Knowing the time was near, Osamu made one final detour on his way to the baths where Hima and the others waited for him. He made his way through the pine double doors past the dining room, which led him to the garden behind the castle.

A narrow, cobblestone walkway led him to the cascading waterfall in the center of the garden. A family of four goldfinches stood on the edge of the stone basins holding the water, quickly dipping their beaks in for a cool drink in the warm sun. The entangled scents of basil, cilantro, wild mint, honeysuckles, and hydrangea floated in the air, cradled by the Welsh breeze.

A flash of golden light blinked next to the water fountain, scaring the goldfinches away. Anne appeared out of that light dressed in a white, floral blouse and tight, blue jeans. Her hair was tied in a half-up style, with the the other, unbound half swaying in the breeze.

“You made it.” Osamu said.

Anne looked around, noticing the absence of particularly important person. “Where’s Taeko?”

“This has nothing to do with her.” Osamu. “This about Dark Dawn. There’s something I need you to do before Hima and I found our new nation. This is critical to making the project a success.”

Annabel happened to see Osamu and Anne from one of the rear balconies of the castle. She almost waved and said hello, but she stopped when she saw Anne’s expression change from one of curiosity to soul-shattering horror. Though she couldn’t hear Osamu from the balcony, Annabel couldn’t ignore how pale Anne looked even from afar.

Anne bowed her head to Osamu before flipping her teleportation coin and returning to Italy. Osamu then turned around and went back inside Moonglow Castle. Though she didn’t want to pry, even Annabel wondered what it was that sucked the color out of Anne’s face. What could Osamu have instructed her to do that terrified her so deeply?

After their relatively quick foray into the Underworld, Hima, Carmilla, Taeko, Annabel, and Osamu sunk their bones in the relaxing, warm waters of Hima’s bath. Sunlight poured in through the massive, stained glass column behind the central bath, painting the whole room in a dazzling glow of purple, red, and blue.

“Ahh, this is bliss.” Hima said with a relaxed sigh. “You know, we’ve only really known each other for a few days, yet this is the second time you’ve seen me naked.”

Osamu and Taeko weren’t exactly sure how to respond to that, so they glanced at each other before awkwardly turning their heads away from Hima. Annabel yanked Hima’s arm towards her, scrubbing it aggressively with her black washcloth.

“What the hell, Annie?” Hima recoiled.

“I still smell it on you!” Annabel whined. “We can’t you have smelling like death when you go to Yakutsk!”

“Speaking of which, when will we be going?” Taeko asked.

“Carmilla can take us there first thing in the morning.” Hima said. “The council will be ready and waiting for us. Well, for Carmilla. They don’t know that I exist yet.”

“I explained the matter was of great importance, but I didn’t tell them that Dracula had an heir.” Carmilla added. “I wanted to make sure Hima would be safe in the time it would take for you guys to link up with us.”

“That was good thinking.” Taeko said.

“I almost forgot. How are things with Izanami? Is she still upset?” Hima asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her.” Osamu answered. “It’s probably best to give her some distance for now.”

“If Izanami’s not on our side, all of our effort in the Underworld was wasted.” Hima warned. “Be sure to talk to her soon.”

Hima leaned her head back, staring at the vaulted ceiling with gold inlays above. “I can’t believe we’ve come this far. The Second Great Holy War eviscerated our country and scattered our race. All of our culture, our language…all of it was lost. If you didn’t live in Yakutsk, you lived in fear for your life. To this day, those damned exorcists are ordered to kill vampires on sight. Now look at us. Our race is coming back from the edge of genocide.

“I can only hope our nationalist spirit didn’t die alongside my father. I want to be the queen of a proud race. If we’re to win this war, we can’t have it any other way. If they’ve any fire left in their bones, they’ll hunger for revenge just as I do. How dare the Japanese push us to the edge of extinction? How dare they cast us out of the Eden of our own making?

“It’s not unusual for a race as punished as my own to believe their own history to be some sort of Original Sin. I’ll not entertain such a self-flagellating ideology as collective guilt.”

“That’s the right call, Hima.” Taeko said. “A war like this requires the backbone of nationalism. I can’t imagine a better way of cultivating that nationalist fervor than for Dracula’s true heir to take her rightful place as queen and unite her people.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Annabel snickered as she tented her fingers. “And to do so in adult form, maturated by the blood of a goddess…”

Hima sat up, focusing her gaze on Osamu. “That’s right. It’s time for the next step in our plan. I’ll treat myself to a small serving of your blood, Osamu. You’re still okay with that?”

Osamu nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with. I’m kind of interested to see what you’ll look like as an adult.”

Hima snickered as her tongue swept across her top lip. “Carmilla assured me my mother was quite the beauty. Your final wife won’t disappoint, Osamu.”

Annabel reached over the edge of the tub, unrolling a white towel with a syringe and shot glass hidden in it. She grabbed the two items and handed the glass over to Hima. She then waded over to Osamu with the syringe in hand.

“Your arm, please.” Annabel said, prompting Osamu to lift his left arm.

The bath was as silent as a funeral. Hardly anyone even breathed as they watched Annabel jab the syringe into Osamu’s vein and draw Inari’s divine blood from his body. Everyone was prepared to see history unfold before their very eyes, to witness the day that Dracula’s heiress became a fully matured vampire.

