Lost in the Castle

~38~

I woke up at the crack of dawn to the sound of voices. Through the haze of fever, I could hear Junior and Vlad talking somewhere in the chamber, which was filled by the soft, early summer morning's light. Their hushed conversation was just loud enough for me to pick up some words and a few incomplete sentences.

"Did you consider changing her now? Wouldn't it be safer... " Junior asked, the last part of his sentence becoming indecipherable.

Vlad paused before replying. His voice was so soft and strained... I could feel how much he disliked this conversation, how it was making him suffer.

"It's too early. She is still so young... Changing her to keep her with me will be the most selfish thing... Taking her human life to replace it with this... existence..." His voice faded away completely for a few moments, but then he continued, "I want her to live some more first. Samara doesn't talk about it, but I know she would like to have a child, she did want it before... I can't deprive her even of that possibility, that experience forever."

"I know, Father, I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did. If I could have my Elisa back... I don't think I'd wait."

Junior. I knew he meant well, but I wished he would leave his father alone right now. Vlad had suffered enough already; he didn't need to think about this, too, not at the moment. There will be enough time later.

"Thank you, Son. I hope... that I'm doing the right thing..."

"If you feel it's the right thing to do, then it surely is. I only want you to be happy... however you decide. You both deserve that."

Those last words were followed by a rustle of fabric, and I imagined the two of them embracing, the father and the son who loved and understood each other perfectly. After a while, I heard the sound of footsteps retreating towards the library and others approaching the bed.

Soon, Vlad was sitting next to me.

"You're up," he said, surprised. "How are you feeling?"

"Hmm... better, I think." I was feeling weak and tired, but I could tell that the fever wasn't quite as high as before, I wasn't shivering anymore. "I just have a little headache."

He touched my forehead, then reached for a new damp towel.

"Katerina brought the willow bark. She wants you to drink it."

"Wait," I said before he could put the towel on my forehead. "Is Young Vlad gone?"

"He is, for now. He will be back with the healer as soon as she comes. Did you hear what we were talking about?" he asked, looking at me cautiously.

"Just the last part, I think. And I agree with you," I said, looking directly in his eyes.

"About...?"

"I don't want you to change me... Not yet." Even though we had never talked about it, I'd had enough time to think this through.

Understanding and something else, relief maybe, flashed in Vlad's eyes. He leaned down and kissed me gently, making my heart race and my breath hitch as usual. Hopefully, this will never change.

I loved how he knew what I wanted to say, even without me wording my thoughts precisely. We knew each other so well by now that we didn't even need to talk... Mostly.

"Why did you want to know if my son was gone?" Vlad asked when he pulled away.

I wished he could read my thoughts even in this matter. "I need to go... to the garderobe." Drinking all that wine last night hadn't been a good idea. It was quite embarrassing not to be able to walk to the toilet on my own.