A few hours later.

Kate awakened to a darkening surrounding, the night is fast approaching. OMG! She has been sleeping for a long time!

Suddenly, the door opened and Esmeralda entered the house. She looked at the girl. "Child, do you want to go with me?"

"W-where, Granny?" asked Kate.

"To the forest...the leaves located your sister's scent there..." Esmeralda explained.

Kate immediately rose to her feet. "I'll go with you, Granny!" she responded excitedly.

"Alright, let's go!" Esmeralda said.

The two women entered the silver box that was waiting in the front yard.

A few minutes later, the silver box take off from the ground and hovered in the air going to the eastern part of the horizon.

A few minutes later, the silver box landed in a clearing.

The silver box opened, Esmeralda and Kate exited and looked around them.

Few leaves are hovering in the air.

"Esme, we found Ivy a few meters from here!" the leader of the leaves said.

"Where!?" Kate asked excitedly. "Is my sister okay?"

"Yes. She's alive and breathing. There's no injury in her body and she was coherent. I instructed the other leaves to keep her company and protect her from harm just in case wild animals will suddenly appear out of nowhere," the leaf replied.

"Alright, take us to Ivy!" Esmeralda ordered.

"Follow us, girls!" the leaf said.

The leaves flew in one direction, the two women were following them from behind.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination.

There she is...Ivy was sitting on the rock surrounded by the leaves.

"Sister! Where have you been!" Kate rushed to her sister's side.

The two sisters were finally reunited. They embraced each other as huge relief washed over them.

"Why are you here?" Kate asked her sister again.

Ivy was shaking her head in confusion. "Kate, that is one question that I have no answer!" she replied, flabbergasted. "The last thing I remembered, we are sleeping together in the house. Then why would I found myself lying in the grass over there!" she said and pointed to the area which was covered by grass.

"But you've been missing for several days already...!" Kate insisted.

A creased appeared on Ivy's forehead. "Huh? Really? I don't know about that! I have no idea that I've been missing for several days. I just wake up today and I was terrified to death finding myself in this forest alone. How the hell I got here!?" she wondered.

"Are you sure, you can't remember anything?" Kate finds her sister's answer odd.

"Yes, I'm sure of that. My mind is blank, you have to believe me! I'm not making this up!" Ivy insisted.

"Alright, I believe you, sis. Can you walk?" Kate asked her sister.

"Yes, of course," Ivy replied and attempted to rise to her feet.

Kate assisted her sister. "Good, let's go back now to Granny's house," she said.

Esmeralda was observing the two sisters under her gaze. "Ivy, are you okay?"

Ivy nodded her head. "Yes, I'm okay, Granny. Thank you very much for instructing these talking leaves to find me. Without them, I would be dead by now eaten by wild animals," she said, feeling overwhelmed.

Esmeralda smiled. "Don't mention it. Let's keep moving, the night is fast approaching," she said and lead the way.

Ivy and Kate followed Esmeralda while the leaves trail them from behind.

They finally reached the silver box and went inside, wanting to go home immediately.

The silver box was taking off from the ground and floated in the air. The leaves were following behind.

After a few minutes of traveling in the air. The silver box landed in the floating land.

"We're here!" Esmeralda said.

The box opened allowing the girls to exit.

"Home at last!" Kate murmured.

Esmeralda looked at the two women. "Girls, get inside the house and have a rest," she ordered.

"Yes, Granny," the sister said in unison, nodding their heads as they proceed to the house.

Esmeralda shifted her attention to the tree, she went to the wooden bench wanting to relax a bit.

"I guess everything went well, am I right, Esme?" the tree asked.

Esmeralda nods her head. "Yes, I'm glad Ivy is finally back."

"So...what's your next plan?"

"About what--?"

"About Ivy? If ten days are over and we can't find an antidote, what will you do?"

Esmeralda's mouth twitched. "I have to bring Ivy back to the vampires' territory, if not, she will die here in my house. I'm powerless to help her," she replied with a shake of her head.

"What if Kate will decide to leave and accompany her sister to the vampires' place? What will you do, Esme?" the tree asked.

Esmeralda was silent for a moment, pondering the question that was thrown to her.

What exactly she's going to do now?

It's alright having the two sisters in the house, but if Kate will follow her sister back to the vampires' territory then that would pose a big problem to her.

"Remember our plan to escape this castle, if we lose Kate then we will also lose the chance to get out alive and see the world outside again!" the tree spoke.

