Time passed by slower than before. Blackness filled my sight and life slipped away from my soul. But suddenly after the silence, a crashing explosion filled my ears, then another, and then another. It seemed to never stop. I saw dim light peak through again and I began to claw at the coffin. Another explosion occurred and I sunk back down. That one was much closer. I felt it in my chest. I heard yelling and crying from men and then a crashing sound of feet on my coffin. I then heard people speaking informal German.

"What is this?" One asked.

"Wood. A coffin?"

"Yes."

A scraping noise on the coffin and then an explosion.

"Fuck that, we don't have time. We have these fuckers to deal with."

"Fine, let's go."

They jumped off of the coffin and left. Explosions continued for hours until the sun set. I punched and pushed my way until the coffin was broken.

The ground was beaten and decimated. I saw soldiers in the distance and dead ones all around me. As I neared, I could tell that they were speaking German and Italian, but it sounded so different. It wasn't the same form as it had been when I last spoke it, but lazy and new words I had never heard. Tanks and planes, bombs and cars? How long was I buried? How long had it been? Why was there a war? I stumbled around, walking to one of the fires in the distance. There was a group of young men sitting and laughing around a campfire. As I neared, one of them pointed at me and drew a weapon, directing it at me. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.

"Who are you?"

"Relax, Ridscht, she is pretty, no malice." A soldier comforted. He neared me and nodded at me. "How'd you get here, princess?"

"Countess… what day is it?"

"November 20th."

"Year?"

"1940." He shrugged. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, but you, I don't know."

"We are strong Germans. Resilient to everything. We have Hitler on our side."

I quickly attacked him, pulled out his windpipe and began to feed as his colleagues screamed and ran. He was the first fresh meat I had feasted on in apparently decades. As I thought of it, I cried, and sobbed, lying on my back and weeping after I finished. Time was gone and so was the only woman I truly loved. She died thinking I wanted to harm her. She died alone and scared. And I was alone in the middle of a battlefield with nothing and no one to care for or about me. I was broken. Mother succeed and now there was nothing for me. After a while, I stopped crying. I had nothing to cry about anymore, no more tears. I got up and walked away. I had no idea where I was going or what to do, but I ended up in what was now Austria.

I killed everyone in my wake for everyone was on the menu. Time passes quickly when you're a killing machine. I moved from town to town until I was back home. I hadn't been there in years. More than 250 now. It was now decaying. Dark and dead. I ran to the ancient manor and climbed through a broken window.

I walked the old halls. Memories came back from the parties and lessons in this house. My parents were long gone, and so was I. The Karnsteins were extinct and now a dusty and macabre memory was left of us. I meandered to my room. It was very different now. The room was a different colour and the paintings I had in here were reframed or gone. I ran down the hall, passing by the familiar ancestors until I got to my family portrait. I stopped and stared at it. I was 16 when it was finished, 1696. My mother was so beautiful and my father was strong. My parents were sitting and I was standing behind them, my hands on their shoulders. My father's eyes were bright blue in that photo. I remembered how mad he was. His eyes were blue with green flecks and my mother was mad that her eyes were light brown. She was so proud of her dark eyes. She always said that dark eyes are meant for the strongest and most morally sound women. I grabbed a knife and cut out our faces, tenderly rolling up our picture before leaving again, this time towards Silas. I knew that If I just headed to the setting sun, I could get there. Although another part of myself didn't care whether I got to Silas or not.

Time passed quickly, jumping from town to town a feeding in the night. I checked on maps and only got lost a few times. It took a lot of time to get used to the technology. Being trapped for 70 years meant missing out on how the future came to be. Cars were everywhere and non-dirt roads were created. I saw the rise of women's equality and the change in fashion. People were now happily thriving. Cities grew quickly and Austrians were now able to have a dream.

Years passed as I waited for the next sacrifice. With the 50s in full swing, I got to learn about a scary dean with two adopted children who attended the new university. Guessing correctly that it was Mother, Mati and a replacement.

I remember I asked around the campus, "Where can I find the Dean?"

In the main house. The house I had my first sacrificial party, where I grew. I knocked on the door to that old house. A young man with jet black hair and black eyes stood in the doorway.

"Good day."

"Good morning," I smirked. "I'm looking for the Dean?"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"A surprise visit. Just tell her that an old friend came to talk."

"May I have a name?"

I paused for a moment and smiled at his cocky face. "Elle Sheridan."

He nodded, leaving the door open as he ran up the stairs. I walked in and explored the lobby. The wallpaper was still the same, but certain designs were unfamiliar like pictures on the wall and the furniture was more modern.

"Mircalla Karnstein." A slithering voice greeted.

I turned around, face to face with this blonde amazon. She had that thin creeping smile and those narrow amber eyes. I smirked back at her, no longer afraid of those features as I had been so long ago.

"Did you miss me?"

"I missed your smile, but by the look of you, I will always miss it. Did you learn your lesson?"

Silence fell and tense air filled the room. I finally laughed and nodded. "Of course." I meandered around the room, circling Mother and picked up a book. "In the 20th century, do people no longer treat their guests?"

"How uncivilized of me." She smiled. "Will, can you please give Ms. Karnstein a glass of our special liquor?"

The man nodded and walked away.

"So when did you get him?"

"The 30s. It was so hard to find another as curious and loyal as Val, I just hope you don't kill him too."

"How did you land this job?"

"Friends with connections."

"Oh, yes. How is Nanaya by the way?"

"Nana is fine, she sensed you were in bloom, but I didn't think you would find your way here."

"How sweet of her. Tell her I am sorry to have missed the party, and I'll make it up to her soon."

"Tell her yourself, that is if you are willing to work with us."

"Of course."

"Good." She smiled.

Will come back with two glasses of blood. He handed one to us both.

"You will have to work soon."

"Why?"

"Do you even know what year it is?"

"Lost in the fun."

"You have four months to get a new sacrifice, Mircalla."

"What year is it?"

"1954." She sighed glancing at her glass.

"Well, a toast to our new partnership and a drink for good luck." I smiled reaching out with my glass.

She tapped the glass with her own and we drank. I may have lied to my mother but I did get a virgin to sacrifice. I did, however, become judge and jury on whom I gave away. I remember my first roommate. She was kind and pure of heart, always helping and willing to doing whatever she could to make someone smile. I ended up getting her to run away through scare tactics and took one of the male students to Mother instead. I still wonder whatever happened to her? I felt bad for scaring her out of education, but I knew it was the best for her. She deserved to live a full life unlike some of the men I met. I did all I could stomach. Throughout the years, I just wanted to die, but I didn't. I almost couldn't. If I ever tried to starve myself, then my undead self would attack the next sac of blood it saw. I tried to run away, but Will stopped me, and if I passed him, then Mati would.

I only felt a light flicker many decades later when I met Laura. No one lit my fire like she did, not even Elle. Laura loved me through every moment of my life no matter what I did in the past and what I had planned to do, Laura helped me change and be the person I wanted to be.

She made me laugh, she made me cry, but in the end, she saved my life.

I realize now just how lucky I am to have her. How lucky I am to be here with someone I know respects me and loves me as I am.