Thank you for your funny and wonderful comments you little ghosts. It was beginning to sound like a mortuary in here ;-)

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"I don't know where to start," King Eric said as he looked at the daughter that he had always tried to shelter and protect but could no longer do so.

Erinna was his life and he had tried everything he could to shield her from the evils of the world but you could only do so much for a child before the time came for her to see for herself. He was reluctant for the day he would have to let her go to swim away on her own.

"Perhaps the beginning," Erinna glared at him, hostility written all over her features.

He could not even blame her, there were so many secrets.

"That is always the best, isn't it?" He sighed with a rueful smile that she did not return.

Nervously, Eric swept his hands over his thighs to rest on his knees but the action did nothing to help with his anxiety.

"Your mother was not an elf as I might have led you to believe," he said.

"You said you met her on your travels to the other elves in the North," Erinna frowned.

"Yes, I was going to meet our kind up North but I met Ava on my way back. She was hiding in the forest and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I looked at her once and knew I wanted to spend my life with no other."

"Why was she hiding in the forest?"

"Her parents were trying to marry her off for their convenience. I wanted to bring her home immediately and make her my queen but the council would have never agreed to such a union. Royals as you know, are forbidden from marrying non-elves. It taints the purity of the bloodline."

He felt like a hypocrite, of all the people, he should have supported Erinna's marriage to one who was not of their own but he had wanted to protect her from the backlash he knew their people were capable of giving.

"How did you convince them to let her marry you?"

"I didn't. I brought her to the castle in secret. They insisted to see her but I told them she was already with child and could not be seen for it would have been inappropriate for a royal to be seen in such a state."

"Was she truly pregnant by then?"

"Yes, your mother had conceived before we got here. I found a trusted friend to marry us in secret and swore him to an oath of secrecy. The days leading to your birth were the happiest of my life. She used to live in the same tower you live in and would ask me every day to let her out but I knew just how vicious our people could become and I wanted to save her from that so instead of focusing on the kingdom, I spent most of my time with her in the tower."

"That is why there was an uprising," Erinna said with realization, recounting some of the passages from her history books.

"Yes, my absence from the running of the state caused civil unrest, the house of Virmenor tried to take over but Deacon's father helped me to reestablish my authority."

"Did any of them find out that mother was not Elven?"

"No, they did not."

"Not even Mara?"

"Not even Mara, only Melissa."

"So if mother was not an elf father, what was she?"

Eric looked down, pained him to finally divulge the secret he had protected for the whole of his life.

"Your mother was an angel."

He saw the shock in her face. Her face paled and her eyes widened. Disbelief made her rosy lips part. He did not blame her, coming across the Ainur was almost impossible. Most of them after being banished from heaven, kept to themselves. Erinna's mother had not been part of the original fallen but had been the third generation offspring of the Ainur.

Eric had found Ava when she had been running from her people. After billions of years on earth, the Ainur had finally realized how much more desirable their existence in heaven had been compared to what they now had on earth. Seeking to gain entrance back into heaven, they had decided to give their first born daughters as blood sacrifices for their penance.

Ava as the first daughter of the high priest, had been no exemption. She had set out to seduce Eric into taking her virginity so she could lose her purity and therefore escape the hand fate had dealt her with. But no coercion had been needed, sparks had flown and he had known he would never let her go. He would have fought angel or demon to keep her.

"Angel?" She repeated.

"Yes, child."

"Does that mean... does that mean I am...?"

"Yesterday was the day of your awakening. Your mother wanted me to keep it a secret as was their custom because not everyone with angel blood becomes an angel. The wings choose you, not the other way round."

Erinna's hand returned to her ravaged back and Eric could not stop his face from contorting with pain, his poor child.

"How do I get them out then?"

The pain got worse but he forced himself to school his features.

"You cannot. Yesterday was the day of your awakening. Your body rejected the transformation."

Tears sparkled in her eyes even though she did not let them fall. Eric could relate to her despair. Of course Erinna had never known before that she had wings but finding out then knowing she would never be able to access them, was gutting. Even he could feel the sense of loss.

"So I can't ever turn?"

Eric shook his head in response, delivering the final blow.

His daughter's fingers went to her lips as if trying to contain a sob. Eric moved to go and comfort her but she held her hand up to stop him.

"Is it because of what I did in Silvercrest? Is that why I failed to transform?" She asked him, pain and loss in her gaze.

Eric wanted to tell her her failure to transform probably had more to do with the leech's blood flowing in her veins than what had happened in Silvercrest but knew saying so would only hurt her more. There was no way Erinna could have transformed with her aura mingled with death the way it was. It was already hard for half-bloods to transform without all the negatives stacked against his daughter.

He had hoped her Purebeing heritage would fight on her side and help keep the shadows at bay long enough for her new nature to sweep in but nothing was that easy in the real world. Nothing was black or white and light did not always triumph over evil. In this case, Vlad Dracula had deprived his daughter of another part of her birthright.

Hatred as he had never known boiled in Eric's veins. He did not care if the creature killed him but the next time he saw him, the vampire was going to regret the day he had ever laid one foul claw on his daughter.

