As all of the memories and words of her husband start to come back to her, Lucinda is eager to know if this boy is really her husband who died and has rebirthed two hundred years later. She was hesitant to let this boy stay for the night, because her intuition is telling her she needs more proof since it could all just be some bizarre coincidence.

But she felt pity for the boy and let him stay, maybe just for a while. "You're welcome to stay, Stefan," She said. Stefan felt warmed that Lucinda let her stay even if it's just for the night. "Thank you...Madam," He said. Stefan still felt hesitant since he will stay with a vampire for the night but he just told himself, "maybe she isn't so bad."

Lucinda guided Stefan to an available space in the castle. "You can stay here," She said. The room looked quite clean for an abandoned castle that's starting to crumble. Stefan then noticed something from the corner of his eye. A big painting of a man that looks exactly like him is hanging on the wall of the room.

"Whoa… Was he the one you were talking about? Your late husband?" Stefan asked. Lucinda nodded and said, "Yes, that's him. The love of my life". Stefan continued to look at the painting and examined the person on the painting. He's very fascinated by how they are very similar in appearance. "Your clothes are dirty and ragged," Lucinda said all of a sudden. "Yeah, I just found some old clothes that people threw away," Stefan said. "You should wash up and I'll give you some new clothes," Lucinda said.

Lucinda led Stefan to the bathroom. She proceeded to fill up the tub with water from a big jar. Once the tub was filled, she let Stefan take a bath while she prepared his bed. After a while, Stefan stepped out of the bathroom. He's now clean and the dirt that covered his face and body is now gone. He covered himself with a towel and proceeded to go back to the room. Stefan said, "I'm done bathing, madam."

Lucinda glanced at Stefan and she was speechless. She looked at Stefan up and down and remembered her late husband. He looked even more like her late husband after he took a bath. His eyes, nose, lips, and facial structure mirrored the appearance of her dead husband. The only missing resemblance is the hair. "Let me fix your hair," Lucinda said. Stefan gladly agreed to let Lucinda fix his hair.

Lucinda started to fix Stefan's hair with a comb. The comb she used was her husband's comb before he died. All the memories came flooding back at her since she always used to fix her husband's hair. After fixing Stefan's hair, Lucinda was stunned. Stefan is the spitting image of her husband. She cannot help but admire this boy who spat the image of her deceased husband.

"Thank you madam," Stefan said. "Please, call me Lucinda," She said in response. Stefan obliged to call her by just her first name. Lucinda's heart skipped a beat after Stefan called her by just her first name. She cannot help but gaze into Stefan's eyes and mutter the words "my love." Stefan then asked, "What was that?" Lucinda says, "Oh, sorry. You should wear some clothes now. Here you go."

Lucinda gave Stefan the clothes her husband used to wear. She left the room for a moment to let Stefan wear the clothes. Once Stefan was done, he looked exactly like Lucinda's late husband. Lucinda entered the room after Stefan told her he was done. Lucinda still continued to give Stefan a mesmerizing stare. Stefan asked, "Are you okay?" Lucinda then responded "Yes, I'm okay. My husband and I used to sleep in this room before he died. I never slept here ever again after he passed. I just cannot bear to wake up every morning without him by my side. Now here I am in this room with a boy who looks exactly like him."

Both of them were speechless for a moment. Lucinda broke the silence by saying, "I'll be leaving you now. It's your time to sleep, and not mine. Good night." Stefan then said, "Wait! When it's your time to sleep, you can sleep here. This is your castle and I would feel terrible if you, the owner, would not even be sleeping in her own room." Lucinda responded, "No, it's fine. I told you, I haven't slept here for a really long time. I'm used to it. Good night." Lucinda then left the room, leaving Stefan alone.

The next day, Stefan woke up and looked at the table beside him and saw a cloche. There was a note on the table that read, "I prepared you breakfast before I went to sleep. Luckily the market was already open before the sun even rose. I'm sorry I forgot to offer you food last night and you must be starving." Stefan questioned himself, "How did she even travel that far to gather ingredients and have enough time to come back before the sun rose?"

As Stefan lifted the cloche, he picked up the aroma of his favorite dish. Mămăligă. There were even two sausages placed on the side of the plate. What even are the chances of Lucinda cooking his favorite food? Stefan started to feast on the food since he just ate two apples yesterday for the whole day. After he finished his food he drank the milk that was also prepared by Lucinda. Stefan then decided to pay back Lucinda's kindness by sprucing up the castle.

Stefan started to look for the proper materials used for cleaning. He found a broom along with some rags. He gathered these materials including other items that can help him clean. He started to sweep the floors first. He started in the main hall of the castle. The main hall was huge but he still continued sweeping the floors.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He really wanted to pay the kindness back to Lucinda. After a long time of sweeping, dusting, and wiping, the main hall of the castle looked so clean. He even used a ladder to wipe off the dust from the high ceiling. He decided to fix his bed before Lucinda woke up. He proceeded to fold the sheets properly, and arranged the bed.

