Dear Journal,
              I return to the place where it all began and the woman that started it all.

      - 𝓔. 𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓮
                (1605)

"I hope I did not upset you earlier." Syrus said.

It was now the beginning of nightfall and they were both exiting the castle grounds. Elias had found Syrus still leaning against the rails of the staircase, drinking wine as he eavesdropped on his and Emma's conversation.

He had informed him that they were heading to the cemetery sooner than intended since he wanted to investigate something in the graveyard. Now, they enjoyed the cool air of dusk as they made their way towards the forest while following the dirt track road.

Elias also thought he would visit Genevieve. Though he did not know where she was buried, he knew that she was there, somewhere beneath the earth and he wanted to feel closer to her. At first, he had promised to tear the cemetery apart to find her corpse but it was only now that he realized how emotionally charged that statement had been. He was beginning to move on and find love elsewhere but his conscience would not allow him if he did not atleast attempt to wish her a proper goodbye.

"It is fine," Elias glanced at Syrus, "you are young."

Smiling at his sire, Syrus sank into conversation. He told Elias how wonderful wine tasted and how he felt like it curbed his thirst for blood. He boasted of his newfound strength and beauty and how the girls in the castle could not stop staring at him. He thanked him once again for saving his life and dedicated his power to serving him as long as they both lived. His sudden, talkative attitude began to remind Elias of the old him, the innocent boy who wanted to become a knight.

Syrus also went on to admit his concupiscence and his sudden need for coupling. Elias thought this was due to his age as he remembered he was also amorous at sixteen. Infact, he had been like that before he had died. It was the wickedness of man who had turned him bitter and destroyed his need for carnal affection.

"We can go to a brothel later." Elias promised as they walked through the woods of Marewood.

"Really?" Syrus asked, his eyebrows rising suspiciously.

"Yes, Syrus." Elias told him. "You have needs, I understand."

They paused to stare at each other before Syrus's mouth stretched into a fanged smiled. Racing around Elias, Syrus circled him with his superhuman speed before bolting off towards the cemetery.

Chuckling at him, Elias shook his head at the sillyness of his actions. His expression turned serious as the scent of magic dispersed around him, blending in with the air. Elias could not decipher the exact location it was coming from but he regarded the forest like an enemy as he waited for someone or something to show itself.

"Come on, Eli!" Syrus called from ahead, snapping him out of his thoughts as he sped off towards the cemetery.

Entering the graveyard, Elias found Syrus sitting on a tomb, his right foot dangling towards the groung and his left folded up to his chest as he hugged it, staring at the sky. Night had finally fallen and a luminous crescent moon coupled with an asterism of stars posed across the inky blue canvas.

"There is magic in the air." Elias told him as he turned his attention to the old yew tree in the corner of the graveyard.

"Maybe it is us." Syrus joked, his attention never leaving the sky. "What are we looking for?"

Elias could not ignore the fact that nothing about the cemetery had changed since he had died and risen from the dirt. The bent up, rusted old gates provided little to no security from trespassers, the tombs were dilapidated and broken down, chipped away from years of neglect, while the names on the marked graves were eligible as dirt and overgrown weeds took over the headstones. It was nothing short of depressing.

"Clues."  Elias answered simply, walking over to the tree he had taken the spell book and goblet from in order to help Odelina rise again.

The yew tree had barely grown since Elias last saw it. This one in particular was not very tall but its limbs were omnidirectional, stretching towards every corner of the cemetery. Elias carefully ran his fingers along the rough, pitted skin of the tree bark. He could feel energy surging through it, coursing like blood in the veins of men. He knocked on its surface, soon realizing the thick trunk was nothing but a hollowed husk as the sound echoed inside.

"How is this thing still alive?" Elias said lowly.

"Did you know Yew trees are called the tree of death?" Syrus asked as he laid across the tomb, propping his head up with his hand as he watched Elias examine the tree.

"Sir. Alex told me that they contain a highly toxic poison," Syrus explained, "and it is said that the roots run and suck the nourishment from the dead because their flesh is the most noxious that poison could be. They can live for thousands of years, stretching over the graveyard as they cast their shadows over the dead to lay claims to immemorial presences" Syrus said eerily.

"I had no idea you could get so dark." Elias said to him as kicked in the trunk of yew tree to reveal a dark, empty space.

