Elena and Haven, who were still on their lunch break, had a good conversation where they shared with each other some good memories from their human years. Both Elena and Haven were not born vampires; they both were human beings at a certain time, and this light-hearted conversation was also the beginning of their friendship.
"So, Elena, if I may ask, what is the relationship between you and young master John? Everybody says that you two are in love"
Elena lightly blushed "There is nothing between young master John and I. However, I believe that young master John will one day become too great and will eventually forget about me"
Haven smiled "You are wrong Elena; young master John is very smitten about you and everyone in the castle can see it.". Haven then pointed at Elena's gold bracelet "I believe young master John bought you that expensive bracelet, Am I right? I think that is a good indication that young master John cares about you very much"
Elena then thought about the night John gifted her the bracelet and joy began to fill her heart. She then touched the necklace that her mother gave her "I wanted to give young master this necklace, but I was a little hesitant as this is the last gift that my mother gave me when she was alive. However, this one changed her mind, this one will gift young master John this gold necklace when he comes back"
Haven then touched Elena's hand. "You are very lucky, Elena; I have been on a few trips to other places with my Lady, and I saw a few young masters in my lifetime, and most of them are vile and evil to their own kind. And although young master John is above us in status, he treats us very nicely. I think he will become a great lord if he chooses so, and I would be more than happy to work for such a lord."
"Me too" Elena replied.
They both sit for a few minutes in the library, talking about random things, before resuming their daily work.
====
(2 days left)
"Boy, Boy, wake up"
John heard a faint but familiar voice calling to him. He slowly opened his eyes, and his vision was a little blurry but after a few seconds, everything started to become clear and the first thing he noticed is his grandfather Leonidas looking at straight at him.
John was confused on how his grandfather was so close to him, he remembered that Leanidas could not move his body except his head "How did you get here, old man? I thought you couldn't move your body"
Leonidas then looked at his hands, he slowly moved his fingers up and down "I do not know what happened, maybe it is because of the antidote you gave me, but just a few hours ago I felt my arms moving again but I still cannot move my legs, and I also do not have any energy to use most of my abilities. However, I have enough energy to move my arms to crawl over here, now get up so we can think of a plan to escape this cave"
John's healing factor did not heal all of his injuries; he still had minor fractures in his face. His bodily injuries also did not heal completely, and he still felt a great deal of pain internally. However, he had enough energy to get on his feet. He took a bottle of blood out of his storage ring and started to drink it in small portions. With every sip of blood he took, he could feel a slight pain in his throat.
He then offered his grandfather to drink some of blood in the bottle "Here, I don't think your body is gonna reject the blood now that you can move your arms"
Leonidas looked for a moment at the bottle that was offered to him before slowly reaching out his hand to grab the bottle of blood. His skin was paler than usual, his red hair was messy and his expensive clothes were tattered. He poured a little bit of the blood into his mouth, and he could feel the cold yet still delicious sensation on his tongue. He drank everything in the bottle. Leonidas was not used to drinking cold blood; however, being previously poisoned and not being able to drink made him appreciative of the blood he was able to drink. "I never thought that I would be this lucky to drink blood again," he thought.
He threw the bottle to the side after emptying it. He then wiped the blood that was still lingering on the corner of his mouth "How are we going to escape?" Leonidas asked John
"I don't think the lightning stone I used earlier against the troll will be enough to destroy the huge boulder and I probably only have two chances to use it before the lightning energy in the stone is totally depleted. Let's first go to the entrance and see what we can do.
John then carried Leonidas on his back to the entrance of the cave. "We only have two days left before Decker attacks the castle; we have to hurry and get out of here."
When they reached the cave's entrance, John placed Leonidas down near the huge boulder that was blocking the cave's entrance. He then stood before the huge boulder and started John closed his eyes for a few minutes.
Leonidas observed John. "He is trying to gather energy, but he does not know how to do it effectively. I could teach him, but it will take more than 2 days," he thought.
