Bittersweet: The Doppelganger

~*~The Portrait~*~

~*~
The Portrait
~*~

The buses all pulled to a stop in front of a pair of large wooden gates set in the thick, black, fifty-foot-high wall that surrounded Bran Castle. The students all clamored towards the front of the bus, talking excitedly.

"One at a time, ladies and gentlemen, one at a time!" called Mr. Beniamin above the excited chatter of his charges.

Kat and Cole waited with their friends and Traian until the majority of their classmates were safely outside before joining them. Cole stared up at the many black-stoned towers and turrets that loomed above the wall, a sense of foreboding settling over her.

"Come on!" said Kat, suddenly appearing at Cole's side. "The gates are opening."

She grabbed the other girl's arm and started to pull her towards the now-opening wooden gates. A man dressed in expensive slacks and a blazer was standing on the threshold, smiling warmly at them all.

"Ah," he said in a pleasant voice. "You must be the senior classmen from Transylvania High?"

Ms. Alin, the Arts teacher, hurried forward to speak with him. The man nodded his head at her quiet words and stepped aside to let the class cross through the gates. Kat and Cole followed the rest of the senior class students through the gates, stepping into a large, bare courtyard. A fountain stood in the center of the cobblestone yard, its statues strong, tall, and beautifully immortal. Cole stared up at it, a strange sense of familiarity coming over her.

She drew closer to the fountain, staring up into the faces of the statues. Their faces were perfectly structured with straight brow lines, high cheekbones, perfectly straight noses, and sensuous lips. The only differences were in the lining of their jawlines, one was male and the other female.

"Beautiful, are they not?" A deep, masculine voice to her left said.

She jumped, startled, and looked around. It was the man who had opened the gates. He smiled at her warmly.

"I did not mean to scare you," he said, now gazing at her in concern.

"It's nothing," replied Cole. "You just startled me."

"I am sorry," he said with a soft chuckle. "My name is Domitian Vasile, keeper of Bran Castle."

"Nice to meet you," she replied, shaking the hand he held out to her. "I'm Nicoleta Falcon."

Cole watched curiously as Mr. Vasile turned back to the fountain, gazing at it with fondness.

"This statue was built around the 1440s by an unknown artist employed by the owner at that time," he said as more students came over to examine the fountain more closely.

"That's him." Mr. Vasile informed them all, nodding at the male statue. "His name was Count Cristian Vladimirescu. He was known as the Recluse Lord to the townspeople because no one has ever seen him, not even when he first came to live here at Bran Castle."

"He's so hot!" Ileana squealed to Stefania and Dorina with a light giggle.

Horatiu shushed her. "He's telling the story of the Count's mysterious arrival!"