_"Hey... hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up..."

That voice was enough to pull Emily out of her not-so-restorative sleep, and she tiredly opened her eyes to see Heisenberg standing in front of her and gently shaking her shoulder. Looking around, she remembered where they were. In one of the waiting rooms at the Toronto airport, on these seats rather uncomfortable and not made to sleep there.

_"They just announced our plane, we have to go. Take your suitcase." Heisenberg added.

_"I know. And also, stop with your nicknames, ok? My name is Emily." replied the young woman, rubbing her eyes and getting up, taking her father's sealed suitcase.

_"My apologies, princess. I didn't mean to offend you." Karl chuckled softly, causing Emily to huff and roll her eyes.

Walking side by side amid the throngs of people, tourists and locals alike, all waiting for their various planes, Karl and Emily headed unnoticed toward the boarding area of the flight heading for Romania, country as close as possible to the village of the lords. Dressed in a black hooded jacket, Emily was a little nervous but did everything to hide it and not look suspicious. At least the seizures related to her power had faded and she had managed to get used to this new feeling a little. Heisenberg was rather serene, but still showed a certain annoyance at not being allowed to smoke in the airport. They were able to pass the security checks but due to the metal that made up part of his body, Heisenberg had to invent the excuse that he had a prosthesis when his body rang the metal detector. And luckily for Emily, nothing was detected in her suitcase. His father had surely foreseen this scenario and took precautions. The duo crossed the aisle leading to the plane leaving for Romania and settled into the back seats, only having to wait for the time of departure while the hostesses greeted the other passengers boarding one by one. on board. Emily was still rubbing her hands a little nervously as she sat next to the porthole and looked out briefly, a fine rain having begun to fall. Sitting next to her, Karl remained calm but nonetheless on guard, watching each arriving passenger almost as if expecting an ambush from the men searching for them.

_"Tell me more." Emily asked then, breaking the silence that had settled between them for long minutes.

_"About what?" said Heisenberg looking at her.

_"These Lords, of which you yourself are a part." Emily added with an insistent look.

Karl sighed at first, not wanting to talk about it but knew she wouldn't give up as long as he was talking. He first checked that no one could hear and spoke as quietly as possible, not wanting to draw attention to them.

_"In the past, the valley and the village were ruled by the first five lords: Berengario, Cesare, Gugliemo, Nichola and Ivar. They were the founders of our houses: Heisenberg, Dimitrescu, Beneviento, Moreau and Derune. These five lords had discovered a power in a cave under the village: the Megamycete. Aware of the danger it represented, they sealed it in order to protect their people, but also the world. But over the generations, the Megamycete became a mere myth and the mission of the lords was lost in the oblivion, and little by little, the Megamycete freed itself from its prison and fed on the inhabitants of the village, leaving only desolation and death in its path..."

Emily listened without missing a word and almost felt like she was hearing a legend worthy of one only read in great fantasy books, only this time it was in the real world. Karl continued his explanation, his gaze and voice darkening as he progressed through the story.

_"Then one day, this damn power was discovered by this woman, Miranda, who saw in this thing the way to bring her daughter back to life. But the Megamycete saw in Miranda only a new pawn which he could use in order to to spread her influence over the world. Miranda, driven by her madness, allowed herself to be infected, convinced that by acquiring more power she would achieve her ends. But she knew that she lacked one thing: the blood of the lords. Thus, she found the descendants of the five lords: Moi, Alcina Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Salvatore Moreau and Alice Derune. Miranda infected us with this damn parasite, turning us into monsters and making us her lieutenants. The others seemed won over to her cause, but I... she hadn't succeeded in completely indoctrinating me, and little by little, I knew what she had done to me, and I could never forgive her. I wasn't the only one... Over time, Alice Derune managed to guess Miranda's true motivation, and chose to flee, leaving us behind. Alice's disappearance was however a blow for Miranda, because she needed the blood of all the descendants in order to carry out her plan... Until the day when another Derune arrived in the village..."

_"Mathias..." Emily whispered then, guessing who was the Derune Heisenberg was talking about.

_ "Yeah." Karl replied, looking at her darkly and nodding.

Emily was silent for a moment, sitting in her seat and having to process all the information she had just heard but also accept it as it seemed so surreal as a fantasy tale. However, something puzzled her in this whole story.

