The next night for Erinna, brought a lot of visits to the villages and the camps that had been pitched by the armies that had come to support both the war and the wedding.

Even though she had not yet informed her husband of her intended visit to Ellingsdale, she wanted to make sure everything would be in order before she left so she drove herself hard.

She instructed the healers, helped Miya gather herbs for her potions and healed all those who were too injured. It grieved her that her freedom had come at such a cost but she was glad she could do something to help them.

After managing the situation in the recovery camps, she began working tirelessly to develop an antidote for the virus that the wolves had planted amongst the vampires.

Most of infected the vampires had already died, Vlad being forced to kill them because it seemed the only kind thing to do. The rest had been imprisoned and isolated, to keep them from doing any harm to themselves or those around them.

Sometimes in the dead of the night, their screams could be heard in the castle, loud, discordant wails of pure agony. The first time Erinna had heard them; they had torn at her heart and birthed a new purpose in her.

"You said you found a cure at Silvercrest before we came?" She had asked Vlad, remembering how he had told her he had had to entrust her with her father whilst he went back in.

"It's no use, we've already tried it."

"What happened to the person you gave it to?" She asked carefully, her heart slowing with dread. Not any more bad news please.

"He just became a worse version of what the virus had already made him and the urge to kill me seemed to intensify. I think I picked the wrong bottle when I took the cure."

Left at base zero, Erinna had had to ask Vlad for the potion with the virus. She hoped studying it would help her understand it and ultimately develop a cure for it.

The description of the infected men that both Alexander and Vlad had given her was still burned onto her memory. She could not allow such suffering to occur whilst she was there so she took the bottle to River's where she could work peacefully without Vlad hovering over her.

He was so worried that she would infect herself and kept hanging around and interrupting her every time. Not to mention the havoc his presence played on her concentration.

"Countess, it is so good to see you!" River exclaimed with a joyful smile, followed by a graceful curtsy.

"I hope I'm not intruding."

"Of course not, come in please," the smaller woman opened the door wider.

Erinna walked into the humble but well maintained cottage. It was smaller than Miya's but just as cozy and beautiful. She tried to imagine what life would be like with Vlad and her as ordinary people, with no weighty titles and weightier duties.

Perhaps she would be a nurse, a farmer or even a seamstress like Miya. And Vlad would be a hunter, she knew he loved that. With their sweat and blood they would work to get their living from the land and it's produce.

They would work hard to quench the hunger in their bellies but it would not matter for the love in their hearts would be stronger.

In her mind she saw herself holding a child, one with dark hair like her own, vibrant eyes like his father's and a face that was a mixture of both their features.

With no worries about reputation or security or fear of civil uprisings, Vlad would have a more carefree life. He would laugh with her freely and tease both her and their child.

"Countess?" River called and Erinna jerked her head, coming out of her daydream.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure you were fine. You just seemed...far away for a minute."

Erinna shook her head with a sad smile, willing the moisture away from her eyes.

The dream had been so real, more vivid than anything she had ever experienced. Could it be a vision? She could still feel the weight of Vlad's child in her arms and hear the beautiful sound of his laugh.

In her mind she knew it was all impossible but it didn't stop her heart from longing for it. Dear lord, what had they ever done to have a fate like theirs?

She would give anything to take away the cup they had been dealt with. She would do anything to wake up and be with Vlad without wondering what the day would bring them, without wondering if that day would be the day the promised curse would strike and in what form it would come.

"I'm fine, just a lot on my mind. How have you been?" She asked, taking the other woman's hands in her own.

River never allowed her to heal her, claiming her gifts were better used on people who were in most need of them so every time Erinna saw her, she made it a point to covertly heal her, prolong her life and soothe her mind.

The human woman was oblivious to all this of course but Erinna was happy she could do something for her, even without her knowing.

"It's you I should be asking that. Especially after--after everything," River ended up saying, unable to bring herself to mention the wolves.

"I'm alright. I have put it behind me."

"That's the way it should be," River nodded her head in agreement.

Erinna withdrew her hands gently, having completed the healing. River was already looking more vibrant. The color in her face had picked up and the headache that had been pounding at her temples had ceased. Even her heart seemed to pump stronger.

"Where's Tristan?" She asked, looking around.

She had missed seeing the young boy with his casual, carefree nature.

At her question, River rolled her eyes, "You think I ever see him these days? He thinks he is now grown since he has fought in a war."

Erinna laughed because she could hear the pride in the other woman's voice.

"Please tell him to come to the castle. I wish to thank him personally."

"As if his head needs to grow any bigger."

Erinna and River talked a little more about general issues before Erinna told River of her visit. The woman nodded enthusiastically during her explanation, glad to be involved in the noble quest. She gave Erinna a room, a glass of water and basically left her to her own devices, which she gathered was what the young Countess wanted.

Left alone, Erinna untied the pouch at her waist and took out the goblet inside. She knew there would be no understanding of the virus until she actually saw it work and she couldn't bring herself to use anyone as a test subject. It was just vile and cruel. She had promised Vlad she wouldn't do anything reckless, but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him.

