what Mercy had suspected. She looked at the faces of her family in sorrow, after this was over she would give them a proper burial, it was unkind to keep them this way. It was like keeping them from their rest.

Mercy left the red room with her head held high, it was time to take back her Kingdom. With the enemy now gone it was just the stragglers that were left, without their leader they were just headless chickens and Mercy would make sure that they knew all bridges made were now burnt. If any of the other Kingdoms that had allied themselves with Thayer called for help, Mercy would not answer for they did not deserve it.

She walked onto the battlefield like a savior rising from the dead, there was smoke, destruction and death surrounding her but she was like a bright light that caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look up at her. Most of the enemy had been destroyed, it was clear that many had fled when the battle had begun and others were rounded up in a corner with their hands and feet bound by a rather vicious looking steel rope.

Mercy tried not to look at the round as she walked over to the people she recognized. She didn’t want to have to face seeing people she knew lying on the ground just yet. Ahead of her she could see the Guardians of Six but she couldn’t see Sam and that made her feel quite sick.

‘Your Highness’ said Eiji as she approached.

She nodded in response.

‘All has been taken care of here’ he said, ‘how did you fair?’ he asked curiously.

‘Thayer is dead; his ashes lie on the floor of the great hall. Where is Sam?’ she asked.

The Guardians looked at her in astonishment, like they expected her to look worse for wear after a battle with Thayer.

‘He is helping others’ said Eiji.

Mercy nodded.

‘What do you want to do?’ asked Eiji.

‘Celebration must come later for we have much to do now. We must tend to the prisoners and see to our dead. Take any injured civilians to the East Hall’ said Mercy pointing to her left ‘the healers should have already gathered’.

[BREAK]

Mercy walked down the healer’s hall checking in on everyone, offering help when she could and bringing hope to others. Her eyes however showed the desperateness she felt as she still couldn’t see Sam. She passed Nikolai and Pietr who were alive, but looking worse for wear and they directed her to the far end of the ward. She followed their advice and saw a crowd standing around a lying figure. She quickened her pace as her heart contracted rapidly. She was terribly afraid of the figure that lay in the bed. As she neared she saw a head of long hair and realized the person lying on the bed wasn’t Sam, it was female. When she arrived at the bed she looked down and saw the face of Miranda. Mercy felt guilty for she never learned Miranda’s story.

Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a warm embrace. Even though she was at first startled she soon relaxed as she recognized the strong arms encircling her. She turned in her embrace as was met with the worried face of Sam. She felt relief spread through her body at seeing him alive and relatively unharmed. She let her fingers trace his bruised face and watched him sigh under her touch. Though they were vampires it would still take them time to heal from the wounds received as they were created by other supernatural species. Mercy motioned to Miranda lying in the bed and Sam answered her unspoken question.

‘She died protecting me. She told me I was too important to you and that she couldn’t let me die when I made you shine so bright. I think she saw you as who she would have been should her life have taken a different turn’.

Mercy nodded; saddened that she had not been able to get to know this brave individual and happy that she had at last spoken out loud to someone.

‘I am so glad that you are alive’ she whispered.

‘I am glad that you are alive with me’ he replied.

He looked at her concern in his eyes, as he wondered how she was feeling.

‘I’m fine’ she said, ‘it will take time but I am fine’.

He nodded.

‘Your Highness’ said Nikolai.

Mercy turned away from Sam but remained in his embrace.

‘We have counted the dead’ he said seriously.

Mercy nodded, ‘how many?’ she asked.

‘Four civilians and six of our own’ he replied.

Mercy felt fortunate that so few had died, the plan to evacuate the civilians safely had obviously worked and she was happy that so few of her own group of comrades had passed on. It was indeed something to celebrate.

‘May I?’ asked Mercy.

Nikolai nodded and led Mercy and Sam down a narrow hallway that widened at the end. Here they had laid those who had passed. Of the civilians there were two elderly men, a middle aged woman and a young man. It didn’t look like they had been fighting but rather just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mercy prayed that their souls found peace on the other side and hoped that they left no one behind.

She then looked towards the others who had died for the cause and met the faces of; Michael – who had never really enjoyed vampire life, Misha – whose love of fashion was all she’d ever talk about, Laurence – whose years as Head Guard were but a distant memory to him, Astrid – who died alongside her love, Laurence and Serina who died protecting her mother Lucia.

It was amazing that so few had passed but it was also a sad occasion. Mercy had hoped to avoid death but knew that it had been a very real possibility to many in her party. She felt blessed that even though she had done so many wrong things in her life, she had been granted a second chance. She was determined that she would do right by her Kingdom, her friends and Sam.

[BREAK]

They left the Kingdom unchanged for a week to honor the dead before they began restoring the Kingdom to its former glory. Lorenzo had tried to persuade Mercy to have her coronation the week after mourning had ended but she was determined that she would not be crowned until all the Kingdom was restored. This might seem like a daunting feet and a task that would take many years to complete but the vampires were nothing if not talented and managed to get most of the jobs done in under a month.

