"Please Moon Goddess Lunara, save us. Our God Celestros has abandoned us. You are our only hope. Please listen to our prayers. We can't fight alone anymore," wailed the women.

I was born from their prayers. I will help them. I can't leave them. I will never abandon them.

Seraphina wakes up with a jerk, breathing heavily. What was the use of coming home early, if she couldn't even rest properly. She had come home to have some rest, as she knew Sylvia would do a better job of tracking than her and as expected the CCTV camera footage in the area had been wiped so both Nik and Sera had come back home to have some rest.

Sera was still catching her breath. No, the contents of the dream weren't scary, it was like the story of the origin of the witches, the first to be created by Lunara, when she was a young Moon Goddess.

The thing which freaked her out was how real the dreams felt, she experienced them in first person which rarely happens in other dreams. The frequency of such dreams was increasing and every time she was left shaken. She felt as if it was warning her of something big that was going to happen. No, she can't be stuck in this right now, her priority was to find all the missing people including the missing princess.

Sera never expected to be approached to find the princess. She didn't like the Vampire king, she didn't hate him but she couldn't say she respected him. The king didn't help her father when he could, so she wasn't compelled to respect him either.

Seraphina didn't have a great impression of the Prince from her first meeting but she could understand that he was agitated because of his sister's disappearance. But when it came to the princess, Sera could empathise with her, she had heard rumours that the king didn't really like the princess who he blamed for the Queen's death. Sera wondered if the Princess felt responsible for her mother's death too.

Seraphina rose from her bed, she wasn't going to sleep anymore. She didn't have to go to the restaurant today, it was a Wednesday. The restaurant was closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays as it worked on the weekends.

She freshened up and dressed for today. Her hair was wet from the shower, she ran her hand through her hair to dry it immediately. She made her way to the living room, in her big home. The manor was rather massive and one would mistake it for a noble's house, but they weren't a noble family rather fighters, her Grandfather was a knight in the Witch-Vampire war and had accumulated a lot of wealth as reward and with that opened a lot of hospitals which maintained the steady inflow of income.

But they were never awarded a title by the King. Perhaps the king was afraid to make someone like her Grandfather, Thaddeus Bloodthorne, a noble who would have his views and disagreements heard.

When Sera reached the living room, her aunt asked her excitedly " O Sera dear, you are up! Shall I whip up some breakfast for you?" Her aunt Valentina asked, excited.

"You aren't going to feed her one of your experiments, are you Val?", asked Sera's grandmother, Ravenna Bloodthorne ,with a mischievous look. "Ma! My cooking isn't so bad anymore." Valentina answered back in a whine.

Both women have quite a cheerful nature, the same was inherited by Nikolai. Valentina's interest in human cooking started when she had started dating her now husband, who was a human then. Vampires didn't need to eat human food but some enjoyed the taste of human food.

"I would love to have something cooked by you aunty Val." Sera answered with a warm smile. This softer side of Seraphina was reserved for her family and friends. Most of her clients knew her as a cold and calculative henchwoman, who would do anything to achieve her goals, but also knew that she would only accept a request if she felt it was justified and would never harm innocents. Her clients knew better than to approach her, if their cause was not justifiable.

✧✧✧

Seraphina was enjoying the meal made by her aunt. Valentina had made her some super fluffy pancakes with a side of homemade jam. The jam was a bit too sour but the pancakes were quite delicious. Valentina had been pleased to hear the same. The three women were in the kitchen chatting about anything and everything, laughing when someone said something funny. Sera loved these small moments.

"Ma, you don't cook for me!" Nik whined when he saw Seraphina eating the meal cooked by his mother. "You don't need it. And also you don't appreciate it enough as my dear niece." Valentina teased her son, she had the same mischievous smile as Nikolai. The mother-son duo loved teasing each other, they were the hyper ones while Nik's father was the calm one, being a doctor.

