An hour or so later Serapha was happily immersed and scrubbing her hair. It was a dirty, tangled mess, and she knew she’d be hours combing the knots out of it. When at long last the water, which had been near scalding when she got in, had cooled to merely lukewarm she emerged from the tub, wrapping a thick towel around her.

Father Benton had offered to lend her something dry to wear, “Though,” he’d added, “I don’t know how you’d get into anything of mine with those wings in the way.”

“I can take care of that,” said Serapha. “And I’m afraid my things have definitely seen better days.” So now she focused a hint of power around her and shape-shifted, assuming a fully human form. She always felt odd without her wings, but it was a relief to put on the clean shirt and trousers, even if they were so large she felt like a little girl playing dress-up in her parents’ things.

“I feel much better,” she said as she emerged from the bathroom and settled into a chair by the fire. She’d taken a brush from the bathroom and now she started to work on her waist-length hair, carefully working out the knots and tangles. The only trace of physical discomfort that remained was her hunger. She was starving, but that would just have to wait. There was no way she was leaving the warm comfort inside Father Benton’s house anytime soon.

“You look much improved,” said the cleric warmly. “Much better than the half frozen waif I found out there.”

“Thank you so much,” said Serapha.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Serapha shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“You’re sure? I’d offer you something to eat, but, well…”

Serapha smiled. “It’s all right. I’ll go out hunting sometime later, once I’ve rested.”

“Actually,” said Father Benton thoughtfully, an idea coming to him, “I might be able to offer you something after all. You’re accustomed to taking your sustenance from animals, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” said Serapha.

“My neighbor keeps several horses,” said the cleric, “and he owes me a number of favors. I’m sure he’d let me borrow one for a few minutes. I’m correct in assuming that you won’t need enough to drain the animal dry, am I not?”

Serapha smiled. “Heavens, if I drank that much I’d explode or something. Yes, I just need a little bit.”

“Well, in that case I’ll go speak with him.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” said Serapha.

“Dawn isn’t that far off, and my friend keeps farmer’s hours. He’ll be awake by now. If you’re up to venturing out in the cold again, that is?”

“I think I’ll manage,” said Serapha. “And frankly, I’m half-starved.”

Bundled in a spare coat that was big enough to put two of her in, Serapha trailed after Father Benton as he knocked in his neighbor’s door. Serapha was afraid that the neighbor wouldn’t be as tolerant about vampires as the cleric, but apparently he trusted his priestly friend a great deal, because he didn’t ask any questions or offer any objections, he just led the way to the stables. Inside it was warm and smelled pleasantly of hay and horses. Serapha felt almost dizzy with hunger as the bloodsmell of all those animals hit her. No sooner had the neighbor opened one of the stall doors than Serapha was inside. She took a brief moment to make sure the animal wasn’t going to start or shy, stroking its neck and side soothingly. Its shoulder was almost as high as her head, short as she was, and she didn’t want the huge thing to trample her. The creature’s size meant that there was more than enough blood to satisfy her hunger, however, and it didn’t even flinch as she bit through its hide and drank greedily.

Having an audience made her a bit nervous and she did spare the extra effort to make sure she didn’t make a mess of things. So when she pulled back, hunger fully satisfied, she only had to wipe of a tiny trace of blood from her lips. She walked out of the stall with a contented sigh. The horse’s owner looked a bit unsettled, and he stepped into the stall himself and started looking the horse over, as if she might have somehow damaged the thing, or turned it into a bizarre equine vampire or something, but it was, of course, unharmed. Father Benton thanked the man and led the way out of the stable and back to his own little house.

“Feeling better?” asked the cleric as he opened the door to his house.

“Oh yes,” said Serapha. “Immensely.”

“Well dawn isn’t far off and I am more than ready for bed. I have a spare bedroom if you’d care to spend the day.”

“Thank you again,” said Serapha.

Father Benton smiled and shrugged. “It’s the least I can do.”

Soon Serapha was snuggled down in a marvelously soft and warm bed, and as the sun slipped above the horizon she sighed contentedly and fell soundly asleep. She awoke some time after sunset the next evening and for a long moment she just lay there and enjoyed the lazy sensation of warmth and contentment. For the first time in what seemed like forever she wasn’t cold, hungry, or tired. She sat up and stretched luxuriously. Then she got out of bed and padded silently down the stairs to the front room. Father Benton was sitting in a chair by the fire. He looked up and smiled as she came in. “Hello,” he said. “I thought you might be turning up shortly. Feeling better?”

She nodded and dropped into another chair with a little sigh.

“What are you going to do now?” asked the cleric. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need to, but I’d venture a guess that your parents are probably worried about you. You might think about going home soon.”

Serapha sighed. She finally had the emotional and mental energy to really think about the mess she was in. Her parents were going to be furious with her, she was sure. “I… you’re right, but I’m not sure I’m ready to face them after what happened.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Serapha looked over at Father Benton. His expression was one of genuine concern, and suddenly she did want to talk. “I think so,” she said. “I’m not sure where to start though. And I feel like I’ve been such an idiot…” one bit at a time she told him the whole story. It was hard, but somehow sharing what had happened made her feel… lighter, as if the burden of events could literally be shared. “So I swam all the way back here,” she finished at last. “And now I’m here and I’m not sure what I should do next.”

“I can’t give you any certain answers, child,” Father Benton said, “but my advice is, go home. I know that facing your parents will be hard for you, but I don’t think they’ll be angry. They love you very much. And Serapha… what you’ve done was perhaps foolish, but we are all foolish at times. I don’t think you are to blame for what happened. If there is any blame to be placed, place it where it belongs, on this Captain Young. You’re still a child. I know you feel adult, and in many ways you are, but you’re still young in many ways. He knew that, and he manipulated you. Don’t hold on to needless guilt.”

“I… I think I knew that all along, I just needed to hear it. You’re right. I should go home. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”

“I’ll miss your company,” said the cleric with a smile. “My own children are all long-grown and sometimes the house is too empty. Come back and visit some time.”

“I will.”