_"But how... How did my father know of your existence?" she asked.

_"No idea." Karl growled. "I guess we'll find it in this suitcase, if we know how to open it, and also this usb key... But one thing is certain: even if that bitch Miranda is dead, nothing can erase what she made us."

With that, in real pent-up anger, Heisenberg pulled back one side of his shirt slightly, revealing to Emily, at chest level, the beginning of what was a large scar, as if he had undergone some monstrous surgery. The young woman was baffled, even horrified by this but avoided attracting the attention of the other people on the plane.

_"I...it's really terrible...I'm so sorry for you, Heisenberg." Emily said sincerely.

_"What's done is done, no need to feel sorry for it." Karl growled softly, looking away.

Again that rude attitude of his own that made Emily annoyed, but on the other hand, she was getting used to it and knew he wouldn't change. Even if he didn't want her pity, she could tell from his withdrawn, angry and distant expression that his past continued to haunt him. She dared not imagine what her transformation must have been like at the hands of a madwoman like this Miranda must have been. Had it been painful, like that sensation she had felt with her own power? Probably. Not wanting to talk any more, Heisenberg adjusted the back of his seat, leaning back a little, then settled down and covered his eyes with his hat.

_"I'm going to get some sleep. The trip will be long. And I don't want to be disturbed, ok, so no more questions." Karl pointed clearly.

_"Okay. Have a good nap, Grumpy." Emily huffed, at which Karl sneered before starting his nap.

Emily glanced at him again, but decided to stay silent as she waited for the plane to leave. Outside, the rain had intensified a bit. Emily continued to think about everything Heisenberg had just told her, about these lords... And her father, how the hell did he know them? So many unanswered questions were swirling around in his head. Pensively, she looked at her hands, still feeling this power circulating in her... And this suitcase that her father had entrusted to her... What could it possibly contain? Unfortunately, she had no way to open it at the moment. Not wanting to give herself a terrible headache from thinking about too many fuzzy things at once, Emily decided to be patient. Once on the other side of the ocean, in Europe, perhaps she will manage to find the answers she seeks and discover the truth.

************

In this new morning which was rising over the village and the valley, Mathias had woken up early, the night still being present outside through the curtains in front of the window. He looked at the clock in the bedroom which showed nearly 5:30 am. He winced a little, but still didn't want to sleep anymore. Strange, he had never been such a light sleeper.

Turning his gaze to his left, he saw Alcina, who was still asleep, dressed in her large white silk dressing gown. Mathias smiled watching her sleep, and was also happy that she could find some rest in such dark and difficult times for her. He thought of Bela, Cassandra and Donna, and hoped they were all alive. He decided to let his wife sleep, coming very gently to place a kiss on her cheek and left the large four-poster double bed without waking her. Dressed only in his trousers, Mathias went to the chest of drawers where he recovered and dressed in his lord's outfit: white shirt, black frock coat, black leather mittens and black boots. He tied his hair in a ponytail and splashed some water on his face. He wrote a note for Alcina when she woke up, saying he was away from the castle but would be back shortly. She would understand, he knew.

Now dressed and ready, Mathias left the apartments he shared with Alcina and walked silently through the grand, silent and overwhelming corridors of the castle, until he emerged outside and went towards the stables where were the few horses belonging to the couple. The undead in patched clothes who were in charge of tending the horses were always there, never needing rest, three of them busy gathering straw with pitchforks and others cleaning horses with brushes. When Mathias came, the undead creatures emitted vague guttural groans and parted to let him pass.

Mathias took one of the horses, which he saddled and prepared to go out. Once on horseback, the young Lord Derune left the castle grounds through the gate and began galloping through the deserted streets and ruined houses of the village. A few rare lycans were visible, as sentinels on a few house roofs or in the alleys feeding on animals they had hunted. In the sky, the sun was just beginning to show itself from behind the distant mountain range that encircled the valley and offered a most magnificent panorama. Despite the spring, it was still very cold in the area, but with his mutant condition and due to his fire-related power in his blood, Mathias feared low temperatures much less now and would endure cold that would paralyze an ordinary human.