Because of him she was no longer an accepted elf, her Purebeing status was questionable, her people had rejected her and the only legacy her mother had left her was gone. Even her ascent to the throne of Ellingsdale was never going to go uncontested. The creature had stripped her of everything that made her who she was.

"This was not your fault and I will not have you torturing yourself with guilt. He who is responsible shall answer for his crimes."

***********

Erinna expected Vlad to come for her now that the day of her awakening was gone but after three days, it was clear her mate was not coming. She sank deeper into the pit of depression with each passing hour.

She did not know why she felt such a sense of loss at knowing she would never access her wings when she had never known she had them in the first place. Mara said it was because she had always known subconsciously that they were a part of her. Erinna did not know if that was true but the pain was unbearable.

Without Vlad and his reassuring presence in her mind, thoughts that she had barred began seeping into her mind again. Her days became an endless nightmare as she recalled all the pain that had been caused by her hands. She relived the day at Silvercrest. Every face that she had killed came back to haunt her and the screams became louder until she thought she was going mad.

She spent her days and nights curled up in her bed, not talking or eating. Her lips would move continuously but no sound would come out. Her father, Melissa and Mara all tried to cheer her up but it was to no avail. Her mind was too gone and she lost touch with reality. It was in this state that Deacon found her.

Her body was shivering even though she was sweating. Her eyes were closed and her body curled up into a fetal position. Her lips were moving too fast, whether in prayer or supplication. An air of fear such as Deacon had never felt, surrounded her.

"Princess," he greeted her, taking a seat on her bed.

He had never thought he would see the strong and feisty woman he had met reduced to the emotional mess she was. His king had called him to try and get her to eat but he did not know what he could do. She did not reply to his greeting and it was clear whatever was scaring her, it was scaring her greatly.

"Where is her mate?" He asked Eric.

The king shrugged.

He frowned. He had never had a high opinion for the creature, but he had thought for all his faults, Count Dracula loved his wife. How could he leave her like this?

"Does he know she is like this?"

"As if he would care. The bastard cares for no one but himself," the king answered.

Then he did not deserve her.

Deacon stayed with Erinna for the rest of the day. Although he could not get her to eat, after listening to one too many nightmares whilst the princess was sleeping, he managed to deduce the root of the problem.

"What did you do with her after the war?" He asked Mara and Eric when they came to check in on Erinna.

"What do you mean? Dracula took her," Eric replied.

"She is a Purebeing; she would not have been able to deal with the guilt of spilling so much blood."

This time it was Mara who answered.

"I blocked her emotions concerning the incident temporarily. Is that what's happening? Is the guilt back again?"

"Yes, you need to prepare a cleansing ceremony."

Erinna's condition escalated and they had to tie her hands and limbs to stop her from hurting herself. At dawn, they finally took her to the river, right before the new moon did. The phase of the moon at that time represented creation, manifestation, birth, and rebirth and Deacon wanted the ceremony to open a new chapter in Erinna's book of life.

She deserved to have a clean slate so she could start afresh without the entanglements of Dracula. Deacon might have started to believe the man was decent from her high opinion of him but what kind of a man left his wife at a time like this.

Deacon assisted Mara to burn the sage they had brought on the bank of the river. It was a powerful energy clearing herb and would help in releasing all the negative, toxic and stagnant energies bothering Erinna. It would even get rid of earth-bound spirits that were hovering on her aura.

They scattered Aspen, Rosemary, Lemon Grass, Blue Spruce and myrrh into the cold water. The herbs and oil would all help in cleaning her energy, soothing her bruised soul, reviving her spirits, balancing her, strengthening her, grounding her and protecting her from further attack as well as giving her peace.

When the river was ready, they dipped her into the water seven times.

"Whatever is unholy, whatever is detrimental, whatever is impure, whatever is not of this earth or does not belong with the living, I now release it from you in favor of growth, healing, power, wisdom, transmutation, control, purification and total goodness," Deacon declared and kissed her forehead gently as was required by tradition.

With the running water went her sins and with the rise of the sun came her second chance.

"Father? What are we doing here?" Erinna asked as she finally came out of her stupor.

"Not a lover of swimming?" Deacon smiled beside her, trying to hide his relief that the ritual had worked.

He had tried to control his feelings where Erinna was concerned, knowing she was taken and would never be his but pretending she did not affect him would be deceiving himself. She was one of the most genuine people he knew and she did not deserve half of the things that the world threw her all because of Vlad Dracula.

"Deacon? You're here too? What's going on?"

Eric shook his head, a discreet signal telling him not to divulge the truth of the circumstances. Deacon nodded and gave a teasing grin to the Princess.

"A little bird told me there's a certain princess who has been doing too much wallowing?"

"Wallowing?" She gasped, giving him the most adorable affronted expression he had ever seen, "I have not!"

"Yes, you have and it ends now."

With one move he grabbed her by the waist, and dunked her into the water. She came up gasping and spattering. Deacon knew he was a dead man when she narrowed her eyes at him. She chased him in the water and even got her father and Mara to join in the water fight. It was not his ideal way of spending his mornings as the commander of the Elven army and the king's right hand man, but Deacon could not have changed a thing.

