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Chapter 10

Elda turned pale at the sight of Victor. She started to wobble, but Henry caught his mother before she fell. Victor was now a little worried himself, as Elda just referred to him as “William”, his ancestor's name. Elda soon regained her composure and walked towards Victor, still amazed at the sight of him.
“Are you...William Donovan? Or am I just seeing things in my old age...” she asked quietly.
“No ma'am. My name is Victor. William is my great ancestor.” Victor replied respectfully.
Elda smiled calmly. “You look exactly like him. Same hair, same eyes. Hard to believe that the last time I saw him was over 300 years ago...”
Victor's eyes widened in disbelief. “300 years? Wait...”
Elda looked at Victor kindly. “Do you know who I am?”
“If my father's stories are accurate,” Victor replied. “You are the woman William met long ago: Elda Sinclair.”
“You are correct.” Elda said with a little excitement. “I am surprised that his legacy carried on throughout these years.” She seemed like she was about to jump for joy. She turned and looked at the unconscious Maeve. “So what happened here?”
“Mother,” Henry replied. “This man rescued your granddaughter while she was going through Blood Withdrawal. He carried her here all the way from the park.”
Elda turned to face Victor. “Is this true? Did you save my granddaughter?”
Victor bowed respectfully. “Yes, ma'am.”
Elda smiled at him. “Then it seems that history is repeating itself...”
“Grandmother!” Ren spoke loudly. “That human is a vampire hunter! He cannot be trusted!”
Elda's face turned into a serious one. “Is what he says true, Victor?”
“It is true that I was a hunter...” Victor stated. “But when I met Maeve, I was changed by her actions, and I threw away my hunter status to the wayside.”
“He lies!” Ren yelled. “It's a lie!”
Elda walked up to Victor with a serious face. She put her hand on Victor’s chest right over his heart. She paused for a moment, then smiled. “Victor is telling the truth. I can feel it.” She turned to her family. “This man is not to be harmed. He has done us an extreme service in rescuing Maeve.” Her face turned serious. “If any mark is found on Victor that is caused by one of you, your fate will be sealed.” The family bowed in respect to her order. She then turned to Victor. “Come with me.”
They walked upstairs to Elda's room, and stepped out onto the balcony. “Victor, I would like to ask you something. Do you have feelings for my granddaughter?”
Victors face started to turn red. “Yes...I do.”
“Then that confirms my suspicions.” She held up her left hand. “On my hand is the ring that your ancestor, and my love, William made for me. It has never left my hand in over 300 years.” She then took it off and gave it to Victor. “Please, give this to my granddaughter, and continue to repeat history.”
Victor stood there in amazement. “Thank you.” he said with respect. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the ocarina from his pocket. Elda's eyes widened as she saw him hand it to her. “As you know, this was my ancestors. He would want you to have it.”
Elda smiled, then gave it back to Victor. “No, that is part of your heritage. Please keep it for me.” She paused for a moment. “But I do have one request. Do you know the song William played on it so long ago?” Victor nodded. “Will you play it for me one last time?”
Victor set it to his lips, and the solemn song once again filled the area. As he played, tears came to Elda's eyes; and for the first time in 300 years...they were tears of happiness.

It was around 3:00 when Maeve regained consciousness. She sat up and looked around, wondering where she was. Maria was sitting next to her in a chair, taking care of her sister.
“Hello sister.” Maria said softly. “How are you feeling?”
Maeve blinked her eyes a few times. “I...I'm okay. What happened to me?”
“You were unconscious due to Blood Withdrawal. Victor carried you home from the park, and placed you here on the couch. Then I gave you a treatment so you could come out of it.”
“So he made it huh... Speaking of, where is Victor?” Maeve asked.
“He is talking with Father and big brother in the study.” she replied softly.
Maeve paused for a moment. “Um...They aren't trying to kill each other are they?”
“Father is actually quite friendly to him. Ren however, does not trust him.”
“Figures... I'll go check on them.” Maeve got up and walked to the study doors. She then put her ear on the door and listened in.