Mathias galloped and then left the perimeter of the village and entered the sleeping forest, moving away until the village and the castle were no longer in sight. The thickness of the trees and the vegetation, as well as the slightly irregular relief made the progression difficult. It was through this forest that Mathias arrived in the village for the first time, he remembered it as if it were yesterday, except that now he was no longer afraid, even knowing that the forest was inhabited by some lycans . After several minutes of crossing, Mathias finally arrived at the place where he wanted to go. Several meters from him, in the middle of a sparse space and at the foot of a cliff, was the rusty and dirty carcass of an overturned bus. This bus, Mathias knew it very well, because it was in this same vehicle that he was in the accident that occurred in the past, and of which he was the only survivor. Every year on the same date, Mathias came here, as a personal need, and each time the sight of this carcass of a bus made his heart quiver, knowing that it was from there that his life had completely changed.

Mathias, still without saying a word, dismounted from his horse and let him graze on a few shoots of grass as he approached the old bus eaten away by the humidity and the weather. Standing straight, the young lord did not smile and made a moment of silence, not only for all the innocent people who had perished that day in the accident, but also for his old life, which with certain aspects he did not regret. All his human life, he had only been a failed writer, had never had many friends and even had a certain distaste for the human species, not to the point of hating it and wanting to exterminate, but he had never felt like one of them. And today it was even more the case, but again, no regrets.

Once the moment of silence was over, Mathias returned to his horse, ready to return to the castle and see Alcina who was surely awake now and whom he didn't want to keep waiting too long.

_"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

As he was about to get back in the saddle, Mathias was surprised by this howl which made him turn around. It was a woman's voice, human, and it came from the west, not far from there. It was a cry of distress, imbued with great terror. More than intrigued, Mathias walked quickly in the direction of the cry, pushing aside the branches in his path.

_"NO! LEAVE ME! HELP!"

With these other howls came other sounds, much more monstrous and bestial, which Mathias recognized immediately. Lycans. The young man quickened his pace and finally pushing aside yet another bush, discovered what was happening.

A group of five lycans were there, all with their same ugly faces, dirty hair, filthy jaws and armed with machetes, old pickaxes or axes. They were agitated, growling and roaring at all costs, and Mathias understood very quickly why. Trapped at the base of a tree and surrounded by the creatures, was a young and beautiful woman looking between twenty and twenty-five years old. She had black-brown hair tied in a ponytail and had blue-gray eyes. She was dressed rather old-fashioned, with a white shirt and a tan jacket over it, and a long dark brown skirt that came down to her ankles. She looked almost peasant.

The poor young woman was in tears, her face contorted in terror as she tried in vain to keep the lycans at bay with a miserable knife in her hand, and a pile of wood knocked over at her feet. But the monsters were completely unintimidated by the knife and approached closer and closer, their eyes gleaming with hunger and their jaws vomiting with saliva at the thought of devouring this new prey. The young woman, resigning herself to her fate, closed her eyes and seemed to pray that her death would be quick and painless.

_"ENOUGH!" suddenly shouted Mathias, advancing out of the thickets and coming into view of all.

Initially intrigued by the voice, the lycans instantly calmed down and backed away, lowering their heads as Lord Derune advanced towards them, glaring at them with a stern eye ordering them to step back and do no harm. to that person. The young woman had opened her eyes again, the traces of tears still wet on her cheeks and was more than troubled to see this young man she did not know, having appeared out of nowhere and who above all had managed to push the creatures back simply with an order. Once he was sure that the lycans would not try anything without his agreement, Mathias turned his gaze towards her. He wanted to take a step forward and held out his hand, but still in the grip of stress, the woman gasped and raised her knife at him like a reflex.

_"Relax, I mean you no harm." Mathias said, making a sign to her that everything was fine and to lower the knife.

Breath and hand still shaking, the woman hesitated but decided to obey, lowering the knife and still glancing still frightened at the lycans, who nevertheless remained behind and did not move.

_"I... thank you... I owe you my life." she said softly in her trembling voice.

_"Don't worry, they won't do anything to you while I'm here." replied Mathias to reassure her. "Besides, I'm rather surprised to see a human around here... Who are you and what are you doing here?"

It was a good question, indeed. The last humans Mathias had seen in the village were that gang of unscrupulous thieves he and Alcina had slaughtered for trespassing on the estate. But this young woman really didn't look like a criminal and was obviously not prepared for it. Mathias gave him a few seconds to catch his breath and countenance.

