0363: The Vampire's Daughter Book IV

It was as if the Mountain Princess had been expected when they arrived. As if, for however long she had been away, the monastery had been preparing for the day of her return. So her return elicited due respect, but was clearly not shocking to the monks. What obviously put the men into a state of awe was Susan. It appeared that none had expected this and every single monk went out of his way to cater to the little girl. The interesting thing about it, however, was not they didn't expect her at all, but that they were surprised to see her so soon.

“This isn't exactly what I had expected,” Mina said during a rare moment of privacy.

“I kinda like it,” Susan said with a big grin.

Mina looked at the little girl and smiled back at her, it was one of those special moments in which Susan was truly a child. For a long time those moments were brief and far between, partly because of Mina's own actions and partly because of circumstance. Mina didn't want to bring the reality of the situation into the foreground, so she simple let her concerns slide away without mentioning them.

“Pardon me, Princess, a monk interrupted by a doorway into the garden. He was kneeling in obvious deference to his superiors.

“Yes?” Mina asked.

“I believe it is time for the little princess to have her training session. If you are done, that is.”

Susan leaned over and whispered to Mina, “I love it when they call me little princess.”

“I know you do,” Mina whispered back. Then, to the monk, she said, “I guess it is time for her training to continue. Go on,” she finished, patting Susan on the head.

“You treat this little girl like your own,” an elderly voice came from another entrance to the garden. This particular monk simply walked in without deference and sat next to Mina.

“I find more and more that I love her like she is,” Mina said.

“That is as it should be,” he replied. “You know that we have been waiting a long time for your return.”

“Yes. I'm very sorry for staying away for so long. It was a matter of duty.”

“We understand, as we knew it was our duty to wait patiently.” There was a silence as the two sat in the garden. Mina reached out with her mind, but found the monk was unreadable. Something that years of practice had allowed him, she assumed and thought nothing more of it.

Suddenly, the monk said, “You must also realize by now that we have been awaiting the little princess, too.”

“Yes, I had noted that. I wasn't aware that you knew the prophecies.”

“We know them very well, as all things are tied together, so too are your kind and our kind.”

Another silence settled as a butterfly wafted through the court.

“You must also realize that there are others who are waiting for the little princess, too.”

“Yes,” was all Mina said.

“While we here have waited generations for this day, those of your kind do not live under the same constraints of time,” the monk continued.

“As you know, I am well aware of this fact.”

Another pause passed between them, though this time it was more stilted.

Finally, the monk said, “You are conflicted between your sense of duty to your mother and your growing love for the little princess.”

Mina turned to look at the withered old monk. His skin was leathery and he had but wisps of gray hair feathered around his head. He was thin and his robes hung off of him. He clearly had wisdom in him, but what wisdom could a human have of the affairs of those who live forever?



[The Vampire’s Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. All rights reserved.]