They stood there, waiting for how long, they didn't know, but nor did they care. The monstrous servants of Tremere had fled, leaving them alone in the ancient castle. The three of them now waited at the entrance of the castle, waiting for their hero to appear from the depths of the darkness.

It had been hours since then. Catherine had broken out of the trance that Tremere had put her under, a sign that it was over. The vampire was no more, D had been victorious. They were at last safe, and yet, things could not be as they were before.

Their home was gone, their farm destroyed, their crops ruined beyond all repair and their livestock slaughtered. There was no way they could ever recover from the devistation that had been brought upon them.

Yet, there was always hope. As the first rays of the rising sun began to peak over the mountain tops, the trio of Daniel, Catherine, and Iria ran realized that this is what D had been trying to tell them all along. So long as they had each other, so long as they always had faith in one another, there would always be hope and the chance for their dreams to continue.

"Never fails to bring something warm to my hearts."

They turned suddenly at the voice. Walking toward them from the entryway of the castle was D. In his eyes, they saw that he need not tell them what had been done, because they already knew. As the hunter walked up to stand beside the three humans, he closed his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, the dunpeal at last smiled. It felt to him like a heavy weight had finally been lifted from his soul, and he knew that at long last, his family could rest in peace, justice at last fulfilled after four hundred years.

His eyes opened. D sighed and turned to face the Rans. He noticed something in Daniel and Iria's eyes. It was no longer fear as it had been before. Now there was gratitude and respect there, a deep thankfulness that came from their hearts. As well there was the desire to apologize for what they had done, how they had treated him. Again, he smiled, but this time it was one that let them know that such words need not be said. He knew what they felt, what they wanted to tell him, and that was enough.

"This place belongs to you three now," he stated after a moment. The surprise in their faces was enough to make him almost laugh. D tilted his head to look up at the sky, the rising sun bathing him with morning light. "Marrigan has agreed to look after you three, to make sure you have long and fruitful lives." There was a mischievous sparkle in those crimson eyes now. "After all, all the properties of the castle's lord goes to his surviving family, and you three are the last relatives of Hyrem Greymare."

They stared at him in disbelief. Obviously, they hadn't known about the blood ties their family had to the former lord of this castle. It wasn't direct descent, but Marrigan had confirmed that the Rans were from a family that Greymare had ties to. In fact, they were the only such people in the area that could legally claim such ties.

Someone else emerged from the castle. Blue skin, red hair, the seductive succubus now stepped out into the sun, for the first time in over two centuries letting herself bask in the light of day. "Oh, yes," she crooned, stretching her back. "It's been such a long time." Marrigan smiled, then noticed the looks of shock that the two sisters gave her, as well as the rather memorized expression that came from Daniel. There was a small smile on her lips at those receptions. "I think we'll all get along together quite nicely, children."

"Remember your promise," D stated quickly. He glanced to the succubus, letting her know that he hadn't forgotten. "They're off limits, especially the boy, until he's older and he comes to you of his own choice." A smirk then. "And no draining him when that happens."

The demoness feigned hurt pride. "Me?" she said with a mock gasp. "I would never think of such a thing, sire." Again, she grinned, though with regards to D, such was an invitation for him and him alone. "I assume you'll be needing to leave."

He nodded. Already was one of the cyborg horses that had been used by Tremere moving to stand alongside the hunter. D patted the steed, held the saddle, then pulled himself up to mount the beast. "I've done what I was led here to do," D stated, his eyes looking out toward the horizon. He could feel the call of his mission, the call of his fate. Though this job was over, in the end, he was not done.

The hunter glanced down to the Rans. A smile and a nod. "Take care," he said, then nudged his new mount in the side. In response, the horse galloped off across the bridge and toward the rising sun. After all the horrors that had befallen three fragile lives, in the end, they had emerged alive, well, and better off in life than they had assumed to be. They would be stronger from what they endured, and they learned the lesson that most people took for granted about the world.

The terrible rule of the vampires was dwindling. Their numbers fell with each passing day as humans learned to reach inside themselves for the courage and power to fight back. Indeed, it was the human spirit itself which gave mankind the power to live, to survive, and to become stronger than its enemies.

The shifting face upon the gauntlet rose up and smiled as it glanced up at D. "You know, that was pretty nice of you," the demon remarked while D kept his eyes on the road ahead of them. "Talked the succubus into running the castle for those kids, handing them the entire castle...you're not so bad after all."

The boy smiled and nodded. It seemed that even his ever constant demon companion could say something nice about him once in a while. Truly, it was a moment to hold onto for later when reminding himself of why he kept the gauntlet around.

A breeze caught D's coat at that moment as Varda then chuckled. "You just...dress bad."

"Shut up, Varda."