"That's not all, Eli. Druids have been said to associate the yew tree with death rituals. The church even banned their planting altogether." Syrus finished as he climbed down from the tomb, making his way over to Elias.

"It's a good thing we killed those bastards. Look how beautiful it is in the crescent moon light. This place would be doleful without it." Syrus lauded as he watched leaves of the yew tree sway in the evening wind.

"You think I'm beautiful?" A voice rang loudly.

Frowning, Elias's squinted into the dark, empty space of the trunk's husk as Syrus scanned the graveyard for enemies.

"Who is that?" Elias asked to no one in particular, backing away from the tree.

"It is I whose skin you have destroyed but name you have blessed." the voice spoke again.

Drawing close to each other, Elias and Syrus readied themselves for a fight. Their eyes and ears were alert as they tried to determine the direction of the possible attack. They stood like this for a moment before Elias realized there was no one there. It was only them, a plethora of graves, the crescent moon and the light evening wind.

"Stand down, young ones. I have been watching this world for more years than you could imagine and I remember everything about this earth before it became so poisoned, before they made me become poisonous." the voice said again.

Elias began to think that the voice was inside his head. He thought that perhaps, he was imagining it due to his trauma from having being buried and reborn here.

But something about that notion seemed wrong. It could not have been his imagination if Syrus was also alert and in defense mode. The young vampire was frowning as he scanned the graveyard, avidly anticipating an enemy. This was definitely not in his mind and something was indeed speaking to them.

"Who are you?" Elias asked loudly.

"I am Yew," the voice said simply, "and I remember you."

"You remember me? How?" Elias asked. He felt like a mad man as he spoke to the air.

"Bleed on this tree," it said simply, "and let us speak face to face."

Elias did not respond immediately. He could not help but ask himself a profusion of questions. How was this happening? Why would the tree want him to bleed on it? Was it safe to trust a voice that belonged to no one? A voice that belonged to a tree?

Slowly, he left Syrus's side, walking over to the tree's trunk.

"Elias, no." Syrus warned. "Do not listen to whatever is speaking. Does this not seem sketchy to you, Sire?" He reasoned.

"Sketchy? I thought you said I was beautiful." The voice spoke again, causing Syrus to frown.

"Don't you want to know what your maker is planning? The history of it all?" The voice asked, catching Elias's attention.

The tree had said it remembered him. Had it seen Odelina's rise? Had it seen his? It said that it had been around for years so how much had it really seen?

Unable to hold in his curiosity, Elias pressed forward towards the tree, ignoring the warnings of his son.

He slit his wrist with his fingernail to bleed on the tree's bark, jumping away as his blood sizzled against it. The yew tree began to glow, its aura giving off a blue luminescence as the vampires watched it in amazement.

Elias backed away to stand at Syrus's sides once more as inside the empty, hollowed out space began to glow. They could see something forming, drawing energy from the roots, branches and leaves of the yew tree as it absorbed the blue aura that had engulfed it.

The glowing blue form dimmed to darkness as the wind stilled, quieting the night once more. The vampires eyes widened in disbelief when a foot extended from the hollowed space.

"We need to leave." Syrus whispered to his maker as he sped infront of him.

Elias, however, was petrified. He was frozen as he watched the body of a woman emerge from the empty space.

Altleast, it looked like a woman.

She had the body of a human but her skin was brown, pitted and plated like the bark of the yew tree. Her hair defied gravity as it extending into short branches covered by foliage and her body was bare, though there was not much to see as it resembled that of a plant. It was her eyes however, that stood out the most. They were a beautiful hue of blue, reminding Elias of sapphires glowing in the dark.

"It has been a while since I have assumed this form. Thank you, vampire." She said as she approached the men.

"I am Yew," she introduced herself again, "and before you ask again, I am a tree nymph."

"I-I am Elias, this is Syrus." Elias explained, all the while Syrus still stood infront of him.

"Ah, Elias." she said gracefully as she approached the vampires. "Yes, I remember you."

"They buried you here and another. I could hear your thoughts for years beneath the earth." She said again as she stood before them.

"You're the reason," Elias said in disbelief. "You are the reason my consciousness was alive."

"So you do understand." she smiled.

It made sense to him now. Syrus had said the roots of the yew tree ran to suck nourishment from the dead and that they were poisonous. Not to say that this wasn't true, but in addition to that, they were also magical. They had kept his mind alive for several years until Odelina had reached him with whatever method she used. This also explains how her consciousness was alive as well.

