The days continue their course, and the silence between Irena and Van Helsing is stronger every day. Aleera tries to comfort her friend but it is impossible.

The evening falls, Irena is alone in her room and suddenly, Erika and Astrid enter in the room.

-------------"Hello my girls.

-------------"Where is dad?

-------------"He went to Bucharest, he will be here tonight.

The soul of Marishka feels the pain of Irena, besides; they are connected in many aspects. Astrid decides to approach her "mother" and give her support; Erika is annoying, she hates any expression of love.

------------"He is going to leave us, right mom?

------------"I don't know Erika.

------------"If he goes away, I am going with him, I don't want to stay with you.

------------"Don't do this to me Erika. I love you, if I lose you…

------------"You are weak; I can't deal with people like you.

Irena controls her emotions for a few moments to face her "daughter" for the first time.

----------"Some day you will know that the love of a mother is incalculable. The love for the children is as immense as the world. I love you in spite of your efforts for defying me, upset me and make me suffer. I cannot understand why you do it. You only have received love from me.

Astrid supports Irena and decides to intervene.

------------" If she wants to go away, she can do it. I stay with you mom.

------------"You will come with me Astrid!

------------"No!

-----------"Please, no more fights! I am not the perfect mother, and believe me; it is not because I wanted it. There is a malignant force that does not allow me to be a complete mother. But I love you and I only want that both of you are well and happy.

Irena abandons the room. Erika is very angry with Astrid.

--------------"What are you going to do Astrid?

--------------"I will stay with her.

--------------"Good, perhaps it is convenient for me that you remain with her. I need one ally in this part of the world.

-------------" I will not be your ally Erika; this is the end of our union.

Erika gets angry and tries to attack Astrid but the girl has a better plan.

----------" If you kill your own sister you will be lost. There is no one in this room except us. They will blame you this time.

Erika realizes that Astrid is right.

----------"I never should trust in you, but I felt so much sorrow the night of your second death that I could not control the desire to help you and give you the opportunity to savor the sweet nectar of the revenge. But you are weak, you are tied to your humanity and that makes you useless for me. I hope that you enjoy your new human life with your mother while you can, because when I return, you are going to want the death, again.

Erika leaves the room. Astrid feels relieved for the first time.

That night, Irena and Van Helsing fight for a last time.

------------"You will not return

------------"Yes I will.

------------"There is no love in your heart for me. And not only you take the half of my heart with your parting, one of my daughters goes away with you.

------------"The duty calls me, besides; we need to be apart, at least for a while. As for Erika, she will return to you when less you wait for it.

Irena approaches her husband and caresses his left cheek.

-------------"I do not want that you swear to me that you are going to return because that you are not a man of oaths. But I am going to swear something to you; I am going to find the source of my sorrow, the truth about the evil that watches me and that does not allow me to be the woman you wish and the perfect mother for the girls. I love you and I am going you to recover you, I swear it to you.

------------"I will dream of that every night.

The love is alive between them, but also is very confused and wounded. Irena and Van Helsing are so hurt inside that they cannot say goodbye with love. Van Helsing walks out of the room with his luggage and Irena follows him with tears in her eyes. Erika is now in front of her. The girl experiences strange sensations. Tenderly Irena embraces Erika.

---------------"You are the most important person of my life. Your sister, your father and you, are the light of my life.

The dark soul of Lillith cannot understand these feelings. She never received the pure love of a mother in her previous life, and now her soul is too perverse to assimilate beautiful feelings.

--------------"I will return, mom, don't worry.

--------------"I want you to stay.

--------------"My presence hurts you, you know it.

--------------"I have never said that

--------------"But you feel it, you feel that this malignant force that wraps you it is me. Good, perhaps my absence helps you to improve and to understand. Bye mom.

Astrid goes out of the house and runs towards her "mother".

----------"Are you not going to say goodbye to your sister?

----------"The farewells are painful.

Stefan, Nicholas and Aleera approach Irena.

------------"He is going to return.

------------"I wait for that.

------------"He loves you, besides, he has another beautiful daughter waiting for him here

The time does not stop, the pain of the absence of Van Helsing is difficult, the nights of Irena are cold and her days are gloomy, but incredibly the presence of Astrid has calmed the pain of Irena. Since Erika is not in the house, the soul of Irena is more serene.

The friendship between Kiara and Astrid is stronger; Allan feels special fondness for Astrid. Aleera observes them playing every day, she cannot stop observing Astrid, she is like Marishka in many ways. But Aleera feels that it is impossible, Marishka died.

Goran and his family experience a very big change in their lives. The "father" of Goran has found gold in his grounds, so he and his family have decided to leave the village after having donated part of their fortune to the inhabitants, to initiate a new life in Moldavia, a region in the north of Transylvania. The most fascinating experience lives in the soul of Dracula; to be a child again, it is like to born again. He has a new life, a new opportunity. But what he cannot understand is why the memory of Marishka invades his dreams every night. He cannot stop thinking about her, but as child, his dreams with her are innocent, now Dracula only can dream with her as the beautiful fairy of a story. But the true thing is that her presence is latent. She is the princess of his fairy tale dream.

