Wow! I'm finally about to finish my longest fic ever! First off, I want to thank all the reviewers and readers who have stuck with me and this story for so long. Now the conclusion of Eva's visit to her home is finally here. Please enjoy! Once again, i do not own Negima or any of its characters.
The Prodigal Daughter Returns
Negi and the girls had just finished the tour of Castle McDowell. For Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna, who were on winter vacation with Negi were amazed by the size and the mystique that surrounded the centuries old medieval castle. Sure, Konoka and Setsuna knew of the Himeji Castle in their home country, Japan, but this was so different in terms of look and history.
Negi asked the tour guide, Gustav, where the McDowell's were buried, saying that he wanted to pay his respects. Gustav happily pointed in the direction of the cemetery where many soldiers and people were buried during the wars between Scotland and England.
"Why do you want to visit a cemetery so much Negi? Those places are kinda creepy." Asuna asked the young teacher.
"Actually, I thought it would be nice if we all went to pay our respects, especially Evangeline here, don't you think so Eva?" Negi turned to the blonde vampiress.
Eva however didn't look all that excited, and merely lowered her head and gave a small nod. Under normal circumstances, she would have growled at Asuna and Negi and told them that she was not interested in such a trivial outing and would have stayed in her cabin to read or practice her magic. Although she could have backed out of going to the cemetery at anytime, doing so would only invite 'those idiots' to say that she was scared and as the Mistress of the Night, she could not and will not allow any slights to her reputation.
Throughout her many years as a vampire, she traveled just about all over the globe spreading her evil and darkness. Europe was the first to collapse to her evil, starting with England back in the early 15th century. With vampiric flight, she could choose to go anywhere she pleased. There was however, one place where she, the most powerful daywalker and Queen of Darkness, did not wish to go. And that was Scotland, her original home.
As the eight walked up the hill towards the cemetery, Negi couldn't help but wonder again at his magic teacher. He was so glad to be back home to visit his sister and childhood friend Anya. Sure he became more accustomed to the Japanese culture and food, he still missed home, he was still ten after all. He enjoyed the herbal teas that Konoka and Chachamaru occasionally made for Negi, but he still missed the English Breakfast Tea that his sister made. So why then was Eva so reluctant to visit her parent's grave sites? She was the famed vampire that scared Anya when she first met her, so she can't possibly be scared right?
Plus, Negi, who has never knew his parents, would have not passed the opportunity to meet his mother or father even if it was for a day. But for some unknown reason, it seemed that Eva did not wish to meet her parents, much less their graves.
Chachamaru did not not say much during the trip. She merely watched and listened. Although she was Evangeline's partner in combat, her mannerisms and actions were almost opposite that of her Master's. For the robot girl, this was a first for her. Eva never talked much about herself, much less her past, and not even her sister, Chachazero, would know Eva's full story.
The cemetery where the McDowell's were buried was on a little hill on the outskirts of town. This one was quite large and there were several tombstones lined up neatly across the hill. There were some mausoleums for those wealthy enough to afford it. As an undead mage and vampire, Evangeline was no stranger to cemeteries. But this was one that she dreaded to come.
Eva was not one to be scared easily or be scared of something or someone for that matter. No, she considered herself as experienced too much and was too powerful for something like that to happen. However, that wasn't true. As it turns out there were a few things that the little vampire was scared of. The first was losing her power. Just like Mao or Stalin, or even an elected president who feel they should be allowed to stay in office indefinitely, they feared losing their power to others, including their own 'friends'. Over the course of five centuries, Eva had built up a reputation as many mages would know, to the point where her name became synonymous with the boogie man in modern times. Although the blonde vampiress would never admit it, she was kind of obsessed about power.
The second was being alone. Ironically, her addiction to power was probably what lead to this second fear. She didn't want to admit it, as it would make her seem weak.
Then there is one more fear. Although most people would never think twice about it, it certainly played back numerous times on her mind. In fact, it's been haunting her for centuries.
The group was silent as they approached the graveyard, but nonetheless silently split up to find the gravestones of Eva's parents. Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna were all in one group and they headed in one direction while Negi, Nekane and Anya split up and headed in the other direction.