“Victor,” Henry spoke. “The reason behind what I did, was that of self preservation. You see, your bloodline has many past hunters in it that were all very powerful. So I thought if I stopped your family line, then our family will stay in existence. But what I didn't see was that your family line hadn't had a hunter in it in two generations. What I did was wrong. And for that, it was right of you to want your vengeance. 'An eye for an eye, blood for blood.' Yet I am amazed that you do not want it now. You have strong resolve; resolve that does not show up in this day and age. I apologize for what I did to you and your family.” Henry then bowed in respect towards Victor.
“Thank you.” Victor replied. “I'm sure my father would rather have that apology, than me get my revenge.” He turned to face Ren. “Your wound from earlier; did it cause any permanent damage?”
“Of course not! We vampires have the gift of regeneration!” Ren said with an arrogant flair.
“Still, I apologize for injuring you in that way.” Victor said. “I no longer wish to be your enemy. Rather, I wish to be your ally.”
“Ally.” Henry said. “What do you mean, 'Ally'?”
“When my clan figures out that I have forsaken the duties of a hunter, they will surely come after me to get me back, and in the process come after your family. When they do, I want to help stop them.”
“When that day comes, we shall be ready.” Henry said.
Victor looked at the clock on the mantle. “It is getting late, so I am going to return home.” He held out his hand to Henry. “It was an honor to meet you.”
“No Victor. This time the honor is mine.” He grasped Victor's hand. Victor then turned and walked towards the door out of the study. Maeve heard him and quickly ran to the living room and sat on the couch. Maria wasn't there; she was off in the kitchen. Victor walked downstairs and headed towards the door. Before he opened it, he turned to the living room and saw Maeve sitting there. He let go of the handle and walked over to her.
“I see that the treatments were a success. Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Maeve replied. “I'm okay. Thanks for helping me back there.”
Victor started to turn red. “Yeah...no problem. I’m just glad you are safe.”
“Well don't just stand there, come here and sit with me.” Maeve said. Victor walked over to the couch and sat down next to Maeve. Maeve scooted closer to him, and smiled. “When I was starting to go under... I have this hazy memory of you telling me... that you loved me. Is that true?”
Victor paused for a moment. “Yes...it's true. I really do care for you. You changed me for the better, and I am forever grateful for that.”
Maeve started to turn red. Then Victor did something she never would have guessed he would do. He got off of the couch, and got down on one knee. He then took her hands in his. “Maeve, I would like to ask you if you would be the one to stay with me for the rest of my life. You are the only person who ever cared for me the way you do. You showed me kindness and compassion despite who I was. You showed me what true happiness was, and for that, I owe you my heart.” He pulled out Elda's ring from his pocket and held it up. Maeve's eyes widened from the shock of what she saw in his hands, as well as his next words. “Maeve, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage.”
Maeve was struck speechless by Victor's statement. It took her ten seconds before she could reply with one soft word: “...Yes.” Victor took her hand and softly and slowly placed the ring on her left ring finger. Her face was one of excitement and awe, and she trembled with emotion as he slowly rose up and got to his feet, still holding her hand. She stood up as well, and they shared a powerful kiss that stunned both of them with the amount of emotion in it. When their lips finally separated, they gazed into each other's eyes with pure love for each other; and for the first time since childhood, Victor smiled.
“It will be some time before I can marry you... I need to separate myself from the rest of the world, as well as make sure the rest of the Hunter Clan does not find me with you.” Victor said calmly. “If the clan found out what has transpired here, you and your family would be in great danger.”
“I understand...” Maeve said nervously.
“Well then,” Victor said softly. “I need to head home to rest my body. I tired myself out with my powered-up state. Please rest well.”
“Wait, I'll walk you outside.” Maeve said as she took his arm.
As they walked outside, the moonlight bathed them in a tender glow. They walked together for a bit, then faced each other and shared one last passionate kiss before Victor turned and left for home. As he left, the two of them did not notice that Elda was watching them from her balcony.
“William... If only you could have seen this... You would be proud to know what a fine man your grandchild Victor has turned out to be. Your legacy of kindness lives on through him... And your dream may finally come true...”