It was less than two hours till sunset over Transylvania, which would make it safe for the vampires to roam the lands once more. Both Maria and Jonathan were weighing their options on stopping King Marcu from launching new attacks against humanity but, for the time-being, the pair were invited to the fortress’ dining hall. There, vampire servants stood by to cater to their needs, as Mr. Ştefan worked to keep the guests well fed with appetizers, the main course, and desserts. In fact, Maria paid close attention to what was served to her, as it brought back memories from her time as a Medieval princess.

   “I guess he knows me well,” she said aloud, getting Jonathan’s attention. It was a similar remark that Jonathan had whenever Maria remembered the things he liked.

   King Marcu might have remembered that borscht was her favorite afternoon meal, as well as his niece being a picky eater. Long before sacrificing his humanity, he had dined with his brother, King Victor, on a handful of occasions as a guest. He especially noticed how Maria would not touch any other protein than the finest of lamb or beef. On this afternoon, though, Maria noticed that her borscht came with a modern twist; potato and carrot slices were added to her lamb dish, with a touch of  sour cream and dill on top.

   “Do you have a plan yet?” Jonathan whispered to Maria, sitting right next to her.

   “What?” asked Maria, forgetting what Jonathan was referring to. But, then, the quick conservation that the pair had on their way to the dining hall came back to her. “We’ll discuss at the balcony after lunch,” she whispered to Jonathan.

   As suggested, the pair met at a balcony after lunch, situated close to the hall at the top floor. As hoped, it provided much needed privacy to discuss plans, away from other vampires in the fortress, but it also offered a view of soldiers who secretly gave us their humanity to serve the vampire king. At the moment, the much needed addition to King Marcu’s horde were in position at the courtyard, waiting for the order to strike their next target.

   “Look at that,” Maria said to Jonathan. “Those soldiers were originally deployed to lay siege to the fortress. I was worried they wouldn’t succeed, but I didn’t think they’d ever betray the military.”

   “It shows that you really don’t know a person, like our mayor,” said Jonathan.

   Maria nodded in agreement, then said “We have no choice. We must win this battle, or else Iacob Mihaianu, and the refugee camp are finished!”

   “So, what’s our plan,” asked Jonathan.

   “Honestly, I have none,” said Maria, walking to the side. “I suspect my uncle will hand the Vampiress’ Staff back to me. We’ll just have to strike him on the spot.”

“And if he doesn’t return it? Will you still be able to do transformations?” asked Jonathan.

“Yes,” said Maria, “but it’ll take a bit more time without the staff, and I’ll have to take off my clothes again.” Maria noticed a rather suggestive look on Jonathan that made her feel uneasy, resulting in raised eyebrows and a nervous grin. “Don’t get any ideas,” she said to him.

“Sorry,” said Jonathan.

   Despite their rather spicy discussion, Jonathan couldn’t hide his anxiety, which began to show on him. “Babe, are you okay?” Maria asked.

   “No. I’m not,” said Jonathan.

   His statement raised Maria’s eyebrows, as she placed her fist on her chest with empathy. “What’s wrong?” asked Maria.

   With a long pause, Jonathan broke his nervous silence by saying “You were gifted the Vampiress’ Staff, but all I have is a fire attack. What if it’s not enough? What if I fail? What if I lose you?”

   “Hey, babe,” said Maria, as she placed her hand on Jonathan’s cheek. “It’ll be okay. But, if anything goes wrong, I need you to be strong for me. No matter what happens, I made a promise to your parents that I’ll send you back if things get dangerous. For now, I need your bravery more than ever. Who knows? The fire power I gave you might make a difference between defeat and victory.”

   “I guess you’re right. Sorry,” said Jonathan.

   “Don’t be. How do you think I feel?” said Maria. Jonathan then looked into her eyes feeling rather stunned.

   Jonathan then placed his hand on Maria’s cheek, before proceeding to stretch his face forward. Maria, understanding his motive, shared in his affection as she looked into his eyes, drawing her face forward till their lips touched. Jonathan felt the need to show his love for Maria, with one last kiss, just before battling the vampire king. The pair then turned towards the courtyard, reminding themselves what’s at stake, as the sun set over the horizon.