With the days and the nights the years also continue the course. 12 years have passed. Kiara and Astrid are the most beautiful girls of the village; Kiara is the living image of her mother, only that her eyes are green. Astrid has the features of Marishka but she is not identical to her. Allan is a good-looking, intelligent and determined young man. The time does not seem to have touched Aleera and Irena, although both are more mature, the youth still beautify them. Stefan looks better than ever, and he loves his wife as the first day. Van Helsing and Carl fight in Paris, Spain and in many places of the world against monsters that seem to multiply without explanation. What they ignore is that the source of the evil lives with them. Erika is as beautiful as a rose with thorns. The beauty of Lillith stands out in her, although with different features, the youth makes her seem more beautiful and innocent, unable to make something bad. But with the age her powers grow, it is her who controls the monsters that her father fights day and night. She meanwhile amuses as she usually did it in her old days. In the day she is the affectionate and sweet daughter of Van Helsing, in the night she is a night creature that wraps the men; she learns about the arts of the evil and concentrates in improving her powers. Soon she will be strong enough to be eternal and young forever.

Goran and "his family" are much loved in Moldavia. Dracula cannot avoid being astonished when he sees his reflection in the mirror. He is a young man again, younger than when he left the mortal life for the first time. The facility with he has got connected with his "parents" and with the rest of the world surprises him. He is alive, he is human and he feels as a normal man. Although his memories of the past are still alive, they do not torment it like before. What worries him is the fact that he keeps on dreaming of Marishka, and now his dreams are not equal to those of his childhood.

"Why do I keep on thinking about her? Marishka is dead; she went away with my second death.

In the village, Irena and Aleera are the best examples of friendship, strength and capacity for all the women in the village. Stefan is like the sheriff of the town because he is the only man smart enough to maintain the law, order, productivity and evolution of the village that by the way, is more prosperous.

Is a Saturday morning, and Astrid is at home. Suddenly Kiara enters without knocking the door.

---------------"Good morning!

---------------"Good morning Kiara, you always enter in my house with style.

---------------"I have wonderful news!

---------------"Really? About what?

---------------"Listen; The most rich family of Moldavia offers a dance in honor of their son Goran Raveski. In two weeks!

---------------"Raveski? Is this the family that found gold in their land, and gave part of their fortune to this village and then went to the north?

---------------"Yes!

---------------"I realize that they are a rich, but noble.

---------------"And that's why we must go to that party.

---------------"I am not a "party girl" you know that.

--------------"Come on Astrid, don't be so bored. We are young, beautiful, besides, our parents are invited.

--------------"If only my father was here.

--------------"I am sorry Astrid.

--------------"Is not your fault.

--------------"Your mom says that he is fighting in Europe, with Carl.

--------------"The darkness has a big war in the old world.

--------------"My mother and your mother are training for years for a war like that. I wonder why, I mean, the peace has been long, danger does not exist actually. I hate the old stories of this village, all of them are about tragedies and monsters.

Astrid remains in silence, she knows that the real danger is in Europe with Van Helsing and she remembers the promise, the promise of return of Erika. If she returns, the peace will end.

------------"Astrid? Are you all right?

------------"Yes, I am.

------------"Well, what do you say?

------------"About what?

------------"About the dance invitation!

------------"I will think about it, ok?

------------"You have until tomorrow to give me an answer.

------------"Fine.

------------"Allan will love to be your partner in that dance

------------"Kiara…

------------"You know he loves you, he is your admirer.

------------"Enough. He is nice; he is like my brother, nothing more. Besides, he is too good for me.

------------"Don't say that again Astrid. You are a wonderful girl, my best friend. You are not like your hideous sister Erika. By the way, do you know something about her?

------------"My father always speaks to us about her in his letters. He says that she is very beautiful, that everybody admires her, that she ruins the experiments of Carl and that she escapes every night of the house. He punishes her all the time.

-------------"Why I am not surprised?

-------------"I hope that she never returns.

Meanwhile, Irena is in her room, drawing in a notebook. She has done many drawings, the majority of them are about her daughters; she draws them together, separately, with different expressions and in different sceneries. Other drawings are about her life with Van Helsing, of the love that still exists in her heart for him. In the notebook also there are kept the letters of him, letters with promises of a return, a return that has taken 12 years. Irena looks out through the window; the day is cloudy like her heart

"12 years my love, 12 years of feeling incomplete, of imagining your voice across your letters, your letters that are so cold and so short. I have fought against the time, I have fought against my fears, I have fought against the ghost of Anna Valerious to be the perfect woman, so that when you turn everything it is as when we fall in love for the first time. I have given all my love to Astrid and I am happy with her, she is my daughter and my friend, but also I miss Erika, we are never on good terms but she is my daughter and I love her. Gabriel, my love, come back to me please, come back with my daughter".

In Rome, alone in his room, Van Helsing thinks about Irena. He has not stopped loving her but a feeling stronger that the love separated them. Now he feels that he was more father than husband.

'Irena, Irena: what happened to us? We were so happy together, everything changed from the day in which we adopt the girls. It seems to me that we were not prepared to be parents. Irena I love you, I will always love you".

Meanwhile, Erika revises the letters of her 'mother' in his room. In all the letters Irena expresses the love that she feels for her.

"You are an affectionate mother Irena; it is a sorrow that I could not feel compassion or love. My hate is so strong that it can control all the positive emotions that this body radiates. Soon I will make your dream reality, mom, I am going to return, and the darkness will come with me".

Will Continue….