Lunchtime comes.
Terros, Laura, and her family gathered around the table to eat their meals.
Half an hour later, they finished eating and retired into the living room for another round of discussion.
The female servant approached Laura. "My lady, the carriage is already waiting for Lady Sofia," she said.
"Okay, just wait in the carriage, she's still in her room," Laura said.
"Yes, my lady," the servant replied and left the living room going outside to wait in the carriage.
Sofia descended the stairs and went to her sister's side. "Sis, I'm going now to buy clothes and other stuff!" she said.
"Okay, take this!" Laura handed the pouch containing silver and gold coins to her sister. "Buy anything you want and like, and remember to return quickly! Wear the hat I gave you to cover your face so that the vampires can't easily recognize you!" she ordered.
"Noted, sister!" Sophia said. She looked at her parents. "Mother, Father, I'll go now!" she bid farewell to them.
"You take care of yourself, daughter!" Rosa said.
"Don't stay too long outside, return home quickly!" Simon reminded her.
"I got it!" Sofia replied. She looked at Terros and waved her hand. "Bye, Grandpa!"
"Take care, young lady!" Terros nods his head.
Sofia walked to the main door and exited.
A few minutes later.
The carriage carrying Sofia and the servant was leaving the gate of the manor.
Back in the living room.
Laura addressed her parents. "Mother, Father... I have something to tell you about this manor. As you can see, Grandpa Terros built a protective barrier to secure this place against intruders and make all the inhabitants in this house safe from any types of dangers. To make it easy to understand, I'll let Grandpa Terros explain everything to you in detail..." she said and nods her head at the old man.
Terros cleared his throat ready to start his explanation. "I made the...."
Suddenly... Graven appeared in the middle of the living room cutting Terros's speech, bloodstains were all over his clothes.
Laura shouted in alarm and rushed to Graven's side. "Husband, what happened to you!? Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly.
Graven shook his head. "No! I'm not hurt, don't worry about me. These blood are from my men and the servants in the farm," he answered.
Simon heard the bad news and paled. "Oh my, God! Did the vampires kill all the workers on my farm!?" he asked in a devastating voice.
Graven looked at his father-in-law. "Father, I'll explain everything later. For now, I need Grandpa Terros help!" he said.
Terros rose to his feet and went to Graven's side. "Son, was the situation that bad?"
Grave nods his head and released a deep sigh. "Please come with me, Grandpa. We need your help in saving the lives of those workers!" he said hurriedly.
"Alright, let's go!" Terros said.
A few seconds later. The two men vanished from the living room in the blink of an eye.
Laura was trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart. Seeing her husband's clothes covered with blood makes her wants to vomit and passed out fearing for her dear husband's life.
Simon and Rosa were hugging each other... they're completely submerged in pain, fear, and agony.
"Husband, those cruel vampires killed the workers!" Rosa said as she began sobbing hard in her husband's arms.
"I know. Those people have been working for us for many years and we already consider them as part of our family. It's painful to see them died cruelly in the hands of those vampires! But there is nothing we can do about it. What is done is done. If Graven didn't arrive quickly on the farm and took us away, we might also suffer the same fate just like them," he said sadly.
Rosa continues weeping, her lamenting was for the workers who lose their lives due to the sudden attack of the vampires.
Simon can only hold his wife in his arms and allow her to cry as much as she wants to make her feel better afterward.
Laura watched her parents engulfed in grief and sadness. She breathed deeply. The vampire couple's killing spree started again. Many people will die again because of her! She remembered those villagers whose lives were lost because the vampire bats attacked the villages and South Pond Town just to find her.
It filled her heart with extreme pain, guilt, and emotional distress.
Right now she wanted to cry along with her parents but she can't. Her baby might feel sad also inside her womb. She needs to be strong for her baby!
She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at her parents. She was worried about their health, they're not ready for this kind of stress, especially her old father.
She went to their side. "Father, bring Mother to rest in the room upstairs," she said calmly
"Okay." Simon sighed. "Wife, let's go to our room so that you can rest," he said.
Rosa nods her head.
The couple left the living room and went upstairs to rest in their room.
Laura was left alone in the living room, as depressing emotions assaulted her heart and mind.
Everything starts with her and ends with her.
Her hands formed into a fist. She bit her lips in anger.