"Your maker..." Yew began to say as she approached Syrus, caressing his face with her rough, branch like hands, "...was smart."

"She and her sister's plan worked well." Yew spoke, walking past Syrus as she rubbed a hand across  Elias's trench coat.

"Sister?" Syrus asked.

"The one with the silver hair." She answered.

"Zelda?" Elias asked incredulously.

"I do not know names. I know faces," Yew answered simply, "and I know yours."

Elias was at a loss for words. Zelda and Odelina were sisters?

"How exactly do you know this?" Syrus asked, his tone doubtful.

"I felt it." Yew said simply.

"Would you please stop speaking in parables?" Syrus said, clearly annoyed.

"Hmm." the tree nymph said as she circled back to look at Syrus. "Impatient one."

"He is." Elias said, mentally telling Syrus to stand down. "Please, tell us more." Elias went on.

"Silver hair came to me first. She hid things in my roots. She grazed her skin against my bark and I absorbed her blood. After which, I was nourishing her sister with life beneath the earth for over a 100 years. That is how I knew they were sisters" The tree nymph told them.

"God!" Syrus exclaimed as he too pieced the information together. "They planned it."

"A plan.. perhaps," the tree nymph started, "though I'm not sure. See, I have a sister that is their sister. She lives in Murrfell. Visit her and give her this." Yew said, plucking a leaf from her hair and handing it to Syrus.

"Tell her I give you my blessings." Yew said, walking back to the yew tree.

"Wait!" Elias called. "Why are you helping us?"

She turned to him as she stood at the opening of the destroyed bark.

"You were my favorite corpse. I'd like to give you nourishment again someday, whichever day it is." She smiled before sinking back into the dark space.

"Wait! Does this mean my wife, the other you spoke of. Is she still alive somewhere here?" Elias asked hopeful.

But the tree trunk had already started repairing itself, becoming whole once again as it recovered from Elias's attack, taking Yew with it.

Looking at the leaf in his hand, Syrus heaved a sigh.

"So much for the brothel."

Later that night, Elias and Syrus returned to the castle. Syrus had bid him a goodnight after his disappointment of not indulging in a female body. He told Elias that he would be drinking all night and wallowing in his own self-pity.

Reminding Syrus that they had to leave tomorrow, he dismissed himself as he visited Emma's chambers.

She answered after the third knock, opening the door in only her white, silk nightdress and her hair flowing behind her back into a sea of messy curls. The necklet Elias had given her sparkled around her neck as her face lit up, coupled with an increase in her heart rate as she stared at her visitor.

"May I?" He asked, after which she stepped aside to let him in.

He scanned her room nervously as if he had never seen it before then he faced her again.

"I.." they both said in unison, smiling after the coincidence.

"Ladies first." Elias beckoned.

"Mine can wait." She smiled. "What do you need?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Elias told her.

"What?" She asked.

"I have to go to Murrfell for some business." He told her truthfully.

"Oh, Murrfell. Well that's not too far from here." She said, calming down.

"That is it.." Elias said, "I do not feel as if I am coming back." He said.

"What do you mean?" Emma enquired.

"There is something I must do." Elias said, weighing his mind on telling her.

He was not sure if he should trust her with what he had just found out and if she had already known, he would be angry with her and he did not want that, not tonight when she looked so divine.

"I have this inkling that I will not be back from this journey. Not like this anyways, not in these conditions. But I just had to see you first." He told her.

He could feel fate sewing the threads of his destiny, hinting at his own callings and instructing him secretly on what he should do. He now knew staying in Gandalwell's castle would get him no where and he realized that this was bigger than his revenge. Something was happening and oddly enough, it involved him. He had to find out what it was and if it was an enemy, he had to defeat it. Baltazaar had Zelda to 'protect' him. When the time came, Elias would make sure he rued the day that he took his life.

"Bu-but you cannot leave." Emma begged, walking over to him. "I- will not let you." She said, grabbing his hands.

Elias looked down at their interlocked fingers, moving his vision to her chest, her neck and then her face, watching her as she fumed at him. Half of her bare face was in shadows due to the candle light but he could see that both eyebrows were knitted in protest.

"How are you going to stop me?" He asked lowly.