He grabbed his plate and took it to the kitchen, where he rinsed off the scraps of food in the wooden tub until the plate looked spotless. For now, he cleaned up the main hall and fixed the bed he slept in. After a long while, it started to get dark outside. After some time, Lucinda woke up from her sleep. She stepped out of the room she slept in and went to the main hall. Lucinda was stunned due to the main hall being clean. "Oh! You're awake!" Stefan said. "You cleaned up?" Lucinda asked. Stefan nodded and Lucinda looked at the main hall to see how spotless it was.

She hasn't seen the main hall look this clean for two centuries. "Thank you so much. You're very wonderful," Lucinda said. Stefan smiled and said, "It's no problem. You cook really good! What are even the chances you cooked my favorite meal?"

Lucinda then said, "That's...actually my husband's favorite meal too." Stefan was surprised that he and Lucinda's late husband have the same favorite meal. "Oh wow. We look exactly the same and we even have the same favorite food! Maybe I really am your husband who has now come back!" Stefan said in a teasing tone.

Lucinda's reaction was sad rather than happy. She suddenly broke down in tears. "What's wrong?! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that!" Stefan said. Lucinda with tears running down her white pale cheeks said, "It's just that, I yearn for his presence and I just can't bear a single day waking up knowing he's dead! It's been over two hundred years since his death, but it feels like yesterday he was dying on my lap. But now, you're here and I really don't know what to feel. I'm not sure if you really are my husband who came back to fulfill his promise."

Stefan held Lucinda's face gently as he wiped off her tears. Both of them looked at each other's dazzling eyes. "Don't cry, please," Stefan said. Lucinda stopped crying and she slowly started to calm down and gather herself. "Okay, I'm fine now," She said. After Lucinda's tearful moment, they both admire the newly tidied up hall.

Out of the blue, Stefan spoke, "I have a question. How did you even have enough time to head to the marketplace and come back here before the sun even rose?" Lucinda then said, "I have the ability to transform into a swarm of bats. That's why I can travel quick from here to the marketplace and back." Stefan was amazed at how Lucinda is capable of turning into a swarm of bats.

Suddenly, noise from outside the castle was heard. Both of them saw two men shouting and asking if someone was inside the castle. "Don't worry, I'll go talk to them, '' Stefan said. He proceeded to go outside the castle to confront the two men. "Hello there gentlemen, is there a problem?" Stefan said. "We don't but we just might have a problem if you don't show us what you're hiding in that castle. We know there's something in there boy." One of the men said.

Stefan replied, "I'm not hiding anything here. I'm just an explorer and I just found my shelter for tonight." The two men were not having it and were getting frustrated. "Do you think we're stupid, kid?! Even if you are an explorer we're gonna take whatever item you have that's valuable!" The other man said. The two men advanced and attacked Stefan by punching his face, and once he was on the ground, they kicked his stomach multiple times.

Lucinda heard the commotion outside and decided to intervene. Lucinda yells, "Stop! Leave this castle! Now!" One of the men said, "Well hello there madam. We're just teaching this boy here a lesson, and we might just teach you a lesson too. We'll also be taking anything from you that's worth a lot of money."

The two men reached in their pockets and pulled out a dagger. They engaged and tried to attack Lucinda. In an instant, Lucinda grabbed the man's arm then grabbed his head and ripped it off. She drank the man's blood pouring out of his decapitated head. The other man ran away in fear but Lucinda transformed into a swarm of bats and chased after the man.

She catches up and grabs the man by the shirt. She then ripped the man's head off too. She also drank the blood from his decapitated head. Lucinda went back to where Stefan was lying. He was knocked out cold due to the two men beating him up. His face was bruised and his body was full of bruises too.

Stefan woke up and found himself back inside the castle. It didn't take long for Stefan to wake up and regain consciousness. His face and body hurt from the beating he received earlier. "What happened?" Stefan asked. "You were beaten to unconsciousness." Lucinda replied. Lucinda is wiping Stefan's bruises using a cloth that was soaked in warm water. "Did you deal with them?" Stefan asked. Lucinda says, "Yes, I did." A brief moment of silence filled the room.

Stefan then asked, "Did you kill them?" Due to Lucinda having a bit of blood stained on her clothes. Even if her clothes are black, the stain is still visible up close. Lucinda then said, "Yes, but that's the least of your problems now. What's important is you're safe and they're gone. You should get some rest now." Lucinda continued to wipe Stefan's bruised body and bandaged him.

"I'll prepare a soup for you, and I also bought some pâine when I went to the marketplace last night." Lucinda said. She left for a moment to prepare Stefan's meal. Stefan waited patiently for his food and rested his aching body. After a while, Lucinda came back with some Supă de Pui prepared with some pâine on the side." Stefan began eating his food. Stefan said, "The chicken and the broth are so flavorful! The bread is wonderful too! Thank you so much Lucinda!" Lucinda then said, "Don't worry okay? Just keep eating and get stronger."

In Târgoviște, two women approach the governor to report that their husbands have gone missing last night. The women state that the two men said they were going hunting but they never came back. The governor summoned some of his infantrymen and ordered them to find the two missing men in the woods.