After her afternoon with the Thilmador's, Erinna passed by Mara's house on her way to the castle. Mara was not home but Elijah let her in and she took another book to read that day. She was going to have to return the ones she had at home, they were piling up because of her growing habit of procrastination.

"Bye Elijah," she waved at Mara's owl after picking a hefty volume containing a detailed account of elven history from the time period Vlad was cursed.

She was looking at anything that would tell her more about the event and what followed.

When she arrived at the castle, Erinna was surprised to find her father waiting for her on the stairs.

"Father? Is everything alright?"

"I thought I could show you the archives before dinner is served."

Erinna could hardly believe it. Her jaw dropped right before her lips split into a grin. Her father had agreed but to believe the moment had finally came...

"Thank you, father." She hugged him, squeezing him tightly with bubbling joy and excitement.

"Let an old man breathe, Princess." He laughed but returned her hug.

He let her go after a minute and they walked into the castle together. Elven society was very different from vampire society. Due to the calm nature and tranquil disposition of her people, crime was hardly ever a factor in Ellingsdale. Doors could spend the night unlocked and there were never any guards loitering around the castle like there were in Castello Dracula.

But something had changed in Ellingsdale even if she refused to acknowledge it. Her people were more guarded. There were more over the shoulder glances and wandering gazes into the night as if they knew there lay something there, a predator lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and attack at any opportune moment.

After all the events of the year, who could blame them? She wanted to believe Vlad had just been threatening when he had rounded up their kids and threatened to kill them if her father didn't give her up but she could not stand by that belief.

Her mate had been a different person then, anything could have been possible. But she had to convince her people he was not like that anymore, that they had no reason to live in fear anymore, that they could accept her among them without fear of retribution from the man who was their worst terror.

"Here we are," Eric pronounced with the pride of a father.

Erinna blinked, lost in her thoughts, she had not been able to see they had arrived. She remembered a descent into the dungeons and a series of turns but that was it.

"Oh," she gasped, looking at the doors before her.

They were not just bright, they were glowing. They shone with a yellow light that resembled the sun and bounced of the golden doors in dazzling rays. It seemed like she had been taken to an alternate reality. It was hard to believe they were in the dungeons because it felt like they were in the sky, the door shining luminously on its own.

It was almost blinding yet hypnotizing all the same.

Whilst she watched, the golden surface of the door seemed to shift and remold themselves. The golden vividness faded and was replaced by darker, earthier colors. Images that she had only seen in her head and dreams before, appeared.

"Beautiful isn't he?" Vlad asked her, a rare smile on his lips.

In his arms, he held a child, their child, swathed in infant clothes and blankets.

"He has your eyes," she said, caressing the cheek of their child.

"And your lips," he countered.

Her heart ached with pride and joy at the life they had created together. The baby was a gift but more than that, he was a physical representation of their love and seeing both their features molded into one tiny being, brought tears to her eyes.

"Is this real?" She asked him, knowing her heart would break if it wasn't.

It seemed too good to be true.

"Would you want to wake up if it wasn't?"

She shook her head because she wouldn't. This was a place she never wanted to leave. All her daily worries seemed so far away. There were no curses here, no wars and no death. Everything was the way she had ever wanted. Just her and Vlad.

But something was wrong with the scene. Where was Alexander and where was Miya? Why weren't they happy for them? Why weren't they congratulating them?

Like water being poured over a fire, the image shimmered and finally disappeared.

"No!" Erinna cried, her hand reaching out and trying to hold onto the image but her father grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his chest.

"Let it go Princess, it is but an illusion."

"No father, you don't understand," she shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

That vision was everything she had ever dreamed of and it felt like if she held onto the picture, then the dream would come to life. It had been so close.

"The Door of Dreams is the death of many missions. Those who get distracted by it never make it to the other side. You already broke the illusion, do not lose sight of quest," he said softly.

With a struggle, Erinna remembered her reason for coming there, the reason she had to go inside those archives. Vlad-- that was her reason for being there. She had to break the curse that had enslaved him his whole life and was now holding an axe over their marriage.

When she was feeling more like herself, Erinna turned to her father.

"Where is the key?"

She hadn't seen him take one at all.

"There is no key princess, the key is you. If the doors deem you worthy of what's beyond them, they will open."

"And how will they do that?"

"Three tests you will receive. They will test your commitment to your mission, the depth of your perception and your knowledge of the history of our people. After that, the doors will open and give you that which you seek and that which you don't know you seek."

"What kind of tests?"

