"In the year of our Lord, 1442, the Turkish sultan enslaved 1,000 Transylvanian boys to fill the ranks of his army." "These child slaves were beaten without mercy, trained to kill without conscience, to crave the blood of all who defied the Turks." "From among these boys, one grew into a warrior so fierce that entire armies would retreat in terror with the mention of his name." "Vlad the Impaler." "Son of the Dragon." "Sickened by his monstrous acts," "Vlad came to bury his past with the dead and returned to Transylvania to rule in peace." "His subjects called him Prince." "I called him Father." "But the world would come to know him as..." "Dracula." "I left it..." "Where I found it." "What do you think, Vlad?" "Bring it to me." "This belongs to a scout." "One of Hamza Bey's men." "What the hell's a lone Turk doing out here?" "Turkish scouts never travel alone." "If there's one, there's more." "And whatever they scout, they conquer." "This was washed downstream." "Came from up there." "Broken Tooth Mountain." "Soon it will be night." "They'll seek refuge." "Dimitru, I need you to return to the castle." " Alert the guards and double the sentry." " What?" "I'm not leaving you here." "For the Turks to cross into my land unannounced is a sign of war." "What are you going to do if you find them?" "I'll do what princes do best." "Negotiate." "Nicolae, Andrei, with me." "Fall in!" "Anything?" "Smells like your feet." " They're inside." " How do you know?" "Bats don't come out during the day." "Something's disturbed them." "Come on." "What is it, My Lord?" "The floor." "It's crushed bone." "The Turks didn't do this." "What's that?" "We leave, now." "The creature you encountered was no accident, My Prince." "Four nights ago, every brother in our order awoke from an identical dream." "I would not have thought it possible had I not suffered the same vision myself that night." "Of a creature laying siege to this holy place." "The Roman mystics prophesied the coming of a great evil." "A vampire." "From the Greek word... pi, to drink." "The beast was once a mortal man who summoned a demon from the depths of hell to trade for his dark power." "The demon tricked the man, granting his wish, but his price was an eternity condemned to the darkness of that cave, where he remains until he finds another" "to set him free." "Now you know its true face." "The people of Transylvania live in enough fear of the Turks' return." "Promise me you'll guard this secret, brother." "Papa!" " I missed you." " And I, you." "My big soldier." " What?" "An embrace but no kiss?" " Are we going to argue?" "With you always leaving, I need my fill." "I've missed you." "Something troubles you." "What is it?" "Only the impossible depth of your beauty." "Puts the rest of the world to shame." "Pay no attention to your father, Ingeras." "Flattery is a cheap distraction from truth." " She knows all my tricks." " You're a terrible liar." "It's one of your most endearing qualities." "You're just in time for bed." " Can we go riding tomorrow, Papa?" " Of course we can." " You most certainly cannot." " Why not?" "Because tomorrow is the day of our risen Lord." " Oh, of course." " That's Easter." "What was I thinking?" "So what attacked you?" "Wolves?" "I suppose." "All I know is that I've lost two good men today." "There's something more." "I was the same age as Ingeras when I was sent to live with the Turks." "To fight for them." "If I never saw another, it would be too soon." "You're home now." "For almost as many years as you were gone." "I just want peace." "That's all." "My fellow Transylvanians, an Easter toast." "Ten years of peace and prosperity ever since our prince came back to us." " My old friend, here's to 20 more." " To 20 more!" "Hamza Bey." "Welcome." "We were not expecting you so soon." "Sultan Mehmed II offers his salutations to you and your son." "Thank him." "I have his tribute ready." "I'm afraid there's something more than a tribute to discuss." "The Turks have no enemies here." "Did you think we would not notice a battalion of our scouts missing?" "I did not kill them." "It still lives inside you, Lord Impaler." "Locked in a dark cage, hidden away." "But you and I..." "We both know it's there." "The sultan's tribute." "Take it and leave." "There is one last thing." "The sultan requires 1,000 boys to join his Janissary Corps." " No!" " Never!" "Janissaries?" "He ended that practice years ago." "When a soldier is plucked as a child and raised to know no other life, they will kill without question and die without complaint." "Any who are 15 years of age or older will fight in Hungary." "Those 10 to 14 will be made ready for the siege on Vienna." "The sultan expects your obedience." "After all, did not your own father give you up without a fight?" "Soft, but they'll do." "Don't." "Please." "Do you know who I am?" "You mean who you were." "You have no army and no choice, Prince." "Follow our command, or suffer the consequences." "It must be done." "Courage, anger, even love." "None of these can matter to a prince." "All that matters is his duty to his people." "What does it mean to be a royal hostage?" "My father gave me to the sultan to prove his loyalty." "Were you scared there?" "With them?" "I wanted to make my father proud." "Would you ever give