Just over a couple of weeks later, it was the weekend once again, and, that afternoon, Jonathan left shepherd work to play soccer with the other kids at the village.

   Jonathan and his friends were playing a quick game of three versus three, and Jonathan’s team were close to scoring another goal. With quick footwork, one of Jonathan’s teammates managed to pass the ball through the goalkeeper, netting a goal ahead of the other team.

   “Game!” he shouted, marking the end of the match.

   The boys congratulated each other, with some needing to head home. Just Jonathan, and two of his friends, Doru, and Sergiu, were left. They had a quick chat on a few subjects but, lastly, both Doru and Sergiu started to wonder about Maria. All of Jonathan’s friends were aware that he and the princess were in a relationship. Some teased him over it much to his annoyance but, sincerely, they were happy for him.

   “So, how is Maria? Will you be seeing her today?” asked Sergiu.

   “I’m not sure. I wasn’t given an invitation for this week,” said Jonathan. While reaching for his phone, however, he added, “But, she did say I should call her by this time and ask.”

   “So call her,” Doru encouraged.

   Jonathan wanted to send a text but, having fallen in love with her angelic voice, he decided to call her instead.

   Meanwhile, at the castle’s “Hall of the Kings,” works were carried out to designate two new tombs. Under Maria’s command, they were set up in case the remains of the king and queen were ever found, so that their daughter could pay them their final respect.

   Caught off-guard, Maria’s phone began to vibrate in her hand. Sure enough, it was Jonathan calling to check up on her. Not being too busy at the moment, she answered the call.

   “Hi, sweetie!” she greeted in a low, but melodic tone.

   “Hey, babe!” Jonathan greeted at the other end. “I was calling to check if I could come visit.”

   “I’m a little busy, I’m afraid,” she said, observing the staff hard at work, “but I can come visit. Where are you right now?”

   “I’m at the football field,” Jonathan answered.

   “The one in downtown?” Maria asked.

   “The same,” said Jonathan. “You’re sure you can make it?”

   “Of course, I will,” Maria assured. “Just give me a minute.”

   Jonathan wasn’t yet aware of Maria’s newly found ability to open a portal, which would allow her to travel anywhere she wanted in a matter of seconds. Asking for Jonathan’s whereabouts was quite essential in this regard for, as just a minute passed, there she was... right behind the boys! By the time they noticed, the portal was already shut, leaving the boys confused as to when or how she arrived.

   “She’s there!” Doru pointed.

   The boys immediately rushed to welcome their princess. Except Jonathan, the boys were bewildered by the sight of Maria in casual clothing and without her crown, quite a contrast to seeing her in a royal dress.

   “Hi, boys!” she greeted, with the boys greeting back.

   “You got here so quickly. A new spell?” asked Jonathan.

   “Oh, yes,” said Maria. “I mastered it days ago. It lets me travel to places, but only to those I have been to.”

   In spite of her limits, Maria’s new ability still left the boys at awe. Shortly after, they asked if she would like to play a quick game of soccer with them. Since there were just three boys left, they were hoping to make the number even.

   “I’ll try,” she said to them, feeling rather hesitant. She placed the Vampiress’ Staff at a corner,  hence freeing her hands, and returned to the field. “I’d watched some matches, but I’d never played soccer myself,” she admitted.

   “It’s not a problem,” Sergiu assured.

   “You don’t have to be skilled. Just have fun,” said Jonathan.

   “Fine,” said Maria, with a wide smile in anticipation. “Whom am I playing with?”

   With a quick selection, Maria and Sergiu were grouped against Jonathan and Doru. The boys decided to not assign any goalkeepers, so that Maria would be more involved on the field. She wasn’t as skilled as the boys, and had even lost the ball to the opposing team on some occasions, but she was able to pass the ball over to Sergiu during crucial moments. Minutes into the game, and with her best footwork, she was even able to score a goal against Jonathan’s team, prompting a high five with Sergiu.

   At the end, Jonathan’s team won by two goals, but everyone had fun nonetheless, with Maria receiving praises till she blushed. But, the time came for Doru and Sergiu to start heading home as well, leaving just Maria and Jonathan on the field, just the right time for the princess to make her way back to the castle.

   ”Come with me,” she told Jonathan, after opening a portal.

   “Are you sure it’s safe for the two of us?” asked Jonathan.

   “I’m sure,” said Maria. She grabbed Jonathan by the hand, and said, “Now, come with me!”