John slowly opened his eyes, and with great determination and resolve, he placed both of his hands on the boulder. He could feel the roughness of the boulder against his skin. He started to push it with all of his might, but despite his best efforts, the boulder did not move an inch and remained steadfast.
After 4 hours, John tried again. He planted his feet firmly to the ground and again placed his hands on the rough surface of the rock. John closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He summoned all of his strength and began to exert force against it. John then grunted; he put every ounce of physical strength he had into pushing the boulder forward. John could feel his muscles starting to get tense.
"Aaaah, come on…Move!"
A huge amount of sweat started to drip down his forehead as John was pushing the huge boulder with all of his might. However, the boulder remained motionless even when John was using an ample amount of physical strength.
After a few hours, he began to lose hope, and while still standing there with both of his hands on the boulder, John's head was hanging down. His clothes were wet from all of the sweat. Tears began to fall to the ground. John felt angry, sad, and frustrated by his lack of power.
He then tried even harder after a few hours; his left eye started to turn red, and power surged throughout his body as he channeled his energy into a final, desperate attempt to move this seemingly immovable object. However, no matter how much John tried, the huge boulder remained firmly planted on the ground. John's muscles ached, but he did not want to give up. He looked at Leonidas with tears in his eyes.
"I can't do it; I am a failure"
Leonidas looked into John's eyes, and he could feel the boy's frustration. "Are you going to give up, boy? Are you going to allow your loved ones to die without doing anything about it, or are you going to try and move this boulder out of the way"
Leonidas looked John directly in the eyes and said, "Become angrier, boy. Use the emotions you are feeling now as fuel and move this goddamn boulder out of the way so we can save the people we love!"
John understood his grandfather; however, he already gave everything he had but the boulder did not move an inch "But I gave my everything just now, this boulder is too heavy, I can't…I just can't" John gritted his teeth.
Leonidas knew deep inside that this was an impossible task for John; he knew that John was not strong enough and was still in the process of learning and developing as a young vampire. Further, even though Leonidas knew that John's effort was futile, he still had hope in the boy, as there was nobody else he could depend on.
He did not know what else to say to John to motivate him to try harder; he knew the boy had already given his everything. He had to try at least one last time.
"Boy" he called out to John. Leonidas and John looked each other straight in the eye.
John could see Leonidas eyes glistening; he could see his grandfather fighting the tears that wanted to roll down his cheeks. "Are you going to let Decker win?"
"Never!"
John then felt his heart beating loudly within his chest. All of his loved ones faces and voices echoed throughout his mind and then his right eye's iris started to flicker blue.
"Ggrrrrrrr"
Leonidas was shocked; he could feel the change in the air. "Where is this strange power coming from? Is this the werewolf side of the boy?" he thought. He looked at John in amazement. Yet he also felt great fear as John gave off the aura of a wild animal. Further, from Leonidas's perspective, it's like the boy was being possessed; he did not know if John was going to attack him, for which he would not be able to defend himself. Thus, he decided to not make a sound and only opt to observe the boy from where he was sitting.
John then started to push the boulder again, but the boulder refused to budge and stood firmly in place, indifferent to his efforts. However, Leonidas could see that the boy still has a lot of physical strength to release. John then gave a primal roar out of anger; his claws extended, digging deeper into the rough surface of the boulder. John's muscles slightly bulged and became bigger; veins started to reveal themselves as he pushed harder against the unyielding stone; and his left eye also started to flicker as he unconsciously summoned more of his inner power. The boulder then started to yield with each step John took, and slowly, inch by inch, the boulder started to move forward.
Leonidas could not believe what he was witnessing. "My dear daughter, what have you created?" he thought as he was looking at John pushing the huge boulder.
John then pushes with one last surge of strength; he pushes the boulder with every fiber of his being. Further, the huge boulder was moved just enough for them to escape. Leonidas could see the small exit and a silver sliver of freedom in the darkness.
John then fell down to his knees, feeling extremely exhausted, he breathed heavily for a few moments before falling down to the floor unconscious.
Leonidas then quickly crawled to where the boy was lying. He looked at John with mixed feelings and said, "You did good, boy.".