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Lisa's usual walk from the castle to the village of Arefu, made for the weekly market and to maintain the connection established since her and Vlad's wedding, was unremarkable. But as she neared the outskirts of the village, her steps slowed, and her heart quickened at the disheartening sight that lay before her.
Stricken animals were scattered across the landscape. Cattle that once grazed idly now stumbled and fell, their hooves rotten, and the chickens and dogs that wandered about were in no better condition. The stench of illness and decay hung heavily in the air, causing Lisa's breath to catch in her throat.
She stood there, momentarily frozen in fear. It was a scene from her past, a nightmare revisited. Memories of her childhood village and the disastrous consequences of a similar sight flooded back. But Lisa realized it did not have to be that way. She was a doctor now, armed with knowledge in a time when few understood disease. She could make a difference, whether it was the malady she suspected or something else.
Finding her strength again, Lisa continued her journey into the village. Life appeared to be going on as usual, but she could not ignore the atypical rashes and peeling skin on many villagers, signs inconsistent with her initial suspicions. Relieved, she wandered through the marketplace in search of more clues. Her sharp eyes soon spotted oddly speckled bread being sold at a particular stall.
Everything clicked into place, and she rushed to the stall to gather information about the source of the contaminated grains. Thankfully, the seller was familiar with Lisa, despite finding her a little eccentric due to her erudition. They trusted her advice when provided; however, because it always worked. That was the overall perception the villagers had of Lisa in the years since she arrived.
As the hours passed, Lisa carefully drafted instructions and relayed them to the village's headman, overseeing the disposal of the contaminated grains. She promised to return early the next day with medicine for symptom relief as she departed for the castle before dark.
Lisa lumbered on her way home from the village, clutching tightly the still-empty basket that was supposed to have been filled with things from the marketplace. The journey back to the castle seemed interminable, the weight of the world pressing down on her. She arrived back at the castle by sundown, her steps heavy and her face carrying a distant look of exhaustion.
There was an eager tugging on her dress as Adrian welcomed her home with his usual enthusiasm, his bright eyes a stark contrast to her weariness. Lisa felt a numbness coursing through her body akin to pins and needles, but she managed a faint smile for her son.
The little boy guided her to his bedchamber to show his mother the scribbles he had made in the day, blissfully unaware of his mother's state. He placed them into her arms—which were still holding on to the basket—with shining, excited eyes, but she could only stare blankly at the colourful drawings, devoid of emotion.
"Do you like them?" Adrian asked, his voice filled with hope.
"Yes, they're lovely," Lisa answered rather flatly, her voice barely more than a whisper, lost in the echo of her own exhaustion. The drawings spilt out of her arms and onto the floor as Vlad appeared suddenly by the entrance, having sensed something amiss with her arrival home.
"Mother?" Adrian questioned, voice now tinged with worry and eyes wobbling.
With this, Vlad slowly laid a hand on the boy's shoulder so as not to startle him from behind. "Your mother's alright. She just needs rest for the time being," he reassured his son.
Vlad strode over to collect the fallen drawings, handing them back to Adrian. "The moon will be out soon. Try to see if you can draw it in the library for your mother while I tend to her."
The boy quickly forgot his distress with this prospect of further artistic pursuits and ran off towards the direction of the library, parchment and ink in tow.
Now with Adrian away from the disturbing sight of Lisa, Vlad looped his arm around one of hers and led her to their own bedchamber. Once there, he carefully pried the basket from her whitened, stiff knuckles to set it aside and made her sit on the bed. He sat next to Lisa, bringing her head to his shoulder and holding her close.
Silence filled the room for several moments until Lisa broke it, speaking in slow, broken pauses at first. "I thought I saw it... the signs of it... it once took my family many years ago..."
Vlad remained silent as she went on, letting her take the time to gather her thoughts and not interrupt her process.
"It wasn't it. It was Saint Anthony's fire. The crops in the village have gone bad and they didn't realise it was making the animals and themselves sick."
Lisa let out a shaky breath. "I thought becoming a doctor would make me better than this. That it wouldn't scare me anymore because I learned what caused it and how to cure and prevent spread."
Her body began to shake as she brought herself to name her greatest fear, nearly hyperventilating. "I thought with scientific knowledge the plague could no longer control my life like it did with my family and village."
Memories of her parents' final days flashed before Lisa's eyes: their anguished cries, swollen buboes, and blackened fingers raised to the heavens in desperate pleas for mercy from God. She remembered the masked doctor who silently observed from a distance while the village's bells tolled. And the moment when other masked doctors restrained her as her parents were carried away covered in sheets.
Lisa buried her face deep into Vlad's chest. "Muuter, Vatter, es dud mich leid. Bitte vergibt mich," she sobbed in her native tongue.
Vlad fully embraced her, his tunic soaked by the tears she shed. It mattered little to him, but witnessing his wife in this state was an entirely different matter. Lisa was the light in his world, a beacon of hope that humanity was not entirely consumed by greed and cowardice. He had once held a dim view of humans until the day she arrived, knocking on the castle doors with a demand to be taught medicine and science, aspiring to be a doctor to help others. With no other options for learning and spurred by tales of his hidden knowledge, she sought him out. Her altruism and the long journey she undertook on foot to reach him were commendable, but now Vlad was coming to realise that her resolve had run far deeper—it was personal as well.
Lisa seldom discussed her family with Vlad, but when she did, she always used the past tense. He refrained from pressing her further, recognizing the distant look that would cloud her eyes. Loss and grief had become foreign emotions to Vlad many centuries ago, yet Lisa was serving as a poignant reminder of his former humanity. He could not help but wish he had learned of her repressed experiences sooner. Nevertheless, the fact remained that Lisa opened up to him without hesitation, never pretending to be fine at the first sign of trouble. She trusted Vlad wholeheartedly, making him a true sanctuary in every sense.
Lisa's breathing eventually evened, and she slightly turned her head to the side, calm and feeling herself again. "I'm in such terrible shape, aren't I? I must've frightened our poor boy with my awful looks," she sniffled. "Adrian doesn't need this at his age. He deserves better."
Vlad stroked her head in consolation. "The boy's still young. I believe he's already forgotten about the trouble and is making you the best moon he can with his drawings in the library right now."
"He's going to remember you've let him stay up late. We're going to hear about it for the rest of the week when we put him to bed," Lisa breathed a small laugh.
Her husband cracked a smirk at this. "So we shall."
Using the side of a clawed finger, Vlad wiped away the last of his wife's tears with a delicateness no human could replicate. "It's been a long day for you. Allow me to prepare something while you check on our boy's progress with the moon. Sound good?"
Lisa smiled, the first genuine one since she left the castle that morning, with a sense of liberation welling up within her. She now felt that everything was out in the open, and she was relieved to share it with someone who would not place blame on her or consider her fortunate for surviving the outbreak that had claimed her parents and many others in her village. Perhaps this was one of the many reasons she fell for someone like Vlad. They were both forward-thinkers, open to learning from each other's perspectives to become better.
After the outbreak had subsided, Lisa grew increasingly critical of the doctors and the church for their roles during the crisis. She was often accused of being a witch as a result, blamed for the outbreak and her parents' subsequent deaths from it. It was only a matter of time before she resolved to leave her village and even the country in search of real medicine. Relying on tavern rumours of a mysterious man and a castle, she took a gamble that ultimately paid off when she did end up finding Vlad. Marrying and having a child were the unexpected bonuses of it. But most importantly, she was given a sense of belonging in the unusual circumstances her life had taken her.
All was well.