Evangeline and Chachamaru didn't really try finding the gravestones, although Eva could have left at anytime, there was a tiny part of her that told her to stay.
Several minutes later, Negi and the others at last found a pair of large, ornate tombstones, overshadowing their surrounding counterparts. Both were tall, made of white granite, and were intricately carved with small figurines and letters. The one of the left had the name, 'Lord Alexander Mauris McDowell' while the one on the right had the inscription, 'Lady Athanasia Beatrice McDowell.' When Negi had read the name, 'Athanasia' he knew right away that these must be Eva's parents' graves. He passed by many gravestones that had the last name 'McDowell', but only this one had one of Eva's middle name in it. He read the class roster enough times to know.
Negi called out to the others that he found them and the other girls soon gathered around in the cool, late afternoon. For several minutes, the group stood silent facing the stone markers. Eva herself just stared at her parents' names absentmindedly.
It was not long before both Negi and Anya felt a ghostly presence where the graves were, two presences to be exact. Asuna and Setsuna could feel it as well: it was a similar presence to their classmate, Sayo Aisaka, the class ghost. Konoka and Nekane both seemed clueless about the presence.
Nekane asked what was going on, and Negi explained the ghost phenomenon. He explained that the other undead member of his class was a ghost that was trapped in the school just like Eva had been. Setsuna added that there was a type of ghost that continued to wander around aimlessly after death because of an incident surrounding a person's death or something prior to it.
"It's as if the soul of the deceased person still had some unfinished business in the previous life and before that business is finished, that soul will continue to wander the Earth, unable to move on."
"Eva, aren't you going do that spell?" Negi asked his magic teacher.
"Why should I? I....I have nothing to say to them," Eva shrugged reluctantly. She had not spoken to them for this long, so what was she supposed to say about her current state?
"You can always tell them the truth. That might be best.....:
Eva sighed and refused. "No I'm not." How ever the boy naively mistook that as "I don't care you do it."
Negi held up his staff, "Ok then Master I'll do it!"
Eva's eyes bugged out as she realized what her foolish pupil was about to do. "N-no wait Boya!"
But unfortunately for the little girl she was a tad too late and instead of pushing Negi to the ground, wound up face planting in the grass, above the graves, two human-shaped figures glowed with a bright light and after a few seconds, two semisolid figures appeared before the group.
Anya and Nekane almost screamed as standing in front of the tombstones were two pale figures dressed in medieval clothing. The figure on the left, her father was tall and elegant. He had shoulder length red hair combed and parted neatly down the center of his head. He was richly dressed with a ruff and high collar. His face was not too different that Nagi Springfield's as they had a similar jawline and nose. He had the same green, piercing eyes as Evangeline.
The figure on the right was her mother. She had flowing platinum blonde hair, a delicate face and slim body. She was also richly dressed in what looked to be a hand-woven dress made of fine linen.
Eva quickly picked herself back up and patted herself down. She also retreated behind the others, but was soon pushed to the front by Asuna and Setsuna.
"Um.......H-h-hi." Evangeline said nervously.
"Evangeline dear, is that you?" The female ghost spirit said.
"Y-yes....."
"Do you not recognize your own kin?
"I see you have not changed at all, I hope you are doing well in whatever time it maybe?" her father asked.
"Uh.....I guess so.......I'm doing......okay I suppose....." Eva said without looking into her parents' eyes. For a few minutes, another one of those awkward silences had washed over the group. Eva and her parents were biding their time to see who would or should speak first.
But the first to break the silence was none of the three. "Uh... excuse me, but I was wondering, why are your souls still here? I mean, I don't wish to be rude but you two are not bound by a curse or something are you? Nekane asked as politely as she could muster. She wanted to get a nice conversation going between them and Eva's parents to hopefully loosen any tension.
"No. We are bound by no curse. At least, I do not think we are," Lady McDowell said.
"Then why......?"
"I cannot say for certainty, but we have been waiting here for so long for a chance that our beloved daughter might one day return. On her tenth birthday she could not be found anywhere in the castle. One of our servants was found dead in her room but our daughter was not there." Eva's mother explained.
Lord McDowell continued his wife's explanation. "We tried to move from this spot many times, but we were forbidden to move beyond the boundaries of this cemetery."
