There Is No Me Beyond You

~5~

The days and weeks after Stoker presented me with his latest, awful theory, followed each other in an unpredictable manner. They either flew by too fast, or dragged too slow, making me often lose the sense of how much time had really passed.

Waking up in the mornings, I never knew how my day would be. Sometimes I got up filled with optimism, impatient to return to Bran, feeling certain that everything would go well, and the day would pass away in no time. Other times I only forced myself out of the bed when Aurora insisted on being fed, feeling anxious, nervous and insecure, and the mere twenty four hours would feel like a week.

But Lucas and Lia were always there by my side, pulling me through when I thought I couldn't walk alone any farther.

Not only Stoker's words, but even my encounter with Viorel changed my life in some ways-- I never wished to walk outside alone anymore, not even just to take Aurora for a walk around the pond in broad daylight, where there were Luigi and Veronica watching over us through the windows of their restaurant. I felt followed and observed day and night, and even scared when I realised that Viorel and his friends must have been watching me constantly even before, waiting in the shadows for the best occasion to approach me, even though I never noticed them.

Stoker, most probably following Lia's advice, avoided me for a while, then he was suddenly back as if nothing had passed. However, no more new theories reached my ears and slowly, very slowly my life shifted back to its previous normalcy, and I started getting ready for the journey to Bran.

"What are you up to?" Lia asked as she reached me in the kitchen where I sat at the dining table alone, on a sunny but chilly October morning, two days before our trip.

Most of the things for the journey were planned and organized, the plane tickets were booked, the rooms in the small hotel in Bran village also-- I kept in touch with Alina as I had promised when Aurora was born, and now she was well informed about my plans, and impatient to meet the little one.

I still needed to pack, which wouldn't be easy having in mind how many things I'd need to carry only for Aurora, and write letters I meant to leave behind, for Lia, Lucas, and Mum, just in case...

Banishing the unpleasant thought, I looked up at Lia who stood above me, noticing Stoker's arm wrapped around her waist from behind. I had to admit, they were a great, inseparable couple.

"Lucas took Aurora to Luigi's, Veronica asked to have her this morning." I said, smiling at the two. "At least we can do our sword practice undisturbed for once."

"Oh, right, I forgot that you took the whole week off, lucky you..." Lia said, sitting down next to me, then added, looking at her fiancé, "Could you make me a cup of coffee please? I must be in the hospital in an hour..."

But there was no need to tell him, he was already by the coffee machine, getting her breakfast ready.

I raised my eyebrows at her, trying to suppress a giggle at the sight of that annoying, ancient vampire preparing her food, and she rolled her eyes at me, mouthing something along the lines that I was incredibly childish and silly, in her opinion.

"So, what are you doing, exactly?" She asked aloud, picking up the pile of photographs of Aurora placed on the table in front of me.

"I... want to choose a couple of them for this locket." I said, feeling a little silly about it, pulling the Victorian silver locket I got from Mum for my last birthday from under my jumper. "I... want to show her to Vlad. My clothes will change again the moment I set my foot into that time passage, I'm sure, but last time my book, which I was holding in my hand, and then even the ring remained... I hope that this locket, if I'll hold on to it, will carry over with me..."