The amethyst ring sparkled brilliantly beneath the sunlight as Yura tended to the flowers in the garden outside of the fortress. The flowers had just bloomed into their vibrant veils of primary colours once the seasons shifted, providing the dull building that loomed over the hillside with a range of radiant hues it had been needing for the longest time. To think ten years had passed since his death, time flowed a lot faster than she ever anticipated. The grief still lingered and loomed whenever she thought about him deeply, feeling as if the pain spanned for eternity. Though her heart still ached as it called for him, she found peace in maintaining her new line of work in caring for abandoned children. 

The clunk of a letter arriving in the mailbox alerted her away from her gardening duties. She opened the letter, delighted that it had been addressed to her personally by Varna. It had been a while since she had heard from her ever since she embarked on a new journey, the letter sounding more cheery than usual ever since she retired from studying the Arts and started travelling the world. She assisted her in teaching children the Arts, although doing so sometimes became bittersweet as the portrait of Viktor that towered over them occasionally brought in a surge of painful memories. It was a job he would’ve loved and cherished so much, which Yura agreed and understood. 

She was thankful for the paintings as it acted as a memoir for her - not just that of Viktor’s, but that of her wedding with Elais as well. She had found the painting on an easel hidden by a sheet - his last gift to her, a portrait of both of them side by side in their wedding attire. She wished that they could’ve experienced travelling and other wonderful things together such as raising a family, the thought lightly panging her heart at the endless possibilities and experiences that they would have shared together.  

Yura turned her head to the sound of footsteps, noticing a young boy admiring the flowers. He had light coloured hair that curled like waves in an ocean, and brilliant lavender eyes. He had been frequently visiting the fortress’ flower garden almost daily for the past few weeks, particularly admiring the flowers that bloomed recently. It was the first time he was present when she was attending to the flowers, as he would normally run away from her whenever she attempted to approach him. 

She walked towards him, noticing him become startled as he jumped. “What’s your name, little one?”
His eyes widened as she gazed at him, easing his quivering as she smiled warm and brightly towards him. “I… I don’t have one.”

She crouched in front of him, and tilted her head slightly. The fortress was a considerable walk from the closest town, so he couldn’t have simply wandered there every time. “Where are your guardians? Do you have any parents?”
“I.. I don’t have any. I ran away from my foster home. All they call me is ‘boy’ and ‘demon’. They’re not nice to me, because of my fangs,” the boy replied, his voice quivering as he spoke. She noticed his clothes were slightly torn and heavily stained with dirt, his arms slightly bruised. Tears formed in his eyes as he began to tremble. “Please don’t send me back there. Don’t take me back.”

With a gentle hand, she wiped the tears that trickled down his cheek. His features were so reminiscent of him, she was certain of it. He finally found eternal peace in his previous life. “Elais. I will grant you that name, and I can take care of you instead. I promise to treat you with kindness and nothing less, if you’d like.”
His eyes gleamed for a brief moment at her words as the rest of his face glowed. “I.. I would like that very much, miss.”

She smiled and took him by the hand, guiding him inside the fortress. “Do you like to read?”
“I do.”

They arrived at the sizable library that boasted its impressive skylight, and she picked out a book by the nearest shelf. “Let’s read this one together. It’s about a very lonely, sad vampire who finds happiness later in his life.”
“Yeah, okay.”

“It was a particularly rainy night, much to Elais’ displeasure…”

- End -