Congratulations, we have managed to compress the 126 Chapters that were there before into 66💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 Let's hope the book will be finished before the Chapters reach the Wattpad limit.

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The following morning, Erinna was surprised to see the black circles under her father's eyes. He looked troubled and something seemed to have stolen his peace during the course of the night.

"Father, are you well?" She asked, looking at him with concern.

He seemed to have aged ten years. His clothes looked haggard and hung off his frame asymmetrically. His hair was in disarray and his skin had lost its natural glow. Whatever it was that was plaguing his mind, it was serious.

"I had a dream."

"A vision you mean."

Whilst Eric Ellington had no precognition gifts of his own, he had the privilege all kings had, that made them the vessels if the universe decided to warn the nation of an oncoming disaster or situation.

"Yes. By the end of this year, all streams will have dried up and everything in the granaries eaten by creatures of the wild. Nothing will be in the fields and hunger such as our people have never known will come down on us."

Erinna's stomach dropped. She couldn't remember the last time Ellingsdale had suffered a famine. Their land was the most fruitful of all lands. Their rivers never dried and their fields were always green. That the one disaster that had last struck them thousands of years back would finally return during her time seemed too much of a coincidence. This had something to do with her and her tainted powers.

"This is because of me, isn't it?"

She was supposed to be bringing productivity and abundance to her people yet she was plunging them into one plague after another.

"Of course not, it's not your fault. I made some poor decisions," her father admitted.

"I don't understand," she frowned.

"The Silvercrest war need not have happened. A lot of blood was spilled at the hands of our people. I'm the one who led them into that."

"So this is a punishment?"

"More or less. Water is a representation of rebirth, renewal and forgiveness and we can't have that unless we have earned our penance."

"But surely it is a bit extreme for all rivers to dry out in one year and the granaries to empty?"

They had a lot of stored food to last them through twelve years of famine but she knew if they were really going through the Spell then they were going to lose all that in the coming three months because the Spell was that brutal. There had only been three Spells in the past and all had been characterized by a decade of no rains, high death rates, dry fields, grueling hunger and diseases beyond their control. She did not want that for her people.

Everything boiled down to her; this was her fault no matter what her father said. All the decisions he had made, he had made with the intention of saving her. His fear for her had blinded him, just like Deacon had said.

"What can I do? Is there a way to fix this?"

This was one of the times she wished there was a manual for her abilities.

"I'm not sure if there is something anyone can do at this point but I'll need you to consult with Deacon today. He is good with reading the skies, better than I am. He will help you navigate the stars and decipher what the universe is trying to tell us," Eric explained.

Erinna was silent at that. She felt awful about the situation and really wanted to do everything in her power to fix it but was it worth risking her marriage over? She had already tried Vlad's patience more than once and anymore would drive him over the roof or into one of his petty moods.

Her father scowled with displeasure when he saw her hesitation.

"You think this is about you and your personal comfort? This is about the kingdom. It's your duty as part of this family to put the welfare of these people before your own."

Chastened, Erinna could not find a suitable reply, so she left her father's presence but turned when she was at the door.

"Father, may I ask you something?"

Eric gave her an intense look but nodded.

"I asked you a lot of times about the bruise that was on my hand. Why didn't you just tell me it was my familiar?"

He had been so secretive and almost scared about it.

"Because I could not be sure yet what it would be."

"I don't understand."

"Amloc, manifests in physical form whenever a Pure Being is born but he is not always the scorpion that you got. You know of three Pure Beings before you but that does not mean they were the only ones born."

"There were more?"

"Fourteen. Tell me Princess, how is the goodness of the Alahastar measured?"

"By the fruit of their bodies," she answered using a statement she remembered from her studies but had never sought the meaning to.

"Good answer. The birth of your familiar signifies your maturation. If he comes out as a scorpion, it means you passed the test."

"And if I had not passed the test?"

"Then a serpent would have come from your veins and swallowed you whole."

Erinna was too shocked to move. This was the fate that had faced her? Delayed fear and horror gripped her, turning her lips white. She had always thought if one was born as a Pure Being, that was that.

"Why didn't you say anything? How could you not tell me?"

"And frighten you?"

She could see his point but it annoyed her that any time she could have died from the fruit of her own body and left the people she loved without saying goodbye.

"Mara knew this too?"

"She suspected but some secrets are closely guarded, even from high born elves like her."

"What was the test?"

"I don't know, Princess. I did not think the universe would accept you, given your association with the enemy."

"Vampires are not the enemy."

"I would argue but I guess I have been proved wrong."

"What now then?" Erinna asked.

"Now we wait. Your form should appear soon. Aravae's likeness took after trees hence her ability to give life and rest to anyone. She could gather people of all nations together and it was under her that the world was most united, despite race. Handuil had the sun. She could bring happiness to anyone she met. No war was fought in the sixteen years that she lived. Enai had steele. She came at a time we needed to fight and she was that sword. Very soon we will know what you are."