They stared at each other lovingly, like they had known one another forever. Perhaps, in a sense, they did. She had stood before him several years ago, both fearful and fearless. Now here she was again, radiating the same energy. A monster and a beauty, a villain and a princess. His conscience did well to remind him that he had died for this woman.

Drawing closer to each other, he bent his neck, meeting her as she tipped to reach him. Her hands cupped his neck as he snaked his around her back for an eminent kiss.

As soon as their lips touched, Emma's body was overcome with need. How could she want this man so much like she did right now? How could she trust him with her neck so bare and her blood so enlivened?

Their soft lips grappled for control as their tongues collided, their desires becoming one as they both tried not to devour the other whole. The blood from Emma's lips after being repeatedly grazed by Elias's fangs aroused him even further as he ran his hands down to her arse, gripping it roughly while absorbing her moans. Getting carried away, he sped her over to the door, backing her against the wood as his lips travelled to her neck. The silver burned his fingers as he removed the necklet and dropped it to the floor, inhaling her pheromones and licking the vein in her neck as it rapidly pulsated from their exchange.

Emma began to undress him, removing his trench coat and tossing it to the floor as she braced herself for his bite.

At the last minute, Elias stopped. Bolting away from her as he ran his hands through his long hair.

"What is it? Why do you refuse me?" Emma asked, hurtful.

Elias's eyes were sad. He wanted to love her, to make love to her, but he was afraid. The last woman he loved, it had resulted in her death. The irony being that Emma was the reason for it. He felt guilty and ashamed.

"Let me show you something." he said, taking her hand as be pulled her over to the mirror of her dressing table. He made her sit on her cushioned stool as he pulled away her bedside table to sit behind her, opening his legs so she sat between them.

Elias, being so tall, made it easy for them both to see each other's reflection.

"Do you see it?" He asked her knowingly, watching her gasp at the mirror.

"This is me." He said, as they both looked at the corpse-like reflection.

Emma was beyond disturbed. She turned around to look at him and then at the mirror, wondering how this was possible. His reflection showed that of hollowed out eyes, sunken cheeks and decayed skin but behind her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

"Do you still have want me now?" He asked, dropping his gaze from the mirror as he bent his neck to look at the side of her face. He enjoyed her womanly scent and the smell of the blood rushing through her veins. She could only be described as an enigma in the dim candle light.

For a moment, Emma didn't move. She just watched his reflection and Elias just watched her. He was taken by surprise when she finally spoke.

"Undress me." She said softly.

Elias was startled by her words. Emma had just seen him in his true form, the real him, a dead man in a beautiful shell and yet, she did not falter nor run away. He wondered if he had heard correctly.

Dropping the straps of her night gown hereself, she let it fall onto her laps, both watching each other in the mirror.

Astounded by her sleekly full breast, Elias almost ignored the burn mark below them. She had a branded letter "L" printed onto her skin, dark and bruised as if it were done repeatedly.

"I'm going to ki..." Elias started to say before she interrupted him.

"It is fine." She said lowly. "It was my father's orders." She said simply.

"Which your brother probably ordained." Elias argued. "Why do you still defend him?"

She was quiet as she turned to the side to look at him, the real him, not the illusion in the mirror.

"You already told me you were not alive." She said, giving him a closed lip smile. "I'm relieved that we both aren't perfect."

"I do not know what love is, Elias." She said as she stood up. "But I think... that is how I feel about you."

He watched her as she let her nightgown fall to the floor, bolding revealing her nakedness to him. Elias watched in awe as she walked around him, untying the strings of his linen shirt as she pressed against his back.

He stood up, allowing her to further undress him. Kicking off his boots, so he could remove his hose before kissing her lovingly as her hot body warmed his cold skin while they stumbled backwards onto her bed.

"You could die." He broke away to whisper in her ear.

"Remember what I said in Asphal." She told him, gazing into his eyes as she ached for the fusion of their bodies.

"Then this will hurt." He said before biting into her skin and simultaneously entering her.

She clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle her loud groan. It took a while for her adjust to the foreign feeling but after a moment, the pain was accompanied by pleasure.

Withdrawing his fangs from her neck, Elias kissed her, staining her mouth with her own blood. He did not know how it tasted to her but to him it was exquisite. Her room was soon filled with moans and whimpers as they spent the night in bloody love making, dirtying the sheets but finally cleaning their hearts of their lust.

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Sorry for the wait ❤️