With a sudden movement, her naked legs pushed the duvet off of her small frame. Pale hands scrunched ink black sheets in a deathly grip. She furrowed her eyebrows, creasing her forehead with parallel lines. Her soft breasts heaved up and down in an irregular manner as hitched breaths escaped her parted lips. Raven locks, sprawed over the silk pillow, guarded her face, while her head thrashed side to side.

Soft murmuring registered in her mind in the form of a jumbled mess. She strained her ears unconsciously, trying to hear the spoken words clearly.

"Milord, Father Gabriel seeks permission to meet you." The man sounded like Henry, but with a thicker British accent.

"Is he alone?" Ares' voice resonated inside her skull.

"No," There was a silence for some seconds, "He has a kid wrapped in a blanket along with him."

"Send him inside."

She could feel Henry retreating as his footsteps faded away with every tapping sound. Somewhere in the background a door rotated around its hinges with a hushed creak.

'What's happening?' She tried forcing her heavy eyelids apart, getting successful after many attempts.

Her eyes opened to reveal a man with salt and pepper hair and stormy eyes—identical to hers. Abandoning his clerical attire, he was dressed in a loose overrobe that reached his ankles, giving a subtle peek of the hose beneath it. In his hands, he held a small bundle, wrapped securely with a blanket, hiding it from the prying eyes.

"Milord..." The man whispered kneeling before her—Ares.

She watched through Ares' eyes as the man carefully unwrapped the bundle unveiling a small baby. The sickly pale baby could easily be mistaken for dead if it wasn't sucking on its purple lips in sleep.

"This is my... daughter. She has been sick for days. I tried treating her with herbs but nothing worked. I'm afraid this malady will take away my baby's life if she doesn't get treatment on time. I cannot take her to town on my own. She's an abomination for them. They would kill her!" Fat tears rolled down his cheeks soaking his thick beard.

"So the Abbot has an illegitimate child?" Ares' stern reply sent a chill down her spine.

She felt him cross one leg over the other as he leaned back on his throne. "Tell me, Father Gabriel, why should I help you? Weren't you the most zealous one at leading protests against my reign? Questioning my heritage and intentions? Now you want me to cover up for your sins?"

The man held his daughter with one arm as he tried grabbing Ares' legs with the other. Henry moved in front of Ares, blocking the man's path.

"Know your limits, Father." Henry held the man back as his pleadings became hysterical.

The man held Henry's legs sobbing uncontrollably, "Save my daughter, Milord. Please, save her," His grip on Henry's legs loosened as he brought the baby closer to his chest. "I will do anything you ask of me. Anything!"

Ares lifted an eyebrow, "Anthing?"

The Abbot nodded his head in surrender clutching the child to himself.

"Bring the child to me, Henry." Henry bent forwards to take the child away from the man. The Abbot reluctantly let go of the bundle.

"Go. You shall have your daughter handed over to you tomorrow morning. In a healthy condition." She saw Ares' opening his arms to hold the child.

Constant knocks woke her up from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes taking in the dark interior of the room. A feeling of déjà vu washed over her as she found herself in the familiar bed.

"Henry brought you food."

She gripped her chest, almost jumping out of the bed. Turning her head, she saw Ares standing at the foot of the bed, holding a tray in his hands. "You scared me."

"I didn't mean to," He replied stoically.

"How's Henry?" She asked pushing some raven strands away from her face.

"He's fine." He gave her a brief reply.

Thin drapes hindering her view were moved away as he placed the tray down on the bed without sparing her any glance. Her eyes trailed up and down his frame observing him. She was surprised to see he wasn't wearing black this time. He was dressed in a white shirt and loose fitting jeans. Water droplets dripped down the side of his damp hair indicating that he had just finished taking a shower. Damp hair...

Her mind flooded with the memories of last night turning her cheeks crimson. Her hand shot up touching the tender area on her neck. There were no traces of any wound.

"Did you feed me your blood again?" She asked him in a soft whisper.

He pushed the tray towards her, ignoring her question, "Henry has left a note for you."

She leaned over the tray, grabbing a yellow note sticking on top of an empty plate.

"He's so formal, even with simple notes. And why would he be apologizing?"

"Because he failed at protecting you."

'But you didn't.'

She waited to see if he would reply to her thought. He didn't. Looking through her lashes, She found his face hiding behind the cover of a book.

