In Veteris, it was still night and past the curfew hours. Conner quickly headed towards the boy's Dormitorium and made his way to the above floor where Simon's room was. Going to the front of the dorm, he knocked on the door, waiting for it to open.

  It was Maximus who opened the door, and Conner tried to take a look behind the senior before asking, "Is Simon inside?"

  "Simon isn't here yet. Is there a message that I need to pass to him?" inquired Maximus, his eyes curiously looking at the human.

  Conner shook his head, "I just wanted to talk to him about the project work."

  "I will let him know when he comes by," responded Maximus, his blue eyes trained on the human, who looked slightly anxious, and he could hear the little heart beating in the human's chest.

  "Do you know where he might be?" asked Conner, who was slightly desperate, but he tried to act calm.

  "Unfortunately, Simon has the habit of not staying in one place. He's probably in… one of the girl's dorms. It would be best to meet him in the morning," remarked Maximus, and Conner gave a nod.

  "You are right," and giving a slight nod, Conner turned and walked away from the corridor, disappearing from the floor.

  Maximus closed the dorm's door, and he turned around to look in Simon's direction, where he was sitting in the corner of the room, which had not been visible from Conner's vision from where he had stood near the door.

  "How long do you plan to avoid him?" asked Maximus, raising one of his eyebrows at Simon.

  "Until Julie and Melanie don't return from wherever they have disappeared to," replied Simon, while playing a game on his phone. "Roman said they aren't here and are in a different timeline. And the only thing one can do is wait for them to return."

  Maximus walked to the fridge and picked up one can of blood. He took a sip from the can before letting his back leaning against the table. He asked, "And we don't know when they might return?"

  "Nope," said Simon with his eyes still on the phone's screen. "We don't have anyone to ask for reference as to how much time has passed in the other timeline compared to this one. So you can tell Rome is not doing exactly well right now."

  "You seem to be in a better mood compared to him," commented Maximus, bringing the can to his lips and taking a sip from it.

  "Every day is a good day in Simon Wallace's life," grinned Simon as he said it, and Maximus shook his head. Simon put his phone away and said, "Do you know what's more important?"

  "What?"

  "Space. Space in between two people, it can either make or break things. Isn't that wonderful?" asked Simon, the smile on his lips widening. Maximus could only hope that Roman hadn't heard it, but his friend was speaking about the other two people.

  In one of the main building rooms, Roman, Donovan, Evans, Dante, and Castiel sat around the table.

  "When do you meet Opaline for the first time, Evans?" questioned Donovan. "You weren't around when I first met her, were you."

  "It was after she left Willow Creek. It was then that I came to meet her," answered Mr. Evans, who had placed a chart on the table that had writings on it. Hoping they could somehow bring both the girls back to the current time.

  "Looks like none of us have met Julie in the past, at least the ones who are here and it gives us very little scope as to if she returned to the present," stated Donovan, his lips slightly twisting. "I don't think anyone has ever spoken or remotely mentioned time traveling."

  "That's because it is not supposed to be mentioned," commented Roman, his eyes fixed on the chart.

  "How good is Julianne when it comes to this time portal?" Castiel asked Roman, whose expression only turned grim.

  "The last time she did it, it was out of pure fluke," said Roman, and a sigh escaped from Castiel's lips. Turning to look at Donovan, he asked, "What about the witch whom you were speaking about?"

  "The witches suddenly became unreachable since the last time I heard from them. And the one that I knew, I am unable to get in touch with her," replied Donovan and then said, "I think I will personally go and pay a visit to her."

  "I think it wou—" Dante's words were left hanging, as Donovan had disappeared in a blink of an eye. "I think Ms. Winters should make a spell to stop the Elders from using their abilities. Evans, did Opaline ever mention anything about the girl with you?"

  "No, Ms. Dante," Mr. Evans diligently replied, "There was no mention. But then, Lady Opaline was always a secretive woman and she didn't spill much from her lips unless it was needed."

  "There must be a reason why she was sent in time," Castiel proposed with possibilities, "Didn't you tell that she sent her friend before, who came back as her mother? It would surely be troublesome, if Julie ends up living forever in that timeline, where she would have no future in this timeline."

  This was something that worried Roman. He knew Julie could take care of herself, as she was a witch. But that didn't remove the possibility of what ifs appearing in his mind.

  There was no point standing here when they couldn't find a solution by discussing things.

  Pulling out his phone, he rang a number before placing it near his ear, waiting for the person to pick up. It took nearly a minute before the person finally picked up the call. Roman questioned, "Where are you now?" Hearing the answer from the person, he said, "I will be coming there… yes."

