This young man was addicted to being loved. He was too romanticized, living the feelings at a peak, too vigorous. Sometimes, he dramatized a burden of losses, yet he never pretended. That was who he was: pure and elegant. He never thought twice before acting. He liked the butterflies to land on his fingers, playing with hounds, dancing and singing. He wanted his hair to be caressed while he fell asleep. He loved to exaggerate exceptionally while telling mystique tales that amused him dearly. Most of them included the adventures of his big brother. He loved him to the moon and back. He loved to bestow delicate touches and soft kisses as much as he loved receiving them after a heated night in bed. He loved to sidle his head to my chest and curled inside my arms. He liked to console me when thunder struck late at night; even though I was perfectly okay with it, I knew it helped him withstand the terror. Even the idea of a storm or lightning would terrify him, but he tried to hide it. Vukasin was the only thing in my life that was not according to the plan. 

We often met in barns, street gaps, inns and abandoned depots. Mehli was out at night; he came into our room afternoons to fuck me and admonish me that he was a man that had done all of his responsibility, and it was I who was spoiled. Feeling his weight above me, leaning on me, was disgusting to every inch of my body. It was impossible to imagine Vuk in his place as Mehli was too rude, rough, skillless and greasy. I was trapped in a torment, thankfully not longer than a minute.

On the other hand, Vukasin's skin was light and bright, like made of white rose petals. His scent was fresh and mild. With him, I felt strong and respected. With him, I knew I would be fine. He was just like the depictions of angels. 

I woke up before him, as usual. His face on the pillow was turned to my side; the morning light enlightened his eyelashes. A few tiny dark moles on his neck reminded me he was mortal. I caressed his dark hair. He opened his big indigo eyes slowly and smiled before yawning. " 'Morning," he whispered. I straightened up, " 'Morning." I got dressed in a hurry while he was rolling on the bed. We were in a poor hostel. He sat on the bed. All naked and slightly wrapped by the white blanket. He was still looking groggy. "Can you please just don't go, not today?" he whined. I eyed his messy hair. I reached him and messed up with it more. His eyes were squinted and looking fidgety. "You first spruce up. The only reason why you are still in the country is that your presence is forgotten. You shouldn't be in the limelight." He grumbled and stood up. The blanket fell on the bed. They walked near the window, grabbed the jug of wine, and poured it into a cup. He drank it while looking out of the window. "Oh great, I tell you to disguise, you exhibit yourself to the street." He turned back at me, smirking. He sipped the cup and displayed his teeth all red from the wine. He raised his hands and roared. "Hear me, mortal. I am the lord of the vampires." He leapt on me and started to tickle my belly. "Stop it!" I yelled, but he was enjoying himself so much. We were lying on the ground. "How come even your vampire identity is a royal? The lord of the vampires." He giggled. " What can I say? It runs in the blood." I stood up. "Hilarious," I said. He jumped up and kissed me. "See you at midnight, Lady Fangs." 

It was just so easy with him. He never complained about my marriage, offered me to run away, escape from this, and marry him. He loved me for the sake of love. He was all about the present. Contrary to what I had initially thought, he had no ambition to win me over Mehli. We were at each other's side, and nobody had to know. I knew he would stay in Danishmenthan till I die if I wanted him to. However, it was impossible to unsee his yearning for his brother. He was always up to news from Tigrisia. He always mentions his name in his speeches. I could sense the loneliness that strangled him despite his efforts to hide it. I knew I must let him go, but I was too selfish to bear his absence. 

When I returned to the castle, Kartal gave an edge to his axe in the pavilion around the corner of the yard. I approached him and sat on the bench. He side-eyed me and then returned to what he was doing. I  leaned back to the wood and looked up at the pyramidal ceiling. "I am so done with this castle!" He smirked, even slightly giggled. "Your marriage was unnecessary as I became the king's hand." I skidded beside him. "You are smarter than that; you have that title because you are the brother of his daughter-in-law." Kartal put the axe on the bench and folded his hands forward; he seemed tactful. "I know it is hard to get along with Prince Mehli. I've known the guy, yet you must endure a little longer. The war is yet to come. Hang in there. After the war, we will be wealthy, free and at home." He squeezed my shoulder faintly and walked back inside. 

