The portal opened in the fruit garden.

Ella was immediately amazed by her surrounding. She's never seen such an array of fruit-bearing plants in her whole life, only today! She went to the apple tree and stared at the apple. "Wow, so yummy!" she looked at her companion excitedly. "A-are these fruits even real?" she asked in amazement.

Ramza went to her side. "Yes! All the fruits here are real. Growing fruits is one of Immortal Vearah's hobby. Go ahead, pick one apple, and sink your teeth into its juiciness!" he encourages her.

Ella smiled and grabbed the red apple hanging in front of her. She wiped it with the hem of her clothe and sank her teeth into the fruit. Her eyes brightened up. "Wow! It tastes so nice and sweet!" she raves.

"This is one of my favorite places on this mountain! I can eat all the fruits here to my heart's content." Ramza smiled and picked five more red apples and gave them to Ella. "All guests of Immortal Vearah's house are entitled to eat unlimited fruits. We are lucky!" he said.

"Guys...let's go now inside the house," Jegun said.

"Okay," Ella and Ramza replied in chorus.

They marched towards the house.

They saw Kate sweeping leaves in the front yard.

"Sister Kate!" Ella called her.

Kate dropped the broom and dashed to her younger sister's side and hugged her. "Nice to see you again, sister! What are you eating?" she asked.

Ella grinned. "We picked some red apples in the fruit garden. There are too many fruits to eat there!" she enthuses.

Kate smiled. "If you stay here, you will be able to eat all the fruits in the garden. They produced mouth-watering fruits all year round!" she gushes.

"Ah...so nice! It's nice to live here. Grandpa's place is super nice too. There are plenty of fishes in the ocean, and the beach is spectacular!" Ella chattered happily.

Kate watched her sister's animated face, misty-eyed. She feels glad that her younger sister was dealing with her illness positively. She grabbed her hand. "Let's get inside! I will introduce you to the grannies..." she said.

The girls went inside the house while the men went back to the fruit garden to munch on their choice of fruits.

~

Inside the house.

Immortal Vearah and Esmeralda were having a conversation in the living room while drinking green tea.

"Granny Esmeralda...Granny Vearah. I will introduce my younger sister to you...this is Ella!" Kate said. She looked at her sister. "Sis...this is Immortal Vearah... she is older than many of us. This is also Granny Esmeralda, the one that helped and saved me inside the castle," she explained as she made introductions between the women.

"Hello, Granny Esmeralda and Granny Vearah. Nice meeting you all! Thank you so much for helping my sister!" she said brightly.

"Hello, Ella...welcome to my home!" Immortal Vearah smiled.

"Come here, dear," Esmeralda beckoned the girl to come to her side.

Ella obeyed.

Esmeralda checked out the girl's sagging skin. "What happened to you?" she began asking questions.

"I got bitten by a monster inside the cave. It escaped its cage and fled from the cave. I fainted from the assault, and when I woke up, I was already transformed into my present condition. I look this way ever since," Ella explained sadly. What happened to her inside the cave are nightmares that she can never forget for the rest of her life.

"Oh my, poor child!" Esmeralda said, feeling pity for the girl's condition. She looked at her mentor. "Teacher, is there anything you can do to help this unfortunate girl?" she requested.

Immortal Vearah has been studying Ella's condition ever since she laid eyes on her. "I'll take her inside my room and check her condition. But I can't promise you anything," she replied. She addressed the unfortunate girl. "Follow me to my room, Ella," she ordered gently.

Kate nods at her sister. "Go on, follow Immortal Vearah to her room. She is a great healer. Maybe she can find a way to help you with your current condition," she urged her sister.

"Okay," Ella said and followed the immortal inside her bedroom.

Kate was feeling excited and restless, pacing the floor back and forth, her expectation was high, she believes that the immortal can help her sister's condition.

Esmeralda patted Kate's shoulder. "Sit down or go somewhere, girl. You're giving me a headache with your going back and forth," she scolded the girl.

"I'm sorry, Granny. I'm just feeling anxious about my sister's condition," Kate explained her side and lowered herself on the wooden chair.