Quickly, Erinna set the goblet on the table, together with a scroll, a quilt and a bottle of ink; all within easy reach. She rolled up her sleeves and opened the goblet. A part of her was hesitant, not knowing what the virus would do to her.

The vampires who had been affected had undergone the worst experience any creature could ever go through. Their skin had turned green and yellow before it started rotting until it was falling off their bones. Looking at them, one would think they were resurrected corpses.

The physical degradation would have been tolerable had it not been for the mental decomposition. The virus had affected their minds such that every other thought, every other feeling was wiped away except for one: the urge to kill Vlad.

Their maker-protégée bond with him prevented them from making any murderous moves but the end result was increasing pain and more physical decay.

The wolves had created the virus as an effective method for wiping out vampires and it worked because in the end, Vlad was just forced to kill most of them to put them out of their misery.

Not anymore, Erinna thought and put a droplet of the poison into the glass of water that River had given her. It immediately turned a green odorous color that turned her stomach but within three seconds, it had all cleared to colorless again.

She intended to take the poison orally because some of the vampires who had been infected had gotten the virus from drinking from humans who had drunk water from wells that the werewolves had poisoned.

"I have eggs and some warthog but perhaps--"

River stopped in her tracks as she came into the room to find Erinna staring at a glass of water like it was going to jump and eat her. The human woman looked at the opened poison goblet and put two and two together.

"You're going to drink it yourself?"

"Just a little, so I know how it works."

"But you could die," River said disapprovingly.

"Let's hope not," Erinna laughed.

River who had not yet come face to face with the legendary wraith of Count Dracula but only heard tales of it, did not find the joke funny.

"I'll drink it."

Erinna frowned, "River I would never ask you to do that."

"You didn't, I'm offering," she said walking into the room.

Erinna shook her head, "I won't allow it."

"And I won't allow you to poison yourself."

"I'm an elf, I can heal. You can't," she said but could she? Vampires were very strong creatures but even they had succumbed to the deadly poison. Nothing made her the exception.

The poison might not even work the same way given that she was a different species.

"The Count will not be pleased," River said quietly.

"He will, when we found a cure," she smiled, hoping it was true.

Not knowing how the poison would affect her, Erinna asked the human woman to leave. When she was gone, she scrunched her eyes shut and tipped back the glass. The liquid was warm, even though she had used cold water. It trickled down her throat with little aftertaste.

For the first few minutes, she felt normal and then her skin became itchy. The discoloration started and her heart slowed as if she was dying. Out of nowhere, a wild, passion hatred consumed her like the unquenchable fires of hell and it was all aimed at one person: Dracula.

She stumbled up, her head swimming and the room spinning. Everything was jumbled in her head except for one clear though: kill Dracula. The urge was so strong it was like she had been compelled. She just knew if she killed him, then she'd be released from the physical pain she was feeling then.

But Vlad was her mate. The thought came out of nowhere and made her question the other darker feelings she was feeling towards the vampire count. Bit by bit, thoughts of him, of them came back into her mind. They pushed away the dark urges and made her more lucid.

With a clearer mind, she was able to be objective. She tried to turn on her inner vision so she could see the way the poison was working but all such efforts were nullified; somehow she could not get hold of her second sight.

After several more failed efforts, Erinna abandoned the idea and instead tried to feel the exact parts she felt the pain, go back to how it had started and guess how the pain had been brought about. It took a long time and the effects of the poison gradually worsened with time.

Luckily after everything she had endured ever since she had left her father's home, Erinna had built a higher pain tolerance. She disconnected herself from the rawness of her distressed flesh, the smell of its decay and the sound of her own terrified heart.

After an hour, she knew she had to stop or she would lose the control she had attained over her mind. Quickly, she tried to do the self-healing that all elves were taught from birth but it made no change.

Her flesh remained green and yellow, the pungent smell wafting from it stronger. Some of the sores were already breaking open, the torn flesh expelling all manner of repulsive bodily fluids.

Panic began to build inside her. What if she couldn't reverse this?

There was no cure for the virus, Vlad had failed to heal it and Miya had been stumped on how to make a potion.

After her session, Erinna now had an idea of how to make a cure but that would require staying alive and sane long enough to actually make one.

She was already fighting a losing battle, the murderous thoughts she had pushed away were coming back. Nothing but a disaster would result if they combined with her inborn instincts to kill Vlad.

'Erinna?' Vlad's voice pushed into her mind from nowhere.

Oh lord, did he know? Had River told him? Had he guessed? Or maybe she had unconsciously projected, she seemed to do that a lot when she was distressed. She really wished she had paid more attention in his 'control' lessons now.

'Yes?'

'Are you ok?'

Her heart beat fast and she struggled to bring her body to a homeostatic balance.

'Yes, why?'

'Nothing, I just---where are you?'

'I'm with River; she's helping me make a couple of medicines.'

'River knows nothing about medicine, she can't even stand blood,' he snorted.

It explained the woman's eager retreat from the room.

