Since it was several months since the beginning of winter, the next sacrifice was overdue at the old ruin. However, since a much larger animal was required, one of the wolves, with the aid of magic, became a werewolf in order to drag a dead bison back to the castle. This also required taking a different route to the castle hall, thus taking the main entrance this time around.

   With the bison laid over the symbol, the other three wolves, alongside the main wolf, came out of the darkness to observe their new kill.

   “With this, he will be much closer to resurrection,” the main wolf commented. “You have done well.”

   “My pleasure,” said the hunting wolf, as it changed back to its normal form.

   “As we reach the final stage of the ritual, don’t we need to start acquiring the vampiress’ blood?” asked one of the wolves.

   “Luring her here won’t be necessary,” said the main wolf.  “I consulted the oracle. She will bring herself to us.”

   The news surprised the other wolves, but also brought a sigh of relief. Already a grueling task as it was, it’s as if a huge burden was lifted off their backs.

   “And with that,” said the main wolf, “I believe we no longer need to hide our identities.”

   In a matter of seconds, the main wolf changed itself back to his true form. In actuality, he was a human being. Evident from his attire, from his robe to his head wear, he was the leader of a cult that had placed its trust onMaria’s uncle, King Marcu, who apparently perished long ago.

   “You have all done well, my brothers,” he said to the wolves. “Handle the sacrifice, and I’ll handle the rest till the vampiress arrives.”

   Once again, a dark cloud burst from underneath the sacrifice till it covered the dead bison and the four wolves. As it dispersed, only the cult leader remained in the hall.

Back at the village, a few days later, both Jonathan and Maria were having lunch at the school’s cafeteria. Jonathan had a quick chat with his friends before spotting Maria on her usual seat, scrolling away through her phone.

   “What are you up to, babe?” asked Jonathan as he made his way to his seat, with his tray, right next to Maria.

   “Nothing much, my sweet,” said Maria in a soothing voice. “Just trying to see if my family history comes up online.”

   “And?” asked Jonathan as he tried to have a closer look at Maria’s phone.

   “Nothing,” said Maria as she dropped her phone on the table. “I can’t believe that our heritage wasn’t well preserved since my uncle stormed the castle.”

   “Me neither,” said Jonathan. “I actually want to learn more.”

   “At least the mayor is on the trail,”  said Maria, with a tone of excitement. “He’ll keep us posted if the archeologists find anything.”

   “If he does, do let me know,” said Jonathan.

   ”I will,“ Maria assured.

   Maria proceeded to lift her sandwich off her plate. But, before she could take a bite, with her mouth wide open, she couldn’t help but notice Jonathan staring at her the whole time, and not having touched his food.

   ”Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked.

   The couple, especially Maria, giggled over the remark. It reminded them both of how Jonathan felt worried, during his last visit to the castle, seeing Maria lost in her thoughts, and not touching her food.

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

   “Sure!” said Jonathan.

   “Your parents, the scroll that was found in the castle, did they learn anything about my parents? Or my uncle?”

   “No, the scroll didn’t go into further details about them,” said Jonathan.

   “And me? Did it say anything else other than my return?” asked Maria, feeling rather anxious.

   The scroll, however, did hint that Maria could turn on her village if her uncle, King Marcu, ever found out how to manipulate her. Instead, Jonathan lied to her to keep her mind at ease, saying, “No, it didn’t.”

   With a sigh of relief, and having nothing else to say, both Maria and Jonathan got back to eating their lunch. However, Maria could sense that Jonathan still had something to say to her, but she decided not to disturb him over it. “Perhaps in due time,” she thought to herself, filled with anticipation.

   Later in the afternoon, as school was closed for the day, Maria got to work on her homework. Regardless, she was able to make time to master a new spell. This, in particular, was among the other spells on the scroll she postponed for later. However, after learning what it was, her jaw dropped.

   “This is amazing!” she thought to herself. “Why didn’t I study this sooner?” 

   With her hand placed between her lower lip and chin, she took a closer look at the illustrations. From what she was able to decipher, while trying not to forget each detail, she decided to carry out an experiment on one of her belongings.

   On her dressing table were a few items, but all she needed was just one. Thus, she decided to try her new spell on her hair brush. The brush disappeared but, as soon as it happened, it reappeared right in front of her mid-air. With the Vampiress’ Staff still in her right hand, she rushed to grab the brush with her left hand before it hit the floor. Much to her surprise, the spell really did work! 

   However, another look through the scroll gave her a bigger shock. There was another version of the same spell, but it works the other way around. Instead of being teleported from one location to another, the subject must go through what is essentially a portal to reach its destination. Unlike the previous one, this spell was just the right one for traveling.

   “I can visit Jonathan more often with this,” Maria thought as she brushed her hair, having just laid the Vampiress’ Staff on her bed.

   Suddenly, Maria heard at least three knocks on her door.

   “Come in!” she bellowed.

   The door opened, with one of her servants making his presence by the entrance.

   “Your Highness,” he said, “it’s the mayor. He wishes to introduce you to someone.”

   No one told Maria about the visit in advance, so the announcement took her by surprise. With no time wasted, she made her way back to the throne room where the mayor, and a man wearing a lab coat, waited.

   “Good evening, gentlemen,” Maria greeted them both.

   “Good evening, Your Highness,”  Mr. Ştefan greeted. “I’d like to introduce you to our head archeologist, Professor Daniel. His team may have found something regarding the king and queen.

   ”Greetings, Your Highness,” Professor Daniel greeted, as he proceeded to take a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.”

   “So you’re the gentleman helping me to uncover my family history,” she commented. “Were your team able to find anything tangent?”

   “Probably something bigger than we might have expected, Your Highness,” said Professor Daniel. “We found a fortress, with markings resembling the official emblem of King Marcu, your uncle.”

   It wasn’t a mere minute discovery that Maria was anticipating, leaving her rather speechless, and eyes wide open.

   “Where did you find it?” she asked.

   “At the mountains,” said Professor Daniel, “not too far off from the border with Transylvania. It’s hours of journey from the castle however.”

   “I’m afraid to ask, but, were any corpses discovered around the fortress?” Maria hesitantly asked.

   “It’s too soon to tell,” said Professor Daniel, “but I can assure you that our team is working to unearth any discovery around the fortress. We’ll keep the mayor informed on our progress.”

   “Thank you for the update,” Maria said to Professor Daniel.

   “I need to start heading home for the night,” Mr. Ştefan said to Maria and Professor Daniel before bidding them farewell.

   “Aren’t you going, professor?” Maria asked Professor Daniel, having noticed that he didn’t follow the mayor to the exit.

   “I’m taking a different path,” said Professor Daniel, as he took a quick look at his phone. “The taxi should be here shortly.”

   “I see,” said Maria.

   The two stood silently with Professor Daniel looking at his phone once a while, and Maria observing any corner of the throne room. At least once, or maybe twice, she looked up to the professor, wondering what was on his mind that moment.

   “Oh! My ride is here!” Professor Daniel bellowed, disrupting the silence. “Goodnight, Your Highness!”

   “Goodbye, and safe journey!” said Maria.

   Maria couldn’t figure out why, but she began experiencing bad vibes as the professor headed out. She didn’t know it at that moment, but Professor Daniel was actually the cult leader, and he just cemented the first step to luring Maria to the ruin.