"I don't want to go with you to the manor anymore," Rebecca said.
"But why?"
"I just wanna go home!" she replied.
Corbin sighed. "Can you at least go with me and say hello to Ebony and Anastasia? Can you stay there with me even just for one night?" he begged.
Rebecca shook her head. "No, I can't. I'm so sorry..." she said. She's been gone for too long already. She's afraid that if she won't leave right now, she will never be able to leave her husband's side forever and she has to endure the vampire couple's presence all the time which doesn't sit well with her. She was relieved that all her powers were finally working at this very moment, she's free to go!
Corbin's face becomes a thick wall of sadness. "Alright, since I can no longer force you to stay in my side even for just one night then you may go now..." he said sadly.
"Thank you for giving me your permission to leave. I don't want to disappear without saying goodbye," she said in a miserable voice.
Corbin hugged his wife tightly and kissed her lips. "I love you! Always remember that..." he said in a distraught voice.
"I know. You take care of yourself," she said sighing heavily, she grabbed her meager belongings. "I'll go now..."
"Go..." Corbin said softly, blocking the tears from falling down his face. Ugh! This is fucking so hard!
The atmosphere inside the carriage is unbearable.
Rebecca stared at her husband's face for a long time.
Then all of a sudden, she vanished from the carriage.
Corbin released a deep sigh. "She's gone!" he muttered morosely to himself.
He covered his face with his hands and let the tears fell freely from his eyes. He never expected that their parting can be so depressing, emotionally draining. It's killing him inside!
His beloved wife is gone!
He allowed the tears to continue flowing from his eyes hoping that it can wash away the pain and sadness that he felt after Rebecca left him for real.
Meanwhile...
Rebecca teleported herself in the forest, at her old friend Melinda's place.
The old woman was hanging clothes on the clotheslines in the front yard of her wooden house. She turned around after detecting another presence.
"Grandma! I'm back!" Rebecca shouted happily and rushed to the old woman's side.
The women hugged each other in utter delight.
"Where have you been!?" Melinda asked in tears.
Rebecca sighed. "It's a long story, Grandma. Don't worry, I will tell you everything that happened to me after I went missing!" she said.
"Ok. I'm looking forward to hearing your story," Melinda said and looked at the bag that Rebecca was holding in her hand. "And what is that? Why are you bringing your clothes here?" she asked.
"I have no place to stay, Grandma. Are you willing to adopt me?" she said with a puppy dog's eyes.
Melinda smiled brightly. "About time! Come inside!" she said.
The women entered the wooden house and sat on the chair facing each other.
Rebecca put the bag down on the floor.
"You nearly died! Your candle stops burning! What happened to you during those times?" Melinda asked right away, wanting to know what happened to her friend.
Rebecca begins her narration.
"It all started when the vampire bats attacked the South Pond Town and its neighboring areas killing the villagers and town's people. The people can't leave their house. When I heard about the news I have a suspicion that the bats are after my friend Laura. They are sent to locate her whereabouts.
To prove that I'm right with my assumption, I take some blood samples from Laura and rubbed them all around my body, and also copied her image pretending to be her. The bats were after Laura, indeed. They transformed into three big blackbirds and warned me that if I don't go with them they will continue harassing the town and kill the people. So I decided to go with them peacefully, and the bats disappeared from the town completely because they already have me, the fake Laura..."
Rebecca paused for a moment to catch her breath then continue. "The birds have taken me to the vampire couple's mansion, the couple who are after my friend Laura. You know her story, right? I told you about her," she said.
Melinda nodded her head. "Yeah, I know about Laura's story, because you told me about her," she stated. "Continue..."
"Since I copied Laura's image, the vampire couple had arranged the Awakening Ceremony because Laura was destined to marry their son. Her blood can awaken and resurrect their son from death. But their eldest son Corbin discovered my disguise and know that I'm an impostor. He offered my safety as long I will bring him to Laura, but I refused because I don't want to betray my friends.
At the time of the Awakening Ceremony, my blood failed to resurrect the couple's son and they discovered my disguise. They threw me into the furnace and I thought I died way back there.... but Corbin saved me," she said.
Melinda's brows furrowed. "Really-? It sounds strange to me... why the son of the couple saved you?"