Negi nodded silently to himself as soon as he heard this. That would explain why Sayo Aisaka was still on the class roster even though she passed away in 1940. Because she had a strong attachment to the silver leaf flower garden, she remained bound to the campus ever since.
"We ordered a search party to locate her but after a full moon's cycle, we gave up on trying to find her," Lord McDowell continued. "We did receive a letter from her saying that she was doing alright and told us not to search for her."
"If we were not bound by this cemetery, we would have continued the search ourselves," Eva's mother added.
Setsuna chose to speak up this time. "So basically you missed your daughter."
The two ghosts nodded solemnly and each shed a tear. Evangeline thought that her parents would have forgotten her by now, but she was wrong. Eva was........very moved by her mother's words. "I.......I missed you too......'
Her father stepped forward and knelt down in front of Eva and placed a hand on her head. "Evangeline?....…I'm sorry," he said. Her father looked down at his daughter, his eyes showed no signs of hostility nor anger, only sadness. "Could you.......ever forgive us?"
"…What?" Eva asked quizzically. It was shocking to her that he wasn't demanding an apology, but giving one. She had always thought that when she came back, he would have demanded one. But that was not so. Eva wasn't convinced though.........
"…we're sorry…we......have failed in our duty as parents......" her mother continued.
Eva did not say this often. In fact, she couldn't remember if she ever said it at all. "T-that is alright mother and father! I.......I....f-for-" but the word got stuck in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. "I.....I...f-for...g-gi...
She couldn't say it. It felt that she would die if she said it. But her parents could understand why it was hard for her to say it. So her father said, "That's alright, we understand. You don't have to say it if its too painful. We know that deep down in your heart you forgive us, and grateful."
"So who are your friends here?" Lady McDowell asked noticing the small group behind Eva.
"Oh they're not my....." Eva began, but the others politely introduced themselves as her friends, Chachamaru as her loyal servant, and for Asuna, Negi and Setsuna, as her apprentices specifically. Before long, the group, minus Anya, was getting into a lively conversation about Eva. Before long, Lord McDowell turned back to Eva to ask, "What have you been doing all this time?"
"Well I..........I......." Eva struggled to speak.
"She has done much, more than anyone has. She currently is a ruler of a vast kingdom that spans the globe." Negi cut in.
"Oh my! And who are you?" Lady McDowell asked.
"I am one of her many apprentices, as well as her teacher, Negi."
The others caught on to what Negi was trying to do.
"Yes, she even has her own personal castle, serviced full time by an army of maids that await her beck and call. As well as her own resort which she created herself. She also has earned many titles and has been quite influential in our history."
"She's even developed her own brand of magic!"
Eva was stunned silent. As the others continued to list her accomplishments and abilities, she had an odd mixture of pride and embarrassment, though mostly embarrassment. She gloated her abilities many a time to hundreds, possibly thousands of people, yet why did this feel.......wrong?
She was Evangeline McDowell, famed super vampire and dark mage. But for this moment, she was not herself. Her words lacked the force it normally did, and she herself lacked the usual confidence the little vampiress had. The others were certainly surprised that their magic teacher and bully general was so different now. Then again, this was her parents after all.
On the other hand, her parents seemed to swell with pride and joy that their daughter, who they raised for ten years, had grown to such an influential person whose figurative size vastly dwarfed her physical one. At the same time, they seemed a little concerned, even scared at the amount of things Eva has done. This was not how she saw herself. She was a wanted criminal in the magic world and a hunted vampire.
Eva could not take it anymore. She could feel her face reddening with anger and embarrassment. "S-SHUT UP fools! Don't you get it, yet?! I-I ran way I took the easy way out! I couldn't bring myself to bear the shame of what I became!"
"What you became? Whatever do you mean?" her father asked thinking there was something missing to the puzzle.
"Well.....I......I......" Eva struggled to speak. She felt as if her throat had a knot or two in it and her tongue was tied up as well. But more importantly, she was afraid to tell her parents what happened to her. She did not wish to lie to them, that would be wrong. She felt her insides being torn apart. Negi and the others could feel what she was going through and also felt a pang in their hearts.
"I....was......I was turned into a vampire!" Eva finally blurted out and gasped for air.
