Ekaterina gently dried the water from her skin, looking at the red eyed and dark-haired beauty in the mirror staring back with a hint of disbelief.

The party had ended when the sun rose, and then the vampires had either chosen to delay their departure times a bit or leave shortly after getting dressed in decent attire.

Valentina and Christabel weren't in any particular rush to leave, and while the destination was the Iistrovian Continent due to the main residence of the Starikov Family being there, it was also take allow Ekaterina to decide whether she wanted to go to school, or to do something else.

"I wonder, what do I want..." Ekaterina hadn't known that answer before she became a vampire. She hadn't thought of what she wanted. Instead, she simply just wished to get through life, but now, with the countless options within reach, she felt confused.

"Does it matter~" A playful voice, free of any concern, whispered in Ekaterina's ear, soft and silky, but Ekaterina was no longer surprised by the girl's presence.

"I have forever to live, and unless I'm killed, I can do anything until I've done nearly everything." Ekaterina wrapped the towel around herself and approached the mirror, looking at the unnatural red eyes.

"You won't die~ I won't let anyone kill you, ever!" The girl's voice was playfully giddy, but then it became serious, and a sense of dominance caused the magical energy in Ekaterina's body to dance.

"I know. You don't have a name, and since I don't want to get rid of you, it will be a lot easier to talk to you if you had one, right?" Ekaterina's question didn't receive an immediate answer, and it took a while for the girl's voice to sound again.

"Eliana." Ekaterina said the words that came unbidden to her mind, and even without knowing why exactly, she somehow knew the name fit the girl perfectly, as if the name existed purely for the girl.

"Eliana." The girl repeated the name, and although she didn't say anything, a sense of happiness radiated from Ekaterina's magical energy, generated by her Phantasms' only dweller.

"I... when I was younger, I didn't have any friends, so I imagined a friend who was both strong and playful... I'd mostly forgotten about it, but you remind me of her." Ekaterina's words were met with silence, so Ekaterina left the large marble colored bathroom and entered the closet.

While Ekaterina dressed herself, the girl, Eliana sat far, far from any point Ekaterina had seen, on the highest point in a ruined city, sitting on the roof of a building warped and twisted, crumbling and yet still burning with black flames.

"I will protect you... forever."  Eliana knew the nature of Ekaterina's Phantasm better, far better than even the owner, knew what it entailed.

...

Ekaterina had expected Selene to come along with them, but Selene had chosen to stay with Heidi on the island, while Tatiana and Safiya dealt with transporting the vampires back to their respective places.

The full moon shone above them, and despite the atmosphere being a bit more subdued, the vampires still managed to laugh and chat amongst themselves.

"Yooo! Sabine! Ekaterina! If you come to school, it will be super fun!" Lynx ran over to the two and grinned, but before they could say anything further, Safiya's distinctive blue magical energy flashed, and Lynx vanished.

Theo, Athene, Lulu, and several other vampires Ekaterina had seen during the party were nowhere to be seen. The large number of vampires on the island had caused the various scents to linger, but the scents had already become far fainter than it had been in the morning.

"There are less than fifty vampires still on the island now, and by tonight, there might only be around twenty vampires left." Valentina wasn't wearing a suit this time. She'd chosen to wear a simple black dress, while Christabel had chosen a light green sundress.

"Most of us are spontaneous, and we come and go. We're heading to the Iistrovia Continent, I have to delegate work and arrange the necessary documents and people to allow Sabine to enter school." Valentina smiled and then looked at Ekaterina, her blue eyes sparkling.

"What do you want to do?" Ekaterina could feel it through their link, and Valentina made no efforts to conceal her emotions on the matter. No matter what Ekaterina chose, she would try her best to help her.

"Go to school~" Eliana's voice whispered in her ears, and while Ekaterina wasn't as adverse to school as Theo had been, she was almost twenty two, and hadn't thought of returning to school again.

"I'll... I'll go to school too." While Ekaterina wasn't sure why Eliana had asked her to go to school, part of Ekaterina, her more adventurous side, wanted to explore and see the world anew.

