Vlad The Impaler (VAMPIRE-ELF)

57. Last Minute Tasks

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.