I did not understand anything anymore. Radu? Why? I was feeling scared, shocked, and incredibly cold.

My body felt heavy and lifeless, and even though I wanted to go back to my bed and hide under the covers, my feet wouldn't listen to me. I only made it as far as the library's tiny fireplace. Then my legs gave way, and I collapsed in a heap in front of it, my blanket pooling around me like spilt quicksilver. Sitting on the cold stone floor, shivering, I hugged my knees and curled up around myself, trying to look as small as possible. To disappear.

My fear was gone now, as suddenly as it had come, along with all of my other sensations. And for a while, I couldn't feel anything. I was empty, drained of all emotions, exactly like once I had been drained of my blood, my life.

It was him, he did it. Radu.

I didn't hear him coming, but suddenly Vlad was there, kneeling in front of me, cupping my face in his cool hands. His lips were moving, but I couldn't hear his words, I was in a bubble where no one could reach me.

Watching his beautiful face, his loving, now frightened eyes, I realised that my behaviour was the reason for his anxiety. I was scaring him. Taking a deep breath as if coming up from underwater, I forced myself to start thinking again. Snap out of it! I screamed at myself mentally, and then his voice finally reached me.

"Samara, what happened?" he demanded, desperation seeping through his voice. "Talk to me, please!"

I think I've just seen the man who killed me once, that's all. But instead of telling him this, I only shook my head.

According to Katerina, my killer had never been caught, they had only found my lifeless body at the edge of the forest. I hadn't seen the man in the face, I had no proof, I couldn't really be sure... or could I? His voice, the arrogant tone he used every time he spoke... I shuddered. He was Vlad's brother, the man I was supposed to marry once. Maybe it's my fault, my refusal, that made him become so cold and cruel, I thought.

How could I accuse Radu, now, of something that had happened some six hundred years ago? A what? Just the idea sounded crazy. Six hundred years. I laughed, then started crying, scared, desperate, frustrated, and helpless tears rolling down my cheeks. Great, a fit of hysterics is exactly what I need now.

Vlad pulled me on his lap and wrapped his arms around me, whispering small, soothing words. "I'm here Samara, you are safe. Please don't cry," he said after a long while. Gradually, his voice worked its magic on me, and my tears and sobs subsided.

I kissed him, a wordless thank you for his love and understanding, and even managed to smile. He smiled back, looking relieved.

"What happened?" he repeated his question.

"I had a bad dream. I came here to look for you and I saw... your brother," I said, unable to pronounce his name. "I thought he had left..."

"Me, too. I had told him to leave," Vlad said. "Did he scare you? Did you hear what he said?" he asked, alarmed.

Some of Radu's cruel words came back to me, making the short hair on my arms and neck stand erect. I despised the man.

"Only a few words," I said, hating myself for lying to him. But I didn't want him to worry.

Vlad didn't look convinced but didn't press the subject.

"How are you feeling? Do you want to lay down?" he asked, searching my eyes for answers.

I shook my head no. If I went to bed now, I would only think about it again. I stood up to show him that I was fine.

He stood, too, and said, "Let's get you dressed then. I want to show you something."

"What's wrong with this blanket, hmm?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood and nearly stumbling over it as I took a step to come closer to him.

Vlad only shook his head, then grabbed my hand and led me back towards my chamber.

I washed my teary face quickly in the basin, and one look in the mirror above confirmed my suspicions. I was a mess, my eyes red and puffy. I had never cried as much as since my coming back here. Tears had never been my thing.

Vlad was waiting for me patiently, thoughtful, and silent, and our eyes met in the mirror. I smiled again, hoping to persuade him that I was alright, knowing I did not succeed the instant he spoke again.

"Go choose your dress, my love. Call me if you need anything," he said, looking downcast as he walked towards the fireplace. I can't let him see me cry again!

I walked in my boudoir, and guided by the faint light of the dying fire on its hearth, I chose a white and grey, fur-lined gown, looking a lot like the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Seeing the dress made me feel better, it would be like wearing my favourite blanket all day long. I slipped it on fast, and only then I noticed the infinity of pearl buttons along its back. There was no way I could close those alone. Leaving them undone, I organised my hair in a simple braid, then put on a pair of shoes, and joined Vlad in the chamber.