*************

Mara and her father remained tight-lipped about what had happened after her failed awakening but it was what had happened during that worried Erinna more. She drew Mara aside as they were walking home after the morning at the river.

"Mara, what did father say to Vlad when he came?" She asked.

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"I have not been able to feel him in my mind and it's not like him to withdraw like that."

The whole thing had her father written all over, which was surprising because Vlad had never been one to pay much heed to what her father said.

"His presence was distracting you, we thought it would be best if he left. To speed up the transformation."

A lot of good that had done. But it explained many things, Vlad would have happily left if he thought it would save her any more pain. That was reassuring and took a weight off her chest. At least she now knew the reason for his retreat.

"I think father blames him for my inability to morph," Erinna frowned as she remembered his cryptic words.

He seemed to hold someone responsible for what had happened and if experience had taught her anything, it was that there was one villain in Eric's life.

Miya stopped and turned around to look into Erinna's eyes.

"He's not wrong."

Erinna raised her eyebrows and then burst out laughing but Mara's face remained stoic.

"Oh. You are serious. Surely you cannot believe that rubbish also?"

At this rate, Vlad was also going to be blamed for the wind blowing East or South. Her people seemed to think anything bad had him at the center.

"It's not rubbish, Erinna. You're one of the strongest people know and I have seen weaker people than you morph. There was absolutely no reason for you not to transform."

"And somehow you think that's Vlad's fault? Has it occurred to you that I have blood on my hands? Or that I may just be unsuited for the role?"

"The blood on your hands is because of him."

Erinna's blood heated and she glared at Mara as the old anger rose up inside her.

"I grow weary of you throwing attributing every bad thing in this world to my mate. He is not a monster and I am not perfect. I knew what I was doing that night, I killed those people so if you want anyone to blame, blame me. I'm the murderer."

Mara's eyes widened and she took a step back but Erinna did not lessen the intensity of her glare. In the end, Mara looked down and cast her eyes away. A few moments passed before Erinna sighed and reigned in her temper.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I just- seeing you in so much pain that night, I wanted to blame someone. You didn't deserve that."

"We'll speak of it no more. But I want you to do something for me," Erinna said.

"Anything."

"Keep an eye on father. I'm not happy with his temperament. I don't want to be forced to pick sides if he does something stupid."

Miya raised her head sharply and looked at Erinna.

"Are you leaving?"

"Ellingsdale is not my home anymore. It was foolish of me to try to regain what had been lost."

Foolish and childish. Some part of her had wanted to hold onto her childhood. It was where she had grown up and the place where her mother had lived. Letting go of everything had scared her, made her feel so untethered but she didn't need that anymore. Vlad was her home.

"Not foolish, nostalgic maybe but not foolish. It's where your roots are."

"Maybe, but I don't want to dwell on the past anymore."

Life was too short.

"And the throne?"

"It's father's, as long as he is alive. Anything more, we will discuss after that."

Sure, she had all rights to the throne on account of her being the princess and Pure Being but there was more to live than power and Erinna was not going to waste anymore of her time on petty issues when that time could be spent with Vlad. She did not know what she had found in the archives meant for their relationship or the curse but she knew she did not want to waste any more time.

********

Erinna spent the next two days rounding up her duties and saying goodbye to the people. Deacon was the last one she saw.

"So this is it?"

"This is it."

He nodded.

"I don't want to sound bitter or jealous because I'm not. But may I please ask why you are so quick to rush to him when he did not come to see you even once?" He asked.

From the tidbits of conversation around her, Erinna had gathered that she had fallen into some form of depression after her failure to transform but she did not remember the details and the days were a blur to her. Deacon had not ceased to express his disgruntlement in Vlad not bothering to come see her but Erinna knew him better than that. If Vlad thought she needed him for even one second, he would have dropped everything and come for her.

She had let people sway her too much in where her faith in was concerned and would not be moved anymore. If Vlad had not come, she was sure he had a very good reason. She hoped that reason was because he did not know rather than that something had happened to him. But just to make sure, she had hastened her departure from Ellingsdale and would be leaving the next morning.

"He had his reasons," she shrugged in reply to Deacon's question.

"What reason is more important than being there for his wife when she needed him?"

That was what she was going to find out.

*********

Mara offered Erinna some books to take back to Ellingsdale if she wanted. This pleased the princess because she had not gone through all the volumes in the older elf's extensive collection so directly after her farewell to Deacon, she headed to Mara's house.

"They are all yours, you can take any that you like," Mara said, gesturing to the books she had put aside.

"Thank you very much, but I think I'll only take a few."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to see which ones you want."

Erinna was still sitting on the carpet two hours later, going through a giant journal when Mara came back. The book was so old that most of the pages were tattered and discolored. The words were written in ancient and it was hard to even discern most of them as the ink had faded out.

"You're running yourself to the ground," Mara said, sitting in a chair.

"No," Erinna was quick to deny.