Her parents were, not surprisingly, shocked out of their minds. "My word, that must have been terrible!" her mother exclaimed.
"Are you alright then? Did you have trouble adjusting to your new life? Were you hurt in anyway?" Her father and mother started bombarding her with questions.
"Yes! Yes it was........" Eva began. She steadied herself and explained as best as she could what happened that night. She told her parents of how she woke up with her dress soaked with blood, and how scared she was. She told her parents how she just ran off in the cold winter morning. She told them how difficult it was for her to adjust to being a vampire, having to live off the blood of other living creatures, and how much she had to struggle just to survive.
Her parents were relieved to hear that Eva was alright, or else she wouldn't be standing in front of them right now. But they were nonetheless horrified, not by Eva, but what she had to go through. Sure they've fought in wars, their hands had been stained with blood, but they were adults. Eva was still a child when she had to kill to survive, and that was something that they had wanted her to keep away from. "But, why did you not come back home?" Her father finally asked.
"Because I.......I.....was......afraid that.....that...."
Eva was scared to say it but she felt she had to. This was the reason why she always dreaded coming back to this place. The Asuna and Setsuna dreaded Eva's answer, but they felt they already knew it.
"Because I was afraid......that you would........would not accept me anymore!" Eva almost shouted.
Eva could feel tears engulfing her eyes. She was straining her hardest not to cry. The others however, did not have nearly as much will power and strength as Eva did and many were crying already. Even Anya, who from the minute she first met Eva, hated her to the utmost, could not help but feel a pang of sorrow and shed a tear for the vampiress. But Evangeline was not going to cry. Not now, not in front of her parents, and definitely not in front of her classmates. She had a reputation to keep up after all.
Nevertheless, she felt her knees give away and collapsed to the ground. A part of her wanted to just get up and run away in the opposite direction. She had always been good guessing. Eva guessed or thought she knew what her parents would say to her now. She had been hunted down countless times during the age of the witch hunts in the fifteenth century. People have been grabbing people and pointing fingers right and left at anyone suspicious. She could vaguely remember innocent people wrongfully accused of being witches or vampire and were hanged in the castle gallows. It was only natural for her to think that her parents would have done the same to her if they ever found out. She couldn't bear to hear her parents say that she wasn't wanted anymore.
Eva stood up, turned around and started walking away from the graves. She wanted to run off into the distance again, just like she did all those years ago. She had barely taken five steps when she felt a pair of soft arms enclose around her and she felt a gentle hand stroke the top of her head and work its way down her long platinum blonde hair. Normally the little vampiress hated being hugged, or more appropriately, glomped. She disliked it when her classmates treated her like a doll and toy and not an actual vampire. However, there was something different about this hug.......
"You ran away from us once Evangeline. We are not about to let that happen again." Her father said.
Eva's mother spoke with a soft voice. "There, there Evangeline. You need not be so distressed. We would never cast you aside," she said kindly as she continued to hold her daughter in her arms.
"You are our only daughter after all. We could never throw you out like that even if we wanted to." Eva looked up and finally looked her father in the eye. Eva studied his expression and his eyes carefully. He was not lying. He meant every word.
Eva was shocked by this sudden turn of events. She always thought she could predict people's movements and thinking. She could predict Negi's fighting moves and tell which direction he was going to strike next. But of all the things in the world that Eva knew well and understood, this was something that she didn't know.
"But why..........?" Eva began.
"Because we are your parents Evangeline." Her mother said.
"You did not become a vampire because you wanted to right? You did what you had to to survive, we would have done the same had we been in your position." her father said.
"B-but! You don't understand! I.....I have become an evil power-hungry monster! My own kind even fears me! Yet why do you still treat me like a human?" Eva asked.
"Eva...is that all you saw yourself as? The aggressor? We are not treating you like a vampire or human. You were a victim of an unfortunate attack but you have survived nonetheless. I assure you that becoming what you are now is not your fault," her father assured her.
"I am just glad that you came back to the castle." Her mother said softly to Eva. And hugged her again. Her father also joined in and hugged the two tightly.
