Maria opened her eyes. She was lying in a simple bed with pure white clothings. Her eyes fell on a large symbol of torqua which hang over the only door of the chamber. She heard a low voice.
"Hello, you are awake." Besides her just one meter away a boy sat on a stone bench of white marble and looked at her curiously. She realisied that she was inside the fortress of the keepers of Mahjagoth and in an instant panic arose inside her but then she remembered what happened. She never believed very much into the gods. Young people rarely do. They trust into their power and didn´t want to be told what is right or wrong. But it was true. She was no vampire anymore. She felt her heart beating and, much more strange after the long time, she felt her breathing.
The boy besides her stood up from the bench. He looked tired but friendly. His cloth looked used but his face and palms were clean and his eyes awake and curious. "His highness told me to stay with you so you are save." He grinned tired. "The second time today that someone wants to convince me that I would be able to protect a woman."
Maria smiled at the boy. She felt sympathy. She would like to hug the boy and cuddle him. He looked so tired but stayed awake to watch over her. What a diffrent existence. "You were successful anyway. Nothing bad happened to me." She turned to the side and suddenly felt the pain on her chest. She had a large bruise upen her left breast and down to the stomach. Of course, she thought, the knight bashed her down with the tower shield. No big deal for a 200 year old vampire but devastating for the fragile body of a more skinny 30 years old woman.
"His highness told me to advice you to rest in bed until he will come back.", the boy said and then added a little bit irritated," he also said you should not be afraid. No one would harm you. Why would some Keeper harm a severly wounded sleeping woman?" He shook his head and then smiled at Maria. "How do you feel?" He saw the pain in her face after she turned and hastingly asked:"Shall I call for sister Kayna ? She was here half an hour ago to look after you."
Maria was still caught in her emotions and thoughts about her cleanse and just slowly shook her head. "No, no need to call anyone. I just need rest. You are right." She cautiously laid back and breathed heavily to compensate the pain that got more intense when she moved her body. A gust of wind swept through the window and she heared the sound of the branches at the trees outside, in front of the windows. A chill clean smell of earth and dry plants came in and Maria realised that even though her senses as a vampire had been extremly sharp in concerns of smelling bodies and blood, hearing footsteps and heart beats but the perception of the nature and the elements had weakened. Maybe not even weakened but they had become unimportant and unintersting and were just judged as unimportant and thus did not came to her awareness. Now she felt so alive and happy. The she recognized that the boy quietly looked at her. She turned her head to him: "Do you have a name my brave protector?" He looked irritatd first then quickly answered: "Yes! Of course ! My name is Rovan. Rovan from Auenfries." "Auenfries ? Isn´t that the village to the east ? I have been there two or three times." "Really? Where do you come from? Are you from Uhlheim? Have you been hurt in the battle today evening? Such a mess. I have never witnessed such a turmoil and seen so many strange people before." Then he laughs. "And I am only the first day in this city. But I think it was all about this evil stone." Maria rose an eyebrow in surprise. "You know about the stone Rovan? What do you know?" Rovan looked at her:" I could also ask why you even know about it." He streches and then answered slowly and with a guilty face:" I brought the stone to the city. Torqua may have mercy with me. I did not know what will happen." "You had the stone?!" "Yes why do you ask? And why do you know about the stone. I just entered the city maybe 5 hours ago. I talked with noone about it." "But a wizard from the plague bay had the stone. Why did you gave the stone to this sorceror?" Rovan stood up and answered a little bit to loud and in an excusing voice:" I did not know he was a sorceror! And you know what? That stone was evil. He wanted to buy the pouch I was wearing the stone in and I then showed the stone to him." Rovan sat down and the situation when he took out the stone to examine it came back up in his mind. His eyes got wet. He then looked furiously at Maria. "The stone tortured me. The moment I took it out for the first time I felt so bad and sad. I can not remember how long it was but I wanted to die !!!" He looked fierce at Maria with tears in his eyes. " I saw the death of my father and how my mother got abused and tortured." Then he whispered: "I just wanted to get rid of it. Then this man showed up. He offered me money for the sash and the stone and I gladly accepted." Maria was paralysed she saw the horror in the face of the boy when he spoke about the stone. This was for sure the heart of darkness. The essence of the king who cannot die. He felt what she had forgotten - compassion. The boy must have witnessed terrible things. No way that he was telling stories. The emotions of him were clearly visible even though he tried to keep his head up. She and her sisters were about to secure this stone for father. That cruel vampire lord. What pain was he to bring upon the world he would have it in his hands? Now she was happy that she got caught. But where was the stone now ? These warriors of the light were so powerful. For sure they caught the sorceror. He was not strong like the three vampires. Katlin was by far a more formidable black witch. Her mind opened for the sadness and pain that the schemes of her coven brought over the innocent people who strive to stay alive and protect their loved ones. It must be eradicated. The good people of the empire, like the boy or the majestic justiciar should not have to suffer from those creatures of darkness or dedicate a live to hinder evil to blossom. She was dead. Father was dead, and her sisters to. They should not be walking. They shouldn´t even more terrorize the living. She never would be able to atone for her sins of about 200 years as a vampire. She should have been dead two times. First time when the vampire seduced her and then stroke his teeth in her neck while he was inside her. And now today through the judgement of Torqua. No one has so much luck like she had. Inside her heart the strong will and desire arose to serve Torqua to at least bring now good to the world with the lasting few years of her live. For a woman having existed more then 200 years the future of having maybe thirty or forty years left now meant that she was close to death. Panic arose in her for a moment and her mind wondered if it would be possible to return to the state of being an immortal vampire but she swept it away. She now clearly knew that it was her duty, her responsibilty to use her remaining years to help heal the world from darkness and to protect the people. She would not taint the grace of HIM. And she was sure that there was no place where he could not see her. She had taken so much shame upon her soul. She wont increase it with an even more disgusting act of disregarding the caring of the god. And a god it must have been. No one could heal vampirism. No one was able to take her powers away with a wink. Not even father from which they came. He showed himself clearly to her. And now she also was sure that it was his voice in her vision at the lake.