On his way home, Jonathan realized that he wasn’t any closer to finding out whether the myth of the sleeping heir was real or not. He would need to head back to the castle, and see if he could find out anything about it.

   On the other hand, he did manage to find out who the hooded stranger was, but never would he have thought that he’d ever meet a living and breathing vampire. They were now friends, and he was going to bring her breakfast. The only issue, as Jonathan just realized, was to try and find the time during work hours to do so. He’d have to come up with an excuse.

   Right now, he needed to get home on time.

   “Hi, mom! Hi, dad!” Jonathan greeted.

   “Hi, son!” greeted the parents.

   “You’re a bit late,” Jonathan’s mother lamented. “You almost had us worried.”

   “Sorry, mom,” Jonathan apologized, as he was setting the dining table. “I decided to go walking at the countryside, but I got sidetracked.”

   In case the parents did hear about the rumors of the hooded stranger chasing people away, he was careful not to mention a word about ever visiting the castle.

   “Now, don’t go hiking too far from the village, son,” said Jonathan’s father, feeling rather concerned. “It’s late, and probably not safe to journey out all by yourself. We already had a wolf incident that other night.”

   “Yes, dad,” said Jonathan.

   “Okay, boys! Dinner’s ready!” Sorina announced, as she was bringing out roast chicken in an oven tray.

   The next morning, wearing his best shirt, Jonathan cautiously prepared himself to get Maria something to eat. Facing his fears, he approached his father, and said, “Dad, I need to check on the boys. Do you mind if I can take the morning off, and be back by noon?“

   Nicolae was a bit baffled. His son had never asked to bail out of work this early before, but, since he didn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary, he allowed it.

   “Sure, son,” said Nicolae. “Just be sure to be back before noon.”

   And with that, Jonathan made his way to the village, and purchased a handful of produce for Maria. With his pocket money, he managed to buy what he thought were nutritious enough: a handful of apples, a roasted chicken piece, freshly baked cupcakes, three cups of yogurt, orange juice, and bottles of water. He eventually found himself over the castle bridge with the nylon bags weighing heavily around his fingers.

   “Hello?” he bellowed in the hall, but no one answered.

   Then, he realized that Maria may still be in her bedroom; vampires, at least according to myths, were nocturnal beings after all. Thus, he made his way upstairs. He tried knocking on the bedroom door, and calling out to Maria, but it took a while before he got a response.

   “Who’s there?” Maria cried out, feeling rather guarded.

   “Maria, it’s me!” said Jonathan.

   “Jonathan?” cried Maria, bursting with joy. “You came!”

   “Yeah,” said Jonathan, while attempting to open the door. “I got breakfast. Come and see what I....”

   Jonathan then felt the wooden door slamming into his face and arm. “Ow!” he cried.

   “I’m so sorry,” Maria apologized. “I need to put on my robe first.”

   “Oh! okay,” said Jonathan, dropping the nylon bags to attend to his bruises.

   The old door then opened with a crackle.

   “Good morning, Jonathan,” greeted Maria, formally taking a bow.

   “Good morning, Maria,” greeted Jonathan.

   “How are you?” asked Maria, as she placed her fingers around Jonathan’s face, examining for bruises. “Hope you’re not hurt.”

   “I’m fine,” said Jonathan. “It’s nothing too serious.”

   “Thank God,” said Maria, taking two steps back. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I’d hurt you.”

   “Don’t be too hard on yourself. I understand why you did it,” said Jonathan, leaving Maria smiling at him.

   As he kneeled down for them, Maria did the same to help Jonathan take the nylon bags into the bedroom.

   “Put your fingers through the hoops,” said Jonathan, instructing Maria.

   “Ah! Okay!” exclaimed Maria, feeling thrilled over her new experience.

   With the bedroom being much brighter in the morning, Jonathan looked at awe, and could see the old Medieval-era bed more clearly.

   “These things are very strange,” said Maria, lifting a bundle of nylon bags for a closer look. “What are they made of?”

   “Nylon,” said Jonathan.

   “Nylon?” ask Maria, as she sat on the bed.

   “Yes,” said Jonathan, as he was offloading a bag. “It’s a man-made material.” With one of his eyebrows lower than the other, he commented, “It sounds like you hadn’t seen one before, had you?”

   “No, I hadn’t,” Maria giggled, shaking her head. “In my day, we’d wrap produce in cloths.”

   Although that fact peaked Jonathan’s curiosity, Maria changed the subject to something more relevant. “What did you get me?” she asked, referring to breakfast. 

   And so, Jonathan presented her the produce. Maria, taking an immediate fancy for the apples and chicken piece, gobble her food down. But then, just like the nylon bags, she was taken aback by the other items, as if they were alien to her.

   “Are these nylons too?” asked Maria, lifting a bottle of water in each hand.

   “No,” laughed Jonathan. Maria, over his laughter, gave Jonathan a serious stare. “Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s just that mistaking plastic for nylon is understandable.”

   “We never had these objects in my time,” said Maria, as she was examining one of the bottles. “Is this water?”

   “Yes. You open a bottle like this,” said Jonathan, demonstrating with his.

   Maria followed Jonathan’s demonstration, and took some sips from her bottle.