I was careless about the war. Suddenly, an outrageous idea popped into my head. If I got pregnant with Mehli's child, what would happen after the war? I knew my father would kill me if he knew I would carry a Danishmenthan child. Mother taught me to prepare a tea containing pregnancy to prevent that, but who could ever understand what would come? Vuk and I were careful; we learned a child would ruin our lives. Vukasin never saw himself as a father; he barely had pubes. On the other hand, I was too wild to own a baby. 

The idea nested in my mind, and I started to run away from Mehli. He often couldn't find me in the castle afternoon. I had discovered the forest as if I had planted each tree, so it was a cinch to escape from the castle and meet with Vukasin at the other end of the woods. I could tell he found it entertaining to get together secretly. 

When Bayezid decided to spread his children around the country, Mehli was the only one in Edre. I remember that Prince Musa resisted being sent to the south shore. He didn't want to be away from the occurings, but that was precisely what Bayezid wanted him to do. In case of a debacle, they must be able to escape easily. Suleiman, just a year younger than Mehli, was sent to the East and Isa to the North. Kartal thrived; at least we knew where to find each after the war. 

Months he was passed. Kartal had always been self-contained. He only spoke when something had to be said. We were not having a heart-to-heart talk in Karamanian anyway. On the other hand, he was a good man and brother to me. After our small chat in the pavilion, he started reserving an hour or two every day to talk with me. 

We were riding our horses on the hills; he mentioned the atmosphere in the parliament. He ravished. When Temur promised the independence of Karamanian two years ago, my father primarily settled this marriage, allowing us to draw information from the castle to Temur. However, now, with Kartal, we could mislead Danishmenthan and weaken the country from the inside like a parasite. He told me that the Brancovic Dynasty pledged an alliance to Temur. This resulted in a minor crisis in the court -  Bayezid knew that Brancovic was an all-time enemy of Dragarevic. There was no chance that they would stand by the same side. This progress stressed Kartal out as Bayezid was determined to go to Tigrisia by himself and talk to King Jaromir. Therefore, he had to persuade Bayezid that the two sides were unaware of each other's stance. I knew that the oath of freedom to our nation started to become an extreme wealth that Kartal happily had to bear. He knew that if Jaromir Dragarevic understood his play, his head would be chopped. All of us had heard what happened to the traitors in Tigrisia. Kartal was confident about tricking a lonely, paranoiac king full of rage, but he also knew that the Dragon protected the king. Our slightest mistake could burn us alive. 

Consequently, when he contacted houses that had claims on the thrones of the vassals in the Balkans to promise them a crown in exchange for their engagement to Temur, he showed utmost consideration in writing to Jaromir's aunt's husband, who was a follower of Prince Darcy in secret. He made Bayezid believe that the current vassals of the Balkans were traitors, while, in reality, the new vassals about to replace them would be the ones on Temur's side.

We rode our horses till the sun went down. Abruptly, I felt my view blurred and darkened, my legs loosened, and I fell onto the grass. Kartal jumped off the horse, following me. Ran toward me. "Are you okay?" I nodded, and then a sudden urge to vomit made me capsize to the ground. He gripped my hair behind me. "Come on, you need to be seen by a sanitarian." I faced him in a hurry. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to consider it, but here it came and could be real. 

+ Not the sanitarian of the castle!

-Why?

He was fooled and confused. I hardly gulped.

+ I might be pregnant.

He soured his face. He scratched his head and sat next to me. 

- Come on! Mehli hasn't seen the castle for months, travelling around the cities. You can't carry a child.

+ No, it is. 

