As she climbed down from the other side of a tree, she noticed something shining through a pile of leaves. Bending, she moved the leaves aside and upon taking a closer look at the shiny material, she gasped. It couldn’t be! She was staring at gold. She stood so abruptly she fell backwards and into the fallen tree from which she had just climbed down. Pointy branches dug into her back. Using her arms to push off the tree, she yelled, “Bloody hell!”
When she was once again standing, she quickly scanned the area. Please don’t be here, please, leave me alone. She didn’t see the golden ball which gave her some comfort. Taking in a deep breath, she sped through the forest, jumping over branches and puddles and more than once nearly colliding with a fallen tree.
Ahead, the castle came into view. From what she could see so far, nothing looked out of place. She flew toward it. As she got closer, her stomach began to ache and she considered turning and running back to Eldrich’s house. No, she was not a coward. And besides, despite her apprehension, her most important concern was to know her father was safe.
Clearing her throat and swallowing, she reached the castle’s grounds. Everything appeared as she had left it. It was as if the storm had intentionally bypassed the castle. Relieved, she exhaled a deep breath and massaged her brow. Then it hit her. How did she not notice it sooner? The silence, the absence of people, the castle was deserted.
Her heart in her knees, Lela ran through the castle’s halls yelling, “Father! Father! Where are you?”
She stopped and listened. She heard nothing. Not possible. Flinging the doors open to her father’s bedroom, she yelled again, “Father! It’s Lela!”
He was not in his room. Sinking into a chair, she pleaded with her mind to bring her answers. Something awful must have happened to cause her father and the rest of the people to leave. No wonder her father hadn’t come looking for her. Whatever transpired must have occurred soon after she left, as soon as that same night. Vampires!
Blood rushed to her brain; if she had not been sitting, she would have fainted. Sitting still for a moment, she let the dizzy spell pass. Then she dashed into the hall on her way to the castle’s kitchen. She’d gather as much food as she could carry, hustle back to the house, formulize a plan and wait for Eldrich to rise from his sleep.
Scanning the kitchen, she held her nose. The smell of rotting food so strong, she nearly hurled. Flies flew about as if humans had gone extinct and it was now their time to rule the land. Barrels of rotting vegetables and fruit sat on the floor and on tables.
Quickly, she searched for any food that was still edible. Ah, yes, the cooks always kept dried salted meat and jars of preserved fruit in the pantry. She spilled a bag of grain and then used the bag to collect as much meat and preserved fruit as she could carry. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she made for the kitchen’s exit door and then walked through the short hall which led to the animals’ pens.
But when she was outside she didn’t hear any sounds coming from the enclosures. The animals were gone, too. Madness!
If the people of the castle were in immediate danger, her father would not have ordered they also take the animals. But then she had been gone for two months and couldn’t be sure when it was that her father and the rest of the people left the castle. Nothing made sense. How was it possible that everyone, including the animals, had simply vanished?
Trying to understand what could have happened, Lela thought of the gold she had seen in the forest. Perhaps the golden ball had made it out of the sea and was now searching for her. But, if the ball was once again following her, why hadn’t the vampires come for her? Why would they have attacked her father instead? Maybe vampires had nothing to do with this. But who else could have gone after her father? Questions, nothing but questions and no bloody answers!
“Lela!” a woman screamed.
Lela turned in the direction of the voice. Coming out of the woods was a familiar face.
“Lady Rema, oh my beloved Lady Rema!” Lela yelled, setting the bag of food down and running to meet her.
Crying and disheveled, Lady Rema embraced her.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” Lady Rema said, looking her up and down.
“What happened here?” Lela asked.
“You’re so skinny,” Lady Rema said, hugging her again. “Oh Princess, I thought you were dead.”
“Focus, dear Lady Rema. Tell me what happened. Where is my father?”
Lady Rema started to cry again. “They disappeared.”
“How?” Lela asked, putting her hands on Lady Rema’s shoulders and lightly shaking her. She wouldn’t hesitate to slap her.
“The day you left…when the hours passed and you still hadn’t returned, I went looking for you. I was afraid the King would find out.”
“You went into the forest, alone?”
Lady Rema had never left the castle’s grounds. Not that Lela was aware of anyway.
“I had to bring you back. You told me the golden ball had made itself known to you. That meant vampires would be coming after you,” she said, wringing her hands.
As much as she loved Lady Rema her reason for going into the forest gave Lela doubt. She was the only one who hadn’t vanished. Why? There was something Lady Rema wasn’t telling her.
“I once asked you if you were an honest woman,” Lela said.
Nodding, Lady Rema said, “I am.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I couldn’t find you. I didn’t know where to look. I got lost,” she said, inhaling and exhaling. “When I found my way back to the castle everyone was gone. I swear. They were all gone.”
“You’re not telling me everything. A few weeks ago, I was a silly, naive girl. I’m no longer that same ridiculously sheltered, stupid girl who chased after a golden ball.” Lela took Lady Rema’s hand. “I will only ask you one more time. If you do not answer me with the truth, I’ll know it and you will be out of my life forever.”
Lady Rema gazed at the ground and then back at Lela. “I’ve taken care of you from the moment you were born. I swore to your mother the night she walked into the forest and gave herself to the vampires, wretched, despicable beings, that I would protect you,” she paused for a moment, “when you didn’t come back, I knew your father and everyone else here would suffer a painful death because of your decision to live with a vampire. At first, I tried to wave the thought away. You couldn’t possibly have fallen in love with one of them, not after what happened to your mother.”
“How cruel of you to say something like that to me,” Lela said, tears beginning to form.
“It’s not my intention to be cruel.”
“How did you know about Eldrich?”
“I knew something happened to you the night you spent in the forest. You came back different. Your focus on when the sun would set gave me pause. Your questions about vampires…”
“Finish your words,” Lela said, massaging her forehead.
“I did go after you. I was not lying about that. I knew exactly where he lived, the vampire with whom you had fallen in love. But I never made it to his house. Halfway there, I decided to visit my sisters instead. I flew high into the mountains, seeking their help.”
Lela tried to maintain her composure. Every part of her wanted to strangle Lady Rema.
“Are you seriously kidding me? What do you mean you flew? You’ve gone mad.”
Lady Rema cleared her throat and sighed. “You asked for the truth. Here it is. I’m a witch.”
Lela snickered and put her hands on her knees. “Oh, right, sure, of course you’re a witch. Why wouldn’t you be? After all, I’m a princess in love with a vampire. Oh, and by the way, angels exist and did you know that there was a war hundreds of years ago between vampires and angels? What else? Oh, yeah, I’m pretty sure the angels lost and now they all live in the Kingdom of the Lost and oh my, unknown Kingdoms, yeah, they also exist but then since you’re a witch you probably already know that. And lastly, please tell me you don’t actually fly on a broom? I shall fall dead.”