I woke up at the crack of dawn to the sound of voices. Through the haze of fever, I could hear Junior and Vlad talking somewhere in the chamber, which was filled by the soft, early summer morning's light. Their hushed conversation was just loud enough for me to pick up some words and a few incomplete sentences.
"Did you consider changing her now? Wouldn't it be safer... " Junior asked, the last part of his sentence becoming indecipherable.
Vlad paused before replying. His voice was so soft and strained... I could feel how much he disliked this conversation, how it was making him suffer.
"It's too early. She is still so young... Changing her to keep her with me will be the most selfish thing... Taking her human life to replace it with this... existence..." His voice faded away completely for a few moments, but then he continued, "I want her to live some more first. Samara doesn't talk about it, but I know she would like to have a child, she did want it before... I can't deprive her even of that possibility, that experience forever."
"I know, Father, I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did. If I could have my Elisa back... I don't think I'd wait."
Junior. I knew he meant well, but I wished he would leave his father alone right now. Vlad had suffered enough already; he didn't need to think about this, too, not at the moment. There will be enough time later.
"Thank you, Son. I hope... that I'm doing the right thing..."
"If you feel it's the right thing to do, then it surely is. I only want you to be happy... however you decide. You both deserve that."
Those last words were followed by a rustle of fabric, and I imagined the two of them embracing, the father and the son who loved and understood each other perfectly. After a while, I heard the sound of footsteps retreating towards the library and others approaching the bed.
Soon, Vlad was sitting next to me.
"You're up," he said, surprised. "How are you feeling?"
"Hmm... better, I think." I was feeling weak and tired, but I could tell that the fever wasn't quite as high as before, I wasn't shivering anymore. "I just have a little headache."
He touched my forehead, then reached for a new damp towel.
"Katerina brought the willow bark. She wants you to drink it."
"Wait," I said before he could put the towel on my forehead. "Is Young Vlad gone?"
"He is, for now. He will be back with the healer as soon as she comes. Did you hear what we were talking about?" he asked, looking at me cautiously.
"Just the last part, I think. And I agree with you," I said, looking directly in his eyes.
"About...?"
"I don't want you to change me... Not yet." Even though we had never talked about it, I'd had enough time to think this through.
Understanding and something else, relief maybe, flashed in Vlad's eyes. He leaned down and kissed me gently, making my heart race and my breath hitch as usual. Hopefully, this will never change.
I loved how he knew what I wanted to say, even without me wording my thoughts precisely. We knew each other so well by now that we didn't even need to talk... Mostly.
"Why did you want to know if my son was gone?" Vlad asked when he pulled away.
I wished he could read my thoughts even in this matter. "I need to go... to the garderobe." Drinking all that wine last night hadn't been a good idea. It was quite embarrassing not to be able to walk to the toilet on my own.
"Oh. Katerina left you a pot..."
What? "No way. She knows I'll never use that thing."
"But you are unwell..." he insisted.
"Will you please help me walk to the toilet, or shall I go alone?" I asked, sitting up and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.
Oh! That was too fast, my head was spinning...
"Come on then, you stubborn little human," Vlad said after he put a pair of slippers on my feet and helped me to stand up. "You see?" he asked as my legs started to give way, and I had to lean into him for support. "Will you ever listen to me?"
"Hmm... that's not very likely," I teased, letting him guide me down the wooden steps.
"That was a rhetorical question, Samara. I know you won't," he said, trying to look serious despite his twitching lips.
When I was back in bed, Vlad made me drink the willow bark tea.
"Enough. Please. It tastes awful," I protested, grimacing after the second cup.
My innate curiosity about all things medieval, which had led me to reading many fiction and even a couple of nonfiction books about the era, was proving always more useful. I knew that this willow bark was more or less the same thing as aspirin, but I didn't remember aspirin tasting so foul.
"You'll finish it later then. Will you try to go back to sleep?"
"Only if you come to bed too."
"Fine," he said, resigned, climbing in next to me, all dressed.
"What about your clothes?" I enquired, confused.
"I'll have to be dressed when Maria comes, don't you think?" Vlad asked, smiling at me, pushing a few stray curls away from my face and touching my forehead again.