He was speechless. He stood up and grabbed the lead of the horses. Then he gave me a hand, and we rode to the nearest village. 

Kartal waited outside the cabinet. The old lady ventured me; she jabbed a needle on my thumb and sank my hand into a pot of water. The blood drop sank to the bottom. She laughed and got out. She looked for Kartal. He stood up nervously and looked at the lady dimly. "Congertualitons, you are going to be a father of a son!" she cheered. Kartal was stoned. 

"He is my brother," I said behind the curtains. She giggled and lapped Kartal's shoulder. "You become an uncle of a boy." Kartal rushed inside. He was breathless. "Explain, like now!" he said, gasping. 

- He is not from Mehli.

+ Then who the hell is he from?

- Vukasin.

He was puzzled.

+ Vukasin Dragarevic. Vukasin Dragarevic?

I shushed him and nodded. 

+ Are you fucking with me? You mean the prince of Tigrisia. 

I thought I didn't need to worry about getting pregnant from Mehli for the following eight months, which was a relief. Then Kartal shook me. 

+ Do you have a relationship with the man?

- Yes. 

+ So you broke your oath to your country because you were too bored with Mehli?

- Oh, shut up, I wouldn't do that. You know me better.

+ This is so bad; this is a disaster.

- Kartal! I am in love with him. 

He paused and rested both hands on the back of his head.

+ Does he love you back?

- He does. 

He paced back and forth inside the room. His irises were moving fast and sharp, eyeing the surroundings. He sighed, rested his right hand on the wooden table, and tilted his head. He was taking deep breaths. 

+ When the baby is born, Mehli will own it. Danishmenthan will own it. As Karamans betrayed Danishmenthan on the battlefield, the guards in the castle will kill the baby. This baby is our blood; we cannot let this happen. If they know the baby is from Vukasin, they will kill you. However, I won't let this happen if I must choose someone through this dilemma. I will sacrifice the baby without any second thoughts. Do you understand me?

He walked furiously inside the room for a little while.

+ If you mention the baby to Vukasin... Oh, Tengri, save us! Believe it or not, Tigrisian blood runs even thicker than us. They are so bound to their kin. He will immediately claim the baby, and then the chaos will occur. 

- No, he won't.

+ You know nothing. Even if he won't, his brother certainly will. A conflict will arise between the two countries. Wait a minute? A dispute will arise between Jaromir and Bayezid. That's it, Tomris! You need to tell Vukasin about the baby. During the war, Tigrisia will save both you and the baby. They will fight against Danishmenthan.

- You cannot be sure of it. Vukasin won't say to his brother. He fears to disappoint him.

+ The second scenario is after I get rid of the Dragon, Vukasin will be crowned and take you as a wife. You will be the queen of Tigrisia. Tigrisia will be an ally of Karamania, and Danishmenthan won't withstand the war. In the long run, we can even defeat Temur and widen the boundaries of our country with the help of the greatest army in the world, the Tigrisian army. 

- But Kartal, I won't be free, I won't return home. 

+ You wanted it, sister; now deal with the consequences.

- How do you think you can kill the Dragon?

+ Leave it to me, would you?

We rode back to the castle. The sky was already coal black. I urged to my room. Suddenly, a figure jumped off me through the shadows. I was about to scream, but he closed my mouth with his hands. Then he turned me to himself and took his hand off. "Nobody's in the hall." Vukasin took his cape off. "The sheets of the inns are irritating; the royal beds are way more comfortable. Don't you think?" I pushed him inside the room. Watched out the hall one last time and closed the door behind me. He threw the cape to the floor. I took a deep breath. I thought he would panic, so I explained as softly as possible.

"I need to tell you something."

He was looking at me jolly, then, as I talked, his face blushed, and his lips tightened. I planned to discuss a solution together; maybe we could give the baby to a family or find a way to get rid of it before the birth safely, yet he impulsively shouted.

"I AM GONNA BE A FATHER!"