Erinna asked nervously.

"They are different for everyone. Just be to true to yourself and your heart," he squeezed her shoulder.

Something in his voice didn't agree with her.

"You're leaving?"

"Of course honey, this is your test, not mine."

She nodded and watched her father leave, faking courage she didn't feel. Who would have known it took so much to access the prestigious royal archives? No wonder they had not even been opened five times in the past millennial.

With a deep breath, Erinna faced the door. As she watched, a hand appeared out of nowhere and began leaving markings on the doors which were no longer gold but were now a sturdy brown.

Runes.

She had never been interested in the dead language, rather preferring the more interesting and challenging Egyptian hieroglyphics. Faced with them now however, the princess wished she had paid more attention to her governess.

Her first glance revealed nothing and she had to swallow down her panic and remind herself this was a language she had seen before. This was something she had been taught, there was no reason for her mind to forget it. With that new found resolution, the markings began making sense, and the riddle began showing itself.

A battalion at his core he holds

A tongue not his, he is burdened with

The first of all letters and first of all numbers,

Take up their stations in between

Who is he?

This was not what she had expected and she stretched her mind to try to figure out if she recalled ever hearing the riddle. Riddles were a great part of the elven culture and her father had taught her a lot when she had been a child but they were mostly things like 'water becomes bone', not something as complicated as this.

At least the doors had been merciful enough to give her a clue. She now knew whoever she was looking for was a person and a male at that. She tried to find someone associated with a battalion and speaking a language other than Elvish but there were so many commanders with those traits, her father and Deacon included.

She needed someone singular.

The first of all letters and first of all numbers...the first letter in the Elvish alphabet was 'zeho'. But looking at the riddle again, the third line caught her attention. A tongue not his he carries, was that perhaps referring to the language the first letter was supposed to be in rather than the language of the man? If that was true, it'd make the first letter 'A'.

The number could be 1, one, or I, the Roman numeral. Since the first two didn't make sense, she decided to go with the last one. With her decision to go with the Roman numerals 'I', the second sentence opened itself to her. A battalion in the Elven army, contained fifty men and fifty in roman numerals was L. Which led her to the first sentence, 'starting and beginning with a millennial'. A millennial was one thousand and one thousand was represented by M.

His name starts and ends with M

L is in the middle

The first letter of the English language, A and the first of all numbers, I stand in between

That meant she had M A L I M

King Malim!

How come she had never considered that before? He was the 163rd Elven king from exactly a millennial back. He had been interested in languages and had introduced the English language to their people in order to internationalize them more. He had been more revolutionized than most of their people, wanting the tribe to move forward rather than stay with the old ways.

"The answer is King Malim," she said confidently and the doors groaned in confirmation.

She expected them to open but another riddle appeared.

The beginning of the end

Peace flutters on her wings

But raindrops weigh them down

Silence in the midst of turmoil

A crossroad those on her back are caught in

A reprieve, they ask for

But none is given

Not unless they call on her who is clothed in the moon

This one was not as hard as the first one; in fact, she immediately knew the answer after reading just two lines. 'The beginning of the end with peace on her wings' was a common riddle for death amongst her people.

"Death," she immediately answered but nothing happened.

The doors did not move or make any sound of acknowledgement. Rather, the runes remained as clear as ever, not making a move to fade or be replaced by others. What was wanted of her? She knew her answer was correct so what was wrong?

Erinna's heart picked up as she thought of failing. She couldn't turn back at this point, so much was riding on this and she did not want to let Vlad down because she knew if she didn't make this effort to save him, no one else ever would. With renewed concentration, she closed her eyes and focused. The poem was long; perhaps they wanted her to explain how she got to her answer.

"The beginning of the end represents death as it marks the end of a life or an era.

Peace flutters on her wings refers to the end of pain as one is freed from their mortal body.

Raindrops weighing them down portray the tears of those left behind.

The crossword they are caught in is the dilemma a dead person is plagued with, whether to move on to the next life or stay with those they have left behind.

The reprieve they ask for is the pleas they make to have things return back to the way they were before, to have a second chance.

But no reprieve comes unless they find her clothed in the moon. The one clothed in the moon is an elf. The moon represents purity, one of the features of our race. As the riddle says, an elf is the only one who will be able to save the deceased person from the claws of death."

She held her breath when she was done and finally the doors groaned, seeming to unlock some internal locks. She hopped she was done but as she pushed the doors, nothing happened so she stepped back and waited for her next riddles. Hopefully her last one since her father had said they were three.