'You're probably right,' she laughed weakly.

'You're sure you're ok? Your energy feels...low,' he said slowly.

'I'm fine. You're such a mother hen,' she covered a sniffle with a laugh.

The pain was becoming excruciating and even though Vlad's voice always made her knees weak, the more she heard it, the more irritated she grew and the more she felt like silencing him. Forever.

'Mother hen? We'll see about that when you get here.'

'What will you do to me?' she asked, her heart beating fast with anticipation.

'What do you think I'll do to you Countess?'

Her stomach clenched and heat flooded her even though she was suspended in a hate-love seesaw for him. The huskiness in his deep voice sent fire to every nerve ending in her body.

The dark allure it contained, the sensual promise and the caressing quality should have been illegal. It was not smooth or suave or trained, it was just naturally like that.

Alexander had told him it always seduced all his torture victims to their death. Vlad never had to actively compel anyone; just his voice would do that for him. It was the type of voice that would make you do anything for him.

The note of dominance it carried was not to be argued with. No wonder everyone was always so eager to please him even though they thought he was a monster.

'Something we probably shouldn't be discussing whilst I'm in River's house,' she laughed.

Her whole skin was flushed and her bosom heavy with need. It felt like ages since she had last been with him even though they had spent the majority of the two days after their wedding together and in each other's arms.

'You forget Countess, I'm not a vampire of etiquette,' he said to her.

'Like I could ever forget,' she said, remembering the previous night they had had breakfast with her parents.

'When are you coming home? I've been waiting for you for ages.'

'I've only been gone for two hours.'

'And seven minutes.'

'You have been counting?'

'Apparently.'

'I'll be there soon. Give me another hour.'

'Too long, I'm coming there.'

Her heart pounded, she couldn't have Vlad come to her. Apart from him ruining her concentration, she was so unstable and did not know how the poison would make her react to his presence.

'There's no need. I'm almost done.'

He was silent for a moment and she knew he was considering ignoring her wishes and just coming anyway.

'Who else is there?'

'Just River.'

He already knew that, the bond would tell him if there was anyone else but being the paranoid person he was, he just had to make sure.

'Alright fine. One hour. After that I'm coming to get you, no excuses.'

Erinna closed her eyes with relief, with the old Dracula she'd have never got away with this but her mate was trying to be more accommodating and less domineering.

She didn't know how long he could keep it up for she was about to stretch the limits of his generosity. Instinct told her news of her visit to Ellingsdale would not be received well.

Alone again, Erinna resumed her efforts at healing herself before things really got out of control. Vlad had sensed something was wrong and she did not want him to decide to verify his suspicions before she could heal herself. With slow deep breaths, she restored her equilibrium and disconnected from the world and from the pain.

Her mind opened to a clearer dimension. She reached deep inside her mind to where she knew an endless storage of knowledge was stored.

It was everything that had been passed down her race and bloodline, everything that every Pure Being leant. Naturally, the knowledge remained locked away unless she actively seeked it and that could only happen if a problem arose, like right then.

There was nothing of course resembling the virus that the wolves had created but there were other plagues and Erinna looked for one with similar effects and mode of operation.

'The Plague of Lera' showed decaying flesh symptoms in the living. Without a cure, it had wiped a lot of people away until the arrival of the first Pure Being, who had helped eradicate the ungodly curse.

The second thing she found was 'The Dark Witch Compulsion'. It was characterized by a strong form of mind control on an individual.

The mind control lasted for one's lifetime and was used by dark witches to build armies that were loyal to a fault and steal kingdoms. Whatever command they gave a soldier or a king, the person would do it with no questions asked.

It was all different from what was happening to Vlad's soldiers of course but Erinna figured if she combined the solutions that had been used to eradicate the two afflictions, she could be able to come up with a usable cure for the virus.

If she was able to reverse the rotting flesh and mind control, the rest could be taken care of easily with basic medicine.

After memorizing the ingredients, Erinna left her mind and quickly summoned Alexander. He was shocked she had reached out to him telepathically since she'd never done that before.

'Do you want Drac to kill me tiger?' He asked, even though she could tell he was happy to hear from her.

'Sorry,' she apologized with a blush.

It was true, Vlad would probably lose it if he found out she had used telepathy with another man, especially if said man was Alexander. But she had not time to worry about that, her days were numbered as it was.

'What do you need?' He asked, all business.

'Please come to River's house and bring Miya.'

'Let me guess, you don't want me to tell the Count either.'

'Yes,' she sighed.

He never had trouble figuring her out.

'Why do I have a feeling I'm going to have earned myself fifty lashes by the end of this?' He asked suspiciously.

'You're right, I shouldn't have asked you. I'll ju-"

"Hey-I didn't say I won't do it. Assuming I know what 'it' is of course.'

'I'll explain. Just bring Miya to River's. Hurry please, there is no time.'

She felt River coming towards the room she was in and telekinetically locked the door. Her body was itchy, raw and painful and she knew she could be triggered by the slightest stimulus. She did not want to put the woman in danger.