The Tortured Transylvanian [DISCONTINUED]

The Storm and The Castle

Turns out while I was watching the lady, Brad had proposed to Janet. And they had come up with this crazy idea to visit their old teacher Professor Scout.

The worst part? I was coming with them.

I sat in the back of Brad's car, quieter then usual with anger. The drive had been unbelievably quiet except for the hum of a motorcyclist. I sat up a little straighter as another one passed.

"That's the third motorcyclist we've passed," Janet commented, "they certainly take their life in their hands what with the rain and all." I shrugged. "I think they're kinda cool." At the sound of my voice, a wave of relief washed over us.

I slowly lay back against my seat, looking out upon the dark rainy night, the type that always brought back unpleasant memories. Memories of hard slaps to the face, of days on end without food, of so-called siblings that were never friends, of my virginity...so painfully, unbearably taken.

I sighed softly, wiping tears out of the corners of my eyes. That's in the past. You know better now. But that didn't stop the knot in my throat at the idea of never giving my lover the satisfaction of taking my v-card.

Suddenly, the car stopped moving, I looked out my window and saw one of the tires had a flat. I smiled victoriously for I had told Brad to fix the spare but he didn't listen.

Unfortunately, now we had to go out into the rain to use the telephone at the castle we saw a few miles back. The idea of talking to strangers made me go as stiff as a board. But Brad still managed to pull me out, no matter what I said. Almost as soon as the rain hit my skin, the floodgates of memories opened and I couldn't stop crying.

~

After walking for about four minutes, we finally reached the castle and my eyes ran out of tears. Reluctantly, I followed Janet through the metal gate and to the front door. Hopefully, Janet gripped my hand and nervously I squeezed back.

After Brad knocked twice, the door opened revealing a curious looking man with slightly clouded eyes. Brad and Janet went still, I couldn't help staring.

"Hello." The man's voice sounded like something out of a suspenseful movie.

"Hi, I'm Brad Majors, this is my fiancé Janet Weiss and her little sister...Dorothy. Our car broke down a little ways down the road. May we use your phone?" Brad's voice was polite but nervous.

"You're wet." The man said, ignoring the question. "Yes, it's raining." I bit back a smile at Janet's response. There was a flash of lightening, I jumped, and the man looked at me, we stared at each other for a moment before he spoke.

"Perhaps you should come inside." I nodded, slipping in after him, but pausing briefly to wait for Brad and Janet.

The place was beautiful, lovely golden brown wood walls and the warmth of a welcoming home. I couldn't understand why my older sis couldn't loosen up, her and Brad seemed to sense something I refused to feel.

A young girl with gold caramel skin and a French maid's outfit popped up from behind the banister, a wild smile on her face. She had long magenta hair and a craziness that reminded me of a child. As she and the guy began to sing, I felt an unusual comfort, something I had forgotten years ago.

And when we entered the main room and found everyone singing, I almost smiled, and a small part of me wanted to dance with everyone else.

Then a different voice joined in, and I spotted a girl who looked about my age, her hair was short and pink with faded blue roots, she wore a ballerina tutu and her tongue was blue from a lollipop. She had the type of 'come back fighting' attitude I envied and amazing tap dancing. At some point, she noticed me and ran over, grinning broadly.

"Hey! I'm Columbia, whet's your name?" I pulled back into Janet's shadow, shy as a two year old.

"Are you mute or too stunned that I'm talking to you?" When she took another step forward, I gripped Janet's dress and Janet turned.

"She doesn't talk much." I nodded, willingly letting Janet be my voice. But Columbia was stubborn and when she grabbed my arm, fear rocketed through my body and I bolted. Running blindly until I found a spot behind the candy case where I curled up into a trembling ball.

That's when I heard the music change. And I crawled out on hands and knees until I was peaking around the corner.

A different person was singing now, with a voice so strong and talented it left me breathless. I pulled myself into a sitting positon, watching a figure with a sparkly black cap and huge headpiece. As I looked on, I failed to notice someone else come up from behind and sit next to me.

"Hey." I jumped, and turned to see Columbia smiling softly. "Sorry for scaring you back there. Wanna lollipop?" She pulled one out from the pocket of her leather jacket and held it out. I cautiously took the white stick, removed the wrapper, and quietly slipped it within my mouth.

"You really are quiet. Are you mute?" I shook my head. "Just super silent?" A nod. "Did something happen that made you stop talking?" I hesitated before nodding, slow and sad.

"I'm sorry." I glanced away, biting back tears. There was a pause.

"Come on. Lets get you back to your sister." I let her pull me to my feet and out into the light. Glancing around, I realized the room had cleared out, leaving myself, Columbia, the magenta haired maid, the handyman, Brad and Janet.

"The maid is Magenta, no joke, that's her name. The handyman is Riff Raff, he's Magenta's brother." With a smile, she put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me into her side. "Stick with me kid, I have a feeling we're gonna be great friends."

And just for a moment, I wanted to smile. But something held me back so I didn't.