   Both children enjoyed their time together, occasionally staring at each other to the point of making the other feel bashful. Maria, having finished eating the foods that she was familiar with, took fancy for the new concoctions such as the cups of yogurts, and the cupcakes. With just a few bites, she felt delighted.

   But, at the same time, something was bothering Jonathan. Maria saying “my time”, when talking about the plastic bottles, brought him back full circle to his search for the sleeping heir. With Maria taken aback by how odd modern foods and conveniences were, and vampires popularly believed to be able to live for centuries, was it impossible that Maria was the sleeping heir herself?

   The heir was believed to have been a princess after all, probably around Maria’s age, and said to have been asleep within the castle walls since the Medieval era... but nothing about the heir being a living and breathing vampire! Now, Jonathan must ask Maria if she had any connection with the myth.

   “Take one!” said Maria, stretching hands full of cupcakes to the distracted Jonathan. “It’d be nice if you can join me for breakfast,” she said with a wide smile.

   Jonathan had already eaten, but still felt a bit hungry. 

   “Sure,” he said, helping himself to one of the cupcakes.

   And finally, both Maria and Jonathan were down to the last cup of yogurt. Jonathan took the first scoop with his plastic spoon, but decided to feed it to Maria. Maria then did the same to Jonathan, resulting in the pair giggling, enjoying each other’s company.

   “Maria, may I ask you something?” said Jonathan.

   “Ask,” said Maria openly.

   “Have you heard of the 'sleeping heir?'” asked Jonathan. “For generations, people believed that there was a princess who fell into a deep sleep in this castle, where she remained for centuries. It is said that, if she ever wakes up, she’d lead the current generation, and restore her fallen kingdom once again.”

   “I’m not so sure. Maybe?” said Maria, folding her finger on her lower lip. “I can look around the castle for clues. If I can find anything, I’ll let you know.”

   “Cool. Thanks, Maria,” said Jonathan.

   “You’re welcome,” said Maria.

   Jonathan, without any further leads, decided to bring out his smart phone to look at the time.

   “What’s that?” ask Maria, pointing at the phone’s bright display.

   “That’s my phone,” said Jonathan. “You use it to talk to anyone anywhere in the world.”

   “Really? How does it work?” ask Maria.

   From sim cards to the satellites and towers, Jonathan trying to explain how phones worked only left Maria feeling confused.

   “I’ll try and explain how it works properly when I come back,” Jonathan promised.

   “Okay,” said Maria.

   With time going, Jonathan needed to head back home for work.

   “Before I go,” said Jonathan, “can I help you with anything?”

   “Actually, yes,” said Maria.

   She ran over to the dressing table and grabbed a few things, placing them into Jonathan’s hand.

   “Wait....” Jonathan exclaimed, with his jaw dropped. “Are these...?”

   “Gold coins? Yes,” said Maria.

   Each coin, with rough craftsmanship, was ancient, probably from the Medieval era, as Jonathan realized upon observing each.

   “I need some new clothes, if you can help me buy some,” said Maria. “You can keep the change.”

   “Thanks, Maria,” said Jonathan. “I’ll try my best.”

   He jumped out of the bed, and began to thoroughly examine Maria. She realized that Jonathan may be trying to figure out the ideal clothes’ sizes that would fit her perfectly, so she got up to give Jonathan proper postures.

   But, then, she felt a bit embarrassed, with a quick gasp, when she noticed Jonathan’s eyes staring at her bosom, much to his discomfort.

   “What are you doing?” bellowed Maria in a whispering tone, covering her chest by crossing her arms, and her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

   “I’m really sorry,” said the nervous Jonathan. “It’s not like that. For the clothes I’m buying, I also need to figure out your bra size.”

   ”What is a bra size?” she asked. Also feeling confused, and a bit curious, she added, “And, what is a bra?”

   Knowing how old school Maria was, Jonathan explained, “A bra is an under-covering for the breasts”.

   “Oh!” exclaimed Maria. “Fine. But, do I really need it?” she added, dropping her hands to make better postures showing off her bosom size. “You staring at me like that did make me feel uneasy.”

   “Bras help give breasts a shape,” said Jonathan, trying his best to explain without embarrassing both himself and Maria. “And, they also cover up the...  umm....”

   "Stop!" the embarrassed Maria ordered Jonathan, trying her best to hold back her laughter, biting her lips. "I understand what you’re saying! But, how soon do you think you can bring the clothes over?"

   “I don't know honestly," said Jonathan. "I just wish you had a phone, so I can let you know when I’ll be coming.”

   “Oh! And buy me a phone, please!” begged Maria, with a huge grin. “I’d love to learn how to use one to talk to you.”

   “I will,” promised Jonathan.

   Without further words, Maria got closer to Jonathan, and kissed him on his cheek.

   “What’s that for?” asked Jonathan, feeling unusually thrilled.

   “For checking up on me, and being a gentleman,” said Maria. “You have my gratitude.”

   Before Jonathan could leave, Maria added, “Oh! And help me get rid of the wastes,” referring to the nylon bags and empty packages. 

   Thus, once again, Jonathan found himself making his way back to the village, just in time to resume his shepherd work by noon. Regardless of coming back empty, besides promising to buy Maria some items, he still hoped to find something relating to the sleeping heir on his next trip to the castle. And, above everything else, he couldn’t wait to see Maria again.