Resurgence

4

"So Erika, what did you think?" Brendan asked me, as we left the dining room and walked into the rooms we were assigned.

"Of Mina?" I looked at him, raising my brow.

"Yeah." He shrugged, smiling at me.

"She's cool, I guess."

"Seems like she really doesn't like Amadeus."

"Yeah he said she wasn't a true vampire. I wonder what that means."

"Maybe she's a hybrid. That would explain the eyes." Brendan sits his luggage down and sits in the king sized bed. "Most vampires have either red or clouded blue eyes."

"Probably. Could you tell what her other half is?" I sat down next to him.

"It's a succubus." He sighed.

"Damn. That's a new one." I figured angels and demons would be a thing at this point but it's still a bit of a shock.

"Who deals with that?"

"The Catholic Church has their own organization to deal with them. Also they deal with human magic users and what not."

"That's cool." I lay back in the bed.

We end heading back out to explore the palace a bit. The place was mostly guarded. I entered the throne room again. Aurelia and Mina were playing chess on the floor. Aurelia turned her attention from the chess board to us.

"Hello." She says, getting up. We did a quick bow.

"Hello and welcome back." Mina got up from the floor and we did another quick bow.

"Thank you." I responded.

Mina smiles and she motions Marijorie over.

"Tell the kitchen to prepare a few snacks for our guests, please and thank you." She tells him.

He nodded and walked away.

I noticed Mina's changed her dress. It's pink and gold with flowers and golden beads. She sure loves her elaborate dresses.

"Anyway, while they prepare the food, I'll give you a tour of the palace and give you some knowledge." Mina says to us. "Aurelia, please check on our other guests to make sure they're alright." Aurelia curtsies and leaves the room.

We follow her into a big wooden door. It opens and we walk down a hall with paintings of royals. They're all wearing different clothing and have expressions ranging from joy to annoyance. The halls are a burgundy color with gold trim and red carpet.

"Those are all my ancestors. They ruled for centuries before my birth." Mina speaks to us, looking at the paintings. She stops.

"There's my mother." She points to a woman resembling her. She had the same hair, skin and eyes. Except her pupils were slitted and her face was slightly sharper. "And that's my father." She points to the portrait with a man with long black hair and red eyes.

"What happened to them?" I ask, looking at her. Her expression becomes pretty crestfallen.

"My mother was slaughtered in the war for. My father has passed from old age, quite a rare feat in this world. It's quite a burden for a girl like myself but I believe I've handled it rather well."

"I'm sorry for your losses." I reply, looking at the old painting.

"It's fine." Mina waves me off. "We all die eventually."

We continued down the hall. There's chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. She opens a door to a huge ballroom. The flooring is wood with lacquer on it, there's balconies everywhere and two thrones in the middle. There's a huge chandelier in the center. There's two exits on the sides of the room.

"Wow." Brendan said.

"It is. This is my favorite room in the mansion." She said, showing us to the exit doors.

We leave the room, continuing into the hall. She shows us various rooms of all sorts. There's a hunting trophy room with the skulls of animals and other items like jewelry, armor and weapons. Mina shows us the Queen's Chambers, the King's Chamber and the endless guest rooms.

She opens some French doors to the gardens. They're extremely beautiful and lush. There's all kinds of flowers growing in vines above our heads and curling into a white arch. There's bushes in a maze-like shape to our right and a small fountain in the center. The air smells of fancy perfume.

"This is my pride and joy." She kneels and shows us a pink flower. It reminds me a little of a fall leaf with the way the petals are shaped.

"This is one of my favorites. It's called a blushing lady. I don't know who thought of that name but whatever," Mina said, pushing the flower closer to us. "You know what it does?"

"Not really." I say, admiring its beauty.

"I wouldn't either." Brendan said, arms crossed.

"It's the only known antidote to vervain and wormwood poisoning. A teaspoon of its brew is strong enough to null the effects of the poison and allow the body to get rid of it naturally." Mina said, pressing it into her palm.

"That's awesome actually." I put my hands on my hips.

"I'll give you a vial of its brew. It's best to keep it if you'll be around us." She looked at both of us.

"Thanks." I responded. I noticed that Aurelia was working on some rose bushes.

"How old is this place?" I asked her.

"1749." Mina smiled. "It's been renovated throughout the years for everyone's safety."

"That's good to hear." I spoke. Marijorie walked up to Mina.

"Your Majesty, one of the Kirilani Ladies wishes a private audience with you." He bowed, looking at the ground.

"Please tell her I will be there shortly." Mina looks back at us. "I must go now. You are free to explore and request anything you'd like." She leaves with him.

Brendan and I look at each other. This place is really pretty.

"So.....you want to finish unpacking?" Brendan looked at me.

"Sure, then we could check out the maze." I responded. We walked back to the room. Brendan and I noticed there was a complimentary bottle of wine, a cheese board, some cured meats, and fruit on the platter. Awesome.