Erinna wanted to tell him she had already seen her form, that she had matured before her time but how could she explain what she did not understand herself. She had been able to take the form of fire as well as that of milk but she did not know which was hers.

"Is it possible to take two forms?" She asked.

"It has never happened but if it were to happen, it would be to the detriment of the yielder. It represents a splitting of energy and lack of peace and unity within oneself."

"What would be the worst that could happen?"

Her father raised an eyebrow but she did not answer his unasked question.

"I would imagine instability in both energy and emotions, madness, ill health, bouts of rage and eventually the loss of self."

"Loss of self?"

"Yes, the person would cross over."

He stared at her intently but Erinna could not say anything. She was frozen with fear. Was this where she was headed?

"Princess is there something we need to discuss?"

Mechanically she shook her head and left the room.

Her father's diagnosis was guesswork because none of this had ever happened before but what if he was right? Was she going to drive herself into insanity? But surely she was on the right path if Xander had been born in the acceptable form rather than as a serpent?

Yet nothing good had ever happened since her birth. People fought more, there were more plagues and deaths and now horror of all horrors, the Spell was coming. This thought jolted her out of her depressing thoughts and she was reminded of the task her father had given her: to read the skies with Deacon and see if they could save the kingdom from years of starvation and unproductivity.

Quickly, she left the castle and went to meet Mara.

"Mara, you have to go. It cannot be me," she pleaded with the older elf.

"Princess I can't read the skies, that gift is yours and yours alone. You would be more useful to Deacon than me."

Erinna sighed; wondering how to convince the other woman. Aside from still feeling a little blue because of her conversation with her father, she could not set foot into the Thilmador house again after her promise to Vlad.

"But this is about your people. What kind of relationship do you have if he can't understand that?"

"You don't understand."

The bond between Vlad and her was very strong and very intense. It meant every good feeling was magnified but it also meant the negative were more pronounced, the insecurities magnified. Vlad wasn't feeling anything she herself had never felt before and she couldn't blame him.

"You're right, I don't," Mara raised he hands, palms out, "But this still has to be you. I can come with you but you have to be there."

That was better than going alone.

"Thank you," Erinna smiled and went to the castle.

When she reached the castle, she lay on her bed as she contemplated the situation. The Spell was one of the worst things the kingdom had ever gone through. It was top of the list together with losing their Pure Beings.

Not knowing what else to do, Erinna closed her eyes and reached deep inside her where the history of all Pure Beings was written. She reached for all her predecessors and called forth their essences. Handuil, Aravae and Enai all answered her summons and filled her mind.

"Princess," Enai acknowledged.

"We know why you are here," Handuil said quietly.

Erinna nodded and recounted the story for them anyway since Aravae wanted her to.

"You're losing control," she said when Erinna was done. "This was not supposed to happen whilst you were there. The Spell never happened in either of our times."

"That's true," Handuil said regretfully.

"Your father is a good man but too often he is misled by his emotions and blinded by his love for you. But you know what's good for the race. If you don't make the tough decisions that need to be made, then the time of the elves' end will come sooner than we had all anticipated."

Erinna shook her head, "I can't govern the race. My home is in Transylvania."

"Tough decisions princess, no one said they were going to be pleasant. But like it or not, you are the leader of this kingdom. You can't shirk your responsibilities onto your father forever. You and your husband are going to have to come to some sort of compromise concerning the elves. You are not asking him to forsake his people and he shouldn't expect it from you," Aravae said, the frown clear in her voice.

"Vlad is not asking me to forsake my people, he would never do that."

"But you make most of your decisions concerning the kingdom based on what you think he would like."

"That is called being considerate. He considers me in his decisions as well."

"I don't know princess, but the choice is yours. Know you are the light of your people first before you are his wife. And as for the Spell, we really can't assist you, there wasn't this much chaos in my day," Handuil chuckled softly.

"I am completely rewriting the history of Pure Beings, aren't I?" She said a little ruefully.

Her presence in Ellingsdale was having completely the opposite effect rather than the one she was supposed to have.

"Don't beat yourself over it. You'll get the hang of it soon," Enai encouraged.

"Alright. And the prophecy? There is a new prophecy," she said, remembering the three lines that were still baffling her.

"Unfortunately we can't help you with what came after our time. We can only assist with things that happened in our day," Enai said.

"Anything else would be interfering with the fate of the living and we have not that privilege."

Erinna thanked her completely unhelpful predecessors and returned to her bedroom. A part of her wanted to ask them about her discussion on Pure Beings with her father but she decided that would be done in its own time. First things first.

She reached out for Vlad.

"Erinna?"

"I'm going to tell you something and I want you to agree with me because if you don't, I will have to change my decision on what I know I have to do so that I don't hurt your feelings. And I don't want to do that because it'll make me a bad princess. I'm not supposed to be basing my decisions on you."

"You're not a bad princess."

"I will be if I don't do this."

"Then do it."

