World Collisions 8:Memories

Remembering the past, however painful, and connecting the dots that lead to the present events.

She was five at the time. When the strange green marks had appeared on her wrists. She didn’t know what they meant or how important they’d be.

She had shown her mother them first, who didn’t know much about them either, but knew they were a good mark and not a bad omen. Her father, however knew much more about them. He was the tribe’s second in command. He had smiled, sadly and brought her to the leader. He didn’t have a real name, everyone just called him Germania.

He was tall, with long blonde hair and when the marks were shown to him, he remained stoic, just as she always had seen him before then. He spoke with her father for a long time and she sat in the hut, waiting for them to stop or tell her to go elsewhere.

Her father glanced at her for a moment, she heard the word he spoke next. "Guardian." He had a worried expression. She had never seen her father worried. But she figured it wasn’t overly important and she payed no attention to it. Her brothers were already great guards and were used to the duty of making sure their little sister was properly protected. He shouldn’t have to worry.

 

Things seemed to zoom forward into time by several years, everything she had done blurred over those years blurred into several short moments. She was twenty now, a thick cloak covered her head as she stood under the high noon sun next to Germania. They were looking down into a valley, where banners of red flew brightly. She hissed under her breath. Germania turned and left, she followed him closely.

They travelled through a thick brush before emerging into their own camp. Everyone had a weapon nearby and a grim expression. It was mental preparation for a fight. She entered her own tent to get her sword. Pulling the cowl off her cloak off her head, she wiped her brow and leaned against one of the sturdier tent poles. Vampires like her weren’t meant to be awake during the day. Her low collared shirt revealed more of the green marking peeking around her collar bone and near her neck. The green streaks in her had started near her temples, stretching back to blend with the rest that was pulled into a thick braid.

She attached the sword to her belt and placed the cowl back over her head. She wouldn’t admit to Germania that their Guardian was unwell to fight in the coming battle, at least not during the day.

She left the tent and went to join him at the head of their warriors.

 

The battle had begun several hours before and it was a sickening bloody mess. She was finding it harder to keep the cowl over her face so not to let the sun burn her while fending off the Roman soldiers. She had lost track of the many she had brought down and of Germania. She hissed at the next approaching fighter and crouched into a pouncing position. She saw his skin crawl as he attempted to remain on the spot and she lauched herself at him, dodging his slow, her at least, side slash.

Once he was dead, she stood to survey the area for her country. She saw him fighting nearly a hundred feet away and ran to aid him in his own fight. By the looks of it, he was fighting The Rome Empire. He had pointed him out to her from the ridge before and had told to be wary of his Guardian who they had yet to spot.

From the side came a fast slice and she dodged it with only the strings on her boots being cut. She glared at her opponent. He was smiling back at her innocently. Startled, she brought her sword up and lunged. He parried and side stepped just as easily has she dodged his earlier attack.

She was fighting another vampire, but he wore no cowled cloak to keep the sun off. Instead, he wore the usual armour of the roman soldiers and was even slightly tanned. His dark brown hair and deep brown eyes gave her a sad look. He said something, but she didn’t understand him. She continued to glare, blade at the ready. He sighed and spoke again, "So you don’t understand Latin. Please, I don’t want to kill you, just let our countries fight it out themselves."

She growled back, "I was chosen to defend Germania and I will do so with my life." She charged him again, lunging then swinging her blade to the side he dodged again. There was ring of metal as their blades collided and struggled to push the other away. She lessened her push and while caught unaware, kicked him in the stomach. He fell to the ground and rolled back to his feet.

She took a quick glance at were she last saw her country. He had Rome pinned, ready to deliver a final blow, but he was battered and wounded just a badly. Then pain spread through her head and there was only darkness.

 

"Are these...Her memories?" Gilbert asked himself as he watched them.

 

When she woke, she was in a tent, back in her camp. She wasted no time in going to Germania, to make sure he was okay. He was laying on the bed, breathing shallowly. His clothes soaked with blood, but he was bandaged.

"Germania....," she said quietly.

He didn’t move or respond.

The next day he was gone.

 

They had won and lost that battle. Germania crumbled as Rome did. Becoming smaller countries and nations. She was often left to wonder why her guardian marks had not faded, but changed. Changing from green to black and began twisting down her sides in vines. She found the reason not long after the Templars began their assault on the Prussian tribes.

She had helped in the sixty year long struggle against them, only to have the matter resolved by the creation of a state to put under the control of them. Most of the earlier years under their rule, she hid. She had heard the whispers among the people, vampires were evil to most of them. She had come to the fief named the Duchy of Prussia, she had no clue. But she quickly made the connections of why she always hearing that name. It was to become a nation if it wasn’t already.

