By sunrise of the next morning, Maria made her way into the Hall of the Kings, observing the new, vacant graves being built. With determination, she was willing to do anything to bring the remains of her parents, the king and queen, back home.

   “Sorry to disturb, Your Highness,” said a voice behind Maria. Taken by surprise, the princess turned around and saw that it was one of her servants, waiting anxiously at the entrance. “It’s time to go.”

   It was Sunday, which meant that Maria, and a handful of the castle staff, were on their way to a local church for the weekly service. Since he lived at the other end of the village, Jonathan instead attended a local church with his parents.

   By afternoon, as was always the case every Sunday, the Fiers spent family time together at home, but the parents would also either go hiking around the countryside or visit the village for its hangouts and grocery shopping. On this particular day, the parents decided to go to the village, with plans to return home with fast food for dinner.

   In fact, it was a good opportunity for Maria to pay Jonathan a visit alone, with a quick conversation on the phone confirming his availability. As anticipated, a portal opened up in the living room, allowing the casually dressed Maria to step in.

   “Hi!” Maria greeted, waving at Jonathan.

   “Hi!” Jonathan greeted, as he walked towards Maria. “I didn’t know you’d be coming today.”

   “Jonathan, I’m going to search for my parents,” she bluntly declared, “and I need you to escort me to the fortress.”

   “I see,” said Jonathan, going from a feeling of gladness to concern. “But, that means we’ll have to travel there.”

   “We don’t have to,” said Maria. “I can just open a portal.”

   “But, I think you said that you can only open portals to places you’d been to?” Jonathan wondered.

   “I flew there as a bat while my manifestation ran the castle,” said Maria, taking Jonathan by surprise.

   “When was that?” asked Jonathan, feeling rather astonished.

   “Just last week,” said Maria. “I wanted to see the fortress in person, when the archeologists were still combing through the premise. It took me several hours to fly back and forth.”

   “I see,” said Jonathan.

   Maria couldn’t help but notice Jonathan feeling rather hesitant. “You won’t be coming?” she asked, feeling slightly disappointed.

   “I want to,” said Jonathan. “It’s just.... I hadn’t been outside the village before, and I’m not sure how long a manifestation can cover for me while I’m done.”

   “Jonathan,” said Maria, as she tossed the Vampiress’ Staff into her left hand, “remember what I told you about manifestations, when I made your first one come to life?”

   Jonathan thought really hard of it and, wasting no time, he answered, “I do.”

   Physically pointing to his specific body parts, Maria said, “A manifestation is a precise replica of a person, his mind, and his heart. You shouldn’t need to worry.”

   Jonathan nodded in agreement. “I will escort you,” he said. “I’d hate to see you go alone, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

   Moved by her words, Maria felt grateful for Jonathan’s willingness to follow her on her journey, that she tried her best to hold in her tears of joy.

   “Thank you!” she said to Jonathan, squeezing him tightly much to his surprise.

   Knowing what his pledge meant to Maria, Jonathan smiled with a sense of gladness, placing one hand on her back, and another on her head.

   The moment passed, and Maria took some steps back. With the Vampiress’ Staff, she proceeded to create Jonathan’s manifestation, and then open a portal to their destination. Jonathan was astonished by the sight of the old fortress, and the rugged terrain that it was built over, at the other side of the portal.

   “Let us proceed,” said Maria, as she stepped into the portal. After asking his manifestation to take his place, Jonathan followed Maria.

   As the portal closed behind them, the couple were standing several meters from the fortress gate. As a tall structure, Jonathan took a good glance at the main structure behind the walls, and the watchtowers adjacent to the castle. This made him walk slowly as Maria made a brisk pace towards the gate.

   “Keep up,” said Maria, prompting Jonathan to dash towards her.

   In under a minute, the couple were at the castle’s entrance. The wooden gate showed its age, with visible signs of a break-in allowing anyone to easily walk through.

   After a short while, Jonathan came to a realization; the castle’s entrance hall was at least two times longer than Maria’s. The windows, five on each wall, lit the hall with as much sunlight as possible, but just enough for the couple to make their way to the main hall.