"Let's just wait here for my teacher's verdict regarding your sister's strange illness. Let's hope that her condition right now is not serious," Esmeralda said.

The women seated on the chair while waiting patiently for Immortal Vearah's diagnosis of Ella's condition.

~

Inside the immortal's bedroom.

Vearah ordered Ella to sit on the floor with her eyes closed. "Dear, sit on the floor and closed our eyes. Just relax, it's gonna take some time. I'm going to see what I can do for your illness," she ordered.

Ella obeyed and sat on the floor and closed her eyes.

Vearah placed her hands on Ella's head and put her in a trance.

She put her wand on the girl's head wanting to know exactly how she was bitten by the monster so that she can understand better how to solve Ella's dilemma, although she was not sure if she can help the girl with her condition.

The magic wand that Vaerah was holding in her hand began flashing with multicolored lights. The wand was able to make contact with Ella's memory and retrieved the information from her mind. Vearah waved her hand in the space in front of her. Suddenly smokes appeared out of nowhere and gradually faded...then events unfolded in sequence...playing like a movie in front of her.

She saw how Ella entered the castle, Jegun and the vampires fighting to get hands of her, next, the scene in the cave when the hybrid monster imprisoned in the cage began biting Ella...then she saw Zemeth, Ramza, and others watching the beast transformed into a human being after drinking Ella's blood. And then the girl's sudden transformation from a pretty girl into an old woman.

Vearah was shocked. All along Jegun, Zemeth and Ramza knew about what exactly happened to Ella and who bit her. But why are they not saying anything? Why they hide everything from the girl? And that newly transformed handsome guy! He even dares to tell a lot of lies to Ella's face!

She was furious about what she had seen in Ella's memory. These men ganged up on the innocent girl!

"Magic Wand...tell me the future of this girl! Will she die early? What can make her strange illness go away?" Vearah said.

The magic wand produced another scene detailing what's going to happen to Ella in the future.

Vearah's mouth fell open for a few minutes. "Oh my," she murmured. That's the only short sounds that came out of her mouth after watching Ella's future.

The magic wand no longer produces anything, which means it's finished with the given task.

Vearah released a deep sigh. She can't help, Ella. She can't interfere with what's going to happen in her future.

She opened the door and motioned Esmeralda to enter her room.

Vearah looked at her student and spoke. "If this girl doesn't contain unique blood in her veins, and she happens to be just a mere human, then she already died after the monster bit her. She survived...but her skin was sagging and she looks every inch like an old woman. This is the result of the venom of that monster who bit her, like a curse that leaves an imprint in her body. But her physical transformation is a better alternative than death. Anyways, it's just skin deep..."

"C-can you help the girl bring back her old looks?" Esmeralda asked her mentor.

Vearah shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. Her case is beyond my capabilities. The good thing is... this girl is going to live a long life," she answered assuredly.

Esmeralda sighed. "Can we try to find a healer who can help her with her illness?"

Vearah shook her head. "No! I don't recommend that. Some things are bound to happen naturally. Let nature run its course... let's just observe what's going to happen next..." she concluded.

"Okay," Esmeralda nods her head. She can sense that her mentor was withholding some vital information regarding Ella's future. "Teacher, can you see my future? Can you tell me if I'm going to die inside the castle if I return there?" she asked while looking at the magic wand that her mentor was holding in her right hand. She remembered her mentor told her once about the capabilities of the magic wand. It is a thousand-year-old artifact that can foretell a person's future.

Vearah stared at her student for a few minutes before she made a decision. "Alright, let's get Ella out of here, first," she said. She went to the girl's side and snapped her fingers.

Ella's eyes opened instantly. She saw the granny's faces looking at her. "Is it done?" she asked the immortal excitedly.

"Yes, dear, you can leave the room now. Just wait for me outside. I'll you something about your health condition. Okay?" Vearah said.

Ella smiled and nodded her head. "Okay, I'll wait outside," she replied with a smile, eager to know the immortal's diagnosis. She rose to her feet and exited the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Esmeralda sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm ready..." she stated.

"Okay, sit on the floor and closed your eyes," Vearah instructed her.

Esmeralda lowered herself on the floor and closed her eyes, eager to know her future.