A Vampire Fairy Tale (Ronnie Radke)

Not Good Enough For Truth In Cliche

A/N: Sorry for the long absence! I'm dealing with some shit personally, and it's taking me a while to get around to this. Thank you for the reads, and the votes! I really do appreciate it more than anyone knows!

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        Ronnie and Annalise followed the rest of the newly appointed council into the board room. Ronnie made sure his displeasure was written on his face and made sure to keep his Anna close to him. Even though she felt no bad energy from either detractor, Ronnie knew she still felt a deep fear at the sight of one of her attackers in an enclosed space. As they took their seats at the table, Ronnie cleared his throat and asked as calmly as he could, "What's this about?"

Max sighed and leaned forward, "Bert and Viktor are planning all-out war. They want to dust Annalise before your heir is born, and they've planned an attack on the Vatican as well as this castle. They have the numbers, Ronnie. If they execute this attack, it will be a losing fight."

Ronnie leaned back and laced his fingers together as he took in this news. After a moment, he glanced over at Andy, who only nodded in indication that Max was telling the truth. It was another long moment before Annalise locked eyes with Craig and cleared her throat.

"And why, pray tell, would you be so willing to betray them to tell us this? You know since they're their own faction, you're committing treason to your own kind," her eyes were hard and dark. Any fear she had was replaced by suspicion and a bubbling rage.

Craig frowned at her and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "We can't get behind the murder of Vlad Dracul's heir. It was different when it was just you, and it was a bid to delay things. Even then... I only acted as I did out of fear of Viktor. To go to war with the order is not my intent. We will fight here, if you'd have us."

Ronnie put his hand reassuringly on Annalise's arm and glanced between her and Craig before speaking up, "How many?"

Max sighed and looked down at the table, "Between numbers they've turned and trained and detractors from the Vatican itself... easily hundreds, if not thousands. Even if your ranks are bigger, you still have to rally them and train them. With the contracts your faction upholds, it would be impossible to organize in short notice."

Ronnie sat back, at a loss. When he realized he had nothing useful to say, he glanced between Andy, Kellin and Vic and sighed, "What are your opinions? I've honestly got nothing outside of getting Anna and my daughter to safety to ensure our bloodline stays intact. Saving our order, though... Andy, tell me you know something."

Andy frowned and looked over at Kellin, "Do you remember what you were talking about? A sneak attack? They may have numbers, but if I remember Bert, he won't be able to organize on a moment's notice. If we use our knowledge to our advantage, we can take out Bert and Viktor. Anyone with a brain will rejoin or die, and we could use their contacts in the Vatican to create peace there, too."

Kellin nodded and sighed, "It's a risk, but it's our only chance. I'll stay with Annalise. Everyone else needs to mobilize. Leave at sunset, Ronnie. We'll hold down fort here."

With that, everyone got up and began preparing for war. Annalise Radke remained, though. As the room and the castle buzzed around her with anticipation and high energy, the young queen fought an overwhelming sense of dread. Even if Craig and Max meant well, Anna couldn't shake the feeling that her husband was walking into a trap- and since her safety was one of the things in question, she knew there was no talking him out of it.