I would give anything for a shower, I mused as I walked towards my room and much to my surprise found just what I needed-- another steaming bath ready. It wasn't as big as the one from the previous night, but it was definitely better than nothing.

I smiled as I shed my blanket and sank into the warm water, careful not to get my hair wet this time, knowing that I had to thank Vlad for this. He knew me so well.

I washed quickly and even got dressed on my own, noticing that the light coming in from outside was not as annoying to my eyes anymore, before Katerina appeared with my breakfast.

"I see you are finally up," she offered in lieu of a greeting, making me laugh.

"Oh Katerina, always so proper... I missed you, you know?"

I watched her smile at me as she laid my food on the small table by the window and urged me to start eating, before she disappeared towards Vlad's chamber, surely to summon her small army of maids to clean and tidy up.

She had promised that she would tell me everything she could, but as I watched her moving around my room, speechless, when she returned, I knew I would just have to pull everything out of her.

But first I needed to see Shadow. The presence of my wolf always made me feel better, and bolder. I closed my eyes, concentrating on my latest memory of him and in no time we heard a couple of startled squalls from the direction of Vlad's chamber, where he must have found an open door and got in, surprising the maids at work. A few moments later he sat at my feet, licking my hands.

"Did you call him, my lady? Well done. Your mother had the same ability..." Katerina said, stopping in her tracks, as if struck by a sudden memory.

"Don't you have this ability, too?" I asked, not knowing where to start my interrogation.

"No. I can glimpse the future, and do a few other tricks, but I can't summon and tame wild beasts," she said, smiling at me.

She walked towards the empty chair placed across the table from me and sat down, looking in my eyes.

"I know what you are doing, and I think you are right, this is the best way. Little by little, one thing at a time... There are too many things I should tell you and I don't know where to start. Ask what you want to know now."

"The last time, Katerina, why didn't you tell me anything?" I asked, my hands buried deeply in the wolf's fur for comfort, still surprised by her sudden will to talk. She hadn't been like this before.

"Because when you arrived the other time, after all those years, you remembered nothing and no one, apart from your feelings for Lord Vlad. You would not understand anything straight away. When you began to get your first glimpses of the past, you had to cope with your husband's new reality, things that happened in his life after you had left, and did not expect to find-- Lady Jusztyna, their son... And later... As I said, sometimes I can glimpse the future. I knew what was about to pass and could not prevent it-- that's the worst thing about my skill. Knowing that you were with child, and that Lord Vlad would not be here when the portal opened, there was no point to talk, to tell you that he might leave this place, if he leaves it with you. I knew that the young lord would take you back into your other world, and under the circumstances it was the safest thing to do. I let them take you to safety and hid, knowing that no one would be here to help me when Lord Rareş would come to look for the two of us."

"Where did you go?"

"Can you believe that I spent most of the time in the mill, under the Council's very eyes? You can't imagine how many times they searched the castle and even the village..."

"But... why the mill?" I asked, remembering her fondness of the miller, Cook, his mother, and Clara, his daughter.

She took a deep breath as if she was about to explain, then changed her mind. "That is a long story to recount over breakfast. Your Guard is waiting for you impatiently outside. We will talk when you have more time."

She stood up, thus ending our conversation. But she was right, poor Lucas had been waiting in the corridor long enough.

"Thank you, Katerina. Would you let him come in please?"

"Of course," she said, shuffling towards the door and inviting him inside.

"Samara! Finally!" He called, then, noticing Katerina's scowl, bowed tentatively, lips twitching with a barely suppressed smile, "Good morning, Princess."

I laughed, making Katerina scowl at me this time.

"Come on, sit down." I prompted him the moment Katerina walked towards Vlad's chamber again to supervise her minions, leaving us alone. "Have you eaten?"

"I'm still on blood only, since the transition. It's just you who is different. Is it because you are part transcendental, like Uncle said?"

"I don't know if that is the right word but yes, that's what they think. Are you all right? Are you happy here? Where did you sleep?" I blurted out, submerging him with questions.

"This is such a cool place, Samara." He grinned. "I have a chamber at the end of this corridor, next to your stepson's. He is a great guy. They are all so friendly. Is there any chance we can stay?"

"No, but Katerina says we can always visit. Vlad said that you two had talked... thank you, Lucas."

At the mention of Vlad's name he became uncharacteristically serious.

"Your husband is... something else."

"What do you mean?" I asked, alarmed by the idea that my husband and my best friend might not get on well together.

"I really like him, he's... admirable," Lucas said finally, "but he can be a little intense sometimes. Just now he told me off for putting you in danger by teaching you to fight... You should have heard him, he spoke as if the sun would not rise tomorrow, if you got a sword scratch during our practice today!"

The look he gave me made me laugh.

"I'm not kidding, Samara!"

"I know. Now, can we actually go out and do some practice? I'm not allowed to leave the castle without him, but the herb garden will be great for our exercise..."