My father's field goes on forever and ever

It has many princes and princesses

But only one king and queen

Kind they are to the living

But tongues of fire they breathe onto the wicked

The last line caught her mind as it reminded her of Deacon's inane jokes about vampires. He had made sure to add 'wicked' to at least every riddle. Was this what this was about, vampires?

It annoyed Erinna that not only did she not have to fight her living kin but her dead kin also when it came to her mate. It was like wherever she turned, there was someone carrying a bucket of water to pour over whatever she built with Vlad.

Her anger made her want to refuse to answer the riddle but that was what the doors wanted. She had to prove her commitment to the mission, no matter how many personal injuries she might sustain.

"The field is the sky, it goes on and on with no end. The princes and princesses are the stars. The king is the sun and the queen is the moon. They provide warmth and light to the living. But any vampire who wanders into the sun is smitten. Vampire not wicked," she corrected, stressing the words and glaring at the silent doors.

There was silence and then an almost laughing sound before the different parts of the door moving, adjusting and creating an opening for her. In her anger, she couldn't even show her joy or relief.

Stepping in, Erinna found herself in a room with many doors. On the ground was a gigantic chess board with all the pieces scattered around except for the king and queen. The room had one door and turning back, Erinna saw that the one she had passed through had disappeared. A feeling of unease spread through her and her suspicions mounted.

She made for the door so she could opened it but as she tried to pass through the chess board, the pieces attacked her and tried to trip her. No matter how much she tried, she could not pass them. What form of witchcraft was this? Erinna found herself asking her mate's favorite question.

Was she supposed to play the chess game win? Against who? She bent over to try and set the board but as soon as she tried to touch a pawn, it jumped off and ran across the board where she couldn't reach it. She tried to touch the next but the same thing happened and her frustration grew. What was she supposed to do?

Telekinesis! That was it. Vlad always laughed that her telekinesis was horrible but that day she was going to have to make it count. There were no allowances to be a bad student as there were with Vlad.

With a sigh, Erinna calmed herself and centered her energy as Vlad had taught her. Slowly and with well-exercised control, she let it flow through her veins to her hands where she expelled it.

She opened her eyes to find the chess pieces where they had been before.

This time she couldn't even try to hold back the tantrum. Her foot kicked out but of course didn't even make contact. The knight jumped away before her foot could make its feelings known.

With a sigh, Erinna cleared her mind and went over the situation once again. She had been getting riddles the whole day but now they were giving her a chess board, why? She was good with chess, she always beat Alexander but was this what it was? Was this a game? It didn't seem congruent with the other tests she had been given.

If the chess board was not a game but a riddle, what could it mean?

Erinna took a step back and regarded the game drawn on the floor with new eyes. A king and a queen left standing, with all the other pieces fallen down. Her first glance told her it was a representation of a victory or truce of some form, but there was a certain melancholy and despair in the way the other pieces were strewn all over the floor like priceless stones.

It reminded her of the battle of The Blood Moon, the one her people and the werewolves had fought Vlad over her ownership. Vlad had won in the end but the losses had been great on both sides. A lot of people who had had nothing to do with the war had died. Lives had been lost, blood shed and the victory not worth the sacrifices.

With trembling lips and misty eyes, Erinna recounted a situation that seemed more like her own life than a mere riddle.

"The chess board is a riddle. The game is a battle and the board represents the battlefields. The fallen pieces show how a lot of people are sacrificed by their leaders in battles not their own. They lose their lives for causes they don't even believe in to please their leaders and at the end of day, when the war is over, the leaders are left standing but the common people are all fallen. The leaders come to a truce, shake hands and move on and those who are gone are forgotten for what else were they but pawns?"

Bile rose is her throat as she said the negative words. They were not her and they tasted like acid on her tongue. Had Vlad been right? Was she becoming a cynic? Erinna refused to believe it. A lot of people had died on her behalf but she swore to herself that day that they would never be forgotten. Never would she le her or Vlad's kingdom lie desolate like that chessboard.

A sound of a lock turning brought her from her thoughts and Erinna took a tentative step forward. She expected the chess pieces to attack her again but this time they let her pass. She opened the door and found herself in a room with large tiles on the walls. A she read the neat Elvish markings, she realized what they were.

Prophecies.

Strangely there were only three tablets when she knew there had been hundreds of prophecies over the years. But then again, her father had explained that the archives would only show her that which was relevant to her. As she looked at the tablets, the first two were about her and Mara had already told her of them before.