me to the sultan?" "That was a long time ago." "You have nothing to worry about." "Do you understand?" "Good." "If I defy the order, they'll kill 100 for every one I save." "You told me you and Mehmed were once like brothers." "Were you to ask, isn't it possible he might show you some mercy?" "You ever seen the like of it?" "Soon the entire world will be Turk." "Lord Impaler, my oldest of friends." "I miss our days together." "All I miss from my time with you is the coffee." "It's true, my father's palace was a cruel place for a young boy far from home." "But soon you talked like us, prayed like us, fought like us." "Speaking of which, I am owed 1,000 boys." "Why have I not seen them?" "Mehmed, my brother," " I will grant you anything else." " I need soldiers, brother." "Then take me." "I'm worth 1,000 boys, and you know it." " Those kings would tremble if they knew." " Then accept my offer." "When we were boys, how I longed to fight side by side." "But now I am sultan, what need have I for one more soldier?" "I will have my 1,000 boys." "And one more." "Your son will be raised under my roof, just as you were raised under the roof of my father." "You may retain your throne." "But General Ismail will remain to see that my orders are fulfilled." "Please." "Do not do this." "What is one son?" "If you are virile, you'll make plenty more." "Whoa, there." " You promised me this would never happen." " Mirena, listen." "The day you asked for my hand, do you remember what I said?" " You said no." " Stay, my young friend." "I knew what happens to the sons of the queen." "You said things would be different." "You said if I loved you, I should trust you." "I loved you!" " Then trust me." " It's this or we start a war." "The Great Impaler can't please his woman." "Everything's fine, boys." "They're just saying their goodbyes is all." " Mirena." " I won't let you..." " You promised me my family!" " Mirena, please!" "Stop it!" "Don't touch me!" "I won't!" "I won't let them do this!" "Vlad, don't!" "Don't do this!" "No!" "No!" " No, I won't let you do this!" " I'll go." " I won't!" "No!" " I'll go!" "I can do it." "You're proud of me, aren't you?" "Of course I am." "You have chosen wisely." "Yeah, I have to say, we are a little disappointed." "Frankly, I expected more resistance from you." "Run to your mother." " What?" " Now!" "Come here!" "Don't look!" "Mehmed will punish all of Transylvania for what you have done." "It's not a child's place to save his country." "Get my family to the castle." "Mehmed will be sending others soon enough." "War will come." "You can't protect us." "I'll find a way." "Vlad!" "Where are you going?" "Whatever haunts Broken Tooth, I know it kills Turks." "You returned." "No one has ever returned." "It seems no one has ever had the privilege of leaving, either." "Neither will you." "Those whom enter reek of fear." "In you, I sense hope." "Your silver offends me." "Cloak it from my sight." "What kind of man crawls into his own grave in search of hope?" "A desperate one." "The Turks threaten to destroy my kingdom." "With power like yours, I could stop them, save my people, save my family." "How supremely noble, Lord Impaler." "House Dracul, Son of the Devil." "You're mistaken." "It means "son of the dragon." Protector of the innocent." "Do your people know how many innocents you have killed?" "Was it hundreds?" "Yes." "Lie to me again and I'll open you from your belly to your brain and feed you your intestines." "Thousands." "And when you put them to the stake, what did you feel?" "Shame?" "Horror?" "Power?" " Answer me!" " Nothing!" "I felt nothing." "A greater crime than the act itself." "Then why spill blood if not for the pleasure of it?" "Because men do not fear swords." "They fear monsters." "They run from them." "By putting one village to the stake, I spared 10 more." "Sometimes the world no longer needs a hero." "Sometimes what it needs is a monster." "And you believe you know what it is to be a monster?" "You have no idea." "But I'm going to show you." "For centuries, these moldering walls have been my gallows." "For I'm bound to this cave, condemned by one who turned me." "Oh, and I have waited an eternity for a man of your strength, your gifts, your will." "A man worthy of the dark and all its powers." "For if I am your salvation, you are mine." "Drink." "You will have a taste of my power." "The strength of 100 men." "The speed of a falling star." "Dominion over the night and all its creatures." "To see and hear through their senses." " Even heal grievous wounds." " At what price?" "Once you drink, your thirst for human blood will be insatiable." "But if you can resist for three days, you will return to your mortal state having sampled my power, and perhaps, saved your people." "And if I feed?" "The price would be worse than if you'd never stepped in here." "For I will be set free having granted the darkness a worthy offering." "You will become its vessel as I am." "A scourge on this earth destined to destroy everything you hold dear." "Your lands, your people, even your precious wife and son." " I would die before I harmed them." " Indeed you will, I'm afraid." "I, however, will at last be free to unleash my wrath against the one who betrayed me." "And one day, I will call on you to serve