It was his turn to laugh. "Really? You can't leave..."

"Lucas, just... be quiet. Don't you forget that we are in a world frozen in the medievals here. It's a huge thing that he lets me train with you at all!"

"Ok, fine," he said, standing up and raising his hands in mock surrender. "Just give me some time to adjust. I'll behave, I promise."

"Fine. Let's go then." I said, putting on the coat Katerina had prepared for me.

Then we left my chamber, trailed by Shadow.

Yet again, I felt guilty for all the Guards and Knights standing still, or pacing along the corridors. They fare definitely better when you are not at home, princess... My subconscious mocked me as I returned all the polite greetings.

Avoiding the Great Hall from where I could hear several loud and excited voices I did not recognize spilling into the corridor, I led Lucas towards the kitchen, hoping to see Cook.

"My lady, so you are finally back," the old woman whispered in my ear as she embraced me, then let go of me quickly to wipe her tears on her white apron. "We missed you, Lord Vlad more than anyone else..."

"I missed you all too," I said, approaching Clara who was sitting by the hearth next to the rest of my sleeping wolves, little Ioan in her arms.

"Where is Young Vlad?" I asked, looking at Shadow who now joined his family. I somehow guessed that Junior would never leave Clara and Ioan alone for too long.

"Busy, like your husband," she replied wearily, looking up at me. "The Council is gathering again..."

"You... mustn't worry, Clara, they won't let them do anything..." I shivered, unable to finish my line as I remembered my promise given to Vlad. I would have to talk to Rareş soon. "Do you need my help?" I asked, changing the subject quickly, looking between Clara and Cook.

"Hmm... not right now, my lady. Maybe later?" Cook replied while Clara shook her head.

"All right. So we will just be in the garden," I said, motioning to Lucas to follow me towards the door leading to the herb garden.

There was a blinding whiteness created by heaps of snow waiting for us outside. I had to close my eyes and reopen them slowly before I got used to it. The bright light was not exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either.

"Here we are." I said. The garden was bigger than the one we had had in Barnes. Its high walls protecting it from the cold wind I could hear blowing beyond, made it a perfect spot for us. "So, what do we do today?"

"We don't have swords, I forgot to ask your husband where he keeps them." Lucas said, looking at me pleadingly, his eyes begging me not to laugh, telling me that it was more like he did not dare to ask him, rather than anything else. "Maybe you could ask him before our next practice?"

"Fine, I will." I said, trying to suppress a smile. He didn't feel quite relaxed about Vlad yet, it was obvious.

"We could continue with self-defence..."

"... or you could remind me how to use this." I said, pulling Andrei's knife from my bodice where I had put it after I got dressed in the morning.

"Wow. That's a beautiful knife." Lucas said, taking it from me and letting his fingers caress the blue stones set in its hilt, making me shiver. He noticed, and looked at me inquiringly.

I shook my head, "Not now Lucas, please."

"Okay. So, what do you remember about fighting with knives?" He asked, handing my knife back to me and pulling out his own from under his cloak, making me realize for the first time that even though the Guards did not carry swords, they were not entirely unarmed.

"You told me not to freak out at the sight of blood."

"Yes, I said that. Even though a vampire would not bleed as profusely as a human, there would still be a lot of blood. What else?" He spoke while he started to circle around me, as if he was about to attack at any moment.

"And," I added, trying to focus on both my words and his moves at the same time as I turned after him, "you said that if I only have a knife, I should let the opponent get close to me before drawing it, as that's the only way it would give me an advantage against a sword."

"Well done!" He said, launching at me, then withdrawing in a blur. "And now you have a new power, too, Samara, don't forget your speed... Try!"

He launched at me again but this time, forcing myself to react faster, I grabbed his wrist and held it. "Cool." He admitted, making me smile.

"My lady, your husband requires your presence at lunch." A Guard I had never met before appeared in the doorway some time later. "I am to take you to the Great Hall, and Master Lucas as well," he added with a deep bow in our direction.

It was exciting to spend some time with Vlad as he had made me believe that I would not see him before dinner, but to have lunch with the members of the Council...

I was trying to make up an excuse as we followed the Guard into the kitchen, when Lucas disturbed my thoughts, "Why me, too? What have I done?"

That made me laugh. "Lucas, just calm down. This is not a punishment, it's supposed to be an honour." Even as I said it I realized that it actually felt like a punishment even to me; meeting the Council always did. "You are my friend and we go together." I added.

"I'm to join them too, Lady Samara. They want us all." Clara said, approaching us, her smile struggling to banish the worried lines from between her eyes. She passed her baby to one of the maids who appeared at her side and sighed, "Come on then, let's not make them wait for us..."

I took my coat off and smoothed my dress and hair quickly, there was no time to go back up to my chamber and get changed. Clara was wearing her everyday dress too-- apparently it wasn't an official affair.

Lucas offered me his arm and I accepted it, leaning into him for comfort, then the three of us followed the Guard into the corridor.