Lira wanted to make sure of one thing. So after her class with Miss Layla the following day, she went to the faculty lounge and waited outside. After only a few minutes, luckily, Miss Amara went out of the lounge. Lira sprinted towards her.

"Ma'am, can I talk to you for a few minutes? I just wanted to ask you a question."

The head mistress nodded. "Sure dear. What is it you wanted to ask?"

"I read my mother's journal last night," she started. "Are you—were you her best friend? The one she mentioned? I mean, Auntie May mentioned that she made a promise to my mother that she would inform you about me if the right time came..."

The mention of Lira's mother brought mist in her teacher's eyes. "Yes, I was. She did always mention me and Dina in her journals."

"Where is Dina?"

"You've already met her. She had been with you your entire life," she said smiling.

Lira tried to decipher what Miss Amara said until realization hit her. "You mean Dina is my Auntie May?" Are they aware Auntie May's a half-elf?

"Yes and yes; if you're wondering if we knew of her being half-elf. I have only found out about it just recently, though. But I'm not sure if Cassandra knew about it before. I was also surprised to see her. Cassandra had made her promise to keep your existence a secret until you're of age. I thought Dina died during the attack; we hardly recognized the bodies after the attack." Miss Amara fell silent for a moment. "We were supposed to meet, the three of us, in Cassandra's house. But my slayer duty kept me away that night. Your mother was a sweet thing with a noble heart. But she wasn't a fighter, a slayer like me. She was a vessel of the Diwata, but her powers were still dormant until the deity choses to rise. I constantly blamed myself for not being at her side." She cast Lira an apologetic look. "I could have saved her."

Lira shook her head. "I think my mom would have wanted you to be away and safe that night. I'm sorry if I mentioned her to you. I just needed to know for sure if you were the one she mentioned in her journal."

"It's fine. I do think about her all the time." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I tried to look for you, though they said the vampires had killed you as well. There was blood in your crib and now I think your mom probably faked your death to keep you safe."

"Were you also aware about her being a vessel?"

"Yes. We knew of the story about the Dayanghirang. We just didn't know who the other vessels from the remaining two families were. It was just a stroke of luck Cassandra and my family were working alongside each other. As for the others, well, we have no idea who they were no matter how hard we tried to find anything about them. I guess my grandmother was right when she said that there was really no need for us to find them, since the four Dayanghirang will find each other someday."

Lira smiled and nodded. "Uh... Miss Amara, I know you're about the same age as my mom, but you looked as if you're around twenties. I mean I don't mean any disrespect..."

Miss Amara gave a soft laugh. "That's quite alright. I'm in my thirties. Like your mother, I am also a descendant of a Dayanghirang. All female descendants are equally considered as the vessels of the Dayanghirang until the Dayanghirang made their choices on which vessel to rise. The blood that flows within us helps us age... gracefully. You should have seen my mother; she's in her seventies but still managed to look in her fifties. That's why I why wear this horrid glasses to make me look mature or else the students will never take me seriously."

It was their evening class once again, the class Lira really wanted to avoid at all cost but couldn't. When Sevastian mentioned that she would be seeing him around most of the time, he really meant it. He and Stephan sat behind Lira. Nicholas, that jerk, stood in front of her and gave Ian (who was seated next to her) a murderous silent command which made Ian glanced at her with a "sorry, I don't mess with vampires" look and took the seat in front of her instead. So much for having an elven warrior around. Lira would have asked Yumi, who was on her other side, to swap seats with her but she was busy having a battle of razor-sharp wits with Stephan.

Nicholas took the now-vacated seat, earning him a glare from Lira.

"You can't just boss everyone around Nicholas. That was not nice at all," she reproved.

"I can't do that?" he asked looking so innocent and all.

"What are you, three-year-old? Of course you can't. Being prince almighty didn't give you the power to bully everybody."

"How does a proper prince conduct himself then?" he asked with a sarcastic tone.

Lira collected her thoughts for a moment before giving Nicholas an answer. "Well, a prince, who will someday be crowned as king, is someone who people looks up to. So you should cite an example to your royal subjects and act nice and mature. Since your ignorance about good manners and right conduct is so overwhelming, you could start with a simple 'thank you', 'please', 'excuse me', and 'you're welcome'."

"That's too much to comprehend," he mocked. "But I did, however, mention the word 'I'm sorry' to you the other time but you never listened."

"Because that was my blood you're trying to sip!" she hissed. "And I made a bargain with the devil! That devil is you by the way."

"So that's the reason why you're raging mad at me? Because of our deal?"

Lira gave him a look that says "Duh."

"I am a prince Lira! I don't just grant favors to anyone. They do favors for me!"

"But you gave me fruits and medicines when I was sick! You even saved me during the raid."

"I have to get you and your little friends out of building or else you'll blab on us all being there. As for those gifts, I was trying to buy your affections."

"You did not just say that! You shouldn't be saying that if you want to be on my good side. You could have said you were trying to woo me," she grumbled.

"Woo?" Nicholas said, looking aghast. "I don't woo. I don't cavort around wooing people. I'm a prince!"

"I get that! Enough already with the 'I'm a prince' blah blah blah. I don't even know why I'm still talking to you. You betrayed my trust."

"I don't understand any of this anger you have over what I did. I admit, I did want your blood and I still want it now. I'm a vampire for crying out loud! And I told you I don't do favors. I don't comprehend why you fret over these trivial matters."