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

   “Go on,” said Maria.

   “The way you blew your temper last night, pointing the staff, that wasn’t you, was it?” asked Jonathan.

   “Honestly, I don’t know what happened,” said Maria. “Before I became a half-vampire, I never vexed the way I had. I believe that was all due to my vampire half.”

   “I see,” Jonathan remarked. “Like your red eyes?”

   “I guess,” said Maria. Struck with an epiphany, Maria put two and two together. “My uncle told me that it took rage to complete his transformation. Maybe we vampires are monsters after all,” she said, feeling rather dismayed.

   “Don’t say that; you’re not,” said Jonathan. “You’re nothing like King Marcu. You still have a human heart.”

   “Thanks, Jon,” said Maria, before exchanging hugs. “But, still, we need to stop my uncle before he claims any more victims.”

   “Shattering the gem should be enough to take him out, right? How are we going to do it?” Jonathan wondered. 

   “I may have a plan, but I’ll need to take back the Vampiress’ Staff,” said Maria.  

   “Your Highness,” said a vampire servant by the balcony entrance, “His Highness, the king, is ready to see you.”

   Maria and Jonathan were escorted back into the throne room downstairs, where the servants and official representatives congregated around their king. Everyone focused their attention on the pair as they approached. To her amazement, though, everyone knew down before Maria, as if they were welcoming their princess.

   “My niece,” greeted King Marcu. “Everyone has come to welcome their princess.”

   “Try as you might, I still won’t help you with your madness,” Maria scolded.

   “You lost your will power before, and you shall lose it again,” said King Marcu. “But, even if you keep your rage under control, I shall still find a way to turn you into our champion during the day.”

   King Marcu pulled out a black staff from the corner as he rose from his throne. On top of it was a similar gem to that on Maria’s staff, but larger with a different cut, with claws made of silver holding it in place. The staff also had different, colorful gemstones engraved around the upper part of the staff, giving it a luxurious feel.

   “You have the Vampiress’ Staff, but I have the Vampire’s Staff,” said King Marcu. “Its gem is what I use to give up my humanity, and create my vampire army, as I used it to trap your village. And now, it is what I shall use to make you submit.”

   With his staff, he summoned the Vampiress’ Staff, sealed in a purple orb. Perhaps, as Maria thought, it was why she was unable to resummon her staff as soon as she lost it earlier. In just a few seconds, the Vampiress’ Staff was back in her hands.

   “I know you want a duel,” said King Marcu. “Slay me, and all this nightmare before you shall go away. Fail, and you have no choice but to serve me for all eternity.”

   “But if I slay you, uncle, people can still resurrect you with my blood. Surely, nightmares can still reoccur as one still lives, so I can’t really call that ‘slaying,’” said Maria.

   “Truth be told,” said King Marcu, “when your father slayed me, that was actually supposed to be my last. I casted a spell that would bring me back to life, only once, but it required human sacrifice to work. Fortunately, your father decided to play the hero that day, as I used your mother to lure him out of his kingdom. Their deaths were sufficient, and the Brotherhood of the Wolves were generous to do the other half with their own ritual, as I instructed.”

   Maria struggled to not let her uncle’s words get the best of her, despite new information about her parents’ fate. As people were relying on her for their survival, the last thing she needed was to be used as a weapon again by the vampires.

   King Marcu then drew his attention to Jonathan standing besides Maria, adding “By the way, the boy’s survival depends on you winning, so make it count.”

   By tapping his staff against the floor, two vampire servants responded to King Marcu’s wishes to drag Jonathan to the side. Jonathan stubbornly refused as he pulled his hands away, before saying to the vampire king “I demand to fight besides Maria! That is why I’m here!”

   “Then so be it,” said King Marcu without any hesitation, before dismissing the servants.

   Thus, the throne room became a battle arena, with the other vampires standing by as spectators. Both Maria and Jonathan took caution, eagerly anticipating King Marcu’s first move. Like a predator, the vampire king kept his eyes on the pair, looking for an opportunity to make his first strike with his staff. Meanwhile, the sun had only a few moments before disappearing over the horizon. Maria and Jonathan had only little time to stop the vampires from launching their next wave of attacks.