He could see that I was feeling better, and it made him look more relaxed. That made me feel happy, I didn't want him to worry about me.
"Ok. Fine. You are right, of course, I wouldn't want that woman to see you undressed. I'd be... jealous."
"Sleep, Samara. You are talking nonsense. It must be the fever," he said, chuckling, while finally applying a fresh wet towel to my forehead.
"Don't leave me," I begged on the verge of sleep, cuddling closer to him.
"I won't, not for long, anyway. I'll have to attend the wedding later today, but I won't stay longer than necessary. Katerina will be here for you then. Now sleep, you need to rest."
"As you wish, my lord," I replied with a smile and fell asleep in a few moments.
The next time I woke up, it was an early evening, and Vlad was gone. Katerina helped me walk to the toilet, mumbling about my stubbornness, of course, when I refused to use the chamber pot.
She said that the wedding had started and the healer had already visited me. I had no recollection at all of Maria examining me, I just slept through it.
According to the woman, Katerina reported, I would be as good as new in a few days' time. Apparently, the vampire responsible for my wound did not really want to hurt me. Otherwise, I would be either dead or in transition by now.
That only made me feel worse for Radu. Life was... unfair. He had been suffering for centuries, and there was nothing I could do to help him.
Katerina made me drink another cup of her tea after I had climbed back in the bed, and I managed to sleep through the whole night.
I woke up sometime before lunch the day after, finding Vlad seated on the chair that stood next to our bed, leafing through my copy of Stoker's Dracula.
"Are you reading it?" I asked, surprised.
I sat up slowly to test my strength. My head wasn't spinning or hurting anymore, I was feeling much better.
Vlad came to sit next to me, the book still in his hand.
"You made reading it impossible," he said, touching my forehead, then smiling, satisfied. The fever was gone. "When did you draw all these pictures? You didn't use to draw... before."
"Didn't I?" I couldn't remember. "Well, I had enough time to draw. You've been gone quite often over the last few months."
He kissed me, then said, "I hope it will change soon. Anyway, you should have asked for paper instead of destroying your book by drawing... me, for instance," he said, chuckling at seeing his own face looking back at him from one of the pages of my book.
"Don't you laugh and give it back, please. It's quite precious to me," I said, snatching it away from him and hiding it under my pillow.
Vlad put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close, kissing me on top of my head. I took his other hand in both of mine and held it on my lap.
"I don't like your paper. It's too rough. I prefer mine," I explained.
Suddenly, he became serious.
"You never talk about it, but do you miss it, Samara? Your own world. Your other family. The things you used to have there."
I sighed. Honestly, I didn't want him to know that I missed it... a bit...
"Samara, tell me. Please."
Oh, well. "I don't care about things at all. But I miss Lia, my best friend. And my parents," I started, squeezing his hand tighter. "You know... we had never been a perfect family. My mum was always a bit cold and distant, and my father had never really been around. He used to spend his whole days, and sometimes nights, at work. That's what he claimed, anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they finally divorced now that I'm not there anymore... I know they'll be fine without me. But I'd like them to know that I'm well and happy, so they won't worry..."
I looked up to find him watching me intently, hanging on my every word.
"Would you like to go back? You know, when the portal opens..."
"No!" I called, my voice disturbing the peaceful silence of the room, startling both of us. "Not without you, how could I go back, knowing I'm leaving you here!"
"I love you, Samara, you have no idea how much," he said, leaning down to kiss me, making my pulse race.
"I love you more," I whispered, pulling him among the pillows with me, fingers of one of my hands lacing through his hair, the other hand reaching for the buttons of his shirt.
"You must rest, young lady," he smiled, pressing his hand firmly over mine.
"I am quite well rested, as you can see," I said, freeing my hand and letting it fall to the laces of his trousers instead.
"You are so stubborn," he murmured, but I could feel the resistance in his voice waver.
"And you are nearly as exasperating as old Katerina sometimes," I teased, giggling.
"Oh no!" He laughed, finally removing his shirt. "I wouldn't want you to think that about me!"