"You won't like it," she admitted.

"Then don't tell me."

That was more co-operation than she had hoped for and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. This was the Vlad people didn't get to see.

"Are you sure?"

"No, so you better get going before I see what a completely bad decision I'm making right now," he smiled.

"I love your bad decisions," she laughed.

"And I love you. Talk to me when you're done."

"Alright."

Since Erinna couldn't go see Deacon then because the stars only came out at night, she headed for the archives to pass the time. She had no way of knowing if she would have to go through the same tests as she had the previous day but fortunately when she arrived, the doors just opened in recognition. She stepped inside and found herself in an almost empty room.

She had expected stack upon stack of books as those in libraries but instead, there was only a single table and chair inside the large room. On the table were two books. Whatever else secrets the archives held, they was not going to yield. This was as far of the secrets of the world as she was going to be allowed to see.

Fighting a sense of disappointment, Erinna took a seat and lifted the first book. It was a leather bound heavy copy that seemed more designed to knock someone unconscious rather than to be read. The title was fading but she could make out the words 'guide' and 'fae.'

It reminded her of the feast Vlad and her had after their wedding, one of her best days in Ellingsdale. Amongst those who had given them gifts had been the fae. Vlad had not been pleased to see them but they had said they'd brought them a gift that they could use to solve a problem that had bothered them for a long time. Erinna still did not know what that problem was.

Could it be that the book had the answer to their curse and whatever the fae had brought would help them?

She opened the first page of the book.

"They are the most elusive of creatures and most devious but after years of research and observation, some of the most sacred secrets of this race have been revealed to me and I will share them in this book."

The title and the opening paragraph made her question the book's relevance to their curse and she wanted to put it aside for later consumption but didn't know if the archives would show it again to her so she forced herself to browse through every page.

The book had a lot of pages but she did her best, skipping a lot and reading the highlighted text. There were a lot of things in the book but nothing relating to the curse. When she was done, she put the book aside and picked the second one. This one was thicker than the first and made from much much older writing materials. Her heart stopped momentarily when she saw the name on the front page.

Illindra Keakis, daughter of Illimenor and Zinkana Keakis

Erinna looked at the book before her, not knowing whether to read it or not. She knew what she had to do of course but a certain part of her mind wanted to remain in denial, to believe that if she went on pretending no one else had ever gone down this path, then she could keep away their curse.

She finally opened the book; it was a diary.

The first entry was not dated. Illindra's handwriting slanted and interloped a lot and was hard to read but Erinna forced her eyes to adjust to the bird scrawl.

It has been a whole week since I ran away with Damien. I left my old diary and most of my belongings in Ellingsdale but I wouldn't care about all that. Damien makes me so happy and I daresay I have never felt this alive my whole life. I have tried writing to my kinsmen but all I have received is silence. I love them but I simply cannot let anything separate me from Damien, he is my life.

Erinna smiled, Illindra would probably be the only elf to understand and sympathize with her feelings for Vlad. Only she would know how it was to love someone so intensely that nothing else mattered. Not family, not friends and definitely not self.

Tonight was the night of my marking. Damien did it without the blessing of The Count because he says The Count does not see eye to eye with my kind and would never approve of our union. I don't mind, I've gotten used to Damian because he is the love of my life but I do not think I could bear the presence of another vampire, let alone the infamous Count Dracula. No, it is better this way.

Erinna rolled her eyes at this.

But I digress, whilst our union was blessed by none on earth, the universe acknowledged it. We have been marked by what is known as the Recognition Mark, Damian tells me it is only bestowed between the strongest of mates.

This mark and the one Damian placed on my neck has bound us in ways I could have never imagined. I have always been his and he mine, but this is much much more. His soul has become mine and mine his. Our minds are intertwined and though his heart is silent, I'd like to believe if it beat, it'd beat to the same rhythm as mine.

Erinna smiled and moved to the next entry. It was like she was reading about her own life.

Damian is my world in ways I could not possibly begin to explain to one who could not see into my heart, my mind or soul. It is quite funny and hard to believe that when we met, I had wondered too close to the boarder and he caught me with the intention of drinking my blood. Damian is no longer that kind of a man however; he has abandoned the way of life indoctrinated into him by the evil tyrant who rules his race. He still needs blood to survive but he no longer robs innocents of their life force or preys on the weak, my sweet sweet lover has taken to an animal diet like the rest of us.

Erinna was shocked at this. She knew people did a lot of extraordinary gestures for people they loved but she had never dreamed someone would forsake that which gave them life to please the one they loved. For her and Vlad it was the reverse, she had forsaken her beliefs and embraced his nature rather than asking him to deny who he was. Besides, she could never complain about Vlad drinking from her.

There was something so intimate and personal about feeding. It brought her closer to Vlad and helped her understand him for who he truly was. Besides, she would die of jealousy if Vlad were to drink from someone else and he would never agree to feed on antelope. She laughed as she imagined his face at that very suggestion.