"Trivial matters? You're utterly hopeless! This conversation is pointless."

"Then make me understand!" he hissed.

Lira remembered her mother wrote about making Prince Philip understand about humans. Was Lira also willing to do the same thing? Stephan had mentioned Nicholas' changes in some behavior. She had even noticed some human like aspects he had adapted recently. That goofy grin, for instance. Could she make him understand about humans? She was already having strange feelings before when she had spent time with Nicholas. And it frightened her a little, to have those unnamed feelings for a terrifying vampire. That was why she tried to avoid him; tried to fuel her anger with constantly reminding herself of his betrayal. So she would have a reason to stay away; so the feelings would not flourish into something more than what she had felt. Could she risk it—falling in love with a vampire prince like what her mother did? To love someone who couldn't reciprocate her feelings? To fall for someone whose brother had been the cause of her mother's death?

Prince Philip's arrival to class pulled her out of her thoughts. When she tried to focus her attentions towards the lecturer, she heard Nicholas say softly, "You look different lately. You look... prettier."

Back at the library, several nights before, she had called her pretty. Now she's prettier. The vampire prince was trying to get on her good side. Prince Nicholas was trying to woo her.

#

She read her mother's journal again that night. She wanted to know where it had gone wrong. Was her mother aware that her vampire prince couldn't return her feelings because of their vampire laws? Like what Nicholas had told her before.

June 14, 2108

We kept on seeing each other secretly. Only Ams and Dina knew about my relationship with my prince. If father found out about my relationship with Philip, he'd lock me in my room forever. If Philip's father found out, we would both die. Philip explained that he was betroth to an Italian vampire princess, whose vampire father has no male heirs. Fearing that his crown would pass on to a kin he hated, he would rather have his daughter marry some other noble vampire and sire an heir through his daughter. King Magnus, as what Philip explained, was a power-hungry tyrant who wanted the Imperials to dominate the vampiric world across the globe. So he volunteered Philip to be the vampire groom. So here we were now, in each other's arms, thinking of ways how we could escape his father.

June 25 2108

The day I dreaded came: father found out about my relationship with Philip. He was in outraged about what I did. He reminded me of my duty, as a vessel to the Diwata. He said I should be loyal to the cause. I knew of my duty as the vessel. I knew what I was destined to do. But how could I deny my feelings? I was torn between my duty to my family, to the deity, and to myself. Father kept me locked inside the room. I was informed by my cousin about what my father did: I was to be married to a slayer loyal to the cause, my childhood friend Edward.

July 1 2108

We made plans to escape. Philip had sought the help of Amara to get me out of the house. At first I thought 'he's a vampire; can't he just get me out of my bedroom-turned-cell with his strength?' Amara said Philip didn't want to draw attention. Philip didn't want to alarm the vampire king as well. With Amara's help, I will be meeting Philip in our secret place. Soon I will be with him...

July 3 2108

I didn't understand. I went to our secret place but Philip wasn't there. Instead his terrifying father was. Amara had insisted to go with me, and I was glad she did. I didn't have enough courage or strength to face the formidable vampire king. Amara had tried to protect me. The vampire king laughed at our faces. Then he began making threats. He said he had Philip detained and with just a whisper, he could give the order to execute Philip. I thought he was bluffing. But in the obsidian depth of his eyes, I saw the truth: I knew he was capable of executing his own son. I wanted Philip alive. Even if it would be a life separated with him, I still wanted him to live. So he made a deal for me to leave his son alone and make myself scarce. I consented.

July 10 2108

I was kept hidden from the vampires after my confrontation with the vampire king. With the help of Amara and Edward, I was kept safe. Edward and I would be marrying soon. He was a dear friend of mine and he knew what I had been through. We both did our duty to our family. My mother and I were the last descendants of the Diwata and we needed to keep the line alive. And I wanted Philip to be safe. I hadn't received any news from him. I still loved Philip and nothing could change that.

November 25 2108

Amara brought news about Philip. He was alive and well. The king kept his side of bargain. But as per Amara, Philip had changed. I didn't know what she meant by that. But I asked her not to tell me. I want to remember him as the Philip that I knew and loved. His engagement with the Italian princess was cried off; the princess had been seduced by a vampire lord from some European country that was enemy to the Italian vampire king. So there was to be a war between the European covens in the vampire world. My Philip was free. I am in my first trimester of pregnancy...

Lira skipped several pages. She promised to go back to those later. Right now, she wanted to know how her mother felt when she was born.

April 27 2109

I gave birth to the most beautiful angel. Edward had said our baby looked just like him. But I knew that my little angel had her mother's eyes. Edward has been kind to me. He knew of my feelings for Philip, but he never uttered anything against me or Philip. As I stared at my beautiful child, I knew what I wanted to name her: my precious Lirabelle Alexandra Castillo. I wanted to name my first child after my first love, Philip Alexander Imperial.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mother loved her dearly. And she was still in love with the prince! She even named her after him. How could he kill her mother, who loved no other man but him? She wiped the tears away and read the last entry.

June 18 2109

I had sensed the impending danger. The moment Edward and I went to my father's house... I felt it. The Diwata was giving me a warning. My dearest friend, Dina, was playing with my little angel. The Diwata showed me Lirabelle's future. I knew what I must do: I must keep my Lirabelle safe.

She closed her mother's journal and kept it close to her heart.