Sanguine

The Chapel

But in time, something akin to a last battle finally occurred. Nearly three months after Mircalla's transformation, it all came to a head in the Karnstein chapel. The vampire hunt was still going on, but the verve had decreased because no progress was ever made. Instead, Ferenc became largely unpopular and most of his subjects began to turn against him.

"You haven't made any progress, old man!" somebody snarled.

"Yeah! People have been dying all over and what have you accomplished?" another accused.

"Our people are being sucked dry and you haven't managed to even find a trace of the fiend!" a third screamed.

"You're a useless, worthless leader! Let us find another! One who can actually help!" several more agreed.

Such complaints against Ferenc and the few supporters he had left (Hans finally dropped out of the hunt) raged on. They angered the ex-count so much that he nearly fell into madness, determination to kill Mircalla being the only thing keeping him even a little sane because it gave him something other than anger and hatred to focus on.

He may have been old but he was not senile. Instead, his blood still boiled with rage at how far his kingdom had fallen. See? This was what happened when a woman was left in charge! If he'd had a son, this would never had happened! But no, God had to curse him with daughters. Now look where it had gotten them all? Ferenc vowed that if he ever met God, he would kill that monster too.

But at the same time, he couldn't deny that his people were right. No progress had been made. Mircalla was still a giant threat. Her rampage had carried on and Karnstein's populous was noticeably smaller than it used to be. There was nothing he was doing to help. But at the same time, the proud old man continued to launch attacks and searches, becoming increasingly paranoid in case Mircalla ever came for him.

Soon, Jusztina was the only person he would even speak to anymore, but the vampire hunt had taken such a toll on her that she did not speak very much anymore either. In fact, there finally came a time when Marcia quietly returned to Karnstein to fetch their mother and escort her away from the castle to safety. Even though Jusztina had verbally sided with the vampire hunt, it was clear she was not as ferocious as her husband, or any of the rest of his men. Even though she, too, wanted Mircalla stopped, she still could not bring herself to see the girl as a monster.

"That was my youngest, you know?" she asked sadly.

"I know, Mama, I know," Marcia promised as she gently led her mother to her room. "You just rest here, and leave the rest of the hunt up to us."

"Alright," Jusztina sighed in weary defeat. Marcia gave her a sad smile, but before she could turn to leave, Jusztina reached out and took her hand.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, but Marcia only shook her head and squeezed Jusztina's hand gently. They all had a lot to apologize for. It was hardly Jusztina's fault, even if she tried to blame herself.

As for the other Karnsteins? Well, Maximiliana ended up getting killed some time during the second month of the hunt. Mircalla appeared to her in a dream with the intent of killing her, and even though Maximiliana did manage to get in a few good blows, the vampire ultimately won the struggle. And then it was the unpleasant task of Margreta to walk into her younger sister's room and see a throat ripped wide open with blood drying and crusting over the jagged edges. After Margreta emptied her stomach out the windows she screamed bloody murder.

"Oh my God!" Marcia covered her mouth and began to cry. Cornelius, meanwhile, set his teeth in a fury. Margreta could only stare. Even after servants had come and gone, taking Maximilian's bloody corpse with them, Margreta could only stare.