17.
Fifteen years was not a lifetime,
but to some it was a long time. Vlad Tepes, imprisoned by the King of Hungary,
was angry. He had ruled Wallachia as his father did, and loved his people as
they loved him. His goal was to build Wallachia into a powerful, truly
independent state, rather than a puppet buffer tossed back and forth between
Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. He learned his lesson when he was held hostage
there. This was a situation that the local nobility used to their advantage to
keep the state weak and themselves unaccountable to any authority beyond their
own.
Vlad III knew that to succeed, he
had to overcome the disruptive power of the nobility, and to do so, he had to
use violence and terror, because he did not have time to breed them out or
politically outmanoeuvre them. In addition to that, he also had to maximize the
revenue coming into the treasury. Wallachia was not of Poland, Hungary, or the
colossus of the Ottoman Empire. To do so, he had to maximize internal
efficiency and do what he could to grow the Wallachian economy at the expense
of foreign trading partners, like the Saxon merchants in Hungary and
Transylvania. For those like the Transylvanians, he had to go to war with them
and imposed a settlement after committing several atrocities against them. With
the Ottomans, Vlad had done everything he could control to improve his
position. He had offered sureties in ducats, delayed the payments, and
even executed the emissaries.
His position was ever precarious due
to the threat by the others to invade Wallachia. It was meant to be the last
outpost of Christianity on the Danube front, or the buffer for the Ottoman
Empire, depending on which side was looking at it.
For all of that, he had failed.
His greatest regret was his love
for his family.
“Katharina……” Not his first love,
for he was wedded to Anastasia Holszanska, the Queen of Poland's niece; a union
of convenience then, but Cupid struck at his heart. He saw the other, Katarina,
while he was riding through the city. It was said that love at first sight was
pure love, and Vlad felt that.
Katharina Siegel, a beautiful
seventeen-year-old blond girl with blue eyes. He wanted to wed her, and
corresponded with the Pope asking him to grant an indulgence letter so that
Vlad could cancel the marriage to his first wife, Anastasia Holszanska.
Vlad was denied.
Vlad was to wed Katarina, but had
several children with her till his imprisonment.
Vlad's time at the dungeon was
marked by his mind thinking of Wallachia. He still has his aspiration to rule
Wallachia once more. He was not visited by Katharina, but she sent him letters
through friends. She was not a noble, but she knew some traders.
One of them was Lord Gencio Capulet.
“Who rules Wallachia now?” Vlad
asked.
“For a while, it was your brother,
Radu, and then Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân. Both Lord fought and claimed the seat
several times.”
“And my house?” Vlad asked.
“Katharina is well. She is at your
home and takes care of the children.” He had met Vlad at the court of Hungary,
and in a short time, they became friends. They spend time talking about
Wallachia. Lord Gencio Capulet was keen to know about Wallachia, for it was a
land of tussle between the two great powers. When the Voivode was imprisoned, Lord
Gencio Capulet made his visit there with the permission of the King.
“Impalement was my show of
deterrent to the enemies, more so the boyars who defied my rule. If I had not
done so, I would be considered weak.” Vlad told Lord Gencio Capulet during one
of their talks. The once proud Voivode was reduced to the ragged tunic that
reached his knees, and his feet were wrapped with the strips of cloth in place
of the sandals.
“You …… impaled women and
children.” Lord Gencio Capulet cut in with the accusation. “Turks and my own
people.”
“I did… or did not, it was
survival. I had to do what was needed to create the fear there. I am sure;
however, I said to impale the men, but the executioners may have exceeded their
anger towards the innocents. I was away here or on the battlefield. News of
such acts reached me much later for me to stop.”
“Did you stop them?” Lord Gencio
Capulet was pushing the limits then.
“Stop? I could have, but there were
so many battles……... the Saxons, the Bulgarians, and …… not forgetting the
Turks. Kill or be killed. And survival was the essence.” Vlad replied.
“At one battle, I killed the Turks;
twenty thousand or more in one battle. I told Corvinus in a letter. I was told
that Sultan saw his men impaled there. He was upset and had the bodies taken
down and burned on the ground there.”
“In retaliation, the Sultan took
the slaves of the population, horses, and cattle.” Vlad sounded upset then. “Do
you know what it was like to be a slave? A hostage is the same as slavery.
Death was preferred to that.”
“You were in the army before, Lord
Gencio Capulet? Tell me what you preferred? Death or live as a prisoner?” Vlad
looked at the other. “Do not tell me. Our values differ.”
Lord Gencio Capulet excused himself
without replying. He did offer the Wallachian his coat then, but the other
declined.
“My cold nights here are nothing
compared to my feelings that I hold now. I am in a state of misery here alone.
Leave me, Genoa trader. I will be fine till death takes me over.” Vlad shook
his head. “Just send words to my family, that I am alive. Blood runs thicker
than water, Lord Gencio Capulet. That I valued most.”
More was to be said of the Capulet
family, for Lord Gencio Capulet was not around for the initial years for his
son; then lord was in the Court of Corvinus. He had resigned from the army and
staked his position as the trader there. He had sent gifts to Romeo, his son,
and to his mistress, Lady Sofia, aka Wendy, along with the wealth to transact
more supplies for the warring factions. He had left the family to his cousin,
Tybalt, to oversee the business.
Tybalt Capulet is the son of Lord Gencio
Capulet's brother and Juliet's hot-headed first cousin. He had served in the cavalry
for Genoa and had participated in the war with the Ottomans before, but the
wounds of the battle left him with only sight in the right eye.
