Lost in the Castle

~9~

"What's wrong with this blanket, hmm?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood and nearly stumbling over it as I took a step to come closer to him.

Vlad only shook his head, then grabbed my hand and led me back towards my chamber.

I washed my teary face quickly in the basin, and one look in the mirror above confirmed my suspicions. I was a mess, my eyes red and puffy. I had never cried as much as since my coming back here. Tears had never been my thing.

Vlad was waiting for me patiently, thoughtful, and silent, and our eyes met in the mirror. I smiled again, hoping to persuade him that I was alright, knowing I did not succeed the instant he spoke again.

"Go choose your dress, my love. Call me if you need anything," he said, looking downcast as he walked towards the fireplace. I can't let him see me cry again!

I walked in my boudoir, and guided by the faint light of the dying fire on its hearth, I chose a white and grey, fur-lined gown, looking a lot like the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Seeing the dress made me feel better, it would be like wearing my favourite blanket all day long. I slipped it on fast, and only then I noticed the infinity of pearl buttons along its back. There was no way I could close those alone. Leaving them undone, I organised my hair in a simple braid, then put on a pair of shoes, and joined Vlad in the chamber.

I saw his eyes blaze when he looked at me. The corners of his mouth lifted in a half smile, and I realised he knew the dress better than I did even as I felt him suddenly standing behind me, pushing my braid gently over my left shoulder. This lightest of touches sent shivers down my spine, and I was happy that he couldn't see my blush. It was completely unnecessary to ask, pointing to the buttons, "Would you mind...?" I asked anyway, just to break the silence.

Still speechless, he started buttoning my dress with his long fingers, sending pleasant sparkles through my whole body every time he touched me. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, as his hands made their way up, ever so slowly. It was amazing how he was making me feel. Next to him, for the first time ever, I was... complete. As if I finally found the half of my soul I hadn't known I was missing. I wished to stay here with him for the rest of my life.

How long would that be, hmm? How much time before you grow old and die next to this immortal prince? The thought came unbidden, shattering the magic of the moment.

Pushing the obnoxious idea aside, for later, I concentrated on my racing heart and my skin, burning pleasantly from his touch. How could he make me feel like that?

William, the only boyfriend I had ever had, a man who had left me a month or so ago for another woman, had never made me feel like this. We had stayed nearly two years together, but I wasn't even a little sad when he left, never regretting that our relationship was over. I've never really loved William, I realised. Not like this, anyway.

Where did this come from?! I noticed how my brain sometimes, often, managed to produce a wrong memory in a wrong moment. I sighed deeply, not happy with myself at all.

Vlad turned me around then and placed a warm, gentle kiss on my lips, making me forget all of my previous thoughts.

"Come," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the corridor again, "quick, or we will be too late."

I had no idea where he was taking me, but I would follow him anywhere.

He opened the mysterious, half hidden door leading to the dusty spiral staircase, now illuminated by candles. We made our way up the narrow stone steps in the warm, flickering glow. The stairs seemed to be infinite, and I was quite out of breath when we reached another room, a small, dark chamber in the castle's highest tower.

I let go of his hand, turning around, trying to see something in the near complete, pre-dawn darkness. There was no fire, and it was freezing cold, but I was happy to be here.

Ever since I came to this castle as a young, scared girl, this used to be my sanctuary. A place to stay alone, away from everybody else, when I felt like running away at the very beginning. I smiled when I remembered how it changed later into our secret spot, the place where we first kissed. And the uncountable sunrises we watched from here, dreaming about the happy future that was taken away from us by the cruel fate.

That's why we are here, I realised, finding my way to the window facing the east in the dark. He brought me up here to watch another sunrise.

Vlad joined me by the window. He held me leaning back against his chest, feeling warm, protected, and utterly happy. Resting his chin on top of my head, he observed the brightening sky beyond the glass.

"Do you remember?" he whispered, and I nodded silently, trying to control my crazy emotions, scared that if I tried to speak, I would start crying again.

We stood in silence, waiting, and then it was there. A whisper of a sunrise far in the east, above the tall hills of the Carpathians. The deep blue curtain of the night parted to let the first, shy, pastel coloured rays through to caress, warm up, and slowly draw and define the breathtaking landscape that lay beneath. I could hear the chirping of birds welcoming the sunshine, singing bravely in the frosty morning, and noticed the soft sprinkling of snow on the trees of the thickset forest and the frozen grass of the sloping meadows.

Winter was as quick to come as it had always been in this place, my home.

And in that moment, I was ecstatic to be back. There was nothing I wanted more than to stay here, with Vlad, forever.

I turned towards him, and our eyes met, his green boring into my grey, taking my breath away.

"I love you," I whispered. "You can't imagine how much..."

He cupped my face, bringing me closer, and we kissed, a long, passionate, insatiable kiss, leaving me unsure on my feet, craving more.

"I love you, too," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine, his voice laced with that profound, sudden sadness that was becoming so familiar to me.

"Don't even think about it," I whispered, sure of what was on his mind. "I'm not leaving you again."

Never.