The cook went to her side holding a tea. "My lady, I brought you your favorite tea to calm your nerves..." she said and placed the cup of tea on the center table.
"Thank you, Sapina," Laura said.
"Do you want to inhale the fresh air, my lady? I will accompany you to the garden. I know you like sitting on the swing there," Sapina suggested.
"Okay," Laura said and picked up the cup of tea and drink it in one go.
The women exited the living room and went to the back of the house.
When they arrived in the garden, Laura sits on the swing while Sapina pushed the swing for her.
Laura was in deep thoughts. She was deeply worried about her husband's safety. She knows that Graven is more than capable enough when it comes to protecting himself, but if someone more powerful than him comes along intending to harm him, his life might be in danger!
But her worries are futile because she can't even protect herself.
Now she had to depend on her husband and Grandpa Terros to protect her, her family, and her unborn child in her womb. She released a deep sigh. She will always be reliant on others for her overall safety from the very beginning and that's the way it is.
Meanwhile...
A thousand miles away.
Inside and outside Graven's headquarter.
Terros, Graven, Horace, and Calder, and the others are tending to the wounded workers. Cleaning their wounds and administering herbal medicines to ward of inspection, and for faster healing.
Three of Graven's men were heavily injured but they're already out of danger.
The persons who had life-threatening injury was treated first followed by those who only suffered minor wounds.
However, five of the farmworkers were fatally wounded and lose their lives. While the others got stab wounds on different parts of their bodies, they're already treated with medicine provided by Terros.
Graven looked at Calder. "Take some of our men with you in the forest, approximately two hundred meters away from here. Dig five holes, and give each of the deceased workers a proper burial," he ordered.
"Yes, my lord!" Calder replied.
Graven watched as Calder and the others put the dead bodies in the makeshift bed made of bamboo and marched towards the direction of the burial site.
Terros just finish administering medicine to the last patient who only suffered a superficial injury. He rose to his feet and carried his wooden box of medicinal tools and put it above the table, he lowered himself on the chair to relax a bit.
Graven went to his side. "Tired, old man?" he asked.
"Yeah... I've seen so much blood today. I think I'll have trauma for a long time," Terros responded. "How about you, son? Do you have a wound in your body?" he asked.
"No. The blood all over my body is not mine," Graven answered.
"What the hell happened on the farm?" Terros asked wanting to know the whole truth.
Graven lowered himself on the chair. His mind recalled vividly what had happened after he dropped Laura's family at Terros place and went back to the farm.
"I returned to the farm after I left your place and saw carnage everywhere. Vampires wearing a black mask on their faces ascended on the farm and round up everyone in front of the house, my men included. Later my men told me that the enemies spread a poisonous powder in the air disorienting them in the process and before they know it they found themselves shoved into the ground beside the frightened workers, the majority of them already wounded.
I saw a woman vampire wearing a red hooded cloak talking to the vampire men in the mask, she ordered her men to kill everyone on the spot and entered the house.
I can't fight them all without endangering everyone's precious lives so I just have to freeze them all and teleport my men and the others back into the headquarters at lightning speed. Horace, Calder, and the others went back with me to the farm and teleported the rest to safety. End of story," Graven concluded his narration.
"I see... good job to you and your men in saving as many lives as you can, son!" Terros said.
Graven was shaking his head. Remembering the vampire bats that attacked South Pond Town and the other neighboring village. "There'll be more of this kind of carnage happening in the future, old man," he said sadly.
Terros looked at Graven's distraught face for a long time. All for the sake of making one woman safe - many people has to die? He was about to ask him that, but he refrains from asking that question to avoid offending him.
Horace went to their side and announced, "Grandpa, My Lord... the medicinal broth was already cooked. We are currently preparing the food for dinner," he informed them.
"Good. Feed everyone the medicinal broth made from the roots of the Seddarry Mint Tree. It will help them recover faster from their wounds and trauma," Terros said.
"Okay, Grandpa!" Horace said and left.
Graven rose to his feet. "I gotta go..." he said.
"Where are you going, son?" Terros asked.
"I'm going back to my wife to report to my father-in-law about the real status of his workers. And I also need to take a bath and changed into clean clothes," Graven said.
Terros nods his head.
"Grandpa, will you stay here a little bit until I come back?" Graven pleaded.
"Sure! Go now," Terros replied.
Graven disappeared from the place in the blink of an eye.