“Where is Romeo?” Tybalt asked when
he arrived at the home of the Capulets. The household knew not where the young
Capulet. He had himself got news that Romeo was in a duel with some other
noble’s son.
“Where are Gregory and Sampson?
Those idiots are to protect Romeo.”
Unknown to Tybalt, the Capulets
were in the city, doing their pranks on the streets, with Romeo, the antagonist,
sneaking up on the ladies and calling them names. Some of the ladies were
escorted by their beau, or guardians, and the confrontation will arise. The
Montagues were dressed like most in Genoa. The full through the upper body and
the sleeves were of the doublet sleeves to make puffs, especially at the elbow
and the back of the arm. The affordable ones had their shirts decorated
with embroidery or applied braid. Over the shirt was worn
a doublet; tight-fitting doublets, tailored to be tight at the waist,
giving in effect a short skirt below, was the fashion. The
form-fitting hose on the leggings, and long pointed shoes or thigh-boots
to lend a long-attenuated appearance below the waist, and a stout, solid one
above.
“Hold your hand, Sir. I had not done
anything to her.” Romeo will deny his pranks besides calling the ladies by
surprise. He will be defended by the two escorts with him in any possible
confrontation. Gregory and Sampson, both swordsmen by training, had served with
Tybalt in the same column. They were more than twice the age of Romeo.
“I will shoot you, scoundrel.” The
beau had drawn out the musket rifle. He had carried it after having used it to
shoot at the pheasants in the woods.
“A rifle? I am petrified.” Gregory
laughed. “Son, I had faced those in the war. By the time you load and light the
wick, I would have thrust my sword into your liver.”
“Arghh…… You kill me, dear Sir.”
Sampson imitated the dying throes of the man. “Kiss me, my dear, before I die.”
Romeo and his escorts laughed. He was
then armed with a dagger as befitted him for his personal defence. He was told
by Tybalt to let Sampson or Gregory handle any duels.
“You are mean gentlemen!” The lady
said towards the Capulets. “Let us be on our way, or I will have my father
called on your honour.”
“As you wished, my lady.” Gregory
bowed to the lady. He had seen her dressing and guessed she was not of any
commoners, and to avoid any troubles, it was best to step aside. The young
couple took their way, with the beau dragging his musket. His day was marred
with disaster; he had not shot any pheasant that morning despite his intention
to impress the lady.
“Tell your father, I am Romeo of
Capulet.” The young brat called out to the departing couple.
“Romeo, my dear …… I may remind you
that we do not need more enemies around us. The Montagues are more than enough
for us to handle now.” Sampson cautioned the young Capulet.
“I am sure you can fight any of
them single-handedly.” Romeo stepped up to his two escorts. “Uncle Tybalt …….”
“He speaks too highly of us, but we
are mortals here. We can die.” Gregory added.
“These violent delights have
violent ends. And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,” Sampson reminded
his friend. They had fought side by side and met many adversaries, but their
fear of death had given them caution to know when to fight or flee. (Adapted
from Romeo and Juliet – Friar Laurence means to warn Romeo about the dangers of
his overwhelming feelings; his sinister words foreshadow the tragedy to come.
“Oh, I am fortune’s fool!” Romeo
laughed. He laments the cruelty of fate by referring to himself as “fortune’s
fool.” Despite his best efforts, he does not seem to be able to avoid tragedy.
(Another quote from Romeo and Juliet).
“Halt your victory celebrations,”
Sampson told Romeo. “The Montagues are seen.”
It was the servants of the
Montagues who were seen taking their path towards the Capulets. They were
escorted by one named Abram of Montague, who was a soldier too, like the duo,
but he was older.
“She has a man's brain--a brain
that a man should have been, he much gifted--and a woman's heart. The good God
fashioned her for a purpose, believe me when He made that so good a combination.”
Bram Stoker, Dracula.
“What did you say, servant of
Capulet?” Abram was hot-headed. He saw Romeo had his right thumb in his mouth.
It was an insulting gesture at the Montague. “Are you insulting my mother?”
“I …….” Romeo was to retort, but
Gregory cut in.
“Hold your hand, Abram. No reason
to shed blood here. Young Capulet was …… talking of his friend who just left
us.” Gregory smiled. “It is near noon, and we best be going back too.”
Sampson had grabbed Romeo’s arm and
half-dragged him away. Romeo was to argue, but the grip on his left arm was
tougher to fight off. Gregory smiled and then walked off to catch up with them.
He, in turn, grabbed the other arm of Romeo and made their way away.
“Imbeciles!” Abram muttered under
his breath. He was not keen to do a sword fight on the street that day, nor was
he shy to do one.
“Be patient, for the world is broad
and wide." (Romeo and Juliet; Act 2, Scene 3) The voice was that
of Friar Dino Lawrence, who served the poor and desolate in the city.
“Good day, Friar.” Abram turned
towards the friar. “I was not …….”
“The conflict of man is not of the
man but the devil's work at the man’s heart. If we cling to that, we will always
be doing the devil’s works.” Friar Lawrence smiled. “Patience is the virtue
given to us by God to still our heart's desire most times, weigh its
implications, and then do we use the mind to do what the heart may fail to tell
us.”
“I was not to spill blood here,
Friar. I share your words wisely. If only the young would learn more of this.”
“We are all young, and some of us
never grow out of it. Some do when younger, and for those who did will know
what it was when they were younger. Have a better day, my son. I am to visit my
care now.” Friar Lawrence took his leave then.
“I am to the synagogue later.”
Abram, who was a Jew, said.
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