Esmeralda nods her head. "Of course, I didn't forget our plan," she said in a casual tone.

"Good! If you need my assistance and my advice, I'll always be here to support you. Open your hand, I have something to give to you," said the tree.

Esmeralda obeyed and opened her palm. One of the branches of the tree put a pouch on her hand.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I found that pouch in Ivy's possession. Based on my investigation, the object I found inside the pouch is a deadly poison," the tree said.

Esmeralda's eyes widened. "Huh? Where did it come from? Did Ivy bring it with her?"

"I think so. The poison on Ivy's body and the poison on that pouch might be of the same ingredients and quality. I'm just wondering though...since Ivy already ingested the poison, what is this extra poison meant for? Was it meant for you?"

A deep frown appeared on Esmeralda's forehead. Was it for her? Are the vampires that determined to kill her?

Her silence deepens.

"Hmm...Esme...I take it back. I think the poison is not intended for you...."

"Why? What makes you think that way?"

"Because, if they kill you, and your heart suddenly stops beating. Everyone in this castle will perish and burn to ashes. I am confident now that the poison is not meant for you but it's for someone..." the voice of the tree trailed off.

Esmeralda took a wild guess. "C-could it be that...that...Ivy was planning to poison her sister?" she asked, stunned by the possibility.

"Yes! That's more like it!" the tree retorted.

Esmeralda gasped in shock. "No! I think Ivy would not betray her sister that way," she said adamantly refusing to believe the suggestion of the tree. Ivy didn't confess to her about the extra poison that she carried along with her in secret.

"My dear Esme...the vampires want Kate back under their clutches for the reason that they love the sisters addicting and invigorating blood. Here's my theory, if the brothers made the poison then they also had the antidote ready. I think the vampires have no plans to kill the two sisters, they just want to poison them and then resurrect them later if you will discard their bodies. They'll be killing two birds with one stone if their plans succeeded..."

Esmeralda looked at the tree in wonderment, her friend got a point though, she was now fully convinced of the tree's theory.

"As you can see...we can't cure Ivy and if she will poison her sister, then we got two dying women in our hands. Since the elder sister already confessed to you that Maxwell made her swallow the poison in her body then we both know that he won't allow Ivy to stay with us for a long time. Ivy only need 9 or 10 days to convince Kate to go back with her to the vampire's territory, if Kate refused then she has no choice but to poison her sister so that they can go back to the vampires' place together," the tree continues with the explanation.

Esmeralda nods her head agreeing to her friend's theory.

"Did you still remember when the two sisters fall together into the forest below? That was all Ivy's scheme! Which means, she won't hesitate to poison her sister if she can't convince her sibling to come with her willingly. And we both know that Kate will never go back to the vampire's territory, she preferred to live with us."

"This will create a huge gap between the sisters..." Esmeralda concluded. "I'm just wondering, why would Ivy want to go back to the company of those bloodsuckers? Why not live with us?" she muses.

"Hmm...maybe Ivy and Maxwell have an affair? They were lovers, perhaps?" the tree suggested.

Esmeralda's brows furrowed. "Maybe yes and maybe not..." she's highly doubting it. Not fully convinced that Ivy would dare to fall in love with a bloodsucker.

"Is it hard to believe that true love will exist inside this castle between Maxwell and Ivy?" the tree didn't let the topic fade away.

Esmeralda laughed. "Don't start with that theory. I'm not buying it. Maybe something is going on... that we don't know yet. I will find out the truth soon!" she said in a determined voice.

"Could be...so...how you're gonna convince Ivy to tell you everything?" the tree asked.

"I'll talk to her once I'm inside the house," Esmeralda replied.

"Good luck with that," said the tree.

Esmeralda looked at the far distance and saw the big bird approaching the floating land, clutching a bundle on its two feet. Ivy's dinner!

The big bird landed on the ground and released the bundle gently then it flew away going back to where it comes from.

Esmeralda trudged towards the bundle and picked it up, then she sauntered towards the door entering the house.

She put the bundle in the table and looked at the two women. "The bird brought your dinner, Ivy. Eat well," she said walking towards her room and disappeared inside.

The siblings' attention was centered on the bundle at the table as the appetizing aroma of home cooked food drifted in the air.

"I smell something delicious and mouthwatering!" Kate exclaimed while staring at the bundle.

Ivy rose to her feet. "Come to the table, let's enjoy the food. I'm so hungry!" she said.

The sisters went to the table and began eating the delectable dish made with tomato sauce, herbs, potatoes, carrots, and pork meat.