Dana was waiting for them at the castle when they arrived. They landed at the gates and walked to the entrance where she was standing.
“Where have you two been?” She asked them.
“I was just showing Joana how to use her wings,” Derick answered the question for them.
“Excited to be a vampire huh?” she said as she turned to Joana.
“Not at all,” Joana replied. “I want to go back home. Grandma Jen would be worried sick by now!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve talked to Grandma Jen, I told her you’re with me and that you’re safe. Although it did take a bit of brainwashing.”
“You brainwashed my grandma?” Joana said loudly.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine, only that she has no memory of the wedding and the plans you had made the past month. I did the same to all your guests, including your groom. And also, to anyone who could provide information about what happened at the wedding, for a little token of course.”
“Why would you do that?” Joana asked.
“To protect you. I was working all night with the others, wiping memories and making sure that no one had a clue as to whether there was a wedding, or if anything strange happened in it.”
Joana still found it difficult to understand what Dana was saying. Why would she wipe the memory of all her guests? And her husband. She wondered if Andrew was okay.
“Don’t worry, Andrew is fine. I handed him over to his family after removing the venom. Told them he was probably bitten by a snake!” Dana said with a laugh after reading her thoughts.
“He literally was!” Derick said, joining in the comedy. However, Joana was not finding any of this funny.
“Let’s go inside, Joana,” Dana said, noticing her mood. “I know this is a lot for you, you probably thought you would be on your honeymoon by now but here you are, stuck in a dark castle with two vampires.”
Joana didn’t know if Dana was trying to make her feel better or feel worse, but as she thought of what Dana said, she definitely felt worse.
They entered the castle and went into the library, then took their seats at the several chairs and tables arranged there.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come back earlier,” Dana continued saying to her. “I didn’t mean to leave you stuck with Derick here, but I couldn’t come out in the sun as it was already morning when we had finished. I forgot to bring some vamscren so I had to hide away until the sunset.”
“What’s a vamscren?” Joana asked her.
“It’s a special potion that we drink to protect us from roasting in the sun. It’s made from dragon tears.”
“Dragon?”
“Yes honey, dragons do exist the same way as vampires, witches, trolls, werewolves, yetis, centaurs, demons, you name it. We all belong to the world of the supernatural, and the humans have little to no memory of us, and it’s supposed to stay that way. Those who know of our existence either get their memories wiped, or are taken to mental asylums. This is the number one rule in the book of the supreme council. The supernatural world must remain a secret to humans, offenders are liable to be punished by death. That is why I had to go out of my way to ensure that no one knew about what happened on your wedding day. You would have been killed if you were caught by the supreme council, and so would we have been, the members of your coven, for letting things get out of hand.”
Dana was reading her thoughts, so she didn’t need to wait for Joana to ask a question before answering.
“The supreme council, also known as the council of five, are the leaders in charge of the mortals and immortals, the natural and the supernatural, the humans and the non-humans. They are the ones who keep the balance between the two worlds and the number one way to maintain that balance is by keeping the knowledge of the supernatural world away from the humans, and anyone who defies this will be punished severely.”
“As for the reason why you became a vampire, I will now tell you the story of your ancestor, Marilyn Lou.
“Marilyn Lou was a vampire, just like the rest of us and like you now. She was also a member of this coven, and things were fine until she fell in love with a human peasant, John.
Joana leaned forward, eager to hear about this her ancestor, and how she had to do with the fact that she became a vampire. Dana continued speaking as she noticed she had Joana’s full attention.
“Lou’s obsession with this human became too much as she left this castle and moved in with him. She always said that being with him reminded her of how her life was when she was a human before she was transformed by a vampire priest just to save her life. John found out she was a vampire, and he kept it a secret for her sake. But people began to notice when John’s mysterious girlfriend could only be seen at night, and never during the day, and when she dined with his family, she never ate.
“Marylin knew that she wouldn’t be able to hide things for long, as his family members began to suspect that she was probably a witch or something, and witches were not treated kindly in the olden days.”
Joana was never the kind that loved stories but this was an interesting one, and it was probably going to be the deciding factor on how she would spend the rest of her life, so she knew she had to pay attention to every little detail.