I saw his eyes blaze when he looked at me. The corners of his mouth lifted in a half smile, and I realised he knew the dress better than I did even as I felt him suddenly standing behind me, pushing my braid gently over my left shoulder. This lightest of touches sent shivers down my spine, and I was happy that he couldn't see my blush. It was completely unnecessary to ask, pointing to the buttons, "Would you mind...?" I asked anyway, just to break the silence.

Still speechless, he started buttoning my dress with his long fingers, sending pleasant sparkles through my whole body every time he touched me. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, as his hands made their way up, ever so slowly. It was amazing how he was making me feel. Next to him, for the first time ever, I was... complete. As if I finally found the half of my soul I hadn't known I was missing. I wished to stay here with him for the rest of my life.

How long would that be, hmm? How much time before you grow old and die next to this immortal prince? The thought came unbidden, shattering the magic of the moment.

Pushing the obnoxious idea aside, for later, I concentrated on my racing heart and my skin, burning pleasantly from his touch. How could he make me feel like that?

William, the only boyfriend I had ever had, a man who had left me a month or so ago for another woman, had never made me feel like this. We had stayed nearly two years together, but I wasn't even a little sad when he left, never regretting that our relationship was over. I've never really loved William, I realised. Not like this, anyway.

Where did this come from?! I noticed how my brain sometimes, often, managed to produce a wrong memory in a wrong moment. I sighed deeply, not happy with myself at all.

Vlad turned me around then and placed a warm, gentle kiss on my lips, making me forget all of my previous thoughts.

"Come," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the corridor again, "quick, or we will be too late."

I had no idea where he was taking me, but I would follow him anywhere.

He opened the mysterious, half hidden door leading to the dusty spiral staircase, now illuminated by candles. We made our way up the narrow stone steps in the warm, flickering glow. The stairs seemed to be infinite, and I was quite out of breath when we reached another room, a small, dark chamber in the castle's highest tower.

I let go of his hand, turning around, trying to see something in the near complete, pre-dawn darkness. There was no fire, and it was freezing cold, but I was happy to be here.

Ever since I came to this castle as a young, scared girl, this used to be my sanctuary. A place to stay alone, away from everybody else, when I felt like running away at the very beginning. I smiled when I remembered how it changed later into our secret spot, the place where we first kissed. And the uncountable sunrises we watched from here, dreaming about the happy future that was taken away from us by the cruel fate.

That's why we are here, I realised, finding my way to the window facing the east in the dark. He brought me up here to watch another sunrise.

Vlad joined me by the window. He held me leaning back against his chest, feeling warm, protected, and utterly happy. Resting his chin on top of my head, he observed the brightening sky beyond the glass.

"Do you remember?" he whispered, and I nodded silently, trying to control my crazy emotions, scared that if I tried to speak, I would start crying again.

We stood in silence, waiting, and then it was there. A whisper of a sunrise far in the east, above the tall hills of the Carpathians. The deep blue curtain of the night parted to let the first, shy, pastel coloured rays through to caress, warm up, and slowly draw and define the breathtaking landscape that lay beneath. I could hear the chirping of birds welcoming the sunshine, singing bravely in the frosty morning, and noticed the soft sprinkling of snow on the trees of the thickset forest and the frozen grass of the sloping meadows.

Winter was as quick to come as it had always been in this place, my home.

And in that moment, I was ecstatic to be back. There was nothing I wanted more than to stay here, with Vlad, forever.

I turned towards him, and our eyes met, his green boring into my grey, taking my breath away.

"I love you," I whispered. "You can't imagine how much..."

He cupped my face, bringing me closer, and we kissed, a long, passionate, insatiable kiss, leaving me unsure on my feet, craving more.

"I love you, too," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine, his voice laced with that profound, sudden sadness that was becoming so familiar to me.

"Don't even think about it," I whispered, sure of what was on his mind. "I'm not leaving you again."

Never.