Lord Alexander Vance's thralls had long since infiltrated that little peasant town, and when he closed his eyes Lord Vance had watched through their eyes.<br/><br/>No silver coins being melted down into crosses.<br/><br/>No foolish peasants sharpening their broom handles into points.<br/><br/>No priests blessing bucket after bucket of water.<br/><br/>And no garlic gardens in sight.<br/><br/>Good signs, all. The peasants hadn't gotten into their heads some delusion that they could topple their long-standing protector and lord. Perhaps they had finally learned what it took to live in peace, or perhaps they were merely afraid of the vampire in the castle overlooking their little home.<br/><br/>(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/54/48/18/5448189339f02b4f59ad4ce8332a883f.jpg)<br/><br/>As the years went by, the thralls started speaking words of a possible threat to the peace of the town. Word spread throughout the village of a girl budding into adulthood. It was said that on the day she became a woman, she would be the most beautiful in all the land, one princes would kill for. Both worried about this threat to peace and intrigued by the stories of her beauty, Lord Vance directed his thralls to keep an eye on this young woman.<br/><br/>"Evangeline."<br/><br/>That was her name.<br/><br/>But Lord Vance had taken to affectionately calling her Evie, even before they met.<br/><br/>The thralls learned all they could about what Evie for their master. What she liked, what she wanted to do with her life, who she loved, and whose proposals she had turned down. As it turned out, nigh every young men, some of the older men, and even a few young women were desperately in love with Evangeline. But Evie only loved one man, the butcher's son. A peasant boy named Daniel. A worthless boy who'd never held dying men in his arms as they breathed their last breaths. A child who'd never taken life to defend his home, nor worried that his enemies might come in his sleep to take his. Why should this one, callow young man have the most beautiful woman in the land? Lord Vance knew that if he was asking such questions, the other villagers certainly would be too.<br/><br/>Lord Vance thought back to times long ago, before his father had died. Before the darkness had taken his soul. When he married the most beautiful woman in the land, and her other suitors hounded him day and night, trying to strike him down as their unworthy adversary. Lord Vance had long fought to keep his beloved wife from becoming a widow. But one day, those bastards came for him, and dear Bianca...<br/><br/>Lord Vance could not bear the thought of another situation like that. By then, Evie would be so attached to the boy, regardless of his poor qualities, that his death would shatter her completely. Or worse, Evie herself would die trying to defend that insignificant boy, and the greatest beauty God had placed in Lord Vance's little county would be gone forever. He'd have to wait another 200 years at least to see anything so beautiful again.<br/><br/>No.<br/><br/>It would not happen. For the sake of his people. For the sake of the butcher's boy. For the sake of Evie. And for the sake of beauty itself, Lord Vance would take the young woman that night.<br/><br/>He had intended to take her from her bedroom. To slip in through the window, scoop her up in his arms, and carry her away in a cloud of mist. Unfortunately, that was the same night the boy decided to make his move.<br/><br/>Worthless boy!<br/><br/>Sacrificial lamb!<br/><br/>Lord Vance swooped in and shoved Daniel aside as he took Evangeline in his arms as his own. His new mistress. That would teach these vultures not to believe in love. Keep them away from the heartbreak it could bring.<br/><br/>In a cloud of mist, carried on the swiftest of winds, Lord Vance carried Evangeline back to his castle. The towers came into view as they soared through the air, toward one of the tower windows.