C9 First lesson

Every day Larissa came to my witch house, always from eight o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon. Since I lived away from the other witches in the middle of the forest, we weren‘t disturbed. Her brother didn't understand at all that I was teaching only her and I was afraid it might drive a wedge between them. So I had Tim come to me, too. When he was with us for a while and noticed how exhausting the lessons were, he left us quickly and didn't come back. This morning I started with something light and asked her about the history of the vampires.

“What can you tell me about your ancestors? Do you know anything yet?"

Her sweet yet melodious voice filled the room and she began to tell.

“The vampires are descended from Farold and Gwendolin, who are the parents of my mother and therefore my grandparents. But they went into exile, but anyone doesn’t know why?"

“That's good, for the beginning. But do you know what was before Farold and Gwendolin?"

She shook her head.

“Well, once upon a time there was a giant bat in the Black Forest. He was the forefather of the vampires. In a fight, he lost his wings, which is why the vampires are no longer able to fly today. The bat finally begat a son before its time was up. This son is Farold, your grandfather.“

“What do you mean his time was up? Wasn't he immortal?"

“No, unlike the pure-born, he wasn't.“

“Then why are they?"

“Because a mighty witch gave them this gift.“

“And who was she?"

A lump formed in my throat, I stopped for a moment and my heart became heavy. I had taken on so much to erase this part from the past. Nobody knew about it anymore. I didn't like to lie, yet I only served the girl half the truth.

“Nobody knows, there's nothing in the history books about it.“

The little one had enormous knowledge. She could tell me anything worth mentioning about vampires.

“Vampires are cold creatures. We drink blood to fortify ourselves. We can see perfectly at night. Our eyes and ears are able to hear and see clearly for several miles and we can run very fast so that our movements can only be perceived by other immortal beings. Our canines are sharp, and that's how we rip our prey. If we aren‘t prepared for hunting, the teeth are as normal as those of humans. We don't shy away from daylight, we love it. The night is still our ally.“

“Good, very good. And what can you tell me about the wolves and their origin?"

“Unfortunately, I don't know much about them. Mother hasn't often put me in touch with them. What I do know, though, is that Stephan is their leader. He's tall and lanky, with hair as dark as ebony as mine, and angular features.“

“Well, I see we still have to work on that. Please take your nib and your book and write down what I tell you.“

Then I enlightened the girl about the wolves. Where they come from, how they stand with the vampires, that there‘s a pack where hierarchy rules, how they hunt and on top of that described their appearance.

“You must know that werewolves are physically superior to vampires and witches, but vampires have special talents. For example, they can read and control the thoughts of others. The werewolves are also able to read thoughts, but only from their peers and only when they have transformed. That gives them a big advantage when they're hunting.“

The little one wrote everything down diligently, never interrupted me and only asked a question when I stopped talking.

“What do you say we go to the werewolves' village together so you can meet them? Witches and vampires are welcome there.“

“Yes, please.“

The girl seemed all excited. I gave her great pleasure with it. I didn't care what Lucia thought. She gave me permission to train her daughter, and that's what I did. We walked comfortably through the forest over to the village of the wolves. At the entrance of their community, they had built two huge pillars of salt from Kunolf and Leila, their tribal fathers. In the great halls of the Castle of the Vampires stood the same. If one passed the salt columns, then one came over an extensive area on the large place, where in the evening always a fire burned and all gathered. Things that had been decided in the Council, Stephan always announced there. The simple huts of the wolves were mostly settled in the forest. But most of them lived in the country, as well as the vampires. Their buildings were completely different from those of the bloodsuckers. While the vampires liked it more playful and conspicuous, their dwellings were simpler. Simple huts made of wood, stone and clay, some of which didn‘t even have proper doors, but only a curtain made of skinned fur. The main thing is comfortable and warm. Stephan lived together with his family in the largest property. He, as the leading wolf, had nevertheless furnished himself a little more comfortably and so his house was the only one with two floors and a cellar. There were also large warehouses in the village in which the people's merchandise was stored. When I arrived at the village with Larissa, the joy of our coming was great. The kids already knew me and loved me for my magic tricks. Larissa wasn't a stranger, they didn't let her feel it. She was immediately warmly received. A boy even turned before her eyes. My protégée knew no fear, she immediately ran to him and scratched his ear, which he enjoyed very much. Yes, sooner or later she‘d also transform, only her strength would far exceed that of the others. A whole group had gathered around the girl; everyone wanted to see Ephraim and Lucia's daughter. She seemed to like that. With her cordial nature, she was very well received. Then Stephan approached me from behind. “Welcome, Emily. Good to see you. Are you taking a little trip with your student?"

“Yes, I started teaching her a few days ago and today we were talking about the vampires and werewolves. She didn't know much about your species, so I thought we'd better go straight to the source.“

“She has grown up very much“, he looked at the girl in a very special way, „Ephraim often tells me about her, what she’s already able to do. He's very proud. I don't understand that Lucia won't let her come here, when her brother visits us very often.“

“I think you can answer the question yourself, Stephan“, I looked deep into his eyes, „you know how Lucia ticks. And you know her way better than anyone else. After all, you grew up together.“

On this subject, he remained silent and didn‘t make a face. He wasn't sure if it‘d be wise to go into my sentence any closer. I was convinced, he had understood.

“Many of us know Lucia well, not just me.“

With this little hint, he tried to stray from the subject. Well, I hadn't come here to tear open old wounds either. You can't change the past.

“By the way, I think it's good that you take her under your wing", Stephan had taken a normal attitude again, he didn't seem to care about discussions either, „she can learn a lot from you. For you‘re the eldest among us.“

“Thank you very much for this judgment.“

The girl came over to us. I was curious to see how she‘d face the leader.

“Larissa, you know Stephan, don't you?"

“Of course. Greetings, Stephan“, she made a small, polite curtsey.

“Greetings, too. You're very well-behaved. Would you like to meet my son? I don't think you've ever seen each other before.“

“I'd love to.“

Then, at the call of his father, the young heir of the wolves, Sven, appeared. He was now eight years old and gradually began to lose his childlike face. The two children stood opposite each other, but Sven faltered, became very stiff and only brought out one sentence.

“Are you an angel?"

“That's enough, you old charmer“, his father warned him, „she's not an angel, but a vampire and her name is Larissa. She's Tim's sister.“

Sven just stood there, silenced and stared at her.

“It's getting late, my dear. Let's go back. I'll take you home.“

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sven. Maybe we can play together sometime.“

Sven just nodded. We said goodbye and went our ways. Halfway along, she suddenly took my hand.

“I thank you for this wonderful day, Emily. I wish I could go to the wolves more often. But with you at my side, I feel the future will be full of adventure and new things for me. You're the best, I really like you.“

Then she embraced me and for the first time in a long time, I felt love in my heart again.