Puckering her lips slightly in a sulking manner, she played with the hem of her sleeve. Her fingers stopped when she noticed the loose sleeves dangling down her arms. Glancing down she found herself dressed in an oversized shirt. A man's shirt.

"Who dressed me?" She had an accusing look in her eyes.

He lowered the book a bit to reveal his green emeralds staring intenly at her. "Who do you think, Regina mea?"

"You?!" She asked incredulously.

"Would you rather have Henry do it for you?" Those damned emeralds were piercing her soul.

She avoided his gaze, starting to nibble on a slice of bread.

After she was done eating, she looked at the bed side to find her phone placed there neatly. She grabbed it, checking out her notifications.

Her eyes widened staring at the lightened screen. Most of the missed calls were from April. She opened her inbox, reading the countless messages left by April which ranged from a worried 'Where are you?' to a murderous 'Wait till I get my hands on you.'

A message from an unknown number amongst all notifications caught her attention. She bit her bottom lip unconsciously as she opened it to view the contents. Her heart rate increased as her gaze passed over every word written inside.

She couldn't believe it was finally happening. Moving her trembling fingers across the screen, she hurriedly typed a reply.

Jumping out of the bed, she all but ran towards her bag, placed in a corner of the room. Rummaging through it, she took out the first thing she saw before running back to the bathroom.

"Why are you in a hurry?" Her swift actions drew his attention to her.

"I need to meet someone in the town." Her muffled reply came from the bathroom as she brushed her teeth vigorously.

"Who?" He waited for some time but she didn't reply. The sound of shower starting in the background hit his ears before he leaned his head back on the couch.

After half an hour, she emerged from the bathroom, ready for her rendezvous. She went towards the bed side to get her phone when she noticed him sitting on the couch in the same position she had left him, staring right back at her.

She pursed her lips, starting to walk in his direction. She stopped just as she reached the white fluffy rug. He kept his eyes trained on her.

Taking a deep breath, she went to stand in between his legs. He didn't say anything neither did he try to stop her. She crouched down, trying to get to his eye level.

"Do you trust me?" She asked looking up at him closely.

He remained silent.

She gave him a sweet smile before leaning forward to place a soft peck on his lips. "You can trust me, Ares."

His eyes softened for a moment before the icy cold stare returned, "Take Henricus with you."

"Henry needs to rest. And It's daytime. Nothing bad would happen. Let me go alone? Even If anything happened, you'll come for me. Won't you?"

~*~

"Is this the place?" She looked down at her phone's screen. The image resembled the shop she was standing in front of.

Palm reader

Fortune teller

Tarot card reader

Spiritual Adviser

She thought back to the message, 'Were they advertising? I hope not.'

There was a 'closed' sign hanging on the door. 'But they asked me to meet here..'

Summoning some courage, she knocked on the door.

"It's a day off. Come tomorrow." A shrill voice spoke from inside.

"It's Faith Matthaeus!" She spoke loudly, trying to get their attention.

There was a moment of silence before the door opened to reveal a middle aged woman. Faith looked closely, trying to remember where she had seen her before. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, 'Isn't it the cart lady who pushed me?'

She could still recall the old lady's scary tone as she repeated those words again and again like a broken record. She stepped away from the lady as the woman tried ushering her inside.

"Do not be afraid, child. I dare not harm the bride of Ares." The lady's words shocked her to the core. 'How did she..'

"You'd be surpirsed by the amount of things I know."

She let the woman grab her hand as she dragged Faith inside the colourful shop. She didn't want to but she had no other choice. After so many years, she finally had a trail after her mother. At the moment, the lady was her only hope at finding her.

The shop looked something straight out of a wizard's eccentric dream. It was small and filled to the brim with weird things. Stuff was scattered on the floor as if a hurricane had just passed by. She avoided stepping on something unintentionally as she trudged behind the lady.

The lady sat her down on a chair, telling her to wait, as she disappeared behind a curtain. Faith fidgeted with her fingers in her lap she stared at the mahogany table in front of her. A crystal globe rested in the middle of it, reflecting her own distorted image. She tore her gaze away to look at other contents of the table. Tarot cards were spreaded neatly behind the globe. Some books were placed in one corner while a lone candle was lit at the other end of the table, giving the interior an eerie touch.