Rebecca breathed deeply. "Yeah, that puzzled me as well. He instructed a woman healer to cure the burnt flesh in my body. She had to put me to sleep most of the time so that I can't feel the pain. In only two months, she got my burnt skin cured as brand new. And now I'm finally back here," she concluded her narration.
"That's all?" Melinda asked.
"There's still more, Grandma. But right now I'm feeling sleepy. Can I continue the story later after I wake up?" she said trying to stifle a yawn.
"Sure! Just enter that room next to mine, it's ready to use. I just cleaned it last week," Melinda said.
Rebecca entered the room and put the bag on the floor, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes to sleep.
Outside the door, Melinda was shaking her head.
~~0~~
Graven visited his friend Terros in the forest.
He found the old man tending to the plants in the front yard.
"Old man, I'm back!" Graven said happily.
Terros noticed Graven's happy demeanor. "Son, you look happy today. May I know why?" he asked curiously.
"Old man, I finally got my wife back! And she told me that the baby inside her tummy is our child! I'm so happy!" Graven said enthusiastically, wearing a broad smile on his face.
"That's fantastic, son! I'm so happy for you!" Terros said, feeling happy for his friend.
"Where is your lady friend? I want to thank her personally for creating the magical powder that helps me tremendously in locating my wife's whereabouts," Graven said.
"Veronica is not here right now. She went on a trip to visit her friend. She will return one of these days," Terros answered
"Ah, okay. I will just thank her some other time," Graven said.
"Okay. By the way... where did you hide your wife? I'm sure your twin brother is already going crazy trying to find Laura right now," Terros asked.
"I settled her in a safe place. In a property that I recently acquired. My brother does not know the existence of that property, so it will be hard for him to find her again," Graven replied.
"But Luke can easily locate Laura's scent if he is determined to search for her whereabouts in every town just like you did," Terros warned him.
"Yeah, I know... that is also one of my biggest problems right now," Graven said in a distressed voice.
"Don't worry, if you want, I can create an invisible barrier or concealing method that would prevent your brother from detecting your wife's scent. I just need to see the place and work my spell right on the spot," Terros offered.
"Thank you so much, old man. I'm already heavily indebted to you," Graven said.
"Don't mention it," Terros said. "I will go with you to the place once Veronica is already back from her trip..."
"Okay. Thank you in advance! By the way, how about the black liquid? Still no remedy for it?" Graven inquired.
"That's what Veronica's trip is all about. She's going to ask her dear friend how to make a proper elixir out of the thousand-year-old tree that we used to make you vomit black liquid from your body," Terros replied.
"I see... your friend is super kind, old man. I greatly admired her willingness to help me," Graven commented.
"Yeah, she is one of a kind..." Terros murmured.
Graven went silent for a moment. Then he looked at the old man. "There's something that is bothering me right now... " he said.
"What is it? Tell me, maybe I can help you," Terros urged him.
"I recalled that when I'm still ten feet under the crumbling castle, the cursed King was unable to read my mind. I wonder what happened? The previous times, he was able to read my mind without any problem," Graven said in utter confusion.
Terros was silent for a moment. Then he recalled that he put a few drops of the elixir into Graven's mouth that his deceased master had given him. Aside from its medicinal properties, it can also conceal one's memories in the eyes of an enemy. "Ah, regarding that thing...I put a few drops of my master's elixir in your mouth that can conceal your memory because I'm sure the cursed King will access your memory once you and your men are already under his captivity again. It's better to be safe than sorry," he explained.
"Thank you, old man, for always thinking about my well-being in advance," Graven said feeling grateful for the old man's help and resourcefulness.
"Don't mention it. When it comes to you, you know that I'm always ready to help you," Terros said with a smile. "By the way, be careful... your brother might spy on you. I think he will start following you around so that he will know where you're hiding Laura," he warned him.
"Okay, I got it. But he won't succeed because every time I go to visit Laura, I always teleport here first before proceeding to that place... so that he can't follow me anymore. The spell formation you had created around here is not accessible by anyone unless that person is really powerful," Graven said.
"Ah, I see, that's wise of you!" Terros gave him a thumb up.
"It's now time for me to go home to my wife! See you some other day, old man! Take care!" Graven said.
"You too! Give my regards to your wife," Terros said.
"Ok. You will meet her soon!" Graven said and bid goodbye to the old man.
In just a blink of an eye, Graven vanished from the place.
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