_"I... My name is Elena. Elena Lupu." she said humbly. "I was born in the village and lived there all my life with my father, Leonardo. We all lived prosperously, under the protection of Mother Miranda, but one day these creatures appeared and massacred everyone. My father and I managed to escape into the forest, but he was mortally wounded by one of his monsters and he sacrificed himself to allow me to escape. Since then, I have been living here, alone deep in the forest.. . I was out to get some wood when this group of monsters surprised me and trapped me."

A resident of the village? Mathias was surprised, because he was convinced that they were all dead. When he first arrived at the village, he hadn't seen any human villagers. So she had survived all this time, alone in the forest? Mathias admired such a force for survival.

_"Well, you can congratulate yourself for having survived so long like this. I would have been unable to do so, I think." Mathias said.

Elena managed to smile a little at the compliment.

_"Thank you... and pardon me for this audacity but... who are you, and how is it that these monsters submit to you so easily?"

_"My name is Mathias Derune."

At the mention of her last name, Elena rolled her eyes and gasped, as if she had seen a ghost. Immediately and to Mathias' incomprehension, she fell on her knees in front of him, head bowed and imploring him.

_"Forgive me, my lord, I didn't mean to be so bold. Please spare my life!"

Mathias was at first confused at first, not understanding, then easily guessed that this fear of the lords was surely due to Miranda and the reign of terror she had established in the village. Like them, Elena knew and feared the lords for their power, that was obvious. However, Mathias had caused great changes within the valley, and it was not for nothing. If he had become a lord, he had decided not to reign by cruelty and terror. He gently took Elena by the shoulders, rising her up on her feet and forcing her, no brutally, to look him in the eyes.

_"You have nothing to apologize for, Elena." Mathias said. "Miranda was a false goddess who used you and all the village, but that time is over, forever. I can assure you that under the new rule that I and Lady Dimitrescu have established, no innocent life can be wasted. From this day, Elena, consider yourself under my protection."

Elena didn't seem to believe him at first, but she soon saw that he was more than sincere. It wasn't a daydream either. More than relieved, Elena shed a tear of joy and knelt down again, folding her hands together as if to pray.

_"Thank you, Lord Derune. Be blessed." she says.

_"Please don't do this." asked Mathias humbly. "I'm not a god. Just a man."

Elena was very surprised to see such a humble lord like him, but she decided to respect his request and nodded, promising not to do so again. She smiled shyly, which made her even cuter and Mathias smiled back. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the lycans to return to the forest and find another prey to feed on. The creatures, although frustrated, obeyed and disappeared between the trees. Mathias then extended his hand to Elena.

_"Come. You'll be safe where I'm taking you." he said frankly.

A little less than an hour later, Mathias was back, and this time not alone. Knowing that her husband had returned, Alcina Dimitrescu, dressed in her long ivory-colored dress and her large hat, had come to the great hall of the castle where he was waiting for her with Elena. Mathias explained to Alcina what had happened in the forest while Elena stood back very shyly, not daring to move or look the countess in the eye.

_"You understand now. I couldn't let her be eaten by the lycans." Mathias said.

Alcina sighed softly, but finally smiled at the young man and leaned in to kiss him.

_"Knowing you very well, I would have been disappointed otherwise, my beloved." she said.

Mathias smiled at his wife, having no doubt that she would understand.

_"If she goes back to living outside, Elena won't survive." Mathias explained. "That's why I suggest that she can live at the castle and work for us. However, I will ask you not to turn her into an undead. I will pass on instructions to the creatures that Elena should not be considered an intruder."

Alcina first listened to Mathias, then walked over to Elena to examine her better. The young woman was very intimidated to see the Countess Dimitrescu standing right in front of her.

_"My lady, it is an honor." said Elena very humbly.

But Alcina ignored her and continued to watch her, walking slowly around her, occasionally touching her hair, her face, checking her complexion, the color of her eyes.

_"Hmm... As you wish, my love, I trust you." Lady Dimitrescu finally replied. "She seems vigorous indeed and could make a good servant."

Mathias thanked Alcina with a look and Elena seemed more than relieved to know that she wouldn't end up like one of those zombies she had seen on her way to the castle. She bowed respectfully to the couple.

_"I thank you, my lords. I promise you that I will not disappoint you."