Author's Note: Well, everyone, this is it—the final chapter. This chapter serves more as an epilogue to the story. There is no dialogue here, but it discusses what becomes of the characters after the conclusion in Chapter Seventeen. This story is probably the longest that I've written so far, but I hope all of you found it enjoyable. And, as always, please read and review!

One day in the year of the fox,
came a time remembered well.
When a strong young man of the rising sun,
heard the tolling of the great black bell.
One day in the year of the fox,
when the bell began to ring, meant the time had come,
for the one young man to go to the temple of the king.
There in the middle of circle he stands searching, seeking.
With just one touch of his trembling had,
the answer will be found.
Daylight waits, while the old man sings, 'Heaven, help me.'
And then like a rush of a thousand wings,
it shines upon the one.
And the day had just begun—

"The Temple of the King"—Rainbow

Seuche in Deutschland

Chapter XVIII

Time is an impossible force that no one can control, regardless of whether or not that person is Vlad Tepes or Alric Ingber. One can go forward, but one can never go back. And for Lysander Adrian Tepes, Alcander Renard Tepes, and Christian Simon Belmont, it was a time to move forward.

In June of 1824, Christian and Catherine Belmont celebrated the birth of their first child—a little girl, who they named, Florina Annette Belmont. As Florina grew, she inherited many of the features of her parents—particularly her brown eyes and brown hair. Richter and Annette often thought that Florina looked so much like Sidra did when she was a baby.

The day after Alcander return to Romania, he visited the local jeweler and purchased a ring. That evening, he proposed to Jessica. One month after Alcander and Jessica finished their final year of school, they were married in the Belmont Chapel. And within three months of their marriage, Jessica was pregnant.

The couple's first child was a boy, who was christened, Gareth Alcander Tepes. Gareth inherited Alcander's green eyes and blonde hair. But he also inherited Jessica's cheeks. The Belmonts and the Tepeses often referred to Gareth as, 'baby Alcander' or 'little Alcander.' The title was not solely due to the face that Gareth was Alcander's son. It was due to the fact that Gareth looked almost identical to his father when Alcander was a baby. Unfortunately for Adrian and Maria, they did not have the opportunity to see their grandson as much as they would have preferred. Alcander had temporarily moved his family to Berlin.

After his graduation from high school, Alcander was accepted into the young Humboldt University—due to his good grades and his connection with his brother and Ingo. Once Gareth was a few months old, Alcander requested that Jessica and his infant son come to Berlin, so that he could be closer to them. The stay in Berlin would only be temporary, because—as Alcander informed his family—once he completed his History degree, he and his family would return to Romania. Despite the distance from home, his family—particularly Adrian and Maria—would journey to Prussia, and stay a few days with Alcander and his new family.

A few days after Lysander returned to Romania, he and Dana left the country for Prussia. Dana's reaction to Berlin was similar to Alcander's. She had never seen a place in Romania that compared to Berlin.

Lysander and Dana would often visit Alcander, and whenever Sophia came with them, she would act as an older sister to her younger cousin. It was not uncommon for the Tepeses to watch Sophia attempt to carry Gareth, while the little boy giggled. Lysander and Dana would often point out to Alcander and Jessica that Sophia acted similar when she was around Florina.

However, young Sophia Tepes, was about to experience some new changes in her life. She was not to be an only child. Sophia would eventually be joined by either a younger brother or sister.

While the flow of time cannot be stopped, and Christian, Lysander, and Alcander would have to experience the same event that their parents did—watching their children grow older—there was one hope that the three of them shared. They hoped that Sophia—and her future brother or sister—Florina, and Gareth would not have to live in a world of fear. That the threat of the undead would forever be closed.

The End

+ Cody the Impaler +

January 25, 2006

"Up the Irons!"