   There, however, was void of sunlight. Over half the hall was covered in darkness, making it hard to make out what the area could have been in the olden days.

“Is this the throne room?” Jonathan asked Maria.

   “I don’t know,” said Maria. “I never came to this fortress in my time.”

   Jonathan brought out his phone to activate his flashlight. The couple then realized just how large the hall was, with ceiling as high as the fortress’ roof. As massive as it was, it seemed very empty. They didn‘t know it, but it was surely the same hall with the metal symbol where the wolves offered their sacrifices.

   Even though both Jonathan and Maria had combed through much of it, however, there was still more of the hall to explore. The front end was covered in darkness, with no windows to provide much needed sunlight in the area. This prompted the couple to walk towards it, but neither of them were ready for the horrific truth about the castle’s past.

   On the floor were three sets of skeletons still in their final clothings. The nearest skeleton, obviously that of a woman, beared signs of scratch marks through the chest, and physical damage to the ribcage, most notably the sternum. The hinted demise brought sympathy and sorrow to the couple.

   But, there was one skeleton that took the couple by surprise, as Jonathan, while squatting, positioned his phone near its skull. It bore the clothing of a royal person during the Medieval era, but there was one striking feature that differentiated it from the other skeletons.

   “Are those...?” Jonathan wondered.

   “Vampire fangs,” said Maria. “We found him, my uncle.”

   The two stood up, with Maria looking over the stabbing victim. “This one looks human,” said Maria. “It may have been one of his victims.”

   “I thought the archeologist said there weren’t any bones in the fortress.”

   “He was obviously lying. I sensed as much,” said Maria. “That’s why I’m here.”

   Jonathan proceeded to examine the final skeleton. Then, suddenly, it brought Maria to a somber realization.

   “Father,” she said, recognizing his distinct clothing, his crown next to him, and his sword still in his hand. Looking back at the female, she immediately recognized her mother’s dress. Her heart sank. It was likely that King Marcu killed his own brother and sister-in-law in this very hall.

   But, in case there was any doubt, the purple gem on the Vampiress’ Staff began to glow and, in seconds, it emulated a holographic recreation of the final events. Jonathan stood next to Maria to have a better look. Apparently, King Victor, Maria’s father, stormed through the hall to rescue Queen Gabriela from King Marcu, the vampire king of the fortress.

   “Let her go,” King Victor demanded. “Gabriela isn’t part of this.”

   “My intention was to merely lure you here,” said King Marcu. “With you here, the castle of Iacob Mihaianu has no king to protect it. Your shortsightedness is a human flaw that is holding you back as a species. This is why you must submit to the ways of the vampire.”

   “You intended to wipe my people if they didn’t follow the ways of the wicked,” King Victor reminded his brother. “You know it is wrong to kill the innocent. We will never submit.”

   “Fine then,” said King Marcu.

   King Victor was horrified by what he soon witnessed. Before releasing her, King Marcu scratched Queen Gabriela with his claws, fatally wounding her. This caused her to lose a lot of blood. Before she died, in her husband’s arms, she pleaded, “Please, look after her,” referring to Maria, their daughter.

   After lying her down on the floor, King Victor, with his heart full of rage, took up his sword and fought arm to arm against his brother. Alas, the battle ended with King Marcu killing him, but not without stabbing the vampire king through the heart. And that was how the story ended as the hologram dispersed.

   Maria lost her grasp on the Vampiress’ Staff causing it to hit the floor, causing echoes across the hall. On her knees, Maria began to sob, placing her face in her hands. She couldn’t hold in her tears. “He killed them!” she cried.

   Jonathan couldn’t bear seeing her in her darkest moment, trying his best to condole her on his knees. In turn, she placed her hands around him, crying into his shoulder. “I know they would have passed away from old age, but this is so cruel,” she sobbed.

   After a while, with a brave face, Maria decided to pick herself up. “I’m fine,” she said to Jonathan, as she wiped her tears. “Let us take my parents home.”

   But, before she could open the portal to the Hall of the Kings, dark clouds consumed the entire hall, separating Jonathan and Maria from each other.