Her father on his end became cautious of this new ability that he had not realized until that moment that dhampirs have become a bigger danger to those who come near them. But regardless, the creature then became accustomed to seeing Samuel as its father as well.
Samuel smiled and carried his daughter back to the hut. Then applied ointments on his daughter's skin to prevent any redness and heal her burns.
Annette put down her bag onto the hook and looked decrepit. The vampire set the plates of food on the table in front of his wife.
"So, is there any news about what is going on then in the villages?" he said
He sat down with a cup of warm blood next to his wife. His wife focused on being warm with the hot food laid before her.
She slowly enjoyed the flavors of bits of potato, carrots, and oats in the vegetable broth with bits of mutton and herbs from the garden.
"My love, you always make do with what we have in our little home. You have made my life so much more vibrant than even the Royal Family." she said.
Annette smiled gently and kissed her husband on his cheek, knowing that she was a businesswoman, like any other. To provide for the family in the winter with her ointments and tinctures.
"Samuel, mi amor, we have to make sure that once I leave this realm. That you will have to take care of our daughter." She smiled sadly.
Samuel felt an ominous aura around her and peered outside. He saw wisps of flames floating from the village.
He looked over and to his wife's direction in worry and caution.
Instead, he saw his wife still smiling and started packing the necessities.
He poured out the broth into cups and prepared some bread pieces. He kept the fragments of bread warm inside the handles from the cups' residual heat.
"Are they here for us? We might as well make sure we take the seeds we had saved for the next home then-" said Samuel.
His eyes glowed bright red with claws out, and he heard the door knock.
"We have come for the witch, bring her out or we will have to burn this house to the ground!! With your family in it!!" declared a villager.
Samuel looked at his wife and she made various hand gestures that would bring about a sigil in the air that let out little sparkles around her family. They ended up with a slight slumber in each other's arms near the soothing fireplace.
"My love, you think you aren't the only one who can do a bit of magic." She chuckled.
After Annette finished her food, she looked at her daughter and husband. She placed a blanket over them, tucked them in, and kissed their foreheads.
"Besides, the cost is nothing compared to keeping both of you safe." She put on her cloak and went outside to face the crowd.
She brought warm drinks and a chair, with some bread and butter. A crowd filled with familiar faces that Annette helped throughout many winters for their ails and even their survival.
"Now then, Damas y Caballeros, why have you called me a witch now? When I have cultivated, healed, and even helped your village from being wiped out by the Dark Plague?" Annette smiled gently and took a sip of her broth.
The villagers were hesitant to take her away, but one of them came out, a person whom she did not recognize at all. The newcomer wore papal clothing, and holding a newly sown tome.
"We have come here to help you be in deliverance in God's embrace. In a trial by fire during the pleadings of your case." Said the man.
The woman got up and offered food to the mob. They made passage as she passed around cups of the hot broth and pieces of bread in the crowd.
"And pray to tell, padre, on how you think these accusations will hold up to God? Did he ever mention the terms of witchcraft or healing or both?" said Annette as she looked over her shoulder toward the Father of the Church.
"It is just a decree, nothing more or less. But we know what sin is and isn't. And the use of magic is nothing but a blasphemous practice that needs to be weaned out. Even if they had to be taken from a mother's breast. We do God's work to save everyone's souls. Including the damned." Explained the Father, revealing a sneer with his tone being that of a superior kind.
Annette smiled coyly and exhaled in relief. She looked upwards to the skies of her country and saw a faint flickering of iridescence that revealed her companions' faces. They're hesitant but willing to do what's necessary to save themselves and their families.
Once Annette offered the broth to the villagers, they each looked down and partook in drinking it. It was a frigid night that day.
However, she welcomed the villagers even when they intended to enact a heinous action from the words of a newcomer. Words that enamored their trust towards the Church rather than look at what was.
A woman who wanted to heal, help, and grow the community that had helped her and her family. Annette's achievements were accomplished with respect and recognition.
She walked back to the Father and offered him a drink. He grabbed the drink and poured the contents onto her feet.
Burning her feet, she winced slightly but smiled as the steam rose, while holding back her cries of pain and her tears. She knew what the papal-clothed man wanted: Power and influence.
"Thank you, Father. My feet were a tad bit cold. Now then, how would the Son of God not be one of the accused of such witchcraft? Walking on water like a strider, reproducing fish like spores of mushrooms?" said Annette, chuckling at the notions of the accusatory state of the Father.
The villagers chuckled in response to the jokes and cackled while the Father stood in place, shocked. His expression transitioned from shock to anger.
His fists curled, making his knuckles turn white as snow and released from his emotional temptations. He readjusted his robe and cleared his throat.
"It exempted the Son of God from this because he is God. As well as the Holy Spirit. He is the way, and He is life. So we must all adhere to the laws of the Word to find salvation, even for the Damned." declared the Father, who raised his voice amongst the laughter as it went suddenly silent.
The villagers looked at the Father with faces of regret and somberness. They looked at each other, mumbles of agreement and confusion about what the Father had just spake from his declarations.
Amid the whole interaction, they never thought of hurting one of their own who had healed them in their times of need. It never occurred to them, since they could live prosperously, with almost no incident.