Annabel waded back towards Hima and emptied the syringe into her shot glass. Inari’s blood was redolent of the flowery, sweet aroma of a springtime breeze. To Hima, it was the smell of freedom, the incense of nation waiting to be born and war waiting to be won.

“To my father, my mother, and all those that laid down their lives for this day to happen.” Hima said, knocking back the shot glass.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to Hima as she swallowed every drop of Inari’s blood. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Hima put down the shot glass and sat back, waiting for the slightest sign of change. Just when Carmilla parted her lips to ask if she felt okay, Hima’s eyes suddenly glowed red like blood moons. She wailed in pain as she stood from the tub, falling over onto the bathroom floor.

“Hima!” Annabel screamed, rushing to her side.

“Fuck! Hima! Are you okay?” Taeko shouted.

“This can’t be happening!” Osamu cried, his eyes wide with concern.

Hima seized up on the floor, clutching at her chest. Her chest protruded outward as if she was trying to breathe, but she couldn’t fill her lungs with air. Annabel flipped her onto her back, pinching Hima’s nose and parting her lips open with her fingers. She wrapped her mouth around Hima’s and blew air down her throat before pumping her chest with both hands.

“Hima! Breathe! Breathe!” Annabel cried

Hima’s pupils shrank, her eyes stuck open in a horrified, Gorgon’s gaze. In that moment, her legs and arms twitched violently. Annabel looked over to her limbs, noticing something rather peculiar. Hima’s arms and legs were growing longer. She stepped back as Hima’s body continued to rattle on the floor, watching as her entire body slowly changed.

“She’s…growing!” Carmilla said.

Hima’s limbs grew longer, her hips wider, and she began to lose the childish roundness in her face. Her eyes narrowed out while her chest developed breasts with larger nipples and areolae. She managed to snap out of her seizure with a vicious, pained scream. Her flesh and bones settled in their newfound growth as her lungs sucked in a much needed breath of air. Once she calmed down, Hima slowly stood onto her feet, taken aback by how much taller she had grown.

She stared at her hands, then looked down at her adult body. She cupped both of her breasts and stuck out her right leg. Realizing it had worked, she let out an awestruck laugh and spun around on the balls of her feet.

“Finally!” Hima cheered, her voice deeper and matured. “I feel so alive! Well? How do I look?”

“Absolutely stunning!” Carmilla laughed in relief.

Annabel filled the room with a thunderous applause. “The queen is here, folks! We’ve done it!”

Osamu sighed as he sank his body deeper into the bath. “I thought you were gonna die!”

Hima snickered as she stretched her arms towards the ceiling. “If I had died there, I wouldn’t be worthy of becoming anyone’s queen! Osamu, looks like I owe you my thanks. I’ve waited a long time for this! Before we met, I started to think this day would never come. You’ve given me all the power and legitimacy we need to found our nation.”

“I’m just glad it all worked out.” Osamu said. “We still need to be able to convince the Yakutsk Council, though.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Hima said, sauntering back to the bath tub. “Founding our nation doesn’t just mean building a country from scratch. It also means they must volunteer to become active combatants in the Third Great Holy War. It’s fortunate for us that Carmilla chose such a secluded place to create a safe haven for us. The world doesn’t have its eyes on a place like Yakutsk. Militarizing the population there should be an easy task.”

“Carmilla, did you choose Yakutsk so you could start another country in secret?” Taeko asked.

“No, not at all.” Carmilla said. “Dracula knew the Second Great Holy War would end in our defeat, and that his kingdom would splinter into fragments after his death. He tasked me with creating a safe haven for all the vampires that survived. Naturally, I chose somewhere low-profile and inaccessible to the world. Yakutsk was already under our domain, and it didn’t seem like it held any strategic value to our enemies. So, naturally, I chose Yakutsk.”

“The Shinto Pantheon won’t even see it coming!” Hima sang, submerging her body in the tub’s steaming water. “Ahhh, this is perfect for my joints.”

“Now that I think about it, Annabel will need to drink some of Osamu’s blood as well, won’t she?” Taeko asked. “We’re having her become a lord as well. She can’t be the only child in our rank.”

“Oh! I guess you’re right!” Annabel gasped. “I’ll have my fill a little later. I don’t want to draw more blood from you too soon.”

“I appreciate that.” Osamu said. “Just out of curiosity, what did it taste like?”

“Inari’s blood?” Hima asked. “Like fruit and icebergs.”

“…Huh?” Carmilla groaned, puzzled.

“It’s hard to explain!” Hima giggled. “But it tasted as great as it smelled.”

“Yeah, it was hard to tell when it looked like you were having a heart attack just a minute ago.” Taeko sighed. “At any rate, Annabel will be the next one to drink Osamu’s blood. Then we leave for Yakutsk in the morning. Not a second too soon, either. I imagine our Shinto friends have already realized Osamu isn’t in Japan anymore.”

“It’ll take longer for the armies of the world to deploy their forces. The Shinto pantheon can move quicker than that, though.”

Hima nodded. “Right. In that case, let’s be sure to rest well today. Tomorrow, we shall all become lords of a new nation.”