me, my pawn," " in an immortal game of revenge." " This is not a game!" "But what better way to endure eternity?" "For this, little prince, is the ultimate game." "Light versus dark, hope versus despair." "And all the world's fate hangs in the balance." "Then it will be my great pleasure to disappoint you." "Drink." "Let the games begin." "What now?" "Now, you die." "Papa!" "That's useful." "Prepare to fire!" "Light!" " You came back." " I always will." " Where were you?" " Searching for the strength I needed." "You're back!" " They wanted our sons!" " We can't fight." "A good prince would have given them up." "A good prince would have paid that price for peace." "But I give you my word, we will not be defeated!" "They've brought war to our land." "And they will pay dearly for it." "Fire!" "Charge!" "What?" "Wait." "Negotiations failed." "Do not ask me what happened on this field tonight." "Trust only that I will use all I have to keep us safe." "But we will not be safe if we stay here." "We must leave directly for Cozia Monastery." "It's high in the mountains, too remote for cannon fire." "It's our best chance of survival." "We'll take enough of our people so that our absence is noticed." "That way, when Mehmed learns what has happened here, he will come hunting for us." "Word from Castle Dracula." "Vlad has defeated 1,000 of our men." "Then send 100,000." "I will lead them." "When I march into Europe, I will have his head upon my spear and his child at my side." "We can fight the way our great-grandfathers fought." "Use the forests, the mountains around the Borgo Pass." " Four or five months of that." " Not months." "I'm gonna win this war in three days." "Why not two?" "That'd really impress us." "Feed." "What is it?" "I need some air." "I'm sorry." "Don't think I haven't noticed you following me." "You're mistaken." "I follow them." "They recognize one of their own." "The night is their kingdom." "Blood, their sustenance." "And some, they say, have lived for as long as there have been prey to devour." "Spare me your ravings." "They say the one who escaped the mountain hides behind the face of a man." "Well, if that man is me, you'll know a knife will not do you any good." "Of course not." "Why do you think I stayed?" "I know there is only so far on this earth we can run, and it is not far enough." "Let me serve you." "Stay away from me." "Yes, master." "Fulfill your destiny." "Set me free." "We found him in the field." "He asked for you." "A message from Prince Vlad." "He hopes you enjoy the view." " Mirena!" " Your scars are gone." "What's happening to you?" "I'm the thing men fear on Broken Tooth." "Not a ghost." "Something else." "No!" "Stop it!" "May God strike down whoever did this to you." "I chose this." "This is the strength you sought?" "But why?" "Because I sent corpses back to Mehmed instead of our son." " You did this for us?" " In two days, I'll be restored." "I just have to resist." "Resist what?" "Resist what, Vlad?" "Tell me!" "A thirst for blood." "And if you were to give in?" "Then I become this for eternity." "You will undo this, won't you?" "Yes." "I swear it." "I will not give in." "Then God will forgive you." "Vlad." "Mehmed is getting closer." "We might want to move out soon." "I need you to get to the monastery as quickly as you can." " Mehmed's men will be close by." " No." "Listen to me." "I will reach you after sundown." "I promise you." "I love you." "My husband agrees with your counsel." "We will depart now under your temporary command." " What?" "And where's Vlad going to be?" " Spying on the Turks." "He insists on doing his own reconnaissance." " No." "I won't have it." " It's too late." "He's already gone." "All right, everyone," " prepare to move out." " Prepare the horses." "Tell the sultan where his enemies will be buried." "Listen." "We're nearly there." "Cover the rear!" "Mirena!" "Mirena!" "Ingeras!" "Couldn't these monks have built their gates a little bit closer?" "Stay behind me." "Don't the Turks teach you anything new?" "I saw your blade coming from..." "Ingeras, run." "Where is your prince now," "My Lady?" "Dimitru." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Vlad." "Dimitru, listen." "Listen!" "No!" "Come here." "Come here." "Never leave us again, Papa." "Never." "I will always watch over you." "Through the gates!" "Keep moving along!" "This way!" "You should never have strayed from us," " whatever your reasons for leaving were..." " Quiet." "Get these men off their knees." "Stand up, do you hear me?" "Stand up!" "The Turks are coming!" "Prayers will not defend these walls!" "Do you believe we can do this?" "Mehmed's men will be coming from the north." "Double our sentries on the perimeter walls." "Go." "Do it now." "What's in there?" "Something I hope to never use again." "Come now." "The men say that Vlad has become a monster." "I fear this will only inflame the rumors of the Prince's dark magic." "Only if we allow it." "Men cannot fear what they cannot see." "Remember when you first joined my army." "You wanted to pick up your sword and fight!" "When my generals blindfolded you, you did not believe that you could march without seeing." "But you could." "Now march with me!" "Your sultan will guide you!" "Prince Vlad, the vampire is vulnerable to daylight." "And