   In an instance, the couple were in Maria’s bedroom. Having not been in it for months, out of curiosity, Jonathan kept staring around.

   “We’re in your room,” he said.

   “Yes,” said Maria. “I know it’s been a long time you’ve been here, hasn’t it?”

   “Oh, yes,” said Jonathan. “But, I thought you were busy with royal duties.”

   “Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Maria. ”My manifestation is already handling it. It should meet me here once it’s done.”

   Maria then headed over to her dressing table to grab an object. Then, she leaped back towards Jonathan and held it up.

   “What’s that?” asked Jonathan.

   “It’s our family crest,” said Maria. The object, which was made of pure gold, was part of a necklace bearing the emblem of the royal family. “It used to be my father’s. Professor Daniel found it at the ruin, and presented it during his last visit.” As she lowered the crest, she commented, “I think my father may have been at the ruin.”

   “I see. Did they find anything else?” asked Jonathan.

   “No, not yet,” said Maria, “but the mayor told me to expect more news from him tonight.”

   “I see,” said Jonathan.

   “I was wondering,” asked Maria.

   Jonathan felt pulled from his thoughts by Maria’s words. “What’s that?” he asked.

   “If my parents’ are at the ruin, will you help me get there?” Maria asked.

   “I‘ll try and see if I can,” said Jonathan.

   “I can summon your manifestation if you need it,” said Maria. “But, let’s see what happens first.”

   “Okay,” said Jonathan.

   At the same time, Maria’s manifestation walked into the bedroom. Maria saw this as a sign that the work at the Hall of the Kings was completed.

   “That’s my queue!” she declared.

   She walked towards her manifestation to take back her crown. With the crown in her hands, she said, “I relieve you of your duties,” thus causing her manifestation to fade to smoke.

   With the Vampiress’ Staff, Maria changed her clothes to their royal form, resuming her duties as princess. Shortly after, she opened a portal leading to the Fier residence, thus giving Jonathan a quick way back home.

   ”Here‘s your portal,” she said to him. “I need to head over to the Hall of the Kings. I’ll talk to you soon.”

   “Okay, babe,” said Jonathan, as he proceeded to kiss her on the lips. “Take care!”

   “I will, and you too,” said Maria with a wide smile, and rosy red cheeks.

   And with that, Jonathan headed off, with the portal shutting behind him.

   By evening, Maria was at the castle’s lounge, waiting to be part of a scheduled meeting via webcam. Sitting right in front of her personal computer, with her father’s crest in her hand, she was hopeful for any news on her parents’ whereabouts. But, simultaneously, she felt overwhelmed with anxiety as the time for her meeting drew nearer.

   With some training from Jonathan, she was familiar with basic functionalities of a computer, and how to access the internet. However, she was having a bit of a problem setting up the software for her upcoming meeting, especially as the mayor and Professor Daniel would be taking part.

   “Is this right?” she wondered, as she attempted to accept her invitation to the group chat.

   Without much hassle, it appeared that she was now part of the group, having noticed fellow participants being Professor Daniel and Mr. Ştefan. Now, all she had to do was wait till either men called at the top of the hour.

   Once it was eight o’ clock, without fail, Maria received an incoming call on her screen, with the group chat’s name “Meeting with Professor Dan” displayed. Thus, she answered. All the contacts exchanged pleasant greetings, and commenced discussions.

   “So, tell us,” Mr. Ştefan said to Professor Daniel, “what were your team able to find at the ruins?”

   “Not much, I’m afraid,” said Professor Daniel. “My team only found some jewelry.” He raised his hand, with the jewelry in his palm, towards his webcam so that Mr. Ştefan and Maria may have a closer look. “With thorough examination of historical records and depictions, they may have belonged to King Marcu. Other than that, I see no sign of the king or queen ever stepping into the fortress.”

   “And there weren’t any human bones at the ruins?” asked Maria.

   “None, Your Highness,” said Professor Daniel. “Having combed through the fortress, we saw no further reason to be on the site.”

   “Thank you for the update,” said Maria.

   With the mayor and professor discussing plans to send the jewelry to a national museum, it was time to end the meeting. Despite coming off empty-handed, again, Maria began to feel negative vibes towards Daniel. Perhaps it was what he said, but she felt as if he was hiding something from everyone. With her father’s crest having been discovered at the fortress, things weren’t adding up. By that point, she understood her feelings as a sign of distrust.

   “He’s lying,” she thought to herself. “I’m going to the fortress myself.”

   She rose up while picking up her father’s crest, and stormed out of the lounge.