History Literature / CountAndCountess

** Early on, in trying to help a young Vlad escape the Janissaries, Elizabeth wraps her letter around a bunch of ducats and sends them back in time to him. Ducats weren't being used as currency during Vlad's time period; Vlad even mentions that the Turkish doctor who was overseeing him must have been baffled when he confiscated the coins. Fast forward a few chapters, and suddenly ducats are the currency being used in Vlad's timeline. It's implied that Elizabeth might have had the same effect when she described how a hunting rifle works in another letter.

* {{Badass}} / HiddenBadass / ActionGirl / ActionMom / WaifFu: Elizabeth, often to awe-inspiring degrees. You don't want to put her anywhere near a hunting rifle. Or a gardening spade.

* YouAlreadyChangedThePast

* {{Asexuality}}: Implied with Vlad. As mentioned above, when his adviser tries to hook him up with a wife, he retaliates by ''killing'' her, then [[CrossesTheLineTwice putting her body on display in his welcoming chamber]]. His interest in Elizabeth never approaches sexual territory, in fact he states early on that he only likes her so much because she's his intellectual equal.

* She also hates the English. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, this starts making sense in later chapters. Elizabeth explains that the English governess who took care of her as a child often made her feel like a freak.

* Badass / HiddenBadass / ActionGirl / ActionMom / WaifFu: Elizabeth, often to awe-inspiring degrees. You don't want to put her anywhere near a hunting rifle. Or a gardening spade.

* ReliableTraitor: [[spoiler: As adults, Istvan Bathory to Vlad, culminating in his HeelFaceTurn.]]

** Vlad spends later segments in the story traveling Europe in search of Sultan Mehmed, who has gone into hiding. Disguised as a commoner, he has a conversation with a couple of Serbians and discovers for the first time how hated he is by his subjects, specifically because he forces [[ChildSoldiers young boys]] and unwed women to join his army. Vlad does not understand why this is such a bad thing, and in fact he seems to ''genuinely'' think that subjecting children to violence at an early age is necessary for them to grow up. When you realize that this is because ''he'' spent his childhood [[TheWoobie as a child soldier]]...

* PosthumousCharacter: Sort of. Elizabeth notes occasionally that by the time she receives Vlad's letters, Vlad is technically already dead.
** A more straightforward example is Vlad's older brother Mircea, who is dead from the very first page.