  Roman stepped out of the room while leaving the three people.

  Dante asked Evans, "You have been there with Opaline since you met her, do you know why she chose the name Julianne out of all the names?"

  Evans gave it a deep thought, trying to remember when the girl had been conceived by Lady Opaline. His thoughts went back to when the lady was sitting on the chair in front of the fireplace…


  Lady Opaline gently ran her hand over the baby bump, slowly growing.

  She was staring at the fireplace, which crackled softly while rain poured outside the house. She pulled her hand from her stomach, a sigh escaping from her lips.

  "Did the children sleep?" Opaline asked while her gaze continued to stay fixed on the flames.

  "Yes, milady. Everyone had gone to bed," informed Sullivan, who stood a few steps behind where the witch sat. "You seem to have been spending too much of your time sitting here. Is everything alright?" he asked in slight concern.

  "Mm," hummed the woman, a small smile came to form on her lips. She said, "I don't know why, but I feel an affinity towards the fire. It feels good here. All warm and nice, the heat is good on the skin. Especially when the atmosphere is cold and wet."

  "I will add some more logs in the fireplace of your room," offered Sullivan, but Opaline raised her hand to stop him from doing it.

  "I don't think I will be able to sleep right now. I would rather like to stay here, at least until the baby grows," stated Opaline, placing her back in a way so that it touched the front of the seat. "I wish I knew where Knox is. But he seems to have gone somewhere again. I wonder if it bothers him… with the way it has happened."

  Sullivan, who knew exactly how the child was conceived and who was the child's father, he didn't dare to speak or mention it. A lot of the villagers had come to believe that it was a new man who Opaline had found, some even wondering if it was a man who left her stranded.

  "The town folks gossip?" asked Sullivan, and Opaline smiled.

  "Gossips… they haven't bothered me much. People always badmouth, so it is nothing new to know about," replied Opaline, a small smile coming to form on her lips. "I wonder how she will turn out to be."

  "You already know the baby's gender."

  Opaline placed both her hands near her lips, blowing hot hair on them before placing it on top of her swollen stomach. She said, "I am not sure, but I have a feeling it is her. A daughter. The witches would not take it well, even if the baby turns out to be of our own kind."

  "We don't have to speak about it to anyone, milady. I will never mention it to anyone and you don't have to say anything. It will be a secret between us three," assured Sullivan with a stoic expression on his face.

  "I know, Sullivan. I am glad you know, and happier to know that you are good at keeping secrets," another sigh escaped from Opaline's lips. "Even though I won't be able to tell her who her father is, not right away, I hope the love from me, her sisters and brothers, will reduce the importance of knowing it."

  "I am sure it will," came the diligent words from Sullivan.

  "How about you? You seem to have taken a certain fondness towards one of my daughters," even though Sullivan worked as a servant in the La Fay's household, Opaline never looked at him as a servant. Her voice was calm and collected.

  Sullivan didn't reply to the question right away, and he said, "I wouldn't do anything out of line."

  "You never have. Let us wait and see when she reached the right age. Two more years and you can see what her heart holds," said Opaline and Sullivan just bowed his head, the reflection of his action being caught by the witch through the glass shelf. "I have been thinking of a name for her since I have got the feeling of the baby being a daughter more than a son."

  "Have you picked any names, milady?" inquired Sullivan, his expression barely changing.

  "I did. Emma, Evelyn, Isabelle, Valeria. These are the few names that I thought of. Do you have any other names in your mind than these?" Opaline asked him, and the man gave a little thought before he said,

  "I am not sure, milady," replied Sullivan. "There are so many names to pick. I am sure whatever name you choose, it would be a suitable one. Did you like the name in particular that you now mentioned?"

  Opaline gave it some thought before she said, "There is a name that has been on my mind and I wonder if it would be alright to borrow it."

  "Which one is it?" Sullivan curiously asked while Opaline slowly stood up from the chair where she had been sitting.

  "There was a person, who had once saved my life, and we spent some good time together," said Opaline, placing her hand back on her stomach. "I wonder if it would be alright to choose her name."

  "If she was someone close to you, I doubt she would mind it," said Sullivan, and Opaline nodded.

  "I don't think she would mind if I were to use it," said Opaline, rubbing her belly for a moment.

  Mr. Evans' returned to the present, nodding his head to the headmistress, who had questioned him. He replied, "Lady Opaline did mention about a person, before she chose the name. She told something about a young lady being someone who had saved her before she left the town. But I didn't get much information."

  Now, as Sullivan Evans thought about the conversation with the lady in the past, he wondered if Opaline already knew that the child growing inside her had an affinity towards a person who was honed to use flames.

