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ask you some things?” the Countess asked.
    “Maybe. I’ll answer what I want,” he replied.
    “To whom does your allegiance belong?” she asked.
    “Spain, of course,” he said proudly.
    “No, I mean in this battle of good and evil, vampires, me?” she ended in a whisper.
    “Countess, I believe in goodness, freedom, pure vampires, and you. If you choose the right path this time, and it seems you are heading down that path, now, then my allegiance is with you,” he said.
    “You said I have ‘so much more to learn’. Who can teach me? Who can I trust to teach me the good way and not the evil way? People look at me and wish they were me, but being me is hard. Very hard, sometimes.” She stopped walking, put her head in her hands, and started to sob. Alexos moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her. She felt her face go into his chest, and it felt nice. In his mind, she could see his genuine concern and compassion for her.
    “Shhhh. There, there,” he said. “It will be all right. I suppose I could stay on longer and teach you these things you need to know,” he said.
    “Really?” came the muffled voice from his chest.
    “Yes,” he said. “Someone reliable has to do it,” he replied.
    Mission accomplished, the Countess thought to herself.

Chapter Twenty
    The next evening, Kendra and the Countess were walking through the grand ballroom, when the Countess stopped. She pushed open the curtains and motioned for Kendra to follow. They went outside and down a sandstone staircase on the side of the castle. It came out on a side of the castle the contractors had not yet started working on. There was a beautiful veranda with purple lights and a blanket laid out on the ground underneath it.
    “Have a seat,” the Countess invited. Kendra seemed surprised but sat down on the ground, anyway. The Countess pulled a picnic basket from underneath one of the benches and opened it. She pulled out two wine goblets and a bottle of wine. She poured the wine and handed a goblet to Kendra. The Countess took a sip of hers and put it down on the bench next to her.
    “I’ve missed you,” she confessed, smiling at Kendra.
    “I thought I did something wrong. You’ve been keeping me out of the loop on everything.” Kendra’s eyes started to tear up.
    “The guys have insisted. I’ve begged them, stating you’re my best friend, but they wouldn’t hear of it,” she explained. She wiped a couple of tears from Kendra’s cheeks.
    “Please, forgive me,” the Countess pleaded. She leaned into Kendra, and their lips touched in a very soft kiss.
    Despite her new mistrust of Kendra with regard to important matters, they still had their friendship pact, and she was still attracted to her. There was just something about Kendra that she desired, and she could read from Kendra’s mind the feeling was mutual.
    “Drink some more wine, Sweetie,” the Countess encouraged, refilling the goblets. That was how the night proceeded. Drinking, laying on the blanket, and kissing. Nothing sexual happened, but it didn’t need to. Finally, it was time to go inside.
    “Countess?” Kendra asked.
    “Yes,” she replied.
    “Do you think, just for tonight, we could forget the pajamas and hold each other’s naked bodies close to each other? Just this once, I mean. Nothing sexual. Just to cuddle and for the closeness?” Kendra asked.
    “That would be magical. Yes, Kendra. I would like that very much,” the Countess responded, filled with a calm delight.
    When the Countess awoke the next evening, Kendra was already out of bed. She fondly remembered the closeness they felt and smiled. She rang for Coletta to advise that she wanted a bath. While in the tub, Coletta could not stop talking about “that sexy Señor Alexos”. The Countess thought it was cute.
    “Where is he this evening?” the Countess asked Coletta.
    “Oh. He whisked away Ms. Kendra to his private yacht for a few days on a whim,” she said. “I sensed some chemistry