No words were spoken between them for some time. But words were not needed. The unspoken dialog between the three was clear. Her parents loved her even after all these years. They did not care if Eva was evil or a vampire. All they cared about was that she came back to them and she was safe. She could tell that they felt guilty for not doing their duty of taking care of Eva, and she forgave them for that. Just by hugging Eva, her parents understood their daughter's pain and what she had to go through. Half a millennium's worth of memories swirled around and played through at breakneck speed. Her parents were in tears, both sadness and happiness at the same time.
"You have all this, but.....you don't seem very happy. Why is that Evangeline?" Her father asked after a while remembering all of her accomplishments.
Evangeline hiccuped at what he said. It sounded almost exactly like what Nagi had asked her not too long ago.
"I.......I suppose......that.....I'm always trying to improve......and that.......I feel that it's........not enough...."
Her parents both had a quizzical look on their faces. Then both of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was an odd moment for Eva has she never heard her parents laugh like that.
"I suppose we had yet to explain how to control your ambitions. Though that would be our fault for pushing you with your studies," her father noted.
"You've accumulated power for centuries already. That's more than anyone could hope for. Have you not wished to try something different?" her mother asked as well.
Eva thought about it really quick and thought was else was she able to do except fight. Her mind settled on a few things. She was good at flower arrangement and tea ceremony. She was also a decent GO player and a decent singer. Yes, the little girl never told anyone because of the humiliation, but she enjoyed singing when she was in the shower. But other than those few things, she read books on magic and magic theory, she trained everyday, she practiced her magic, trained some more....no....there really wasn't anything else she was good at.
"N-no......power is......all I have left in this world. I-I don't know how to do anything else...."
Then for some reason, she started to say, "If I........if I had....just a little more power.......if I could.......I would bring you two back........"
"Eh?! Hahaha! Evangeline, sometimes you can be really funny you know that?" her father laughed again.
"But I.........I wanted your love back........I felt that.........I lost it on that day.........."
"I hope you know that power cannot buy you everything. I did warn you that you shouldn't care so much about it. It can consume you if you are not careful. Heh, I suppose we also failed in that area," her father finished.
Eva had not realized it. She did remember her father saying that she needn't worry about power in her youth, saying that power will come to her in due time. She spent all her time accumulating power and training, pushing her abilities far beyond what any living creature was capable of. But if there was one ability that she wanted now more than ever......it was to bring her parents back from the dead.
"Dear, I think you need to take her seriously on this one," her mother turned to her and said, "Evangeline dear........that is......very sweet of you......it's more than we could ever hope for. But you have earned your power and that belongs to you. It does us no good. It's yours."
"Besides Evangeline, we loved you right from the very start," her father added.
"You have become very powerful, far more than any of us could imagine. I think you have more than enough power. You don't need more," Lady McDowell finished.
Eva had never considered that. She always seemed to want more. She wanted more because she absolutely enjoyed the feeling of being powerful.
"Listen Eva, if being strong is what you do best then please go on ahead, we are not stopping you," Lord McDowell said with a firm tone.
"Have you......not considered your own happiness? I know power is very important to you. But have you not thought that your happiness is just as important?" her mother asked. Her voice was very gentle and was not as harsh as Eva remembered it to be. But it was true that Eva hardly thought about her own happiness. Then again, she didn't know what made her happy.
"I suppose.......I never really thought about it before. I have done horrible things. Unforgiveable sins. I have killed far too many for everyday happiness and have far outlived my lifetime. I...don't deserve to be happy...." Eva repeated what she had told Asuna and Setsuna. She honestly believed that she did not deserve to be happy. She was an evil being whom many wanted dead. Why would someone like her deserve happiness?
"Evangeline dear.....you forgave us for not protecting you more. Now its our turn to ask, do you too wish to be forgiven?" her mother asked looking longingly at their daughter.
"I......I-uh...." Evangeline hesitated. Did she really want to be forgiven? Did she even deserve to be forgiven of her crimes? Her mind was racing. She clutched her head with both hands in frustration. Her vampire side was telling her no, but her human side was telling her yes. Once again she fell to her knees trembling.
"Look....you may not know the answer, but we forgive you as well." Her father said noting how distressed Evangeline was right now. He knew it was difficult for her to grasp such concepts.