"You don't have to force yourself, Kat. Even if you just stayed at home, I'd be happy if you were." Sabine's casual t-shirt and jeans suited her carefree appearance in Ekaterina's eyes anyway.

"I'm not, but I want to see the world, and I want to have fun with everyone, Athene, Lynx, Lulu, Theo, and you." Sabine smiled at Ekaterina's words, poking Ekaterina on the forehead with a finger.

"Not Theo. Theo is as likely to attend class as humans are likely to become a peaceful species only focused on bettering themselves." Sabine's laughter made Christabel chidingly pat her daughter's shoulder.

"Every species has conflicts. Vampires just deal with it better than most." Valentina spoke, and then gestured to Christabel and walked away in Heidi's and Millie's direction.

"Heidi gets to enjoy being a mother again. Although she always was Millie's mother, Millie was too busy studying or helping others to be pampered by Heidi." Christabel smiled happily, her brown eyes seemingly capable of moving the hearts of even the most murderous person.

Valentina held Millie in a hug, and Millie, for the most part, could only nod helplessly when Valentina spoke sternly to herself, while Heidi held Millie's hand but chose not to interject.

Only Heidi knew how lucky it was Sigmund had eaten Millie's heart instead of leaving her to die in the sun. If a vampire died from the sun, it was an absolute and complete death no vampire would return from.

"Thank you for being such good friends with my daughter, Valentina, and thank you too, Christabel." Heidi didn't put on any airs, communicating with Valentina or Christabel like friends, with a smile on her face.

"You don't need to thank me, Heidi." Valentina poked Millie's cheek, and Millie, with the direct reduction of some of her body, wasn't strong enough to rival the older vampire, and could only tug at Heidi's arm and pout pitifully.

"For someone who's resistant to being treated like a baby, you sure do like being doted on." Heidi lifted Millie into her arms and spoke with a smile, while Millie's golden eyes rolled around.

"Well, I realized I missed you when I was in that dark place, and I feel like it!" Millie's self willed words drew a smile on Safiya's face, as well as a few other vampires.

"Katttt!" Selene's voice rang out, and a silvery blur appeared in front of Ekaterina, the air behind her desperately resisting the moon demon's speed. 

"You're going? I didn't get to teach you much! Here, I'll just give this to you... I hope it helps." Selene tip toed and tapped Ekaterina's forehead, and various things entered Ekaterina's mind alongside a surge of Selene's magical power.

"My magical power will deplete if you use it up, but under the light of the moon, so long as it's not entirely gone, it will gradually recharge." Selene looked at Safiya and Tatiana and pouted.

"I'll miss you..." Selene was many things, and didn't exactly seem reliable, seeming more like a child instead of an adult, but she had undeniably helped Ekaterina and Valentina, Christabel, and Sabine.

"I'll be fine... Take care of yourself, Selene. Thank you for your help the past few days." Green magical particles drifted past Ekaterina's vision, and Selene smiled, her impish eyes losing their mischievousness for a moment.

Heidi walked over, with Millie in her arms, and smiled gently, using her free hand to pat Ekaterina's head, her red hair blowing gently like flickering flames in the light under Selene's moon.

"Take care of yourself. As a young demon with no direct magical capability due to your young age, you should rely on her more. She's a good child." Heidi patted Ekaterina's head, and Millie gave her an encouraging smile.

"She... Her name is Eliana." Heidi's black eyes shone with a hint of mirth, and her low chuckle along with the slight breeze carrying her scent of blackberry, lilac, and rain drifted past.

"The daughter of the sun? With the eclipse in your Phantasm... It's fitting. Take care of yourself, Ekaterina." Heidi's magical energy surged, and an orb of darkness entered Ekaterina's body and vanished.

"Since the others gave you a gift, I'd be stingy if I tried to send you away with nothing." Safiya rubbed her hair and spoke with a tired sigh, separating a bit of her magical energy into a fish shaped pendant she fastened on a string to form a bracelet.

"Saving the best for last, aren't we?" Tatiana's playful laugh sounded, and green magical energy condensed into the shape of a sparrow, with lifelike green feathers which flew into her palm.