She passed a hand through her tresses thinking about her uncertain choice. A feeling of dread was spreading its roots inside her, 'Can I really trust this lady?'

She rubbed the back of her neck, getting agitated. This wasn't the most important problem in her life at the moment. She had bigger issues to tend to.

She had lost the count of times she had found herself in a dangerous situtaion, in the past few months. All the unnatural events occuring in her life had turned her attention away from the most serious matter of her life. The reason why she had come to Britain in the first place. Her mother.

She could still remember the smile tugging on her mother's lips as she sat little Faith in her lap, telling her lovely stories every night. The fragrance of her mother's sweet perfume as it tickled her nose every time she hugged her mother. Her mother's soft lips caressing her cheeks lovinlgy, telling her daughter how much she loved her. Unbeknownst to her, a tear rolled down the corner of her eye.

Everyone back in her community knew her as the kid whose mother ran away from home. She knew nothing except that one day when she returned home from school, her mother wasn't waiting for her anymore. A note left in her place,

Her dad refused to say anything. He believed his low income to be the reason behind his wife's betrayal. He felt humiliated. He didn't remain the same after that unfortunate day. He drowned himself in his work, day in and day out, trying to forget everything. His failures, his runaway wife, his little daughter.

The sound of a door chime ringing broke her out of her trance. She sat upright, seeing the woman appear from behind the same curtain, bringing freshly baked cookies and a small rusty iron box along with her.

She set them on the table before Faith. "Have some."

The woman gracefully placed herself in the seat before Faith. Removing her glasses, she passed Faith a sweet smile.

"I'm Ruth Johnson." She held her hand in front of Faith. Faith looked at her extended hand for a second before gingerly placing her own in it.

"Let's not beat around the bush. Tell me, what do you know about your mother?"

"My mother was an orphan..." She trailed off gazing at the woman's features. She kept remembering their last encounter.

The woman let out a sigh, "I don't blame Elizabeth for lying to you all these years. I wouldn't want to be related to that family either."

Faith drew her eyebrows together at her statment.

She held Faith's hands in her own. "Your mother was a strong woman. She wanted freedom. She wasn't someone who could be caged easily. She wanted to explore the world. Get out of that damned house but.." She paused to take a deep breath, "Her father was against that bizarre idea. He would've never allowed her to leave willingly. So, one night, she ran away from home. They kept searching for her for years and years but never found her. It was as if she had vanished into thin air,"

Her grip on Faith's hands tightened. "Until one day, he received a call from one of his people. One of them had seen her hanging out with a man. Her father got furious and they went to search for her immediately. Your mother had settled into her new life for quite some time. Seeing them again shocked her a big deal. They forced her to come back, threatening to harm your father. Your mother couldn't endanger her loved one's life so she complied, leaving without saying a goodbye. It was a miracle how your existence managed to remain a secret amongst all this chaos."

It didn't go unnoticed by her that the lady kept talking about her mother in the past tense.

"Your mother was hard headed. Always had been. Halfway through, she tried escaping but it didn't turn out so well. She got killed in an accident."

She felt her heart stop at the discovery. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes but she didn't dare blink. 'Is this a bad dream?'

"Why..." She could only let a single word out with great difficulty.

"Listen to me, Faith. That family isn't normal. In there, a tale has been passed down from generations to generations. The story of the cursed vampire lord. A trapped vampire whose curse can only be broken by the blood of that particular family. Women from that family are forbidden from stepping out of their house. They live as prisoners, shadows of their own self, till the day they die. For years your grandfather has devoted his life guarding that legacy left by your ancestors. He would do everything in his power to keep your family's blood within his own clutches. Don't let him find you, Faith. Never."

Faith couldn't believe the woman's aberrant words, "How do you know all this?"

"Because I'm an unfortunate witch, doomed eternally to pay for my sins."

Faith pushed the woman's hands away from her. In the process, the globe fell down to the floor with a clatter before breaking into several pieces.

"You're lying!" She screamed wanting to get out of the shop.

"I'm on your side, Faith. Who do you think told your friend about that old castle on the hills?"

She ignored the lady's talks, walking away swiftly to step out of the shop. She had her hand on the door handle when the woman's next words reached her ears.

"You don't believe in magic, Faith? How do you think your vampire got turned into stone?"

That stopped her, "What?"

"The witch that turned Ares into stone, was ."