  Castiel, who stood in the room, nodded his head, "Then we probably know what timeline Julie has ended up in. Did Opaline tell if this person went back to her time or anything more about that person?"

  "No, Elder Castiel, Lady Opaline didn't speak more on it. Our conversation seemed to have diverted to another topic that night, and I never tried to ask more on it," replied Mr. Evans.

  "Can the witches locate and maybe try to pass on the message through some medium?" Dante asked Castiel.

  "There have been a few witches, who were able to locate people as to where the person was. But passing the message, I am not sure," replied the Elder vampire, his eyes falling on the table. "What about that creature, the one that was around her? Corvin?"

  "The Corvin doesn't know how to get to her," said Mr. Evans before he continued to speak, "I will try to contact the creature again and see if I can get any information."

  "Yes, let us hope that Donovan and Roman find something helpful during that time," said Castiel, and with that, he started to make his way towards the door before closing it behind him.

  This left the headmistress and the counsellor in the room. Ms. Dante said, "Have you got anything from Dennis so far? He seems to know nothing more than what we are already aware of."

  "If you ask me, I would say it was the best option to snap the boy's head and finish this matter there. He is after all useless to us with nothing more to cough out," Mr. Evans tilted his head to the side. "The boy is uselessly using the space in the dungeon."

  Ms. Dante held a grim expression on her face, and she said, "Let me talk to him again," and with that, they made their way out of the building and headed in the direction of the dungeon. But when they entered the dungeon and came near the cell, the space was empty. "Where is he?" demanded the vampiress.

  "I saw him just a few hours ago in the morning," replied Mr. Evans, his eyes falling on the rope that was on the ground, with just the empty chair and the gate of the cell slightly open.

  "Go alert the guards right now," ordered Ms. Dante, and Mr. Evans quickly left the place. She made her way inside the cell, taking a look at the ropes before she murmured to herself, "Someone let him free. Who could it be?" Was there still a rat in here who was working against them?

  The land of Veteris was suddenly put on high alert, not knowing when Dennis had been freed and if he had left the grounds long ago. On the other hand, back in time, in Willow Creek, Opaline was done bandaging Julie's arm.

  "This should do," said Opaline, dropping her hands to her side.

  "Thank you for your help," thanked Julie, but Opaline shook her head.

  "It is not you, but me who should thank you," stated her mother, and she then asked, "How did you do that?"

  "What?" asked Julie, not knowing what her mother was asking about.

  "The vampire, who stood behind me, he disappeared in thin air, how did you do that?" her mother looked at her with curiosity in her eyes. "I don't think I have ever seen anyone do that until now."

  Her mother couldn't create the medium? Julie asked in her mind. A small frown came to appear on her forehead.

  "Isn't it common for witches to be able to do it?" Julie answered her mother's question with a question of her own.

  Opaline smiled, "If it was common, I wouldn't have asked you now, would I? We use spells, we know how to make potions, but what you did, I doubt anyone has ever done anything like that."

  But her mother was able to open portals. That is how she even came to the present world with Natalie. Her mother must have picked up the ability later, after leaving this place, but it made her wonder… Was this the reason why she was here? Because she had something to do for the natural course of events to take place.

  Or was she done with her task of saving her mother?

  "I haven't perfected it, and am still working on knowing when to open and close the portal," replied Julie, and upon her words, Opaline looked intrigued.

  "I hope for you to stay here longer, Julianne. I am sure we can both learn a lot from each other," commented Opaline, there was a look of seriousness in her eyes as if she couldn't wait to learn more and expand her abilities.

  "What's going on here?" came the gruff voice of a male, and Magnus, Opaline's father, entered the room.

  "Julianne and her friend will be staying with us for some more time, father," Opaline informed her father before she briefed him regarding the recent attack.

  "So it seems like there was something suspicious about you both," the old man narrowed his eyes, staring at the two girls who stood quietly on one side. "One witch and another human. Opaline. Take the human with you, I would like to talk with this one. Alone," he said, looking at Julie.

  Melanie looked back and forth, her eyes meeting Julie's, who nodded for her to go on with her mother and that she would be fine.

  "Let us go and feed the cows in the backside," proposed Opaline to Melanie, who followed her through the corridor and stepped out of the house.

  Silence filled the room, and Magnus continued to stare at Julie, who stared back at him. A few seconds later, he finally asked her, "Is there anything else that I need to know, of who you are? Even though you are a witch, I cannot help but feel suspicious about you."

  Julie didn't know if she should tell the truth or make up a lie…… But he seemed smart to pick on things.