Esmeralda smiled for a moment. "What a brilliant idea you had, my friend!" she raves and gave her friend a thumb up.

She fell silent for a moment.

Through the years, she realized how bored she becomes inside the castle.

When she was younger, her heart supported the three elders' vision of the peace treaty between monsters and peace-loving races because she believes that not all monsters are bad that was her philosophy in life before she falls in love.

Then she fell love with the devil's son, but sadly her first love was eventually killed by Magnus the father of Maxwell, Zenon, and Lothaire.

Magnus siphoned the power of her lover and that of his father and the devil no longer existed on earth. Magnus becomes the most powerful of all.

She set a plan of revenge aided by the three powerful Nephilim elders and soon enough Magnus fall into her charm. They become lovers for a short time, she had to endure his kisses and his hugs so that the three elders can continue to roam the vampires' domain freely and execute their plans.

Some truths were not known to the outside world. The three elders fabricated some lies.

To the outside, for those who don't know much, it was just a peace treaty in the very beginning. Sacrifice was made and so on...But when the three elders finally decided that they would wipe out the whole castle where the imprisoned monsters are being held...she intervened and told the elders that the stupid treaty should be honored.

The three elders finally relented, since, after Esmeralda's death, all the inhabitants of the castle will also die no matter how many years it will take. Their plan is still intact in place.

Since Esmeralda already lost her love, and her heart was filled with hurt and anger, she agreed to swallow the pearl of life and death...this way she can continue to see the suffering of the descendants of the vampires who killed her love.

At the same time, she had done a great service to the peace-loving creatures outside the castle and also made herself happy seeing the vampires suffer every day, feeding her thirst for revenge.

But lately...she becomes tired of it all.

She realized that she was done with revenge, done with her painful past, done with everything, and just wish to get out of from the confinement of the castle and roamed the world outside, freely.

She realized that the things she desired when she was young are no longer the same things she wanted when she's getting older.

She called her younger self stupid to even prolong the madness inside the castle. She could have been living freely like a bird outside...But why does her younger self agreed to all these in her past? Why oh why? And now she was regretting it!

Unfortunately, she can't get out of the castle alive!

She should have agreed with the three elders in the first place and set the castle ablaze and didn't intervened with their plans...she should have been living freely outside.

Damn! She was furious with herself!

"Hey Esme...why you look so furious right now?" asked the tree.

Esmeralda shrugged. "I hated my younger self for putting myself into this unfortunate situation. If only I have known that I will regret my decision later on, I should have vacated this place while I still have time," she said forlornly.

The tree sighed. "I warned you before but you didn't listen to me..."

"Yeah, stop reminding me. There is no used blaming my stupid younger self for making such a stupid decision. Just help me in finding brilliant ways we can escape this place. We got to get out of here before I die," she said.

"Alright, I will tell you if I have a better plan. Regarding my first suggestion about Kate, try to analyze it further maybe we can use her for our plan regarding the heart exchange," the tree responded.

"Okay, I'll explore your suggestion in every angle if it's feasible. It does sound brilliant but the complexity and the timing are important because despite the benefit it can give to me...I want Kate to continue living so that she can find her sister inside the castle and they can comfort each other. I also want to continue living and able to escape this place with you," she said.

"Esme, stop thinking of others...think of yourself first!" the tree scolded her.

Esmeralda rolled her eyes. "I'm not that cruel..." she stated and sighed.

"Whatever!" the tree snapped.

Esmeralda smiled and went to the tree and hugged it tightly. "Don't be angry...you look ugly!" she grinned.

The tree smiled and returned her affection by hugging Esmeralda using its branches.

A few minutes later, Esmeralda returned inside the house to look after Kate.

Unknown to them, a blackbird nearby was listening to their whole conversation and it flew away undetected.

Back inside the house.

Esmeralda sat on the floor beside Kate and contemplated on the tree's suggestion.

She was getting excited with the prospect of getting out of the castle alive.

A long time ago, she no longer want to live and desires freedom outside the castle. But now the more she thinks about the tree's suggestion, it was becoming more appealing to her.

How to do it? How to conduct a heart transplant successfully?

She closed her eyes and envision herself and Kate lying on the bed, side by side, while her friend the tree will conduct the heart transplant. It would require the process of opening her chest and Kate's at the same time and then exchanged the hearts quickly...

But wait...if her heart will directly be planted in Kate's body and her body won't reject it then the invisible barrier will not open up...she can't still escape...unless her heart will stay out of the body and stops beating for a few minutes or seconds, she and the tree can escape, and then someone would put her heart in Kate's chest and they can escape alive that would be it!

But it requires another person or being to put back her heart in Kate's chest so that the girl can continue to live inside the castle!

Hmm...

Where to find that person? She can't trust anyone, 'coz everyone wants to escape the castle!

'Why don't you just sacrifice the girl's life and leave?' a tiny voice whispered in her mind.

"Because I'm not that heartless and cruel to my kind!" she retorted back.

Dang!

The suggestion of the tree is a brilliant one! It sounds easy in her mind but it will be hell difficult to execute in real-time.

She will continue polishing the idea in her mind, maybe she can find a way how to execute it flawlessly.

In the meantime, she will continue finding ways how to escape this prison she willingly embraces herself during her younger years of absolute stupidity.

She observed the sleeping girl beside her with great interest.

Maybe this girl was sent by destiny to her side as her means of escape?

Should she sacrifice this girl's life for her gain? Part of her said, yes...but the other part said, no.

This will become an ongoing battle inside her mind for a long time. When that time comes—once she'll finally make a decision—she will go ahead with her decision without hesitation.