"We only wish for you to be happy. I..I do not think I could bear to see you unhappy for the rest of your life. If that makes you feel better, that is why we forgive you. No being should be denied happiness, not even you who claim to be an evil vampire."
Nekane motioned for the others to leave. Eva said that she could find her way back to the Springfield's home no problem. Nekane guessed that she wanted some time alone with her parents. As they turned to leave, they thought they saw the glint of a single tear trickle down from the vampiress's eyes.
The train ride back to Wales was for the most part, uneventful. They passed by the same hills as before, this time illuminated by the late afternoon sun. There were several white, fluffy clouds in the sky, but there was a gray cloud seemed to hang over the seven of them.
Anya for instance, found herself feeling......sorry for Evangeline, someone she never thought she would feel anything for.
Anya was very saddened indeed. She even pitied her. She wanted to apologize to Eva for the way she treated her these past few days. Ever since she arrived to Wales, she did nothing except loath and was scared of Eva. But after seeing that emotional scene with Eva and her parents, Anya thought she might have overdone it. She was scared of a vampire for almost no apparent reason, and yet the vampire was scared that she would be disowned by her parents. She made a mental note to apologize to Negi after this as well.
For the first hour, none of them spoke. No one wanted to say anything. Konoka was still crying in Setsuna's shoulder and the swordswoman placed an arm around her.
Setsuna spoke first, "I.....I never knew that.....Evangeline was is so much pain. I mean-I knew she must have been through a lot over the years but......I never expected that she had to go through such hardship."
"I know what you mean. Secchan, but I think .....now, I understand Eva more." Konoka said in between sniffles.
"Now I think I understand why she gave me that choice."
"What choice?" Konoka asked after blowing her nose in a hankercheif that Setsuna offered her.
"When we battled, she gave me a choice: happiness, or my sword. She said that I cannot have both, whereas I saw that there was no reason not to have both."
"She chose power. She chose that over her own happiness." Asuna concluded.
Nekane then spoke up, "Who would ever choose that? I don't think I could ever make that choice."
"I don't think any one of us here would. But she did because she felt she had no other choice." Setsuna repiled. She felt she understood why Eva did not want happiness and forgiveness.
"That would explain why she never seems to smile. It also explain why she seems such a grouch in class." Asuna noted.
Negi too was quiet most of the time. Sure he had been intimidated by his master, and sure she's bullied him about a hundred times and put him through lots of pain. She put him through back breaking training regimens that had him literally begging at her feet for mercy. But none of that pain could compared to the lasting pain that she had to bear on her conscience for so long. He had never taken someone's life, and even now, still cringed at the sight of blood.
"Still, I hope that this will bring her some closure at least. I think she deserves that much," Nekane said as she wiped her eyes of tears.
"I certainly do too," was all the young teacher could say.
"Evangeline, before you go, we would like to give you something. Something that rightfully belongs to you," her father told her.
Eva was puzzled by this but went along. She never got gifts from anybody, much less now.
"If you look next to our gravestone, there is a hidden compartment," her father pointed behind him.
Eva walked over behind the tall monument and saw it. She removed the brick carefully to reveal a hidden chamber. Inside was a small, ornately decorated box which her father instructed to take out. The box was no larger than her palm and was worn out due to age. Eva took the box gingerly and replaced the brick back in its place. She then walked back around to the front of the gravestones.
"Open it. We have been saving this until you became of age or when we felt you would be ready to receive it," her mother told her.
Evangeline placed one hand over the lid and slowly opened it. Her green eyes widened at what laid inside. The box contained a single ring, sitting neatly over a red velvet cushion. Evangeline carefully took the ring out to examine it better. It was richly decorated with tiny jewels and looked to be made of solid gold and silver. In the center of the ring, was the finest craftsmanship baring the McDowell family crest.
Evangeline knew about this ring. She had seen her father wearing it many a time. Rings like this were used a sort of stamp in the old days before written signatures. One would dip or simply stamp a piece of parchment and the imprint it left marked the seal of that person. Of course, only rich and influential families had them.
"I....I don't know what to say........it's-it's beautiful."