to pure silver." "Yet the holy cross exerts no power over you." "That can only mean you have yet to seal your fate with human blood." "Let me kill you now, My Prince." "Please." "Before your people do." "Rumor has spread of what you have become." "You can still repent." "You'd do well to run, Lucian." "It's true!" "He's a monster!" "No!" "Please!" "Listen!" "He is your prince!" "He has earned the chance to explain." "Stop!" " Please!" "He's your prince!" " Kill the monster!" "Satan lives in his heart!" "Vlad!" " Mirena!" " He was trying to save us all!" "Take him to my room and shut the door." "Do not let him look outside!" " Okay." " Mama!" "This is your loyalty?" "Your gratitude?" "Fools." "Do you think you are alive because you can fight?" "Come on." "You are alive because of me!" "Because of what I did to save you!" "This is not who you are." "Return to your stations." "Believe me, there is still more to fear!" "Lord, if you've not yet forsaken me, grant me your strength that I may resist the darkness." "Allow me to endure this test one more day." "I beg you." "Please." "Are you sick?" "If you were sick, I thought it might make you feel better." "Thank you." "Come." "You'll make a great leader someday." "You think of others before yourself." "When the Turks came to take me, you stopped them." "It's why you got sick, isn't it?" "To save me." "Yes." "And I would do it all again." "They're almost here." "Dawn will be breaking soon." "And with it, the loss of my powers." " If we've not won this war by then..." " I will fight beside you until death." "Your death would end my fight." "We have done the duty of any good parent." "Protected our child." "Protected all the children in the kingdom." "Perhaps our destiny was not to rule in this life." "Do you remember our wedding vow?" ""Why think separately of this life and the next..."" ""When one is born from the last?"" "Time is always too short for those who need it." "But for those who love, it lasts forever." "No!" "Hold your ground!" "Stand your ground!" "Hold fast!" "Hold your ground!" "Fire!" "Mehmed!" "No." "Where is he?" "Where is he?" "Fire!" "Draw!" "Fire!" "Find your father!" "Go!" "Where is he?" "You can keep running if you like." " Let me go!" " No!" "Mirena." " No!" "Please!" " Ingeras!" "No!" "Vlad!" "No!" "No, Mirena." "Please, stay with me." "I cannot do this without you." "Mirena." "There's still time for you to stop them." "Drink my blood." "No." "I cannot take your life." "My life is lost already." " But our son's is not." " No." "I love you." "Do it now!" "Please." "Do it now." "Vlad!" "No!" "Do you want vengeance?" "Drink." "I now know hell is real." "So I know there's a heaven." "Neither this world or the next shall keep us apart." "I will honor your sacrifice and I vow that our son shall be safe." "Of all of my lands, this is the one I love the least." "Look to the east." "The sun should be risen by now, should it not?" "What is that?" "It is the Prince." "He is coming." "I used to think there were too many of you." "Now there's not enough." "I understand you have a weakness for silver." "Papa!" "He's waiting for you." "You are slower, brother." "And weaker." "Aw..." "Go on, take it." "Is this the monster that terrified my men?" "You grow more weary by the moment." "Tell me, how long can you bear it in here?" "Long enough to strike your name from the history books." "Papa!" "Take a last look at your father, Ingeras." " No!" " Look how pathetic he is." "No, stop!" "Please!" "If I put a stake through your heart," "It will kill you like any other man." "A fitting death" " for Lord Impaler." " No!" "No!" "Papa!" "That is no longer my name." "My name is Dracula." "Son of the Devil." "It's all right." "I'm here." " You old goat." " I don't feel old." " How many are left?" " None, except for your son, of course." "A distraction we can now dispense with." "What have I taught you?" "Repeated over and over since you were a boy?" "All that matters is a prince's duty to his people." " Ingeras." " Don't you realize?" "They're all our enemies now." "When he's gone, you'll be free." "You forget who I am." "Leave him." "Come with me, child." "Come." "Please." "Be gone!" "The time has come." "Please." "Please, you must come." "I don't want to leave you!" " You have to go with him." " No!" "Do not leave his side." " Please." " Know I will always love you." "Always." " Go!" " No!" "Go!" " No!" " You take care of him." "No!" "Papa!" "No!" "He's safe now, Mirena." "The Turks never conquered the capitals of Europe." "Prince Vlad Dracula was a hero." "But there are no pictures or statues of him." "I am his legacy." "His sacrifice taught me that even after the darkest night, the sun will rise again." "Drink, master." "For if the heart is strong enough, the soul is reborn" "with each new day." "In life after life." "Age after age." "Forever." "Lovely." " Which markets are you at this week?" " Portobello Road next." "See you there?" "Beautiful." "The flowers, my lady." "My lady?" " Where are you from?" " A long way from here." "Well, good night." ""Why think separately of this life and the next" ""when one is born from the last?"" "That's my favorite poem." "It speaks to you of yearning, of one soul pleading for another." "I'm Mina." "Vlad." "Let the games begin."