Konigsberg became her home and she made her presence known among the ruling parties. Which wasn’t taken all too well but she stuck around anyways, as its ‘unofficial’ guardian. The ladies of the state though, liked her very much. They’d fill in her about the coming wars which Frederick I and previous rulers were very familiar with, having dealt with the Polish and Swedish guardians several times, and gave her lessons on how to better fit in with the nobility.

Because of her extensive knowledge of historic events, she was even tutor to Frederick II who became the crowned prince. She had explained to him what she was, her purpose. And when the War of the Austrian Succession came around, he made use that.

 

"She really did know Fritz!" he said, surprised. "But that’s not exactly how I remember it happening...."

 

She, however, did not want to fight.

He never once noticed her extra days spent in Austria after sending her with messages. Her days spent with Zuriel. A new guardian them, her lover the Seraphim. It had been going on for several years and she had been happy, but the war that Frederick II planned to wage, she was not willing to participate. It would mean fighting him and perhaps killing him.

She had gotten to know Zuriel to well. He was not a fighter. He heart lay in his songs and hymns. If they fought, he’d die.

The first Silesian war past without to much incident, besides her not truly fighting Zuriel, only to sneak to his place the next night.

And once more she was on the front lines, standing next to Fritz, with a forlorn expression. He patted her back. "If you’re worried about losing, you shouldn’t be. You’ve told me about your victories. This one should be just as easy as the last," he said, turning to begin the next assault on Upper Silesia. It would the four time she’d fought. If they won this fight, they’d get the entirety of Silesia under their rule and even with such good odds for them, she was even more unwilling to fight than before.

Her hand flitted over her lower stomach, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide it long and though a vampire, a mortal wound for a human, could prove fatal to her now. She groaned inwardly. This was not a good a time to be with child, especially if it belonged to someone on the opposing side. But it was just this one last fight. It would last, a day, a month at the most and they’d win and then she could rest and hopefully Zuriel wouldn’t hate her for making him lose.

 

The ring of metal, sparks flew as the swords collided. "Zuriel, listen to me!"

"No! I’ve been allowing you to win because I never realized how important this region is to my country. But now that I know that and also that this fight will decide whether you win or lose...I can’t...Not this time," he cried, back. Pulling away from her to lunge again.

"Zuriel...You can’t possibly be thinking of killing me to win...?" she said, dodging his slices and stabs.

"If that’s what it takes!" he growled, pulling the sword above his head to cleave her in two.

She lifted her blade to deflect it. "Don’t...Please...You can’t...Unless you don’t want to be a father!" she shouted the last sentence.

He hardly heard it over the roar of the surrounding fight, but he paused. "What?"

"You’re going to be a father, Zuriel...That’s why I don’t want to fight you to the death..."

He shook his head. "No..You’re lying to make me lose again." He dropped his sword and grasped his head in confusion. "No.."

"Its true...I wouldn’t lie about this..Not to you.."

He roared and ran at her, picking up his sword as he passed it.

She brought her arms and sword to block, but Zuriel’s blade came in lower than she expected. "I’m sorry," he whispered. "Even if you’re telling the truth...I...I Can’t lose...not this time."

He extracted his sword from her gut. She fell to the ground and screamed as the paroxysms of pain began to ravage her body. He dropped the blade again, at his feet and backed away slowly.

She began coughing up blood as she clasped her hands over the wound. She was in a weakened state...If someone from the Prussian army didn’t find her and help stop the bleeding ,or reveal a bit too much of their neck, she’d die on the field.

Fritz was yelling at her. Yes, it had been a victory for them, but he was not happy that his ‘Guardian’ was not able to defeat an angel, or at least return the wounds that she had received. She winced with every shout. He really got angry, she wondered whether it was a more worried anger than a disappointed one...It didn’t matter. She had lost her child and Zuriel, and she hated herself for that.

   From there, she was merely a figure head. Not really a guardian, for Prussia had never really become a country, but had always remained a part of something larger and just acted as one. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with realizing this, that she hadn’t been defending a country like most guardians.

She had fought with Zuriel several times after that and Odette during the Napoleonic Wars and many others. But she growing tired...she’d stayed awake for too long. Her race, the vampires, needed long periods of sleep to recover fully. Sure, she had slept a year or two when nothing much happened. But it wasn’t enough. She needed a long time and a place where she couldn’t be found by just anyone. She told Carmine, who she found to the Roman guardian she fought back when Germania was around, Zuriel, because they had gotten somewhat over what had happened, and Odette because the siren had quite literally given herself to her during the Franco-Prussian wars when the French army had won with sheer numbers.

 

He woke breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He looked around, unable to remember where he was. It slowly came back to him. He was in Ivan’s basement still, leaning against the cold wall. Gilbert hissed under his breath. "We aren’t so similar, Abi," he said to darkness in the basement. "Not really..."

Author's Note

Maybe some spelling and grammar errors...Not sure...But enjoy...If anyone actually reads these anymore...

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[Thoctar]

History ftw!