Seraphina, having finished the meal, put the plates for washing. "Oh! Before I forget. Uncle was looking for you, cousin." Nik told Seraphina. "He is in the Garden I assume." Sera stated. "Ya. How did you know?" Nikolai wondered.

Seraphina didn't answer Nik's question as she made her way towards the garden. She knew her father well, he loved to spend time in the garden probably thinking about her mother. He often said her mother would have loved the garden here, it was a shame she never was able to live here. He missed her mother dearly. He would often comment on how much Sera reassembled her mother, the only contrast being her mothers sapphire blue eyes which had possessed an ethereal glow, compared to Seraphina's crimson irises.

✧✧✧

Seraphina saw her father sitting in one of the benches in the garden. "Good morning, papa." Sera wished her father with a smile, and sat beside her father. "Good morning, Sera dear. Did you have breakfast?" Valerius asked his beloved daughter with a warm smile. "Yeah, aunty Val cooked for me. Where is Grandpa? He would have been with Grandma if he was at home." Seraphina asked when she noticed her Grandfather's absence.

Valerius had a smile on his face as he replied, "He went out to buy tickets for a vacation, he planned to surprise your Grandmother with, for their anniversary."

"They are still as romantic as ever I see." Sera thought out loud. There was a moment of sadness in Valerius's eyes. If Selene was still alive, he also would have looked for all kinds of ways to surprise her. He brushed the thought away and focused on his daughter. "How is the work on the disappearances going? You still think the hunters are behind it?" Valerius asked, concerned.

Sera's eyes move from one corner to the other. "If the disappearances are connected, then there are high chances it's the hunters. Even related to the princess, the fact that no one has threatened the royal family seems odd." Seraphina reasoned. "Hmm...That makes sense. You seem worried about something. You know you can talk to me about anything, no matter how small." Valerius assured his daughter.

"It's nothing. It's just....I have been having these dreams about the creation of the supernatural....but they feel so real." Seraphina shivered while talking about her dream. "What if this is related to the prophecy?" Valerius asked. "No, it's not. The prophecy has nothing to do with me." Seraphina stated, adamant.

Valerius looked at Seraphina with a knowing look. He knew his daughter was as stubborn as her Grandfather. He couldn't do anything right now if Sera was adamant. "Let's head back inside." Valerius said to Sera.

✧✧✧

As they were headed inside, they saw Nikolai sitting in the front steps as he sharpened his sword. "Sometimes I really feel jealous of the witch royal family, they can just conjure up swords and don't have to worry about sharpening or carrying a heavy sword around." Nik complained. Sera and Valerius rolled their eyes at Nik's antics, while hiding their smiles. Valerius tapped the back of Nik's head. "Haven't I taught Sera and you to respect your swords?"

"Sorry." Nik said while rubbing the back of his head. "I taught you both to fight with swords, so you better respect your sword," said Valerius. "Of course Uncle. I was just joking," Nik replied with a laugh.

✧✧✧

In the evening, Seraphina was checking up on the transportation potions she had in stock. They could be used to teleport to the city centre park. Most of the teleportation brews which were sold in the market would teleport the one who drinks it to a pre-decided destination, mostly popular spots in the city. Although witches don't like interaction with other kinds, they do sell potions to other kinds as it is a good source of income. There were other kinds of potions which were available in the market.

Seraphina was checking if she had enough in case they needed a quick escape when they go to the location where they have kept the princess if Sylvia is able to find the place. She had enough potions for around ten people. Sera didn't really use these potions on solo missions, she had been gifted a teleportation ring by her Grandmother for her twentieth birthday, which would bring her back to the office in Celestine from any location.

✧✧✧

In the night, Seraphina was in the kitchen. She enjoyed a cup of tea at night. She poured water into the mug and she heated it up while she held it. Adding the tea bag to the water, she started sipping the tea.

She was enjoying the hot tea, when Nik entered the kitchen and said, "Sylvia just called. She found the hunter's base. She is calling us to meet her at Celestine."

1654 words