Mercy had offered places of work for many of her company; some had wanted to come back to their old positions while others wanted to be further away. Mercy was not sorry to see the back of Valencia or Frederico, but she was disappointed that some of the other bitten vampires had chosen to live in the surrounding areas rather than at the castle. However it was their decision and Mercy wasn’t going to force them.

Lorenzo returned as her advisor, and Lucia became the head chef in the kitchen. Grifel returned to being a blacksmith and Margret returned to being a librarian but Mercy thought she saw some sparks flying between the two. Gustavo went back to guarding the doors between worlds but Mercy promised to visit him often and he promised to attend her coronation. Anya opened her own healing institute but still insisted on being the personal healer for the crown, while Olga enjoyed her new room in the castle and the freedom to have visions without having to tell them to others. Ivan became somewhat of a traveler but never strayed far from Illenia, Nikolai became the new Head Guard and Pietr became the new Head Strategist – however it was good to be weary of them as they liked to pull pranks. Theodore, Alec and Florence settled down with Denise, Geoff and Zack. They were still deciding what they wanted to do in this new world but Mercy wasn’t pushing for an answer.

Then finally the Guardians remained, Mercy had offered them rooms in the castle, she didn’t know what would happen, whether they would leave or not but if they stayed she hoped they’d become a council to help her and friends to count on.

Last but not least there was Sam, who had been given a room next to Mercy’s. She desperately wanted him in her room with her but Lorenzo pointed out that this would be frowned upon by the civilians. Though the year that had passed when they’d been traveling had seemed like mere moments, they’d had to make a decision. Mercy knew she loved Sam and Sam knew he loved Mercy so when Lorenzo had confronted them and asked them what they wanted to do, their answer had been unanimous. For their happy ever after style life all they needed to do was wait for the day of the coronation to appear.

[Break]

Mercy was for once in her life; nervous. She paced the room she was waiting in nervously. Her coronation was only moments away. All civilians had gathered inside the large royal building, waiting for their Queen to become official. Originally the colors worn at a coronation were red and gold but Mercy had changed that tradition by wearing a gown of gold that was lined with a pale cream. She looked so unlike the woman everyone had gotten to know that she could have been someone else if it hadn’t been for the eyes that spoke of such history.

Three knocks on the door and she knew it was time. She walked through her small door and then through a set of double doors and as the music started to play she began her steady pace down the isle. It was unnerving having so many people stare at her, as she had forgotten what it felt like. There hadn’t been many occasions in later years that Thayer had allowed her out in formal settings. Somehow she managed to walk all the way to the large throne chairs without tripping.

Lorenzo appeared before her with another man who she knew as the one who would crown her. He spoke in a language that was almost forgotten in the Kingdom as he got her to recite words and sentences. Mercy was proud that she didn’t waver in her voice or make any mistakes. This was the moment she had been waiting for and she was desperate to start governing her people as they deserved. Moments later a large glittering crown was placed on her head and the congregation was on its feet hailing their new Queen. The feeling coursing through Mercy could not be explained, it was indescribable.

Then Lorenzo called for silence and the congregation sat down once more. He spoke quietly to the man who had crowned her and then motioned for a man to join them on stage. Mercy looked up with desire pulsing through her veins at the dashing sight of Sam in a suit. If she had known he would look this good in one she would have demanded he wear one earlier.

The congregation seemed to catch on to what was happening and a thunderous applause broke out, it took a while for the crowd to quiet down. This time it was Lorenzo who spoke to them as Sam would not have been able to understand the words of the old world.

Mercy tried to control her emotions as she felt her hands start to shake and silently cursed herself for being so open with her emotions. Since she’d opened the lock on her emotions she had had a hard time controlling them but Sam told her that with practice all would be well.

Their hands were joined by Lorenzo’s, they gazed into each others eyes as words were said before them and then they heard the cheering and whooping of the congregation that signaled the kiss they were leaning in to share. It wasn’t as passionate as others they had shared but with thousands of people watching it was hard to not feel like you were being watched.

They parted as Mercy watched as a smaller glittering crown was lowered onto Sam’s head. For now she was happy.

[BREAK]

It had been an incredibly long journey for Mercy and her fight was not yet over as she now had to govern a Kingdom that was just coming out of the dark that her brother had kept it in. The civilians weren’t eager to trust and they had good reason to be considering who had ruled them before. Mercy went out of her way to show that she was different from her brother and that she wanted the Kingdom to thrive not fail. It helped that she had the Guardians of Six by her side, seeing a myth come to live was certainly rewarding for the civilians but Mercy gathered that what helped them trust the most was the combined efforts of both Mercy and Sam working together. After the coronation Mercy had discussed with Sam how things were going to happen, she didn’t want to rule alone with a husband by her side, she wanted an equal partner in all things that mattered. So the two of them ruled together, made decisions together and lived together.

Seeing Mercy today, no one could have thought she was once a bitter cold hearted vampire but time changes everyone and she’d had a lot of time to change. Everyone who now entered the Kingdom knew they’d be welcomed because they’d heard that this Kingdom had something that others didn’t; Mercy.