Her father looked down at his daughter and smiled brightly. "This ring has been in our family for generations. It was passed down to me from my father and his father before him. It is a reminder and proof of our family's legacy. And now we shall pass it on to you, our heir and only daughter, Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell. It is yours."
She carefully looked the ring up and down and slipped it on her left thumb as it was the only finger that could fit the ring snuggly. For a minute, she stared at the ring, though slightly worn, and thought about this moment. Then she said two words that was almost never heard coming out of her mouth, "Thank you. I...I appreciate it, but......I-I have nothing to give in return....."
At this her father laughed again and smiled, a laugh not too different than a certain red-haired mage. "It has been this long and you still have much to learn."
"You owe us nothing Evangeline, not even an apology," her mother said smiling as well.
Lord McDowell placed a hand on Eva's head and rubbed her hair, exactly the same way all those years ago. "We simply wished to give you your inheritance before you left, as it is your birthright."
"Now our souls can finally rest in peace. We are the ones who should thank you," her mother said with the warmest of smiles.
"Good bye Evangeline dear. We will always love you," her father said.
"G-good bye.....have a nice afterlife...." Evangeline said weakly and waved.
And with that final word, the ghosts of her parents faded away, and could be seen floating upward towards the heavens. As they left for good, they left smiling all the way at Evangeline.
Eva was alone. She just stood in front of the two graves for several minutes in the beautiful sunset of Scotland. She wanted to do something for her parents, but she didn't know what.
Then, something popped into her mind. She wasn't sure about the idea, but she was going to do it.
She started running back down the hill as quickly as her tiny legs could carry her. She ran for about a hundred feet before realizing that she could fly. She pulled out her cape and took to the sky in an instant. What a view she had, but she could not enjoy it as the sun was already low on the horizon. She flew past her castle and saw her destination. She quickly descended into the field of lilacs and looked around. She started gathering as many as she can, not caring of the mess she was making and the leaves and pedals over her dress. She also gathered all sorts of other flowers that she could find. Daisies, roses, lavenders, anything she could find and tied them up with a spare sheet of cloth.
She quickly took flight back to the cemetery and flew so fast that she almost overshot her destination. She found her parents gravestones in a manner of seconds. She ran over her idea once again and nodded. She first separated the good flowers she picked from the field from the bad. She then separated the lilacs from the other flowers she had picked and placed the flowers in neat bunches at the bases of her parents' graves just beneath the names. She placed the lilacs for her mother and the roses and lilies for her father.
She stepped back to prepare the final piece of her plan.
She summoned her magic again, and chanted a spell in latin.
With careful skill, she manipulated her magic and worked the magic around her parents tombstones.
After several minutes she stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief to admire her handiwork. Instead of two tombstones made of stone, there now stood before her two tombstones encased in crystal.
Now not even time could wither away at her parents. Although her parents had asked nothing from her, she still felt this was the least she could for them.
For a while, Evangeline just stood there, looking at crystal monument.
It was a beautiful sight with the impurities and smooth sides catching the sun's rays and scattering them everywhere.
Then, a flood of emotions ran through Evangeline.
Her knees gave way and she fell to her knees. Evangeline finally broke down crying. She couldn't fight her own tears let alone her sadness. On that snowy day when she ran away from the comforts of her home with nothing else but the clothes on her back, she descended further and further into the realm of darkness until finally, she became the darkness itself. But even after all the evil deeds she's committed, the countless lives she took with her bare hands, and not once even reconsidering her own actions, her parents, who were now long dead, still accepted her like they would have over five centuries ago. There was no hint of anger in her parents, only love for their daughter. They had treated her a victim rather than an aggressor. And of course, they treated her like a human being instead of a vampire.
She continued to cry. She couldn't even remember when she cried this much.
Hot tears streamed down her face as she wept. There was no one around to hear her woes and cries. So she continued to cry her heart out. She cried for what seemed like hours, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, she kept crying.
And she continued to cry, because for once, she was not the scary vampire and mistress of the night.
She was a lonely girl who had lost her parents.
Fin
A/N: I will say that I myself even cried when typing this chapter up. Once again iwant to thank Donkeykong75m for helping me to beta this story. It was absolutely crucial that i got this last chapter as perfect as possible. Stay tuned for an omake of Vincent and Jean and the troubles they had after this!