"This is my gift to you. Nothing in nature will harm you, and this sparrow will accompany you on your travels. Just feed it magical energy now and again." Tatiana's smile was accompanied by the sparrow bouncing in her palm flying to Ekaterina and inspecting her with its beady eyes, tilting it's head left and right, holding more wisdom in it's eyes than Ekaterina ever thought a bird could possess.

"Thank you." Ekaterina bowed her head slightly, and a snort came from Selene, who placed her hands on her hips and gave the other demons a look of ridicule.

"That is my student! My student!" Ekaterina helplessly rolled her eyes, not entirely sure why Selene insisted on being her teacher, but Selene held no ill will to herself and simply just liked being impetuous.

"We'll meet again soon." Millie waved at Valentina and Christabel, and Ekaterina found Millie's voice to be surprisingly soft, almost as gentle as a whisper in the summer wind, with a hint of helplessness mixed in.

Safiya's magical energy danced around Ekaterina, who looked at the gifts she received with confusion. Sabine had also expressed an interest in learning magic, but the demons had simply ignored the fact.

"That's how they are. It's not to be mean, nor did they neglect Sabine. It's just pointless to give magical energy to a vampire who can't use it." Christabel gently rubbed Sabine's head and then stroked Ekaterina's long black hair with a smile.

"Stingy." Sabine's snort made Valetina stiffle a laugh while Christabel patted her shoulders. The demons, even with their hearing far better than Ekaterina's, chose to act as if they hadn't heard anything.

The full moon in the sky shifted to a lavish ceiling, with a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and while Ekaterina was no expert, the decorations in the room alone felt as if they would be valued in the millions at the very least.

A rush of emotions entangled Ekaterina momentarily as she realized she'd arrived in a room full of humans looking at the four of them with countless emotions.

Ekaterina's green sparrow hopped from her shoulder and flew around the room curiously, the beady eyes full of curiosity exploring fillef with such a sense of wonder, Ekaterina found it endearing.

"Lord Valentina, welcome home." An elderly man with refined manners bowed slightly to Valentina, and while Ekaterina had seen a happy Valentinal, a worried Valentina, and even an angry Valentina, she'd always seemed approachable.

But Valentina seemed extremely calm dealing with the humans. She nodded slightly and dismissed them, turning her attention to Ekaterina with a worried look.

"I wasn't aware they'd received notice we'd be returning, or I'd have had them continue about their day." Not long after the room was emptied, a woman knocked on the door and handed Ekaterina a cup of warm blood.

"Most of them have ulterior motives. Some work for the human government of Iistrovia, some work for the witches, and others for a Rogue vampire faction. In all, it's messy." Valentina shook her head, and the woman left the room faster than she'd entered.

"So long as my family isn't attacked, I usually don't bother with who is where." Valentina then frowned, looking at her green eyed daughter.

"But Sabine's information was leaked, and although the attempt was a failure, I will no longer tolerate the informants around me." Valentina's voice was cool, but Ekaterina could feel her anger at the event even now.

"You can explore the estate with Sabine, Christabel, and I will get your affairs in order to attend school. You just need to focus on having fun, Ekaterina." Valentina briefly hugged Ekaterina and then tapped her daughter's forehead and left the luxurious room.

"While Valentina may not say it outright, she's happy you're here. I am, too. Regardless of anything, we will take care of you." Christabel patted Ekaterina's shoulder and then pulled Ekaterina into a hug, her brown eyes staring into her red ones.

"Not only because you saved our daughter, but because you are now our daughter. Ekaterina Starikov, we want you to be happy." Christabel's smile deepened as Ekaterina stared at her in shock, then she squeezed her arms, which encircled Ekaterina gently and then left the room.

"You heard them, you're family." Sabine spoke happily, but the link she normally didn't close was unexpectedly closed, and while Ekaterina nodded in a daze, Sabine's expression fell slightly.

...

Eliana looked up at the orange and yellow skyline, standing in the midst of the grasslands once again, beneath the eclipsed sun.

"Family... huh?" Eliana's red eyes squinted, but she didn't say anything else, her attention not on the eclipsed sun in the skies, but looking at it helped her think.